People drown an awful lot in Thailand

...or maybe they do everywhere but it just doesn't make the news the way that it does here. While Thailand tries really hard to keep these sorts of things under wraps due to the very popular beach areas with international tourists that are all over the place. These areas bring in billions ever year and if the idea were to get out there that they are dangerous it could be very bad for the bottom line of everyone involved.

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Here is one thing I want everyone to know about this country. If you are vacationing almost anywhere in the west coast, the beaches have a very fantastic opportunity to be quite dangerous. I go down there regularly because one of my best friends lives in Phuket.

There are drownings in Phuket all the time and most of the time these people tend to be from other Asian nations. I'm not trying to be racist here but the Chinese, who constitute a majority of the overall tourism here, are not known for their swimming prowess. The beaches in Phuket have almost nothing in the way of lifeguards or rescue of any sort. I go body surfing while my buddy does real surfing around once a month and sometimes the waves and currents are so strong that I, a person that has been swimming my entire life, is afraid to go out too far in the water. At these same times I will see loads of tourists again, mostly Chinese, that are just out there without a care in the world. That is until someone gets caught by a riptide and there is no one to yell to for help. I didn't actually witness this sort of dangerous situation happening because I would have helped if I did but if you follow the news, there are drownings down there in that part of the country on a regular basis.

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This isn't limited to just the shore either. Many times people are going on boat trips that cannot swim and the tour companies oversell the boat intentionally for the simple sake of maximizing profits. The boat companies know that what they are doing is against the law, the marine police are likely aware that they are doing it as well but just turn a blind eye in exchange for a payout.

When the tourist boat "Aladdin" caught fire and sank, witness reports state that the first people that abandoned ship were the crew of the damn boat. These cowards that ran away to save their own skin were instrumental in the deaths of 33 people that day. If the boat hadn't been overcrowded and the safety precautions had been in place, this could have been reduced a great deal or completely eliminated.

I was visiting Phuket a few months after this incident and for a few months the harbor patrol or whatever they are called were doing checks on every single boat regularly. They were counting passengers, making sure they all had life vests, and ensuring safety of the passengers. Needless to say about 2 months later after this was out of the news cycle, these safety checks completely stopped. They still do not exist to this day.

So just know this when you come and visit Thailand, which is a very very lovely place that I love a lot. The government is not going to look out for you here. This could be on the roads, in a national park, or on the beach. I do like this level of leaving people to their own devices but when this is coupled with corporate greed overpacking boats and beaches, it can prove deadly. Just be weary, this is not Europe or America. When you are somewhere dangerous they might tell you it is dangerous, but they are not going to stop you from doing whatever dangerous thing that is and they aren't going to come and help you if you get in trouble. They will also suppress the media so that it appears as though there was no wrong-doing on the part of any Thai business or individual and most of all, the government.

It's a lovely place... but not without its dangers. You need to look out for you and your kids, nobody else is going to.