Thai woman defends trespass at Yellowstone Park after online criticism

[tbryant15]

Incredible. In the other thread, I said I don't believe in plastering her face and humiliating her. Let's just educate and move on. After this article of her not admitting guilt but deflecting about "not having a big sign". I hope the Thais do humiliate and embarrass her.

 

To anyone defending the "not having clear signs" part.. Yellowstone is in Wyoming. It is not near huge tourist spots in the USA most would visit. I'm talking about not being near Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Boston.. You have to arrange pretty concrete plans in going to this National Park as it is very out of the way. In doing that, you must have researched and known about the dangers of this park.. including the thermal areas/geysers. For one to act completely oblivious and not admit guilt is just completely ignorant. 

 

The mentality of Thais continue to baffle me. I get scolded often by my GF and her family for being a "defensive driver" in Bangkok and allowing some cars to get in front of me and not driving illegally on the shoulder just to pass a few cars. I am just not comfortable with it.

Like someone said, do they need to place a fence around every bear/animal in the park?? Danger is danger.. The idiotic thing is that if something were to happen, the uproar from the Thais would be resounding. "Americans fault for not blockading natural geysers and its beauty".

[connda]

Fragile mean fragile ecology, and dangerous mean you can get seriously burned you ignorant moron.  I have a personal friend who was seriously burned doing about the same thing.  Now, go to my country and make a mockery of its laws, then come back and bash farang.  Fool.  It's time to forward this on to the Park Services at Yellowstone.

Edited August 16, 2017 by connda

[Lobber]

imagine the uproar if a farang had done spomething similar ina Thai national park... ooh forgot ...they do 

Bad enough for an idi0t to sit on a r0ck shaped like a c0ck

[jimster]

6 hours ago, Credo said:

I went through Yellowstone and several other national parks, including the Grand Canyon last April...well before the tourist season was in full swing.   I didn't run into many Thais, but there were quite a few from Mainland China.   

 

Asians in general just don't seem to understand, or feel the need, to follow the rules.  They were constantly littering --throwing cigarette butts all over, driving very fast, and paying no attention to marked trails.    They tried to get dangerously close to large animals to take 'selfies'.   

 

At the Grand Canyon, it was even worse.  There were people from all over the world, but it was the Asians who were in areas clearly marked as off-limits.   One Chinese man had managed to catch a squirrel and other's were feeding them, although signs were posted in numerous languages (including Chinese).   

 

The Park Rangers do give you a small talk as you enter about dangers, staying on assigned trails etc.   

 

A friend from Thailand was along and he was truly horrified at the behavior of many of the people from Asia.   He even asked to go elsewhere because he said he was ashamed to be Asian, the way many were acting.   

 

Yeah it's kind of weird. For many it's all about taking pictures and getting the best shots. I hate going anywhere with certain Thai friends who only travel to take photos. They don't even travel to eat exotic food, preferring Thai food and rarely touching anything non-Thai. Some of them barely even touch Cambodian or Lao food, despite their similarity to Thai food - I mean come on people, fish amok is almost 100% identical to pla ho-mok in Thailand. Just that the Khmers eat it far more often as ho-mok doesn't seem to be particularly popular in Thailand for some bizarre reason (it's absolutely delicious if you ask me).

 

Many Thai tourists who travel to the beach (and I know a few) don't even end up going swimming. They just go to the beach, stand in the sand, take a few pictures, maybe if they're inclined they might get their feet wet and make some captain obvious remarks to each other like: "eww, this water is salty" yes it's the ocean, what do you expect? With this kind of attitude, why travel? They also spend most of their time at dinner uploading pictures to Facebook and complaining about how slow the wifi or mobile internet is, rather than engaging in conversation with each other.

 

I increasingly shy away from travelling to popular tourist attractions (especially in the west) that are popular with overseas visitors. Reason being you spend so much time paying attention to what the hordes of other people around you are doing you don't end up enjoying yourself. Tourism is supposed to be about relaxing and enjoying yourself, especially if you're heading to a natural attraction. It shouldn't be about jostling with crowds and trying to get a shot within that 15 second window when no one else is standing in the background to ruin your perfect "Kodak moment".

 

I enjoy traveling with a Vietnamese pal, he thinks and acts differently to most of his fellow countrymen. He almost never takes photos (he kinda hates taking pictures and in particular, selfies) and he enjoys all kinds of food, even Indian food. On the other hand, he increasingly struggles eating out in most places both at home and abroad mainly because of his concerns for GMO and pesticide laden foods, rice and noodles that have been bleached (which is ubiquitous worldwide unless it's natural or organic), meat that has been injected with hormones and antibiotics, the same things I am increasingly concerned about too. He loves swimming, snorkelling and diving, the same things I enjoy too.

[jimster]

16 minutes ago, connda said:

Fragile mean fragile ecology, and dangerous mean you can get seriously burned you ignorant moron.  I have a personal friend who was seriously burned doing about the same thing.  Now, go to my country and make a mockery of its laws, then come back and bash farang.  Fool.  It's time to forward this on to the Park Services at Yellowstone.

Yeah the reaction of the elderly lady afterwards was definitely uncalled for. My wife was telling me the individual in question was interviewed on channel 3 and she had to turn off the TV after the woman starting using the race card and other absurd nonsense to defend her behaviour. Maybe we should all start becoming professional victims and accuse Thais of racism every time we do something wrong. How pathetic and uneducated, but this kind of nonsense is becoming more and more common unfortunately. It's common sense to obey signs in a geothermal area they're designed for our own safety.

 

It's puzzling to me how Thais mostly become sheep, blindly obeying certain types of authority like the medical establishment (have you ever heard of a Thai challenging their doctor's advice?) but when no one's around and a sign warns them not to do something in a national park they ignore it. They cut in front of you from the fast lane when turning left and it's only because there are automated cameras fining everyone who does this 500 Baht that it starts to stop.

Can anyone explain this inconsistency?

[MyFriend You]

1 hour ago, AWillOz said:

Wow, I'm a photographer and i've heard a lot how photographers are getting a raw deal in USA, but going to prison because they didn't purchase the right to take a photo of some trees.. seriously???

What the 'ell are you talking about??  You "heard" this crapola from some  idiot, so it has to be true, I have been in dozens of national parks and have never been told I can't take photo's..........the only restrictions are Military Bases..............have whomever told you this send a link.

[ALFREDO]

2 hours ago, walkoff said:

How many languages in the world? The sign is posted in languages of the visitors most often seen. Perhaps tour guide to manage the members of group. Park Rangers are not at every site. 

Even in Thai - Thais would not care, anyway I meant my statement in a ironic way - most go school for a couple of years but learn nothing, at least in Isaan - lol    

 

Edited August 16, 2017 by ALFREDO

[jimster]

1 hour ago, Bluespunk said:

I'd like to see a video of what happened if they tried that. 

If they had tried to bribe a police officer in America (or even a park ranger), they would have been met with the full force of the law. Arrest, brought before a judge, a heavy fine, possible jail time. Bribing a public official in the USA is no laughing matter.

[Bluespunk]

9 minutes ago, jimster said:

If they had tried to bribe a police officer in America (or even a park ranger), they would have been met with the full force of the law. Arrest, brought before a judge, a heavy fine, possible jail time. Bribing a public official in the USA is no laughing matter.

Exactly why I would like to see a video of it. 

[jimster]

2 hours ago, wealthychef said:

This is probably because the rules in Asian countries are made by pompous morons for no reason other than an orderly society. The rules in America at least have a rational basis if not always a rational execution. It's style vs substance. 

Exactly. That's why Thais melt in front of certain types of authority like teachers and doctors who tell them what to think or do - even though these individuals make mistakes and are often wrong just as much as everyone else in society but when it's time to make their own decisions using logic and common sense, like not going into a geothermal area because it's dangerous, they seem to revel in disobedience and think it's cool. In other words, they are unable to think for themselves.

 

In a society like this, all that government needs to do is simply strengthen the law and punishment against disobeying the law and people start obeying because they are scared of paying a fine and/or going to jail; it's rare to get anyone to protest proposed amendments in the law (the stupid proposed banning of passengers in the back of pickups being a rare exception, forcing the government to put that on hold for now).

 

I have noticed quite a change in driver behaviour here since automated cameras have started to be installed in many places now. Unfortunately, if this trend continues Thailand could become a more pussified place to drive a car than even Australia, where you can get a fine for driving 1km/h over the speed limit and if you don't pay it, look out. Although I don't think that will happen anytime soon, but if you want an example of a highly regulated society where the rules are a bit over the top - look no further than Singapore. Many of the rules in place in that country are only done for the purpose of order and revenue raising and don't necessarily have a rational basis. Think for example the extreme fines for eating and drinking on the MRT (S$500) as if that were the crime of the century. I suspect that as Thailand develops, it may eventually become Singapore 2.0 as a way of creating an obedient society, not a society of free thinking individuals with common sense as it should be. Of course, the same is happening in the west too, common sense is disappearing fast but not quite as fast as in countries like Thailand.

[KOZMO]

I grew up in Buffalo,  New York so i would visit the falls at least 3-4 times a month. First it was just the rich Japanese going to the falls, cutting in line

going over the fences and markers to take closer pictures. Had a few slide down the grass above the Horseshoe Falls and they were gone. August on 2016

went to visit my 91 year old mom and had not seen the falls in many years. Now we had Philippinos, Thais, Chinese, Koreans and Japanese all jumping into the flowers and crawling under the fences to get the Cellphies . Must be an Asian thing !!! 

[jimster]

6 hours ago, jacko45k said:

So how big does a sign need to be before a Thai takes it seriously. I mean it may help reduce road deaths locally if all the speed limit signs are changed for ones 40 foot in diameter.

Lots of speed limit signs going up in Thailand since 2016, many of them quite big but most are rightfully ignored because they make no sense whatsoever. Consider the 90km/h flashing speed limit sign right behind the 120km/h sign on the Bangkok-Chonburi motorway. Which one is it? 90 or 120? I just do 120 everywhere on that road. Even more ridiculous is the fact that between Suvarnabhumi airport and the rama 9 junction, the speed limit is only displayed once, in the outbound direction and it's 120, yet this section of the motorway has the highest traffic volume along it's entire length and if anything would be justified in having the speed limit reduced to 90 or 100km/h. Yet a straight section of motorway well after the Lad Krabang toll booth heading towards Chonburi and Pattaya is only 90km/h for a few km and rarely ever sees any heavy traffic, which is not surprising, given it's in the middle of nowhere? Most major Bangkok thoroughfares have a speed limit of 80km/h while many sections of expressway where by definition you should be able to drive fast also have a limit of 80 (or sometimes 90) where's the logic in that? Most Bangkok roads are congested with traffic all day and you're lucky if you can even get to 50 or 60km/h let alone 80, which, if you travel in the right lane and a motorcycle does a sudden u-turn will mean instant death for the motorcycle and you too (if you are also riding a bike) or a heavily damaged car otherwise.

 

Maybe that explains why many Thais just don't take signs seriously, whether on the roads or elsewhere. I can understand that, if you consider the logic (or should I say lack thereof) in designating speed limits on Thai roads - like as I mentioned above, placing the same speed limit on a busy city road as on an expressway or having two contradictory signs right next to each other. Unless they've lived abroad or spent much time there, how would they know that when a sign in another country says danger, it actually means danger?

[overherebc]

32 minutes ago, TunnelRat69 said:

What the 'ell are you talking about??  You "heard" this crapola from some  idiot, so it has to be true, I have been in dozens of national parks and have never been told I can't take photo's..........the only restrictions are Military Bases..............have whomever told you this send a link.

If you read the original post about it you will realise that it reads very much like they were riding bikes where they shouldn't have been, using a drone where they shouldn't have been and by interpretation making what would most likely a youtube video to make money, hence charged for photography for commercial reasons.

[MaksimMislavsky]

Well, they trespassed a little bit into some off-limit area for a short while. So what? Why just not let it go. The "event" is neither newsworthy nor does it deserve any attention whatsoever. Truly ridiculous mount made of a molehill.

[jimster]

5 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

And Thais are allowed to batter little kids in Siem Reap with candies (as happened a few years ago)...

What do you mean by that? It's not illegal to feed little kids candy in Siem Reap (or anywhere else in the world that I know of) the kiddies can be annoying, I avoid them but many first time Thai visitors melt, they marvel in how well they speak English (compared to them) and give them candy, money and other freebies not realizing that most of these kids are begging on behalf of adult "pimps" the kids rarely get to keep anything they receive, unless it's something small they can eat straight away without being seen.

[jimster]

4 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

plus," i couldn't read it,

why didn't they write it in Thai?"??

What for? Thai isn't a major international language and the number of Thai visitors to Yellowstone or indeed any major international tourist attraction globally pales in comparison to the number of Chinese visitors. I've noticed there isn't much of a trend for Thai writing outside of Thailand even where it might be justified. For some reason, even in neighboring Laos and Cambodia near the Thai border Thai language is rarely seen, yet one sees plenty of Vietnamese and even Chinese in Laos (and Lao and Khmer writing on the Thai side near their respective borders), and even some Chinese here and there in Cambodia, especially in the airport area of Phnom Penh. Perhaps these countries don't think it's necessarily to display Thai more often, or Thais think they can navigate in English. It's the same with Thai restaurants outside of Thailand. I've almost never seen a Thai restaurant in a western country which has a Thai menu, even when many of the diners are Thais. Yet I've never seen a Chinese restaurant without a Chinese menu or Chinese characters on the shopfront.

 

Why is that?

[phuketrichard]

6 minutes ago, jimster said:

What for? Thai isn't a major international language and the number of Thai visitors to Yellowstone or indeed any major international tourist attraction globally pales in comparison to the number of Chinese visitors. I've noticed there isn't much of a trend for Thai writing outside of Thailand even where it might be justified. For some reason, even in neighboring Laos and Cambodia near the Thai border Thai language is rarely seen, yet one sees plenty of Vietnamese and even Chinese in Laos (and Lao and Khmer writing on the Thai side near their respective borders), and even some Chinese here and there in Cambodia, especially in the airport area of Phnom Penh. Perhaps these countries don't think it's necessarily to display Thai more often, or Thais think they can navigate in English. It's the same with Thai restaurants outside of Thailand. I've almost never seen a Thai restaurant in a western country which has a Thai menu, even when many of the diners are Thais. Yet I've never seen a Chinese restaurant without a Chinese menu or Chinese characters on the shopfront.

 

Why is that?

some people just dont understand sarcasm.

[jimster]

8 minutes ago, phuketrichard said:

some people just dont understand sarcasm.

I get sarcasm very well but your overuse and inappropriate use of punctuation threw me off.

 

Also, I think I made a good point - one rarely sees Thai language written anywhere outside of Thailand, not even in neighboring countries. That's a curious observation and even though Thai  isn't an international language, there are places where it should be more common (in border areas of all neighboring countries, Thai restaurants and massage parlours outside of Thailand and anywhere with a lot of Thai tourists such as parts of Japan). If the Chinese can manage to spread their language far and wide, why can't the Thais do the same?

Edited August 16, 2017 by jimster

[stanleycoin]

Hope she never has children.

it would be criminal to pass on her genes 

[Mrjlh]

A "Red circle with Red Slash" means the same thing Internationally. "DO NOT" do what ever is within the circle.

[wcoast]

To be fair, the sign in question did not say no trespassing, no walking or do not enter. It stated DANGER, with smaller text indicating to stay on pathways. So it's a bit hard to tell if there is a pathways surrounding that pool. The log which the sign was placed on was hardly an obvious barrier, and if anything it would serve as a bit of an obstacle to draw attention to the small sign. IMHO a lot to do about essentially nothing.

Sent from my SM-A910F using Tapatalk

[wcoast]

If they had tried to bribe a police officer in America (or even a park ranger), they would have been met with the full force of the law. Arrest, brought before a judge, a heavy fine, possible jail time. Bribing a public official in the USA is no laughing matter.

Unlike lobbying, which is basically legal bribing of elected officials. Such a farce.

Sent from my SM-A910F using Tapatalk

[wcoast]

Through a Yellowstone Park contact I have, I should have an answer in 24 hrs how this will pan out now that she made this ridiculous statement instead of simply apologizing.

Irregardless of what she said, the sign at the spot warned of danger, it had nothing to do with trespassing or off limits areas. It asked people to stay on paths for their safety. It didn't specify that not doing so was a crime. That said, who's to say that there wasn't a pathway around this pool? Obviously the small log was not intended as a barrier, but likely a place/object to draw attention to the danger sign.

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[owl sees all]

5 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

plus," i couldn't read it,

why didn't they write it in Thai?"??

Now days there is no need to say "why didn't they write in Thai?" All these signs should be electronic with a button for any language they (anyone) want/s. Get yourself into 2017 Yellowstone!!

 

Good job there were not mushrooms growing nearby!

[masuk]

9 hours ago, Dobredin Ghusputin said:

The sign in the video is small. But there are larger signs are all over the place that you cant possibly miss unless you have your head up your selfie-taking arse.

 

 

 

 

The sign is in a good few languages, but maybe needs a pictogram of someone being cooked in the boiling thermal ponds.

[Dobredin Ghusputin]

3 minutes ago, masuk said:

needs a pictogram of someone being cooked in the boiling thermal ponds

This might be it.

 

[owl sees all]

8 minutes ago, masuk said:

The sign is in a good few languages,

Notice how the type gets smaller for the other languages. Maybe should be the other way round. Press a button for your language and listen to the message. Easy for any sensible <deleted>.

[Tuk Dua]

1 hour ago, MaksimMislavsky said:

Well, they trespassed a little bit into some off-limit area for a short while. So what? Why just not let it go. The "event" is neither newsworthy nor does it deserve any attention whatsoever. Truly ridiculous mount made of a molehill.

Until they fall through the thin earth/salt crust into the scalding water below and die of 3rd degree burns - then what will it be?

[NotThatGuy]

In that case they should charge Thai Citizens Entry Fee that's about $100 per person so they can make special BIG SIGNS just for them

Edited August 16, 2017 by NotThatGuy

[stanleycoin]

43 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

 

Good job there were not mushrooms growing nearby!

Nah.