My wife and I were planning our 4th. trip to Thailand this fall to visit her brother. That is off now, looks like tourist are fair game. We can go many other places that are safe. As I read the story the Police were part of this scam, robbery, kidnapping.
This a serious over reaction. My daughter-in-law lives in Bangkok and my son is about to send in a Spouse Visa Application to get her back to UK (she spent 10 years in UK with some gaps between her student visas, which disqualified her from ILR).
He and I and my daughters and 4 young grandsons have been to Bangkok to meet her family, to see them married, and we have never experienced scam problems apart from the usual.
By which I mean polite persons approaching to offer help - "Wherever you are going is closed - here is a tuktuk to take you to a shopping centre/tailor/jewel sale" - easily refused. We had a wonderful week full of fun and friendliness.
My worst experience was being taken aside, at Suvarnabhumi immigration, because my passport from the last visit did not have an exit visa. I was surrounded by uniformed men - I did not record their uniforms. For 20 minutes I explained politely that I had followed the queue and had no control over whether the passport control officers stamped my exit visa or not.
Eventually they scribbled something in Thai script onto my passport and let me go back into the baggage hall. No demand for money. For all I know the scribble says "Thief/illegal immigrant" and when I tried to re-enter Thailand last December, the occupation by the yellow shirts of Suvarnabhumi and other airports prevented it, so maybe I will never know.
I am trying to say that if you use your common sense and remain alert, Bangkok is a wonderful place to be. I even have a Jimmy Choo handbag from Patpong...
And my son has just spent a month in Bangkok with his wife, no problems, lots of fun cycling along the river in the cooler evenings.
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British Couple Fights Bangkok Airport Extortionists
in Thailand News Headlines
Posted
This a serious over reaction. My daughter-in-law lives in Bangkok and my son is about to send in a Spouse Visa Application to get her back to UK (she spent 10 years in UK with some gaps between her student visas, which disqualified her from ILR).
He and I and my daughters and 4 young grandsons have been to Bangkok to meet her family, to see them married, and we have never experienced scam problems apart from the usual.
By which I mean polite persons approaching to offer help - "Wherever you are going is closed - here is a tuktuk to take you to a shopping centre/tailor/jewel sale" - easily refused. We had a wonderful week full of fun and friendliness.
My worst experience was being taken aside, at Suvarnabhumi immigration, because my passport from the last visit did not have an exit visa. I was surrounded by uniformed men - I did not record their uniforms. For 20 minutes I explained politely that I had followed the queue and had no control over whether the passport control officers stamped my exit visa or not.
Eventually they scribbled something in Thai script onto my passport and let me go back into the baggage hall. No demand for money. For all I know the scribble says "Thief/illegal immigrant" and when I tried to re-enter Thailand last December, the occupation by the yellow shirts of Suvarnabhumi and other airports prevented it, so maybe I will never know.
I am trying to say that if you use your common sense and remain alert, Bangkok is a wonderful place to be. I even have a Jimmy Choo handbag from Patpong...
And my son has just spent a month in Bangkok with his wife, no problems, lots of fun cycling along the river in the cooler evenings.
Do not write off Thailand, please.