Traveling Abroad in Thailand | Is it Safe?
Safe Travels or Hidden Dangers?
When you think of a country like Thailand what comes to mind? I think of tropical beaches, rich culture, friendly people, beautiful women, and amazing architecture and temples. I
have been lucky enough to travel there three times and hope to visit again, if my budget allows it!
Not everyone will agree with me, that is the majority of people that have never been to Thailand.
Many people form their opinion without doing any research or searching for answers to their
questions. So how do most people form their opinions?
On the news we are shown twenty second clips and four sentence descriptions of
events, news, and happenings in foreign lands. We are inundated with coverage of the Japanese Tsunami, the political unrest in Syria, The war on terror, the Somali pirates, kidnappings
and on and on!
Most U.S citizens don’t even have a passport! of the more than 308 million people that live in the U.S only 30% have a Passport, and about half of the travel out of that group is travel to Canada
or to Mexico, countries that don’t even require a Passport. For a country as affluent as America, why is this the case? Possibly because we are far too comfortable in our own environment.
Countries such as Canada and the U.K show nearly 70% of it’s population hold passports. America’s work culture seems to stifle the ability to travel abroad because we seem to work
our lives away compared to many european countries. Americans have been enslaved by major corporations and do not have the flexibility, vacation time and many times the budgeted money that it takes to
make travel abroad common place. Americans work, consume, work and consume, carrying large debts with expensive house, cars and other toys while having great responsibilities to their families as well.
Our culture seems to leave very little or no time for us to explore other cultures abroad.
Another reason we stay put could be geography. The U.S is not exactly close to many exotic destinations in Asia, Europe or anywhere really besides your typical Cancun, Hawaii, Bahamas or Jamaican getaway.
The U.S does have a number of travel destinations that are very popular here at home such as New York City, Las Vegas, Disney, Yosemite, The Grand Canyon, D.C, Miami Beach and many others.
Lets change gears now and look at another possible reason that U.S citizens prefer to stay closer to hame rather than travel abroad.
The Media’s portrayal of Foreign countries
Fair or not the media thrives and profits off of shock value and attention grabbing headlines. The most recent involving Thailand was the Iranian bomber who detonated a bomb and then managed to blow
his own legs off in the process. Insurgents seem to have no problem with making residency in Thailand. There is a growing concern that Muslim groups and extremist
are taking up residence in Thailand’s southern most provinces and now the central city of Bangkok with a population of nearly 9.5 Million people. Thailand is very worried about the perception that tourist
may feel endangered by recent activity. Thailand’s GDP is predicated on strong tourism numbers, International arrivals to Thailand from 1998 to 2011 show a significant increase. There are significant dips with the
SARS epidemic, and after the Tsunami of end 2004. Global recession (from end 2008), political disturbances in 2009 and 2010, and also the floods of 2011 had an effect on tourist arrivals. Despite the latter event,
when most of Central Thailand and parts of Bangkok were flooded for many weeks, tourism arrivals in 2011 broke all records with about 19.1 Million visitors, I traveled to Thailand in November 2011 and witnessed the flooding first hand.
In the recent past, both SARS in early 2003, and the Tsunami of december 2004, had significant effects on the number of international arrivals. The Asian Bird flu also emerged at the beginning of 2004 in Thailand and probably with the Tsunami, caused a decreased number of visitors in the 2004-2005 period. Even so, tourism numbers still reflected an increase of about 4 millions visitors from about 7 millions as of 1998 to 11 million in 2004.
The political unrest between the Red parity and Yellow party was big news in the fall of 2008 leading to the temporary closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport hampering travel for a number of days. Violence closed off business
districts in the business districts of Bangkok and had some effect on areas inhabited by tourists. By April 24 the protesters withdrew and the state of emergency was lifted.
With all this happening in Thailand over the last couple of years travel numbers still increase every year and more and more tourists from places like Australia, U.K. Israel, Russia visit.
Americans should not be scared by isolated incidents, weather, political events or what have you. All countries including are own suffer from these same common themes. The U.S gets crushed by hurricanes on the
Gulf Coast on a regular basis, tornado’s demolish trailer parks in the midwest, forest fires ravage California. Tea party protesters protest and Occupy Wall-Streeters steal the headlines across the nation. We have gang violence,
domestic violence, serial killers and kidnappers. Why do Americans feel so safe in our own cities when we turn on the news and see this, maybe we are desensitized to it? maybe we tune it out. But when one incident
overseas takes the headlines for the day we say, “I’m never going there” or “those people are crazy”. True, America is a great place to live, that is why so many people from so many countries move here for a better
opportunity and a new start, but we can learn from other cultures as well as enjoy much of what they have to offer, even if it is only the beaches or weather. I suppose it’s easier for us to go to China town, or little Italy, Greek Town
or hang out at the Irish Pub if we want a quick bit of Faux culture.
I think when traveling to a place like Thailand it is very important to do the proper research about the safety and political climate, even the weather when planning your trip. The more information you have
the better you can make informed decisions and possibly avoid any situations that can make your trip a headache. Relying on the media and shocking news to make your decisions will leave you staying in your house with you doors locked a majority of the time.
I have traveled to Thailand a number of times without incident. I believe if you are respectful of the culture and the people, handle yourself as you would when traveling through the U.S you will be fine. Take caution
while handling your money and be aware of pick pockets which are common. Thailand has many disadvantaged people and survival instincts take over. When traveling in most tourist areas you will find most of the comforts
of home and many people willing to speak english and be helpful. I think it would be a shame for anyone to cancel plans to travel abroad and miss the great opportunities and memories that come with trying something
new. I have made great friends in Thailand and have learned a lot from the people of that country.
I can only hope in my lifetime that our world can be at peace with one another regardless of race or religion. It would be amazing to be able to be welcomed into any country in the world leading to more tourism and more prosperity
for many under privileged countries and giving many tourists great experiences to remember for a lifetime.
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