Nightmare in Pattaya

[Yann55]

I was attacked here in Pattaya two years ago by a Thai man, in a fit of road rage like I’d never encountered before, and I’ve been driving for forty years, both in Europe and in Asia. For 2 years I couldn't even think about it let alone write it down but I'm over it now and I want to tell this story because I believe it could serve as a wake-up call for others, and if this post stops even one person from getting into massive trouble like I did, I'll be happy for him/her !

I was going out of my condo on a little Yamaha motorbike when he arrived at full speed in a big SUV and deliberately brushed a few centimeters past me, obviously to 'teach me a lesson' because I ought to have stopped and let him pass by before going out on the main road (like everyone does here, lol). He scared the crap out of me, which was exactly what he wanted of course.

The traffic light 100 meters ahead was red so he screeched to a stop and I arrived a few seconds later right by his side. I did not scream at him or insult him or utter even one word. All I did was look at him, but of course my eyes were saying what I thought of him: that he was a poor specimen of humanity.

It turned out that the mere look was more than he could bear... when the light went green he let me go, but just before I reached the crossroads at the top of the hill (roughly opposite the entrance to Sugar Hut Resort, for those who know the area) he overtook me ‘action-movie style’, forcing me to apply the breaks violently and causing my little Fino to fall on its side (the stability of these models isn’t exactly remarkable and they can’t sustain a brutal stop).

I fell too of course and got bruised quite badly.

The guy, a tall and muscular man in his late 30s (I was 56 back then), got out of his car and marched towards me with a look of hatred in his eyes that I’m not about to forget. I had my helmet on and lifted the plexiglas screen so I could talk to him. Wrong move ... before I could say anything he launched a vicious blow on my left cheek, so heavy that I lost my balance again.

Then he went back to his car and I quickly figured it wasn’t over. I was right ... He opened the passenger door and I saw him rummaging through the front of his car, so before he could return with either a gun or some blunt object to maim me for good, I lifted up my bike in a hurry, managed to restart it and drove off against the traffic (assuming that he wouldn’t/couldn’t do it with his big vehicle). About 100m further there was a little lane and I didn’t want to drive against the traffic for too long because it was dense, so I went down that lane. I briefly turned my head around to see his car screech-starting, but not towards me (there were enough cars on the road to prevent him from doing that) so I kept on driving slowly along the little lane, trying to collect my spirits before turning around and going home.

By then I thought my ordeal was over, but some nightmares just won’t let go... before I could start breathing normally again, who do I see driving up the lane at full speed towards me? He must have known the area very well and had just gone around a couple of blocks knowing exactly where he would find his prey. At that point I thought I had but a few seconds to live, and it's not a figure of speech, because the guy had obviously lost all his screws and was determined to run me over.

Then I realized there was a car parked on the side of the lane just a few meters ahead of me so I did the only thing I could, applied the breaks on full strength again in order to stop in front of the parked car and put it between me and the madman. Even though I wasn’t driving fast by then, the Fino still fell on its side (and on my right leg) once more, right in front of the parked car’s bender. My ankle got a serious blow this time.

The parked car was in front of a small house and there was a Thai couple sitting there under the verandah. They were just a few meters away from me and they saw exactly what happened.

Now what do you think they did ? help me get up ? show some empathy ? Try to understand what was actually going on ? Nope, they claimed that my bike had touched their car (which it had not, need I mention). Before I could get back on my feet and utter a word the woman was screaming bloody murder, pointing at a non-existent scratch on the bender of her beloved car.

The madman stopped, got out of his SUV and starting telling them in Thai that I, of course, was the bad guy (I only understood about a third of what he said, but I did get the gist and it was pretty obvious anyway).

The woman shouted that she was going to call the police, and i just knew that things would only get worse for me if the cops did turn up. Firstly because she seemed so impatient to bring them in that she obviously had some connection within which made her totally confident of the outcome, and secondly because the madman was probably also some kind of big shot (the way he attacked me and went after me indicated that he somehow was the law, if you know what I mean).

I’ve been living here long enough and heard my share of horror stories about Thais colliding with a farang and calling local ‘law enforcement’, the result being that the farang has absolutely no chance of getting his side of the story through and ends up paying the big bucks, having to bribe high and low and possibly spending time in prison.

I was in a state of shock after shock after shock, as you can easily imagine, but still had enough brain power to know that only money would put an end to this hell. I pulled out a thousand baht note and shoved it into the lady’s hands, which instantly calmed her down. She stuffed it in her pocket and told me to get the f... off, then went on talking hysterically with the mad driver.

I drove off thinking that strangely enough, this woman had actually, albeit unknowingly, saved my life, as in the process of venting his rage against me to her, the madman had somehow dropped off the murderous track he was on. Basic psychology, but it works.

How I reached my home about one kilometer away, I have no idea, because I was a nervous wreck and shaking all over. I managed a stop at the local pharmacy where, I must say, the pharmacist was remarkably unhelpful, uninterested and unsympathetic. I didn’t endeavor to elicit any of these humane sentiments in her, just paid for some first aid stuff and got the hell out (I’ve been going to another pharmacy ever since, though).

I called an Aussie friend when I arrived. A friend, finally, who sat there and listened patiently to my horror story with a kindness that I will never forget. Kindness and humanity, at that point, were what I needed more than anything else.

The inexplicable amount of blind rage shown by the driver of the SUV, but also the appalling reaction of the couple in front of their house have left an indelible trace on my mind and heart and the way I feel about this country. I got over it ‘90%’ as my Thai friends would put it and I do realize that this could have happened in any other country (road rage being notoriously trans-cultural) but the episode caused a sadness in me that won’t fade away. I haven’t left Thailand because I still have much cause to love this kingdom and its inhabitants, but something was broken in me that day and I don’t want to sound dramatic but I don’t think it can be mended.

Because I know a lot of wonderful Thai people who are intelligent, kind, and self-controlled, I refuse to generalize and assume that all Thais are like the madman who attacked me that day, and again I realize it could have happened anywhere in the world but with regard to the ‘Thai specifics’ of this particular incident, I would point out three things for certain :

• You don’t want to be in the way of a Thai (or any East-Asian) person who runs amok, it’s ugly as hell, and yes, probably uglier than in non-Asian countries, paradoxically because East Asian cultures impose manners, self-control, harmony and other Confucian values which are very positive socially but tend to create a ‘pressure-cooker’ syndrome individually.
• You do not throw a ‘killer-look’ at a Thai driver, even if he’s totally in the wrong, because that look could very well get you killed. Needless to add, you don’t scream at him, flash a finger or call him bird names either. What you do is move on, no matter how p*ssed off you are.
• A ‘farang’ should always have a 1000 baht note in one of his pockets.

Thanks for reading the whole long story and good luck to all driving farangs in Thailand !

Edited June 17, 2014 by Yann55

[rhodie]

Wow! Good luck with your recovery.

[beachproperty]

Sorry to hear about your plight....BUT ....lesson learned!

If I were you I would move out of Pattaya.....Crazy Thai's, Crazy Russians, Crazy tourists in general ....seems like everybody in Pattaya is wound too tightly...

[ATF]

Going back 4 or 5 years years a lot of middle aged Thais were taking roids. I battered quite a few of them. Absolute psychos. You could see they were on roids because there was no fat between the skin and muscle. They've stopped now, don't know why? Haven't had any road rage incidents for years.

It is safe to re-enter the waters!

[YipYipYa123]

i would have stabbed him the first time but i have

no tolerance at all for personal attacks

better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6

[kannot]

The REAL problem is that this man and many others like him will continue to do this with impunity

[Stradavarius37]

Sad story

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[kannot]

Going back 4 or 5 years years a lot of middle aged Thais were taking roids. I battered quite a few of them. Absolute psychos. You could see they were on roids because there was no fat between the skin and muscle. They've stopped now, don't know why? Haven't had any road rage incidents for years.

It is safe to re-enter the waters!

Had one 2 days ago, for no reason guy comes right up behind me then undertakes where the motorbikes go pulls in between me and the car in front then repeats on the guy in front, then he stops on the hard shoulder bit and does it all again, then stops on the hard shoulder comes up behind me flashing lights and then tries to undertake again on the hard shoulder but I block him as Im tired of his crap, then we get him driving up my arse and lights flashing to which I stand on the brakes, he skids and then carries on trying to do the same.

Its the point now where i am going to ram him off the road as he is totally nuts, he comes up the inside again then stops and does a u turn???????? go figure??

[Yann55]

Thanks for your replies, both kind and interesting.

Yes I often think I should move out of here and I know what you mean, 'beachproperty', when you say that people seem more tense here, although strangely they shouldn't, right ? I mean you'd assume that they get enough sex and that this is a holiday/retirement place where folks can and should unwind... but the aggressivity is often massive and surprising, both from Thais and farangs (more from the second I must add).

Your suggestion about the steroids sheds a new light, ATF... and you could very well be right because the guy was all muscles. I didn't get to see if there was fat between his skin and his muscles because he was clothed and my eyes and mind were otherwise occupied !

To 'Yipyipya123', thanks for your suggestion about stabbing except that I had nothing to stab him with as I don't usually go out assuming that i'm going to have to stab someone. May I also point out that I did get badly bruised and my self pride was in bad shape for sure, but in the end I was neither 'judged by 12' nor 'carried by 6' so perhaps my line of action wasn't so bad after all

Edited June 17, 2014 by Yann55

[Neeranam]

I’ve been living here long enough and heard my share of horror stories about Thais colliding with a farang and calling local ‘law enforcement’, the result being that the farang has absolutely no chance of getting his side of the story through and ends up paying the big bucks, having to bribe high and low and possibly spending time in prison.

Good post but not strictly true. If you can't speak Thai and have no influence or influential friends then you will pay. True, tourists likely will pay.

I've been in accidents where I got full compensation.

I used to be quite violent on the road in that I'd honk my horn a lot but now rarely do. A friend's son was shot in the head for doing so and near my house in Khon Kaen last year someone was killed for blowing their horn.

It is wise to carry a gun in your car, if you drive at night regularly.

Is it any worse than America? I heard people get killed there for road rage and they even drive by and shoot innocent kids!

[skyaslimit]

BS.

Sent from my GT-S5360 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[MrWorldwide]

Sorry to hear about your plight....BUT ....lesson learned!

If I were you I would move out of Pattaya.....Crazy Thai's, Crazy Russians, Crazy tourists in general ....seems like everybody in Pattaya is wound too tightly...

If he's still here two years after the attack, I'm guessing he's moved on - or not - but I'm done defending Pattaya in threads that quickly abandon the incident in question in favor of the usual bashfest on a town that pumps billions of baht into the Thai Isaan economy. It's Sin City, and sin sells, apparently.

[MrWorldwide]

i would have stabbed him the first time but i have

no tolerance at all for personal attacks

better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6

Please let us know how that last assertion works out for you in the Thai justice system.

[beachproperty]

Sorry to hear about your plight....BUT ....lesson learned!

If I were you I would move out of Pattaya.....Crazy Thai's, Crazy Russians, Crazy tourists in general ....seems like everybody in Pattaya is wound too tightly...

If he's still here two years after the attack, I'm guessing he's moved on - or not - but I'm done defending Pattaya in threads that quickly abandon the incident in question in favor of the usual bashfest on a town that pumps billions of baht into the Thai Isaan economy. It's Sin City, and sin sells, apparently.

It was not my intent to bash Pattaya. Pattaya "is.. what it is!" A few times a year I like to visit as the shopping is great as is the food.

Not into the girly,night time drinking....just make day trips.

But driving there!!!!! ...No matter how defensive you drive,the zillions of motorbikes coming from all directions....enough to drive a man crazy....maybe that's the reason for all the crime in Pattaya.

Edited June 17, 2014 by beachproperty

[wooloomooloo]

A little patience, a smile and a wave would have avoided all that ensued.

[casualbiker]

i would have stabbed him the first time but i have

no tolerance at all for personal attacks

better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6

Problem with " better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6"

Is the fact that there are NO jury trials here in Thailand .. at most you will be judged by 3 all judges!

Sent from my XT1032 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ATF]

Going back 4 or 5 years years a lot of middle aged Thais were taking roids. I battered quite a few of them. Absolute psychos. You could see they were on roids because there was no fat between the skin and muscle. They've stopped now, don't know why? Haven't had any road rage incidents for years.

It is safe to re-enter the waters!

Had one 2 days ago, for no reason guy comes right up behind me then undertakes where the motorbikes go pulls in between me and the car in front then repeats on the guy in front, then he stops on the hard shoulder bit and does it all again, then stops on the hard shoulder comes up behind me flashing lights and then tries to undertake again on the hard shoulder but I block him as Im tired of his crap, then we get him driving up my arse and lights flashing to which I stand on the brakes, he skids and then carries on trying to do the same.

Its the point now where i am going to ram him off the road as he is totally nuts, he comes up the inside again then stops and does a u turn???????? go figure??

Sounds like roids if they are on meth they are not interested in you personally. One guy I apologized to profusely even though I hadn't done anything wrong, just to stop wasting time, but he just kept raging. So I knocked him out cold in the middle of the Expressway.

[MrWorldwide]

Sorry to hear about your plight....BUT ....lesson learned!

If I were you I would move out of Pattaya.....Crazy Thai's, Crazy Russians, Crazy tourists in general ....seems like everybody in Pattaya is wound too tightly...

If he's still here two years after the attack, I'm guessing he's moved on - or not - but I'm done defending Pattaya in threads that quickly abandon the incident in question in favor of the usual bashfest on a town that pumps billions of baht into the Thai Isaan economy. It's Sin City, and sin sells, apparently.

It was not my intent to bash Pattaya. Pattaya "is.. what it is!" A few times a year I like to visit as the shopping is great as is the food.

Not into the girly,night time drinking....just make day trips.

But driving there!!!!! ...No matter how defensive you drive,the zillions of motorbikes coming from all directions....enough to drive a man crazy....maybe that's the reason for all the crime in Pattaya.

100% agree that the traffic is insane - they need to spend serious money and they need to do it now, but then I'd say the same about every city on the eastern seaboard in Australia. I'm still asking myself if I have the cojones to go back to Jakarta and sit in that nightmare gridlock, but that's precisely the kind of future a large chunk of the Asia-Pacific can look forward to in 2030 if the powers-that-be dont act now. When a 90-minute trip from BKK to Patts takes 3 hours, you know there's a problem and its not confined to the origin and destination cities - this entire province has exploded in just a few short years. Think happy thoughts and always keep water in the car.

[Banzai99]

I must say....

I'm a Farang and I have an SUV and I have had old Farang Motorcycle riders dangerously riding in front of me, then turning round giving me a glare....!!!

I'm all over them from that instant, I want to pull them over and drum into them that if you bring a motorcycle to a fight with a Fortuner, you're gonna lose, and , you never challenge people on the road, it's dangerous, a friendly burn up , ok, but aggression, especially when you are the wrong side of 60 is not a good idea.

Old Farangs should be banned from driving in Thailand.

[ATF]

I must say....

I'm a Farang and I have an SUV and I have had old Farang Motorcycle riders dangerously riding in front of me, then turning round giving me a glare....!!!

I'm all over them from that instant, I want to pull them over and drum into them that if you bring a motorcycle to a fight with a Fortuner, you're gonna lose, and , you never challenge people on the road, it's dangerous, a friendly burn up , ok, but aggression, especially when you are the wrong side of 60 is not a good idea.

Old Farangs should be banned from driving in Thailand.

If you were a falung why would you use a pic of a Sikh? Indians are caikes not falungs and you should be more considerate driving in a tourist area however stupid the scooter riders are.

[HeijoshinCool]

I must say....

I'm a Farang and I have an SUV and I have had old Farang Motorcycle riders dangerously riding in front of me, then turning round giving me a glare....!!!

I'm all over them from that instant, I want to pull them over and drum into them that if you bring a motorcycle to a fight with a Fortuner, you're gonna lose, and , you never challenge people on the road, it's dangerous, a friendly burn up , ok, but aggression, especially when you are the wrong side of 60 is not a good idea.

Old Farangs should be banned from driving in Thailand.

Ah, so it was the OP's fault? It was the OP who was "aggressive." He deserved to be chased down, punched and extorted?

Of course. Just more Thai bashing, right?

So, with all the Thai bashing on this site, why do you stay here?

[marko kok prong]

The only thing i find surprising about this is that he took you on one to one,and did not call his mates up ,think you were lucky,he could of just been a real bad dude,mafia or something,if you choose to live in that cesspool, i guess you have to expect it.

[Tmymaimee]

Why could you not have waited for him to go by first? Would have avoided all the issues from the start. You're lucky he didn't kill you.

[ukrules]

I haven't seen anything like this in Hua Hin.

[bigbamboo]

You should sell the rights to this to Steven Spielberg. He could do with another 'Duel'

[marko kok prong]

I once got into a bit of strife when i ran over a chicken in the village,however 20baht and a small bottle of lao khao,we were the best of friends,say's something about Pattaya i would think........

[CharlieH]

Post removed

7) Respect fellow members by posting in a civil manner: do not launch personal attacks, or be hateful or insulting towards other members, ie No flaming

[NoshowJones]

i would have stabbed him the first time but i have

no tolerance at all for personal attacks

better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6

I knife is no protection against someone like that especially with the age gap. A knife is only effective if you are real close to him, not if you are trying to get away. If you want to use a knife in self defence, learn how to throw one, and don't forget, you will only have one chance.

[ATF]

I must say....

I'm a Farang and I have an SUV and I have had old Farang Motorcycle riders dangerously riding in front of me, then turning round giving me a glare....!!!

I'm all over them from that instant, I want to pull them over and drum into them that if you bring a motorcycle to a fight with a Fortuner, you're gonna lose, and , you never challenge people on the road, it's dangerous, a friendly burn up , ok, but aggression, especially when you are the wrong side of 60 is not a good idea.

Old Farangs should be banned from driving in Thailand.

If you were a falung why would you use a pic of a Sikh? Indians are caikes not falungs and you should be more considerate driving in a tourist area however stupid the scooter riders are.

so your'e racist , good luck with that .

Caikes are caikes falungs are falungs. Oranges are oranges and apples are apples. Watch you don't knock a Russian off his bike.

[ClutchClark]

i would have stabbed him the first time but i have

no tolerance at all for personal attacks

better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6

I knife is no protection against someone like that especially with the age gap. A knife is only effective if you are real close to him, not if you are trying to get away. If you want to use a knife in self defence, learn how to throw one, and don't forget, you will only have one chance.

And with this skill you can always find work at a carnival and never fear going hungry again.