As the 2012-2013 tourist season in Thailand gets underway, some tourists planning a trip to the country are worrying about the dangers they may encounter. In fact, Thailand is one of the safest countries in the world for tourists with most people only getting in any ‘danger’ of it was danger of their own making.
If you will be in Thailand during the 2012-2013 tourist season, however, there are a couple of things you may want to know about any dangers you should avoid.
Bombings in Southern Thailand Muslim Insurgency – Just about the only place you should stay away from in Thailand is the deep south of the country. Places like Hat Yai and Narathiwat have been suffering from bombings, shootings and other violent problems for at least the last 10 years.
This tourist season so far, it seems to be getting worse.
Stay away from the deep south of Thailand where the extremist Muslim insurgency is ongoing (you can do a Google or Yahoo search to find out exactly where) and you will never come across anything remotely dangerous like this in the rest of the country which, by the way, is 95 percent Buddhist.
Political Demonstrations – Two years ago, Thailand was in major political upheaval with massive anti-government protests taking place in various places in Bangkok.
In early 2010, almost 100 unarmed demonstrators and two foreign journalists were shot and killed by government forces. At the time, though, the country wasn’t remotely dangerous for tourists (even those in Bangkok) unless they were right in the middle of the areas where the protests were going on.
During the 2012-2013 tourist season in Thailand, it is unlikely we will see dangerous political demonstrations. The people who were protesting two years ago now have a government they support so, even if there are protests, they are nowhere near as large as then and, so far, have not been unsafe.
Thailand Tsunamis – If you are going to stay at one of Thailand’s lovely beach areas, do be sure to keep an eye on tsunami warnings. Thailand rarely has tsunamis but the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 did hit Thailand and killed an estimated 10,000 people, including around 1,500 foreign tourists.
If you go to the beach, just be sure you are aware of your surroundings and, if you hear the tsunami warnings going off, don’t stop to do anything except grab the people you came with and run.
Altercations with Thais – Most Thais are seriously some of the nicest people you will ever meet, so it is rare to hear of any kind of altercation between a Thai and a foreigner or tourist.
If there is, it will often be the foreigner who was at fault.
In other words, don’t drink too much, don’t get into stupid arguments in a bar and don’t confront a Thai.
Remember, if a Thai gets angry, they will often go away and come back with 10 of their closest friends.
And then they will kick your ass.
As many Thai men learn Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing), you really don’t want to go there.
Other than that, if you are expecting dangers in Thailand during the 2012-2013 tourist season, you may be sorely disappointed.
