Fightworld TV - Secret Wars Uncovered TV - Stacey Dooley TV - The Year the Earth Went Wild TV - Destination Truth TV - Noam Chomsky - Drugs Inc TV - Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends: Thai Brides TV - Scam City TV - Death on the Beach TV - Tsunami 2004: The Day the Wave Hit TV -
Welcome to Thailand: Muay Thai, or Thai boxing, is referred to as ‘the art of the eight limbs’: two fists, two elbows, two knees and two legs. Fightworld s1e2: Thailand: Fortunate Son, Netflix 2018
Boxers in Thailand start young, very young. ibid.
The conditioning these guys have to go through is amazing. ibid.
‘You wouldn’t have the atmosphere without the gambling.’ ibid. English fan
No country in the world has seen more coups than Thailand. Since 1932 the military there has intervened 18 times to seize control of the government. Secret Wars Uncovered s1e9: Coups D’etat, History 2020
Yaba: a menacing mix of Methamphetamine and Caffeine. It’s creating a new epidemic. Stacey Dooley Investigates: Thailand’s Drug Craze, BBC 2013
In less than five years Yaba has completely overtaken all other drug use in Thailand. ibid.
Candy-scented pills. ibid.
Children as young as eight are becoming addicted. ibid.
Every year hundreds of thousands of young Brits flock here for beautiful sun-drenched beaches, amazing hotels and perhaps the biggest parties in the world. The good news is that it’s never been cheaper or easier to holiday here. But why is it costing so little? … A darker side to tourism. Stacey Dooley Investigates: Thailand – Tourism & Truth, W 2019
Ten tourists to every local: Stacey will be staying in the Patong beach area of Phuket … Stacey wants to find out more about staff conditions. ibid.
October: intense monsoon rains fuelled Thailand’s worst flooding in fifty years. The Year the Earth Went Wild, Channel 4 2011
Josh travels to Thailand to investigate a real-life ghost town. Destination Truth s1e2, Skyfy 2007
He saw the phret in the Temple of Phanom Rung. He looked up and he saw the phret really big, really horrible looking. Yes, it’s dangerous. They can break your neck. Destination Truth s4e12, monk
In the jungles of Thailand locals believe in a creature known as the Naree Pon ... With recent reports of villagers disappearing into the jungles after the Naree Pom the legend was ripe for investigation. Destination Truth s4e13
Tales of the Naree Pon are forever interwoven into Buddhist philosophy ... These undeniably physical remains are worshipped by the faithful. ibid.
The same is true in Thailand, where the government announced a plan to expel six million people from forests where it wants to establish softwood plantations. Noam Chomsky, Deterring Democracy
Thailand … For some, an elicit playground … An addiction epidemic: a little Meth pill called Yaba. Causes madness and misery. The death penalty hangs over every dealer, but the gangs push on. Drugs Inc s7e19: Bangkok Ice, National Geographic 2015
Bangkok: capital of Thailand, love capital of the world. Hundreds of thousands of Western men travel here each year in search of the eastern promise of a Thai woman. My mission: to find out why. My first port of call: one of Bangkok’s largest marriage agencies: Anglo-Thai introductions. Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends s3e5: Thai Brides, BBC 2017
‘They’re brought up to look after the man.’ ibid. agency bloke Ron
Another side of Bangkok tells a different tale, one that happens at night when legions of pleasure seekers from all corners of the world flock to the red light district. Scam City s1e8: Bangkok, National Geographic 2012
Three drinks: $200 instead of $10. ibid.
The bird [pigeon feeding] scam is low on the list. ibid.
Their ultimate goal is to score a foreign boyfriend who will support them financially. ibid.
For thousands of backpackers travelling to Thailand is a rite of passage. Chrissie Annesley was one of them … Koh Tao: a remote island of just eight square miles. Death on The Beach I, Sky Crime 2024
‘People came here in their thousands. It’s a hotspot for a party scene.’ ibid.
The island’s darker side … The dangers can come from locals and tourists. ibid.
‘I was worried about Koh Tao because it was only four months after two [Hannah Witheridge & David Miller] British backpackers had been murdered.’ ibid. Chrisssie’s dad
‘All of a sudden it was a global news story … I started to report what happened.’ ibid. ex-resident & campaigner Sue
Following Chrissie’s death the Thai authorities conducted an autopsy: Respiratory and circulatory system failure due to consumption of narcotics together with various types of medicines and alcohol drinks. ibid.
‘The police are completely out of their depth.’ ibid.
‘There was hundreds of people running through the crime scene taking pictures …’ ibid. UK reporter
Bloodbath in Paradise. ibid. UK front page
‘The atmosphere on the island following David’ and Hannah’s murders increasingly got worst … trying to intimidate us.’ ibid. UK reporter
‘There are bigger forces at play on this island.’ ibid. ex-resident & campaigner Sue
‘Someone came up to him [local], pulled out a gun and blew his brains out.’ ibid. alleged gambling debt
‘The word on the streets was that the Tuwichian family were involved. From that I understand they are the most powerful family on the island.’ ibid.
‘There were other deaths on Koh Toa unexplained … It’s left to us the parents.’ ibid. Chrissie’s dad
He [Chrissie’s dad] discovered more and more unexplained deaths. Death on the Beach II
2000: 36-year-old Ian Jacobs from Birmingham headed out to Koh Toa for a diving holiday … ibid.
‘There’s a ferry leaving in the morning; you need to be on it.’ ibid. rozzer to Ian’s dad
Social media erupted with speculation. ibid.
Here was a man saying, ‘I’ve got the money. I’ve got the power. Don’t mess with me.’ ibid. UK reporter
‘If you ever want to find yourself suspiciously dead in Koh Toa, the good thing to do is to go around asking questions.’ ibid.
‘I didn’t have a hope in hell for them [Zaw Lin & Wai Phyo]. I knew where this was going to go.’ ibid. ex-resident & campaigner Sue
‘Witnesses had been intimidated.’ ibid. UK reporter
I have found someone who said that’s not true. I am determined to get to the bottom of this. Death on the Beach III, Chrissie’s dad
Ben Harrington: They told me that Ben had had an accident on his moped … ‘He was missing his watch and his wallet.’ ibid. Ben’s mum
‘I started getting messages from other families saying that their sons and daughters died on that same island.’ ibid.
‘My best guess is that it was a bungled mugging.’ ibid. ex-resident & campaigner Sue re Ben
In 2004 the deadliest tsunami in modern times hit south-east Asia. It would change the lives of those who survived forever. Tsunami 2004: The Day the Wave Hit I, caption, Channel 4 2024
It was an endless wall of water just coming at you. ibid. comment
The devastating tsunami hits the coast of Indonesia, then Thailand. Racing across the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka’s east coast is next in its path. ibid. caption
So I ran … And then we got dragged down again. ibid. comment
Everything seemed to stop before it started rushing out again. ibid.
We see another wave. And we started running inland again. ibid.
The 2004 tsunami killed more than 230,000 people in Indonesia, Thailand and countries across the Indian Ocean. Over 30,000 died in Skri Lanka, hundreds are still missing. ibid. captions
December 2004: I could see through the trees where there used to be an ocean ... They [parents] were shouting at me because the entire ocean was coming back. Tsunami 2004: The Day the Wave Hit II, comment
Indonesia: The tsunami hits the coast of Banda Aceh in Indonesia first, killing thousands. Just under two hours later, the wave reaches Thailand. ibid. caption