BANGKOK (dpa) – Sun, excessive alcohol, ill-considered motorbike excursions and too much strenuous activity in dubious establishments – all pose a lethal risk to holidaymakers in Thailand.
Problems quickly arise for vacationers taking on more than they can manage in the warm climate.This certainly applies to accidents with the big motorbikes that can be hired at dirt-cheap prices in all the holiday resorts, with no insurance included.It also applies to mostly elderly gents who regularly suffer a heart attack in the middle of a passionate encounter. Doctors in Thailand, as well as the embassies of various countries in Bangkok, are alarmed.It looks effortless, the way the locals weave their motorbike taxis in risky manoeuvres around the crowded streets of the Thai capital.But tourists seeking to copy experienced locals on their big, hired bikes often come a cropper. Whether it’s on Phuket, in Pattaya or on Ko Samui: guests will speed off without a helmet after a few drinks dressed in shorts and T-shirt and try and negotiate the beach or the expressway very often still clutching a bottle of beer. Police checks are regarded as lax at best.There are plenty of bikes on offer: hundreds of gleaming Hondas, Yamahas and Suzukis bask temptingly on hire-shop forecourts. There are touring, off-roading and racing models, all at knock-down prices. A powerful, 750cc machine will set you back about 15 to 17.50 euros a day, a fraction of the cost in Europe.Walter Skrobanek, originally from Frankfurt, has lived in Thailand for 20 years working as a development worker. His view: “It’s incomprehensible the idiotic way they drive in the holiday resorts.”Guido Kroehl, a Pattaya bar-owner from Koenigs Wusterhausen near Berlin, agrees: “I’ve been a biker for many years and I adore big machines. But it’s nearly enough to spoil your fun when you see how carelessly Germans and other tourists drive.”Last year, of the 400,000 Germans who arrived to visit Thailand’s temples and beaches, the embassy reported a total of 120 deaths due to illness, old age and accidents. Of these, around 30 were traffic accidents, of which half involved motorbikes.Rented motorbikes and the people who drive them are not insured either as a rule. This all-important piece of information is in the small print of the deal but is often overlooked by foreigners.And so embassy staff are usually asked for help by victims or their next of kin when an injured Thai claims damages from a foreigner or the courts order arrest and imprisonment. Very often, tourists don’t have a valid accident and illness policy for the trip.This is not only a problem with German nationals of course. A fair number of U.S. citizens, Britons, the French, Japanese and Australians come to Thailand precisely because they can cheaply hire big motorbikes to explore the country. At home, though, they may only drive a moped or perhaps don’t even have a valid licence.And then there are droves of elderly gentlemen travelling alone who indulge in what can end up to be a deadly combination, literally. After enduring days much hotter than they’re used to at home, they cannot resist spending the evening visiting a number of bars, with the ensuing excessive alcohol intake and where they’re expected to take part in sex of the exotic kind.By this stage, they are ready to experiment with various stimulants mostly in the form of pills to raise their libidos.The number of cases of heart arrest after a cocktail of this nature has shot up in recent years leading to doctor’s warnings in tourist resorts that this “pleasure cocktail” is very hazardous, especially for holidaymakers who were already unhealthy before they flew in.The Foreign Office in Berlin urgently advises German tourists to check their liability cover or take out accident and sickness insurance before a trip to Thailand.It should include the option of being flown home in an emergency. Private practices and clinics, preferred by most foreign tourists, meet international standards but have a price tag to match.“You must take care of yourself on holiday in the same way as at home,” is Klaus Schick’s advice. As head of the German consular department his plea to visitors is: “Above all, be moderate and don’t overexert yourself!”
