Putting Off My Visit To Thailand

[PaulUSA302]

that last time I was getting too much attention from vendors, touts and the working girls and it made my walks frustrating.

Thought you stayed away from tourist areas? Or maybe you just walk up and down Sukhumvit or Khao Sarn Road......

I LOVE the tourist areas but I like the non-tourist areas too...

I love dessert but I still eat a balanced meal.

[Oberkommando]

That seems really silly to me.

With a little common sense and judgement you will be better off in Thailand than in most cities in the U.S.

No "drive by" shootings in Bangkok...but there are in L.A.

I personally would feel safer walking down Sukhumvit road than walking through Central park in New York. Even at 3 a.m. in the morning (although I probably wouldn't be walking at that time either place.)

There's loads of drive by shootings in Thailand.

Just not gang related.

[PaulUSA302]

That seems really silly to me.

With a little common sense and judgement you will be better off in Thailand than in most cities in the U.S.

No "drive by" shootings in Bangkok...but there are in L.A.

I personally would feel safer walking down Sukhumvit road than walking through Central park in New York. Even at 3 a.m. in the morning (although I probably wouldn't be walking at that time either place.)

There's loads of drive by shootings in Thailand.

Just not gang related.

LA... That is one place I would NEVER visit..... No thank you!

But I think the tourist areas are safe. You just can't go in the urban areas and think your safe. But I don't know anything about LA other than what I see on TV.

[sanmiguellight]

I was in Pattaya last month and it was absolutely dead, literally everywhere i went i was getting hassled like never before in LOS off street vendors, massage girls, suit sellers, bar girls, motorbike taxi guys etc etc..... They were a lot ruder then when the place is full and it did get to be a bit of a pain in the ass ...... Still id much rather be in LOS then anywhere else.

Well that finishes it for me then, I was going to the Thaivisa piss-up tomorrow but now I think I'd better stay home where it's safe and warm. Thanks for the warning sanmiguellight, I owe you one.

Where did i hint that one should stay at home as its not safe???

Your devastatingly witty sarcasm may have been slightly misplaced.

Edited July 10, 2009 by sanmiguellight

[Carib]

After reading so much about scams from vendors, scams from police, scams from Shops, the upswing in visitors being robbed, mugged and killed. I have decided to put off my visit to Thailand to a point in time when there are more people there.

On my last visit, I had to ask a lady to stop trying to pick my pocket. That is when times were good and there were many tourist there for the folks to choose from. Now with the tourist numbers down, I think it is more likely that I would be set-upon by those who are looking to steal, mug, rob or kill.

So it looks like I will have to wiat for that Green Curry Chicken with rice.

That seems really silly to me.

With a little common sense and judgement you will be better off in Thailand than in most cities in the U.S.

No "drive by" shootings in Bangkok...but there are in L.A.

I personally would feel safer walking down Sukhumvit road than walking through Central park in New York. Even at 3 a.m. in the morning (although I probably wouldn't be walking at that time either place.)

I have been to Thailand many times before and I know what is best for me and I know that last time I was getting too much attention from vendors, touts and the working girls and it made my walks frustrating. With empty bars, shops and taxis.... I am sure I would be that much more bothered so I am going to wait till there are more fish in the sea as it were.

Silly or not, I made my choice and I am happier for it

OK, than stop drivelling about it, stay home and go to Disney.

[sanook2me]

I read the news and I have friends there who tell me what they are going through.

I'm interested in knowing what your friends are going through?

come on tell us.....

Petty thefts, beign stopped and questioned or closly watched by police. Being cheated more than usual. Folks being rude to them and the general requests for money.

But I am only a visitor and I am more focused on what my 4 weeks will be like. I know the streets I travel and the folks I come across and I know that with things the way they are right now.... Won't be a good time for me.

No offense to you guys... But I can stand the rain, but I don't search it out.... so to speak...

you have nearly 300 posts on here which puts you above troll level or does it?

Petty thefts = ?

closely watched by the police = ?

cheated = ?

rude = ?

general requests for money = ?

Hints that things are going on that they don't want to talk about. <deleted> is this cr@p???

anyway the question marks are so you can put truthful examples of these major issues your friends are going through....

[bina]

i live in a country that gets a constant traveler's warning from most of the western world so i cant imagine that i would choose a place by having more people. we are told to avoid large groups of people.

maybe u should change your hair/clothes/walk style since u are more 'tourist accident prone' than most. when i was in bangkok i just felt i was in a large icky humid polluted city. nothing more, nothing less..... im not city wise, i hate cities, so my husband and i high tailed it back to his village where main dangers are motocy accidents and dengue fever (and scorpions, this past season).....

bina

israel

[PaulUSA302]

i live in a country that gets a constant traveler's warning from most of the western world so i cant imagine that i would choose a place by having more people. we are told to avoid large groups of people.

maybe u should change your hair/clothes/walk style since u are more 'tourist accident prone' than most. when i was in bangkok i just felt i was in a large icky humid polluted city. nothing more, nothing less..... im not city wise, i hate cities, so my husband and i high tailed it back to his village where main dangers are motocy accidents and dengue fever (and scorpions, this past season).....

bina

israel

I want to visit the village areas but the bright lights of the city are just too much of a lure for me... Even now while I am in my office at work I can almost hear the sounds of the disco's and their rhythmic beat thump, thump, thumps through my body and to see all the attractive people in their sharp and sexy clothes... Could I give that up for the tranquil sound of a peaceful village? Oh man... I am longing for Silom or Walking Street right now! hahah

[Carib]

i live in a country that gets a constant traveler's warning from most of the western world so i cant imagine that i would choose a place by having more people. we are told to avoid large groups of people.

maybe u should change your hair/clothes/walk style since u are more 'tourist accident prone' than most. when i was in bangkok i just felt i was in a large icky humid polluted city. nothing more, nothing less..... im not city wise, i hate cities, so my husband and i high tailed it back to his village where main dangers are motocy accidents and dengue fever (and scorpions, this past season).....

bina

israel

I want to visit the village areas but the bright lights of the city are just too much of a lure for me... Even now while I am in my office at work I can almost hear the sounds of the disco's and their rhythmic beat thump, thump, thumps through my body and to see all the attractive people in their sharp and sexy clothes... Could I give that up for the tranquil sound of a peaceful village? Oh man... I am longing for Silom or Walking Street right now! hahah

Let me be the first one : TROLL

[PaulUSA302]

i live in a country that gets a constant traveler's warning from most of the western world so i cant imagine that i would choose a place by having more people. we are told to avoid large groups of people.

maybe u should change your hair/clothes/walk style since u are more 'tourist accident prone' than most. when i was in bangkok i just felt i was in a large icky humid polluted city. nothing more, nothing less..... im not city wise, i hate cities, so my husband and i high tailed it back to his village where main dangers are motocy accidents and dengue fever (and scorpions, this past season).....

bina

israel

I want to visit the village areas but the bright lights of the city are just too much of a lure for me... Even now while I am in my office at work I can almost hear the sounds of the disco's and their rhythmic beat thump, thump, thumps through my body and to see all the attractive people in their sharp and sexy clothes... Could I give that up for the tranquil sound of a peaceful village? Oh man... I am longing for Silom or Walking Street right now! hahah

Let me be the first one : TROLL

Ok.. You warned everyone. I am a troll... Not just a guy postind and having a conversation on a message board.

Thanks! I will avoid my posts from now on!

[Carib]

i live in a country that gets a constant traveler's warning from most of the western world so i cant imagine that i would choose a place by having more people. we are told to avoid large groups of people.

maybe u should change your hair/clothes/walk style since u are more 'tourist accident prone' than most. when i was in bangkok i just felt i was in a large icky humid polluted city. nothing more, nothing less..... im not city wise, i hate cities, so my husband and i high tailed it back to his village where main dangers are motocy accidents and dengue fever (and scorpions, this past season).....

bina

israel

I want to visit the village areas but the bright lights of the city are just too much of a lure for me... Even now while I am in my office at work I can almost hear the sounds of the disco's and their rhythmic beat thump, thump, thumps through my body and to see all the attractive people in their sharp and sexy clothes... Could I give that up for the tranquil sound of a peaceful village? Oh man... I am longing for Silom or Walking Street right now! hahah

Let me be the first one : TROLL

Ok.. You warned everyone. I am a troll... Not just a guy postind and having a conversation on a message board.

Thanks! I will avoid my posts from now on!

You were just waiting for the easy way out. Be sure to let us know when you think it is safe in Thailand again. Bye.

[Lopburi99]

OMG, I hope a mod deletes this entire stupid thread. Its not worth the disk space it sits on.

Edited July 10, 2009 by Lopburi99

[isanb]

He was an easy mark for you Carib

[PaulUSA302]

You were just waiting for the easy way out. Be sure to let us know when you think it is safe in Thailand again. Bye.

I "Said" that I will visit when the tourist numbers pick up. Nothing BAD or EVIL about that. You know and I know that it would benefit me in ways that only a returning visitor would know.

I am not just off the Baht Bus, I have been around and I figured I would share my thoughts with other people who are in and or visiting Thailand. If your not prepared to have a real conversation than move on to a topic that you are prepared to take part in.

Why people come to the internet to fight is beyond me..... I am just here for some light conversation.

[isanb]

Ok.. You warned everyone. I am a troll... Not just a guy postind and having a conversation on a message board.

Thanks! I will avoid my posts from now on!

Welcome back

[PaulUSA302]

Ok.. You warned everyone. I am a troll... Not just a guy postind and having a conversation on a message board.

Thanks! I will avoid my posts from now on!

Welcome back

I was just being cheeky.... I can't avoid me even if I tried I enjoy reading my own posts just as much as I enjoy writing them.

[isanb]

I was just being cheeky.... I can't avoid me even if I tried I enjoy reading my own posts just as much as I enjoy writing them.

why don't you talk about that in the Health,Body and Medecine Forum.

Usually they give good advices.

I'm sure they can help you

[Misplaced]

I was in Pattaya last month and it was absolutely dead, literally everywhere i went i was getting hassled like never before in LOS off street vendors, massage girls, suit sellers, bar girls, motorbike taxi guys etc etc..... They were a lot ruder then when the place is full and it did get to be a bit of a pain in the ass ...... Still id much rather be in LOS then anywhere else.

Well that finishes it for me then, I was going to the Thaivisa piss-up tomorrow but now I think I'd better stay home where it's safe and warm. Thanks for the warning sanmiguellight, I owe you one.

Where did i hint that one should stay at home as its not safe???

Your devastatingly witty sarcasm may have been slightly misplaced.

Please stop draging me into your argument.

Edited July 10, 2009 by Misplaced

[PaulUSA302]

I was just being cheeky.... I can't avoid me even if I tried I enjoy reading my own posts just as much as I enjoy writing them.

why don't you talk about that in the Health,Body and Medecine Forum.

Usually they give good advices.

I'm sure they can help you

That is cute, but off topic. I put this topic up to talk about why I was moving my visit to Thailand to a time when more people would visit.

I have read other speculate as to if something was going to effect tourism and even more wonder why folks were not visiting. Well I gave my reason for changing the time when I will visit.

On this coming trip I gave some thought to the areas I will spend my 4 weeks. I have been to Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Phuket. This time I think I will not visit Phuket. I like it there but while I am in Phuket I tend to wish I was still in Bangkok or Pattaya. And the cost for things in Phuket are so much higher also. I don't drive when I am in Thailand, I take cabs and motorbikes. I can get on a motorbike in Pattaya or Bangkok and get a ride for a fair amount of Baht. In Phuket... I find that I walk a lot more than I would if I were in Bangkok or Pattaya simply to avoid the overly expensive Taxi costs.

I love Chiang Mai. The sights, sounds the people, the food and I got the best massage of my life while in Chiang Mai! It was a non-erotic massage... They pulled, stretched and folded me in ways that I was sure would put me in pain for days to come but it was all good! I never had such a good massage before in my life!

I hope I can make it back to Chiang Mai but I am watching the airfare cost. I plan to spend a week there and I don't want to spend more than double of what it cost me the last time. I just can't bring myself to do it. Once I took the train to Chiang Mai from Bangkok. It was the sleeper train. It seem to take forever but I think that was because I traveled alone on the train. Once I got there I decided I would not take the train back so I booked a flight!

But on this coming trip my sights are set mostly on Pattaya. I like the low cost of renting a big condo, the ability to catch a Baht bus to almost anywhere and everyplace is walkable. Taxi's, food and beach chairs are cheap. And they have the Massage place by the Blind....

Yeah... Pattaya will be ground zero for me this time for sure

[smokie36]

Is someone drip feeding him sodium pentathal?

[PaulUSA302]

Is someone drip feeding him sodium pentathal?

Just keeping on topic. I know how folks either fight or talk around a poster to try have their type of fun. I figure I will just keep the post interesting and informative to those who simply lurk

One thing I think is funny... Folks who are happy to overpay.. Why?

Edited July 10, 2009 by PaulUSA302

[IanForbes]

It's better to come join me under the bridge so I can show you how to troll properly.

[smokie36]

Is someone drip feeding him sodium pentathal?

Just keeping on topic. I know how folks either fight our talk around a poster to try have their type of fun. I figure I will just keep the post interesting and informative to those who simply lurk

One thing I think is funny... Folks who are happy to overpay.. Why?

Staying on topic....Having read the response are you coming to Thailand or not?

[asiasurfer]

After reading so much about scams from vendors, scams from police, scams from Shops, the upswing in visitors being robbed, mugged and killed. I have decided to put off my visit to Thailand to a point in time when there are more people there.

On my last visit, I had to ask a lady to stop trying to pick my pocket. That is when times were good and there were many tourist there for the folks to choose from. Now with the tourist numbers down, I think it is more likely that I would be set-upon by those who are looking to steal, mug, rob or kill.

So it looks like I will have to wiat for that Green Curry Chicken with rice.

I think your statement is exaggerated.

I don’t wanna offend anybody from the USA here, but it seems that a ‘small problem’ in any country puts off tourists, especially from the USA. Many people from that country seem to perceive the world as a dangerous place. This view is always reinforced by travel warnings from the embassies. In fact, I believe there are much more dangerous places within the US.

But what really offends me is that all these travel warnings from the US put a bad light on other countries which don’t deserve it. Yes, some countries are really dangerous to travel, but Thailand isn’t one of those countries.

Since many countries are very dependent on tourists from the US, countries will try anything to appear safe in order to keep the tourism industry alive. Unfortunately, if US citizens decide not to travel to a certain country (e.g. Thailand), it will mean that that country will loose a lot of money. For some countries this is unfair.

So, PaulUSA, I disagree with you. Since I think Thailand is in need for tourists I wanna tell you not to be afraid, but to visit the country. But personally I wanna tell you if you don’t feel safe in the world better stay in the US.

Regards

[sassienie]

I was in Pattaya last month and it was absolutely dead, literally everywhere i went i was getting hassled like never before in LOS off street vendors, massage girls, suit sellers, bar girls, motorbike taxi guys etc etc..... They were a lot ruder then when the place is full and it did get to be a bit of a pain in the ass ...... Still id much rather be in LOS then anywhere else.

Well that finishes it for me then, I was going to the Thaivisa piss-up tomorrow but now I think I'd better stay home where it's safe and warm. Thanks for the warning sanmiguellight, I owe you one.

Your welcome! If I saved you one minute of aggrivation than I am happy to have helped

If you ever watch the TV show Monk, his theme song says it all...

(Monk TV Theme Song)

It's a jungle out there

Disorder and confusion everywhere

No one seems to care. Well I do.

Hey, who's in charge here?

It's a jungle out there

Poison in the very air we breathe

Do you know what's in the water that you drink?

Well I do, and it's amazing

People think I'm crazy, 'cause I worry all the time

If you paid attention, you'd be worried too

You better pay attention

Or this world we love so much might just kill you

I could be wrong now, but I don't think so. It's a jungle out there\

Are you on any kind of medication?

This is the looneyest thread I have ever read on ThaiVisa.

Please fellow members, don`t encourage him.

Edited July 10, 2009 by sassienie

[PaulUSA302]

After reading so much about scams from vendors, scams from police, scams from Shops, the upswing in visitors being robbed, mugged and killed. I have decided to put off my visit to Thailand to a point in time when there are more people there.

On my last visit, I had to ask a lady to stop trying to pick my pocket. That is when times were good and there were many tourist there for the folks to choose from. Now with the tourist numbers down, I think it is more likely that I would be set-upon by those who are looking to steal, mug, rob or kill.

So it looks like I will have to wiat for that Green Curry Chicken with rice.

I think your statement is exaggerated.

I don’t wanna offend anybody from the USA here, but it seems that a ‘small problem’ in any country puts off tourists, especially from the USA. Many people from that country seem to perceive the world as a dangerous place. This view is always reinforced by travel warnings from the embassies. In fact, I believe there are much more dangerous places within the US.

But what really offends me is that all these travel warnings from the US put a bad light on other countries which don’t deserve it. Yes, some countries are really dangerous to travel, but Thailand isn’t one of those countries.

Since many countries are very dependent on tourists from the US, countries will try anything to appear safe in order to keep the tourism industry alive. Unfortunately, if US citizens decide not to travel to a certain country (e.g. Thailand), it will mean that that country will loose a lot of money. For some countries this is unfair.

So, PaulUSA, I disagree with you. Since I think Thailand is in need for tourists I wanna tell you not to be afraid, but to visit the country. But personally I wanna tell you if you don’t feel safe in the world better stay in the US.

Regards

My post was/is not about not coming to Thailand at alll. I am only moving my visit from October to December and it does not have anything to do with the warnings of our State Department. It has more to do with what I am reading in Thai Newspapers, blogs, chats and conversations with friends.

I have been to Thailand enough to know what things I enjoy most. I also have had some bad experiences while there and I don't want to repeat them. I know that if there are not many tourist there it is more likely that I will have a "not so good of a time" there.

Thailand is a GREAT place for tourist and if it were my first time to visit, it would not matter to me if it was high season or low season, but since I am not a new visitor I find that I would rather be there during high season this time. After I am there I may find that I made the wrong choice but right now, after digesting all the information that I have available, going in October would be a bad choice for me... But as I said. I could be wrong. I won't know for sure until I arrive in December.

[jpolten]

It's better to come join me under the bridge so I can show you how to troll properly.

:D nice one!

[smokie36]

Has this thread snapped yet?

[PaulUSA302]

Is someone drip feeding him sodium pentathal?

Just keeping on topic. I know how folks either fight our talk around a poster to try have their type of fun. I figure I will just keep the post interesting and informative to those who simply lurk

One thing I think is funny... Folks who are happy to overpay.. Why?

Staying on topic....Having read the response are you coming to Thailand or not?

I am coming. I am moving my visit from October to December. BUT the fun begins when I tell my boss I want to spend Christmas & New Years in Thailand so he can't have the holiday off! LOL

[PaulUSA302]

Has this thread snapped yet?

They are trying

I have 1/2 hour more and then I go home.

Posting here is always a battle... Today I figured I would hang in till my work day ends.

I don't know why the same people go from post to post to fight and try to stop others from posting?

It is a message board.... If you don't like the message on the board just hit the back button and move on to a different post.... It is so easy to do