As with any trip to any destination in the world you need to be aware of your surroundings, especially in tourist areas where you may be prey to an unsavory element. I covered the basics in 5 rules of not being a stupid tourist.

In Thailand the real dangers may not be what you expect. Thailand, as any other place in the world, has it’s fair share of crime and scam artists. While you are watching out for your valuables and personal safety it’s pretty easy to ignore certain aspects of your trip that you might take for granted back home. Taking these aspects of your trip for granted could very well lead to an untimely death.

Crossing streets, crowded clubs, and road accidents take more lives annually in Thailand than any other activity including crime. Just in the past few days there have been over 226 road fatalities throughout Thailand and one club fire at Santika Pub that has left 86 people hospitalized and 59 people dead. Of the 59 deaths at the club 21 were foreigners.

Nightclubs are the first piece of this awareness trifecta. Some clubs can be quite large and pack the people in, if that’s your thing then you should really take a walk around the club and check it out. Make sure you know where the exits are and if possible make sure they aren’t locked. Last year a club in Pattaya caught fire just before opening resulting in a fair number of staff dying. The fire marshal determined it to be an electrical fire and found chains locked on the secondary exits to keep people from entering for free. This New Years Eve saw a fire at the Santika Pub caused by fireworks lit off inside as part of the celebration that hit the foam acoustical treatment on the ceiling.

Small clubs deserve just as much awareness as they are usually dark and exits hidden. Another fire happened this past Friday night at the Raw Hide club on soi Cowboy. I don’t believe anyone was injured in that fire.

A lot of the fires that do happen in Thailand are electrical. The electrical in most of these places is substandard at best, criminal at worst. The above 2 pictures were taken in places you could very easily find yourself while on vacation in Thailand, a major tourist attraction and a bar.

Club fires aren’t a daily event in Thailand but they do happen, and when they happen there are usually deaths involved. Go to the clubs and have a great time if that’s what you’re about. Just be safe and scope out the places you find yourself in, it may just save your life.