Thailand is a wonderful tourism destination with beautiful beaches, stunning cuisine and fabulous resorts.
But it does pay to make sure you look where you are placing your feet.
Our Thailand correspondent reports: One of the first things you learn here is never to step on any kind of drain cover.
He was following up on a story about an American tourist who fell through a manhole cover in Pattaya earlier this week and spent several hours trapped in a sewer.
The man, named in media reports as Johnathan Vaimaona, said he fell several metres and wandered through the muddy sewer for hours looking for a way out until he heard people’s voices from above.
He then called out for assistance.
The Thaiger and the Pattaya News reported that police said that the man didn’t appear to have any injuries from his smelly ordeal in the sewers, so they escorted him back to his condo for a shower and some rest.
It sounded like a tall story to me, but our correspondent says: "I hope he's had a very thorough medical check. Those sewers are lethal."
Last year, an underground explosion cuased by methane gas sent manhole covers flying five meters into the air in Pattaya.
Our man says Thai sewer covers are notorious for their fragility and that in Bangkok prisoners are compelled to clean the sewers without wearing protective equipment.
Some years back, Bangkok Governor Bichit Rattakul had a first-hand experience of how rough it is to walk along the Thai capital's mean streets. He fell into a manhole.
The governor suddenly almost disappeared from view, local media reported
"If I were thinner, I would have fallen deeper into the sewage," he said at the time.
So do keep your eyes peeled.
Image: NewsFlare
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