2009: Lest We Forget

[MEGALITHIC]

2009: LEST WE FORGET.

30.12.2009: PHUKET. A 17-year-old student of the British International School died from an accidental electrocution on Christmas Day.

29.12.2009: PHUKET. Phuket police are hunting for a violent tuk-tuk driver who attacked a French family on Saturday with the shaft of a beach umbrella.

One of the victim's arms was broken in the attack and another suffered severe injuries.

28.12.2009: KOH PHANGAN. Ariel Soriano, 22, dies in tragic accident when electric cable falls into swimming pool at party in Koh Phangan resort.

22.12.2009: PATTAYA. A German tourist was killed by a speeding pickup while he was crossing a road in this seaside town early Tuesday, police said.

17.11.2009: PATTAYA. A British tourist in Thailand had been raped after being dragged off the street by two men.

09.09.2009: BANGKOK. A special security team at Suvarnabhumi airport has arrested 750 unlicensed taxi and limousine drivers and 405 illegal tour guides in the space of just one month, officials say.

06.09.2009: BANGKOK. Despite the government's recent campaign to keep the international gateway to Thailand clear of thugs and cheats, it seems to be business as usual for illegal taxi operators and tour guides at Suvarnabhumi airport.

26.08.2009: BANGKOK. Thailand is deadliest holiday destination for Britons. British tourists are more likely to be killed in Thailand than any other destination, according to new figures released today. Motorbike accidents are the main reason why 269 Britons died there last year, according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

21.08.2009: CHONBURI: -- The torn-apart body of a German engineer was found in rubber plantation in Banglamung district here Friday morning, police said.

04.08.2009: KOH SAMUI. A Bangkok Airways plane caught fire Tuesday afternoon after it skidded out of and crashed into the Control Tower building while landing at its Samui Airport Tuesday afternoon

31.07.2009: BANGKOK. Airports of Thailand Plc is stepping up security to curb thefts from passenger baggage at Suvarnabhumi airport.

26.07.2009: BANGKOK. Thailand Elite Program in tatters.

21.07.2009: PATONG. Tourists ran for their lives when a gunfight erupted between two gangs on the Patong beachfront today. One man was killed and three injured in the Patong shootout.

20.07.2009: BANGKOK. King Power extortion scams at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

10.07.2009: PATTAYA. A British boy was found dead under a whirlpool at the Pattaya Park yesterday. It remains unclear how Naytin Clark, 14, got stuck in the engine room.

14.05.2009: A Belgian tourist was severely injured early Thursday when his Thai lady bit his male organ and almost severed it

07.05.2009: KRABI. Two foreign tourists have mysteriously died and two others are seriously ill from unknown causes after holidaying on Phi Phi Island.

05.05.2009: BANGKOK. 3 Thais killed, 1 Swedish woman injured (shot twice in the back) in shootings near Khao Sarn Road.

02.05.2009: KRABI. Police on Koh Phi Phi are trying to identify the remains of a foreign man whose body was found floating about 3 nautical miles off the Phi Phi Islands in Krabi.

23.03.2009: SATUN. British yachtsman, Malcolm Robertson, murdered off the coast of Thailand's Satun province

08.03.2009: PHUKET. 5 foreign tourists die when a scuba charter vessel capsizes, in rough seas, off Phuket.

19.02.2009: A Canadian real estate developer died on his birthday yesterday after he was riddled with bullets by two men on a motorcycle.

23.01.2009: CHIANG MAI -- A British music teacher has been brutally murdered in Thailand in what police described as a tribal ritual.

31.12.2008: BANGKOK. A British woman teacher is believed to be among the victims of a blaze that gutted a Bangkok nightclub last night, killing 59 and injuring at least 180 including a further four Britons.

[sabaijai]

What's your point, Megalithic?

[siggie2]

som nam na

same same everywhere

[MEGALITHIC]

som nam na

The spin of the marketing departments and the advertising of the glossy brochures doesn't relate to what's happening at ground level (perhaps these are the things that are supposed to be UNSEEN IN THAILAND). By the way, all of those stories were on thaivisa.com throughout the year, I've just condensed them into a year in review. Are your feathers ruffled?

[Rumblecat]

The spin of the marketing departments and the advertising of the glossy brochures doesn't relate to what's happening at ground level (perhaps these are the things that are supposed to be UNSEEN IN THAILAND).

You could easily do this for any nation in the world. I'd love you to point me in the direction of the Tourism Advertising for any country which highlights and focuses on crime and death. Surely the point of a 'glossy brochure' is to sell and image of a country...

[MEGALITHIC]

The spin of the marketing departments and the advertising of the glossy brochures doesn't relate to what's happening at ground level (perhaps these are the things that are supposed to be UNSEEN IN THAILAND).

You could easily do this for any nation in the world. I'd love you to point me in the direction of the Tourism Advertising for any country which highlights and focuses on crime and death. Surely the point of a 'glossy brochure' is to sell and image of a country...

You're partially correct but you should re qualify your answer to "any nation in the world - where the rule of law doesn't really apply". You see, in countries such as those in Europe, or Australia, where they also have glossy brochures, a tourists' safety and well being is never really in doubt. Not so in the land of Scams though is it.

You would think that a nation (Thailand) that earns somewhere in the vicinity of 6% (figure from Wikipedia) of it's GDP from tourism might actually want to try and ensure that the safety and well being, of such a large chunk of it's national income, is of the highest priority. But, looking at that list, it's just not the case is it. And let's be honest about this, that list could extend down through 2008, 2007, 2006, and so on. So what's my point? My point is that it's a scam, a hoax, a con; the poor old tourist is being sold a lemon and it's been going on for a while. hel_l, it starts even before they get out of the airport. Baggage theft at the airport; <deleted> is all that about. The rabble that's waiting as you walk out the doors into the exit area of the arrivals terminal, is a sight to behold; arriving at Changi is a breath of fresh in comparison.

Now before any of you "rose tinted glasses lot" jump in and tell me to piss off if things here aren't to my liking, I would add that I live here and, as such, I'm streetwise enough to avoid the kind of shit that the poor old tourist is subjected to. Example; arrive at airport, get bags, go up to departure hall and get metered taxi. Easy enough if you know what the situation is.

That list shows that things are not as amazing as the TAT, or whoever it is that dreams up the promotional spin, would try and convince us that they are. The poor old tourist deserves a lot better. THAILAND, you need to lift your bloody game substantially.

[londonthai]

you have an ambition to be a historian and a tourist quide - take them professionally, so far there are more swearing and opinions than facts

[mezzoninny]

No, Thailand doesn't "need to lift its bloody game substantially," because you don't realize that's the true extent of development of Thailand as a country. If you're saying Thailand should be a lot more ... uhm... legally structured just because Thailand does a glossy tourism campaign, you're the one who's been fooled by the campaign.

To live there and not comprehend this, means you're kinda living in a Farang bubble, doesn't it?

Also, living abroad for most of us is a deliberate decision. Most of us don't necessarily like certain aspects of Thailand, but we would not want to go live in Singapore or Malaysia even if it's a breath of fresh, and you wouldn't either. You've made your choice.

Lastly, being Asian, we often hear about tourist robberies in Italy or baggage theft in France. So there's no bargain anywhere.

Edited January 2, 2010 by mezzoninny

[Tingnongnoi]

you should try Heathrow or as it is also known Theifrow for baggage theft