I heard a story about a fellow who stepped on a 20 baht note to keep it from blowing away in the wind. Word is he got his throat cut. Jungle legend?
Probably a legend.
But, don't ever make fun of the king and queen.
One of his top aides once called him "skipper" in public when he was wearing a captain's cap on a boat. He nearly lost his job, it was very humiliating.
And in theatres, you best stand at the start of the film when they play the national anthem.
Thailand is odd, women can't dance nude in a bar, yet, you can purchase them from the bartender for the night.
That and elephants walking down the streets in Bangkok make it a surreal place.
I love it, I usually hang at Cheap Charlie's, a "bar" consisting of a 10 foot long by 3 foot deep bar in a parking lot against a building. Cheap beer and always about 50 expats there every night.
Probably. But if it really happened, I'd venture to guess that it escalated to that. You know, someone didn't take to those smiling, slight, soft featured, poorly dressed little guys complaining and told them to piss off or something. It happens all the time here to foreigners that can't or won't read the different body language, get in over their heads and pay a severe price for it.