in Thailand are (or were) illegal (unlicensed) and unlawful (no insurance, no training, nada). They are a good yard stick for beaches and areas to avoid as they signal even deeper potential problems. Yes, they get really nasty as well, a friend of mine had his car tooled by some who earlier claimed he had used a beach chair without paying for it; I believe he briefly sat on one to put his beach shoes on. That was Karon Beach BTW. There is an element of nastiness in certain Thais for sure. After someone nearly hit me in a hospital car park (I was leaving) and he came flying around the corner, I then drove across the road to a supermarket and when I cam out someone had taken their key along one side of my car. I earnestly recommend no-one gets into conflict with Thais in such scenarios, and I earnestly recommend avoiding jet skis and tuk tuks in Phuket.

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