Chinese guide abandons 33 tourists in Pattaya

[Thaivisa News]

Pattaya, Chon Buri:- Pattaya police came to the rescue of 33 Chinese tourists late Thursday night after they were abandoned by a female Chinese tour guide.

The terrified tourists filed a complaint at the police booth on Jomthien beach at 11:30 pm that they had been abandoned by their guide and a tour agent, prompting Pattaya police chief Pol Col Sukthat Pumphanmuang and tourist police to rush to help them.

The 33 tourists included two children. They became worried that they would not be able to return home.

Their representative, a 48-year-old woman, told police through an interpreter that they were abandoned by a guide known as Ya Wing Ping, after she was dissatisfied that she failed to charge them more for tour guide service.

The woman said her group bought a tour package from China at the rate of 2,399 yuans each or about Bt12,000. The group arrived in Thailand on February 16 and checked into a hotel at the Jomthien beach on Wednesday.

She said the guide demanded each of the tourists to pay 1,380 yuans more to her but she refused as she thought it was not fair. However, she later learned that 20 members of her group had paid the guide so she tried to demand the money back however the guide later disappeared with the 27,600 yuans from the 20 tourists.

After they filed the complaint, a 20-year-old woman from Chiang Mai, Ahfang Sae-lu, contacted police on behalf of the New Gen Co Ltd, which is the tour agent in Thailand for the group.

Ahfang said the company would return the money to group on behalf of the guide, who disappeared. The company would take care of the group until the tourists return to their country, she added.

[arthurwait]

[simon43]

It is perhaps understandable that if you were guiding a large group of Chinese, you also might get the urge to abandon them

[trogers]

It is perhaps understandable that if you were guiding a large group of Chinese, you also might get the urge to abandon them

Either that or extra income is needed to pay for psychiatric treatments...

[Mango Bob]

I rather be cleaning toilets at an Indian gas station in Mumbai then being a tour guide for a group of Chinese.

[Pattaya28]

"The terrified tourists"

[simon43]

Chumpol said there was no trace of fighting so he might accidentally fall and kill himself.

Indeed, Pattaya can be a truly, terrifying place....

[toybits]

No Thai Guide? Isn't that a violation of the Tourism Code?

[keestha]

I wouldn't mind so much being abandoned by the tour guide in Pattaya at 11.30 PM, would probably find a way to amuse myself for the rest of the evening.

[Fullstop]

It's amazing how utterly useless the group of Chinese were. They're like a flock of brainless sheep. They must have some kind of hive mentality.

[mango66]

12.000,- THB for a week !! all included !!

So this are now the new HQ tourists which bringing foreign currency to Thailand,

6.000,- to 8.000,- off for the ticket,

so how much for a day, Hotel, local transport, sightseeing, food; - 1.000,- or less !!

I spend 5.000,- just for a dinner,

but they will not see my money any more :-))))

[petermik]

Are these the "upmarket" chinese tourists that the TOT is trying to lure

[emilymat]

.......terrified, and the police 'rushed' to the scene. OMG

[TomYumpoochai]

I can imagine them running round the lobby screaming for food and the toilets but unable to find anything because there was no one waving a clipboard at the things they couldnt find on their own....

[Andre0720]

Go for a RUSSIAN guide......

[uptheos]

I can imagine them running round the lobby screaming for food and the toilets but unable to find anything because there was no one waving a clipboard at the things they couldnt find on their own....

Do they actually look for toilets?

[craigt3365]

After my experience with them today at the Grand Palace, I can understand this guide's actions! It was terrible. Had to yell at several to stop pushing, shoving, yelling and touching things they weren't suppose to. What a zoo.

But tour groups in general are hard to deal with. Regardless of the nationality.

[Vogele123]

I rather be cleaning toilets at an Indian gas station in Mumbai then being a tour guide for a group of Chinese.

Are you a SCAT perv? I think even given the reputation of the Chinese tourist, I would gladly take the challenge rather than any toilet cleaning folly in India, you are a brave man my friend, a very brave man!

I would however side with the tour guide that abandoned them, it cannot have been a pleasant task.

But to be honest, she must have had a bit of a raw deal, most Chinese (Shanghainese) are pretty much coming around and are learning to queue, wait in turn, not push.

It will take a while for them to integrate - look at Thailand a couple of hundred years ago!

Thank God the Brits taught the Hong Kong lot some manners, now it is their turn to teach their mainland bretheren - the spitting, the shitting, the pissing ( I still see quite a bit of public roadside pissing here in Northern Thailand - best to toot the horn and make dog noises out of the car window as you pass, obviously making sure they can't get their dicks put away in time to catch up with you)

Edited February 20, 2015 by Vogele123

[ggt]

I rather be cleaning toilets at an Indian gas station in Mumbai then being a tour guide for a group of Chinese.

As a Chinese tour guide...you are expected to keep the sidewalks, streets, behind the 7/11, and hotel stairwells clean...a daunting task with 33 crappers to take care of...

[Scott]

I lived and worked in Hong Kong and China years ago. I like the Chinese, but it does take some getting used to the cultural differences. Every year for a long time I spent my birthday at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou.

One interesting experience I had was when I went with a tour group from HK to Beijing for 7 nights and 8 days. A friend agreed to translate for me, since the tour leader spoke Cantonese. In China, however, we were escorted by our official Chinese gov't provided guide, who did all the speaking. She only spoke Mandarin and the HK people only spoke Cantonese, so the whole tour ended up in English!! China was VERY poor at the time. It was not long after the Tiananmen Square protests (which our nice guide said never happened and nobody was killed or injured). In spite of the poverty, it was quite a safe place.

The whole thing cost $300 and included a hotel room (nice hotel), all meals, all transportation and admission to all sites. But you haven't really lived until you have been a part of a Chinese tour group. We ate together, we slept together, we went to the toilet together, we shopped together. We burped and farted together. It was a complete loss of individual identity.

We even went to a fancy nightclub with Western Music together (yes they did have a few, but only the sons, daughters and members of the ruling party could go -- One of Deng Xiaoping's daughters was there that night. Of course, we all sat together.

By the last day, I just couldn't take a moment more of this intimate, almost jail-like situation. The group was to go to the Tombs of some of the ancient leaders of China. I said I would go back to Tianammen Square and the Forbidden City. I actually planned a little bit more nefarious activities, but I could not take being with the group for another minute. I told them I would meet them at the train station under the clock tower for the trip back at 7:00 p.m. They resisted and being Chinese decided they would all change their plans and accompany me! I said no, I wanted to be on my own. They insisted, canceled the tour and we all went together, but I bolted and lost them and had a nice afternoon meeting some of the local people (up until then we had not spoken to one local person).

I made it back to the train station and waited for the group, but much to my amazement there were actually two clock towers. I decided that being the only person for miles who didn't have black hair, they would probably find me. There were thousands of people at the train station and they viewed me with a quizzical suspiciousness. I sat down and eventually one of them came closer and with a tentative movement offered me a hand rolled cigarette. I took it, then motioned for a lighter. At least a hundred people started laughing and giggling and moved close and started trying to talk to me -- mostly with sign language. It was a delightful 20 minutes or so. I was then rescued by my tour group who were pretty sure that they had saved me from a fate worse than death.

So, if you don't like Chinese tour groups, just remember, it could be worse. You could be one of them!

[houlicha]

I'll be chaparoning a group of American high school students in China this June. I'm hoping they won't have that much trouble finding the toilets, but I'll let you know.

[cookee68]

I rather be cleaning toilets at an Indian gas station in Mumbai then being a tour guide for a group of Chinese.

Hhmm

[konying]

OK here is where i am puzzled a little.

They were dumped by the guide, however instead of contacting the company where they purchased the tour, they somehow managed to find police station and managed to find an interpreter and managed to file a complaint

That's pretty resourceful for someone who is terrified

I might be wrong, but i believe most of these guide's work on tips, their guide must have realized none would be given

[jackh]

Upon return to China, that guide will be in a heap of trouble including jail time. The tour company will be suspended from operating for at least 6 months as well and forced to return ALL money to the group.

[Commander Tamson]

It's now the Year of the Sheep. There is confusion over the actual animal (sheep? Ram? goat? Horned Beastie?) they should have just called it the Year of Chinese Tour Groups. Then there'd be no confusion - Sheep it is.

[balo]

12000 baht all inclusive from China ? That's pretty cheap. I'm guessing 7000 baht for the flight tickets and 5000 to cover hotel and food for 7 days. Quality tourists are invading the city .

Edited February 20, 2015 by balo

[canuckistaner]

I love reading Thai Visa Forum. All of the prejudices and attitudes of humanity are so very much alive and obvious. I'm just observing, as I've seen this going on since I was a kid. Remember, the "Ugly American".......... Europeans made up that term and it stuck for quite a while. Then there were the Japanese tourists or Sex tourists...........the unwashed backpackers and Hippies.........Muslims and East Indians and of course Thais.....so much criticism on this forum, I'm wondering why Thailand has 20 + million tourists a year and there are so many Farangs wondering how they can extend their visas and stay long term in the LOS. I see a lot more negatives about Thailand and its people than positives mentioned on this forum. If I had never been to Thailand, then I would think that it was some kind of Banana Republic, where nothing works efficiently, people are devious and manipulative, dangerous with all of the murders in Koh Tao and Phuket and "suicides" of Farangs etc etc. I guess people only talk about negatives and the Media also highlights every negative incident: latest bomb, scam, murder, disappearance, beheading.

To put things into perspective, I keep reading that Vancouver, my hometown; is one of the most livable cities on the planet blah blah blah. Ok, thats the propaganda but do you know there are several hundred Unsolved murders in this city: of women, gang members, innocents etc. People keep disappearing and being murdered and they aren't all gang affiliates...and even so.......its the unsolved murder capital of Canada. I'll bet most of you never realized this. We are First World blah blah blah over here but..........I'll bet most places inThailand are much safer than Vancouver........

Now we have the Chinese tourists. They have certainly all been typecast as noisy, ugly, rude, demanding etc etc.......I do believe that some may be guilty of bad behaviour but I think that the underlying reason for hostility is the same as for the once upon a time, Ugly American, Japanese Sex Tourists, Muslims, and any other large and visible group of people who may be taking over someone else's playground or turf. I travelled Thailand back in the 70s.........not another Asian tourist in sight save for the occasional Japanese backpacker. In fact, I was the only Asian (Canadian Asian) tourist in most places. I was surrounded by dozens of "dirty, smelly, hairy hippies" from Western countries. We all stayed in the same run down hostels.....we had to be on our guard with each other since there was always a thief in the group..preying on fellow travellers. When we saw the occasional tour bus drop off a load of upscale tourists: Ugly Americans or Europeans...we let out a collective groan and cursed them. After all, this was "our turf"..and we thought that we were "one with the locals" and who were these outsiders walking around with their video cams and bermuda shorts talking loudly and taking non-stop group photos. Hmmmmmm.

Well, fast forward to 2015...same old story.....some things never seem to change. Anyways, I think we have all been guilty of this at one time or another. Lets face it, the standard of living in the West (I'm experiencing it right now in Vancouver) is going downhill. The dollar buys a lot less than before. I still remember 1 baht cokes and 3 baht kao pad gai in Bangkok. I lived in Bangkok on 4 dollars a day.....50 baht a night at the Atlanta Hotel in Sukhumvit. Ok, enough reminiscing....you might think I'm another old fart..........

Asia, especially East Asia is getting richer..so what do you expect. The masses have money and they are doing what we did decades ago and making a big impact on everything. Maybe one day Thailand will be a first world country (don't laugh) and we won't be able to afford to live there anymore. Like Vancouver........hahahah. It so expensive here, I'm hoping to move to S.E. Asia again......but with all of those Chinese running around....I can't identify with them because I was born in Canada and I never learned the language but they are also taking over Vancouver......hahahahaha And yes, I do find some of them annoying but I keep things in perspective. We still have the Best Chinese food in North America in Vancouver!

If you are finding Thailand increasingly stressful....try the Philippines. Its like Thailand decades ago. Right now, very little chance of it getting overrun with Chinese and other assorted farangs since the infrastructure is lacking. However, for the more adventurous there is a lot of opportunity. I hope to be headed there semi-permanently after I've finished my plan A in Vancouver.

[jacko45k]

I can imagine them running round the lobby screaming for food and the toilets but unable to find anything because there was no one waving a clipboard at the things they couldnt find on their own....

Lobby, toilets, same same!

[ianf]

It's amazing how utterly useless the group of Chinese were. They're like a flock of brainless sheep. They must have some kind of hive mentality.

I think that she left them because they all wore long dresses. They had shy knees.

[saroq]

It's amazing how utterly useless the group of Chinese were. They're like a flock of brainless sheep. They must have some kind of hive mentality.

They seem to have solved the situation that confronted them so they're not utterly useless.