security and safety

[aqueem 0]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this board and am thinking of going part time expat at first.I am more of a suburban{need space type person} and I think Pattaya would be preferable to BKK. I am concerned about the gang violence I read about in Pattaya Today. .Serious comments and advise from ex-pats living in Pattaya would be appreciated.Questions addressed would include how bad is the problem? how do you avoid bad situations?Can you get a gun permit there? Do you know anyone that has been hurt?

[upena 2]

highly exaggerated and exploited for the benefit of "news". IMHO most who get "in trouble" in Pattaya deserved it. There are a few that are innocent victims - but most bring it upon themselves. I feel safer in Pattaya at 2 AM drunk on my ass than I do at home sober.

[ArcticCat 0]

Can you get a gun permit there?

 

Oh for crying out loud. The last thing you want to do is pack heat in Pattaya.

[laffnliv 78]

The gang violence is Thai on Thai teenage motorcycle stuff. Doesn't happen in the tourist areas. In tourist areas the most common crime is bag snatching and gold chain snatching. Don't advertise your wealth, and don't get so pissed you lose track of what is going on around you and you won't have any problems. I have been coming here for over 13 years, and have basically lived here for over 4 years and have had no problems.

 

Little Roy

[mulphy 3]

ive lived in pattaya about 4 years, and in that time i have seen an increase in crime in and around the pattaya area.

 

the serious gun crimes tend to be 99% thai on thai , and usually dont happen within the entertainment areas of pattaya , more often than not they happen in sub districts of pattaya that are typical thai villages.

 

the biggest increase is in bag snatching, gold snatching and pickpocketing , so as a previous poster said, dont advertise your wealth and keep your wits about you and you will be fine.

 

other crimes such as housebreaking and car thefts happen much less here than in the states or in the uk .

 

the best advice i can ever give to any farang either living in or holidaying in thailand , is not to antagonise the thai people. treat them with respect and you will be perfectly ok.

 

i come fron glasgow in scotland, and in general i feel safer here than i do there , its not as bad out here as the media might lead you to believe.

 

lastly , yes it is possible for a farang to own a gun out here both by legal means and by illegal means , by that i mean you can apply for a gun licence at banglamung registry office , but you need to fit a strict criteria in order to have a permit issued. very few circumstances allow you to carry your gun on your person , and would normally require you to hold your gun in a locked container at home seperate from your amunition . illegal guns can be bought on the black market, but the penalties for possessing one outweighs any need for buying one in my opinion.

[upena 2]

main thing to do is

 

 

Jai Yen Yen

 

 

keep a cool heart

[don_dadda 0]

I will freely admit that I have never been to pattaya so I may be speaking out of hand. But i have been mongering and living in places more dangerous than Thailand. New Orleans, Washington DC, Seoul Manilla etc.

 

I have found that staying out of trouble, and danger believe me there is a difference, are easy if you are smart.

 

1) Go down with a friend or 2 or 12 and stay with them! Dont go wandering the streets at night by yourself especially if you dont know the area.

 

2) keep your wallet in your front pocket!

 

3) like everyone has said dont advertise your wealth

 

4) SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LEAVE THE LOCAL ALONE!!! I dont mean to say that thais arent friendly becayse in general they are a wonderful people and very gracious, but if they dont want to be botherd with you leave it. Go about your business. I use to live in a tourist town and nothing gave me and my friends more pleasure than kicking the shit out of tourist that came into town thinking they are king shit. this goes especially for Americans SHUT THE FUCK UP!!

 

5) other than that wrap ur dick and you'll be just fine

[farangkwaiyai 46]

Most criminals are lazy that is why they are criminals, we all can exploit this.

 

I agree with being overly polite and acting in a way that people will leave you alone because you look to hard of a target. Not always the case but i've never had a problem and i frequently go looking for trouble when i'm pissed!!! And i dont mean starting on people or hitting them. I mean walking down dodgy roads and talking to dodgy looking people. I find a smiling friendly face keeping an intimidating posture goes miles.

[Krowdon 0]

I use to live in a tourist town and nothing gave me and my friends more pleasure than kicking the shit out of tourist that came into town thinking they are king shit. this goes especially for Americans SHUT THE FUCK UP!!

 

Another someone jealous of the Americans? Awwwww

[don_dadda 0]

Another someone jealous of the Americans? Awwwww

 

I am an american

[farangkwaiyai 46]

I am an american

 

Sorry could you write that bigger I'm having trouble reading it!! So will you explain why you beat guys up from being foreign? Just before I cast you off as a thug... if they were rude and disrespectful then fair enough, but when most of us are on holiday we have a right to think we are "kings" for a short amount of time. I dont mean piss on and run over poor people i mean get waited on etc.

[don_dadda 0]

Sorry could you write that bigger I'm having trouble reading it!! So will you explain why you beat guys up from being foreign? Just before I cast you off as a thug... if they were rude and disrespectful then fair enough, but when most of us are on holiday we have a right to think we are "kings" for a short amount of time. I dont mean piss on and run over poor people i mean get waited on etc.

 

I got a little carried away, so I apologize for that.

 

It was because they were rude and disrespectful and talked alot of shit. Foreigners were never a problem, most of them came to just have a good time. It was usually US Marines fresh out of boot camp and thought they were all high and mighty.

 

I will admit in my youth I was a little "thugish" but for the most part I have settled down and just like to have fun.

[Krowdon 0]

I was just having a discussion about this with a bud of mine at work today. Cool…

 

Marines are infamous for being rowdy and seemingly intolerable. But then again, that’s a good thing. Day in and day out, we train and drill these young men to be aggressive and fearless, for that’s the type we need (or I suppose want) to be driving up that hill with a devil dog face on while the enemy is raining bullets down on them. Those are the kind of folks that get the jobs done; the dirty jobs that we don’t really want to do, but need doing anyway. So anyway, we instill this aggressive behavior in these young men, then we set them forth onto the community (at home or abroad) and we ask them to “be nice and play well with others”. Obviously, it doesn’t work well… What SHOULD be done, is to send a Gunny out with ‘em, someone to keep them in check while still letting them let loose a bit, but that doesn’t happen.

 

Yes, the young brash Marines are a pain, but picking a fight with them accomplishes nothing. They’re not going to back down (usually), and they’ll probably even take pleasure in the “war wounds” they get from the confrontation. If avoiding them seems unlikely, you could always try chumming up with ‘em. You might find them to be some rather decent chaps, even if unconventional.

Edited November 20, 2006 by Krowdon

[farangkwaiyai 46]

I got a little carried away, so I apologize for that.

 

It was because they were rude and disrespectful and talked alot of shit. Foreigners were never a problem, most of them came to just have a good time. It was usually US Marines fresh out of boot camp and thought they were all high and mighty.

 

I will admit in my youth I was a little "thugish" but for the most part I have settled down and just like to have fun.

 

Rude and disrespectful, thats fair enough for a quick beating. People that are like this know the risks they just get cocky. I ended up in a row the other day in Mcdonalds, a mate when nuts at me for slying a chip in his drink, then i went crazy, he ran off luckily for him. I met some english marines or something like that in Pattaya, i was quick to introduce myself and get to know them. On the last day they gave some nasty beatings out the cunts!! They also caused aload of shit in a go go bar.

[don_dadda 0]

Rude and disrespectful, thats fair enough for a quick beating. People that are like this know the risks they just get cocky. I ended up in a row the other day in Mcdonalds, a mate when nuts at me for slying a chip in his drink, then i went crazy, he ran off luckily for him. I met some english marines or something like that in Pattaya, i was quick to introduce myself and get to know them. On the last day they gave some nasty beatings out the cunts!! They also caused aload of shit in a go go bar.

 

Marines of any nationality are pretty much the same, the best people to have around when you are on their good side. not so good to have around when you are on their bad side.

[Chivas 0]

The problems are mainly (but not exclusively) within the sub districts of Pattaya and mainly east of Sukumvit.

Personally I'm a big guy but I live in the Soi Nern Plab wan area and am extremely wary of the Thai males who congregate in these areas.

 

A smile certainly goes a long way but dont rely on it entirely. Even when driving the car I am constantly watched.

 

If you stay in the main entertainment areas you will see very little of this but if you're considering dropping anchor in Pattaya you are unlikely to be living there permanently.

 

If I had my time and money again I would purchase a condo unit in the new soi 9 development.

 

Chivas

[Tengotodo 52]

highly exaggerated and exploited for the benefit of "news". IMHO most who get "in trouble" in Pattaya deserved it. There are a few that are innocent victims - but most bring it upon themselves. I feel safer in Pattaya at 2 AM drunk on my ass than I do at home sober.

 

 

Well said.

[aqueem 0]

Thanks guys,.appreciate the advice.I was there for a short time pre 9/11 and have been wanting to go back since.Im bored in the states and hope I can have a fun life there in Pattaya.I would think sorting through the ex-pats it is probably not too hard to make some good friends{expat club?}.The girls r there I know.Im looking for a rec for an in the action area clean and secure hotel.It must have a safe box and high speed internet in room and no bugs.Any recommendations?Also where can I rent a luxury condo with a view of the bay? Thanks again for the help

[jackcorbett 2]

I was just having a discussion about this with a bud of mine at work today. Cool…

 

Marines are infamous for being rowdy and seemingly intolerable. But then again, that’s a good thing. Day in and day out, we train and drill these young men to be aggressive and fearless, for that’s the type we need (or I suppose want) to be driving up that hill with a devil dog face on while the enemy is raining bullets down on them. Those are the kind of folks that get the jobs done; the dirty jobs that we don’t really want to do, but need doing anyway. So anyway, we instill this aggressive behavior in these young men, then we set them forth onto the community (at home or abroad) and we ask them to “be nice and play well with others”. Obviously, it doesn’t work well… What SHOULD be done, is to send a Gunny out with ‘em, someone to keep them in check while still letting them let loose a bit, but that doesn’t happen.

 

Yes, the young brash Marines are a pain, but picking a fight with them accomplishes nothing. They’re not going to back down (usually), and they’ll probably even take pleasure in the “war wounds” they get from the confrontation. If avoiding them seems unlikely, you could always try chumming up with ‘em. You might find them to be some rather decent chaps, even if unconventional.

 

 

I used to run into young marines quite often at a place called Big Daddy's Cabaret in Missouri. This is a strip club several miles from Fort Leanard Wood, a U.S. military base engaged in further training U.S. servicemen once they had gone through basic training camp. Because of the night club's proximity to Fort Leonard Wood, its clientelle was overwhelmingly military. At that time I used to do a lot of photography in strip clubs because I was writing for several adult magazines. The name of the game is always to get the best pictures possible and this meant running all around the club in order to get the best angles of the grils on stage, jumping in front of customers viewing the club action, tripping over the feet of customers sitting at their tables, etc. In other clubs I'd often run into drunken customers who'd get angry at photographers who were "supposedly getting in their way", but this NEVER NEVER happened at Big Daddy's. Paradoxically the young U.S. servicemen in the crowd were the most vocal and boisterous group of customers I'd ever seen in a strip club, but at the same time they were very polite. And out of all of them I liked the U.S. Marines the best. They exhibited the most esprit de cours of the various U.S. services represented there. They seemed to be very proud of being Marines believing themselves to be an elite, but they were not overbearing about it. They also were more fun to be around and were in general much more loquacious than the servicemen from other branches of the U.S. Armed Services. Because of my experiences over at Big Daddys and what I've later read about the U.S. Marines IF I HAD TO DO IT OVER again (I never served in the U.S. military) and if I were to enter the U.S. Armed Services I'd choose the Marine Corps hands down over all the other U.S. services.

[HART1833 0]

please foryour sake do not carry a gun , it would be a big mistake. Crime is not bad I have never had a problem.