This is silly

ummmms maybe delete this post this is rubbish

my family and I are due to visit Thailand in December of this year. We have 3 teenagers aged from 14years to 20yrs and after reading about all the scams am reluctant to let them out to explore without my husband and myself accompanying them as we have an overnight stay in Bangkok!!! Could anyone advise as this is our first visit and I am worried now regarding the Police etc trying to scam us!! Is a family of 5 likely to be scammed or would they leave us alone as a group?? Any advice / comments would be welcome. We head to Krabi the next day and am not worried in the slightest about there!! I know my 20 year old will want to be out exploring on his own and I dont want to be the baddie by saying it is not safe .

Thanks

A lot of folks never, never visit the beautiful temples of their countries and came to SE Asia to see temples. What do you have in the brain?

No scammers in Krabi?
Ha ha ha ha ha ha

Mary IRELAND - Having traveled to Thailand many times (not to mention a frequent world traveler) I can confirm that there are indeed plenty of shady people looking to scam unsuspecting tourists, much like many other tourist destinations. However, as long as you are aware and observant and take reasonable precautions, I see no reason why you should be the victim of a scam and not enjoy your holiday. Exercise common sense and good judgment - teach your teenagers the same. Remember, and remind your kids, that you are in a foreign country with foreign laws and different culture and customs. Exercise the same good judgment and common sense you would in your own country, as well as educating yourself by reading about the scams in this website, and you should be fine.

Here's some basic rules, certainly not a complete list, when traveling to Bangkok:

1) At the airport: Ignore all the touts in the arrivals section of the airport and stay clear of any and all offers for private cars/conveyance. Head straight out to the curb outside where the metered taxi stand is. Make sure the meter is turned on. If you have made arrangements with the hotel to pick you up, make sure you have a clear understanding of where and how they will pick you up. Personally, I always take a metered taxi, but that's just me.

2) To and from hotels or anywhere else really: There is no shortage of "friendly" hotel/restaurant/mall/tourist destination employees ready and willing to help you find a tuk-tuk or private ride to anywhere you need to go. Like the airport, I suggest you decline any such offers and insist on getting a metered taxi.

Good general rule with taxis: refuse to ride in any taxi where the driver refuses to turn on the meter or claims it is broken - get another taxi. No exception.

3) Taxi drivers don't know Bangkok: Most taxi drivers are migrant workers from the north or other poor areas of Thailand and have little to zero knowledge of where anything is. This is incredibly frustrating to not only the foreign traveler but even some of the locals.

DO - have the address and name of your hotel in Thai and English and preferably a map showing the hotel's location in Thai. Most of the hotel websites will have a link to the hotel's map and name in Thai. Have this with you when you land in Bangkok and keep it with you at all times. Even then, the drivers may get lost, so make sure you have the hotel's phone number handy as well to give the drivers directions.

DO - have a plan of where you need to go before you get into the taxi. Again, the address in Thai is very helpful if you can get it. Ask the hotel if they can write it down for you or explain to the driver how to get there.

DON'T - accept offers or get into an un-metered taxi, or a taxi who claims their meter is broken or won't turn it on.

BE PREPARED - for the strong possibility that your driver, despite maps and addresses in Thai, may get lost.

DON'T - ride in tuk-tuks. I never ride in tuk-tuks, no matter how fun it may look or how badly my kids want to ride in one. Mostly because it is hot, sweaty, and dirty, and I'd much rather be in an air-conditioned taxi, but also because my limited experience with tuk-tuks is that they will always try to rip you off or scam you in some way. Sorry any Thai-tuk tuk drivers reading this; I mean no offense, but my limited experience with tuk-tuks has not been good. If it makes you feel better, I have friends who claim they have had good experiences with tuk-tuk rides in Bangkok.

DON'T - take motorcycle taxis. simply because driving or riding on a motorcycle in Thailand is incredibly dangerous. motorcycle rides/driving in any country is far more dangerous than in a car, but with Bangkok's traffic and lax safety laws it is doubly so.

In my opinion one is much better off using the BTS Skytrain or Subway to get around Bangkok. I only use metered taxis to get me to and from the airport or to and from the shopping centers or hotels to the nearest mass transit station. Most taxi drivers at least know where the mass transit stations are, so you have less chance of getting lost.

4) Beware of anyone approaching you on the street, mall, temple, etc. speaking good English. Most Thai people are reserved, conservative, and shy and will not approach strangers, much less approach one speaking English. In most cases, these people are not looking to be friendly or help you in any way, most likely it's a scam of some sort. Don't fall for any elaborate sob stories or too-good-to be true deals.

5) Never accept the excuse that the mall/temple/other tourist attraction is closed from some supposedly well-intentioned stranger.

6) Do register with your local embassy. This is a good common practice no matter where you travel. I always do this. Carry the phone number and address to your local embassy wherever you go.

7) Make a complete photocopy, front and back, of all your credit and bank cards. Keep one copy in a secure location in your luggage or hotel room and carry another copy with you. DO NOT carry all your credit and bank cards with you in your wallet and try not to carry too much cash. Yes, Bangkok has ATMs and major banks all over the place, you can always withdraw cash if need be.

I make sure I have one visa and one mastercard with me on my person and leave back ups in a secure location back at the hotel. That way if my wallet gets stolen, I haven't lost everything and still have access to money/credit.

Carry wallets in your FRONT pocket, not your back. I learned this the hard way a few years ago.

Again, these are common practices I follow no matter where I travel.

8) Some people differ on this, but I always carry my passport with me, ON MY PERSON, NOT IN A PURSE OR BAG. I either carry it in my front pocket or in a special money belt that runs along the inside of my leg underneath my pants. Some people argue against carrying your passport to avoid the risk of loss or theft, but if you decide not to, at least carry a photocopy. Again, having the phone, contact, and address of your local embassy is always a good idea.

This too is a common practice I follow no matter where I travel.

9) No matter where you go or what you do, this is a good rule to follow: If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

10) When eating in restaurants, I try to avoid ones packed with tourists, although that's not always possible. no matter where you eat, always know exactly what you are ordering and make sure you know the price before and when you order it. Ask the waiter/waitress to confirm if you are not clear or can not figure it our from the menu. Would you order food in your home country if you were not sure how much it cost? Of course not. Don't make that mistake when you travel.

Hope you find this advice helpful and certainly while you should use the advice in this website to educate yourself, don't be paranoid about travelling to Thailand or anywhere else. Use good judgment, common sense, be observant, and use safe practices and you'll be fine. Have fun in Thailand.

SwizStick where were you before my trip to Thailand, people this is very good advice especially if like me you are not a seasoned travellor and have not come across this type of thing before, I wish I had found this web site before I went earlier this year and ended up scammed out of $AUD2000 and left with bad feelings about a beautiful country not the Thai people mind you, our dealings with our taxi driver in Phuket, staff at the hotel, tour directors etc were all wonderful, it was the scum from other countrys that have found their way to Thailand that are the problem and the reason I wont be going back there.

SwizStick

all good info, especially pointing out the discomfort and hazard of taking a tuktuk
( you notice the busses exausts are just at face level with the tuktuk riders.


also, we always get a prepaid taxi at the airport, no hassell, new, well maintained cars. costs just a little more, but wortth it.

trying to save a few bht will cost you in the long run.

and to Disgruntled, we also find getting a ride arranged by the place(s) we stay in patong is the best way to go.

Disgruntled - sorry :) I only stumbled onto this website a short time ago. Wish I could have helped you and other readers earlier.

A lot of my advice comes from lessons learned the hard way over my many years of traveling. So hopefully by sharing some of my thoughts people can avoid the same mistakes.

As for Thailand, it can, unfortunately, sometimes feel like a "buyer beware" destination, but as long as you keep you head about you and use good common sense and judgment I don't see why it can't be an enjoyable destination. I have always enjoyed my trips to Thailand and will continue to do so.

In 1966 first day in BKK decided to go to the Sunday Market. Took atuktuk 10 minutes into the ride a car and motorcycle hit the atuktuk no one was injured. Leaned a good lesson. Take a taxi or arrange transportation at the Hotel. Survived four years in this wonderful country. Heading back to BKK and points beyond in January. I will take the advice of the previously scammed.

SwizStick those are very good advices. Thanks a lot for sharing :)

Thanks for all the great advice people!

Going there for the second time after a year. Thankfully I was not scammed in anything last time :D (apart from a little expensive hotel in Bangkok which we booked at the airport, turned out to be a few hundred bhat cheaper online). But not a scam I would say :)
Considering that I was with my mom who had not much idea of the place and me who was only 17 and first time traveling on our own.

We stayed in Bangkok for one night and five nights in Pattaya. We only have good memories of Thailand.

Happy Journey All!