Seriously, you can't make this shit up. Where do these people come from?

On a unrelated note. How have you been a member since 2001, have 13,000 posts, and only 50 likes lol. Perhaps you should stop posting..

I would be careful calling myself "everyone", if I was you.

Yeah but this is nothing new, my brother in law has told me dozens of stories of the Thai police stopping busses and checking everybody on board. Another story I heard is the police raided this nightclub, guns and all, locked the door and wouldn't let people leave until they were piss tested. Mainly what they were looking for was meth, didn't really care about weed or anything.This was over 10 years ago though, and it all basically stopped once the word got out. The government made a few phone calls and told the police to stop, mainly because stuff like this hurts tourism. History is repeating itself....

Farangs have money, and Thailand is reliant on this money; beggars can't be choosers.

Yes, when there are enough complaints the police are normally forced tp extort elsewhere. Its funny though now to see thailand freaking about where are all the tourists? The TAT is trying to build up the image of thailand and again but the Junta is destroying it.

This the latest campaign attempt by the TAT to restore some of the charm the country has to offer. It's just very far from reality here.

FishTaco you sound like the guy who believes every bad story you heard from your buddies buddies brothers cousins sister in law.

They rolled their eyes at you? You poor thing! Wherever I go I call the locals "locals", if you don't want at least a bit of a hard time for being a tourist then stay the fuck at home cause you're gonna be a "farang" or a "haolie" or some variation anywhere you go, either to your face or behind your back.

How about, I'm not a dumbfuck tourist stupid enough to purchase illegal drugs in a foreign ass country. It's the same shit as people panicking about the safety of Mexico because a few people got killed, yet the people killed went to sketchy areas and bought drugs from sketchy people and that shit has risks everywhere.

And you sound like the typical ignorant twat that knows everything about everything. You must have missed the part where I have been living here for 2 years. I'm not a tourist, yet you seem to think you know more about this country. Pitiful.

Oh, and here's my brother's friend's sister's cousin's bf being searched for walking.

You should be banned for posting in the travel forums and forced to read a book. Educate yourself.

I get it now, you're sick of more tourists coming in so you're trying to get us to sod off cause you were there first, got it.

Yes I'm so sick of seeing revscene tourists. They are easy to spot in a city of 12 million people. In fact I hate them so much that I made another thread to show everyone how shitty it is to live here.

http://www.revscene.net/forums/67816...nd-living.html

You are just making yourself look like a complete doucher. Keep commenting though please I'm enjoying teaching you about life.

15 mins into this doc:
This Is What Winning Looks Like | VICE | Canada

Pot gardens in police stations.

you can see in the movie Restrepo how hard it can be to win local Afgans over.

I can't remember where I saw it, but I've seen Canadian Forces patrolling huge pot farms.

Edit: My point on my original post was how ludicrous your allegation was about being a sex tourist, so the facts that you had been fighting in Afghanistan and you're liberal stance on drugs, I made a blind assumption too.

On topic.

They should tax those damned tourist traps and sex bars, make fees on visa's, then actually pay cops a decent wage. Then there wouldn't have to be incidents.

You've said it before, just because it didn't happen to any one of us, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. True. Murder happens in Canada too. But it doesn't make it an epidemic here.

To be frank, if it was such a huge problem, our embassy would be warning us not to go. Thus reduced tourism to their country, making it a problem for the government. At that point I would see a crack down on tourist abuse. Otherwise, it's just you foretelling a future that may or may not happen.

Edit2: I looked at those links you posted from those expat forums. Even the members there argue that it's not as bad as some of the other members make it out to be.

If you think you're teaching anyone about anything you must have spent too much time in the sun, but whatever makes you feel better.

Surely you must mean this.
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0cc55362.jpg

Nobody gives a shit about their pot fields. Our base was surrounded by acres of it. Also opium. The Afghan police smoked it all the time while working. We were not looking for drugs.

Many countries had a 'Do Not Travel' warning to Thailand for a long time and only has it been lifted after the US stepped in and told Thailand to get their shit together after the Malaysia flight went missing. Where did the passports come from? Thailand.. Counterfeit of course Then there were the fishermen slaves forced to work against their will so that Wal Mart could buy cheap food.

And the tourism has declined so much already that many locals are looking for alternative ways to make ends meet. Hence the rise of crime against foreigners and the extortion by the police. It is already a problem for the government. There are lots of suicides from Thai people from all these changes. After working 10 years on the beaches, they are now told to fuck off and find other work.

Most of this is already known to many people. Just not to some of the members on this forum. I don't understand why some people think that I am the one reporting this. I am just sharing news content from other people.

Also, the Junta wants to have full military policing soon.

This country is turning into a Dictatorship.

Are you taking the piss? I already commented on that.. Read.

You are an exception to learning. Please stay in Kelowna and do not pass your genes on, please...

what???????

South America, Africa, even Middle Eastern countries I can see but really? thailand???? where did you pull these facts?

(10 Most Dangerous Cities in The World to Travel - EscapeHere)

They have North Korea, even retarded Detrioit, but Somalia etc, but I don't ever see Thailand... where are you pulling these facts from?
(20 World's Most Dangerous Vacation Destinations | Travel & Places - Part 20)

I might as well have been. I just clicked on the links and didn't read the rest of the thread.

Cambodia you say? Yeah, the cops might not as be corrupt, but the people there aren't as nice as Thai's. Circa 2012 that is. I don't know about now.

And getting extorted while walking down the street is a pretty big offense by police. what is this the 1800's ? Well if there is a travel ban to Thailand from Canada in a years time. You were right. Thailand has gone down the shitter.

As far as I know, I've always tried to blend in with or befriend the locals, know the customs, and speak a bit of their language. It has always gotten me a long way when it comes to staying out of trouble.

I said 'Tourist destination'. Nobody goes to Somalia for tourism because you are not allowed.

This is recent but is from the UK. Since there are mostly British tourists here.

You can all take this information, or leave it. Up to you.

Anyways, I am going to enjoy the long weekend now. King's 87th birthday was yesterday but he was advised not to leave the hospital to make an appearance. It will interesting to see Thailand's future after his reign.

Love Live The King.

From the UK you say?

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand

They mention increased terrorism threats, 1 death of a Brit in 2013 and 2 in 2014 out of 800,000 tourists from the UK/year.

^LOL, I was just on that site. No police extortion mentioned.

What I did learn was that; not carrying a passport, and Koh Islands gangs are a concern.

sounds like you were ill prepared for life as an expat. After living in Vietnam for nearly 7 years most of what you said happens quite frequently and would be surprising to someone who just started to live here or is traveling.

1. Cops trying to get money? Happens in a lot of places in SEA. Vietnam is pretty easy going however people do get shaken down for money, mostly during traffic stops.

2. Lots of "white" countries still see any Asian as being Chinese or from one specific country. Even in Vietnam when I am with other Asian ethnicities the Vietnamese people will speak with them in Vietnamese assuming they are Viet.

3. Living in a communist country has its challenges, not sure how the current government would be in Thailand.

4. being seeing as a walking ATM is really dependant on where you are going. If your in the main tourist areas then yes this is true but most people know that the Vietnamese have a lot more money than a bunch of tourists, the same is probably true for Thailand.

5. Two tier pricing system - this is true to a lot of places but as you live in a place long enough you should know what things cost. Even Vietnamese who are living outside of their home city get over charged because locals can tell where their dialect is from.

With all that being said, Vietnam is an awesome place to live. I have never felt unsafe here. People are generally pretty cool and welcoming, especially out of the main cities.

Move here.

If anyone has time, take a look at this. Thailand 'most dangerous tourist destination' claims book - Telegraph

Vietnam interests me as well but I think cambodia is more lenient with visa rules. I have a dog and cat too so maybe vietnam would not be a good place for me. I really enjoy cambodia. It's sleepy, not built up, and drug laws are virtually non existent. Marijuana is a cooking ingredient there. Higher crime though. I saw a girl have her purse ripped off her by motorcycle.

If that surprises you then South East Asia is not the place for you.

How can you expect us to believe anything you have said when you generalize about Vietnam by alluding that your pets would be unsafe b/c of an extremely small percentage of people who eat cats and dogs.

I also question anything you say when you choose a place to live based on their drug laws. Unless you are actually trafficking drugs in these countries I doubt you would have any issues, excluding Singapore.

how does one know corruption from the authorities isn't rampant in nicaragua/cambodia...or any developing country for that matter?

if you weren't so worried about living with muslims i'd suggest brunei

edit: nm you'd get capital punishment for your drug use haha

The problem for me isn't corruption. I prefer to take care of a driving violation on the spot. The problem is when police come to your condo to search it, stop you while you are going to work to interrogate you, plant drugs on you so you have to bribe them to let you go, being told you dropped a cigarette butt on the ground beside you and told you have to pay 10000baht($330), harass you, passport check and pay a fine for not having it (legally not required to carry), anything to squeeze a few bucks out of you.

I've been to cambodia numerous times, already have friends and contacts so I'm aware of the situation but won't be fully aware until I try living there. If it's too bad then I'll go somewhere else. Maybe back to Costa Rica.

As for racism in Thailand, Google 'xenophobia in thailand' if you wish to learn more about the land of smiles.

If you're an ex-pat living there..of course you're going to put up a fight.

But for a tourist who's there for a short stay and you're unlucky to be targeted be nice, listen to them, put your cell phone away and work on a compromise and just hand over tea/bribe money.

I believe that goes to every poor shady country you visit. It the price of business...the way the world spins.

Thanks for your warning though. I'll have my tea money ready. No need to make a messy situation even worse.