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Stickman this week regarding violence .


jitagawn

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Regarding the relative safety of LOS: there seems to be ongoing evidence that yes LOS is obviously f-----dangerous, (as witnessed by a large part of Stickmans post this week that its not just happy smiles in LOS) Despite recent extrapolated comments to the contrary my personal view is that violence is not instigated exclusively/predominately by either Thais or "ugly" Farangs but is moreover symptomatic of social ills rampant the world over.(All things are connected in life...)My Thai friends say LOS is dangerous but I happily have been spared.Lets try and NOT compare LOS to other countries ( I already know LA/NYC/parts of Rio are scary :()but discuss the topic within LOS itself. If we discuss it from a social point of view rather than Thai vs Farang it might yield more sensible and less one sided observations. Fly where are you???

Polite behavior is obviously essential for all of us but sometimes it matters not if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time.I am interested in both expats and tourists views as this is a dominate and relevant topic of interest to all :: :( Flamers please step forward ::)

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jitagawn said:

I already know LA/NYC/parts of Rio are scary :(

 

 

Just a parenthesis, as you mentionned Rio ::

 

You very rightly precised that "parts" of Rio are scary.

 

The murder rate for the Greater Rio Metro area is 80+ per 100,000.

 

The murder rate for the South Zone, where all the tourist hotels are, is 4 per 100,000. Safer than NYC.

 

And IMO much safer than Pattaya.

 

 

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Back in June I was attacked by 4 men with machettes. There motive was clear "Give me what you have" These words were repeated over and over in unision by all four.

 

These words seem to be repeated more often then we are aware of. When I filed a police report, the police said this happens all the time, every day.

 

When I arrived at the Police Hospital, another American was brought in to the hospital. He was found in the same area I was attacked. Both of us were near the Skytrain. I was on the south side and he was on the north side.

 

When I was attacked, my eyes were fixed upon the second person's machete which when he pulled it out, it had a brownish red stain upon it. Later, I feel that this may have come from the other American. He received a knife cut from a down ward stroke to the head and two cuts to both side of his neck. When he arrived at the hospital my wife thought he was dead.

 

When the other American arrived, there was a problem. He was unconscious and they could not find a passport or any other form of ID. They also could not find any money. A falang about 5' 10" or less, thin built stepped forth and in a very professional manner was able to find his passport which was around his neck and removed it from him. I suspect this falang, by the way he was dressed, was part of the team that delivered the American to the hospital.

 

Because of those events of that night, I would like to be able to find that American who was attacked. Being I was there at the hospital with him, I feel that his life turned to the worse that night. After they had cleaned him up and then later moved him to a different area, they xrayed his head. Shortly after that, the nurses came in and cleaned and scrubbed the area he was in. About 15 minutes later a doctor came in and told him he was HIV. I would say about 30 minutes later, he was moved out. They did not tell him where he was going. they just moved him out.

 

As for me, I feel Thailand is relatively safe but caution is needed. When the bars close, it is better to go home and stay there. I do not advice people traveling much at night by themselves especially after 10:00 PM.

 

Every Thai I know says virtually the same thing I have written and that Thailand is becoming less safe and in some cases is dangerous. I assume the natives might know more then we know.

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Not safe at night? That can describe most US cities as well. If you don't have street smarts, you shouldn't be out at night just about anywhere in the world. Take a cab if you're out that late. And if anyone wants your money, give it to them!!

Just don't carry around more than you need.

 

Rex

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Sounds horrible but I am glad you lived to tell your tale.

Ugh...what an experience. If I might ask what Skytrain station were you in close proximity with?Its seems from your post that you were not struck by these thugs due to immediately giving up your ready cash with no protestations.

Good call...

 

Did you conclude due to the series of events that this American fellow may have contracted HIV that rapidly IE that very night or was HIV before he was attacked?-I am unclear on this train of events and would like to understand this if possible.

Clearly one must be extremely aware of ones immediate surroundings in any major imternational metropolis.

God speed. :)

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Georgetown, Guyana rivals Bogota as the most dangerous city in South America. Georgetown (the capital city) is a small city, but very dangerous-especially at night. Keep out of Albertstown (full of drug dealers) and Tiger Bay (very rough!). This is a city where you take a cab to go one block and have him wait for you if you go into a restaurant or bar.

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I did not give up my cash or other belongings. When I saw the four machettes, I did not think I was going to get out of that mess without a scratch. The first guy received one half cup of hot boiling coffee, which I had just purchased at 7-11, in the face. The second guy got the second half of the cup of boiling coffee in the face. This second man was the guy with the brownish - red machette blade. I turned and moved as fast as I could. After two or four steps, I went down really hard. I though I had sprained my foot but actually I fractured 3 bones in my foot. As I went down hard, I seperated my shoulder. It is good I went down because as I did, the machette blade of the second person crossed over my body.

 

Being we were at the side of a condo building, I don't know if they were afraid of being seen or if they thought that in the mist of the confusion they had seriously injured me, but for some reason, they got on their bikes and left. I did notice that they did look up the street and possibly to the condo which always has a guard.

 

As for the American having HIV, he had this before the attack. This had to be a difficult thing for him to understand, that is, if he could actually comprehend what had happened. When they were asking him questions, he could not answer most of them. He could not even tell them his name.

 

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Stickman surprises me--I thought he had a little more in the way of brains...maybe he just wasn't thinking. To list off a bunch of violent incidents in a large city and then to claim that the city is dangerous overall? I could list thousands of violent incidents per day FROM ANY CITY in the world (if I had access to the data, or if i were able to witness the events). What matters is the crime RATE (thankyou prosal for introducing the "rate" to this discussion), although the actual statistics in third-world countries are inaccurate--but it's the CONCEPT that matters. Evidence that crime is increasing in bangkok? Just because stickman seems to hear more about crimes lately, he concludes the city is getting more dangereous. Silly.

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Guest lazyphil

My mrs was born and raised in the bkk metropolis and since the day I went to her home (may 2000) she warned me of the violence, her brother was at Don Muang Tech college and has a tale or 10 of violence there, violence is nothing new in bkk in her opinion but according to family back home and thai websites/inport thai newspapers she reads things are worse (rape is going through the roof), usually thai on thai but its not suprising its becoming thai on farangs more and more...mind you things here in the uk are getting out of hand, thug culture is high fasion it seems :(

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I view Bangkok like any other city, there are good parts and there are bad parts. Do your best to stay away from the latter and odds are you'll be OK. I've personally never had any problems, but my thai friends can tell endless stories of violence in the streets. When you hear it straight from the horses mouth, you tend to believe it. Pick up any of the thai language newspapers and view the carnage that's splashed all over the front pages. Most people who claim to feel so safe walking around probably never leave the established tourist areas and the relative security they provide. Take a few wrong turns down pretty much any soi in the city and then see how safe you feel.

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