Scams and Conmen, Bangkok

This is a fairly common scam which is active in many parts of South East Asia, you will be approached by someone in the street who may even be posing as a tourist. They, in a friendly manor will ask you some question about where you are from, what your job is and then they will tell you that their daughter or sister is going to study at a university or is moving to your city to work and knows nothing about the place. They will socialise some more to gain your friendship and confidence and then ask you if you could meet their daughter/sister to tell them about your country. Do not agree to meet the girl, I did and they took me out to the suburbs of Bangkok to a persons place and strangely the girl was off shopping, if there really ever was a girl. They cooked me up a lovely lunch and tried all too hard to make me feel like a close friend. One by one they all used lame excuses to leave the table until there was only me and one other man at the table, who started to tell me that he was going to retire within the next five years and that he was short of cash and needed someone to help in a gambling scam on the cruise ship where he worked. I promptly declined and shortly after they put me back in a taxi to where I came from. I never found out exactly how the scam worked but I am very suspicious that I would have been the victim , not the cruise ship and not other players. Just be wary of anyone who appears to be trying too hard to help you or to divert you off your plan of activities, that should eliminate 90% of con mens attempts to take advantage of you.

I don't know why thai is very friendly or not. While me and my father walking round bangkok, some people told us that they are doctor, university teacher and something else, they did the same things. They will suggest you to go to buy some jewelly at some shops, but if you are not interested about it, don't respond to them. IF you respond to them ,they will talk to you and suggest you to go to other places, and help you to get a tuk-tuk. Mostly of them are not good.

In the vacinity of the Grand Palace, you may come acorss con-men that try to direct you to the wrong direction OR inform you that the Grand Palace is CLOSED for prayers, some state ceremony etc (until a certain time or day before it will reopen). These conmen will then offer you an alternative sighseeing package on a tuk-tuk for a mere 20 baht or 40 baht per person. This is a TRAP, the Grand Palace only closes for very specific occasions which is no more a 2 to 3 times per year. DO NOT BE FOOLED. The tuk-tuk driver will take you to some shady shops to do some shopping and will probably abandon you at the last point when you disembark to go for the "sightseeing". This happened to my buddy and I, we had to catch a taxi back to the Grand Palace to find that it was open all along. This really screwed up our travel arrangements. I hope these con men will burn in hell for eternity. Damn bastards!!

Unique Suggestions: Avoid them. Politely say no thank you and just walk away. If they are persistent and block your path, you may want get a liitle agressive and to swear aggresively at these con men in a foreign language, but this not recommended. I did that to the second con man I met after going through the first experience. This caused some ruckus which attracted a small crowd and a local samaritan warned me against doing such things as these con men may be dangerous.

Fun Alternatives: If you intend to visit the Grand Palance, check with the local official Tourism Authority of Thailand office/counter when you arrive at BKK airport. They will give you accurate information on when the Grand Palace will be closed/opened. Do NOT trust anyone else!!

Never go to the road outside Grand Palace. There are Thai lady tricksters out there forcing you to feed the pigeons and try to seek money from your pockets. Gem scams seem to have disappeared into the air but there are direct mobile vendors trying to sell Thai hats to you at an exorbitant price.

Unique Suggestions: At least walk quickly to the nearby bus stop and catch a bus to areas near Khao San Road.

Fun Alternatives: Roam at Suan Lum Night Bazaar, which I find it very safe because of the presence of the tourist police.

We went to the palace as one man stopped us. He said it was absolutely prohibited to go inside at that time, it was only for thai people/ religious people. We could come back at three o'clock. He showed us on the map some nice things we could visit in the meantime. He also mentioned 'Thai export'; a place that is normally closed but now was open. There you can buy al kinds of stones with a lot of discount. He stopped a tuc tuc driver and he brougt us to all nice places for only 30 bhat!
We also went to a temple and there was this young guy of our age. We sat down and talked with him. He askes us which places we were going to visit. Because the other guy had written all the things in our map, this guy knew exactly what was meant by all the circles. So he also notices 'Thai Export' and was very enthusiastic about that. He asked us if we had heard anything about it in the news. Only 7 days per year, the government opens this shop for tourists, while normally is impossible for normal people to visit over there. So we were lucky. There were tourists from all over the world coming especially for these 7 days!! I was very excited as we left the temple, but my boyfriend saw the scam. He explained to me that the first man, the tuc tuc driver and this guy were all in it together. But it was briliantly put together!! It is very convincing, but good we figured it out, we were still on time to go to the palace, as ofcourse it was not closed at all! (we just came to the wroing entrance)

Unique Suggestions: We came out of it better. We saw a lot of things for only 30 bhat. Something we could not have managed ourselves. But we still had to go to the shop. So I pretended to be sick. When I came in, the first thing I asked, was the toilet. After that they immediately let us leave. When they know that you know, they're not going to waste any more time on you. So play dumb during the whole tour, and when you get to the shop let them show a little bit that you know.

A middle-age man, dark tall dress smart with necktie will claimed he is a doctor who works across the road and every morning he comes to pray and he will show us where to go the very cheap Thai local products that are made for export markets (30% discount) This place is hugh and all other department stores only open at 1pm and you can’t do any shopping now. He will show you to a TukTuk (its all a setup) and claimed that he can even bargain and you only pay the TukTuk 40baht. From the Erawan Shrine (that is where I met this) to a place near the National Stadium. The TukTuk will bring you to a building where the signboard says "Thai Local Products" with a banner 30% off. We did not go in. What do you think you get from this place? Lowest quality merchandises, fake gemstones and silk etc etc. I supposed…So...Beware of this con. We realised too late. We was lucky, We only lost 40baht for the transport. We really get mad, I sent my family to MBK, my son and I went back to that place, I wanted to give him a piece of my mind. We were lucky, he was there now with his other con friend (smartly dress too). I shouted at him and I said "Come in here and Swear that you are a doctor””Swear to me that all other Shopping malls opened at 1 pm. I told my son, “get me my camera”. Now he got really really nervous. His friend quickly called him. They jump into a taxi.

NB. Thinking back, I can be stubborn sometime. Never go back to confront these people. You do not know who they are. After all its a learning process we are all going through. Learn from your mistake.

Thailand is well known for its scams (especially Bangkok), so there's a fairly long list of warnings, but if you have your wits about you, you will be fine.

Some things you should be aware of -
If you take a taxi in Bangkok, make sure the meter is on! If the taxi driver refuses to put it on, get another taxi. Elsewhere (where metered taxis may not be available), agree a fare before setting off.
At the bus stations and airport, make sure you take an official taxi and don't go with a tout, they may rip you off.

Don't believe tuk-tuk drivers when they tell you an attraction is closed, they are probably going to try to take you to a shop (from which they collect a commission). This is especially true if they only ask for a cheap fare. If your guidebook tells you an attraction is open and someone tells you it's closed, go check for yourself - the guidebook is probably right! Sometimes drivers will also tell you a guest house is closed or 'dirty', if a different place will pay them commission - if it's somewhere you want to go to, again, it's worth seeing for yourself.

There are lots of fakes about - fake labels, fake fabrics (especially silk) and fake gems. Almost everything cheap is a fake or unbranded, but not everything expensive is real, unless you are in a 'reputable' shop (eg the Nike shop in Siam Square is definitely for real!). Take care when buying; one thing to bear in mind is that refunds are *very* hard to get.

Also, be especially cautious of anyone who approaches you in the street; chances are that they will be a tout or a con-man; get even more suspicious if they want you to go somewhere with them - if you want to chat, suggest going to somewhere public like a cafe or coffee shop. Gem scams in particular start like this (or with a tuk-tuk ride); you can read all about these at this excellent page at 2bangkok.com.

Dont believe in illegal guilde or someone immedieatly to be your friend as now aday Bangkok is change and as same as problem with the big city or tourist spot in the world. Sometime TukTuk will take you to Jewely shop or some place like that so be careful !