Brit injured in fight on Walking Street, South Pattaya

[klauskunkel]

Of all the things a 23 year old can choose to do in Pattaya, this guy chose to drink with strangers...

Well, whatever tickles your pony.

[mike324]

Yeah, he probably kept ordering more and more rounds of drinks, thinking his new friends would pay the tab for all the drinks he was ordering. I recall being told that certain people from a certain place have a habit of doing that. Happy to sit and drink as long as someone else was buying the rounds, but when it came their turn they would suddenly disappear (at least until someone else signaled for another round at which point they would miraculously reappear).

I go out drinking with my Thai friends all the time. I sometimes have a hard time trying to pay the bin as one of them has already scooped it. We've come up with a bit of system - each bar/club we go into, someone different pays the bill. If we sit in one place a long time and guys are buying drinks for friends/ladies, then everyone chips in. Never had, or seen, an argument over who was supposed to pay the bill but maybe that's because none of the people I hang out with try and take advantage of each other.

I think I would like to follow you around for a night and see this place where, "Thai Friends" pick up the drink tab. In all my years living in BKK, Pataya, Phuket I have never seen this happen and never, never ever have I had the luxury of a "Thai Friend."

Don't see why you wouldn't believe some people have true Thai Friends, not just "Thai Friends" like you are complaining about. My Thai Friends who brings other farangs to their group always pick up the tab for the farang when they hang out, heck even when my friends bring me to drink with other groups of Thai folks, he would pick up my bill, I"m not caucasian. This is an asian culture thing, not saying it is 100% of the time, but its the norm among friends. The other scenario is friends would evenly split the cost, no one ever complains as people normally pay less than 1000 baht drinking the whole night.

I have met instances when I was younger where farangs crash other tables and get free drinks and disappear when they had enough to drink. If you go to popular clubs, Thais are pretty friendly with their neighbors and would toast strangers beside and pour drinks for others as well from their own bottle.

Again, in this case it could be the Thais trying to rip off the farang too, we don't' know the truth.

[steven100]

Been in Thailand long Mr Anderson ..... ? I suspect not .......

Mr Anderson ..... please understand the thai culture is a bit different of that to what you are use to back home .... I am sorry if your friends appeared genuine and you thought how smart and intelligent you were as your thai friends continued on enjoying your company and having a laugh with you as company.

It is customary for the farang to pick up the bill when in company of thai friends .....

The reason being that you are a foreigner and as such earn far more than the meager thai salary ..

It would be considered offensive should you reject to cover the cost of your friends companionship, enjoyment, food & drink etc ....

and I guess you found this out in lesson one ...... ( you have much to learn grasshopper )

Welcome to Thailand Mr Anderson ...

[Dogmatix]

Lets take a look where this man hails from. During a Friday night in the UK a young person can hope to encounter many scenario's. The main scenario being a drunken scuffle. The UK can be a warzone on the weekend.

I imagine whilst drunk he forgot he was in Thailand. He has proceeded with drunken insults at the displeasure of the situation, only inflaming it beyond all proportion. The Thai will have then set about making an example of him. I have noticed the Thai do not do rude well, and struggle to grasp the concept of sarcasm.

People always end up fighting where alcohol is concerned and the British people know this. They won't tar the situation with the same credit as the recent murders in Koh Tao. They will liken it to a typical night out in the UK or on the Costa Del Sol.

A smarter man on finding himself lured into this situation would plead desperation to go to the toilet and never return.

[Lobber]

Separate bills

[draftvader]

The real lesson here is that, as I tell my friends coming into town, if you are drinking with "new Thai buddies" then you are paying...very simple!

Reminds me of a time when I met another Brit here who, whilst being the "big man", threw out his stash for his new buddies to build from. The next time he looked it was gone never to reappear. I laughed far too hard in front of him on that one! What an idiot!

[draftvader]

Yeah, he probably kept ordering more and more rounds of drinks, thinking his new friends would pay the tab for all the drinks he was ordering. I recall being told that certain people from a certain place have a habit of doing that. Happy to sit and drink as long as someone else was buying the rounds, but when it came their turn they would suddenly disappear (at least until someone else signaled for another round at which point they would miraculously reappear).

I go out drinking with my Thai friends all the time. I sometimes have a hard time trying to pay the bin as one of them has already scooped it. We've come up with a bit of system - each bar/club we go into, someone different pays the bill. If we sit in one place a long time and guys are buying drinks for friends/ladies, then everyone chips in. Never had, or seen, an argument over who was supposed to pay the bill but maybe that's because none of the people I hang out with try and take advantage of each other.

I think I would like to follow you around for a night and see this place where, "Thai Friends" pick up the drink tab. In all my years living in BKK, Pataya, Phuket I have never seen this happen and never, never ever have I had the luxury of a "Thai Friend."

Don't see why you wouldn't believe some people have true Thai Friends, not just "Thai Friends" like you are complaining about. My Thai Friends who brings other farangs to their group always pick up the tab for the farang when they hang out, heck even when my friends bring me to drink with other groups of Thai folks, he would pick up my bill, I"m not caucasian. This is an asian culture thing, not saying it is 100% of the time, but its the norm among friends. The other scenario is friends would evenly split the cost, no one ever complains as people normally pay less than 1000 baht drinking the whole night.

I have met instances when I was younger where farangs crash other tables and get free drinks and disappear when they had enough to drink. If you go to popular clubs, Thais are pretty friendly with their neighbors and would toast strangers beside and pour drinks for others as well from their own bottle.

Again, in this case it could be the Thais trying to rip off the farang too, we don't' know the truth.

Agreed. I have a truly tough time paying when out with my Thai friends. Then again I've been here over 6 years and have had plenty of opportunities to help and support these people in life (i.e. be a friend) the payback is far too generous and just leads to a massive feedback loop to rival the end of a Jimi Hendrix concert.....love it

[TheCruncher]

Yeah, he probably kept ordering more and more rounds of drinks, thinking his new friends would pay the tab for all the drinks he was ordering. I recall being told that certain people from a certain place have a habit of doing that. Happy to sit and drink as long as someone else was buying the rounds, but when it came their turn they would suddenly disappear (at least until someone else signaled for another round at which point they would miraculously reappear).

I go out drinking with my Thai friends all the time. I sometimes have a hard time trying to pay the bin as one of them has already scooped it. We've come up with a bit of system - each bar/club we go into, someone different pays the bill. If we sit in one place a long time and guys are buying drinks for friends/ladies, then everyone chips in. Never had, or seen, an argument over who was supposed to pay the bill but maybe that's because none of the people I hang out with try and take advantage of each other.

Nobody can be forced to drink, and not everyone drinks at the same pace.

In fact there is only one good system, and you will have noticed that the bars in Thailand prefer it that way, and that is everybody has his own bill.

You drink what you want and how much you want, and buy lady drinks or whatever as much as you like, and the service staff get multiple times tip at the end.

Never a reason for arguments, since you pay what you ordered.

[TheCruncher]

Yeah, he probably kept ordering more and more rounds of drinks, thinking his new friends would pay the tab for all the drinks he was ordering. I recall being told that certain people from a certain place have a habit of doing that. Happy to sit and drink as long as someone else was buying the rounds, but when it came their turn they would suddenly disappear (at least until someone else signaled for another round at which point they would miraculously reappear).

I go out drinking with my Thai friends all the time. I sometimes have a hard time trying to pay the bin as one of them has already scooped it. We've come up with a bit of system - each bar/club we go into, someone different pays the bill. If we sit in one place a long time and guys are buying drinks for friends/ladies, then everyone chips in. Never had, or seen, an argument over who was supposed to pay the bill but maybe that's because none of the people I hang out with try and take advantage of each other.

I think I would like to follow you around for a night and see this place where, "Thai Friends" pick up the drink tab. In all my years living in BKK, Pataya, Phuket I have never seen this happen and never, never ever have I had the luxury of a "Thai Friend."

I think the difference here is that Kerry's friends have a job, while what you meet in walkingstreet are low lifes.

[Alwyn]

The lesson here is never drink with Thai men you have just met on walking street , not the best place to find friends,

+1

[richard_smith237]

Yeah, he probably kept ordering more and more rounds of drinks, thinking his new friends would pay the tab for all the drinks he was ordering. I recall being told that certain people from a certain place have a habit of doing that. Happy to sit and drink as long as someone else was buying the rounds, but when it came their turn they would suddenly disappear (at least until someone else signaled for another round at which point they would miraculously reappear).

I go out drinking with my Thai friends all the time. I sometimes have a hard time trying to pay the bin as one of them has already scooped it. We've come up with a bit of system - each bar/club we go into, someone different pays the bill. If we sit in one place a long time and guys are buying drinks for friends/ladies, then everyone chips in. Never had, or seen, an argument over who was supposed to pay the bill but maybe that's because none of the people I hang out with try and take advantage of each other.

I think I would like to follow you around for a night and see this place where, "Thai Friends" pick up the drink tab. In all my years living in BKK, Pataya, Phuket I have never seen this happen and never, never ever have I had the luxury of a "Thai Friend."

Don't see why you wouldn't believe some people have true Thai Friends, not just "Thai Friends" like you are complaining about. My Thai Friends who brings other farangs to their group always pick up the tab for the farang when they hang out, heck even when my friends bring me to drink with other groups of Thai folks, he would pick up my bill, I"m not caucasian. This is an asian culture thing, not saying it is 100% of the time, but its the norm among friends. The other scenario is friends would evenly split the cost, no one ever complains as people normally pay less than 1000 baht drinking the whole night.

I have met instances when I was younger where farangs crash other tables and get free drinks and disappear when they had enough to drink. If you go to popular clubs, Thais are pretty friendly with their neighbors and would toast strangers beside and pour drinks for others as well from their own bottle.

Again, in this case it could be the Thais trying to rip off the farang too, we don't' know the truth.

This welcomeness and generosity also reflects my experiences:

At the beginning of a friendship it was difficult for me to contribute to a bill for the first year or so when out with my (Thai) friend in a group of Thai's.....

For the nth time I remember protesting, eventually the group got used to the fact that I was no longer a guest in their country and actually lived here. Bills were split evenly.

To this day the bill is divided up equally amongst friends.

Its part of normal life when those around you want nothing more than friendship, perhaps in more normal areas of Thailand outside of the tourist hot spots.

Edited October 15, 2014 by richard_smith237

[Alwyn]

I'm reading posts here where people are saying "I've never had Thai friends" and "My Thai friends always expect me to pay" and such like. I get invited out by Thais now and then or asked to join them if they're already out. It's hard to pay for anything! The Thais I know make a big thing about paying for me and really, they get offended when I offer to pay! I have to sneak to the bar or pull a waitress to the side and order up (and pay for on the spot) whatever we're drinking and eating! There again, these aren't 200 baht a day builders which probably makes the difference! How do people live in a county for years - presumably with a local lady/wife and not have friends from the country?

[bdenner]

So with Mr Anderson down for the count who did pay the bin?

[richard_smith237]

It seems to me that there are a number of posters who have integrated and mix well with Thai's around them.

They have made friendships which I'm sure are genuine and will be lasting.

It also seems to me that there are a number of posters who have been unable to integrate and mix well with those around them. Possibly due to socio-economic and geographical reasons... i.e. Its difficult to find genuine friends when those around you are only interested in your money (i.e. tourist areas), language barriers also make things extremely difficult for many.

What does astonish me is that those who have been unable to make genuine Thai friends seem not to believe its possible - Perhaps this is the reason for their failing.

Either way, and perhaps back on topic - We all know that getting drunk with a bunch of local men we have just met has a high potential for trouble. It is perhaps also for this reason that friendships for some are hard to come by due to natural defensiveness or simply meeting the wrong people, in perhaps the wrong areas.

Edited October 15, 2014 by richard_smith237

[petercool]

Some posts removed for either using obscenities or being derogatory etc.

[jaywalker]

Yeah, he probably kept ordering more and more rounds of drinks, thinking his new friends would pay the tab for all the drinks he was ordering. I recall being told that certain people from a certain place have a habit of doing that. Happy to sit and drink as long as someone else was buying the rounds, but when it came their turn they would suddenly disappear (at least until someone else signaled for another round at which point they would miraculously reappear).

I go out drinking with my Thai friends all the time. I sometimes have a hard time trying to pay the bin as one of them has already scooped it. We've come up with a bit of system - each bar/club we go into, someone different pays the bill. If we sit in one place a long time and guys are buying drinks for friends/ladies, then everyone chips in. Never had, or seen, an argument over who was supposed to pay the bill but maybe that's because none of the people I hang out with try and take advantage of each other.

Yeah there are some decent Thai guys out there that one can make friends with.

I worked with a crew of civilian "mechanics" on some military rebuild contracts...My hair went gray trying to get them to organize any damned thing, but any one of them would have jumped in front of a bullet for me.

I got PLASTERED in Surin City one night.....I had found the only bikini bar in town & I was by myself....wifey had crashed out at the hotel earlier.

I started partying with 4 or 5 guys at the bar & they all wanted me to buy a round.....SURE!

Next round I said "Hell No! Your turn!"

It was cool. We took turns buying rounds & I was LOST like a MOFO......NO IDEA where the hotel was when I stumbled out of there.

One of the guys quite kindly led me back to it, as it was only a couple blocks away.

Act like you HAVE some common sense, & people will treat you like you are in possession of said rare commodity, no matter how drunk you get.

[NoshowJones]

Yeah, he probably kept ordering more and more rounds of drinks, thinking his new friends would pay the tab for all the drinks he was ordering. I recall being told that certain people from a certain place have a habit of doing that. Happy to sit and drink as long as someone else was buying the rounds, but when it came their turn they would suddenly disappear (at least until someone else signaled for another round at which point they would miraculously reappear).

I go out drinking with my Thai friends all the time. I sometimes have a hard time trying to pay the bin as one of them has already scooped it. We've come up with a bit of system - each bar/club we go into, someone different pays the bill. If we sit in one place a long time and guys are buying drinks for friends/ladies, then everyone chips in. Never had, or seen, an argument over who was supposed to pay the bill but maybe that's because none of the people I hang out with try and take advantage of each other.

Yeah there are some decent Thai guys out there that one can make friends with.

I worked with a crew of civilian "mechanics" on some military rebuild contracts...My hair went gray trying to get them to organize any damned thing, but any one of them would have jumped in front of a bullet for me.

I got PLASTERED in Surin City one night.....I had found the only bikini bar in town & I was by myself....wifey had crashed out at the hotel earlier.

I started partying with 4 or 5 guys at the bar & they all wanted me to buy a round.....SURE!

Next round I said "Hell No! Your turn!"

It was cool. We took turns buying rounds & I was LOST like a MOFO......NO IDEA where the hotel was when I stumbled out of there.

One of the guys quite kindly led me back to it, as it was only a couple blocks away.

Act like you HAVE some common sense, & people will treat you like you are in possession of said rare commodity, no matter how drunk you get.

Have a drink and enjoy it, how can a drunk act as if he has common sense when it is the exact opposite?

[andypatt]

Drinking with Thais and expecting them to pay???? Oh how naive, obviously his first time in Thailand

[kaobang]

Drinking with Thais and expecting them to pay???? Oh how naive, obviously his first time in Thailand

depends its not rare to meet young thais who call you to join them and offer beer

however,not in the tourist spots like phuket,pattaya....

it happened to me in Buriram,Hat Yai,Nong Khai, and Huai Kwang in Bangkok

[Brit_Doggie]

The lesson here is never drink with Thai men you have just met on walking street , not the best place to find friends,

Or women,have found in many instances that the simple game of connect 4 induces the ladies to demand drinks for winning this strategic game.

[brewsterbudgen]

Lets take a look where this man hails from. During a Friday night in the UK a young person can hope to encounter many scenario's. The main scenario being a drunken scuffle. The UK can be a warzone on the weekend.

I imagine whilst drunk he forgot he was in Thailand. He has proceeded with drunken insults at the displeasure of the situation, only inflaming it beyond all proportion. The Thai will have then set about making an example of him. I have noticed the Thai do not do rude well, and struggle to grasp the concept of sarcasm.

People always end up fighting where alcohol is concerned and the British people know this. They won't tar the situation with the same credit as the recent murders in Koh Tao. They will liken it to a typical night out in the UK or on the Costa Del Sol.

Indeed, Pattaya, is a lot safer than most UK town centres on a Saturday night!

[BlackJack]

lesson learned

never drink with the Thais

[Jim walker]

Pattaya The new global sports hub possibly boxing skills might help

[Jeremy50]

The unfriendly, cynical, predatory loner type always has the most 'fun' in a place like Pattaya. Why spend the evening drinking with a bunch of men ,when you could be hunting down a f@@@ buddy for the night.

[belg]

did the bar owners lift any money out of the victim's pocket to pay the bill ?

[fritzzz25]

I used to go drinking with some friends like this. They were direct descendants of the Tyrannosaurs Rex. They have these tiny little arms that could not reach down to the pocket to retrieve their wallets. Buggers never could pay for a round of drinks!

So I ended up buying the necklace tube wallets as gifts. Imagine how shocked they were when they were in the perfect position to reach those short little arms!!!!

[H1w4yR1da]

He has proceeded with drunken insults

Whete does it say that in the report?

[Banzai99]

He will have come here with the Koh Tao story ringing in his mind.

Gets here and gets fleeced by a bunch of Thais who then beat the crap out of him to add insult to injury and will then go back home and possibly report to his local press of how truly violent and dangerous Thailand really is for tourists as he has found out first hand.

Repeat this a few times.

Slowly the message will get across.

Has the message got across to you, if so, where will you be going instead of Thailand ?

[doggie888888]

lesson learned

never drink with the Thais

I think the Thais' take home lesson is: never drink with a Cheap Charlie.

But perhaps more accurately in this case, never drink with a Brit but that would be generalising, wouldn't you say?

[BlackJack]

Years of experience is.in my message