Educate Chinese tourists for their own safety

Chinese parents who bring their young children on holiday in Thailand should be warned of the risks by their government. They include not just being despised by the locals but being injured (or worse) on the roads.

While eating in a restaurant in Chiang Mai recently, I noticed a Chinese boy of about three wandering from his table and randomly picking this and that from other tables, without his parents and grandmother attempting to stop him. When other guests cautioned the boy not to encroach on their tables, he shrieked loudly and uncontrollably, causing some customers to walk out in annoyance and leaving staff scratching their heads in disgust. 

In a separate incident I witnessed a Chinese child of about four run across the street to reach his father, who had left the restaurant to smoke. His son scampered into traffic without looking left or right and was almost hit by a car.

Both the Chinese and Thai governments should work harder to ensure Chinese tourists’ safety and to promote understanding between them and their Thai hosts.

Vint Chavala