By Joseph Blurry


When on trip, most of us wish to cut loose and relax to fail to remember our stressful lives and this is a good thing. Not just is this a good thing for you however it's a benefit for anybody aiming to take advantage of you and potentially relieve you of your valuables.

As a traveler, whether you are going to Disney World or Thailand, you need to be aware of your surroundings. Whatever tourist location you find yourself in you can bet there are individuals waiting there who make it their job to take advantage of you in your unwinded state. Do not take for given the safety of resorts.

Just like any trip to any location in the world you need to recognize your surroundings, particularly in vacationer locations where you could be prey to an unsavory element. I covered the fundamentals in 5 guidelines of not being a foolish traveler. In Thailand the real dangers might not be what you anticipate. Thailand, as any other place worldwide, has it's fair share of crime and fraud artists. While you are watching out for your valuables and personal security it's very simple to neglect particular aspects of your trip that you may take for given back home. Taking these components of your journey for granted can effectively lead to an untimely death.

Crossing streets, crowded clubs, and road accidents take even more lives each year in Thailand than other activity including criminal activity. Just in a couple of days last year there were over 226 road fatalities throughout Thailand and one club fire at Santika Pub that has actually left 86 individuals hospitalized and 59 people dead. Of the 59 deaths at the club 21 were foreigners.

Nightclubs are the first piece of this awareness trifecta. Some clubs can be rather big and stuff the people in, if that's your what then you need to actually walk around the club and check it out. Make certain you know where the exits are and if possible see to it they aren't secured. Last year a club in Pattaya caught fire simply before opening resulting in a reasonable number of staff perishing. The fire marshal determined it to be an electrical fire and found chains secured on the secondary exits to keep individuals from getting in for free. This New Years Eve saw a fire at the Santika Pub triggered by fireworks lit off inside as part of the party that hit the foam acoustical treatment on the ceiling.

Little clubs deserve simply as much awareness as they are typically dark and exits concealed. A lot of the fires that do happen in Thailand are electrical. The electrical in most of these locations is substandard at finest, criminal at worst. Club fires aren't a daily event in Thailand however they do happen, and when they occur there are typically deaths involved. Visit the clubs and have a good time if that's what you have to do with. Simply be safe and scope out the locations you find yourself in, it might simply save you.

Driving in Thailand

Similar to any other travel location in the world you can lease automobiles, trucks and motorbikes in Thailand. The best tip I could offer you is DO N'T. Everybody I have ever met in Thailand from expat to the two week traveler that has driven in Thailand has been in an accident. It's not a matter of if you will be associateded with an accident, but when.

Some have actually been simple scrapes but others have actually needed surgery and long hospital stays. Last year a Thai lady on her method house from work one night in Pattaya riding her motorbike fell into a pit in the road that was 6 feet deep and 4 feet wide. The specialist working on the road didn't think a barricade was needed.

In some cases accidents are related to bad road conditions however more often than not road accidents in Thailand, from rural areas to the big cities, can be chalked up to bad driving. Motorcycles weave in and out of traffic as fast as they can and cars defend their area with a passion. My second journey to Thailand I saw two bike mishaps in one night. The first mishap a motorcycle taxi cut in front of a baht bust that chose to drive right over him. The 2nd accident a motorcycle crashed into the back of a Mercedes at high rate. My last trip when I was coming back from Mukdahan to the bus station in Pattaya we passed a bike torn to pieces in the roadway with an apparent dead cyclist 100 feet away.

One taxi trip from the flight terminal to Pattaya my driver could possibly not choose which lane he wished to drive in so he decided to split the difference and drive between lanes and cars for a half a mile approximately. I think the falang screaming in the back of his taxi agitated him so he quit.

Traffic is so bad in Bangkok that it's not unusual to see a motorcycle taxi jump the curb and take to the walkway. Driving is more of a sport in Thailand and a blood sport at that. The bad Asian motorist might be a cliche stereotype however when it concerns Thai drivers there's even more truth than fiction to that sentiment.

If that does not offer you pause to reevaluate driving while in the Kingdom then think about the the following two short articles:.

In 1999 a study was done by G D Jacobs and Amy Aeron-Thomas called A REVIEW OF GLOBAL ROAD MISHAP FATALITIES. It broke down road related casualties by area with Asia comprising a full 44 % of all roadway casualties world broad. It must come as no surprise then that Thailand has actually been the leader in road accidents globe broad for some time. In 2004 it was approximated that Thailand had a mishap rate of 6.6 mishaps per 10,000 drivers, in comparison all Europe was at only 1.8 accidents per 10,000 motorists.

Pichai TANEERANANON and Opas SOMCHAINUEK did a research on bus crashes in Thailand called BUS CRASH SITUATION IN THAILAND: CASE RESEARCHES. The sheer number of bus crashes and casualties yearly in Thailand is spectacular.

If you just need to drive in Thailand then make sure you have an international drivers license or a Thai motorists license and insurance. If you are associateded with a mishap most likely you'll be seen as the person at fault and even if you are not there will be fines to pay.

Public transportation is the the alternative and for the many part will be great. I have actually been on motorbike taxi's, taken tour buses up country and used taxis. I haven't had a problem yet but I understand the odds protest me. With motorists working often 12 -16 hour days it's tough to understand exactly what kind of ride you will get. As Elvis Costello would say "Mishaps will happen" but if you keep your wits about you and stay familiar with your surroundings then there's a likelihood you could stay clear of being in one.

Walking on Thailand's Streets.

I've been out walking the roads of Bangkok by myself at 4 in the early morning and never ever as soon as been afraid for my personal security, although I was very aware of my surroundings. I can't say the same for crossing roads in Thailand. Pedestrians are virtually seen as targets and pedestrians in crosswalks are the bullseye.

Count on me drivers won't reduce for you crossing the roadway, if anything they'll simply honk the horn to remind you of your brewing demise if you must trip. Add in bad lighting, alcohol or both on either side of this equation and you have a dish for disaster.

While Bangkok has many pedestrian bridges the same can't be said of various other popular locations such as Pattaya where 2cnd roadway plays out much like the old game frogger. 2cnd road in Pattaya as well as beach roadway have a very long stretch without any traffic signals and at night the lighting is sketchy at finest in some locations.

A research of pedestrian accidents was finished Kohn Kaen province which has a population of 150,000 in 2002. As part of the research they gathered info on pedestrian engaged accidents in between the years 1998-2000. In 2000 there mored than 4400 pedestrians injured or eliminated on Thailand roads with an approximated 65,000 traffic related injuries and deaths. A Research On Accidents and Investigation of Pedestrian's Unsafe Conditions in Kohn Kaen.

When crossing any streets in Thailand take your time and judge auto distances and rate as finest you could even streets with reduced traffic, since by the time they strike you it's late and from some accidents I've seen there may not be much left to identify.

As constantly, no matter where you are in the globe make sure you are aware of your environments and be in control of yourself at all times and you ought to be just fine.




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