We would like to share our little story with the people of Bangkok. Two weeks ago, my cousins and I visited Bangkok for a short holiday.

It was a trip that we planned and looked forward to very much. After checking into our hotel on Rama IV Road, we proceeded to the taxi counter to get a taxi to the pier for our trip up the river to see the Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha. It was then the horror started.

From the lady at the taxi stand to the taxi and tuk-tuk drivers, they were all out to cheat us into parting with an exorbitant amount of money for our river trip. It started from 300 baht to finally whittling down to a mere 45 baht for the short ride to the pier.

We were then asked to pay 500 baht a person for the river ride to see the Grand Palace.

We finally got on the Express Boat to the Grand Palace. It was a very nice ride and we got to see the real side of Bangkok, with schoolchildren and office workers using the boat as a means of transport away from the maddening traffic jams on the roads.

After visiting the nearby Wat Po, we walked to the Grand Palace. At the entrance, we were stopped by a man in an official looking outfit. He informed us that the Grand Palace was closed now for a Thai ceremony of which tourists are not allowed in. The palace would only be open at 3.00 p.m. This was at 1.30 p.m. and he opened up a map and told us to visit some other temples up north and the international trade centre. He was seemingly genuine in his actions to help us that we believed him and took up his suggestion of seeing the other places and coming back to the palace at 3.00 p.m. He was even nice enough to get us a tuk-tuk.

How wrong we were.

The tuk-tuk driver was from hell. He took us on a long ride through the back alleys and we felt very uncomfortable with his aggressive attitude and reckless driving. When we told him that we did not want to continue the trip, he got very angry and started to get even more aggressive. At this point, we - three girls - gave him 60 baht and asked him to leave.

We had traveled all over Thailand (Phuket, Pattaya, Koh Samui, Hat Yai) before coming over to Bangkok. All our trips had been fantastic with no one giving us problems or harassing us.

With the help of another British couple, we managed to get to the closest pier and decided to head back to the Grand Palace. This was when we found that we were deceived into believing that the Grand Palace was closed and it was all a lie.

Once back at the Si Phya pier near the hotel, we decided to walk back to the hotel instead of going through the hassle of dealing with the taxi and tuk-tuk drivers. We stopped by to get some help from some school boys who were nearby having a snack. And this is when our luck changed, we met Mr Parinya Sutthikulkarn, a 16-year-old secondary school boy who was on his way home. He was polite, kind and helpful in pointing us the way to our hotel.

In fact, he followed us up the Si Phya Road making us believe that his house was just nearby. Parinya walked all the way with us for about 30 minutes back to our hotel when his home was the other way around. He was a true gentleman. Talking to him made us feel so much better and light-hearted.

When asked why he wanted to take us back, he said it was his duty. His parents taught him to always help others and it was in his culture to do so. The King, he added, always asked the Thai people to be friendly and to always be of service to people in need.

We were touched.

Where other teenagers are busy with their Playstation, here was a young man who truly practised and believed in the values he was brought up with. Parinya's simple gesture of making sure we got back safely made up for all our horrible experiences earlier that day. We believe that he will grow up to be a fine man. A citizen of Thailand who will make the King proud.

KANJNA PARANTHAMAN
CHITRA SUPPIAH
GEETHA SUPPIAH
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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