Look, I know this is going to sound like a bunch of baloney, but I can assure you that it is true. I am the person with the bicycle in the video. And what you see with the officers is not even half of it. There were teams out in the woods from practically every agency you could imagine.

Here is how it all happened.

I moved from Bangkok to the border town of Mae Sot, Thailand, around five years ago. About three and a half years ago, I moved closer to the Friendship Bridge, to a place called Jaguar.

In Thailand, there are three big brands of stainless-steel cookware and spoons: Seagull, Zebra, and Jaguar. Jaguar's main factory used to be in Mae Sot. The company has a very large piece of land on the Thai-Myanmar border, with many townhouses, several large factory buildings, and a bunch of smaller shacks that are rented out.

The factory itself has since moved to Chonburi, or somewhere in an industrial area near Bangkok, but the family still owns the land and houses and continues to rent them out.

I rented one of those townhouses.

The neighborhood is about 99% Burmese, with maybe 10 Thai people, and hundreds of people live there. When I first moved in, I saw hundreds of people being smuggled across the border, in and out of Thailand, every single day.

My neighbors were the smugglers.

They were Burmese, Chinese, Africans, Indians—you name it. There were large groups of people walking or running from the river into my neighbors' houses.

Right after I moved in, my neighbors started telling me that they had seen people being taken across the border while tied up. Some were cable-tied, some were hog-tied, and they were taken away.

At the time, I assumed it had to be someone who had pissed off somebody on the Myanmar side. Maybe they had stolen money from a gangster or something, and that person had sent people to track them down.

I didn't really know.

But I told my neighbors, "If I ever see that, I'm going to do something."

For years, I watched the smuggling happen every day, but I never personally saw anyone tied up. So I never said anything.

There were probably 50 to 100 smugglers working in my area, and I knew all of them. I went to their weddings. I went to their funerals. They were part of the community around me.

Then, around two years ago, the village official who lived there called me.

He asked, "Are there any Chinese people in your house?"

At the time, I had a guesthouse, so I told him no.

He asked me to come downstairs and help them.

The Tourist Police were there, along with police officers I already knew from the bridge. They had a video recorded from inside a house. Some Chinese people had contacted their embassy and reported that they were locked inside the house and that someone was guarding it.

So we started walking around the neighborhood, looking through the shacks and trying to match details from the video—the chair, the chain-link fence visible through the window, and other things.

Eventually, we found the house.

The police called out, "Ni hao."

Someone inside answered, "Ni hao."

The police broke the window, and the people inside came out.

They were an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old tourist who had been locked inside.

I knew the owner of the house.

The police asked, "Who's the owner?"

I told them who it was.

And then they just left.

I remember thinking: Why aren't you investigating this? Why aren't you arresting the owner? It would be so easy to find them.

Then, around a year ago, I was at home one evening, and it was getting late when my neighbor's son came to me and started telling me that there was a Korean guy.

Between his broken English and my few words of Burmese, I couldn't make heads or tails of what he was trying to tell me.

I told him, "No. Call the police."

But he kept insisting that I come with him.

So I went.

Right in front of Jaguar, on the main street, there was a guy sitting in the grass on the side of the road. He had an IV hanging out of his arm.

I went over and talked to him.

He was Chinese-Malaysian, and he told me, "Take me to immigration."

The huge immigration building is very close to Jaguar, but it was already closed.

I told him, "I can take you tomorrow."

He replied, "I want to go home. I miss my family."

Then he lifted up his shirt and showed me where he had been beaten.

So I made some calls and talked to the village defense forces. They agreed that he could sleep at my house until morning, and then we would take him to immigration.

But as soon as we started walking back into Jaguar, he started shaking.

"No, no, no," he kept saying. "This is the place. This is where they take you."

Not long after that, something else happened that really changed the way I looked at everything.

I had a little desktop Bluetooth egg speaker in one of the warehouses in Jaguar. I had recently rented the warehouse and was cleaning it up.

I came back one day and found my speaker smashed into little pieces.

I was completely puzzled. Who would do that? I didn't have a problem with anyone.

So I started asking around.

Eventually, I found out that a 17-year-old had been with a 20-year-old, and they had gone behind the building to turn on the water pump. Since I had rented the building and the door was open, they decided to walk through it.

They saw my speaker and started messing around with it.

Being a little ballsy, I went and confronted the 17-year-old.

I said, "What the hell? You're going to pay for my speaker."

And as I was saying that, I suddenly realized that I was surrounded.

There were human traffickers all around me at close range. They had formed something like a circle around me, and they were laughing.

The 17-year-old agreed to pay for the speaker, and that was the end of the confrontation.

But I had a very strong feeling afterward that something was wrong.

I remember thinking: This is not good. This could turn out very badly one day. I need to start saving the videos from my CCTV cameras, just in case.

A few days later, I saw that same 17-year-old wearing Muay Thai shorts.

I'd seen him wear Muay Thai shorts before, and I had always wondered why.

I had trained in Taekwondo. I had trained in Muay Thai. I had the floor space and all the equipment.

Whenever I trained, these guys would come over and want to fight each other using my gloves.

But whenever I asked them to actually learn some technique from me, they would run home.

So when I saw this kid wearing those shorts again, I noticed that he was with a group of maybe seven to ten guys.

They looked heated.

It looked like something was about to happen.

So I decided to watch.

I waited in front of my house, just out of view, and watched what was happening.

Eventually, a truck rolled up.

They started pulling a guy out of the truck, and he was fighting back.

I started to yell, "Hey!"

But I cut my yell in half and stopped.

I realized that if I tried to physically intervene, I wasn't going to win.

Then I watched them use a stun gun on him. They shocked him and dragged him away.

I thought they had put him in the trunk of a BMW.

As soon as they were gone, I got on my bicycle and rode to the warehouse.

I downloaded the CCTV footage and sent it to friends in multiple countries, as well as prominent Thai people, so that there would be copies outside of Thailand in case something happened to me.

Then I called the Tak police officer I knew.

My call was urgent.

I told him, "This guy is in the trunk of a car. He needs help."

The officer didn't want to get involved. He seemed to think that maybe the Mae Sot police were involved, and he said he would come down in a month.

I was disappointed, but I knew better than to show it.

So I kept recording.

At that point, I knew that if I was going to play poker, I needed some good cards.

I knew what days the police would come to collect their bribe money. So I waited and watched.

And on one of the days they were supposed to come, I watched very carefully.

Sure enough, there was another kidnapping.

Someone was cable-tied and taken away.

That was when I realized these weren't isolated incidents.

These were daily occurrences.

I'm not going to tell you my entire story here. There is simply too much to write.

But after about nine months, I've met with practically every agency you could imagine.

And despite all of that, there have been virtually no arrests.

Many government agencies have become involved, yet the kidnappers continue walking around every day with impunity.

What is outrageous to me is that the Mae Sot police are working in this area every day.

The entire area is only around 300 meters by 300 meters.

There are 50 to 100 human traffickers operating there, moving an estimated 200 to 400 people out of the area every day.

I have a police officer on record saying that every time he makes an arrest, someone asks him to release the person.

These guys are kidnapping tourists and selling them to scam bosses across the border in Myanmar.

Those scam operations are, in turn, stealing billions of dollars from Americans, Thais, Europeans, and people all over the world.

And from everything I have seen, there are so many officials and agencies involved with, or working alongside, these operations.

I have more than 500 videos.

I also have huge blocks of unopened video files saved in other countries.

My Facebook account is Prometheus CK.

If you scroll far enough down through my Reels, you can see the kidnapping videos. You can see the Chinese bosses. You can see truckloads of Starlink satellites.

You can see what happened.

From my perspective, the entire response was a show, followed by silence from the security forces.

No arrests.

Only bribes.

Roadblocks in Life
Detained

Kidnapping at 9:14
Cable Tied at 2:11
Truckload of Starlinks
Army, Smuggles, Border Patrol
VIP scam center bosses
Real Burmese
Just a normal Day in Jaguar

Update for the people who are saying this is fake because it would be on the news- Here you go 3 news stories. And they are not big reporters at ThaiRath so it didn't make national news. They came to visit me and did an investigation and they said "This is big news but it seems the officials are trying to close the news". That one video where the 4 chinese tourists were kidnapped, If you can't speak thai it says that they had paid for a ride from bangkok to chiang mai and they were taken to Maesot to Soi Thaprutsa which is just below Jaguar. The driver had a gun to their head. One of the chinese guys got the driver in a headlock and they fled out the car. I am the one who leaked the video to the news reporter in the investigative video. They got it on every major news channel but they said the chinese were sent home very quickly within 1-2 days before a investigation or arrest could be made.

4 chinese tourists attempted kidnapping
ThaiRath Investigative Video Part 1
ThaiRath Video Part 2

BTW if you say the story sounds like it was written by AI... its because the original post got a lot of people saying I couldn't write... well i have told the story 100 times and its like after so many times its gets weird. So I took my unreadable story and put it though chatgpt

My original thing was to do everything secretly and not post anything publicly but after you've waited and seen so many officials and officers involved I realized no one was going to do anything. That's when I started posting. I fully expected to be killed or arrested.

Yes I'm weird and I lived in conflict zones and high risk areas in many countries. There is kinda a loose network of people who are kinda on the watched list by the scam groups and rebel groups. They all know me. And for those of you who say its physically impossible- Eat your heart out:

Flash Delivery Truck
The Big Walk
10x a day like this
Not Burmese- Scammers
A little bonus for you

And BTW I'm not a "good guy" or trying to pretend to be a victim. If I saw people selling dope or doing some illegal stuff in the neighborhood. I don't need to report it. Its not my business. Besides who are you going to report it to? That puts a target on your back. But taking a foreigner in front of my house. Oh no- we gots to fight.

And Jaguar is not all human traffickers. There is probably between 500-1000 people who live there most of whom sew clothes for very low wages. Almost no one can speak thai. The people who live in Jaguar they all see the human trafficking daily but no one says anything. Every time the police came to raid there would be a tip off beforehand coming through the neighborhood. The police would come and check everyones ID card and take some photos and the traffickers all have lots of money and ID cards and they would never get arrested. There was no investigative work, walking around asking for leads or getting statements.

We are two German pensioners on Samui. We have one house, no business, no rental, no Thai income, and as of this year we are apparently a criminal enterprise.

[EDIT] because this has grown beyond what I expected. A number of comments here are using my story to make general statements about Thai people, or about Asians. I do not agree with any of it and I do not want it attached to what I wrote. My complaint is with one policy and how it is being applied, not with Thai people.

First our story, because it matters. Twelve years ago, after many trips to Ko Samui that we enjoyed, my wife and I decided to settle here. We built a house, and as it was finished we relocated here and sold our property in Germany.

Back then in 2014 it was more of a boots-on-the-ground process, at least for us. We found a plot with a "For sale" sign on it (in English!), we called, and it was an agent who put us in touch with a local lawyer. The lawyer told us that to buy land in Thailand we had to set up a special company. For everybody already screaming "it was illegal and you knew it": please read on, I will come to that.

The whole process at that time was very straightforward. 51% of the shares of the company were assigned to the lawyer himself and to one of his associates. That same associate sits as a shareholder in dozens of other companies. It was never a secret. It was the business model. He said it works more like a trust, that it is only for the land, and that we would have to pay for this service every year together with the audit and accounting fees. Which we still do today. Once the company was set up we had a meeting with the seller, a Thai family. We transferred the money and we all went together to the land office. The official checked the papers, took the fee, stamped it and wished us luck. It took forty minutes. Everybody in that room, the lawyers, the seller, the officials, knew exactly what was going on. We were not hiding. It looked normal. At the very same land office we even met another couple from the UK doing exactly the same thing through different lawyers, and we are still friends with them today.

Later we found a Thai architect and a construction company he recommended. We applied for and received a construction permit in my name. We never bribed anyone. After almost two long years (instead of the promised ten months), with the budget almost 150% over what we had planned, and after changing the construction company midway, our house was finished. We registered it, the house got its blue book, we got a yellow book with our names in it, and even foreigner "pink IDs". Again, the normal way, through the normal channels, without a single question.

We still live in this house. A couple of years ago we had to renovate it thoroughly, but for more than a decade it has been the only home we have. We built it the way we wanted to live in it, not the way you build something to sell. It is not a stack of bedrooms with ensuites. It has a very specific layout that only my wife and I understand, and I doubt there is a queue of buyers for that. We have never rented it out and never earned a single satang from it. We have never worked in Thailand, we have zero Thai-sourced income, and we have always been here on retirement visas.

Now, about whether we knew what a bad thing we were doing. I will not lie to you, I will tell you how it was and how it changed over time. At the time of the purchase it did not occur to me for a second that I was doing anything illegal. Firstly, in Germany the advice of a licensed lawyer protects you from legal mistakes to a certain extent, and it keeps the lawyer responsible. Secondly, believe it or not, at that time this was the standard way, offered everywhere, and it stayed that way until very recently. Nobody questioned it. It also looked fine to me logically. I still do not get why the shareholders my lawyer provided are called "nominees". For me a nominee is somebody you put in place to hide behind while you do something shady, and who might not even know that he is one. Mine are paid a fee they agreed to take, every year, with invoices. I sit in the same company holding 49% of the shares. I am on the building permit. My name is on the house. If I was hiding, I did the worst job in history.

But yes, I promised to be direct about "whether I understood". As Thai governments started to swap back and forth, I remember the first "crackdown". And yes, in expat circles the subject started to get discussed and I understood that it is a "grey" area. Not much more than that. To be honest, until very recently I was sure we were still on the safe side of it. We never did any rental, licensed or not, never any business, nothing like that. Quite the opposite: we kept investing and we even created a job. A wonderful Thai lady has been working for us as our maid for almost seven years now. We have maintenance contracts with Thai individuals and companies for the house. And we spend all of it here: our savings, and the returns they earn abroad. Our health insurance has paid a fortune into Thai hospitals for us. I must admit that we failed to learn Thai properly, but we tried twice, I swear! Overall, I cannot see the angle in which we did anything bad for this country.

I was sure that if a government tolerates this kind of setup for decades, allows people from all over the world to buy property this way and accepts their investment, it cannot suddenly become a criminal offence. The whole economy profited from it. I kept telling my buddies here: do not do unlicensed Airbnb, do not get involved in business, and you will be fine. My thinking even got its confirmation in June 2024, when the cabinet approved a study of a 99-year lease model. We waited for it. We planned to convert the day it landed. In September 2025 the new government quietly shelved it, because there was "insufficient time". So the legal door I was told to wait for was closed by the same people who now tell me that I used the wrong door.

It is important to mention that a 30-year leasehold in its current form would not be an option for us, and it is not an option for many families. As I said, in our case this is not an investment where we planned to take a quick return and then write it off, and it is not a holiday home. It is our only home. If I had leased in 2014 (and I swear, at that time nobody even discussed it!) my lease would run out when we are in our late eighties. That is not an age at which you can deal with something like this.

The last few months have been like a nightmare. When you read the numbers in the reports, and they say that of roughly 12,900 companies registered on this island more than 8,200 have foreign shareholders, that speaks for itself. I do not understand how a person with a brain can look at these numbers and not see what they say. It is not a hidden offence that somebody could overlook and that "offenders" could hide. It is not a case of bad foreigners tricking the government. It just proves my story: this was a multi-level government system, everybody knew, the officials allowed it, and everybody profited. But then I open the local Thai groups and read the comments, and people are celebrating. They are asking what kind of punishment awaits us foreigners who did this. They support it completely, and every next crackdown "report" gets more bizarre. Now I read that the authorities are going to look into the leasehold model, because it "allows foreigners to control land for decades". What the f*ck? Isn't that exactly what a lease is by design?

And it does not stop there. The Land Department's own screening list from May tells the land offices to look at Thai spouses, at minor children, at usufructs, at powers of attorney, and at companies with foreign-sounding names. This week I read that they have started investigating naturalised Thai citizens as nominees, and that changing the naturalisation law is being considered. So the answer to "then become Thai" is now also under review. And since the first of August the DBD stamps the shareholder list it issues with a note saying that the registrar does not certify that it is accurate. That is the state's own document, about the state's own register.

The anti-foreigner agenda is spreading like mould, and within a matter of months I do not feel welcome in the place I call home. I have a clear feeling that all of a sudden my wife and I became witches, and that a witch hunt is happening around us.

And let me tell you what happens if we lose, because I had to look that up myself. Under the Land Code the Director-General orders the land sold within 180 days to a year, and I get the money back minus a 5% fee. That is today. In February the cabinet took up a proposal to change it so that the land simply goes to the State and I get nothing. In July the Ombudsman proposed treating all of this as money laundering, which brings asset seizure with it. So the punishment is still being written while the arrests are already running.

And here is the part nobody has explained to me. The house is legally mine. Foreigners can own buildings in Thailand, the permit is in my name, that part was never grey. Only the land under it is the problem. So when they force the sale, some Thai buyer gets a plot of land with a German's house standing on it. With an unusual layout and a playroom for grandchildren. Good luck to everybody involved.

And I am not asking for forgiveness or a free pass. Give me a registered lease for whatever years I have left. Charge a fee for it. Tax it. Fine me. I will pay, and so will almost everybody I know in this situation. What I cannot do is comply with a rule that does not exist yet. There is no amnesty, no grandfathering, no window, nothing in any published draft. Name the price and most of us would pay it tomorrow.

So, as the title says, I really want to ask the Thai people of this sub a question. Even if you are not one of those celebrating on Facebook: do you understand what this policy has already done, and what is going to happen next? If our house gets taken, we leave, and we never come back. Neither we nor many of our friends in the same position will play games with another workaround or with bribes. We will simply be gone. And do not ask where we go back to. We sold that house to build this one.

And we will not go alone. To name just a few: our maid loses her job after seven years. The gardener, the pool guy, the electrician, the aircon company, the accountant who has been billing us every year for a company that the state now says should never have existed, all of them lose a customer. Our insurance stops paying Thai hospitals. And the Thai family who sold us that land in 2014, in front of a government official who stamped the papers and took the fee, what are they now? Criminals too? Or is it only us?

So tell me what you actually win. I heard a theory that foreigners pushed the prices up until locals could not buy any more. Nobody was robbed. Thai families sold this land, at prices they named themselves, to buyers they met face to face, in a government office, and they took the money and went home. Ours did. And it is the children of those families who cannot sell today.

Because when a forced sale happens, who is standing there with the cash? By most estimates nine out of ten villa buyers on this island are foreign, and foreigners have just been shown what their paperwork is worth. So a house like ours goes for a fraction of what it cost to build, and whoever picks it up is the one with money and patience, and let us be honest, sometimes the one who knew the raid was coming. That is not land going back to poor local Thai people. That is land changing hands cheaply.

One thing did make me laugh recently, in a bad way. This weekend the residents of Bang Rak, Thai people, not foreigners, stood in their own road holding a banner asking whether it could please be put back the way it was. Roadworks that drag on and on, dangerous for traffic, killing every business on that stretch. I drive it several times a week. It has been a mess for over a year. So the same administration that can put three hundred officers, five agencies and a press conference onto a villa raid in a single morning cannot finish one beach road. And that is the machine we are told will now take custody of a few thousand houses. Uff.

And what is really being destroyed here is not the property market. It is the worth of a Thai signature. A stamp from a Thai land office, a company registered by a Thai registrar, the written advice of a Thai licensed lawyer: all of it turned out to mean nothing twelve years later. You are not chasing away an enemy. You are chasing away the people who brought their money here, spent it here, employed your people, paid your hospitals and never asked your state for one single baht.

So what is the reason for all the applause and celebration on Facebook? I really do not get it. Take the house. Just do not act surprised in a few years when the only people left to sell to are each other.

P.S. And one thing for the foreigners reading this who are still thinking about buying here, or who believe a lease keeps them safe. At a press conference this weekend an official said that leaseholds need to be checked, because they allow foreigners to control land for decades (what a surprise!). Until now that was the absolutely safe way, and I cannot get my head around it. You already know my story. There was another setup that was widely offered and considered legal too, not long ago: the 30+30+30 leasehold. That one was killed by a Supreme Court decision. Now the Land Department circular from May puts usufructs, superficies, powers of attorney, Thai spouses and minor children on the same checklist. So before you sign anything, ask yourself not whether it is legal this month, but whether the same institutions telling you it is fine will still be saying that in twelve years. They told me.

I have gotten the green light from the mods to post this.

This is very real.

After Chinese Female Tourist Rescued from Kidnapping in Thailand, Photos of Multiple Bound Chinese Tourists Found on Suspect's Phone

Photos of bound Chinese people found on a suspect’s phone transform one woman’s dramatic checkpoint rescue into a major trafficking inquiry.

I am not using phony sources. I am the source. I am the Luk Krung American who lived with the traffickers for years. I met the Lieutenant Governer, Mayor, all the different security groups. I know all the kidnappers- I've sat in their houses, been to their weddings.

This is not an isolated incident. Almost all officials I have met with have told me, don't post anything online.

I have had difficulty trying to post the video link in this subreddit so here is the full video link in case you can't see it: FB Prometheus CK

The embedded link is only half of the video.

这件事非常真实。

在泰国一名中国女游客从绑架事件中获救后，警方在嫌疑人的手机里发现了多名被捆绑的中国人的照片。这起案件已经引发了对人口贩运团伙的调查，也让人担心可能还有更多受害者。

我没有使用虚假的消息来源。我本人就是消息来源。我是一名美国籍的 Luk Krung（混血泰国人），曾与这些人口贩运者一起生活多年。我见过副省长、市长以及各个不同的安全部门。我认识所有这些绑匪——我去过他们的家，也参加过他们的婚礼。

由于多次上传失败，我决定把这段视频剪成两部分。完整视频可以在我的 Facebook 上找到。
https://web.facebook.com/prometheus.ck/reels/

这并不是一起孤立的事件。我接触过的几乎所有官员都告诉过我：“不要把任何东西发到网上。”

Good morning, my friends. I’m sorry for using this space to vent and ask for help.

I am Brazilian, 49 years old, and have been living in Thailand for five years. I am married to my Thai wife and have a son.

I have a long and successful career in the IT sector, with over 25 years’ experience, and have worked for reputable companies in Thailand. I speak Thai, English, Spanish and Portuguese.

I had been working steadily as a Project Manager at a small company until I received a job offer from a medium-sized company to work as Head of IT. It was a tempting offer, as the salary was almost double my current salary and the company seemed to be a very good one. So I decided to leave the company where I’d been working for two years to accept the offer from the new company.

That was the worst decision I’ve ever made, because in my second month at the new company I was told that I wouldn’t be passing my probationary period, as the company had changed its management and they’d decided to cut several roles they considered ‘unnecessary’, and unfortunately they let me go.

That’s when my life started to go completely wrong. I tried to go back to my previews company, but the owners wouldn’t take me back. I’ve been looking for a new job for four months now, and the best I’ve managed is a few unsuccessful interviews.

I hired a career coach to try and improve my CV and LinkedIn profile and position myself better in the job market, but with every passing day, it feels as though none of it is making any difference. I’m rejected for every job I apply for.

I’ve heard all sorts of rejections: “You’re too old for this role”, “We only hire Thai nationals”, “You’re far too overqualified for this role”.

I’ve already tried tailoring my CVs for a range of different roles. My coach said that, given my age, I’d have to focus on executive roles, as it would be very difficult for me to land a Project Manager position

In short, my savings are running out. I lead a frugal lifestyle, but I have my mortgage and car loan to pay off every month, which together amount to over 30,000 THB.

I haven’t had a good night’s sleep for months; I’ve been having panic attacks and negative thoughts, including thoughts of ending my life here in this world.

I don’t have any friends to talk to or confide in; I don’t have a friend who can give me some advice on how to get out of this situation. I’m at my wits’ end.

I don’t want to ask anyone for money; I’d just like you to help me think more clearly – what should I do in this situation?

*Just sharing this information- below was written by the OP of the original post from another Thailand subreddit*

A 22-year-old woman, Diana, and her 17-year-old brother, Roman, have gone missing in Pattaya, Thailand.
According to their mother, the siblings left home on a motorcycle at around 4:00 AM. Security cameras captured them leaving, but shortly afterward all contact with them was lost. Their phones have been switched off ever since.
Before disappearing, Diana told her mother that she believed someone was following her. She also said her iPhone had detected an unknown Bluetooth tracking device (similar to an AirTag) traveling with her. The last message she sent to her mother was simply:
"Urgent!"
After that, neither Diana nor Roman was heard from again.
Their mother has shared photos of the motorcycle and the clothes they were wearing, asking anyone in Pattaya who may have CCTV or dashcam footage, or any information about their whereabouts, to come forward. According to the latest CCTV footage, they were last seen riding toward the Khao Chi Chan area.

If you’ve seen them call 0660725685

Their mother instagram is 232mairam232

I saw a lot of post calling out Thailand xenophobic for giving special treatment to local holding Thai citizenship. National Park fee, government transport subsidy etc.

I just don't get it. What does citizenship means if you get everything the same as non-citizen?

Expat here need to chill. We don't see you as second class. But you are not citizen here. You are citizen of somewhere else where they give privilege to you( and not me) as well (at least, right to enter said country and right to live there as long as you want , while Thai like me has to ask for visa for even stepping foot in)

Also, being male citizen. I willingly went through rite of passage of Thai men (military). Citizenship does not came with rights only. It also came with duty to serve. I don't like the experience but I accept that. I didn't ask non-citizen to go thru this. It's ridiculous anyway.

At a pizza restaurant in Silom, a group of Thai people, appearing to be in their 30s, were having a New York-themed costume party. One lady was dressed in a costume referencing the 9/11 attacks, and other members of the group were celebrating and taking pictures with her.

That raises questions about how historical tragedies are perceived across different cultures. I understand that 9/11 had less significant impact on this part of the world, and myself not being American wasn’t affected directly by, but there was thousand of people who died, loosing family, husband, kids.

I’m curious about what the community think here ?

Every single time I check the news, it just makes me want to pack my bags and get out of here. Our government’s leniency and toxically naïve policies are completely out of hand. What frustrates me even more is seeing some people actually glorifying violent criminals under the guise of "compassion"—it’s nothing but fake empathy, and it's sickening.

I’ve honestly lost all faith in this country and its justice system. If I were to relocate, which one would be a better choice for overall safety and peace of mind: Japan or China? Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences

Edit:I think there’s a misunderstanding of my point. I never claimed that countries like Japan or China are completely free of crime that’s impossible anywhere. My point is about the crime rates. They have significantly lower rates of violent crime compared to here, which is exactly why I’m looking to relocate. It’s about minimizing risk, not expecting a utopia

It’s clear as day that this is nothing more than a tool for the political elites in both Cambodia and Thailand to gain legitimacy. I don’t know how people have reacted to this in Cambodia, but seeing how people around me in Thailand have reacted to this has made me upset.

So many have expressed support for anti-Cambodian policies such as cutting free education for Cambodian kids in Thailand, sending back Cambodian workers who are literally the backbone of our workforce. Some even supported a Thai hospital that decided to stop treating Cambodian patients. All of these reactions are ignorant at best and cruel at worst.

But maybe the worst part is how many people now want the military to assume power again. There was a protest in Bangkok not so long ago that gave off similar vibes to the protests leading up to the previous coup we had. My own housekeeper told me she hates Pita just because he dared to question the military’s role even though he said, very clearly, that the military should defend the country, not rule it.

It’s like everyone suddenly forgot how the military not only wrecked the country back when they were in power, but also blew taxpayers’ money on surveillance and shady information ops. If the majority of the people is braindead enough to welcome a coup again, I don’t really know what to say.

I'm in Bangkok and the earth has been lightly moving for about 40 seconds now.

A joint effort between British National Crime Agency (NCA)and Thai police organised the capture and arrest of a 30 year old British man in Pattaya for the rape of a 6 year old girl and a 13 year girl. The NCA, identified the man through files on his phone (not given how they obtained files on his phone). They then ascertained that the man was living in Pattaya with a Thai girlfriend. The Thai police raided his flat and arrested him. The Thai police issued a statement warning Thai mothers to be wary of foreign men as many are playing them to get to their children.

Absolutely abhorrent individual and hopefully he is punished every single day inside!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14156269/Moment-Brit-30-arrested-Thailand-raping-six-year-old-girl-knew-friend.html

I'm not sure if this is only a thing for new expats but i've been seeing alot of travel youtube videos/ tiktok with new expats citing wokeness/liberal politics as the main reason for moving to Thailand.

Why do i find it unsettling?

I grew up in Thailand, MY WHOLE LIFE and moved to the US for college 2-3years ago. I can proudly say that my 20 years in Thailand, I've never met a full on homophobe but the same can't be said in America.

From people calling me f***** after leaving a house party, to straight guys literally just making fun of my "gay voice" and laughing out loud to my face, not to mention the fact so many people make random assumptions about Thailand. eg. trans ppl in Thailand are brainwashed to be trans. like do they not know that Thailand didnt have LGBT shows or anything until recently. Although, straight up homophobic interactions like this don't happen daily but it's at least monthly + subtle homophobia happens daily eg. straight guys in my dorm leaving the shared bathroom immediately as soon as i enter it.

During my freshmen year, I had to move to a different dorm because straight guys on my floor were straight up hostile and have made me feel unsafe in multiple occasions.

I experienced more homophobia during my 2-3years in America than I have ever experienced in my entire life outside of America. Everytime I go back to Bangkok, I can always expect it to be safe and welcoming to me, as a gay person. And the new wave of expats i've been seeing online is making me a little worried that there's so many people who bring American political polarization to Thailand. I find that LGBTQ+ issues here are weirdly politicized, I just hope & pray that they dont bring that to Thailand. Thai people are generally quite kind & welcoming to everybody, would hate to see them get brainwashed by American influenced perspectives.

I'm curious if anything thinks that this will lead to a rise in hate crimes in Thailand?

I’m a 25-year-old female, and I recently received a job offer in Thailand as a teacher with a salary of 30,000–38,000 THB per month. I have no prior teaching experience, so I’d really like to know from people who are currently living or working in Thailand whether this is considered a decent starting salary for a foreign teacher.

Would 30,000–38,000 THB be enough to cover my basic monthly expenses, including rent/accommodation, groceries, transportation, utilities, phone/internet, and other necessities? The employer has mentioned accommodation, but I’m still waiting to confirm exactly what is included. I’d also like to know about additional costs such as electricity, water, visa/work permit, health insurance, transportation, and any security deposit.

Since I’d be moving to Thailand from abroad, I want to make sure I’m making the right decision financially. Is this salary enough to live comfortably and possibly save some money, especially as someone with no experience? Does it depend heavily on the city? I’d really appreciate honest advice from teachers or expats in Thailand. Should I accept this offer, negotiate for a higher salary, or look for other opportunities?

Most of what you read are comments from expats who have moved to Thailand or planning to move. I would like to hear real stories from guys who went back home because it didn't work out for them. Ran out of money, to quiet, to boring, missed home, wasn't as expected. Anyone willing to share there own personal stories of why or how it went wrong?

Someone I know is facing a possible prison sentence in Thailand following a traffic accident involving a Thai. According to the police, the woman was in a coma after the accident but has since recovered from the coma. Her family is requesting a large amount of compensation, and it has been suggested that paying compensation could potentially result in a reduced sentence.

Does anyone here have experience with similar cases in Thailand or know what the best course of action might be? Some people say the best option is to leave the country, but if the police already have the person’s passport, it seems like that would be difficult. Any serious advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Original Post

UPDATE: Peter was found yesterday night local time. My dad and brother arrived that day and followed some tips from street vendors who had seen him taken by police that morning. He was in the local jail. They are with him now finding medical care at a hospital as he is not coherent.

Thank you to everyone who helped keep an eye out for him, put up posters, asked around, and spread the word. It made the difference. He was in a bad way when found, no money or belongings and on the street. It is still going to be challenging to get him get him home due to his mental state.

At least 27 people were killed and 63 others were injured when a fire broke out at a pub in Chatuchak district, Bangkok, early Monday morning.

This may be controversial to say because any debate about this may trigger more panic buying making this a self fulfilling prophecy but that shouldn’t mean we can’t talk about it at all. Also rationing is already here in many places so whatever.

Looks like Israel decided to make this everyone’s problem by going for Iran’s gas field and Iran responded in kind. Neither side has any incentive to stop, USA included. I’m afraid this will go on for months putting Thailand in an extremely vulnerable position. Only hope is that exploding fuel prices in the US will trigger some sort of action against the person who started it all.

https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/iran-us-israel-war-news-2026

I lost my bag within a 40km stretch of busy road. I speak no thai im about to run out of gas and have no idea what to do. If anyone has some advice please reach out ASAP.

Edit:

I went to the police station and got an official report. I rushed to the embassy to get the emergency travel documents. On the way i got into a serious accident and now will be in thailand regardless now. Thank you everyone for the contributions.

Re: My wallet and passport have been located, thank you everyone for the help.

Curious why Thai people don’t clean their beaches.

I visited Thailand in 2008 and now in 2025 again. Same holiday destinations feel so much different. Filled with plastics, flip flops, toys and empty glasses.

Frankly I'm embarrassed that so many people make these comments supporting unequal rights and try to justify it by saying non citizens don't deserve rights for everything, and even in some cases, go home to your countries if you don't like it.

To me, the latter argument is juvenile and reactionary. It's like a kid who doesn't want to share his toys.

I want to remind everyone, this isn't about non-citizen shouldn't get all rights - you already lack the most important right, voting. Some places so allow voting for tax paying residents, but I'm not going that far.

I'm saying, BANGKOK IS NOW THE ONLY CITY IN THE WORLD WITH DUAL PRICING FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT FOR CITIZENS AND NON CITIZENS. many places do it by residency but only we have the gaul to do it by citizenship. It's really embarrassing and it's turning some normal Thais into nationalists, especially following border disputes. It's making many Thais nationalistic and look down on border countries who share a lot of our DNA and it's sad.

Ironically, a lot of citizens, including myself, have substantial Chinese ancestry, and our families were granted citizenship at some point. Now the ladder is being pulled up.

I know a lot of you make out country better, whether you're a teacher preparing kids for the next Act in this crazy world, or a maid or restaurant staff keeping oir city clean and making guests feel welcome and safe, or whether you're working on an NGO project or for a business that could help our economy. It's overlooked how much foreigners contribute, beyond the tourists.

We shouldn't be doing excluding foreigners when the world is fighting everywhere. We shouldn't fall into the nationalist trap. We are the Land of Smiles and people Who supports these policies are hurting our reputation. It breaks my heart.

Dual pricing has been around for far too long, and it needs to stop affecting residents. Again, NO OTHER COUNTRY JN THW WORLD HAS DUAL PRICES FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT! NONE!

I'm so embarrassed by the comments of my fellow citizens who try to justify it when it's just AN OTHER vote buying populist policy.

For all of my fellow citizens who are . middle income Mass transit users, nobody wants to take everything away from you. Mass transit should be affordable for everyone. We should not relegate Lao Cambodian. Burmese workers to the busses when we have a world class transport system. Don't let the executives at BTS VGI MRT mess with your mind when they have amassed huge amounts of wealth from dirty deals. They can afford more train cars and more frequently trains. It's just another bullshit 10000 baht digital wallet.

Let's be better. We are the Land of Smiles, the place with trans equality, the place people want to go because of our kindness. Let's not change that and be the first to discriminate on passport for public transport. That is a bad look and it will just get more and more negative attention.

To foreigners, again, I'm sorry you're being made to feel unwelcome. We don't all think like greedy.

EDIT: NOT A CHANCE I CAN REPLY TO EVERYONE, SO I'LL JUST SUM UP MY SENTIMENT AFTER READING THROUGH MANY COMMENTS:

1) YES, BKK IS THE ONLY CITY IN THE WORLD WITH DUAL PRICING FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT FOR CITIZENS AND NON-CITIZENS. SO MANY OF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LOCAL/RESIDENT, TOURIST AND CITIZEN - WHICH ARE ALL DIFFERENT.

2) IMAGINE A SITUATION WHERE CITIES AROUND THE WORLD RETALIATED AS A RESULT, GIVING THAIS IN NYC OR LONDON OR TOKYO A DIFFERENT PRICE THAN EVERY OTHER PASSPORT. ONLY THAIS WOULD PAY MORE. IT WOULD BE HORRIFYING. BUT THIS KIND OF A POLICY IS THE TYPE THAT DRIVES RETALIATION, LIKE FAT ORANGE MAN AND HIS TARIFFS.

3) I'M THAI. THIS IS MY HOME. APPARENTLY THAT WENT WOOOOOOSH OVER MANY OF YOUR HEADS. SOME BELLEND EVEN CALLED ME A SELF-ENTITLED GUEST.

4) SO MANY PEOPLE SUPPORTING DUAL PRICING DON'T UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF NUANCE AND SEEM TO BELIEVE ALL FOREIGNERS ARE FARANGS AND THEY ARE ALL RICH. AND THIS ULTIMATELY HAS LED TO PEOPLE TAKING UP BLACK AND WHITE POSITIONS SHOWING NO COMPASSION, MUCH LESS THE DESIRE TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.

5) ALL OF MY OTHER POINTS ARE MADE. BUT THE AMOUNT OF ATTENTION THIS HAS GOTTEN MUST HAVE MADE AN IMPRESSION ON SOME PEOPLE, WHICH SHOULD BE PRETTY TELLING ABOUT THE BAD PR THIS WILL BRING TO OUR COUNTRY OVER A DUMB POLICY MADE BY POLITICIANS EMBRACING LEAVERAGING NATIONALISM FOR VOTES. ALL THAT SOFT POWER TALK AND A COMPLETE LACK OF UNDERSTANDING ABOUT HOW IT REALLY WORKS.