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In your attempts to avoid travel scams you've probably heard more than
one story about the perils of timeshares. These vacation properties have gotten a
bad reputation, but the truth is that a few bad apples have attempted to
ruin what is actually one of the most convenient and cost-effective
methods of travel. When purchased from a reputable timeshare reseller, vacation properties are
extremely affordable, flexible and can provide a lifetime of hassle-free
vacations.
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I
first came up with the name Gullible Traveler for a
website some years ago. The occasion was a Canadian
friend and his wife visiting Bangkok. Hah. A right
couple of patsies they were too. I told them so. Do not
take Tuk Tuk in Bangkok I said. If you do, never listen
to their song and dance I said. And above all, never buy
jewelry or watches or the like from any shop they steer
you to I said. So; true to form they come home with a
diamond ring. One that was recommended to them by a Tuk
Tuk driver who insisted all the shops were closed
because of a holiday of some sort. The value and savings
would more than cover the cost of their holiday he said.
The rest, as they say, is history. The ring was worth
next to nothing and the price of the holiday increased
by the cost of the ring. This website then is devoted to
gullible travelers no matter where they come from or go
to. We will start with what Wikipedia says about
Thailand shall we? |
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Scams as
related by Wikipedia |
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Thailand has more
than its fair share of
scams,
but most are easily avoided with a modicum of common sense.
More a nuisance
than a danger, a common scam by touts, taxi drivers and tuk-tuk drivers in
Thailand is to wait by important monuments and temples and waylay Western
travelers, telling them that the site is closed for a "Buddhist holiday",
"repairs" or a similar reason.
The 'helpful' driver will then offer to take the traveler to another site,
such as a market or store. Travelers who accept these offers will often end up
at out-of-the-way markets with outrageous prices - and no way to get back to
the center of town where they came from. |
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Always check at the front gate of the site you're visiting to make sure
it's really closed.
Avoid any tuk-tuks
in Bangkok. Tuk-tuk drivers might demand much higher price than agreed, or
they might take you to a sex show, pretending they didn't understand the
address (they get commissions from sex shows). For the same reason, avoid
drivers who propose their services without being asked, especially near major
tourist attractions. |
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Don't buy any
sightseeing tours at the airport.
If you do, they
will phone several times to your hotel in order to remind you about the tour.
During the tour, you will be shortly taken to a small temple, without a guide,
and then one shop after another (they get commissions). They might refuse to
take you back home until you see all the shops. On your way back, they
pressure you to buy more tours.
Easily identified
with practice, it is not uncommon in tourist areas to be approached by a clean
cut, well-dressed man who often will be toting a cellphone. These scammers
will start up polite conversation, showing interest in the unsuspecting
tourist's background, family, or itinerary. Inevitably, the conversation will
drift to the meat of the scam. This may be something as innocuous as
over-priced tickets to a kantok meal and show, or as serious as a gambling
scam or (particularly in
Bangkok)
the infamous gem scam. Once identified, the wary traveller should have
no trouble picking out these scammers from a crowd. The tell-tale well pressed
slacks and button down shirt, freshly cut hair of a conservative style, and
late-model cellphone comprise their uniform. Milling around tourist areas
without any clear purpose for doing so, the careful traveler should have no
difficulty detecting and avoiding these scammers.
Many visitors will
encounter young Thai ladies armed with a clipboard and a smile enquiring as to
their nationality, often with an aside along the lines of "please help me to
earn 30 baht". The suggestion is that the visitor completes a tourism
questionnaire (which includes supplying their hotel name and room number) with
the incentive that they just might win a prize - the reality is that everyone
gets a call to say that they are a "winner", however the prize can only be
collected by attending an arduous time-share presentation. Note; the lady with
the clipboard doesn't get her 30 baht if you don't attend the presentation;
also that only English-speaking nationalities are targeted.
Another recurrent
scam involves foreigners - sometimes accompanied by small children - who claim
to be on the last day of their vacation in Thailand, and having just packed
all their belongings into one bag in preparation for their flight home, lost
everything when that bag was stolen. Now cash is urgently needed in order to
get to the airport in a hurry and arrange a replacement ticket for his/her
return flight in a few hours time.
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Robbery on
overnight buses
There have been
some reports about people getting drugged and robbed while traveling on
overnight buses. This happens as gas or another sleeping substance is put in
the air-conditioning system of the bus so that all passengers fall asleep
during the night while the crew of the bus stay in the lower deck, unaffected. Next passengers' bags and belongings are gone through by some crew
members, and cash is taken. while still dizzy ,the passengers are rushed out
of the bus upon arrival before they can find out they'd been robbed. To avoid
this, steer away from cheapish and non-government buses ,make sure you have
all your money stored safely in a money belt or another hard-to-reach place
and always check your money balance before getting off. Warning your travel
companions about this danger is also advised. In case this happens, firmly
refuse to get off the bus, tell the rest of the people about the situation and
immediately call the police. |
Prostitution
Thailand's age of
consent is 15 but a higher minimum age of 18 applies in the case of
prostitutes. Thai penalties for sex with minors are harsh, and even if your
partner is over the age of consent in Thailand, tourists who have sex with
minors may be prosecuted by their home country. As far as ascertaining the age
of your partner goes, all adult Thais must carry an identity card, which will
state that they were born in 2531 or earlier if they were over the age of 18
on January 1st 2007 (in the Thai calendar, AD 2007 is the year 2550).
Some prostitutes
are "freelancers", but most are employed by bars or similar businesses, if
hiring a prostitute from a bar or similar business, you will have to pay a fee
for the establishment called a "bar fine". The prostitutes who work at bars
may be deceptive to first-time travelers, as they are also often the
bartenders, or as they are called there, "bargirls". Be wary of prostitutes:
most are very poor and some are indentured sex slaves. They're far more likely
to be interested in money you can give them than in any continuing
relationship for its own sake. More importantly, Thailand has a high rate of
STD infection, including HIV/AIDS, both among the general population and among
prostitutes. Condoms can be bought easily in Thailand in all convenience shops
and pharmacies but may not be as safe as Western ones.
Technically, some
aspects of prostitution in Thailand are illegal (e.g. soliciting, pimping),
however enforcement is liberal and brothels are commonplace. It's not illegal
to pay for sex or to pay a "bar fine".
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[edit]Drugs
Thailand has
extremely strict drug laws and your foreign passport is not enough to get
you out of legal hot water. Possession and trafficking offenses that would
merit traffic-ticket misdemeanors in other countries can result in life
imprisonment or even death in Thailand. Police frequently raid
nightclubs, particularly in
Bangkok,
with urine tests and full body searches on all patrons.
Ko Pha Ngan's
notoriously drug-fueled Full Moon Parties also often draw police attention.
Possession of cannabis (ganchaa),
while illegal, is treated less harshly and, if busted, you may be able
to pay an "on the spot fine" to get out, although even this can set you back
tens of thousands of baht. It's highly unwise to rely on this.
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Back
to Gullible Traveler
In Thailand, every foreigner, even those that have been here for
20 or more years is a target for a scam. Taxi drivers, TUK TUK drivers, street
beggars, t-shirt and artifact sales people he lot. They will always try to get
more out of a Farang (foreigner).
”Where you go Pa Pa” rings out the call, every morning when I am on the way to
my office. I don’t reply; they keep trying. Tailor shops are among the
peskiest offenders. All along any busy tourist thoroughfare their shills are
outside the shop, asking tourists how they are doing today and inviting them
to step inside.
Get the picture? Thais don’t normally have to use a gun to get your money.
They use charm, a smile and your stupidity. Don’t be gullible. |
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Dear
viewer.
We started this www.gullibletraveler.com
web domain to illustrate how downright naive some tourists
and travelers are. The object was to warn people about the
perils of buying diamonds from strangers, deals from Nigerians
and the like. We are pretty busy here at Activelifestyle and
we never got around to it. But now we feel we can wait no
longer. We feel we must expose the biggest, most calous, coldest,
non-caring public companies of them all.
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