I am concerned about the growing number of foreigners, both resident expats & tourists who in recent times are expressing deep anger & frustration over the treatment they have received in Thailand. A good friend recently informed me of such an incident that happened to his parents when they arrived in Bangkok on holiday a couple of days ago. As a warning to all readers of this forum I have pasted my friend's email below. Of course there are 2 sides to every story. His parents were wrong and broke Thailand's custom regulations. But it was a very small offence and I agree the fine was excessive (over $1,000 AUD). Also with tourism way down at the moment, it is not in Thailand's best interest to have tourists returning home vowing never to return again, and writing letters complaining about Thailand to the national newpapers, and telling everybody they know to avoid Thailand at all costs. It is also interesting how often Malaysia is being mentioned as a superior destination to Thailand in recent times.
"My parents are both pensioners in their 60s they came to Thailand with over the limit of exactly 400 cigarettes for personal consumption. My father does not smoke: the personal consumption is all my mother's. Their bags had been scanned and they among others had been targeted by Thai customs. They are not tobacco smugglers, they are holiday makers. They were asked if they had cigarettes in their luggage to which they replied YES. The bags were opened and the cigarettes were photographed while a customs official who could speak basic English explained. "This no good. Mistur, Wellli welli serious."
A pink slip entirely in Thai language and with customs official government stamp was produced for them to sign which they shouldn't have done but did because they were being bullied by a lot of customs officials. The official who could speak semi-passable English again prompted my parents. "You you yes you. You sign. You not sign welli welli big problem for you. You go court welli big problem. You sign mistur." They signed. The document outlined the fine and the way it was calculated which was a bulk fine that has currently gone up in a campaign to increase customs revenue plus the weight of the tobacco in excess of the personal allowance of 200 cigarettes. My parents were wrong, they explained this is not the crime of the century. Can’t we just pay the tax on the amount over we're here on holiday. No reply. Any pleading with them fell on deaf ears. They were frog marched to the money exchange counter where their Euro currency was exchanged for Thai baht and the fine sum of 28,000 baht was handed to the Thai customs officials.
My parents know they were wrong. The fine was in my opinion excessive. The way in which the customs officials conducted themselves was disgusting. They had been made to feel like heroin smugglers. They were not asked if the amount was going to make things impossible for them to stay in Thailand or how they were going to get on after the fine. They could have been in Bangkok without a bean and had to then call on the help of The British Embassy to get them repatriated. This is not an isolated case. Customs are performing this heist on people everyday, so if you’re travelling to Thailand beware. Do not exceed your allowance because you will receive the same treatment. My parents are going to the newspapers about the incident as we believe no concern was shown for their safety and welfare after they had been fined and all their holiday money gone.
to the "land of smiles" you have just been clobbered. Holiday over. They have very little money left so I bought both of them a plane ticket each to Penang in Malaysia where I think they will find a much better time to be had. They are sickened by Thailand now and won’t ever come for a holiday here again. My parents are the sort of old couple who really don’t want a fuss and cant be bothered arguing with folks about taxi fares and prices. Thailand is a cheaters' paradise and with the two-tier system imposed on foreign holiday makers, nothing is cheap unless your willing to get into a debate about price every other Thai you meet from taxi drivers to market stall sellers and food vendors. My parents often avoided this by self catering for themselves with food bought from Tesco. Malaysia on the other hand is more laid back and people speak a much higher level of English and have good manners and respect visitors."