And it happened at 630pm! How can you be that drunk at that time?
Although when I was walking along beach road at 8am every morning there were already groups of guys drinking beer.
obe, I think you answered your own question there.
If you pour ethanol down your neck starting at 8:00AM and continue, you will be significantly impaired ten hours later.
Regrettably, many men view the "hands-off" style of enforcement in Thailand as a license to behave badly. This may include irresponsible intoxication, lingering in alcohol-serving establishments, and various WG activities. Of course there are plenty of WGs in PTY but there have been incidents where farang tourists accost women in supermarkets and such, believing every young woman in Thailand is fair game. These incidents have diminished in recent years.
I think there are many guys who go to Pattaya looking for fights and trouble a bit like the soccer hooligans years ago.
There are still plenty of football hooligans and people of that mindset all over the world, obe. I'm not sure how many actively seek fights--I think it's a combination of alcohol, a feeling that they can do whatever they want as they're holiday in "a place where anything goes", testosterone, alcohol, too much alcohol, and drinking since the AM. Note that the combatants in this horrible incident spent "several hours" drinking together at this place before the murder.
Alcohol and muscle men egos are a dangerous combination.
Absolutely, and PTY is known as a place where steroids can be easily obtained.
Despite all this, I've been a visitor since '93 and I think the place is more civilized and contained than in the past. There are always sexpats and WGs, there is always the possibility of aggro. I've seen farang completely blackout-drunk in daylight hours, stumbling down the street, riding the baht buses, unable to protect themselves or even understand where they are. It's sad, but it's the way it is in that town. The flipside is that if you behave respectfully and speak a bit of Thai, you can have a fabulous time and the locals appreciate it.
JtB |
