People say a lot of things about Bangkok. A fair amount of it is good, but there’s a significant amount of not-so-good too. We experienced a little of both, and while it may not have been the greatest first impression of SE Asia, the not-so-good did serve to teach us a very important lesson.
Bangkok is known for its numerous elaborate scams, many of which we were somewhat familiar with before we arrived. But for whatever reason, we didn’t recognize this one for what it was until we were already well within its grasp.
It went like this:
We were walking around a fairly touristy section of the city, near the Grand Palace. A middle-aged man, who appeared to be on an afternoon stroll, fell into stride with us and began to chat with us casually. He offered to show us a few places less visited by tourists, and asked if we had a map. Once produced, he marked out a few places he thought we should see, saying that because it was the “King’s birthday,” these places were offering free admission. He also mentioned a “textile factory,” which had previously only exported its wares, and was for the first time open to the public. Of course, it was only going to be open to the public this week, and he’d already purchased several suits for himself, for a very low price. He mixed up the conversation a little by teaching us a few simple Thai phrases (such as ‘thank you’), and how much we should expect to pay for a tuk-tuk ride. He then suggested that we bargain with a tuk-tuk driver on a flat rate to take us to all of the places he’d suggested. As one last tip, he told us that the “government plated” tuk-tuks were the cheapest–the blue ones with the yellow license plates–and what do you know? Here comes one now. Before we knew it, he was flagging one down and bargaining a price. The tuk-tuk driver initially asked for a much higher price, but the man said we were his friends and so the driver accepted the lower price. And before we really considered what was happening, we were off to the first destination.
Now, let me say that my favorite part about traveling is meeting people, and talking with locals. I’m always cautious, even wary at times, but it’s also important for me to approach a new place with an open heart and mind. Had it not been my first encounter with this part of the world, or the profound jet-lag I was feeling, I may have been a little more keen on the potential reality of the situation. But I was so excited to have met someone who wanted to enrich our experience, and in my past world travels, the spontaneity and serendipity that come about when you open yourself up to unforeseen possibilities has never steered me wrong. In fact, it’s exactly THE thing that’s given me such a love for travel. Unfortunately, this experience would prove different.
We arrived at the first temple and the tuk-tuk driver gave us 10-15 minutes to look around, which I admit, seemed a little stingy. But why should I complain? While the temple did not require admission, as we’d been told, it seemed like an attraction that most tourists wouldn’t miss. But there weren’t many people there, so at this point things still seemed legit.
At the second destination, the tuk-tuk driver directed us past the front of the temple, where there were beautiful statues that were obviously the main attraction, to the rear of the building, where there was a small statue of Buddha. There was a man standing there, admiring the statue, who casually began to engage us in conversation. After a little chit-chat, he asked us how we’d come to know about this place, as it isn’t much frequented by tourists. (And while there weren’t many people there, I’d seen tons of pictures of the statues in front of the temple, so I have to admit, I thought it odd that he’d say that. But, it was consistent with what we’d been told by the man outside the Grand Palace, so I took his word for it). He also asked us if we’d heard about the textile shop that had opened its doors to the public, confirming again what the first man had told us. He had also purchased several tailor-made suits that week, and told us how little it had cost him. We talked amicably with him for a few minutes, returned to the front of the temple to take pictures, and then met up again with our driver.
The next destination was the “textile factory.” Now, I’d been picturing an actual factory, and was thinking it’d be an educational sort of place to visit. But it was immediately clear that this was just a hole-in-the-wall tailor shop. And here’s the tip-off: when we asked the tuk-tuk driver how long we should take before meeting him again, he said, “take as long as you like.” Reality was slowly sinking in for me. We entered the shop and were immediately engaged by a salesman, who gave us catalogues to browse, and reiterated the same story we’d heard about the shop being open to the public. He even quoted us at the same price that the man at the Buddha statue had said he’d paid for his suits. I started to really look around me, and the only customers in this shop were obviously not locals. At least, they weren’t Thai. It was hard to get a word in with Evan, as the salesman took the liberty to interject every time I tried to get in a hushed word. Another girl in the store made a little conversation with me, and asked how we’d come to find the shop. Her story was identical to ours. Now, lots of people come to Thailand to have custom suits made at a fraction of the cost you’d pay in the US, so the idea of the shop wasn’t completely outlandish. But after speaking with this girl, I began politely asking a lot of questions. All were brushed aside by the salesman, and Evan didn’t seem too convinced that there was anything to be concerned about. Evan preferring to pay in cash, so one of the associates directed us to the nearest ATM. I thought this would be a good opportunity to talk to Evan without anyone distracting us. However, this associate FOLLOWED US to the ATM, saying that it was her job to make sure we didn’t get lost. And when I politely asked for a moment alone with Evan, she refused to leave, saying that it was her job and it would look bad if she returned to the shop without us. That was the last straw for me. Without having made a withdrawal, we followed the woman back into the shop and told the salesman that we needed some time to further consider the purchase, and that we’d return if we decided that it was money we wanted to spend. Of course, we were told that the sale was ending today, yadda yadda. But we left, and now we had the tuk-tuk driver to deal with.
There were a few more places that we’d been recommended to visit by our helpful “friend,” but we told the tuk-tuk driver that we were late meeting friends and we needed to head back to where he’d picked us up. He had been very friendly to us all day, and continued to be even as we told him that we were done with our little tour. He said he’d take us back, but first there was something about a gasoline. His English was very broken, and I took him to mean that he needed to get gas first. I agreed, not realizing that this was yet another scam.
He drove us out to what I anticipated would be a gas station, but was actually another suit store. Confused, I went back and forth with him about it for a few minutes, finally realizing that what he’d originally said was that if we went in the suit store, just for “5 minutes,” they would give him a free gas card. Of course, not wanting anymore trouble, I refused, trying to indicate that I’d misunderstood, and using the excuse that we were late meeting our friends. He became very agitated at this, and refused to take us anywhere else. At this point, we were quite far from where we’d started, and couldn’t possibly walk back. We had no choice but to pay him the originally agreed upon price, and then find another tuk-tuk to drive us back to where we wanted to be–which wasn’t cheap.
A bummer of a way to spend our first day in SE Asia!! But we feel super fortunate to have learned such a valuable lesson at such little cost. It could have been so much worse. And so, I’m posting this rather embarrassing story in hopes that it might save someone else from a similar experience.
Globeward Bound 