Over the past week, you may have come across several TikTok videos of expats and travel bloggers in Thailand criticising the BBC documentary “Thailand: The Dark Side of Paradise” for casting the country in a negative light.
The three-part documentary was filmed in many locations well-known to foreign tourists, from Bangkok’s Khao San and Soi Cowboy roads, to famous beaches, such as those on Phuket and Pha-ngan islands. Its synopsis reads “Beyond the golden beaches and bustling cities lie wild parties, drugs and cheap sex.”
The documentary remains, however, inaccessible for viewers in Thailand.
For those who could watch it, the documentary caused outrage, as it focused on the negative sides of Thailand, especially sex tourism. Many also felt that it was not a true representation of, what they claim, is a safe and friendly country.
Nothing authentic
Some British expats in Thailand claimed on TikTok that they were approached to participate in the documentary, including how they received an email from the production team, proposing interviews with British people in Thailand about their experiences living there.
Emily Srichala, a British influencer in Thailand, was among them. Despite not appearing in the film in the end, Emily was among the first to apologise to her Thai fans, who would have been upset by how the documentary depicted Thailand. She even feels that it intended to ruin the country’s reputation.
“In the whole 11 years that I've been living in Thailand, every country has good and bad things," said Emily. "What I don't understand is why they have the intention to come to Thailand and then say bad things about Thailand?”
Emily told Thai PBS World that her friend, also an influencer in Thailand, was approached to be featured in the documentary. Upon its release, they were surprised at how it turned out, as they were not aware of how the story would be presented beforehand.
“He did ask many times what the name of the series was and they said ‘You just have to wait for it to come out’ or ‘We can't tell you the name of it yet’. It kind of makes you think if there's something going wrong,” she said.
Mike Yu, another British influencer in Thailand, was featured in the documentary. Having been interviewed by Thai media several times, he thought that his interview for the BBC documentary would be a great opportunity for him to show people back at home how beautiful Thai culture is. He even described his life in Thailand as a “dream come true” and it’s much better than living in the UK.
Despite that, how the whole documentary turned out to be the “dark side” of Thailand became a huge disappointment.
“It's not authentic and there was no need to portray this,” Mike explains. “If they want to see the dark side, they should look at London and see how dangerous it is now. You can't even pick up your phone in public, whereas in Thailand it's the complete opposite.”
While others who were featured accuse the BBC of distorting their words, Mike explained that this was not the case for him.
“I would say they didn't twist my words,” Mike said, insisting that what he said in the documentary was true and accurate and he did not say anything bad about Thailand. “I think their intention was actually to pick me as the good guy of the show, and the rest of the series was negative and bad."
Following the online controversy, Mike noticed that it is becoming typical for British culture to feed off negativity. This, he says, is among the reasons why many people, including himself, decided to leave the UK.
“Especially the news, they like to see bad stuff, as it gets the clicks, views, audience retention,” Mike explains. “I think a lot of people had enough of this, especially people like me and a lot of expats moving to Thailand. They see that this is completely not true.”
“Some of my fans were also saying that maybe it’s because a lot of people think they want to leave England now,” Emily reveals, believing that this might be an attempt to discourage people from leaving the country, by making other countries look bad.
The real side of Thailand
“I feel very safe here. I've never felt disrespected by anyone in Thailand and Thai people are so genuine. They open their hearts to anyone and they're always willing to help, always,” Catherine Fulton, an English teacher in Thailand’s north-eastern province of Buri Ram said, as she reflects on her impressions of living here.
Catherine also joined other expats, posting a TikTok video on how the documentary misrepresented Thai culture. She commented that whenever a documentary is titled “The Dark Side” of something, viewers will automatically set an opinion, believing that a country or a city is dangerous or unwelcoming.
“I feel that the documentary shows about 5% of Thai culture,” she said, “but there's this other 95% of Thailand that they didn't show in the documentary and I think that's unfair, because Thailand is one of the most welcoming countries I've ever been to.”
Catherine also felt that some parts of the series were over-dramatised, especially an episode where the crew was “almost arrested” for filming in clubs, which she finds most perplexing.
“I watched that and I didn't get the impression that she was almost arrested. They asked them to stop filming and I think that's very different from being told “We're going to arrest you if you don't stop filming”.”
What is far more concerning is the idea that people come to Thailand ONLY for sex tourism, which emphasises the old, negative stereotypes against Thailand, and especially Thai women.
“I think that is an older stereotype of Thailand and I would like to hope that that stereotype is changing,” she said, adding that sex tourism exists everywhere, with Europe having the most red-light districts in the world.
“One of the reasons that sex tourism in Thailand is so talked about is because it's more affordable, but that doesn't mean it's worse. Also, if you look at the people requesting that service, they are mostly foreigners, not Thai people. So, it's not representative of Thailand.”
Having lived in Thailand for more than three years, what really impressed Catherine is much more than the beautiful beaches, food or culture. It’s the sense of community and generosity of Thai people, which she says, is completely different to London, where society is much more competitive.
Catherine recalled a few incidents where she received help from Thai people, despite language barriers.
One such was when she needed Wi-Fi, to find out where her hotel was, and received help from a young girl who couldn’t speak English. This, she says, shows the heart of Thai people and the real side of Thai society.
“Even when they can't help, they don't know how to help, they will really try and help you,” Catherine explains.
Come with an open mind
If some might be discouraged after watching ‘The Dark Side of Paradise’, others would convince you to come and experience the real Thailand for yourself.
Thailand is among the top places to live in the world, according to a recent study by Expat Insider 2025. The reason why Thailand is favoured is affordability, particularly housing, which is easy to find and inexpensive, compared to their home countries. Other reasons include the ease of resettling in a different country, the culture and how friendly local people are to expats. Leisure options and quality healthcare are also among other reasons some expats choose to come here.
So, what would be their advice to those who wish to relocate to Thailand? Catherine suggests learning some Thai would be helpful, adding that learning the Thai language is not as difficult as it seems.
“I think if you try and speak a few phrases, you will quickly realise how open Thai people are, and you will have a much better view of Thai culture, Thai lifestyle, if you can speak a few phrases with Thai people,” she explains.
“Thai people are open to every culture. They're very open and welcome,” Mike explains. “So, just come with a smile and an open mind, and treat them with respect, and I think Thailand will welcome you with open arms, like they did with me and so many others. It's just a real blessing to be living here.”
