This happened a few years ago (August 2013) and yet I wanted to show you that Krabi is not perfectly safe. No place is.
Not what I wanted to read yesterday, the headline was shocking. I only know a couple of Americans in Krabi, but there was a chance I knew this one.
Bobby Carter, 51, was stabbed with either a metal rod, or a knife, depending on what news story you read. His son Adam, 27, was also stabbed and is recovering at Bangkok Hospital in Phuket, Thailand.
I won’t cover the details of the incident, because really, who in the hell knows what happened? It isn’t like we’re going to get an unbiased story from anyone. I do want to comment a bit about whether Thailand is a dangerous place or not. That’s the big question tourists have on their minds as they’re considering a visit.
Things To Consider To Stay Safer in Thailand
1. Getting drunk in a bar in Thailand greatly increases your chances of getting into a fight or becoming the victim of a scam or robbery.
2. Getting drunk in a bar with your friends is not as dangerous as getting drunk in a bar with Thai strangers, still, you’re much more likely to get into an altercation with someone because you or someone in your group is acting like an ass.
3. Nobody should walk alone or with your partner on a beach at night unless there are large numbers of people around. Do not ever walk on an empty beach at night anywhere in Thailand. It’s almost asking for a problem.
4. Driving a motorbike, car, in a tuk-tuk, in a songthaew, taxi, or on a boat is dangerous. At night it can be very dangerous. Women, alone or in a group, should take great care to ensure that the night out won’t end with a ride back to the hotel from a stranger, or a walk on near desolate streets.
In 18 years of full-time living in the land of smiles I’ve never been knifed. I’ve not had a gun pulled on me, or seen someone experience it. I have seen a couple of people sliced wide open with broken bottles, both of them dying in the street. I have seen foreigners and Thais kicked in the head by a group of Thais until they are unconscious. I’ve then seen, in one instance, two guys take turns bouncing large beer bottles off the face of the unconscious victim.
Thais + Alcohol + Foreigners = Possible trouble. Remove any of the factors in the equation and it can be innocuous enough. Do keep in mind that Thailand is not only dangerous because of some degenerate Thais, but, there are thousands upon thousands of idiots from all over the globe that come here to cause trouble. Foreigners are every bit as dangerous as Thais.
So, the recent incident of the tourist father and son that were stabbed is something that plays out in every country. It is not unique to Thailand. I’d go so far as to say that with the number of visitors to this country that lose self-control with alcohol involved or not, there are far less murders than there could be. Most Thais have remarkable self-restraint.
You should take some time to learn about the concept of “Thai face” from some of the expats who have spent a dozen years or so here.
- Here’s a UK couple who were attacked and stabbed by youths in Ao Nang.
- We have some essential reading about It here in the Thailand Culture section of our site.
- Thailand/Krabi Cautions – Essential Reading as Well!
