I have just come back from holiday in Thailand and would like to warn everyone :

1. Do not talk to anyone (often nice )on the street
/Thai people act as if they wanted to help you often acting as airline pilots, police, national gallery workers or students but all of this is cheating and they always want you to buy something or take taxi (tuk tuk) or simply steal your money.

2. Take tuk tuk or taxi if you want to take it not when someone is offering you.
/they will take you in to their shops ;tailor, jevellery, travel agency TAT where other "Thai friendly professionals" will sell you their product( holiday package, coat, shirt, "diamond ring") for much more than it is worth!!!

3. TAT agencies cheat and organize you holiday packages for much more than you would pay just going from place to place buying tickets in your hotel or bus/train station and you will also have a choice of accomodation rather than the choosen bungalow with rats and dump on the wall often far from the local beach or ammenities. It is only worth to buy single ticket from them and is better to use your hotel agent with TAT license than a big TAT specialized in charging more for a great package:)

4. Never ever let any group or single Thai (even staff serving you) be to close to you.
My bus driver (trip organized by TAT agent in Bangkok) stole 80 USD from my wallet while the other bus driver asked me to help him to pack my bags.

5. Always bargin the price with TUK TUK or TAXI as the one given to you is at least 2 times more or if it is to low and tempting that means they will take you to the shops to sell you something so they get a commission.

6. Never buy anythink that you do not want!
Thai will use hundreds of methods to make you thinking that you want to buy something and it is cheap but in fact when you get back to your hotel you will
realize that you do not need it and it was sold to you for 3 times more.

7. If you realize that someone was in your room or stole your money always check if you have absolutely everything as they often still one card and some money and put your wallet back to your pocket with some fake cards and money so you do not realize and that gives them time to use your card etc.

8. If you want to travel to Cambodia from Bangkok (much nicer people and more honest and about 30% cheaper than in Thailand) buy your visa in the authorised agency in your hotel for 800-850 baths or cross the border walking through and buy it from the officer in uniform -that will cost 20 USD or 800 if you pay in baths).
When you buy it at the border the fake agent will "help you to get visa for 2 times more expensive (min. 1200-1300 baths). If fake agents are stopping you just tell them that you already have visa and walk to the uniform officer at the border)

9. Do not believe in some freat sleeper bus as you often pay more for sleeper and it turns out to be a normal bus with stink in the not working tolilet (part of the experience:)

10. Do not believe Thai are poor as most of them that work around tourists and can speak English pretend that they are.
Poor people live in Cambodia but they are more honest and is worth visiting Cambodia.
Just be carefull and do not trust anyone too much.
If you want to see Vietnam - my frien went there and apparently they are less honest and cheatl even more than Thai people.

11. Thailand,s islands on the South are beautiful, Bangkok - nothing special, Chang Mai and jungle up North - nothing special ( better to see Cambodia).

Hi,

Thanks for your post and welcome to the forums. It seems as if you had a few bad experiences that soured your trip. To respond:

1. Yes - if someone approaches you in the street, it's likely they're trying to get you to buy a product or service, even if it doesn't initially look to be so. Not always the case, but much more likely than not.

2. Yep... you get the old "city tour, 10 Baht!" and other too-good-to-be-true offers. You'll soon find as you did that this involves a number of annoying or high-pressure stops via shops selling expensive tat (especially gem shops).

3. It's pretty much the nature of agencies to charge a commission on, say, bus tickets - else how do they stay in business? Commission can vary though, so it pays to shop around, and play one agent off another to get the best price. I always buy my bus tickets at the station, my accommodation online from an international discount broker such as agoda or hotels.com and usually flight tickets online also. The only thing I would tend to buy from a bricks and mortar agency in Thailand is a specific tour, but even that's a rarity as I prefer to travel independently.

4. Thieves exist everywhere... it's certainly good advice to keep your wallet and passport close to your person or secure in a safe in your hotel room.

5. True, as with most things in Thailand you bargain for them. The exception is meter taxis, which can be acquired in Bangkok, and are my defacto mode of transportation away from the Skytrain.

6. Er... yes, I try not to buy anything I don't want Just more tat to haul around.

7. Yes, again keep wallet and cards close. Leaving them easily accessible or even in plain view is opening others up to temptation. I carry mine on me at all times in my front zip pocket of my trousers. I never leave anything of value in my room unless it's in a safe.

8. Yes, Cambodian visas are best bought at the border for the face price of $20 (which has been the cost for years now). It's true that some agents may try to deceive; but if you do your research, and know the visa cost ($20), then even if they catch you out, alarm bells will ring when you hear the price.

I do appreciate you posting your thoughts for others to be aware of, but none of the above should have been a surprise to you really. It's either common sense stuff ("don't believe everything people tell you", "keep your valuables safe") or stuff you could've found in any guide book on Thailand (or on this forum). Even knowing the above, we can all get conned, sure... but the best preparation for Thailand, or any destination, is to read up as much as you can on the scams, tricks and what to expect. If you arrive fresh off the plane without a clue of what's going to hit you then yes, you will be taken for a ride.

By the way, scams/annoyances/liars exist in Cambodia, too.

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My latest travels: Shikoku Pilgrimage

1. It would be a shame to travel and not talk with the locals.

Actually, there are plenty of nice, helpful people to be found around Thailand. But, when they approach you with ideas of how you ought to spend your money, that's when alarms should sound. BTW, the scammers in Bangkok could be any nationality, not just Thai people.


2. Never take a taxi that is parked or has a "front man". Always flag down a pass taxi. There you have it!

Tuk tuks have their place, but most tourists won't really need them. If you want to ride in a tuk tuk, have a go. But, don't rely on them for real transportation.


3. "TAT", the Tourist Authority of Thailand, doesn't have agencies, at least not ones that offer tour sales. TAT is a government tourism promotion agency. Unscrupulous tour companies will, however, try to pass themselves off as "TAT". Therefore, if you are offered a tour by "TAT", you are dealing with a dishonest agent and odds are you are getting ripped off.


4. Never let your attention lapse when packed in any group.


5. Always bargain for a tuk tuk, but be polite. Never bargain for a taxi. Besides getting ripped off, you are setting a bad precedent for those of us who live here! Playing their game makes them greedy and more prone to ignore locals to hunt down tourists.


6. It's called "buyer's remorse". It happens to everyone, everywhere.


7. Did you really get robbed twice?! A bigger problem is someone taking your card to pay the bill, skimming it, then having their way with your account.


8. I would have that in order.


9. Yes, toilets in Thailand leave a lot to be desired.


10. & 11. Coming from Orange County California, I have many Cambodian and Vietnamese friends. My Cambodian friends are some of the nicest people I have ever known. I will defer comment on Vietnamese.

But, when it comes to tourism, give Cambodia a few years. Once they get their machine oiled, and after get incessantly pounded by rude, crude gap year idiots, their happy faces will start to wear.