Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [629]
There is a surprising amount of assaults in Ko Samui and Ko Pha-Ngan considering their idyllic settings. Oftentimes alcohol is the number one contributor to bad choices and worse outcomes. Ko Pha-Ngan’s Full Moon party is becoming increasingly violent and dangerous. There are often reports of fights, rapes and robbings.
Women, especially solo travellers in Samui or Pha-Ngan, need to be smart and somewhat sober when interacting with the opposite sex, be they Thai or fa·ràng. Opportunists pounce when too many whisky buckets are involved. Also be aware that an innocent flirtation might convey firmer intentions to a recipient who does not share your culture’s sexual norms.
Border Issues
Thailand enjoys much better relations with its neighbours than it did a decade ago and many land borders are now functional and safe passages for goods and people. The ongoing violence in the Deep South (see right) has made the once popular crossing at Sungai Kolok a potentially dangerous proposition.
Cross-border relations with Thailand and Myanmar during the Thaksin era have resulted in increased cooperation between the two governments and the discontinuation of the Thai army providing assistance to minority resistance groups in Myanmar. Many of the border crossings between Thailand and Myanmar are day-use only and attract people renewing their visas or poking around the border markets. On rare occasions the Myanmar government has impetuously closed these points without notice, leaving day-pass visitors stranded. More likely closures are due to news-making events like Thailand’s 2006 coup. Keeping abreast of current events prior to arriving at the border will prevent potential problems.
The long-contested border temple of Khao Phra Wihan (known as ‘Preah Vihear’ in Cambodia), in the far northeast of the country, resulted in a military build-up and violent clashes between Thai and Cambodian forces in 2007. Although tensions have relaxed since, the temple is still closed to visitors.
Deep South Violence
Currently Thailand’s southernmost Muslim-majority provinces (Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat) experience frequent occurrences of violence believed to be connected to an amorphous but ongoing ethno-nationalist struggle. Since 2002, violence has escalated from attacks on perceived symbols of the government (provincial officials, soldiers, teachers and monks) to seemingly random (though possibly vendetta-motivated) killings on average citizens, and increasingly sophisticated, coordinated bombings of market-places, banks and train stations. From 2004 to 2007 there was an average of 160 violent occurrences per month. Attacks varied from insurgent-style activity to gang-like shootings, further complicating attempts to clearly define the groups and their intentions. Most violence is confined to the three provinces known collectively as the Deep South and primarily to more rural districts within these provinces, though bombings have occurred in downtown sections of the provincial capitals of Yala and Pattani provinces.
Periodic bombings have also occurred in the southern commercial and transport hub of Hat Yai and in border districts of Songkhla Province. Although the Thai government has political motivations to connect the violence in the Deep South to global terror networks such as Al Qaeda and regional militant groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah, most observers do not believe that the region’s insurgents are closely linked to these groups.
At the time of writing, no foreign tourists had been directly targeted, but civilian attacks have increased and it is a distinct possibility that an unsuspecting traveller might get caught in the wrong place. We would discourage taking the train through the Thai–Malaysian border at Sungai Kolok – a popular crossing for tourists heading to the Perhentian