I had an interesting visit from the police the other day.

[John Gowland]

One of the most uninteresting and boring video's I've ever seen. Nothing of interest, 6 min's of green leaves .

I am so surprised you watched it to the end. If it were me and I found it boring I would be of in seconds. I wondered why you watched it to the end?

 

[John Gowland]

Great clip and very brave flying. You got through some very tight spots there. You would blow me into the weeds mate.

Thanks very much. Very exciting to fly but I have lost more than one Avata, sad to say. We only have one shot at life.

 

[Torque]

One of the most beautiful places on earth (once you get away from the madness of the beach front area)! I have friends who live in Takua Pa, a bit north of you. Spent a lot of time in the area during the 90's, and it is sad to see how commercialized Patong has become over the years. Still a beautiful area, and the most friendly people i've ever encountered though!

 

[Pstik]

Mavic Mini 2https://youtu.be/cnB2RJVkL78
Avata

Doing one now on those very weird mountains that shoot up from the sea like towers.

Very nice flying. Going between the trees and such. Beautiful view.

 

[OaklandPlayr]

I'm not really pro-cop, having been beaten up in the back room of a police station. BUT, I've been flying my M2P for four years, and every single interaction with cops has been positive. Knowing the rules and being polite can go a long way. Yesterday I was flying above a large rail yard in Detroit when I saw a police car pull into the parking lot near me. Uh, oh. I waited a few minutes until I landed, and then walked over to him. Actually he was just taking his break, but was very curious about the drone and we had a nice conversation. And his uniform said "animal control," which I hoped did not apply to me!

At first in Hawaii I was timid about flying. Then I started going up to every lifeguard and police near where I wanted to or was going to fly. I would say the response was 100 positive and only 10 percent of the time would they say not to drone there.

 

[NightFlightAlright]

Mavic Mini 2https://youtu.be/cnB2RJVkL78
Avata

Doing one now on those very weird mountains that shoot up from the sea like towers.

So lush…

 

[RangerEd]

Such a difficult question to answer. You can spend a lot but if you chose to you could stay for very little. At the moment everything is cheap. If you come from the US, Europe of Australia most things are half the price. Some things are very cheap, you can buy a large bottle of beer for under 2$ US from a store, three times more in a bar.

Hope it helps.

The price of beer is always a good indicator how much the place is going to cost relative to where you're from.

 

[Thai Voyager]

I’m living in Thailand for six months and in my favourite place, Patong, nice hotel in the jungle. There is a new road being built from Patong to Phuket, not yet finished, but one particular point has an amazing vista a phenomenal view and I fly from there and have been doing so frequently. Well, the other day, a car pulled up behind me. It’s happened before, people stop. I waited a few minutes then took the drone round and saw it was a police car. After I landed the drone two Thai policemen, got out of the car and engaged me in a nice, polite conversation. Now in Thailand, the law states you can have a hefty fine and even imprisonment if you’re caught, flying a drone without a license or even with a license in the wrong place which is frankly most of Thailand. These particular policemen were in a tourist police car one was a tourist policeman the other was a regular police/army guy. They obviously knew the law because they come across people that fly all the time. We had a very nice conversation I was very open about where I was staying, why I fly, which is just for fun, not for money just to record beautiful places. They even suggested places I should visit of particular, beauty. The pleasant conversation went on for about 40 minutes, after which they said their goodbyes and went back to where they came from, so it seems someone had informed them that I was flying a drone their frequently.

Why did they not even ask if I had a licence? Why was I not arrested or at least informed of the law? Many many, questions. My only conclusion was that these two young, very smart cops, by the way, just found an old guy, alone with no one around recording a beautiful spot doing no one any harm whatsoever. Interesting don't you think?

I lived in Thailand for 15 years, just moved back to Canada a few years ago. During that time I made many Thai friends and had many Thai work colleagues, so I got to know the culture quite well. It just seems that police (and people in general) are not as confrontational and combative as they are in the west. People accept minor annoyances done to them rather than upset harmony between people in society, whereas the in the west there are too many self-righteous idiots who get aggressive/combative at the slightest wrong done to them.

This attitude which permeates the general public in everyday life makes living in Thailand (and Asia in general) a pleasant experience. It is true that many confrontations can be averted with a smile and an apology in Thailand, or as in your case, just being polite from the get-go.

 

[John Gowland]

I lived in Thailand for 15 years, just moved back to Canada a few years ago. During that time I made many Thai friends and had many Thai work colleagues, so I got to know the culture quite well. It just seems that police (and people in general) are not as confrontational and combative as they are in the west. People accept minor annoyances done to them rather than upset harmony between people in society, whereas the in the west there are too many self-righteous idiots who get aggressive/combative at the slightest wrong done to them.

This attitude which permeates the general public in everyday life makes living in Thailand (and Asia in general) a pleasant experience. It is true that many confrontations can be averted with a smile and an apology in Thailand, or as in your case, just being polite from the get-go.

Agree totally. If you do ever come to Thailand, must be one of the best places to fly, some very simple rules. Never get angry with a Thai. Never put them in a position of "losing face", in fact if you want to make friends and influence people, here, put them in a position of "gaining face", they will love you for it. Good manners and quiet, politeness are unspoken treasures. One thing that will always happen is that a smile will always be responded to with a smile. Come to think of it we should be so, where ever we are, we will certainly be happier for it.

 

[tvc184]

Why did they not even ask if I had a licence? Why was I not arrested or at least informed of the law? Many many, questions. My only conclusion was that these two young, very smart cops, by the way, just found an old guy, alone with no one around recording a beautiful spot doing no one any harm whatsoever. Interesting don't you think?

A recently retired police officer in Texas, certainly not Thailand but…..

Paperwork and nonsense.

Police work is (or should be) about solving problems. Police actions of almost any kind requires paperwork. Sometimes it is a lot of paperwork and time.

Most police don’t want to mess with people and then get tied up for hours on nonsense.

As far as not asking to see your license, that is easy. If you don’t want a particular answer, don’t ask the question. Meaning, if they had decided to handle it as a low profile public contact that wasn’t about to cost them a bunch of paperwork and time, why would they ask a question that might do exactly what they didn’t want to do?

 

[Tolipa]

I’m living in Thailand for six months and in my favourite place, Patong, nice hotel in the jungle. There is a new road being built from Patong to Phuket, not yet finished, but one particular point has an amazing vista a phenomenal view and I fly from there and have been doing so frequently. Well, the other day, a car pulled up behind me. It’s happened before, people stop. I waited a few minutes then took the drone round and saw it was a police car. After I landed the drone two Thai policemen, got out of the car and engaged me in a nice, polite conversation. Now in Thailand, the law states you can have a hefty fine and even imprisonment if you’re caught, flying a drone without a license or even with a license in the wrong place which is frankly most of Thailand. These particular policemen were in a tourist police car one was a tourist policeman the other was a regular police/army guy. They obviously knew the law because they come across people that fly all the time. We had a very nice conversation I was very open about where I was staying, why I fly, which is just for fun, not for money just to record beautiful places. They even suggested places I should visit of particular, beauty. The pleasant conversation went on for about 40 minutes, after which they said their goodbyes and went back to where they came from, so it seems someone had informed them that I was flying a drone their frequently.

Why did they not even ask if I had a licence? Why was I not arrested or at least informed of the law? Many many, questions. My only conclusion was that these two young, very smart cops, by the way, just found an old guy, alone with no one around recording a beautiful spot doing no one any harm whatsoever. Interesting don't you think?

Yes, that's exactly what I think happened. There are ever so many more nice people in the world than there are nasty mean hearted people.
Above all else, be kind.
I think you were speaking with some of the kind people in the world who also happen to be police officers.

 

[aeciolemos]

Cops are human, there's good ones and bad ones and like other folks. Treat them nicely and you're likely to get the same back. Give them lip and you'll suffer.

My thoughts exactly. I tried to fly in an area where I shouldn't be flying once. I kind of knew it was wrong, but did it anyway (shame on me). A police officer came up to me and asked me to land. After landing, he explained it was not permitted to fly there due to high volumes of people. I put the drone away and he told me not to take off again in that area or there will be consequences. That last bit was stern but he was very polite about it, as was I. I didn't take off again.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Was he Garda?

 

[JoshuaFly]

I’m living in Thailand for six months and in my favourite place, Patong, nice hotel in the jungle. There is a new road being built from Patong to Phuket, not yet finished, but one particular point has an amazing vista a phenomenal view and I fly from there and have been doing so frequently. Well, the other day, a car pulled up behind me. It’s happened before, people stop. I waited a few minutes then took the drone round and saw it was a police car. After I landed the drone two Thai policemen, got out of the car and engaged me in a nice, polite conversation. Now in Thailand, the law states you can have a hefty fine and even imprisonment if you’re caught, flying a drone without a license or even with a license in the wrong place which is frankly most of Thailand. These particular policemen were in a tourist police car one was a tourist policeman the other was a regular police/army guy. They obviously knew the law because they come across people that fly all the time. We had a very nice conversation I was very open about where I was staying, why I fly, which is just for fun, not for money just to record beautiful places. They even suggested places I should visit of particular, beauty. The pleasant conversation went on for about 40 minutes, after which they said their goodbyes and went back to where they came from, so it seems someone had informed them that I was flying a drone their frequently.I remember having to write an essay about the 9-11 which was a very terrible incident....Thankfull since then we got good laws which helps prevent that kind of acts.A good friend suggested me trying out this amazing site https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/9-11/ which inspired me and helped me find new ways of expressing my ideas and thoughts better than before.I am thankful that I finished my assignment on time thanks to it.Why did they not even ask if I had a licence? Why was I not arrested or at least informed of the law? Many many, questions. My only conclusion was that these two young, very smart cops, by the way, just found an old guy, alone with no one around recording a beautiful spot doing no one any harm whatsoever. Interesting don't you think?

Never expected such polite policemen

 

[Dronecation]

Never expected such polite policemen

I have always found Thai police to be respectful and polite.