Big Trouble In Tourist Thailand

[womblejamie]

Just found this link for a download

http://isohunt.com/torrents/Big%20Trouble%...rist%20Thailand

[losworld]

LosWorld and Travel2003,

You are way off the mark, think about this logically for a second.

If they had paid JJ to act out the scene with the soldiers, that would mean that the Soldiers must have been paid as well or are you suggesting the Producer told JJ to threaten soldiers from his own country with a firearm and scam them out of thousands of Baht. Would UK Soldiers be prepared to be part of the scene even if they were told they would be paid money to do it. This would land them in serious trouble and would probably lead them to be expelled from the force. Would they risk their careers for a show broadcast on a small sattelite TV station on UK.....I don't think so.

And to suggest that my case with the drunk Aussie was set up in any way is laughable. I helped the guy and found a telephone number in his phone under the name of "Dad". I called the number and his dad came down to get him.

This is a reality TV show, showing the REAL Thailand. I guess some on here and on other forums donlt really want the world to see what REALLY goes on here. I understand that in a way, especially if you live here, but this program has already lead to an "arrest" of a Jet Ski scammer in Phuket. That can only be a good thing. It will help tourists and expats understand what really happens here and may even prevent such things happening to them.

I know this first episode has created such a stir, but remember there are 7 more to come. Maybe you should reserve some of your judgment on the show and those appearing in it until you you have seen future episodes.

First of all you are defending a show you participated in and that is completely understandable from a motivation standpoint. I will give you the benefit of the doubt on your scenes and I do believe those were not created. I think you did handle yourself and the situation very well.

However, yes I do believe the jet ski scene was scripted. You have to understand that in the reality game not everything is straight forward so the troops would not have been paid off however the guy paying the 30k baht may very well have been refunded by the production company and a big event/party may have occurred for participants. You don't think it is odd that no one called the police? That a soldier just hands over 35,000 baht just like that. And who carries a gun and never points it if they mean it?

There is no question in my mind that this was a scripted segment set up. Not all the lines but maybe "hey do you soldiers want to have some fun and get on television"? This hardly sounds like a payoff but a very probable way of getting actors. I think it will come out soon enough.

I also note a few "new posters" on this board who seem to be pumping the show.

[hm1973]

LosWorld and Travel2003,

You are way off the mark, think about this logically for a second.

If they had paid JJ to act out the scene with the soldiers, that would mean that the Soldiers must have been paid as well or are you suggesting the Producer told JJ to threaten soldiers from his own country with a firearm and scam them out of thousands of Baht. Would UK Soldiers be prepared to be part of the scene even if they were told they would be paid money to do it. This would land them in serious trouble and would probably lead them to be expelled from the force. Would they risk their careers for a show broadcast on a small sattelite TV station on UK.....I don't think so.

And to suggest that my case with the drunk Aussie was set up in any way is laughable. I helped the guy and found a telephone number in his phone under the name of "Dad". I called the number and his dad came down to get him.

This is a reality TV show, showing the REAL Thailand. I guess some on here and on other forums donlt really want the world to see what REALLY goes on here. I understand that in a way, especially if you live here, but this program has already lead to an "arrest" of a Jet Ski scammer in Phuket. That can only be a good thing. It will help tourists and expats understand what really happens here and may even prevent such things happening to them.

I know this first episode has created such a stir, but remember there are 7 more to come. Maybe you should reserve some of your judgment on the show and those appearing in it until you you have seen future episodes.

First of all you are defending a show you participated in and that is completely understandable from a motivation standpoint. I will give you the benefit of the doubt on your scenes and I do believe those were not created. I think you did handle yourself and the situation very well.

However, yes I do believe the jet ski scene was scripted. You have to understand that in the reality game not everything is straight forward so the troops would not have been paid off however the guy paying the 30k baht may very well have been refunded by the production company and a big event/party may have occurred for participants. You don't think it is odd that no one called the police? That a soldier just hands over 35,000 baht just like that. And who carries a gun and never points it if they mean it?

There is no question in my mind that this was a scripted segment set up. Not all the lines but maybe "hey do you soldiers want to have some fun and get on television"? This hardly sounds like a payoff but a very probable way of getting actors. I think it will come out soon enough.

I also note a few "new posters" on this board who seem to be pumping the show.

But the Police DID arrive, however that segment was not included in the program for reasons that I am not willing to explain here and for reasons that may mean my post may have to be deleted if I told you what happened next.....figure this one out for yourselves...sorry!

[rayong09]

I don't believe it was scripted for one minute, I think someone is just trying to wind you up, don't bite.

Like this scene was scrptied as well

Great show looking forward to part 2 just a bit annoying with my internet speed it takes forever to download just 10 minutes on youtube

[GungaDin]

If the Governor means biz, why not confiscate 6 good, jetskis and use them for life saving as they do in Aus & Bali.

They would need secure housing though.

How many people have drowned in the waters off Phuket this year?

[losworld]

I don't believe it was scripted for one minute, I think someone is just trying to wind you up, don't bite.

Like this scene was scrptied as well

Great show looking forward to part 2 just a bit annoying with my internet speed it takes forever to download just 10 minutes on youtube

Of course they will arrest him they are under pressure from everyone who thinks it is true. Wait until they find out its not true and scripted and JJ will be off. Just watch. If this is the case no more shooting of series in Thailand.

[losworld]

LosWorld and Travel2003,

You are way off the mark, think about this logically for a second.

If they had paid JJ to act out the scene with the soldiers, that would mean that the Soldiers must have been paid as well or are you suggesting the Producer told JJ to threaten soldiers from his own country with a firearm and scam them out of thousands of Baht. Would UK Soldiers be prepared to be part of the scene even if they were told they would be paid money to do it. This would land them in serious trouble and would probably lead them to be expelled from the force. Would they risk their careers for a show broadcast on a small sattelite TV station on UK.....I don't think so.

And to suggest that my case with the drunk Aussie was set up in any way is laughable. I helped the guy and found a telephone number in his phone under the name of "Dad". I called the number and his dad came down to get him.

This is a reality TV show, showing the REAL Thailand. I guess some on here and on other forums donlt really want the world to see what REALLY goes on here. I understand that in a way, especially if you live here, but this program has already lead to an "arrest" of a Jet Ski scammer in Phuket. That can only be a good thing. It will help tourists and expats understand what really happens here and may even prevent such things happening to them.

I know this first episode has created such a stir, but remember there are 7 more to come. Maybe you should reserve some of your judgment on the show and those appearing in it until you you have seen future episodes.

First of all you are defending a show you participated in and that is completely understandable from a motivation standpoint. I will give you the benefit of the doubt on your scenes and I do believe those were not created. I think you did handle yourself and the situation very well.

However, yes I do believe the jet ski scene was scripted. You have to understand that in the reality game not everything is straight forward so the troops would not have been paid off however the guy paying the 30k baht may very well have been refunded by the production company and a big event/party may have occurred for participants. You don't think it is odd that no one called the police? That a soldier just hands over 35,000 baht just like that. And who carries a gun and never points it if they mean it?

There is no question in my mind that this was a scripted segment set up. Not all the lines but maybe "hey do you soldiers want to have some fun and get on television"? This hardly sounds like a payoff but a very probable way of getting actors. I think it will come out soon enough.

I also note a few "new posters" on this board who seem to be pumping the show.

But the Police DID arrive, however that segment was not included in the program for reasons that I am not willing to explain here and for reasons that may mean my post may have to be deleted if I told you what happened next.....figure this one out for yourselves...sorry!

Okay then explain to me the following:

1) how did the camera crew wind up filming this "altercation" as it developed? They were there in the early stages. Why would anyone threatening a falang allow a group of falangs to walk around unattended to such as this camera crew did? Why would anyone in their right mind allow a real event that is incriminating to be filmed? Are we to believe JJ is this dumb or is he merely participating in an act on camera?

2) how did he get a message sent to his marine buddies without any objection from the "gun toting" Thai

3) how come the rifle was never aimed or pointed and then simply not even used later on?

4) where were the police?

5) why would the tapes not be confiscated by the Thais?

and a few more things but let's see how you respond to these. As mentioned I have friends in the biz and there is no such thing as "reality" programming unless it's a live news crew on an event. Everyone is coached or it is scripted and many times with paid actors.

[sanook2me]

That Misha girl is a bit of alright...wonder why they decided to film her

Boyfriend what a donut...he laughs when they are inside the jail and says they were his drugs.....

Interesting to see what happens to her and hopefully she has dumped him in real life....

[SlackJawChef]

That JJ (the crooked jet ski Renter) Just got arrested ... on Thai News this morning..

Guess this show might be good for Thailand after all ... shame the cops into doing there job...

S.J.C

Edited September 11, 2009 by SlackJawChef

[markm]

Yep, JJ's arrested...

Guess his FIL not gonna be able to help him much now.

[LivinLOS]

didnt see this thread.. Been posting in the Phuket forum one.. Copy a few over.

The current arrest, persecution, and probable prosecution, of 'JJ' is just a continuation of the face saving farce.

The reality is theres an army of Jetski Jimmys, Tuktuk Tommys, Mocy Mickeys and most importantly Police Peters, all more or less guilty of exactly the same thing. Its not about one person, its a whole system, routinely backed up by the police acting as paid enforcers. This results in a system that locals, with local connections, can do as they please due to the fact that there are very few registered locals, who can vote for the Mayor of Patong, and other positions of influence. So to keep those families happy a system of patronage exists allowing beach road to be clogged with bike rentals, Jetski gangs, and parked tuktuks. The fact is the Thai police, and all of asian society, does not exist on the basis that 'all men are equal' it exists within a framework of superior and subordinate, with patronage and corruption controlling who is guilty and who must pay not the evidence of guilt or not.

Rather than actually solve the problem, rather than enforce laws equally, rather than confront the fact that the police themselves financially benefit day in day out from these scams, they will just send Jimmy to the monkey house for a bit and claim they did their duty. Thailand needs to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask what is it JJ did that other Thais do not do day in day out on Patong beach yet thats considered perfectly acceptable. Try parking in front of Jungceylon on the public road, or on beach road in the public spaces divided up into petty gangs little turfs and fifedoms. Making one JJ a scapegoat and going back to business tomorrow is not solving the problem, its continueing the problem. If Phuket wants to save its rapidly deteriorating image it needs to start acting like a modern society, with rules for all people enforced equally, not those that suit it, when it wants.

[LivinLOS]

Just look at the sections of town that pay the police.. The gogo touts, the illegal nepalese / bumese tailor touts, the jetskis, the tuk tuks, the mocy, the beach road bike rentors, etc etc etc. They ALL pay protection to the police so they can act like this with impunity to the tourists.

Thailand suddenly acts like it wants to clean up its image but does it really ?? Does it want it enough to actually do anything to control these elements ?? Would the police ever put the tourists interests in the way of their private profit engines ?? No I doubt it. They wont even stop things as simple as protected animal photographs so tackling these things while the chief of police builds a new house is highly unlikely.

Phuket wants to preserve its image when the cameras are rolling.. But ask 100 beach road workers if Jimmys done anything wrong and 99 of them would think what he did was a normal day at the office. Given the same situation they would do exactly what jimmy did and the police would help them to do it. This isnt about Jimmy its about the very way this town works.

Its not one thing.. Its everything.. It goes right down to the heart of 'Thailand is for the Thais' and the deep seated nationalism of the very anthem, they are taught from day 1 that it is their right to make as much by fair means or foul and if the buffalo tourists keep coming back in ever larger numbers then that is proof they can do no wrong and Thailand is the best country on earth.

[bonobo]

For those who believe that Thailand is indelibly locked into the cycle of corruption, just look at history in other places to see that this is not necessarily so.

To eliminate this type of systemic corruption, you need tow things, a will for change, and a reason for change.

I can point to two types of scenarios in the US to serve as an illustration for this.

In both Baltimore and San Diego, the harbor and downtown areas were crime-laden drug areas.  Yet both cities saw how little these areas contributed to the economies, and both cities took action to make the areas attractive to homeowners and small businesses.  As these small businesses became successful, more businesses came in and expanded the footprint of the "good" areas. Eventually, you had major, safe, and fun areas which have become huge tourist destinations, Baltimore's Inner harbor and San Diego's Gaslamp District.

The second method is more corporate.  For years, various mafias ran Las Vegas.  They worked hand-in-hand with the police as well as with Hollywood stars.  Las Vegas was for die-hard gamblers, not for families.  Well, corporate American saw the potential for profits, and they came in guns ablazing.  They realized that the sleazey image was not conducive to profits, so they got their people elected, cleaned up the police, and pushed the mafias out of town.  There is no way a two-bit mafioso could compete with the multi-billion dollar corporations.  These corporations realize that a happy family who is not bothered by crime and faced with sleaze (well, not counting the "acceptable" shows and advertising) and are having a good time will not only spend more, but will be back.

If the resorts and other businesses in Phuket begin to feel that they adverse press the area is receiving is serious and if it will really begin to affect the bottom line, well, then you might see a real and effective clean-up of this type of detrimental behavior.  

[edgarfriendly]

im kinda surprised the 'farang' didnt get locked up for being involved in scams....

im also surprised that JJ couldnt buy hos way outta that, too hi profile i guess, perfect scapegoat. HE DID EVERYTHING!!!

and how about the well trained marine eh? Pussy!!!

as soon as i saw that gun, JJ woulda been spark out. before he could point it anywhere.

or i might just be lying.

ef

[StateSix]

My views after seeing it :

1) The JJ/Marine scene didn't seem real. As others have said, why are they in his backyard and not on the beach? Where did the soldier get the money fom? The MP and JJ shouting at each other, negotiating and then shaking hand seemed staged to me. Who's daft enough to pull a gun on someone on camera?

2) The girl with the pot claiming that in the UK you get 3 strikes?? What's that about? Liked the embassy guy making his subtle hints on how to get out quicker.

3) The drunk Aussie guy. I liked the way that Howard dealt with that. Kept calm despite the abuse, as the guy was just upset. Getting aggressive back would have just inflamed the situation. Udonfarang52 should take note on how to deal with hostile people without getting aggressive back.

4) The drugs find. Why would a tourist report it to the police? Assuming he was just a good citizen, it is hardly the best idea to take him back to the scene to be potentially identified as the informant as it could put him in danger. Not very professional in my opinion. Not quite sure why the dealer disappeared and left his stash behind either.

I thought the idea of the volunteers was to support the Tourist police and help tourists, acting as a link between the two - something I think is a good idea. They get a lot of stick on here from people claiming they are on a powertrip etc, and this show could have helped dispel some of these myths. The problem was that there were shots from a low upward pointing camera angle with them walking with chests puffed out, making the appear aggressive.

When Howard was talking about the Aussie guy being abusive, he said something along the lines of 'I could have locked him up but....', when they have no statutory power of arrest.

The whole scene with the drug find gave the impression that only they were there, with the voiceover saying Howards team searched the cart and questioned other local vendors. I know Howard says that it was under the supervision of a real officer, but this wan't clear. My understanding is that drugs offences would come under the remit of the regular police, not even the Tourist police and certainly not the farang volunteers. In my view they should have been nowhere near that scene and it should have been dealt with by official police officers.

It could all be down to sensationalist editing by the TV crew, but Howard should be fully aware of how that works. There should be more scenes of them helping tourists and less of them performing what should be a regular officers role.

I will be interested to see how the other episodes develop.

[katyb]

Did anybody notice the apparent dire and disgusting conditions in the (think it was Phuket?) prison where the Welsh guy was serving his sentence!? Hilarious. Looked like a brand spanking new prison to me......better than some hostels I've stayed in!

And the loo!!!! Well, having to pee and shower in the same area, how utterly barbaric! Welcome to Thailand my love......it's called a wet room. I have to pee and shower in the same area also in MY BUNGALOW!!! My shower is directly over the loo...... I have to be careful not to bash my legs on the pedestal whilst showering. It's such a hard life, I don't know how I manage! (Admittedly, I don't have to share my loo with a bunch of drug dealers.........but then I'm not a drug dealer.)

It also looked pretty clean to me. Ok it was a squat loo...but we all have to do that, we're in Asia. I'm sure we've all experienced far more horrific squat loos than that one. Compared the one I had to squat on on my visa run last week, it was positively luxurious!

Hilarious stuff! Carefully handcrafted for the "reality TV" loving British viewing public. They just can't get enough of it. Last time I was back in UK I was baffled by the number of rubbish series like this one showing on UK TV, normally focusing on specific areas eg large UK city centres on a Saturday night or resorts in Spain where the creme de la creme of the great unwashed holiday. All showing the same disgusting behaviour of Brits on a night out and how the heroic police / bouncers / holiday reps had to deal with it all in their most magnanimous manner. I am so proud to be English... brings a lump to my throat. And here we now have our very own version focusing on Thailand. Hoorah! Presumably the production companies must have exhausted Magaluf and Birmingham and are targeting further afield.

To conclude, this representation is not the Thailand I live in. In my opinion, I choose the level on which I live on in this country.... and it doesn't look anything like that one. In a very similar way to how a night out in Birmingham for me, does not look anything like the ones I have seen on 'reality TV'.

Can't wait for next week. Not.

[justinnsamui]

Just saw on Thai TV the jetski guy being taken to the police station in handcuffs, not sure what it was all about. This series could create a bit of a stir.

It was available for download on 09.09.09.

[GungaDin]

Gavin Hill's response. Producer / Director.

Do not copy and paste the article as it is subject to copyright.

[losworld]

Gavin Hill's response. Producer / Director.

Do not copy and paste the article as it is subject to copyright.

Well if this link doesn't tell one it is staged than I don't know what does. The producer talks about meeting JJ and following him around and JJ helping out with the production. He states he did not pay him. Well in most cases they do not pay but they entice them with the glory of being on tv, free drinks, afterparty, etc. And what producer/director would not put a few thoughts into the minds of their players as to what they are looking forward to seeing while spending time with them?

I do think Gavin gave an informative interview but was it motivated by providing info or responding to claims the scene may be fake.

I'm not saying that this type of extortion doesn't exist but I am saying that this scene was certainly planned to an extent and definitely coached.

Edited September 11, 2009 by losworld

[GungaDin]

^^^ Methinks that you are clutching at straws now.

[JetsetBkk]

<snip>

"I'm just a business man"

<snip>

He's clearly seen the film "The Beach".

[aussiechick]

Doesn't anyone remember the story done by Australia 60 minutes in Pattaya a few years back? They had paid the bar girls to let the bar customers (also paid) do whatever at the bar so it could be filmed as "this is really what goes on here". The reporter quit over it.

[Heng]

Is it too late to assist by posting bond for "Colombian teen tourist Misha?"

[DanneS]

Gangsters and corrupt officers take Thailand back to stone age....Asians Colombia!

And do never rent a jeetski ... If you missed Big Trouble in Thailand you can se all episode on You Tube BIG TROUBLE IN THAILAND

[cyb]

Is it too late to assist by posting bond for "Colombian teen tourist Misha?"

She was from cumbria in the northeast of england, not colombian.

[britmaveric]

Filmed back in June , so yes I dare say it would be too late. However I think things will end happy for Misha, not that she deserves it.

[Travel2003]

Is it too late to assist by posting bond for "Colombian teen tourist Misha?"

She was from cumbria in the northeast of england, not colombian.

I thought that was same same.

But Im not from Cumbria or Colombia, so I wouldnt know for sure.

yeah, I know, silly.

[Heng]

Cool, what a naughty sounding place to be from.

[cyb]

Cool, what a naughty sounding place to be from.

Could be if your into that sort of thing, It's full of sheep

[CrossBones]

That Misha girl is a bit of alright...wonder why they decided to film her

Boyfriend what a donut...he laughs when they are inside the jail and says they were his drugs.....

Interesting to see what happens to her and hopefully she has dumped him in real life....

Yeah what a &lt;deleted&gt; couldnt find 70k to bail his GF out. Probably could have paid 30. Shouldnt have allowed the film crew in... cant make bribes on TV!