"The Thailand Bar Mat" has been moved to protect Phuket

The Word on the streets

The Infamous Bar Mat, the victim of an international incident in Phuket earlier this year, has been relocated.

Pictured left
Owner of The Downunder Bar Bangkok (Rob) claims to have in his possession the very same Bar Mat that was the connection to an Australian Women creating International headlines when something when wrong. The bit that went wrong is a bit like the "Titanic", it should never have happened and at each point where there was a opportunity to step down they ignored the obvious and the worse it got.
Here is a link to previous media articles at the time of the incident. Before your read the previous articles read through this article.

The truth is this



1. This is Liarland, so we don't know if Rob is fair dincum or not. If you wanna know why it's Liarland ask Rob, having lived and worked his Bar for (i think it's 150 years) he has a lot of tales to tell.


The real reason is is known as Liarland is the unrelenting genuine desire to avoid conflict, Thais will by nature of not wanting to offend say something that is not correct, it's very sweet and innocent but more often than not becomes the catalyst for distrust as it breaches codes of Western Culture... more on this later

2. The Mat is Bloody enormous, pictured right Rob Demonstrating how enormously difficult it is to conceal the Mat in a Bag, and after 3 people assisted in rolling it up. that is, 2 people had to shift from their chairs, to make room to work the mat and another to hold the mat.. It is fact, you need a really really big Bag.

By the time we finished the demonstration it became the cause of disturbance to the patrons; gathered at the Bar watching Aussies rules football.

Fortunately the half time siren was heard and then tones of annoyance switched to one of curiosity, a brief explanation of our activity and interest was ignited. Having actioned the logistics (the alleged concealment) we moved on to cultural questions with a volley of theories about the truth of the incident (it's Liar land)

It was in arguably agreed

If you are questioned by a Police person be they undercover or in Uniform you should not

a. Do NOT use Verbally abuse Thai, and definitely
b. Do NOT physically abuse Thai (ie., slapping), and it's not good conduct
c. run away, especially if you get caught and then refuse arrest, and if this hapens try to remember
d. Do NOT verbally abuse the Thai police person again, and if your are escorted to the police station definitely
e. Do NOT Abuse the Thai Police Chief

Actually ... it's not a good idea to do this an any Country!

Thai's a very easy going people and, they are extremely tolerant of ignorance of their culture by foreigners in part because of the gentle nature of their beliefs (Buddhism) they forgive and don't show aggression. This will however change if you cause them to "lose face" that is cause them a great deal of embarrassment.


The common words "mai Ben rai" pretty well sum up the nature of the people and the way in which they look and the softness of all issues.




Rob does have interesting Views... Take for example his annoyance in discrimination about a Local Job Position .. pictured right. The application for "Director of the Geo-informatics and Space Technology Development Agency" in Thailand.... The position is only available to Thai National.... you should be amused by Rob's views on Thai people handling space ships... to see the larger version of the photo visit his website and click on the photo album to see the picture in full view

DownunderBar Bangkok website





anyway back to the "Mat" the Bar Matt........
It is recommended you converse yourself with the culture, it's pretty simple, SMILE, Be polite, if in Doubt say sorry, seek help not Dominance and offer gratitude for any gesture of kindness


Our Travel Thailand website offers lots of suggestions and hints about awareness of thai Culture.








Rob assures me his very good friend "Steve" owner of the Aussie Bar in Phuket personally delivered the said "Mat" during a recent visit to Bangkok. The specific reasons for the relocating of the Mat is available to you when you next visit the Bar.

The Downunder Bar Bangkok is easy to find, here is a link to the website which includes a Location Map, Patrons Photo Album.

here is the AusWaThai forum story on Rob's Bar

This Aussie Venue is one of many Aussie venues we show on our Website to Help Aussies connect with expats in Thailand ad have a chat.. but remember when chatting at the bar "don't let the truth get in the way of a good story"

Join our friendship group at www.friends.auswathai.com

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