Crazy how one can have completely different experiences. I'm 39 and have traveled in over 20 countries. I've spent 50 days in Thailand since Nov 2016 (Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Samui - and I can promise I'm not staying in my hotel or only traveling during daylight in these places...) and will spend 30 more in Aug/Sept in Pattaya and driving myself around Isaan... I would state in a heartbeat Thailand has been the safest country by far for a lone 30-ish year old male traveler.

 

I can only think of 1 time I was even slightly nervous and that was walking from a club to my hotel in Chiang Mai when me and a girl I found had to walk by four 20 year old thais at 3:30am that were just hanging out. They definitely eyed me, but didn't say a word to me or the girl. I've been lost on the skytrain once, something has slipped out of a bag or my wallet twice... all returned to me on the spot by a passerby. I can't even think of a single time someone even started to act tough or say something to me on the street in Thailand. I mean, can many people name a single city in the world that would duplicate the feat of the corner Buddha shrine in Bangkok where no one steals the figurines from it? I can't think of a single city in the US where all those things would be gone within any 6 hour period of the day. 

 

And for the people that were 'scammed'. I can't even imagine how that's possible unless you're massively unintelligent/naive; but I would be willing to bet you'd also be scammed in your home country just as quickly with telemarketing scams or home remodels. I had to lookup what the jetski scam was - so it's just like car rental places in every country saying there was a ding that wasn't there before? Yeah, take a picture, that isn't unique to Thailand, but I guess I can see that happening and it would suck. Usually I have a local girl with me so maybe that's why I never feel hustled like some other posters with scams.

I did not answer this survey, because there was only a NO answer Thailand is not safe or a YES answer, Thailand is very safe.

Both of those answers are not completely correct.

In my case I first came to Thailand in 1977,  visiting it again at least once every year, and Thailand has been my chosen home for the last 5 years as a retirement home.

I am not blind, and I do know the dangers of living in Thailand.

But I also have made a home here and like it here.

I am a U.S. citizen, and have lived and worked all over the world in my time, and I will just say that Thailand is safer than some other countries I have lived in, but then perhaps not as safe to live in as some of the countries where I lived and worked in my time.

So that is my answer.

 

 

 

 

 

for tourists, the stats and stories speak for themselves; for expats, thailand is more dangerous than so many other places due to the carelessness and stupidity of so many thais; the roads also speak for themselves; many of us over time tend to minimize our interactions with the thai due to their racist carelessness