High Season Dramas In Pattaya

[PattayaOneTeam]

Pete's Peregrinations

Pattaya's High Season Street Dramas

As a resident I hate Pattaya's high season, but as a columnist I love it, as incidents of street drama, cultural misunderstandings and public incidents go off the charts.

This high season, I have seen Russians walk off unscathed or financially untaxed from many situations where an English-speaker would have been floored or taken to the cleaners, whereas I have seen Arabs fined to death, amidst a lot of other high season drama.

One evening recently, at 6.45pm, I saw a Russian guy who had been stopped on a motorbike by a policeman on Beach Road.

The stopped motorbike was blocking traffic, the Russian was unable (or unwilling) to understand the policeman's hand gestures to take the bike to the side of the road, and began to move the bike himself, at which point the Russian got off it, moved towards the policeman and began aggressively squaring up to him.

I stayed to watch as a group of nearby motorcycle guys began to edge excitedly forward, presumably to attack the Russian if he hit the policeman.

I have a theory that Thais in one-on-one situations are actually scared of Russians, seeing them as macho, confrontational and uncompromising, and their lack of English language skills means that a satisfactory negotiated outcome cannot be certain from a Thai point of view, and even if it were, it is far from clear whether most Russians could afford to pay whatever swingeing penalty would be imposed.

So many Thais, in authority and general scammers, seem to back off in confrontations with Russians.

For example, there is a famous jet ski scam story, backed up with photographs on the internet, of a Russian woman and her boyfriend facing down the jet ski robbers on Pattaya Beach and walking away without paying anything.

Also witness the number of Russian women the subject of bag-snatching who fought back this high season, making the thieves' job difficult for them (but upping the levels of extreme violence needed to get a result).

I think Thais find Russians difficult to read, impossible to understand, unpredictable to risk-assess, and dangerous in a fight.

And so it proved this time, with the Russian on the motorbike, squaring up to the policeman. The policeman tried to make himself understood to the uncomprehending Russian, who towered over him, babbling in Russian and shaking his head, as the policeman tried (in Thai) to make the real or imagined case for writing the Russian a traffic ticket.

In the end, after much huffing and puffing on both sides, and a very “in your face” aggressive style of negotiation from the Russian, he was subsequently waved on his way, without a ticket.

The taxi guys looked gutted.

Further down the road, only minutes later, outside Royal Garden Plaza, I observed three Arab guys, two Thai women and two Thai police volunteers arguing on the pavement.

It transpired that one of the girls alleged one of the Arab guys touched her bottom as they walked past. She was quite upset, but the Arabs, all sporting bushy beards, were having none of it. The police seemed in a quandry as to what to do as there were no other witnesses, and one of the Arab guys was arguing their case in very articulate English.

In general, and in stark contrast to Russians, I think the police love having Arabs here. I have seen many motorbikes with Arab riders being pulled around town this high season, the riders loudly and with a sense of outrage protesting their innocence, only for the police to completely ignore them and issue a ticket anyway (rightly or wrongly, I don't know).

The fact that Arab motorbike riders are some of the most dangerous in the city might make the ticketing blitz a form of economic karma.

But I'm sure the police know the average polite, well-off, English-speaking Arab tourist is good for the money, as opposed to the hassles and uncertainties they may encounter in shaking down a more impecunious, threatening Russian. [more…]

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-- Pattaya One 2011-01-19

[thrilled]

I've been waiting for A russian to get in my face and strong arm me.I won't have it. I think their arogant and try and push people around to get their way.

[TCW]

I've been waiting for A russian to get in my face and strong arm me.I won't have it. I think their arogant and try and push people around to get their way.

From my visit last weekend, just go down Walking Street and you will get you your wish in about 2 minutes flat, and within every 25 paces after that!

[patrickinpattaya]

Agree with thrilled. My experience with russians has always been bad. They appear arrogant and rude. I recall getting into fisty cuffs with one a couple of years ago in royal garden. I walked in from beach road with the wife, I held the door for her who was one step behind me. The wife was halfway through the door when this great big russian walked straight through her as if she wasn't there. He trod on her foot, she was in agony. I saw red and walked straight into him, I'm 6'2 and 20 stone. He stumbled back into his girl friend which is when she started kicking off I assume she was instructed him to attack me or something like that. I think that russians are in someways similar to thais in the sence that neither like to "lose face" this russian came off worse than me in the first "round" and it was obvious he didn't want any more, but he gf kepts going on so he came at me again 4 times and not once did he get the better of me. Its the only fight I've had in thailand in the 8 years that I've been coming and I hope its the

[patrickinpattaya]

Last. I find that russians try to be confrontational like they want to show how macho they are and they tend to be worse in presence of women.

[TCW]

Last. I find that russians try to be confrontational like they want to show how macho they are and they tend to be worse in presence of women.

I have yet to see any actual trouble with drunken Russians in Pattaya but they do seem to be a different lot to the ones I see walking around in Bangkok. And they seem to drink more too, especially on Walking Street and Beach Road.

[patrickinpattaya]

I haven't seen any trouble from drunken russians either. I guess they can handle their drink better than us brits. All the trouble I've seen from them is when they've been sober in the company of their gf or with there mates. As I said before I think its a case of showing off the macho imagine. I found that when a russians had a few drinks he becomes less agressive than when he's sober. Unlike us brits especially those of the younger age, they're quiet until they've had a few beers then they think they can take on the world. Just my oppion of course.

I

[Tokay]

Thais are generally pansies one-on-one and will almost never fight a foreigner unless the sorry excuse for a Thai boy has the aid of other Thais around him. Even then, they will go for weapons if possible and use them against an unarmed foreigner.

However, when it comes to beating their women, they will raise to the occasion and show them what big tough men they are.

Darwin can't work fast enough to rid this world of this type of scum bag.

[patrickinpattaya]

Thais are generally pansies one-on-one and will almost never fight a foreigner unless the sorry excuse for a Thai boy has the aid of other Thais around him. Even then, they will go for weapons if possible and use them against an unarmed foreigner.

However, when it comes to beating their women, they will raise to the occasion and show them what big tough men they are.

Darwin can't work fast enough to rid this world of this type of scum bag.

Unfotunately this happens everywhere, the same in the UK, the times I've seen blokes knocking 7 bells out of there girlfriend in public (usually when they've had a few beers too many) the strange thing is that the women usually stay with them for whatever reason, your right they are scum and don't deserve a girlfriend. I've seen it where other people have tried to break it up by giving the man a hiding and the woman has suddenly started protecting her boyfriend that was moments before beating her.

In the UK its rare that 2 men with have a fight without their friends joining in. Thats one of the reasons I don't go out drinking in the city centre anymore, because its almost a guarentee that someone whos drunk thinks they can take on the world backed up by their equally drunk mates and its usually the biggest fella they start on.

I've never really seen this in Pattaya though, sure theres always going to be a few fights, men, beer and sexy women in the same place will always bring out the worst in people especially those that are insecure who need alcohol to "come out of there shell"