A horrible way to die: two Canadian sisters have been found dead in a hotel room on Koh Phi Phi in Thailand. The early indications are that they might have been poisoned. Speculation will run wild as this comes three years after two other tourists were found dead on the same island, only a short distance from where these two young Quebec women met their tragic end.
In Bangkok Filth: The Freaks, Frauds and Failures of the Expat Community, I explore the mysterious and horrible way that far too many expats and tourists die while in Thailand. An excerpt from "Suicide Solution":
The country’s most respected forensic pathologist made a public comment a few years ago regarding the number of “mysterious deaths” that occur in the Kingdom every year. She ranked the number at approximately 1000. These are deaths that are unexplained and largely go uninvestigated by Thai police.
So, on top of the high number of murder victims, there are 1000 deaths deemed completely unworthy of looking into. Perhaps due to the social status of the departed or the possible murderer. Or maybe the mind-numbing heat plays such havoc with corpses that things go beyond the solvable stage a lot faster than in other parts of the world.
While not the freest press in the world, this news does get reported. But somehow it doesn't resonate outside the country as much as it should. That image doesn't jibe with the experience most people have had while vacationing here. The winsome, ever-smiling Thais with a rich and varied culture are just so darned nice in the short, hazy doses of a two-week vacation. And of course, most Thais are genuinely decent people. Still...Bangkok Filth: The Freaks, Frauds and Failures of the Expat Community in Thailand
