"stay Away From Phuket" Says Sister In Law

[Nignoy]

dont want to get a racist tag , we were in phuket up until last thursday, no strangers to the in your face style of street trading , but this time wow what a difference, not many thai stall holders about , but lots of bad mannered and abusive non thai,s for lack of a better word , many of whom did not even speak thai ,in the area around our hotel the baumanburi, most of the traders were nepalese so my ghurkhali came in handy, but mrs nignoy and her sister who was on her first visit to thailand, were not to keen to go out on their own shopping, I think our next holiday will be in Bradford orBlackburn judging by phukets new culture the two towns should be empty

[simon43]

Seems quite a few posters here are confusing 'Patong' with 'Phuket'. Take time to get away from Patong and you can find another side of Phuket. I lived/worked in north Phuket for several years and I never experienced any problems with crime/muggings/robbings/ladyboys etc etc.

Simon

[LivinLOS]

Seems quite a few posters here are confusing 'Patong' with 'Phuket'. Take time to get away from Patong and you can find another side of Phuket. I lived/worked in north Phuket for several years and I never experienced any problems with crime/muggings/robbings/ladyboys etc etc.

Simon

Yes agreed.. Problem is you just have to drive to the bad parts to get some bread, a hospital, cinema, etc..

Rough with the smooth, Phuket is overdeveloping and sadly in danger of losing its charms.. But that very development is in part what is attracting the hordes and I have to admit, makes up a large part of what makes Thailand liveable for me.. Sure I dont like the crime, but I do like the good ADSL, ability to eat sushi or mex or good steak or etc..

if theres one thing that might finally push me away its the 'locals' cant tell a resident from a tourist, so we are all meat for the grinder in the same way. There is a point where my feelings of being a prey animal to the industry may get too much.

[sanook2me]

To be honest when I read all the doom and gloom in the local papers here and then analyze my own life in Thailand I think "I've rarely if ever seen any of that shit going down." Heard about it second hand sure. Seen it myself? About once in a blue moon.

Me too dude... A long time living here but have rarely seen all this bad stuff happening

I am fully aware that Thailand is not the peaceful utopia its billed to be but away from the high end touristy areas it is bloody peaceful for a law abiding farang..or it has been for me and all my farang friends..

Every cesspit tourist town in the World suffers the same problems so Pattaya and Phuket are not different to any other high crime high tourist town/cities.

But on my visits to both places and getting extremely smashed and enjoying all the delights available nothing evil bad has happened...

But i am always a little shocked when i read that Mr old German Helmut got bashed about the head and his gold chain was snatched by Thai motorbike thieves then i realise why this hasn't happened to me, i don't have big gold chains or neon lights on me saying....here for easy money...

Personally law abiding farang tourists (2 - 3 week millionaires) have nothing to worry about... unless you are doing a bit on the side then make sure your heart is up to it ;-)

I would go to Phuket no problem and wouldn't expect to have any issues just a nice holiday and that is what happened last time i was there... I'm not buying property, i'm not involved in businesses, i don't take drugs and i'm not straying from the wife...so what issues could i possibly have?

[sokal]

To be honest when I read all the doom and gloom in the local papers here and then analyze my own life in Thailand I think "I've rarely if ever seen any of that shit going down." Heard about it second hand sure. Seen it myself? About once in a blue moon.

Some people just find themselves in sh*t. I think it has something to do with what they look like.

The first time me and my friends went to Pattaya, we all went to beach road with some Chang and got drunk almost every night, we seen nothing eventful that I can really remember.

[LivinLOS]

To be honest when I read all the doom and gloom in the local papers here and then analyze my own life in Thailand I think "I've rarely if ever seen any of that shit going down." Heard about it second hand sure. Seen it myself? About once in a blue moon.

Some people just find themselves in sh*t. I think it has something to do with what they look like.

The first time me and my friends went to Pattaya, we all went to beach road with some Chang and got drunk almost every night, we seen nothing eventful that I can really remember.

Some people are just oblivious to their surroundings..

the Chang may partly explain.

[sokal]

To be honest when I read all the doom and gloom in the local papers here and then analyze my own life in Thailand I think "I've rarely if ever seen any of that shit going down." Heard about it second hand sure. Seen it myself? About once in a blue moon.

Some people just find themselves in sh*t. I think it has something to do with what they look like.

The first time me and my friends went to Pattaya, we all went to beach road with some Chang and got drunk almost every night, we seen nothing eventful that I can really remember.

Some people are just oblivious to their surroundings..

the Chang may partly explain.

Threads that warn people to stay away from certain areas are misleading. When you feel like a renegade walking through King Power duty free in Suvarnabhuni then you know people are getting carried away with their warnings.

[F1fanatic]

I will add that my wife's family lives in the south of Phuket, near the Aquarium. There are few farang around this area, and it is way more like the "real Thailand" compared to Patong. Most farang don't seem to travel much farther than their hotel and Patong beach.

I live in the South of Phuket and "near the aquarium' is the same as anywhere else on Phuket - LOTS of farang, only ex-pats instead of tourists!

Be honest, anywhere you go on Phuket there are hordes of farang - I'm not complaining as I'm one of the 'hordes', but trying to pretend otherwise is downright misleading.

Wouldn't this post be better in the Phuket forum?

[Ulysses G.]

I will add that my wife's family lives in the south of Phuket, near the Aquarium. There are few farang around this area, and it is way more like the "real Thailand" compared to Patong. Most farang don't seem to travel much farther than their hotel and Patong beach.

I live in the South of Phuket and "near the aquarium' is the same as anywhere else on Phuket - LOTS of farang, only ex-pats instead of tourists!

Be honest, anywhere you go on Phuket there are hordes of farang - I'm not complaining as I'm one of the 'hordes', but trying to pretend otherwise is downright misleading.

You are certainly ruining cognos's delusions of being some kind an "old hand" because he does not live in the Holiday Inn Patong!

[bonobo]

Wouldn't this post be better in the Phuket forum?

Good point.

//Moved//

[ESB7]

Today the wife's sister said to her.." you two should stay in Canada, so many problem here in Phuket..yellow, red, many murders.. etc.." Personally I don't care, and would go back tomorrow, but have to wait a while. Sure enough, checking Thai visa, there sure are a lot of murders going on in Phuket these days..tourists on Bangla Road, a landlord kills 2 tenants and wounds one in Chalong area..etc.. Personally I like going to Bangla road, but keep the visits down to ONCE each 2 or 3 month trip, and I go with a buddy who works in the Thai immigration police.Question..Is it getting worse for murders generally in LOS and specifically Phuket, or is this just a blip???

I would maitain that Thailand is still one of the safest countries in the world to visit. Gun crime is almost 100% Thai-Thai. A lot of doomsdayers on this website that overeact. Visit as normal and you will enjoy.

[tmd5855]

Been living in Pattaya 5+years. Had conversations with people on the subject of drugs in Pattaya and elsewhere in the Kingdom.

But...............Never been offered any drugs at all. Yet I go down many soi's and GoGo bars.

Maybe it is how you look, act and the company you keep that attracts pushers to you

[LivinLOS]

I would maitain that Thailand is still one of the safest countries in the world to visit. Gun crime is almost 100% Thai-Thai. A lot of doomsdayers on this website that overeact. Visit as normal and you will enjoy.

People always make these kind of posts based entirely on perception and not stats.

Thailand is the number 1 dangerous tourist destination (for Brits as a source of stats) globally.

[HDRIDER]

To be honest when I read all the doom and gloom in the local papers here and then analyze my own life in Thailand I think "I've rarely if ever seen any of that shit going down." Heard about it second hand sure. Seen it myself? About once in a blue moon.

Hi

I have seen a lot going on, believe it or not BUT i do understand if you have ever seen anything like it if you live in Khon Kaen

[WOOHOO]

I would maitain that Thailand is still one of the safest countries in the world to visit. Gun crime is almost 100% Thai-Thai. A lot of doomsdayers on this website that overeact. Visit as normal and you will enjoy.

People always make these kind of posts based entirely on perception and not stats.

Thailand is the number 1 dangerous tourist destination (for Brits as a source of stats) globally.

I would say believing in stats is a sure fire way to get your information wrong. Stats are always manipulated to benefit whoever happens to be using them. Certain people attract trouble, and those kind of people don't normally go to Tuscany or the Caribbean on holiday. They got to Thailand, and the Costa's. The law of averages says that those places will be the most dangerous simply because of the numbers and the type of people concerned. If you live a quiet, family life, and live outside Patong then you can easily go years without seeing a single incident. If you live in Patong, go out drinking every night, you will probably see something every night. Simply comes down to the law of averages.

[losworld]

Today the wife's sister said to her.." you two should stay in Canada, so many problem here in Phuket..yellow, red, many murders.. etc.." Personally I don't care, and would go back tomorrow, but have to wait a while. Sure enough, checking Thai visa, there sure are a lot of murders going on in Phuket these days..tourists on Bangla Road, a landlord kills 2 tenants and wounds one in Chalong area..etc.. Personally I like going to Bangla road, but keep the visits down to ONCE each 2 or 3 month trip, and I go with a buddy who works in the Thai immigration police.Question..Is it getting worse for murders generally in LOS and specifically Phuket, or is this just a blip???

Do you think its any better in Canada ? Vancouver is second only to Miami in North America for property crime. This is just BS, everyone thinks its getting worse everywhere. If you mind your own business and hang around with decent people then you will be ok anywhere.

The post has nothing to do with Canada or any other foreign country........this type of response is really getting old. The question is about safety issues in a "vacation spot in Thailand."

I dodge less stray bullets in Bangkok then I do in Vancouver so I guess what I am saying is that there is not a safety issue in my vacation spot.

Vancouver is pretty safe unless you venture down Hastings or another run down area. As per Patts and other areas of Tland of course you will encounter undesirables when frequenting undesirable areas and coupled with an economic depression this should not be surprising. Personally I have traveled many parts of Tland during many late hours and never encountered any problems nor seen much unsavory activity besides many a tourist with far too many drinks in the belly.

[classix]

Many farang living here try to dissuade others from coming. Not sure why exactly. Many seem to like the idea of being the only white face in the crowd.

Beachchair prices climb and the slim girls nomore avaible .Anything else still fantastic look north of the island same kata or naiharn 10 years ago.Affordable,nature not to many beachchairs i would forbid them ugly plastic before the tsunami the wooden ones more nicely.I think Phuket is still sexy .Tourists come.