Big Trouble In Tourist Thailand

[Mark Wolfe]

KevinBloodyWilson:

Pity it all turned to shit for him, but it will be quietly swept under the rug when the 9-day wonder is forgotten.

Why do you say that? The publicity will make him a demigod among his peers. You earn your stripes in may places by going to jail.

Can you imagine the drunk talk he's having with his pals over this?

Reallyok:

A while ago i was lost and confused at a bus station, quite unable to get reasonable help from any Thai, when i spotted a farang tourist policeman. What a relief as he was so helpful. Yes they should be respected as there definately a place for them.

I think you are confusing the duties of a police officer with that of an information kiosk.

[phuketrex]

There's a JJ in Koh Samui too...from the Drummond site>>>

Swiss couple flee jet ski operator in terror - Chaweng

A Swiss couple were reported to have fled Koh Samui yesterday after telling local Embassy officials that they that the couple had been threatened with a beating and rape if they failed to pay 65,000 baht (2000 Swiss francs).

A source close to the Swiss Embassy said the couple were escorted to the airport by a consular representative and safely boarded a 3pm flight from Koh Samui to Bangkok after the threats by an operator on Chaweng Beach. “The woman was visibly shaking in the departure area.”

Officially the Swiss Embassy Consular department said they could not comment on individal cases and would neither confirm or deny the report. The couple could not be contacted to verify the report.

According to one Consular source, from data gathered together by foreign consular representatives between December and April this year there were in the region of 150 cases of tourists having to pay for damaged jet skis on Koh Samui, approximately one a day.

The controversial documentary series ’Big Trouble in Thailand’ is expected to highlight a jet ski problem in Chaweng in a later programme in the series.

****************

Assuming it airs!...Episode 3 on monday night>>>

Tourist police join in the rescue when a plane crashes in Koh Samui. Drug smuggler Marcus Hilton, awaiting sentencing in Pattaya Prison, faces the death penalty or life imprisonment.

But the Andrew Drummond site says Episode 3 is being re-edited to include the arrest at Bangkok airport last tuesday of the Australian conman Lance Shaw!

As it is supposedly a British TV production showing Brits abroad getting into trouble do you think this re-edit is to make the Thai police look good??!! With all that's going on maybe the production company feel they need to do a bit of asre licking and show the police in a good light so they can run a full 8 episodes.

Edited September 20, 2009 by phuketrex

[davejonesbkk]

Unless they have more filming to do (which I doubt) they can run as many episodes as they like and there is not a single thing the Thai authorities can do about it.....come to think of it the Uk government couldnt stop them either.

[MJP]

Hi everyone, I enjoyed the program, I found it entertaining. I've lost count how many times I've been out at night in Pattaya and I don't recall ever seeing a pissed up Brit fighting. I've seen a couple of ladyfellas knockin lumps out of each other. The program does show Thailand in a bad light and I think it'll encourage more "larger louts" or "cu*ts" as I affectionately call them to come over.

I can't remember how many times I've been out in Nottingham ciy centre on a saturday night and I dont recall ever NOT seeing a scrap.

I personally feel safer out in Pattaya than back home in the UK. I think the tourist police are a good idea I think they should be better equipped to deal with the public , maybe they should be fully trained police officers as the only real problem is that a few of them in pattaya go on a power trip when in uniform

Most of Thailand is safer than the uk, But there is bad places both in the uk and Thailand in fact all the world.

[cyb]

Hi everyone, I enjoyed the program, I found it entertaining. I've lost count how many times I've been out at night in Pattaya and I don't recall ever seeing a pissed up Brit fighting. I've seen a couple of ladyfellas knockin lumps out of each other. The program does show Thailand in a bad light and I think it'll encourage more "larger louts" or "cu*ts" as I affectionately call them to come over.

I can't remember how many times I've been out in Nottingham ciy centre on a saturday night and I dont recall ever NOT seeing a scrap.

I personally feel safer out in Pattaya than back home in the UK. I think the tourist police are a good idea I think they should be better equipped to deal with the public , maybe they should be fully trained police officers as the only real problem is that a few of them in pattaya go on a power trip when in uniform

Most of Thailand is safer than the uk, But there is bad places both in the uk and Thailand in fact all the world.

Mjp judging by your smilie you do not believe my statement.

Having spent a lot of time in the uk, I have seen more violence there than most countries i have had the pleasure or displeasure of staying in.

Do not get me wrong i love the uk, But in a lot of places you cannot walk the streets at night without fear of intimidation from gangs of youths.

Patrick try hanging around nottingham railway station for a few hours, If it had not being for a taxi driver about a year ago i could have being dead.

Edited September 20, 2009 by cyb

[MJP]

Hi everyone, I enjoyed the program, I found it entertaining. I've lost count how many times I've been out at night in Pattaya and I don't recall ever seeing a pissed up Brit fighting. I've seen a couple of ladyfellas knockin lumps out of each other. The program does show Thailand in a bad light and I think it'll encourage more "larger louts" or "cu*ts" as I affectionately call them to come over.

I can't remember how many times I've been out in Nottingham ciy centre on a saturday night and I dont recall ever NOT seeing a scrap.

I personally feel safer out in Pattaya than back home in the UK. I think the tourist police are a good idea I think they should be better equipped to deal with the public , maybe they should be fully trained police officers as the only real problem is that a few of them in pattaya go on a power trip when in uniform

Most of Thailand is safer than the uk, But there is bad places both in the uk and Thailand in fact all the world.

Mjp judging by your smilie you do not believe my statement.

Having spent a lot of time in the uk, I have seen more violence there than most countries i have had the pleasure or displeasure of staying in.

Do not get me wrong i love the uk, But in a lot of places you cannot walk the streets at night without fear of intimidation from gangs of youths.

Patrick try hanging around nottingham railway station for a few hours, If it had not being for a taxi driver about a year ago i could have being dead.

Sadly I know what you mean regards the UK and lout culture, but no way can Thailand be described as safer than the UK. The murder rate here is 6 times (officially), likely higher. 6 UK citizens have been murdered here (official cause of death) since January 2009. Then the 'suicides'.

Sister was speaking of this the other day with horror that Thailand is now one of the least safe tourist destinations. They know they have a problem here, but with money tight can't see it improving.

I write this was just because I'm concerned that you may think this place is safer than it actually is. Don't drop your guard.

[JUDAS]

KevinBloodyWilson:

Pity it all turned to shit for him, but it will be quietly swept under the rug when the 9-day wonder is forgotten.

Why do you say that? The publicity will make him a demigod among his peers. You earn your stripes in may places by going to jail.

Can you imagine the drunk talk he's having with his pals over this?

Reallyok:

A while ago i was lost and confused at a bus station, quite unable to get reasonable help from any Thai, when i spotted a farang tourist policeman. What a relief as he was so helpful. Yes they should be respected as there definately a place for them.

I think you are confusing the duties of a police officer with that of an information kiosk.

Would it be unreasonable to assume the information kiosk, if there was one, was manned by a Thai?

[cyb]

MJP

I have just noticed i am guilty of not reading you post correctly. You said you cannot remember not seeing a scrap, Not that you have ever seen a scrap.

Just so you know MJP i was born in Thailand in 1956, Educated in uk from around 1960 those were the days. I could play football in the street on sundays not a car in sight.

I have spent a lot of time in the uk so please believe me i consider thailand much safer.

If you go looking for trouble in thailand you will find it, You do not need to look for it in the uk it finds you.

But we are getting off topic now so no more.

Anyway time for bed Goodnight all.

Grrrrrrrrrr it was patrick that said that, I really must get some rest lol.

Edited September 20, 2009 by cyb

[MJP]

MJP

I have just noticed i am guilty of not reading you post correctly. You said you cannot remember not seeing a scrap, Not that you have ever seen a scrap.

Just so you know MJP i was born in Thailand in 1956, Educated in uk from around 1960 those were the days. I could play football in the street on sundays not a car in sight.

I have spent a lot of time in the uk so please believe me i consider thailand much safer.

If you go looking for trouble in thailand you will find it, You do not need to look for it in the uk it finds you.

But we are getting off topic now so no more.

Anyway time for bed Goodnight all.

Grrrrrrrrrr it was patrick that said that, I really must get some rest lol.

I defer to to your better judgment sir, but scraps cause bruises and bruises heal. High murder rate here.

[jeanclaude]

After seeing the first two episodes, I would like to congratulate Mr. Miller and his team for doing a fantastic job. I will reserve my judgement until I have seen all eight episodes, however, if the first two programmes are anything to go by, they are doing a great job! Well done Mr. Miller and the rest of the Tourist Police for assisting tourists' that get into difficulties!

I must ask though, I have noticed that the transsexuals who operate on Beach Rd. are a major problem here in Pattaya and commit many crimes that go unpunished - are the Tourist Police and Thai Police working together to put an end to this or impose sanctions which will eradicate this?

Well done Mr. Miller & crew for giving your free time to help make the country a safer place!

Jeanclaude.

[gpdjohn]

There's a JJ in Koh Samui too...from the Drummond site>>>

They are in every tourist venue throughout the realm. Chang, Samet, Samui, etc.

[moddeydhoo]

After seeing the first two episodes, I would like to congratulate Mr. Miller and his team for doing a fantastic job. I will reserve my judgement until I have seen all eight episodes, however, if the first two programmes are anything to go by, they are doing a great job! Well done Mr. Miller and the rest of the Tourist Police for assisting tourists' that get into difficulties!

I must ask though, I have noticed that the transsexuals who operate on Beach Rd. are a major problem here in Pattaya and commit many crimes that go unpunished - are the Tourist Police and Thai Police working together to put an end to this or impose sanctions which will eradicate this?

Well done Mr. Miller & crew for giving your free time to help make the country a safer place!

Jeanclaude.

Are you for real Jeanclaude (VanDam???) or is it you Howard writing under a Nom de Plume?

[johnboi]

I must ask though, I have noticed that the transsexuals who operate on Beach Rd. are a major problem here in Pattaya and commit many crimes that go unpunished - are the Tourist Police and Thai Police working together to put an end to this or impose sanctions which will eradicate this?

Howard's matey on the program has been known to take vigilante action against beach road ladyboys.

[GungaDin]

I must ask though, I have noticed that the transsexuals who operate on Beach Rd. are a major problem here in Pattaya and commit many crimes that go unpunished - are the Tourist Police and Thai Police working together to put an end to this or impose sanctions which will eradicate this?

Howard's matey on the program has been known to take vigilante action against beach road ladyboys.

Would that be the tall streak with the DIY haircut?

[caf]

Odd there is nothing on here yet about Gavin's " tactical" departure to London last night to avoid as he says having to defend himself from inside a thai jail; the royal marines are standfing by their facts and theer is consular support. see the drummond site.

[cyb]

Odd there is nothing on here yet about Gavin's " tactical" departure to London last night to avoid as he says having to defend himself from inside a thai jail; the royal marines are standfing by their facts and theer is consular support. see the drummond site.

The And i sure as hel_l do not want to be the one that cleans it.

[phuketrex]

The cameraman/producer Gavin Hill has now "fled" Thailand>>>

Camera director of ‘Big Trouble in Thailand’ makes ‘tactical withdrawal’

That's some mighty big guns supporting the Thai/foreign production crew...bigger than JJ's!

[Oberkommando]

Thais in attempted cover-up, lying, bullying and threatening non-shock.

They've bitten off more than they can chew with this one though.

The truth always comes out in the end.

[bendejo]

Would have been something if when the Brit officer showed up he told JJ "well, he's not going to pay, guess you'll have to shoot him; do it now in front of the camera and be done with it."

[t.s]

They are 'British fighting forces'. The thing is that the UK government hasn't declared war on Thailand. They're civilians on holiday. I know this might seem strange to those Yanks who believe that the answer to all problem is violence. I suspect that if they were American Marines they wouldn't act much differently. Trailer trash, maybe. Trained troops, maybe not.

Fighting forces as in, each is carrying their own death count? Cause, several of the American Marines I know, and I know a good few dozen, have just that. Perhaps you just don't know many American Marines, but I just don't think they take well to being extorted and threaten at gun point. But please clarify.

I'm sure that the US government would approve of their military personnel committing violence against citizens of one of their major allies in SE Asia and probably provoking a major diplomatic incident rather than allowing the due process of law to take place.

i would say that the British commander should be under investigation for his handling of an incident involving a civillian. his attitude was incendiary and had violence erupted he would have been to blame. Another typical example of someone with no real authority in this situation demanding respect. At the very least he should havee contained the situation until the thai authorities arrived.

So far the brits are coming off much worse in this"documentary" than the thais (with the exception of JJ).

[britmaveric]

^the thai authorities were there, but not shown on camera. They tacitly approved of JJ's tactics. The marine police handled things quite well, and deserves a medal. If anything he was too soft with JJ.

[LaoPo]

^the thai authorities were there, but not shown on camera. They tacitly approved of JJ's tactics.

The marine police handled things quite well, and deserves a medal. If anything he was too soft with JJ.

To which I like to add that the officer in charge, Royal Marine Police Sergeant Tim Wright, handling the dispute between JJ and Marine Tebbott, mentioned:

".....The case of Marine Tebbott was not the only case of extortion I had to deal with, not by far.”

From the link Phuketrex provided, earlier.

LaoPo

[fullcave]

WhiteShrek:

Mrs wasn't too impressed with the portrayal of Thailand and a bit annoyed at first until she started to just sit back and laugh at it.

That's the predictable reaction from Thais with most things that are undesirable in the country. Laugh at littering, laugh at corruption, laugh at scamming. Laugh at ever becoming a mature and fair society, it seems.

I don't think the spirit of Article 23 is intended to encompass filming unscrupulous activities by locals. I assume it is intended for deliberate misinterpretations of events in Thailand.

As for Article 34 (submit footage to the Tourism and Sports Ministry?), this is a technicality. If the show had portrayed Thailand as a crime-free paradise, no one would be talking about any infringement of articles of law.

I want to put this out there again: This jet ski thing was not "staged." Staged means that all or most of the participants were working from a script or plan. We know that JJ has pulled this stunt before, evidenced the other Youtube video, and having a jet ski with old damage shows that this is part of his modus operandi.

My feeling is that the producer of the show could have implied (wink, nod) that he would like to have something on film that was "interesting." JJ knows that he can get away with whatever he wants and has an ego the size of Issan.

The fact is that JJ is a crook, and the Thai authorities should be targeting people like him, not the film company. It's sad that the Thai authorities first reaction is that the foreigners are wrong and breaking the law.

Regarding the foreigner "police," I would like one of them to post here on why they are needed. That they can't speak the local language would disqualify them from this sort of job in any country, so why is Thailand different? Why can't Thai officers take care of their own law enforcement? Foreigners understand foreigners is no answer. Chinese volunteers don't police Chinatowns in the US (or anywhere), so why is this sort of thing acceptable here?

True about the foriegner police, they remind me of the union reps in one of me earliest employments. They were completely useless.

True the so called foreigner "police" are nothing but foreigners playing dress up while the real tourist police are nowhere to be found.

Edited September 21, 2009 by fullcave

[damslund]

Hey

Is there anywhere i can see "Big Trouble in Thailand" online and maybe for free?

Can find Bravo online at the internet

[Penkoprod]

Hey

Is there anywhere i can see "Big Trouble in Thailand" online and maybe for free?

Can find Bravo online at the internet

Youtube has it, as do some torrent places ---- mininova for one

Penkoprod

[Travel2003]

Hey

Is there anywhere i can see "Big Trouble in Thailand" online and maybe for free?

Can find Bravo online at the internet

Youtube has it, as do some torrent places ---- mininova for one

Penkoprod

I have not checked it today, but most of the clips can (or at least could be a few days ago) found in this thread.

Out of curiosity, this thread must be heading very close to the record length of a thread now?

No?

[Mossfinn]

Out of curiosity, this thread must be heading very close to the record length of a thread now?

No?

You have not heard of the infamous Rain thread then Travel?

[Penkoprod]

Out of curiosity, this thread must be heading very close to the record length of a thread now?

No?

You have not heard of the infamous Rain thread then Travel?

Or the one about the 150 TBH ATM charge.

i think THAT one is at 73 pages and still gping strong

Penkoprod

[endure]

I've just watched the latest episode. Things that spring to mind:

There's a lot of talk about 'the police' which all seems to be about the Tourist Police Volunteers. A number of times there's talk of 'the police' arresting people. Precisely what powers of arrest (or what legal powers at all) do the TVP have?

There's a segment where a drunken tourist allegedly steals a mobile phone from one of the TVP. The only evidence presented is that Howard Miller says so. Miller then commits assault by slapping the alleged offender on the head. The offender is then put into the 'police' van. Shortly afterwards Miller says that the offender is 'bleeding quite profusely' and then sniggers.

Edited September 21, 2009 by endure

[Bukseeda]

Hey

Is there anywhere i can see "Big Trouble in Thailand" online and maybe for free?

Can find Bravo online at the internet

Youtube has it, as do some torrent places ---- mininova for one

Penkoprod

I have not checked it today, but most of the clips can (or at least could be a few days ago) found in this thread.

Out of curiosity, this thread must be heading very close to the record length of a thread now?

No?

No, have a thought for the poor buggers waiting for a UK settlement visa (I was one of them) - that thread is now 95 pages long. You can find it in "Visas and migration to other countries"