Balance in the news

[oxforddon]

Recent and past headlines in and around Pattaya make it sound like this is the most lawless place on earth to live and that can be put down to positive news never being printed - or very rarely. (The UK, for example, has 400,000 street robberies per year according to one BBC program but if each one was reported as news then it would look like the UK was a far worse place to live than Pattaya - and maybe it is.)

After many decades in Bangkok, and many years now here in Pattaya, I could probably list hundreds of very positive stories of being helped along country roads by villagers, tyre changes by Thai passers by, genuine police assistance, court verdicts in favour of the foreigner and many more such positive incidents.

This is not a rant, but a call for some perspective when reading the news and when commenting on it. Have a nice day.

[lovelomsak]

What is considered everyday life . Is not news. People living in harmony and doing humanitarian things is simply doing the right thing. Good actions are their own reward no need for news about it.

But if people are killing others and robbing,scamming etc others people want to be warned. news is the fastest way to let the masses know.That said you are right many places are dangerous. But here you get Thai news not news from other places.For me Thailand is the only country I personaly have been left for dead. i was mugged twice in Bahamas,once in Mexico,but not left for dead.

None of my incidences made the news either.

[oxforddon]

I accept that your first sentences are valid and regret that the penultimate sentence's story occured.

I wish all posters had the same reasoned response as yours and guess my comments were triggered by posters who seem to forget the reality of both news bias and their home land's comparative problems. Peace.

[onemorechang]

It is lawless.

Get in your car, go drive down the Sukhumvet road for an hour or so

then come back and report, about law and order,

and that's just on the roads.

[oxforddon]

Lawlessness and its opposite is in the eyes of the beer holder ......

[onemorechang]

I give you an example .

A few weeks ago a security guard/ Car park attendant, pulled a gun on a foreigner over a parking issue at a bank in pattaya.

Now go back say 10-15 years ago, the guard/ Car park attendant would have given you a salute and a smile and not be worried about who parks where. also he would not be armed.

Lawless, yes.

[oxforddon]

I could quote many, many incidents of a positive nature but no single incident from either your side or my side reflects the totality of life here. I can accept that. Can you ?

[onemorechang]

you carry on mate.

The moon is made of Cheese.

Have a nice day

[lonewolf99]

The whole world has gone mad - Weather is now news !!!! I am typing this and it is raining outside in Jomtien in January -

OH No !!!! There is even a thread on TV running on this subject !!!

I have seen rain in every month of the year here. Rain happens, deal with it, buy a brolly, we are in the tropics - read about tropical weather systems, murderers lurk round every corner, deal with it.

Good people are hard to find, and when you do find one the last thing they want is their face splattered all over Pattaya 1 / Pattaya people Televison news...

[JSixpack]

Spot on, OP. However, this very thread will merely be turned into a Thai bashing thread as they all are, the opposite of your call. It's one reason I stopped reading or posting much on the forums. Read the first post in a thread and you know what the others will say, unless it's some matter of fact, like where to buy speaker wire. I appreciate the small minority of posters fighting the good fight, but they can't win.

[Gsxrnz]

ThaiVisa is merely a tabloid type forum that publishes news items from either the local tabloid press (and I use the word "press" very generously there) as well as the recognised foreign tabloid equivalents.

The local and foreign rags that TV subscribe to are as far from the Fourth Estate as you can get.

[lovelomsak]

I have one that should be the poster boy for Thailand good news.

As we all know the Pattaya bridge club was raided and 32 people are out on bail,set at 5000 baht each.

Well the lawyer representing them has given each player 4000 baht and when he wins the case will keep the 5000 from each player.So he is basically charging them 20% fee.But the really big thing is he paid the 4000 to each player himself and will wait till the case is settled to get his money back. So this kind man laid out 4000 baht times 32 people or 128,000 baht of his own money to the bridge players and will wait till he wins the case in court to get it back and get his 20%.So this lawyer put up 128,000 baht and will wait to get 160,000 back and receive hi 32,000 baht fee.

That should be front page news to toot Thai goodness.But only hear from one man on TV you can verify with him if you like his TV name is novanova

I feel bad for the bridge players for being put through so much for nothing,and it costs each of them 1000 baht. But this guy is quite generous to help the way he did.

[Keesters]

It is lawless.

Get in your car, go drive down the Sukhumvet road for an hour or so

then come back and report, about law and order,

and that's just on the roads.

Not just Pattaya but the same all over Thailand and in many other parts of the world. OP did not say Pattaya was not lawless but just that it is perhaps not the most lawless.

Your Pattaya bashing is uncalled for.

[Roomuck]

I give you an example .

A few weeks ago a security guard/ Car park attendant, pulled a gun on a foreigner over a parking issue at a bank in pattaya.

Now go back say 10-15 years ago, the guard/ Car park attendant would have given you a salute and a smile and not be worried about who parks where. also he would not be armed.

Lawless, yes.

It sounds to me like the parking attendant was upholding the law.

[IAMHERE]

I give you an example .

A few weeks ago a security guard/ Car park attendant, pulled a gun on a foreigner over a parking issue at a bank in pattaya.

Now go back say 10-15 years ago, the guard/ Car park attendant would have given you a salute and a smile and not be worried about who parks where. also he would not be armed.

Lawless, yes.

It sounds to me like the parking attendant was upholding the law.

Yes, and lost his job too. An empty rice bowl for him and his family. Of course the Australian biker is doing just fine.

[mihalis]

You have go to be kidding.. Do actually read world news.. Countries such as South America, South Africa, Mexico.. Are rated the worlds most dangerous, lawless

[onemorechang]

You have go to be kidding.. Do actually read world news.. Countries such as South America, South Africa, Mexico.. Are rated the worlds most dangerous, lawless

Oh dear.

And there was me thinking this was the Pattaya Forum.

I must be wrong again.

Oh well back to the Coffee and Cognac

[Roomuck]

IMO opinion Pattaya is the best city in the world in the best country in the world. Nowhere else even comes close.it does have a rather relaxed law enforcement in some areas, but the good outweighs the bad tenfold. Thu why it is so popular and has been for decades. And getting more and more so every year.

Cheap international food at cheap prices, cheap beer served up to you in a cooler in thousands of places from the beach to the bars to the higher end places.

Friendly people from all around the world, every night I see tourists here having the time of their lives, from 20 year olds to 70 year olds.

Great shopping, markets everywhere to the more high end stuff at central etc., great supermarkets that are better and cheaper than in other parts of the world.

A great hospital and some other cheaper one as well.

Dentistry work a fraction of the cost of other countries.

You can party 24/7/365 if you want. I NEVER get bored here.

Cheap professionally trained masseuses. And a few dodgy ones.

Many truly great golf courses such as Siam country club, with amazing terrier like caddies who have an uncanny knack of finding my balls in the roughest of the roughs. International schools.

The worlds best gogos, cold draught beers for a couple of bucks, many other standard nightclubs open every night with a fun atmosphere, or just sit by one of the many beer bars watching the sunset over Pattaya bay. The Thai pubs here also rock, live music, dancing hot, hot girls, table service and the delicious Thai cuisine.

Water parks and heaps of other great tourist attractions.

One of the best privately owned gardens in the world who clean up at the Chelsea garden show every single year smashing the opposition.

Nice and compact, everything pretty much in a 10 or so kilometer radius.

Sit on the beach, the friendly Thais will set you up a chair and bring you food and drinks.

When it comes to the Fun Police, well, yeah it is lawless.

It would have to be the closest place to heaven on earth. I would say God bless Pattaya, but he already has!!!!!

[joebrown]

It's the same the whole world over...good news doesn't sell newspapers, but bad news does. I lived in North Central Thailand for 5 years and have been in Chonburi (Pattaya, Jomtien & Sattahip) for 6 years. I've only ever been in 1 potentially life threatening incident in that time. It was on Sukhumvit Rd, Pattaya when I foolishly, lowered my car window and offered my bi-focal glasses to the driver of a minibus, after he'd pulled out on me without warning at a U-turn. He decided to chase me along Sukhumvit, then drew alongside and tried to force me off the road. I was able to 'escape' by making a diversion into a maze of side sois. I learnt a valuable self-preservation lesson from that incident, and now refrain from responding to others' stupidity on the roads. These days, as always I wear a seat-belt, but now also ensure the doors of my car are locked at all times, just in case!

[onemorechang]

I give you an example .

A few weeks ago a security guard/ Car park attendant, pulled a gun on a foreigner over a parking issue at a bank in pattaya.

Now go back say 10-15 years ago, the guard/ Car park attendant would have given you a salute and a smile and not be worried about who parks where. also he would not be armed.

Lawless, yes.

It sounds to me like the parking attendant was upholding the law.

Oh.

Can you tell me what law he was enforcing ?

[Roomuck]

I give you an example .

A few weeks ago a security guard/ Car park attendant, pulled a gun on a foreigner over a parking issue at a bank in pattaya.

Now go back say 10-15 years ago, the guard/ Car park attendant would have given you a salute and a smile and not be worried about who parks where. also he would not be armed.

Lawless, yes.

It sounds to me like the parking attendant was upholding the law.

Yes, and lost his job too. An empty rice bowl for him and his family. Of course the Australian biker is doing just fine.

Plenty of jobs around, I doubt his family will starve. No need to be dramatic.

The Aussie was a bikie, not a biker. Killed by other farangs. And the crack team of RTP detectives solved that one in no time.

[Roomuck]

I give you an example .

A few weeks ago a security guard/ Car park attendant, pulled a gun on a foreigner over a parking issue at a bank in pattaya.

Now go back say 10-15 years ago, the guard/ Car park attendant would have given you a salute and a smile and not be worried about who parks where. also he would not be armed.

Lawless, yes.

It sounds to me like the parking attendant was upholding the law.

Oh.

Can you tell me what law he was enforcing ?

Parking laws.

[onemorechang]

I give you an example .

A few weeks ago a security guard/ Car park attendant, pulled a gun on a foreigner over a parking issue at a bank in pattaya.

Now go back say 10-15 years ago, the guard/ Car park attendant would have given you a salute and a smile and not be worried about who parks where. also he would not be armed.

Lawless, yes.

It sounds to me like the parking attendant was upholding the law.

Oh.

Can you tell me what law he was enforcing ?

Parking laws.

It was in a Bank car park , mate !!!!!!

You want a Cognac, ? they are very relaxing .

[vogie]

Pattaya has never been the same since it was twinned with Raqqa.

[Suradit69]

I could quote many, many incidents of a positive nature but no single incident from either your side or my side reflects the totality of life here. I can accept that. Can you ?

It's a losing battle. People see what they want to see and will take any single incident/experience and turn it into a generalization.

Someone has an argument with a Thai taxi driver and that is reported as all Thai taxis drivers being bad. Someone encounters a grumpy cashier in a supermarket and that implies that all Thai smiles or acts of politeness are fake. Someone gets short-changed by 10 baht in a market and all Thais are labeled as dishonest.

And even on the positive side, a report about lost money being returned immediately generates derision as a staged incident. A Thai wife is geuninely grieving the death of her fanang "partner" and pages of posts on TV, with no evidence, imply that she had a hand in his death. A Thai fisherman lies in the mud and allows some farang to walk on him in order to extricate themselves and many posters dismiss that as if the fisherman had some self serving agenda.

There are a lot of bitter people here who are unhappy with their own lives and who rejoice in anything negative that's reported about others and are incensed about anything positive.

Pattaya's population and tourist flow have increased greatly over the past 10 to 20 years. Of course there will be more crime and more cases of people having disagreements. Sad commentary on people generally, but hardly unique to Pattaya or Thailand. Some people mistake Thais generally polite and patient attitude as an invitation to treat them like servants or as if the Thais should all behave in accordance with some preconceived notion generated by tourism slogans.

Been here for about 18 years, roughly half of that for 3 or 4 months a year on holiday and half as a full-time resident. I still feel perfectly safe and have never had any experience that contradicts that. If something does ever happen, I still would not immediately condemn Pattaya, Thailand or Thai people generally. Stuff happens sometimes and it can happen anywhere.

[GAZZPA]

It's a fair point being made here, my only contribution is this,

It is pointless making any comparisons with any other country. This is often used to belittle the issues here simply by stating that other places are worse, well it is not facing reality and accepting that there are problems here and they should be addressed.

What is important is how you personally feel living here, if it suits you, you feel safe and happy then who gives a toss what anyone else says. but that doesn't mean that there are no problems,, for me the biggest issue is the police and the insecurity I feel about relying on them should i ever need them. But, I only ever needed the police once or twice in my entire life so how big an issue is it really?

I think the Police need to change from commercial entity (tea money collectors) to real law enforcement, thats my biggest complaint about this country.

Do I feel safe? well yes, but like every country I ever go to I apply common sense as to where I go and how I behave and I avoid unnecessary risk.

Don't suck up to much negative press and stay happy is the best way I think.

[champers]

I'm really pleased to see so many positive responses on this thread. I'm with the OP too. But, what about the "silent majority"? Over 1300 views of the thread, but only 20 odd replies. Can Thai Visa do anything to get more people posting rather than just viewing?

[oxforddon]

@champers

I think we both know that in order get more posts the topic has to include ladyboys, traffic fines, jet skis or the like .... but thanks for your own response. Cheers

[Roomuck]

I give you an example .

A few weeks ago a security guard/ Car park attendant, pulled a gun on a foreigner over a parking issue at a bank in pattaya.

Now go back say 10-15 years ago, the guard/ Car park attendant would have given you a salute and a smile and not be worried about who parks where. also he would not be armed.

Lawless, yes.

It sounds to me like the parking attendant was upholding the law.

Oh.

Can you tell me what law he was enforcing ?

Parking laws.

It was in a Bank car park , mate !!!!!!

You want a Cognac, ? they are very relaxing .

Yeah, sure, why not? Your shout.

[JSixpack]

IMO opinion Pattaya is the best city in the world in the best country in the world. Nowhere else even comes close.it does have a rather relaxed law enforcement in some areas, but the good outweighs the bad tenfold. Thu why it is so popular and has been for decades. And getting more and more so every year.

Cheap international food at cheap prices, cheap beer served up to you in a cooler in thousands of places from the beach to the bars to the higher end places.

Friendly people from all around the world, every night I see tourists here having the time of their lives, from 20 year olds to 70 year olds.

Great shopping, markets everywhere to the more high end stuff at central etc., great supermarkets that are better and cheaper than in other parts of the world.

A great hospital and some other cheaper one as well.

Dentistry work a fraction of the cost of other countries.

You can party 24/7/365 if you want. I NEVER get bored here.

Cheap professionally trained masseuses. And a few dodgy ones.

Many truly great golf courses such as Siam country club, with amazing terrier like caddies who have an uncanny knack of finding my balls in the roughest of the roughs. International schools.

The worlds best gogos, cold draught beers for a couple of bucks, many other standard nightclubs open every night with a fun atmosphere, or just sit by one of the many beer bars watching the sunset over Pattaya bay. The Thai pubs here also rock, live music, dancing hot, hot girls, table service and the delicious Thai cuisine.

Water parks and heaps of other great tourist attractions.

One of the best privately owned gardens in the world who clean up at the Chelsea garden show every single year smashing the opposition.

Nice and compact, everything pretty much in a 10 or so kilometer radius.

Sit on the beach, the friendly Thais will set you up a chair and bring you food and drinks.

When it comes to the Fun Police, well, yeah it is lawless.

It would have to be the closest place to heaven on earth. I would say God bless Pattaya, but he already has!!!!!

Excellent! Agreed except the police are more maligned than they deserve. Having driven a motorbike around PTY for many years, I've have had a number of encounters w/ the BIB. And to me they've always been professional enough. I wouldn't count a few "gotchas" against them as I've encountered the same in the States. I then knew to avoid those in particular. And what's 200 or 400 baht? A district office police chief once helped me immensely with righting an issue w/o asking for any compensation. Super guy, saved me a fortune in lawyer's fees. I recall a thread here insisting that cops were only stopping farang drivers at a particular intersection; a few days later, my Thai gf got ticketed there also. Yeah, some of the biggest nonsense here derives from our posters, esp. the CSI: TVF, demonizing the police--though they do create a justifiably bad impression sometimes. For perspective you have to keep in mind how much you're paying in taxes for police services. How 'bout we raise visa fees for improvement? NO-O-O-O!

That will probably extend this thread for a few more pages!

But here you've had the mind-boggling audacity to say positive things about our beloved cesspool with its diverse, colorful, self-indulgent cesspoolians. Each point will have to be countered. We have the standard explanation ready for your unacceptable non-conformity to the party line: you MUST be either a real estate agent or a desperate property owner trying to talk up real estate values! (Our renters love to believe that all property owners are desperate to sell.)

That said, we do have threads on occasion w/ quite a few positive posts: When boredom starts to rule the day, I Love Pattaya, and Why live in Pattaya? My contention is the vast majority of expats living in Pattaya are happy living here, warts & all, as I am, but they aren't posting on the forum or probably even reading it.