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[ScubaBuddha]

It happened last night around 2am on the east end of Bangla opposite Hard Rock. I didn't see how it started, but I saw how it ended. Two farang appeared to get into it with a driver or two, and instantly were set upon by, at it's peak, 20+ tuk tuk drivers. The two tourists sought shelter from the mob inside a tuk tuk which was then surrounded by the tuk tuk drivers who proceeded to punch and kick them through the windows and door from every side as stunned tourist masses looked on in horror.  A gut wrenching thing to watch. Other tuk tuk drivers gleefully ran from across the road to join in and get in a good sucker punch or kick to the face on the two helpless men. One tuk tuk driver was repeatedly hitting the tourists in their faces with his shoe as hard as he could. When I got closer I could see the two toursits cowering in the back of the tuk tuk yelling "Sorry! Sorry!" and waing between attempts to block a punch or kick. Luckily two bib arrived fairly soon and the attacking mob instantly dissolved into the crowd and the two bloodied farangs were loaded in the back of a police pickup and taken away and it was business as usual. No Thai's were detained that I saw. I think to a degree the tourists should feel lucky there were no weapons used.

At least two other Thaivisa board members witnessed this as well, and I'll let them comment if they wish.

Edited by ScubaBuddha, 2010-04-10 11:09:28.

[JOESHEAD]

I'm not saying what they did deserved  being attacked in such a way, by so many people, but these things always get reported with words like 'Didn't see how it started'.

There will now be several pages of anti Tuk Tuk nonsense as there always is, without anyone evening thinking about what the tourists did in the first place.

My guess would be that they probably deserved a slap from the driver in question, just not the  beating from everyone else. But that's the way things roll here, so that's why you don't misbehave when on holiday in other peoples countries, especially when their laws are different from your own back home.

Just as everyone else will condemn the drivers without knowing all the facts, I'll reserve my sympathy for the tourists until I find out that they did nothing wrong.

[BillR]

sorry, but they probably deserved it.  3 years here and Ive seen several thai/farang fights and each one the farang was asking for it. Example: Was at a nightclub and a thai man and his girlfriend were having drinks. Farang was trying to hit on the thai mans girlfriend. Thai man repeatedly and politely told the farang that it was his girlfriend and to kindly back off. Farang didn't. Beer bottle to the head and he deserved it.

I find it almost impossible to believe that the farangs didn't totally instigate the whole thing. Yes, I agree thais have a mob mentality, but in order for what you describe to ensue you would really have to do your best to piss someone off.

[losworld]

BillR, on 2010-04-10 11:56:01, said:

sorry, but they probably deserved it.  3 years here and Ive seen several thai/farang fights and each one the farang was asking for it. Example: Was at a nightclub and a thai man and his girlfriend were having drinks. Farang was trying to hit on the thai mans girlfriend. Thai man repeatedly and politely told the farang that it was his girlfriend and to kindly back off. Farang didn't. Beer bottle to the head and he deserved it.

I find it almost impossible to believe that the farangs didn't totally instigate the whole thing. Yes, I agree thais have a mob mentality, but in order for what you describe to ensue you would really have to do your best to piss someone off.

Yeah I've seen many tourists that were asking for it and being drunk and obnoxious.  But there is definitely a different attitude in Phuket than in Pattaya and the northeast in my opinion (and Bkok for that matter).  I feel much less safe in Phuket than in Pattaya and that sounds odd but I think it is true.  I have seen many a surly vendor in Phuket but few in Pattaya.  I am polite and respectful toward Thais but I can sense an undercurrent in the south.  Don't know why but I have noticed it.

[somtampet]

So this doesnt happen in Spain,Greece,Turkey,India etc etc etc.Some of these countries attack with knives so the thais arent that bad lol.

[steelepulse]

Well seeing as how they know their fellow educated brethren get away with almost anything ( the driver in Kata that beat the crap out of a French family and his elderly parents, along with the most recent case of a tuk tuk murderer getting bail the next day for only 500K) why not jump in with all the others and beat the sh*** out of a tourist that argued over 300 baht?  F***** geniuses and thugs.

To all you clowns that say they deserved it, just be glad it wasn't one of your family members.

[steppenwolf108]

I can confirm that tuk tuk drivers are really easy when it comes to rise a hand or two.
A couple of year ago, I was driving on the hill of Patong going to the Merlin Beach Resort, when, because of slippery road and malfunctioning breaks, my car crashed into a taxi coming from the opposite direction.
No big damages, nobody injured.
While I started a friendly discussion with the taxi driver, all Thais living nearby the scene of the accident came to see what happened.
Suddenly, a tuk tuk driver started blaming on me in particular and all the farangs in general and he had the guts to come and slap me on the face without being provoked or being part of the accident!
It was hard for me to keep quiet and not kick the M.F. and thanks heaven, the taxi driver was a decent family man and he made sure no more harm was to come....he even apologized for the behavior of the tuk tuk driver.
Police finally came, went under the typical process of taking pix and recording the accident...then, surprise surprise, the tuk tuk driver came back to the police station as a witness and kept blaming me for driving dangerously! The M.F. did not even see the accident but he was there claiming it was all my fault and justice had to be served!

[JOESHEAD]

steelepulse, on 2010-04-10 12:15:35, said:

Well seeing as how they know their fellow educated brethren get away with almost anything ( the driver in Kata that beat the crap out of a French family and his elderly parents, along with the most recent case of a tuk tuk murderer getting bail the next day for only 500K) why not jump in with all the others and beat the sh*** out of a tourist that argued over 300 baht? F***** geniuses and thugs.

To all you clowns that say they deserved it, just be glad it wasn't one of your family members.

I pointed out that the numbers involved was inappropriate, and uncalled for, but to automatically have sympathy for the tourists without knowing what they did, is just typical bias, which is to be expected on this forum when it comes to Tuk Tuks. I was suitable impressed that there were a few replies, not defending the drivers, but showing a lack of sympathy for the tourists, who lets face it were most likely misbehaving, before the 'Tuk Tuks are the bane of Phuket, mob gets in full stride, which they undoubtedly will.

You quoted the French family from a while back. A violent, unprovoked act like that is not a common occurrence, how many more example are there?

It does highlight however, that people know their reputations, and either should abstain from using them or make sure they don't provoke any trouble. If they do, then surely they deserve anything that happens to them.

[JOESHEAD]

steppenwolf108, on 2010-04-10 12:38:20, said:

when, because of slippery road and malfunctioning breaks, my car crashed into a taxi coming from the opposite direction.

Not condoning his behaviour, if that's what happened, but really???  Slippery road and malfunctioning brakes were the sole cause of the accident??? If the brakes were dodgy, it was your responsibility not to be driving over a mountain! Sorry, sounds highly dubious to me.

[barky]

I've read sufficient of these posts to say that some of you are pathetic animals to say things like they (the 2 tourists)  probably deserved getting beaten and kicked senseless as well as weapons (shoe for example) being used on them by about 20 disgusting tuk tuk drivers. Only animals would do this and only other animals would condone it . Some of those posts make me sick.
I hope you don't find yourself in the same predicament and expect sympathy. And if this happened in your home country would you be OK with that?
Have you lost your sense of common decency and humanity?
I can only hope that enough tourists saw it and will take the vivid picture home with them and tell everyone never to come to Thailand!

[neverdie]

Well said barky.

[richard_smith237]

IMO Phuket Tuk Tuk drivers are the scum of Thailand. They do little other than over charge and bring down the reputation of tourism in places like Phuket.

'I'm not sure how it started' doesn't automatically mean the tourists started it and it's well reported that the Phuket Tuk Tuk drivers have a very short fuse and get violent at the slightest opportunity.

It doesn't matter who started it - 10:1 odds is barbaric and show the what thugs these Tuk Tuk Mob really are.

Given the over charging it's often better for me to hire a Mini-van and driver when visiting.

But to be honest, I've seen too many issues in place like Phuket that I have no desire to go there.
I visited my sister who was holidaying there in January, I managed to get into two arguments with terribly impolite guys working there (Laguna resort bus driver and on another day a security guard), the attitude of some of the people there is so negative and almost deliberately provocative.

I find that in general the people in Phuket do not represent the character of the people through the rest of the Kingdom, my wife and others I have spoken to about this observe the same. There appears to be a negativity and resentment towards foreigners there that I have not observed elsewhere in Thailand (excluding Samui).

It makes me wonder - who is to blame? the tourists showing off their wealth and being demanding and often rude when not receiving standards of service up to western standards, OR the locals in these areas just trying to grab as much money as quickly as possible with no concern or recognition of its origins (Tourism).

Who ever is to blame the result often seems to be the same. A small minor incident is blown completely out of proportion by a jealous mob of thugs who's only entertainment appears to be waiting for the slightest event to kick off.

The response of the Police is abhorrent in these cases while often making no attempt to control or bring to justice those guilty of the violence.

[jackdawson]

u mean farang still use tuk tuks in patong / phuket ?

that's almost as not smart as renting a jet ski in pattaya

[ThailandTommy]

Tuk-Tuk drivers are like bananas, "Yellow and hang around in bunches" Scum of Thailand

[JOESHEAD]

Some of those posts make me sick.

Drunk, obnoxious, disrespectful, Farang, pond life make me sick. I bet you anything you care to wager, that I've seen more of those than you have badly behaved Tuk Tuk drivers.


I hope you don't find yourself in the same predicament and expect sympathy.

That's the whole point. Unless you are the tiny minority, (French family) It wont happen to anybody behaving themselves. Stand up everybody that's lived in Phuket for a while. Now sit down if you've never been attacked by a Tuk Tuk driver. What percent of the people standing are still standing?


And if this happened in your home country would you be OK with that?

I can't wait for the day that low life scum, get dealt with in an appropriate way. In my country the laws and the police enforcing them are a joke. Bring back the good old days of police men, clipping yobs round the ear without being taken to court, maybe my home country wouldn't be such a sh!t hole.  


I can only hope that enough tourists saw it and will take the vivid picture home with them and tell everyone never to come to Thailand!

If only I had 10 Baht for every time someone made that naive comment. 99% of people use Tuk Tuks without a single issue, and that includes the high prices. The amount of people coming to Phuket will never be affected by Tuk Tuk drivers, I assure you of that.

[69690jay]

I agree, well said Barky except for the last bit, Thailand and phuket still have a lot to offer holiday makers and expats, just watch where you go and when.

[JOESHEAD]

richard_smith237, on 2010-04-10 13:04:47, said:

It makes me wonder - who is to blame? the tourists showing off their wealth and being demanding and often rude when not receiving standards of service up to western standards, OR the locals in these areas just trying to grab as much money as quickly as possible with no concern or recognition of its origins (Tourism).

The answer to that question is quite simply, both.

What you and a huge amount of other people aren't smart enough to work out, either because you are tourists to Thailand or expats from elsewhere, who are tourists to Phuket, is that those two groups of people are just like the skin you get on top of a cup of tea when you leave it too long. Dim or over sensitive people may throw it away, but the fact of the matter is, underneath the layer of skin, the tea is just fine.

Phuket will always be different to everywhere else in Thailand, simply because there is nowhere like it in the whole of the Kingdom, but there are plenty of good Thai people here, you just need to know where to look, and more importantly where not to.

[richard_smith237]

The other day in Phuket I saw a Tuk Tuk driver being quite rude to the foreigner.

The foreigner punched the Tuk Tuk driver and then out of nowhere another 20 or so foreigners jumped in a beat up the Tuk Tuk driver…

But, it must have been the Tuk Tuk driver’s fault....

................

Maybe not all, but a large majority of these guys are scum and they prey on the unaware drunken foreigner to make a 'social faux pas' ....

Of course the drunken foreigner is acting like a dick, but all to often the drunken foreigner is set upon and heavily out numbered. But really, this is not just Tuk Tuk drivers... this is Phuket (more specifically Patong) in general, the acceptance of foreign tourists appears to be at an all time low.

[sevenhills]

barky, on 2010-04-10 12:59:01, said:

I've read sufficient of these posts to say that some of you are pathetic animals to say things like they (the 2 tourists)  probably deserved getting beaten and kicked senseless as well as weapons (shoe for example) being used on them by about 20 disgusting tuk tuk drivers. Only animals would do this and only other animals would condone it . Some of those posts make me sick.
I hope you don't find yourself in the same predicament and expect sympathy. And if this happened in your home country would you be OK with that?
Have you lost your sense of common decency and humanity?
I can only hope that enough tourists saw it and will take the vivid picture home with them and tell everyone never to come to Thailand!

Well said Barky, Totally agree, there are some pathetic ones on this thread hey!!!! They never seem to think it may happen to them one day. (And they may even be in the right).

[stiggy]

Joes head you are bang on the money in my opinion.

Yes some Tuk Tuk drivers /Tailors /'bar girls are annoying and could resort to Violence, But hang out in Kings cross sydney or soho nr Central london and you would find similar people.In fact any real tourist ctr world wide is full of scammers.

Simple just avoid these areas and keep your wits about you where ever you are.

No one however deserves a beating let alone by a group...

Incidently the  last Tuk tuk driver I used (as my car had broken down)  took the wife home  and helped with unloading the shopping ,then returned with a set of tools to get me going again. He wanted only the fair and even brought me back a bottle of water as it was hot.    

Cant tar them all with the same brush..

[richard_smith237]

JOESHEAD, on 2010-04-10 13:35:43, said:

The answer to that question is quite simply, both.

What you and a huge amount of other people aren't smart enough to work out, either because you are tourists to Thailand or expats from elsewhere, who are tourists to Phuket, is that those two groups of people are just like the skin you get on top of a cup of tea when you leave it too long. Dim or over sensitive people may throw it away, but the fact of the matter is, underneath the layer of skin, the tea is just fine.

Phuket will always be different to everywhere else in Thailand, simply because there is nowhere like it in the whole of the Kingdom, but there are plenty of good Thai people here, you just need to know where to look, and more importantly where not to.

Or in the case of areas like Patong - The tea has turned cold....

Agreed - it's knowing where to look and more specifically where not to. Patong is definitely no longer a place go to and expect to be treated respectfully.

I'm sure there are lovely areas and lovely people on Phuket - The difficulty is having to filter through so much chaff to find it that it becomes tiring to anyone other than those who have established routes and know where to avoid the tourist areas and still find quality.

Like Bangkok, there are areas I definitely avoid for the same reasons and I have located areas where I am treated very normally.

[JiveTalker]

JOESHEAD, on 2010-04-10 13:19:27, said:

Some of those posts make me sick.

Drunk, obnoxious, disrespectful, Farang, pond life make me sick. I bet you anything you care to wager, that I've seen more of those than you have badly behaved Tuk Tuk drivers.

I hope you don't find yourself in the same predicament and expect sympathy.

That's the whole point. Unless you are the tiny minority, (French family) It wont happen to anybody behaving themselves. Stand up everybody that's lived in Phuket for a while. Now sit down if you've never been attacked by a Tuk Tuk driver. What percent of the people standing are still standing?

And if this happened in your home country would you be OK with that?

I can't wait for the day that low life scum, get dealt with in an appropriate way. In my country the laws and the police enforcing them are a joke. Bring back the good old days of police men, clipping yobs round the ear without being taken to court, maybe my home country wouldn't be such a sh!t hole.  

I can only hope that enough tourists saw it and will take the vivid picture home with them and tell everyone never to come to Thailand!

If only I had 10 Baht for every time someone made that naive comment. 99% of people use Tuk Tuks without a single issue, and that includes the high prices. The amount of people coming to Phuket will never be affected by Tuk Tuk drivers, I assure you of that.

Every decent Thai and foreign person I know is ashamed of the behaviour of the tuk tuk drivers. Yet somehow, for whatever reason, you've decided to turn this round and blame the foreigner. A mob beating is justified becuase farang pond life makes you sick.

Many people are affected by the actions of the tuk tuk drivers. You can assure us all you like but you're in the minority on this one.

[MegaMik]

JOESHEAD, on 2010-04-10 13:19:27, said:

Some of those posts make me sick.

Drunk, obnoxious, disrespectful, Farang, pond life make me sick. I bet you anything you care to wager, that I've seen more of those than you have badly behaved Tuk Tuk drivers.


I hope you don't find yourself in the same predicament and expect sympathy.

That's the whole point. Unless you are the tiny minority, (French family) It wont happen to anybody behaving themselves. Stand up everybody that's lived in Phuket for a while. Now sit down if you've never been attacked by a Tuk Tuk driver. What percent of the people standing are still standing?


And if this happened in your home country would you be OK with that?

I can't wait for the day that low life scum, get dealt with in an appropriate way. In my country the laws and the police enforcing them are a joke. Bring back the good old days of police men, clipping yobs round the ear without being taken to court, maybe my home country wouldn't be such a sh!t hole.


I can only hope that enough tourists saw it and will take the vivid picture home with them and tell everyone never to come to Thailand!

If only I had 10 Baht for every time someone made that naive comment. 99% of people use Tuk Tuks without a single issue, and that includes the high prices. The amount of people coming to Phuket will never be affected by Tuk Tuk drivers, I assure you of that.

You are so wrong, I come in contact a lot with tourists and not many of them who regurlarly uses tuk tuks doesn't have some complaints.
Speeding, reckless driving, nasty language in front of their children, threats, violence and overpriced fares.
The list could go on further. I am talking about families and normal people not being drunk.
I personally will never use a tuk tuk until they have cleaned up their act.
Of course there will be tourists or expats behaving badly or doing all the above mentioned but it's still their (the tuk tuk drivers) turf and when it is, they have to keep their head cool and call the cops when things get out of hands.
The police aren't very far away most of the time, but they choose not to, why? That's a far more interesting question than who started what.
It doesn't matter who was wrong in the first place when it comes to the other vacationing bistanders future plan for vacation trips.

[Singha Gold]

I saw a Thai in Patong last night wearing a new design of TShirt I've not seen before, stating: "You hit me, we hit you". Poignant.

[JOESHEAD]

JiveTalker, on 2010-04-10 13:55:45, said:

Every decent Thai and foreign person I know is ashamed of the behaviour of the tuk tuk drivers. Yet somehow, for whatever reason, you've decided to turn this round and blame the foreigner. A mob beating is justified becuase farang pond life makes you sick.

Many people are affected by the actions of the tuk tuk drivers. You can assure us all you like but you're in the minority on this one.

I find it quite tedious when people can't read from one end of a thread to the other, without changing things and miss quoting. Please show me where I said that a mob beating is justified!! I think you'll find that in every post I made it's quite clear that I said other people getting involved was wrong. You would have to be a pretty strange person not to accept that.

I did however, say, without the benefit of the complete story as no one has, that their behaviour was more than likely 100% the reason the incident happened. But saying that in no way condones the way the drivers reacted, but simply implies that if you're stupid enough to miss behave with such people then you can't expect sympathy when it goes wrong.

Don't be a drunken tw*t and you'll be just fine in a tuk tuk, and everywhere else in Phuket.