Samui is more like Sicily with all the gangsters controlling the real estate, hotels, bars etc...but i still feel safe there.

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"gangsters" "guns" mafia-style control" ??????

i have worked in bars here now for 3 years and had my own bar for nearly 18 months , and can honestly say that i have never seen a gun (except the police) have never been asked for 'protection' money , have never felt threatend in any way whatsoever!

there are the few instances of violence and shootings between thais but very rarely do these spill over to include falangs.

it is infinately safer to live here than pattaya or phuket or bangkok!!

i'm sure these stories are made up by people who have nothing better to do...LOLOL

Wait until you are successfull Pompeynick, i mean to a point where your direct competitors notice less customers and lower income.

That is where the fun begins. Do you have your workpermit in order, that's where they strike first. Seen it happen very close hand and escaped it myself.

Wait until you are successfull Pompeynick, i mean to a point where your direct competitors notice less customers and lower income.

That is where the fun begins. Do you have your workpermit in order, that's where they strike first. Seen it happen very close hand and escaped it myself.

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This isn't specific to Thailand, goes for many places, especially developing countries. Best way is to conduct business legally, soon as you start breaking rules, people want paying off. It also seems that most people that get themselves in trouble here keep dubious company, hang around with low level scum bag mafia, or do business with locals and your asking for trouble.

As for guns there's f#cking loads in Samui, just the same as the rest of thailand. But fortunatley as Nick stated it very rarely effects farangs, it's normally thai on Thai drunken bullshit. Guns, whiskey and loss of face are a dangerous combination. I think you'll find far more killings over a drunken row, than premeditated murder of business rivals. Got no figures to back this up, just what I know from most of the shootings and the locations where they happen.

If people left their guns at home whilst out drinking, many lives could be saved.

BTW

This is a Samui section of the forum, seems the majority of people just wanna bash samui as much as possible, in my opinion it's a great island, and you have to look further than just chaweng and Lamai. There's something for most people here, you just need to head out into the nice areas, and stay away from the madness.

There's some great food to be had, several nice quiet beaches in the north, the marine park, Koh Tao, much more in the local vacinity to do than stay in the tourist traps of chaweng and Lamai.

Bo Phut fishing village is very nice, and if anyone wants to know a superb seafood restaurant, try hua Thanon Seafood, it's defo one of the best on the island, and little known except by the locals.

This class thing, and dressing in a certain way really depends where you hang around, and who you hang with. The only fasion that seems to be followed pretty closley here is the dodgy shirts and slacks worn by 'property developers'.

As I said before, hang around in crummy bars, expect to meet fools. Go to the nicer bars and restaurants, and i'm sure you can meet some nice people.

Away from the madness that is central chawneg, there are some very nice places, you just gotta find them or be shown.

Definatley agree with Pompey Nick that patters is more dangerous than samui, just read the pattaya city news, death doom and gloom a daily occurance. Here a farang death is pretty rare except in the many tragic motorbike accidents.

Never heard of farang suicide's here eigher which seem a weekly occurance in Pattaya. Not saying they havn't happened here, probobally they have, i just havn't heard of any.

Wombles, couldn't agree with you more. If for some reason people come here & things don't work out for them,no need to get an obsession baging the place.

Also goes to show you by their statements ,that their failure to make it here , is blamed on everything & everyone else.

Let us enjoy it anyway , the less of them here the better.

Personally I'm not enamoured with some of the developments on Samui.

Seems there is little of the 'real' Samui left, with so much being given over to commercial development.

Happily, there are still some amazing spots to enjoy.

Bo Phut fishing village is very nice, and if anyone wants to know a superb seafood restaurant, try hua Thanon Seafood, it's defo one of the best on the island, and little known except by the locals.

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................................................. and the coach loads of foriegners that get ferried there at weekends.

Definatley agree with Pompey Nick that patters is more dangerous than samui, just read the pattaya city news, death doom and gloom a daily occurance.  Here a farang death is pretty rare except in the many tragic motorbike accidents. 

Never heard of farang suicide's here eigher which seem a weekly occurance in Pattaya.  Not saying they havn't happened here, probobally they have, i just havn't heard of any.

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And you think the news papers are a good yard stick in Thailand.

always a laugh to read over a beer.

Have a nice day

Definatley agree with Pompey Nick that patters is more dangerous than samui, just read the pattaya city news, death doom and gloom a daily occurance.  Here a farang death is pretty rare except in the many tragic motorbike accidents. 

Never heard of farang suicide's here eigher which seem a weekly occurance in Pattaya.  Not saying they havn't happened here, probobally they have, i just havn't heard of any.

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And you think the news papers are a good yard stick in Thailand.

always a laugh to read over a beer.

Have a nice day

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Being a small Island, when Farang deaths or even accidents occur, news gets around very quickly. I'm not using Thai newspapers as a yardstick, but when a grisly photo of another farang death greats you on an almost daily occurance, it kinda says something. Sure most of the news in Thai papers is tripe, but a pic or report of a farang death is unlikley to be false. However the circumstances surrounding the death may well be suspect. The sheer number of Deaths and pics of deaths reported in PCN lead me to belive that the death rate for farangs is far higher than any other area of the country.

I'm basing this purely on what I have seen and heard, no statistics. I should imagine if motor bike accident deaths were taken out of the equation, the death rate for foriegners in Patters compared to Samui would be even higher.