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 | Bangkok Closed? Best check for yourself. Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 17 |  |
 | |  |  | Closed? Best check for yourself.: Closed? Are you sure? | Tip Rating:    |  |  | |  |
One of the common scams aimed at tourists in Bangkok is to tell them that a particular attraction is closed…and then attempt to lure them elsewhere for a small fee! I encountered this a number of times during my visit to the city in September 2007. The first time I came across this scam (and fell for it!) was on the Monday morning that I went to visit the Grand Palace. An official looking man in a yellow uniform standing outside the grounds of the palace told me that the Grand Palace is open only for locals on a Monday morning. Hadn’t I noticed all the locals in the yellow shirts? Yes, I had. Well, they were all making their special Monday morning visit to pray at the Grand Palace. I should return at 1pm when tourists would be allowed to enter. So, what was I going to do for the next few hours while I waited for the palace to open? Not to worry…the ever-helpful “official” was on hand to recommend other sights to see….the giant standing Buddha at Wat Intharawihan, the Golden Mount, the Thai factory outlet… And how would I get to these sights? Again, the official would be only too happy to beckon over a passing tuk tuk driver and arrange for him to take me there for only 40 Bahts. Now, I wasn’t going to be fooled into jumping into a random tuk tuk on a stranger’s recommendation, but I did believe him that the Grand Palace was closed to tourists. So instead, I hailed my own tuk tuk and arranged a fee of just 20 Bahts (avoiding the 20 Bahts commission for the helpful official!) and set out to see the sights. This is when I encountered the scam for a second time. Apparently, just like the Grand Palace, the Golden Mount was also closed to tourists on Monday mornings. So, instead of taking me there my driver would take me on a tour of small, lesser-known temples where helpful locals would attempt to sell me various things, all of which were available at these “low prices” for that one day only! If you are told that an attraction is closed, check for yourself and you’ll probably find that you’re being lied to! Leave a Comment
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| | | | Closed? Best check for yourself.: I spoke earlier about the... | Tip Rating: | | | | |
I spoke earlier about the warning pamphlet. Well, we decided to go to the 'Forbidden City', then we took the 'bus' over the Chao Phraya, and finally landed close to the City entrance. The first person to approach us has been a young man, well dressed, speaking a good english, offering to join us to a market in another area of town. In Bangkok you can find hundreds of jewelleries selling emeralds and other stones at a very cheap price. We answered that we wanted to go and see the Forbidden City, and he said that unfortunately that day was a sacred day and the city was closed. Then I remembered of what the pamphlet said and we politely sent him away. We turned the corner, approaching the entrance and we saw at least two hundred people queued to enter the city, that was obviously open to visitors... Who knows where that wanted to bring us to? So, remember, never trust people you don't know who they are. Leave a Comment
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Bangkok
on October 12, 2007
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