Bangkok's Riskiest Areas

[metro33777]

To the people who have said they've been here twenty years and they know its much worse here than back west.

Don't forget this means you've been out of Europe/ US for twenty years. ALOT has changed in your absence!!!

London press also don't report the violent crime unless it's a particually gruesome murder or it's yet another high school kid been stabbed over a classroom fallout.

When you get 'happy slapped' by a bunch of 14 year olds on your way to work one morning or get stabbed for telling a kid to stop throwing chips at your girlfriend, you may change your mind.

I'm not saying it's all sweetness and roses here, but there is alot less incidents involving pointless violence here than in a city like London. If you don't agree have stroll around New Cross at midnight next time your in London and compare it to any of the soi's mentioned on this report.

Wonderful reply. I could not of said it better.

[metro33777]

Bangkok's still about 1,000,000 times safer than most big cities in the western world.

I agree. I always feel safer in any area of Thailand compaired to the USA. True every place in the world has it's problems but Thailand always seems different.

In order to make such comments you have to look at statistics from reliable sources and then quote them in your postings, one's own private opinion is of little value when it comes to estimating crime in a major city like BKK.

Not true my friend as statistics change from day to day. I am not commenting on my opinion but i am relying on my own experiences. And that will always guide me on my feelings of my safety. And that is 100% more reliable than any of your " statistics ".

[mike404045]

an area i stayed in was full of drugs and drug related crimes. in the 16 months that i stayed in the area, a man in an appartment next to me killed a child, another guy killed his girlfriend and kept here for days.. ive seen wiloons in gang fights, ive heard gun shots one time, everyday and night i see people selling drugs, right next to the appartment i was staying in there was an area where wiloons use to wait and pick up drugs openly.

i mean the place was just F**ked mate.. im so glad i dont live there anymore!

that said, there are other places in bangkok that ive stayed in and have never heard or seen anything dangerous..

[steffi]

an area i stayed in was full of drugs and drug related crimes. in the 16 months that i stayed in the area, a man in an appartment next to me killed a child, another guy killed his girlfriend and kept here for days.. ive seen wiloons in gang fights, ive heard gun shots one time, everyday and night i see people selling drugs, right next to the appartment i was staying in there was an area where wiloons use to wait and pick up drugs openly.

i mean the place was just F**ked mate.. im so glad i dont live there anymore!

that said, there are other places in bangkok that ive stayed in and have never heard or seen anything dangerous..

Could have sworn I woke up this morning and saw Here's the list? Is it available?

[katastrophic]

I have been visiting Thailand for some years now, but I have never been to Bangkok. This current topic is of some interest to me as I intend to visit Bangkok on my next trip (late December). I note that a few contributers have cited Bangkok as a safer city than many major cities around the world without any concrete evidence. I thought this would be worth a Google and I found a list of the 50 safest cities in the world. Unfortunately, Bangkok was not on the list.

You can check it out here:

http://best-city-reviews.com/index.php/200...ld-mercer-2008/

[shotover]

Surprised that the Klong Toei slum area did not rate a mention, though there are many neighborhoods like these in Bangkok.

Maybe the Thai police don't venture into this area.

[balo]

The only thing I fear when I'm in Bangkok is the police.

Most locals are nice , if you stay away from trouble nothing will happen.

[Credo]

I work in an outer area of BKK, not listed in the main risk areas. We employ approximately 150 Thai staff and around 70 foreigners. About 20% own cars and drive regularly about 40% own motorcycles. About 40% are married to a local. In the past two years, we have had one violent mugging in which the person was hit on the head with a brick and robbed (of an empty bag). He spent weeks in hospital and months recovering (foreigner). We've had two rapes and they were both drug off the street walking home (both Thai). We've had two (spouses) robbed while on their way to the bank on pay day and 2 bag snatching that I know of. There has been one motorcycle theft. We've had two others hospitalized very briefly for beatings as a result of attempted thefts (both were Thai females--spouses).

There have been some minor incidences of pickpocketing--but not sure if it was real or the person simply lost their wallet. There are a handful of people who have never encountered police corruption, but most have.

So is the area safe or not? I really don't know, but that's what's happened.

Most crimes aren't report to the police.

[webfact]

This topic is not about King Power

off-topic post deleted

[rorr]

Thailand sure has it's problems, but the US has become such a police state

Give me US cops any day over the BIB...At least they will do something in the US if you call them or indeed need assistance.

Give me the US cops, too.. BUT, most cities in the US have places/zones/neighborhoods where it is just plain dangerous to go. You are more likely, in my personal opinion, to lose your life by being in the wrong place in most US cities than you are in Bangkok.

[mrtoad]

Where's Soi Supapong?

Off Lad Prao Soi 35

runs N-s near Dimond Place rachada in Khet chatuchak

I think you will find you are mistaken, Soi Supapong is near Seacon Square and a very busy little area it is to. As for Lad Prao 35 I have a house in 33 and 35 is nowhere near Diamond Place.

As for safety in Bangkok these lists actually are counter-productive in that they give people a false sense of security if they are in other areas that are not mentioned. It's a pretty basic rule of thumb that people should not put themsleves in risky situations. Would you walk down an unlit street in your home city with a wallet full of cash, and maybve some expensive jewelery? Would you leave your door open to your house, as you pop down the shop?

It is all about common sense and evaluating risk, I'm not saying that I do a risk assessment on my jaunts out into Bangkok, Udon or Kanchanaburi but I am certainly would not put myself in a situation or a location which could leave me exposed or unsafe. The thing is that Thailand makes people "feel" safe, when really it is probably statistically unsafer than a lot of Franag's home cities.

I'd just say that people need to be aware that there are risks where ever you may be.

[thanapach]

i always thought that the biggest crime area,s in bangkok were in the police stations, but then again maybe i have been misguided by all the backhanders i have given out to the boys in brown over the last 4 years

[loganberry]

Thailand sure has it's problems, but the US has become such a police state

Give me US cops any day over the BIB...At least they will do something in the US if you call them or indeed need assistance.

You couldn't have put that any better. I remember the cops would be at our house in less than 10 minutes for absolutely anything: Annoying dogs/kids on the street, cars parked in front of our house or blocking our cars in, vandalist little brats, family matters, etc. Call them petty and a waste of time, but we lived in a nice town and paid a good chunk in taxes... so we used every penny of it! lol.

[Hanuman2547]

I live in La Salle (Lasarn, Suk 105), have done for two years, the Bangkok Pattana International school is in the same Soi.

Does this mean that Bangkok Pattana is the "hotbed" of crime in the city???

[Hanuman2547]

Bangkok's still about 1,000,000 times safer than most big cities in the western world.

Oh really. Please quote your source or is that just your own possibly naive perception of BKK?

That's my own naive perception I constructed after living here for a decade, and having lived in enough other big cities to naively believe that I can perceive a difference.

I agree that Bangkok is much safer than almost any large city in the USA.

That's my own, non-scientific assessment after having lived more than 10+ years in each country.

[jitenshaman]

On Nut. What do you folks that live or travel by there think? Say from Tesco on out... I think it looks like a possible main road for crime because the footpath is narrow (on either side of road) and there are no quick breakaways from there as there tend to be walls from one block to the next, it is pretty dark at night and there are also a lot of obstacles such as concrete poles and telephone booths making the place even more crowded. Walking out in the street isn't possible as it's also narrow and busy with cars transiting through. Footpaths are really bumpy and poorly shaped making a run difficult. Any experience?

i am also surprised not to see Klong Toey mentioned. I live just off of Suk Soi 50, On Nut BTS...for the most part, it seems that even late at night, there are always people about, a few food stalls etc open, so not the exact lone dark environment to pull off a crime. It might not be Tokyo, but I do feel far safer living in Bangkok then in the west for just crime in general, not to mention that wherever I have lived here (always in 99% Thai neighborhoods), i have heard little domestic violence, gunshots, or stories of robbery (not that they don't occur, but just not so prevalent as i have seen in some major US cities).....honestly, the only place in Bangkok where i ever watch my pocket and back and make sure not to get into any kind of arguments or scenes is in the heart of the beast, between Sukhumvit Soi 4 and 11.

[clausewitz]

Thailands murder rate is very low, they are only ranked 14th in the world.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_...ders-per-capita

[Credo]

14th--very low? Seems rather high to me.

[alyx]

i always thought that the biggest crime area,s in bangkok were in the police stations, but then again maybe i have been misguided by all the backhanders i have given out to the boys in brown over the last 4 years

Easy one but

[microslack]

Did they forget to mention the airport because after reading all the posts on it I would have thought it must be up there

[termad]

Bangkok's still about 1,000,000 times safer than most big cities in the western world.

Oh really. Please quote your source or is that just your own possibly naive perception of BKK?

That's my own naive perception I constructed after living here for a decade, and having lived in enough other big cities to naively believe that I can perceive a difference.

I agree that Bangkok is much safer than almost any large city in the USA.

That's my own, non-scientific assessment after having lived more than 10+ years in each country.

I think it's a matter of whether your Thai or Farang the baddies know that they will bring a lot more heat down on themselves if a Farang is involved.

[harry8292]

The riskiest area at night has to be hua lampong. I had my phone stolen and they nearly took my money but i gripped on to it |(despite being punched it the face) so tighted they gave up.

Edited December 3, 2009 by harry8292

[tracer]

I live in Phuket, but I normally don't go out in the evening and at night, and main reason is simple:

To many idiots drive a motor bike who shouldn't be on one...

Same goes for motorcars as I distinctly remember how several of my friends passed their exams...

Many other reasons play a roll but after the last motorbike accident where a double length truck with hanger kicked me off the road... OK, leaving this aside, I traveled extensively by foot, car etc around the world for work and IF you know what you are doing, which likely many tourists DON'T, you will encounter very few problems. A simple recommendation is a list which was maintained for travelers on something the USA embassy issued and likely has on the internet. I never looked for it and the best way is to look what they say about your OWN country.... Your town..

I was surprised about what silly things can happen if people don't know the places they go to and will likely never happen to them if they live in the middle of the most dangerous place...

Your should never ever do certain things, but as I mentioned earlier, I found I had too many accidents so I donot drive at night.

Reason is simple, other guys drive stupid BUT I get older , slower and I see little at night.

Best way to describe that was with an accident I had in the army years ago: I walked into the dirty place the cooks had dug to clean their plates etc.... And I was absolutely sober!!

Probably best explained by that I was wearing special clothing keeping water etc out and I got out of that bloody pit before I even got wet!!

You go somewhere, talk to locals, friends etc and yes even those in a bar can be useful. Just donot believe all the bad stories. After about 26 years in Thailand, in many places but mostly in Phuket, I have seen and heard about stupid things, but mostly