Khao San Road - Where girls hit over the head with bottles is...normal?

[NATWWAL]

This past June I visited Thailand for my third time with several of my brothers and we stayed on KhaoSan Road for several nights. I've always enjoyed the chaotic edginess of the street as a way to start off my trips to Thailand. I will not be returning though, after what I experienced this last visit. And yet...simply avoiding the place doesn't feel like enough.

Having spent the evening at The Club on KhaoSan Road, I walked out onto the street to watch as the revelers poured out at closing. My brothers left the Club earlier so I was lingering out of curiosity. I watched as the <deleted> and the kind hearted mingled on the street and interacted with the young girls selling flowers and the many female escorts. When I had taken in a few minutes, I walked onto the street myself and saw one of my brothers walking back form our hostel. Spirits were high and it was great to see my brother in a good mood. Then it all began.

I heard a bottle shatter behind me and spun around to see a Thai girl collapsing onto the pavement with blood streaming from her head. I approached as the foreigners and Thai crowd backed away from the scene. I quickly put together from the scene and comments from the crowd that one Thai girl had come up from behind and hit this girl not he head with a beer bottle. Then a Thai girl ran up through thte road and kicked the girl (laying on the street) in the head. No one stopped her, no one said anything but gasps of, "oh my god, she kicked her". Instinctively I stepped in and blocked the attacker from reaching the victim again. The attacked kept yelling, "she stole my money" which I interpreted to probably mean, "she stole a client from me". In any case my attention was focused on simply preventing the attacker from returning. While my back was turned, several people moved the girl to sit on the floor against a wall on the side of the street facing The Club's entrance. I located my brother and we both walked over to the victim. She was alone without anyone on the entire street paying attention. We started to check her as best we could for serious injuries. crouching next to her when another bottle crashed against the wall next to her head. The attacked had walked around behind several shop stalls and thrown another beer bottle at the victim. Next she rushed again at the victim. I stepped between them and blocked her. I grabbed her jean jacket for a moment and quickly released it when my mind recognized the danger it put me in. After I let go of her, my brother grabbed her jacket arm and said, "we need to call the police or something". In a flash, about 20 Thai guys rushed forward from all of over the street and started attacking him. My back was turned toward the girl again and by the time I heard the commotion and rushed over, my brother had cuts on his face and arms and was standing off to the side. Another foreigner was knocked out and his friends were picking him up and reviving him to consciousness. The Thais had attacked and then melted back into the crowd. Me and brother ran back to the victim and decided that one of us should try to get police or security while the other stayed and tried to protect the victim. My brother went to the police station, where they just laughed at him. I crouched near the girl with my back to the wall watching and waiting for the next attack. This was about as f*d up a situation as I could imagine being in. But what could I do? I kept myself as psyched up as possible and asked many of the people who had watched everything transpire to help me protect her for a few minutes or at least just hangout nearby for a while. Everyone looked at the girl and walked away. Some motioned "hush", some motioned to friends, "don't look, let's go" and no one stayed or offered to help. After a few minutes a young couple walked by and offered to help. They asked what we could do and the best I could come up with was to carry the victim off KhaoSan road and figure out what to do form there. One one end of KhaoSan Road there is a Public Security Office so I decided to make that our goal. I picked up the victim, and asked the couple to walk behind me and let me know if anyone approached from behind. I carried her bleeding in my arms to the PSO and sat her down one the curb. the whole time the victim kept repeating, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry". I walked in to the PSO very calmly and in a friendly manner to explain that a girl had ben hit with several bottles and was in need of medical attention. The girl was moved inside the PSO and the couple agreed to stay with her so that I could go out and see what had happened to my brother. I met him on Khaosan Road looking for me and we returned to the PSO. The police treated the whole situation as a joke. Eventually they put the victim into a taxi cab saying that the taxi would take her to a hospital. The couple and myself didn't believe it for an instant and they quickly jumped into the taxi cab with the victim and refused to get out. That taxi was full and started to drive away. Me and my brother jumped in the next taxi and tried to catch up but we never did. We got out of the taxi and spent the rest of the early morning hours staying off Khao San Road and waiting. Eventually we decided we had to return to the street to tell our brothers what had transpired and all get out as quickly as possible to avoid any further danger.

If you live in Thailand, I bet this story sounds like the typical naive western traveler sticking his nose into local affairs and then ranting about the consequences so I want to offer a little about myself. I grew up in Africa and moved in the U.S. in grade school. Went to UCLA and then USC for graduate, and work as a corporate CEO in Asia. I've lived in the third-world including Asia and had to deal with plenty of graft, gangs, prostitution, military, etc. so it's hard to shock me. But this experience did. Not because of the physicality of the events, but because I realized that I have a moral line, or a character line that I am compelled to walk even if it means risking my life and being laughed at in the process. If I am ever in a similar situation again, I know that I will intervene and put myself in danger. In the future when I consider visiting a location, I am going to have to take that into consideration. Travel alerts and risk assessments are meant to offer valuable guidance to help travelers avoid danger. It's only now that I realize the other half of the coin is to consider how prone a particular traveler is to intervene in a dangerous situation. Obviously for most people that pass through Khao San Road, their "tolerance level" is much higher than my own.

I wish there was a way for me to find and express my thanks to the brave couple that did stop to help her. I feel terrible that I wasn't able to be with them and see this through to the end. I worry about them and I hate the thought that they might think I abandoned them and the victim.

On a final note, I want to say that I love so much about Thailand and it's people. I've met great Thai people on each trip I've taken, and intend to continue to visit Thailand in the future. Khao San is not what Thailand is about. If you haven't been there and seen for ourself, I highly recommend you go...depending on who you are, might way to skip Khao San Road though.

[ava15]

I live closeby to khao san road, usually watch the football there.

Really, what do you expect with the mixture of aggressive tuk tuk louts loitering at both ends of the street, hundreds upon hundreds of young westerners and thais alike all absolutely drunk from cheap buckets, with the excitement of being on holiday and not caring about much, PLUS the countless prostitutes as the night goes on....I mean theres probably more reasons why this tale isnt surprising.

Ive seen a few westerners receive severe beatings with things such as chairs by waiting staff. Usually they forget where they are. Even though khao san feels like you're in some place like Magaluf or some other boozy holiday place, the staff and locals have their own values and ways of reacting to things.

Edited July 3, 2013 by ava15

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Violence is endemic among prostitutes, drug dealers and other types of criminals in every city in the world.

Best not to mix with them or involve yourself in their affairs.

Really not exclusively a Thai problem.

[disagree]

your way of writing already describes the lack of understanding the chaos ( that you seemed to enjoy so far? ). you describe it in black and white. a victim, and (an) attacker(s)

but what it really is, is an ecosystem. your tale speaks of inexperience; your credentials don't mean a thing.

• you seek order from a higher force which actually allows chaos to happen ( police )
• you position yourself against the force running the street ( thugs )
• you protect somebody who has committed a crime ( which you didn't get to the bottom of, you assumed it was a guy; why didn't you assume it was drugs? )
• you don't know the reasons of the harsh reaction ( drug related? ladies on meth/yaba? how long is their backstory? )
• and you guys think that a taxi is going to bring a bleeding lady to what, a waste depot? they're gonna throw her off at the hospital or drive her home based on her own wishes and her own money situation ( so more likely her home )

you were a bystander of a system you didn't understand, of a system you didn't involve yourself in ( as you had no backup except other bystanders/ your brothers ). you had NO LOCAL PEOPLE as backup. and more importantly - SHE didn't, which means she clearly messed with the wrong people. and you can be quite aware that she was aware of her actions

you can't be a hero on the street by being a rock against the river and by picking sides not understanding the environment. you're lucky you didn't end up with a knife in your back. chaos is unpredictable, applying your personal ruleset from a non-chaotic world is going to harm you in the long run. you have to improve your ways of dealing with such situations and how to steer the flow of things in a direction instead of confronting people in a heated situation. you haven't mastered DE-ESCALATION, you attempted CONFRONTATION in a conflict and got the bill for it.

you picked the side of the wrong-doer, instead of fixing it with the wronged person; the street rewarded you.

[Baerboxer]

An interesting tale.

Maybe as a well educated, well travelled, corporate CEO, you should look at staying in some different areas?

[Salapoo]

Wow, it almost sounds like a night in the UK.

[maccaroni man]

KSR lost it's Bohemian way at leafy a decade ago and is more of an ampted rave center today. It was not Thailand then nor today.

[Salapoo]

KSR lost it's Bohemian way at leafy a decade ago and is more of an ampted rave center today. It was not Thailand then nor today.

Western holiday zone for pissed up kids, but with the added adventure of Thais on theirown turf taking charge.

What's not to love?

[NATWWAL]

Thanks for the comments.

Bottom line is I'm not one of those guys that can just watch as a girl, any girl, prostitute or not, is bludgeoned to death on a public street. I'm getting the sense that some people on this forum could do that (just watch). Doesn't make you a bad person or a coward, anymore than it make me a badass or a hero. Just means we live very different lives and make different judgment calls. I bet that everyone on this forum would intervene if their own sister was hit on the head with a bottle in the chaos of KaoSan Road. What about a friend though? A classmate? A neighbor? Someone you saw once on TV?... Almost everyone feels compassion for someone. It's a simple question of for whom your compassion is forthcoming, and to why degree. I'd rather be overly compassionate than the alternative.

Happy travels,

[disagree]

That's not the point though. Your inexperience and wrong strategy are the points. You went into a fight head-on and reaped the rewards.

You went out to help somebody who seemingly deserved it by the crowd. You didn't go to de-escalate the enraged person and sort the situation out. If she stole the money, why didn't she give it back? If you're such a hero to protect a thief, pay the lady who got robbed instead.

That street particularly has eyes everywhere; as people live their lives there day in and day out. And people get actually rewarded for their actions or get punished for their stupidity. I had locals protect me from attackers, and I didn't really do a lot to earn that trust; a drink for a security guard here, some nice words there, and people will be kind to you and take care of you. But a drugged thief will get his punishment. And you can trust that the thugs don't just act for no reason.

Having a brave heart is OK, but act with your brain first. You picked the hollywood route to be some kind of white knight, but this is not a hollywood movie. One stab and you're gone, something that could be prevented with 20 dollars.

[Payboy]

Khaosarn Road - Bangkok's night safari.

[Scottythai]

Hmm I guess I might be reading far to much into this but why would a CEO drink on Khao san? Why not chill somewere else? Or were you looking to see how some of the cheaper areas are in Bangkok and got a shock when you realise it's not the fun you thought it would be?

[Mrjlh]

Sounded like the typical night in the "Hood" in Los Angles! Stranger gets in involved in a fight he has no idea who the players are and gets bit. One thing I learned a long time ago, you better know who the players are and street rules that run it. Sounds like you had no clue who was who in this fight and should not have taken sides which apparently you did. It seems to me by the reaction by the "Boys in Brown" they knew the players better than you. Even by-standers said move on and don't look. They too seemed to understand not to get involved either except you. Thais will surprise you. They will quickly get involved when they know there is an injustice, but rarely when they know the players and it is a rivalry or personal matter between two people. They usually let them settle it themselves.

So don't let this lesson in Thai life discourage you from coming back.

[cgphuket]

Not ypical Thailand, but then khao san road is a scum magnet.

[fearless1]

Sounded like the typical night in the "Hood" in Los Angles! Stranger gets in involved in a fight he has no idea who the players are and gets bit. One thing I learned a long time ago, you better know who the players are and street rules that run it. Sounds like you had no clue who was who in this fight and should not have taken sides which apparently you did. It seems to me by the reaction by the "Boys in Brown" they knew the players better than you. Even by-standers said move on and don't look. They too seemed to understand not to get involved either except you. Thais will surprise you. They will quickly get involved when they know there is an injustice, but rarely when they know the players and it is a rivalry or personal matter between two people. They usually let them settle it themselves.

So don't let this lesson in Thai life discourage you from coming back.

Doesn't sound to me like he took sides at all. Sounds to me like he tried to protect an incapacitated girl from possibly being beat to death. I would have done the same thing. What the hell is the matter with people on Thai Visa anyway?

[Suradit69]

An interesting tale.

Maybe as a well educated, well travelled, corporate CEO, you should look at staying in some different areas?

"Went to UCLA and then USC for graduate, and work as a corporate CEO in Asia." "I've always enjoyed the chaotic edginess of the street..."

Maybe you're confusing Reality TV with Reality.

Yes, if you're from the LA area why come all the way to Thailand? If you get your kicks from "edgy" why not plan a holiday in Watts. Or if you want to get back to your African roots, Soweto is lovely this time of the year.

Wherever you choose to go, to ensure a warm welcome when slumming, hand out your resume and regale the locals with your credentials.

Edited July 4, 2013 by Suradit69

[richard_smith237]

What the hell is the matter with people on Thai Visa anyway?

I'll answer: some feel superior in their assimilation into Thainess. By living in Thailand they know more, know better, are more Thai, these people feel they truly understand all around them, they are at one with Thailand. No other westerner is as in tune with Thailand as them... As a result they have discarded their moral compass, lost intelligent perspective and instead developed a flawed sense of right and wrong not representative of an intelligent civilised human being.

They may join this forum just to 'disagree' with anyone else with an opinion on Thailand and its issues....

[Suradit69]

What the hell is the matter with people on Thai Visa anyway?

I'll answer: some feel superior in their assimilation into Thainess. By living in Thailand they know more, know better, are more Thai, these people feel they truly understand all around them, they are at one with Thailand. No other westerner is as in tune with Thailand as them... As a result they have discarded their moral compass, lost intelligent perspective and instead developed a flawed sense of right and wrong not representative of an intelligent civilised human being.

They may join this forum just to 'disagree' with anyone else with an opinion on Thailand and its issues....

"They may join this forum just to 'disagree' with anyone else with an opinion on Thailand and its issues...."

I find a lot of what's posted on TV to be offensive, not because I think I'm Thai-er than any other foreigner living here, but because a good deal of it is just lame, Euro-centric Thai bashing by people who made a decision to live here (or visit here) and found that they're out of their depth or trapped here for personal economic reasons and take their frustration out by Thai bashing.

Having said that, the forum would hardly serve any purpose if everyone agreed with everyone else who posts. If you express an opinion on this forum, it's going to generate responses from both the "Amen Crowd" and the "Are You Crazy Crowd" and a lot of the responses will poke fun at what someone says, especially if the posters take themselves too seriously.

This certainly isn't a place for the faint of heart who seek reassurance for their shaky egos, but if you want everyone to agree with you whenever you post, this is probably the wrong venue for you.

[disagree]

Doesn't sound to me like he took sides at all. Sounds to me like he tried to protect an incapacitated girl from possibly being beat to death. I would have done the same thing. What the hell is the matter with people on Thai Visa anyway?

What the hell is the matter with fearless people jumping the knife? If I'm a CEO in Asia, which I actually am, I have 20 bucks that I make in 5 minutes to spare and let the attacker go away instead of acting helpless trying to defend myself against a mob lynching me and my friends and risking a senseless death.

It's the same I would suggest anyone being confronted with a meth-head or robber. Throw your money at them, it's just that, money. But live to tell the tale.

What the hell is the matter with people on Thai Visa anyway?

I'll answer: some feel superior in their assimilation into Thainess. By living in Thailand they know more, know better, are more Thai, these people feel they truly understand all around them, they are at one with Thailand. No other westerner is as in tune with Thailand as them... As a result they have discarded their moral compass, lost intelligent perspective and instead developed a flawed sense of right and wrong not representative of an intelligent civilised human being.

They may join this forum just to 'disagree' with anyone else with an opinion on Thailand and its issues....

Thanks for the attention, but is it really. Or are you just displaying your own superiority by talking down on people you disagree with by putting them in a basket you just made up on the fly. Aren't you representing the values you so despise yourself at the same time.

I prefer to tell a person when his actions are not smart, instead of the hundred posters writing the same bs afterwards when the next farang jumps the knife due to his reckless stupidity for some blind cause. Reading is good, but understanding what is being said is more so important. His 'moral compass' is right, but his actions were not smart enough for him to boast about his credentials and experience in the same sentence.

[Kilgore Trout]

Violence is endemic among prostitutes, drug dealers and other types of criminals in every city in the world.

Best not to mix with them or involve yourself in their affairs.

Really not exclusively a Thai problem.

Violence is endemic among prostitutes, drug dealers and other types of criminals in every city in the world.

Best not to mix with them or involve yourself in their affairs.

Really not exclusively a Thai problem.

You are dead wrong. The way the locals reacted to a foreigner trying to help a victim of a vicious attack, the way the police laughed and mocked a person trying to help their own national.....

Yes, yes it is a uniquely Thai problem.

There are consequences to every action; although I love Thailand...my reaction to Thai people having problems in my country will be very, very different from when I first came here.

Thai people, keep that in mind. It might not be YOUR behavior, but you do have a responsibility to stand up for what is right; unfortunately it seems that many of you do not understand the concept of morality and what is right.

Only YOU can change things

[kurnell]

Crikey, would you jump into a monkey cage while a bunch of apes battered the crap out of each other? Same thing really.

[Kilgore Trout]

Crikey, would you jump into a monkey cage while a bunch of apes battered the crap out of each other? Same thing really.

Perhaps if your sister or daughter was being attacked, you might appreciate if someone :"jumped in" to help.

[richard_smith237]

Doesn't sound to me like he took sides at all. Sounds to me like he tried to protect an incapacitated girl from possibly being beat to death. I would have done the same thing. What the hell is the matter with people on Thai Visa anyway?

What the hell is the matter with fearless people jumping the knife? If I'm a CEO in Asia, which I actually am, I have 20 bucks that I make in 5 minutes to spare and let the attacker go away instead of acting helpless trying to defend myself against a mob lynching me and my friends and risking a senseless death.

It's the same I would suggest anyone being confronted with a meth-head or robber. Throw your money at them, it's just that, money. But live to tell the tale.

What the hell is the matter with people on Thai Visa anyway?

I'll answer: some feel superior in their assimilation into Thainess. By living in Thailand they know more, know better, are more Thai, these people feel they truly understand all around them, they are at one with Thailand. No other westerner is as in tune with Thailand as them... As a result they have discarded their moral compass, lost intelligent perspective and instead developed a flawed sense of right and wrong not representative of an intelligent civilised human being.

They may join this forum just to 'disagree' with anyone else with an opinion on Thailand and its issues....

Thanks for the attention, but is it really. Or are you just displaying your own superiority by talking down on people you disagree with by putting them in a basket you just made up on the fly. Aren't you representing the values you so despise yourself at the same time.

I prefer to tell a person when his actions are not smart, instead of the hundred posters writing the same bs afterwards when the next farang jumps the knife due to his reckless stupidity for some blind cause. Reading is good, but understanding what is being said is more so important. His 'moral compass' is right, but his actions were not smart enough for him to boast about his credentials and experience in the same sentence.

In much the same manner many posters on TV have written how stupid we would be to stop and help at the scene of an accident.

While taking a personal risk the op stepped into to protect someone injured and unable to defend them self.

I've no wish be a hypocrite, i know I'd walk on past and not wish to be involved. However, I choose to applaud the Ops choice rather than criticise. I know who I'd rather be in the room with.

When I first moved to Thailand I was always told by those more experienced expats not to get involved. The first accident I witnessed one guy actually dragged me away from helping..... Since then I have ignored these negative people, they offer nothing to society. With that said, each individual situation must be evaluated on its own individual merit: some issues I'd walk away from, others I'd handle a different way which may include having no choice but to get involved.

The Op has suggested to avoid areas such as Kho Sarn rd, I agree and also avoid areas such as this, well not avoid, I just have no interest in going to these areas. The Op has perhaps learned a lesson, but I hope this doesn't prevent him from helping the helpless in future.

[disagree]

In much the same manner many posters on TV have written how stupid we would be to stop and help at the scene of an accident.

While taking a personal risk the op stepped into to protect someone injured and unable to defend them self.

I've no wish be a hypocrite, i know I'd walk on past and not wish to be involved. However, I choose to applaud the Ops choice rather than criticise. I know who I'd rather be in the room with.

When I first moved to Thailand I was always told by those more experienced expats not to get involved. The first accident I witnessed one guy actually dragged me away from helping..... Since then I have ignored these negative people, they offer nothing to society. With that said, each individual situation must be evaluated on its own individual merit: some issues I'd walk away from, others I'd handle a different way which may include having no choice but to get involved.

The Op has suggested to avoid areas such as Kho Sarn rd, I agree and also avoid areas such as this, well not avoid, I just have no interest in going to these areas. The Op has perhaps learned a lesson, but I hope this doesn't prevent him from helping the helpless in future.

I don't understand why you use these broad terms to group people into a box and then to act condescending towards them. Especially since we don't seem to disagree on the subject at all, as I condone his urge to act - his moral compass - but I don't condone his approach. Especially due to the environment he found himself in.

Not agreeing with the approach is NOT equal with telling people to not get involved or to look away. Please read carefully before acting in such a condescending manner towards others, or you might be easily put yourself into your own 'TV posters' box which you seem to so much frown upon.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Thanks for the comments.

Bottom line is I'm not one of those guys that can just watch as a girl, any girl, prostitute or not, is bludgeoned to death on a public street. I'm getting the sense that some people on this forum could do that (just watch). Doesn't make you a bad person or a coward, anymore than it make me a badass or a hero. Just means we live very different lives and make different judgment calls. I bet that everyone on this forum would intervene if their own sister was hit on the head with a bottle in the chaos of KaoSan Road. What about a friend though? A classmate? A neighbor? Someone you saw once on TV?... Almost everyone feels compassion for someone. It's a simple question of for whom your compassion is forthcoming, and to why degree. I'd rather be overly compassionate than the alternative.

Happy travels,

Girl on girl fight, don't be silly.

Yes they will kill each other sometimes, more likely to kill you though.

If your brother was the one killed (quite possible in this situation) it would have been your fault.

Don't be silly, mind your own business.

[FritsSikkink]

Thanks for the comments.

Bottom line is I'm not one of those guys that can just watch as a girl, any girl, prostitute or not, is bludgeoned to death on a public street. I'm getting the sense that some people on this forum could do that (just watch). Doesn't make you a bad person or a coward, anymore than it make me a badass or a hero. Just means we live very different lives and make different judgment calls. I bet that everyone on this forum would intervene if their own sister was hit on the head with a bottle in the chaos of KaoSan Road. What about a friend though? A classmate? A neighbor? Someone you saw once on TV?... Almost everyone feels compassion for someone. It's a simple question of for whom your compassion is forthcoming, and to why degree. I'd rather be overly compassionate than the alternative.

Happy travels,

What about when the girl you protected was a know pickpocked and really stole the other girls money?

[jmccarty]

You might have been better off if you had a shotgun trying to protect that girl. Thailand is no different than Mexico or Singapore or Los Angeles for that matter in the wrong neighbourhood. Violence beats violence in most situations and trying to de-escalate if you can't speak Thai has little chance of success if you don't even know who you are defending or for what reason. Powder keg to get yourself into.

Saw this happen to a big American guy in TJ many years ago and he eventually ran away to escape and the girl he was trying to defend got taken away by some other girls. They don’t normally kill each other in plain view of a crowd.

Also had an old friend get his head bashed in after defending a Malay girl from some Indian teenagers in Singapore. He did not know what the situation was but he was much bigger than the Indian guys and he scared them off only to have them run up behind him minutes later and beat him first across the head with 2 x 4’s then beat him all over the body and kick the crap out of him. He nearly died and the Indian guys were never identified.

[disagree]

You might have been better off if you had a shotgun trying to protect that girl.

It would have just escalated it even further. You don't confront violence with violence. The thugs have their own arsenals... ;-) Nevertheless, your stories are good examples of things going wrong.

A good friend of mine who's pretty well in some martial arts and stems a good bunch, taught me a few lessons when I was younger; over the years they made more and more sense. He made me actually read the books on Wing Tsun and some Geoff Thompson. He never got into fights ( and he surely would have known how to handle it, as some of the Wing Tsun tests are to stay calm while getting beaten down by 3 guys repeatedly to the ground )

When he assessed that a conflict was near, he attempted to avoid it altogether. The winning situation was not to show off, it was to avoid the conflict / walk away from it without an escalation and without wasting time. Sometimes our group switched clubs out of nowhere; simply due to him noticing a few guys being pissed that the foreigner came with a hot looker. Location itself of course also mattered, it being near Rio's favelas no questions were asked.

When avoiding it was not an option, his body language was de-escalating by being passive during the discussion. There were also a few rules such as to not confront the aggressor as that leads to a fight or flee situation, but to treat him with respect and as a person; especially not to talk down on him, not to order him or make him lose face in front of his peers, as that leads to attacks. You can't assume higher ground, even if you feel you have it morally. You'll have enough time to brag about your higher ground later on, but not in the time of the conflict.

Most important however was the act of surprising somebody. Of getting them out of the rhytm of what they're actually expecting to happen. Making them suddenly focus on a completely different topic. Change of environment, of stance, sitting down. In drunkard terms buying the tard a beer so he shuts up thinking he won, while you fade out in the next minutes.

As in terms of foreign countries, language is not the most important. Body language and tone of your voice are the dominant characteristics. People on adrenaline don't like to listen or understand words.

But these things are not easily learned in a minute. And some of them even go against our instincts; but learning to keep our instincts in control and keeping calm in a chaotic situation is what it takes...

He kept repeating and justifying his actions, so I still remember them to this day. I haven't ever gotten into a fight, and neither did people I was hanging out with, as there was no pride in escalating a conflict. And we did our fair share of de-escalating a few...

If we act like animals, we'll end like animals

[kurnell]

Crikey, would you jump into a monkey cage while a bunch of apes battered the crap out of each other? Same thing really.

Perhaps if your sister or daughter was being attacked, you might appreciate if someone :"jumped in" to help.

I think you've been watching too many Chuck Norris movies

[Tomtomtom69]

KSR is a sh*thole. Never stayed there, never will. Drove through there once, now the closest I get is by using google street view. Only young revelers go there, otherwise the rest of us stay in the Silom/Sukhumwit/Siam/Sathorn areas if we want to stay close to downtown.

The OP was lucky nothing happened to him or his brothers - as sad as it is that nobody came to the rescue of this woman until much later in the story, the reason nobody else offered to help was because they were afraid of being attacked or worse - maybe some of them even knew why this woman was attacked in the first place. The fact that the OP is a foreigner has nothing to do with it - he shouldn't have gotten involved just as no other Thais or foreigners wanted to risk their safety or even their lives by getting involved.

Things like this happen in Thailand increasingly often. While you don't need to cross Thailand off your future vacation list, how about going somewhere different for a change next time? Start by seeing Vietnam, China, Myanmar etc. all these beautiful countries that have a lot less crime than Thailand does. And if you still want to see more of Thailand, stay somewhere a little more "normal" like one of the neighborhoods I have described.