Yes, you read that right. The journalists of our state broadcaster reported yesterday, both on the news and online, that the world had become a bit more dangerous for travelers again. According to these ladies and gentlemen of NOS, this also included a number of popular holiday countries, including Thailand.
If you missed the article, you can read it here: nos.nl/article/2181041-world-for-travellers-again-something-dangerous-geworden.html
This text passage is particularly interesting:
“Another popular country for Dutch holidaymakers, Thailand, has also become less safe. Political demonstrations can lead to violence and the mourning for the deceased king limits festive activities.”
For a moment I thought that I had become retarded, a reason for me to read the text over three times. Well, apparently under pressure of a deadline or with the approaching holiday cucumber time, it's not really an article that you can qualify as solid investigative journalism. It is not expected that the editors in question will win 'the Tile', just to name a renowned prize.
Let's analyze which texts about Thailand are thrown into the world by Hugo van der Parre (research editor) and Jikke Zijlstra (editor) of the NOS.
We start with: 'Political demonstrations can lead to violence'.
A remarkable conclusion that they most likely copied from the online travel advice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Easy to score, but Hugo and Jikke also want to be home before the traffic jams to join them for dinner. If they had studied the matter a little more, it could easily be observed that there have been no demonstrations in Thailand for years, simply because they have been banned by the junta (on May 22, 2014, soldiers under the leadership of current Prime Minister Prayut Chan -o-cha take over). The chance that unwitting tourists will end up in a violent political demonstration is therefore just as great if Prime Minister Prayut decides by decree that all Buddhist temples in Thailand will be replaced by Catholic churches and that the Pope will become the new head of state.
Another notable reason why Thailand has become something of a war zone for tourists is this: “the mourning for the deceased king limits festive activities”.
Strange… First, the public mourning period is long over. The king passed away on October 13, 2016 and after that a period of 100 days of mourning has been declared. This expired on January 20, 2017 and since then it has been 'business as usual' in Thailand. Even if it weren't, I don't understand – but then again I didn't go through journalism school, I'm just a simple blogger – that limiting festive activities would be rather dangerous for tourists?
You would expect that a journalist, if he makes something like this known to the world, would at least question it himself? What are we talking about? Again, limiting the festivities….? What restrictions and what festivities? And where is the danger?
I want to know because friends and acquaintances of mine live in Thailand and they are now at least life-threatening. Not to mention a possible trauma because they can no longer participate in the partying or join the polonaise. So I couldn't sleep last night.
It only remains for me to warn everyone about more serious situations in Thailand that should also be included in the travel advice: In Thailand, beware of low-flying UFOs, fortune tellers who can ruin your holiday happiness by predicting disaster, bar ladies who claim to have become pregnant with you by drinking from the same glass and eating Som Tam which contains so many chili peppers that the police in the Netherlands successfully turn it into pepper spray.
Watch out is the motto! After all, according to the journal, Thailand is even more dangerous than it already was.
The news in the Netherlands has been going backwards for years.
The conclusion of the 'two' is probably colored by Koh Tao and it doesn't help if the Thai police assumes suicide.
“Demonstrations can also lead to violence in the Philippines”
Well yes. Even in the Netherlands, a demonstration can turn into disturbances, because there are 'oxygen wasters' among them who think they have to mess around.
Oddly enough, England is safe on the map, despite the London attacks.
Since there are probably also a large number of (potential) terrorists present in the Netherlands, going on holiday to Thailand is perhaps safer than staying at home.
Can I also use the words of Donald Trump.
This is clearly “Fake news”
It's not fake news, the facts just don't add up.
The NOS, but many more mainstream media in the Netherlands are increasingly resembling CNN. The FakeNews is bursting.
More and more reports in the media are being debunked every day, especially at CCN and NOS.
Why they have to lie about almost everything is really a mystery to me. The group of stupid people she still believes is getting smaller by the day, so I can't imagine their income increasing as a result.
As far as I can see on the site of the Dutch government, Thailand is also safer than many other countries, according to them. Except for a few small provinces in the extreme south and north, they give the entire country code yellow. That means safer than Turkey. Only Europe, yes even France and Italy, which have very big problems with demonstrations and immigrants at the moment, are still green on their cards.
I don't know what people at NOS have against Thailand, but I do know that it is FakeNews, which is quite harmful to Thailand, and also to anyone who believes in that nonsense from NOS.
Well, it really is not a mystery to me, it is intentional, the population is sent in a certain direction with a lot of reporting, which is pleasing to the government.
You see that in politics, don't you?
Parties with more than a million voters are demonized and denounced as populists.
I am convinced that especially the NOS really exaggerates this much more, incidentally, that has long been a spokesperson for the state for me.
Boy what an outrage at this news.
Normally I read a lot of blogs about this: dangerous traffic,toxic food,dangerous women,crime,corruption,pollution,swindling of tourists,dangerous in-laws,etc,etc.
These bloggers are now concerned about some news from the NOS.
I honestly find it quite hilarious.
Hilarious indeed. I add this.
There were more bomb deaths in the past 3 years under Prayut (not that the great man himself could do anything about it) than in the three years before
August 17, 2015 Erawanshrine 20 dead, 125 injured
August 2016 Hua Hin, 2 dead
Surat Thani 1 dead
Trang 1 dead
explosions in Patong, Phuket and Phang Nga
May 2017 bomb in hospital, Bangkok, 25 injured
After all, almost daily killing in the Deep South (Yala, Patani and Naratiwath) is also a part of Thailand, isn't it? Not then?
Add to that the completely corrupt legal system. Oh yes, Koh Tao, it is also very safe there…..
Yes definitely hilarious. Especially when you read that mainly political demonstrations and limiting the festivities (which ones?) have made Thailand a lot less safe in the past year. The NOS journalists would be wise to approach you first for a realistic assessment of the risks for travelers, you can easily shake the facts up your sleeve.
And, admittedly from the young past, let's not forget Thaksin's war on drugs with an estimated 2500+ murders?
Pretty intense state violence, right?
Slightly more violent and more violent deaths than what has been served by third parties during the current Prayuth period.
I think it is somewhat “colored” álá CNN, Reuters, etc. to attribute disasters committed by mostly Islamic terrorism to an admittedly unelected government.
Indeed, 2500 dead and that in three months! Horrible! That was a dangerous time!
For the record I inform you that this is NOT the news of the NOS, but the message of Foreign Affairs! The NOS has only taken over the message!
Yes, but a bit redundant. That is also stated in the post. The travel advice from BuZa has been typed over blindly.
You can't edit government advice, can you? That would mean that every newspaper would focus government reports on its own target group, which would be a mess, I think.
As a journalist you can put a critical note to the data of the government.
It is crazy for words that journalists just copy all news from the government.
Kuhn Peter: “A remarkable conclusion that they most likely copied from the online travel advice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ”
…they also say that and if you would have read carefully you would find that the NOS (this time) does nothing but quote. You do worse by blaming them then taking the message verbatim and accusing them of anything and everything; you must - in the pernicious Netherlands - be with the Minister of Foreign Affairs…
But you must have a reason for your unprecedented cynicism; perhaps influenced by the great Trump…
The fact that you call them 'our state broadcaster' surprises me the most...
Yours is based in Thailand….
All this said by someone who seems to have no problem living in a country where a military government that came to power in a very undemocratic manner is in charge. Perhaps the Thai rulers have already influenced you in such a way that you assume that every country has a general in power these days. Who knows...
Corretje: “Tourists can safely come on holiday to a country that is safer than it used to be.”
I hear from the Netherlands that people (at least those who have found their partner in the Netherlands in a normal way) no longer feel like flying 12600 kilometers for a holiday without a normally accessible beach.
Not everyone likes to fill up and play the beast and then 'fall-off-the-balcony'…
Good reading remains difficult Hendrik, I live in the Netherlands and not in Thailand, you can also get from the message. If journalists copy a quote that makes no sense, I don't blame the source, but the journalist who doesn't ask critical questions.
I live in the country where the army has seized power.
But I don't live in that country because I love the government.
I live there because I feel happy with the ordinary people of the village where I live.
I just paid my plane ticket and now I have to go from the NOS to the doctor for more than a kilo of Valium tablets, because this news makes me very nervous; I may be able to cancel the trip, but it won't let me sleep.
Thailand dangerous?
Yesterday I read in the Dutch newspaper that 1 in 6 migrants in the Netherlands is a criminal. With approximately 90.000 migrants, that is, if I can believe the news, 13.500 criminals who have entered.
Thailand unsafe. Have lived here permanently for over 20 years and have never felt safer than here.
Moderator: Please stay on topic.
I now live in Thailand from the end of 2009. I used to be able to go everywhere without any problems, even in the evening
walking around Udon Thani but that is not advisable anymore too many very poor people and the drugs have not made it much safer. Bars used to go out now no more beat up farang one
friend who was not happy with the performance of a thai lady met by her friends accidentally
beaten to death?
After that, safes were broken open by (fake) agents?
Despite the general, it has not really improved, only the nightlife has certainly been affected here as well
in other cities in Thailand.
A sense of security is about the most subjective perception there is.
Grabbed from my heart!
Dear Corret,
There is a "kind" of democracy in Thailand.
In the Western world, the population elects members of parliament, who then appoint a prime minister, usually he or she from the largest party, who elects the ministers.
In Thailand it happened the other way around, Pyrut first appointed himself and the ministers and then from each professional group, if people could apply for parliamentary positions, for the professional group "taxi drivers" there were more than 10.000 candidates. For the sake of convenience, Pyrut had reserved a lot of seats for the “military” professional group, after all, there are also many military ones in Thailand. A few seats were also reserved for the professional group of “farmers”, the largest part of the population, probably because these people did not have time to get off the land anyway.
So there is a kind of democracy, only different from the western world.
But all in all, I have to say that things are going a lot better than with political parties.
Gerrit
Trump is right, the media comes with a lot of fake news
Especially Twitter.
If you take a look at the travel advice for Thailand on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that in itself is quite okay. However, the information is somewhat "matured".
But overall all points are correct and then you can also see that it is not too bad. However, to warn that there are fewer festivities does not belong in such a list in my opinion. Indeed, the frustration of missing the polonaise, as Khun Peter writes.
The fault is clearly with the NOS, which has gone very far out of the way with this theme. Indeed, what some writers above say, journalistic bullshit.
Incidentally, have you ever watched “Opsporing Requested” on Monday evening? I would rather issue a negative travel advice for the Netherlands.
Much safer here than in Europe. Stupid journalists. Calls the US president fake news
According to the NOS, Thailand has become more dangerous, yes for other countries perhaps.
Just keep going on holiday to Thailand, it is important to adapt.
Have respect for the Thai people and your holiday will run smoothly then it is real,
the land of the sun another Tip be careful crossing the road that is DANGEROUS.
happy Holidays
The NOS took Buza's travel advice as a starting point and compared it.
And then it turns out that there are a number of areas where people are advised to take into account a higher military/political security risk. Well, what are you going to do with it. Cucumber time journalism.
It has little to do with actual safety and the subjective feeling of safety.
In Europe we now know the 'threat levels', which is currently 'substantial' in the Netherlands.
I think it's a piece of cake to show from newspaper archives that objective security in a country increases when the threat level rises. After all, an attack is usually committed unexpectedly, for example during threat level X, after which the threat level is immediately increased to X + 1, after which nothing more happens.
I have been living in this land of eternal smiles for more than 20 years now, and I too must confess that there are many inaccuracies and dangers in Thailand, even to the point of death.
For those visiting this kingdom for the first time, there is indeed some danger present… precisely because of the inexperience they have.
The origin of this story is emphatically not DORO “these ladies and gentlemen from NOS” BUT VERY VERY CLEAR from the online travel advice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Incidentally, I am surprised to see no reaction from the NLe embassy in Bangkok, so unsurpassed by Thailandblog.
Another open door kicked in. Good reading is difficult. What's in the article?: A remarkable conclusion that they most likely copied from the online travel advice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This subject of the NOS was about the 24/7 accessibility of a department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You also saw a world map on screen and you saw that Thailand was red, equal to Syria, Ukraine, etc. My first reaction was, how long have they been under that rock and that the NOS takes over this blindly, is reprehensible.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must therefore do something about this quickly, because this costs Thailand a lot of income.
Maybe just read Buza's advice. (https://www.nederlandwereldwijd.nl/reizen/reisadviezen/thailand) That the NOS bases itself on that is of course not surprising at all and that they adopt the advice is of course completely correct. Or should every newspaper and/or news channel do its own research and then announce what they think? Will be nice and consistent….
Hahahahahahahahahaha the NOS.....
it would be better to say that the Netherlands has become less safe because high-ranking officials are allowed to abuse children with impunity. There are plenty of alternative media channels that report the facts more thoroughly than the Dutch nonsense.
What a nonsense story if you write something like that you have to do your homework well.
It is safer in Thailand than in Paris and London.
Just don't go to the southern provinces on the border with Malaysia.
Regards Peter
Well, the media.
I no longer know what is reliable and what is not. Personally, I have this feeling of “am I glad I live in Thailand”.
All those bomb attacks, all those reports about immigrants and refugees making bumblebees in Europe. Then it is a lot quieter here. I have absolutely no problem traveling around this country.
Of course, it may have been a bit too long since I was in B or Nl, perhaps all that doom-tiding is exaggerated.
Perhaps one day Europe should bring a bunch of technocrats to power. Instead of those so-called self-proclaimed 'democrats'.
Mind you, I don't say military. Although - where I live - nobody is bothered by it at the moment. On the contrary.
But well done by the author.
Thailand unsafe? Nonsense.
We can all just say that most “journalists” prefer to take the news, even when they are on the ground, from major news agencies or government agencies and do very little or nothing to verify facts.
The worst thing is that editors, etc., simply go along with the news and thereby lower the level of their newspapers, etc., to such an extent that people, with the Internet in hand, so to speak, take the colored reporting as notice and no longer believe newspapers or TV.
The decline of the press.
Exceptions aside..... I hope.
Yes, almost all news is taken by news agencies such as ANP, Reuters, etc., slightly rewritten and then published. This is of course also because we read less and less newspapers and get the news for free from the internet. To keep their heads above water, newspapers have to make editors smaller and smaller.
What can we all worry about...... It is indeed cucumber time...I feel that Thailand is still exactly the same as 10 years ago. I still feel safe there.
Orwell said it all:
” Journalism is printing what someone else does not want to print, everything else is PR. ”
Nico B
I have lived in Thailand for a very long time and you can go on holiday there peacefully, but just like everywhere else, you shouldn't do stupid things. Everywhere in the world you run a certain danger. So it is ridiculous advice from Foreign Affairs and blindly adopted by the NOS. In Thailand you are just as safe as in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Eindhoven and I think even safer. And sorry you better have a government like in Thailand than the noble gentleman and Prime Minister Rutten and his government. Warm regards from a reasonably safe Thailand.
What a scandalous conclusion of the lazy Dutch journal, I feel safer in Thailand than on Dam Square in Amsterdam or London, Paris Brussels. The Thai is doing a lot short by putting it this way. Shame on you! Where did these people hatch from which egg?
'Thailand has become more dangerous, less safe' does not necessarily mean Thailand is dangerous.
Small nuance in writing, but a big difference in meaning.
With peaks in terrorism, the world has actually become more dangerous. Also our low countries, France, … after several terrorist attacks.
It quoted 'Political demonstrations can lead to violence'. Well, in May '68 that was already the case with us. These are statements that apply all over the world.
But you know, we're following the advice we're going to look for ourselves. One at Foreign Affairs, the other at De Telegraaf. Or we Google it. And in the Bar Beer one drink wine, the other Leo beer and they will agree or disagree, about safety? Anyone who drives home drunk runs a safety risk. But the sober guy crossing the street can also be hit by the drunk man.
We agree on that, the road deaths in Thailand.
That our journalists do not warn against this as a side note?
I like Khun Peter's critical reflection.
Pro Sit, to health!
If one understands under safe that you can walk around here even late at night without being robbed or assaulted, that is certainly the case. Thais and or Asians in general leave you alone….especially if you leave them alone too.
However, if for one reason or another, rightly or wrongly, you come into contact with government agencies, insurance… lawyers… court…police…then Thailand is a lot less safe than, say, B or NL. Thailand is not a constitutional state.
At such a moment you are 100 times safer in a Western country.
Well, we have been going to Thailand for years. I must say I have never felt unsafe there. We know that there are sometimes attacks in the south. But where are you safe these days. Just what someone already wrote in England or the attack in Germany and France. No, no reason for us not to go there anymore. We are already looking forward to Feb.
It is a pity that the emphasis on Thailand falls in the NOS story. It is of course more dangerous anywhere in the world; it is currently teeming with people who think they will go to heaven if they drop a bomb and kill innocent people. We must first get rid of these psychopaths, of whom we do not (yet) suffer much in most of Thailand. Thailand has therefore certainly not become more dangerous than Europe, the Middle East and the USA.
Incidentally, I also think it is less safe in Thailand and it has also become dirtier on the street in the 10 years that I have lived in Thailand; not so much because of extremists, but more because of increasing control problems of “Thai roosters” in case of loss of face and of course the increasing traffic chaos and the increasing filth on the streets. Fortunately, the many stray dogs are not so "biting", but still dirty. If we could get this all under control, we, as Thailand, would probably be at the top of the ladder in terms of safety and be the No 1 LOS again.
But I agree with most of you; in a relative sense, the NOS is quite wrong.
Live in Pattaya and feel a whole lot safer than in a medium or large city anywhere in Europe. Eighty nationalities and correspondingly virtually no serious incidents . Traffic, on the other hand…
If you claim or copy such a thing, you expect a journalist to distinguish between the actual insecurity (based on statistics: murder, manslaughter, traffic insecurity, robberies, rapes, extortion, fights, terrorist attacks or attempts to do so, etc., etc.) and, in addition, the subjective insecurity. The latter differs per individual and has to do with your own condition (feelings of anxiety), the place/region/neighborhood where you live, how you behave and your personal experiences in the past with forms of violence (being in exactly the wrong place on the wrong time).
More objective conclusions can be drawn only about the former, and I see no evidence of that.
I don't feel unsafe at all in Thailand, but the whole world has become less safe, so probably Thailand too.
That there have been bomb attacks on Phuket, Samui and Bangkok, in addition to the far south, is no surprise
news of fake journalism, but a fact.
I live on Samui and lately I keep getting checked at the airport, the Makro and Big C, if
I drive in there by car and park.
At BigC they also take a photo of your driver's license lately, if you want to drive in.
This will certainly have to do with fear of attacks and increasing insecurity.
But that will be denied by the "optimists" 🙂
Last night I had a nice dinner in Lamai (on Koh Samui). Not unsafe at all.
I just read on ThaiVisa.com that a tourist dug up a woman's body
on the beach of Lamai. (Probably not suicide, this time)
The tourist was sunbathing on the beach and found that it smelled and then found the body,
that had probably been there for 3 days.
They could not yet determine whether it is a Thai or a Farang.
We're hopefully not going after Koh Tao here, after all.
Now I know that this could also have happened in Zandvoort, but still…….
Fantastic unraveling of a frightening lie!!! 🙂
It will all be right. I recently saw, probably the last of all of us here, the film: Bangkok Dangerous. Convincingly dangerous! By the way, it also seems to be very unsafe on Koh Tao at the moment
Yes, very dangerous… so dangerous that there are people who endanger their own lives there by committing suicide… that is most dangerous when the murderer is you… but then he goes everywhere.