There is NOT an Emergency Phone Number For Farang

Bangkok999 · March 22, 2014

I had an emergency situation last night and none of the emergency helped. I went to Soi Cowboy, saw a girl in the Shark bar and paid the bar fine for a girl I never met before. I didn't like her that much and from the beginning but I said “lets go eat, i'm hungry.” Maybe that seems hard to believe but thats all I was thinking. I was actually hungry and nobody likes eating alone.

We didn't like each other that much but it was doable, we ate at the big italian restaurant that is visible from sukhumvit. We finished, I paid, we walked outside. It became even more clear at that point that it wasn’t going to go any further and we started to say our goodbyes. Nothing hostile or angry. But there was a tuk tuk guy, a motor bike guy, and another guy starting at us. I didn't like it. I walked up to one of them and asked if he has a problem. These guys were all smaller than me the tuk tuk guy said “no problem” and I started walking away.

The girl pulled at my shirt collar as I was walking away. This happened two or three times. I was looking at the guys as if to say “really, are we going to make a problem here?” Eventually she stopped and I walked away. I heard the girl say something like “xxxxxxx TAXI xxxxxxxxxx TAXI.” I turned the corner and went into the Family Mart and bought a water. I came outside, and there were two tomboy girls that were staring at me and then the girl I barfined walked up and there were two small/fat thai guys with her.

I walked out the door of the Family Mart and I was surrounded by these 5. I was not hostile in any way. But it was clear that they were not going to let me leave without some contact. The girl I barfined was the most hostile of the bunch, but the tomboys were also pretty hostile. The biggest thai said something like “you owe her 2,000 for short time.” I think I said, “I am going home or I will call the police.” The bar girl started grabbing my shirt collar again, and I walked back into the Family Mart.

I called 191, and it hung up when I started speaking English. I told the workers in the store to call the police and they said in English “we cannot.” They could see I was not a threat to them and they just acted busy. I called 191 multiple times and it hung up every time I started speaking. I was inside Family Mart and pretended I was talking on the phone as the 5 thais were outside waiting for me. I went out once more and said I was going home but they formed a circle around me and it was clear I couldn't leave without physical contact. I went back into Family Mart and pretended to talk on the phone. The two workers inside Family Mart basically ignored me. I did say multiple times throughout this that “I don't want a problem.” The two teenagers inside Family Mart refused to call the police (they knew what was happening) and 191 hung up on my every time I called. I had to stay inside Family Mart and pretend I was talking to someone. If there was no Family Mart and I was on the street, I would have had to fight 5 thais.

I stayed inside Family Mart until they left. I got a taxi and called 191 again. When someone finally answered, the just said “1155.” When I got home, I called 1155 multiple times, and it hung up without an answer every time. There apparently is no emergency number for farangs in Thailand. I have lived here 3 years and have never had to call this number before. If I could not go into the Family Mart, I would have had a physical altercation with five people. All were smaller than me but I still had no interest in that and I don't see how that could have wound up well. The real point here is that there appears to be no emergency number for English speaking people.

I don't feel safe here, and I think there is really no rule of law here.

thepool · March 22, 2014

Any lessons learnt ?

Why should there be a dedicated "Farang " number ?

transam · March 22, 2014

OP, you have learned a lot about LOS. Move on...........

Bangkok999 · March 22, 2014

These are not constructive comments. The point here is that there appears to be no emergency phone number for people that speak English. That should be a concern for pretty much everyone here.

thepool · March 22, 2014

These are not constructive comments. The point here is that there appears to be no emergency phone number for people that speak English. That should be a concern for pretty much everyone here.

Only concerned about English speakers is that not just a bit selfish ?

What about German, French, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Swedish etc Speakers ?

I have no concern about walking around Bangkok or indeed any other Thai city ------------can you guess why that may be ?

beano2274 · March 22, 2014

The tourist police should be able to assist you, think the number is 195 or 1699 (just noticed on the Tourist Police website it does say 1155)....

But why should the Police speak English, they are Thai and based in Thailand, do the French Police speak English,,,no.

Also for disputes with bar girls they certainly will not want to be involved, this is a money maker for most of them.

Edited March 22, 2014 by beano2274

transam · March 22, 2014

These are not constructive comments. The point here is that there appears to be no emergency phone number for people that speak English. That should be a concern for pretty much everyone here.

Read my post again. Cos this NOT farangland.

There are phone numbers BUT this is NOT farangland.

Bangkok999 · March 22, 2014

The tourist police should be able to assist you, think the number is 195 or 1699 (just noticed on the Tourist Police website it does say 1155)....

But why should the Police speak English, they are Thai and based in Thailand, do the French Police speak English,,,no.

Also for disputes with bar girls they certainly will not want to be involved, this is a money maker for most of them.

Thanks for the info. I have tried calling 1155 and 191 even during the day today and it was the same result.

AhFarangJa · March 22, 2014

Do not take this personally, but you have a looooooong way to go with regards to living in Thailand. Why pay a bar fine for someone you do not even like? just to share a meal? Eating Italian was obviously your choice not hers, The lady works in a bar, her time is money is it not?, and finally, never,ever,ever go up to a group of motorcycle or tuk tuk taxi boys and ask if "they have a problem" you obviously like hospital food or have a death wish.

That is my ten pence worth, now I will wait for the repercussions to start.

thepool · March 22, 2014

Do not take this personally, but you have a looooooong way to go with regards to living in Thailand. Why pay a bar fine for someone you do not even like? just to share a meal? Eating Italian was obviously your choice not hers, The lady works in a bar, her time is money is it not?, and finally, never,ever,ever go up to a group of motorcycle or tuk tuk taxi boys and ask if "they have a problem" you obviously like hospital food or have a death wish. alt=coffee1.gif width=32 height=24>

That is my ten pence worth, now I will wait for the repercussions to start. alt=blink.png width=20 height=20>

Simple truths may protect the OP from harm !

Clearly still wet behind the ears !

AhFarangJa · March 22, 2014

I think wet between the ears would be more accurate

HeavyDrinker · March 22, 2014

Sounds to me as you have had a very lucky escape. Many people in the past have 'squared up' to smaller Thais much to their regret later. When there's 5 of them bouncing bottles or whatever comes to hand off your head your size won't matter a jot to them....

The police tend not to be interested in helping imbecile whormongering foreigners getting themselves in scrapes with tuk-tuk and moto boys both of which groups have a well deserved reputation for being capable of severe violence,unless there's the chance of an earner in it for them....

Edited March 22, 2014 by HeavyDrinker

saakura · March 22, 2014

It does seem that you went looking for trouble and found it, why then the need to call for police?

thepool · March 22, 2014

Big ,Brave and very St*pid

" But there was a tuk tuk guy, a motor bike guy, and another guy starting at us. I didn't like it. I walked up to one of them and asked if he has a problem"

Not just looking for trouble but inviting trouble !

WorriedNoodle · March 22, 2014

These are not constructive comments. The point here is that there appears to be no emergency phone number for people that speak English. That should be a concern for pretty much everyone here.

There is the Thai Tourist police, but they likely won't be interested in stupid punter/working girl misunderstandings and the likelihood of a beating if you don't know the ground rules. Count yourself lucky and get some street smarts if you want to live dangerously.

Thainess · March 22, 2014

If you play with "Sharks", you can expect to get bitten. But good for you that you didn't hand over the demanded 2,000 baht to end the situation "amicably". People who do that only encourage these low-life thugs to pull the same scam over and over again. I take it that the bar in question won't ever be seeing any of your business again, so who is the real loser here? P.S. Don't ever barfine a girl unless you're 100% sure you want to "use" her. Even then, you're within your right to change your mind. The bar still keeps your fine and the girl can go straight back into the bar. A little inconvenient if you took her back to your room already before changing your mind, but in that case tip her about 200 to cover a bike taxi back to the bar (at most 50 baht) and the other 150 will cover her next 3 meals at least. The real problem is that because of so many guys overpaying in recent years, the girls have just got greedy and many from the bars won't settle for less than 2,000 baht. You can still find plenty of lookers for 1,000 off the street, but in that case be very careful with your personal belongings.

Edited March 22, 2014 by Thainess

Rumblecat · March 22, 2014

Big ,Brave and very St*pid

" But there was a tuk tuk guy, a motor bike guy, and another guy starting at us. I didn't like it. I walked up to one of them and asked if he has a problem"

Not just looking for trouble but inviting trouble !

I know- "You got a problem..?" is translated round the world in every language as "Do you want a fight?"

Still not sure the original poster is being 100% serious, but it's kind of amusing anyway. I mean, it does read like you hired a prostitute and then weren't willing pay her for her time, and after that decided to square up to a bunch of guys watching you. I don't know if either of those things could be classified as smart.

I guess if you want to go to dinner with someone that badly, either go with a friend or eat alone.

I had to phone the emergency number once. It worked okay for me (motorobike accident I saw- poor guy died before the ambulance and police could arrive).

Bpuumike · March 22, 2014

So you took the bar girl for an Italian meal.

That probably took much longer than a "short time" would have and she was probably quite right to ask to be paid for that time.

You were lucky. Next time don't go out alone.

brewsterbudgen · March 22, 2014

In any country if you go with a prostitute but don't pay her for her time you're going to have trouble.

The emergency number point is a red herring. Hopefully the OP has learned his lesson.

Bangkok999 · March 22, 2014

In any country if you go with a prostitute but don't pay her for her time you're going to have trouble.

The emergency number point is a red herring. Hopefully the OP has learned his lesson.

You dont even know what the term red herring means.

I do not care at all if any of you "hope I learned my lesson."

That has nothing to do with anything. The point is that there is no real emergency number to use if things go wrong. That should be more of a concern to pretty much everyone here.

Edited March 22, 2014 by Bangkok999

larsjohnsson · March 22, 2014

Why would you belive that it's ok to barfine a girl from Soi Cowboy. And then not pay her 1 baht for the time she spent with you.

Do you really belive it's free to spend the evening with a prostitute if you don't have sex?

brewsterbudgen · March 22, 2014

In any country if you go with a prostitute but don't pay her for her time you're going to have trouble.

The emergency number point is a red herring. Hopefully the OP has learned his lesson.

You dont even know what the term red herring means.

I do not care at all if any of you "hope I learned my lesson."

That has nothing to do with anything. The point is that there is no real emergency number to use if things go wrong. That should be more of a concern to pretty much everyone here.

It is a red herring as I can assure you that the Tourist Police number works fine and they do speak English.

Bangkok999 · March 22, 2014

Why would you belive that it's ok to barfine a girl from Soi Cowboy. And then not pay her 1 baht for the time she spent with you.

Do you really belive it's free to spend the evening with a prostitute if you don't have sex?

AGAIN not the point.

We agreed from the beginning that we would just go to eat and nothing else.

THAT IS NOT THE POINT OF THE THREAD.

brewsterbudgen · March 22, 2014

Why would you belive that it's ok to barfine a girl from Soi Cowboy. And then not pay her 1 baht for the time she spent with you.

Do you really belive it's free to spend the evening with a prostitute if you don't have sex?

AGAIN not the point.

We agreed from the beginning that we would just go to eat and nothing else.

THAT IS NOT THE POINT OF THE THREAD.

There is no need to shout. People are just trying to point out to you how things work here.

Bangkok999 · March 22, 2014

In any country if you go with a prostitute but don't pay her for her time you're going to have trouble.

The emergency number point is a red herring. Hopefully the OP has learned his lesson.

You dont even know what the term red herring means.

I do not care at all if any of you "hope I learned my lesson."

That has nothing to do with anything. The point is that there is no real emergency number to use if things go wrong. That should be more of a concern to pretty much everyone here.

It is a red herring as I can assure you that the Tourist Police number works fine and they do speak English.

No, that is not what the term means

And I just called the number again and there was no answer.

Two days, and no access to an emergency number? You don't see that as a problem?

Bangkok999 · March 22, 2014

Why would you belive that it's ok to barfine a girl from Soi Cowboy. And then not pay her 1 baht for the time she spent with you.

Do you really belive it's free to spend the evening with a prostitute if you don't have sex?

AGAIN not the point.

We agreed from the beginning that we would just go to eat and nothing else.

THAT IS NOT THE POINT OF THE THREAD.

There is no need to shout. People are just trying to point out to you how things work here.

Almost none of the responses have addressed the actual point of the thread.

thepool · March 22, 2014

In any country if you go with a prostitute but don't pay her for her time you're going to have trouble.

The emergency number point is a red herring. Hopefully the OP has learned his lesson.

You dont even know what the term red herring means.

I do not care at all if any of you "hope I learned my lesson."

That has nothing to do with anything. The point is that there is no real emergency number to use if things go wrong. That should be more of a concern to pretty much everyone here.

The Emergency numbers work very well for Thai speakers !

Does your home countries emergency service respond to Arabic or Urdu or Maori speakers ?

Bangkok999 · March 22, 2014

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

In any country if you go with a prostitute but don't pay her for her time you're going to have trouble.

The emergency number point is a red herring. Hopefully the OP has learned his lesson.

You dont even know what the term red herring means.

I do not care at all if any of you "hope I learned my lesson."

That has nothing to do with anything. The point is that there is no real emergency number to use if things go wrong. That should be more of a concern to pretty much everyone here.

The Emergency numbers work very well for Thai speakers !

Does your home countries emergency service respond to Arabic or Urdu or Maori speakers ?

OK, great so you dont see this as a problem. Fantastic.

I'm American, there are emergency numbers in Spanish. If the Tourist Police phone number doesn't pick up I don't even see the point of having it.

thepool · March 22, 2014

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

In any country if you go with a prostitute but don't pay her for her time you're going to have trouble.

The emergency number point is a red herring. Hopefully the OP has learned his lesson.

You dont even know what the term red herring means.

I do not care at all if any of you "hope I learned my lesson."

That has nothing to do with anything. The point is that there is no real emergency number to use if things go wrong. That should be more of a concern to pretty much everyone here.

The Emergency numbers work very well for Thai speakers !

Does your home countries emergency service respond to Arabic or Urdu or Maori speakers ?

OK, great so you dont see this as a problem. Fantastic.

I'm American, there are emergency numbers in Spanish. If the Tourist Police phone number doesn't pick up I don't even see the point of having it.

So if a person cannot speak Yank or Spanish what happens ?

Some time ago I was involved in a traffic accident --------I was injured.

Within minutes there were firemen, police and paramedics on the scene ---------------here in Thailand !

Best you stick to holidays at home ----------- Try picking a "girl" there and not paying her !

Edited March 22, 2014 by thepool

brewsterbudgen · March 22, 2014

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

In any country if you go with a prostitute but don't pay her for her time you're going to have trouble.

The emergency number point is a red herring. Hopefully the OP has learned his lesson.

You dont even know what the term red herring means.

I do not care at all if any of you "hope I learned my lesson."

That has nothing to do with anything. The point is that there is no real emergency number to use if things go wrong. That should be more of a concern to pretty much everyone here.

The Emergency numbers work very well for Thai speakers !

Does your home countries emergency service respond to Arabic or Urdu or Maori speakers ?

The Tourist Police (1155) is an English language service.

http://thailand.angloinfo.com/inside/emergency-numbers/

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