Best And Worst Thai Cities For Getting Ripped Off

[bangkoksingapore]

In my experience, simply speaking thai will usually prevent a Thai person from hassling you or trying to rip you off, but this is not always the case.

Ive only been to Pattaya twice, but both times, pretty much every single encounter with Thai people involved them attempting to over charge or cheat me. Confirm the price, arrive at the destination and all of a sudden it has doubled, no choice left but to pay him the agreed amount, walk away and hope he drives off instead of going for the knife or gun under his seat. Buy seafood, the price for a kilo changes into the price for half a kilo - speaking Thai does nothing to help the situation. Perhaps, I just kept getting unlucky but my experiences in Pattaya were dreadful and I dont know how people can stand to live there.

In Bangkok, it is very rare for anyone to try and over charge me. I am trying to hard now to remember the last time I was over charged or someone attempted it and I am drawing blanks. I have had mixed experiences in other Thai provinces. Cha Am seemed more full of people trying to rip me off then Hua Hin, and Chang Mai seemed to be worse than Chang Rai. Isaan was pretty bad.

[coventry]

In my experience, simply speaking thai will usually prevent a Thai person from hassling you or trying to rip you off, but this is not always the case.

Ive only been to Pattaya twice, but both times, pretty much every single encounter with Thai people involved them attempting to over charge or cheat me. Confirm the price, arrive at the destination and all of a sudden it has doubled, no choice left but to pay him the agreed amount, walk away and hope he drives off instead of going for the knife or gun under his seat. Buy seafood, the price for a kilo changes into the price for half a kilo - speaking Thai does nothing to help the situation. Perhaps, I just kept getting unlucky but my experiences in Pattaya were dreadful and I dont know how people can stand to live there.

In Bangkok, it is very rare for anyone to try and over charge me. I am trying to hard now to remember the last time I was over charged or someone attempted it and I am drawing blanks. I have had mixed experiences in other Thai provinces. Cha Am seemed more full of people trying to rip me off then Hua Hin, and Chang Mai seemed to be worse than Chang Rai. Isaan was pretty bad.

I'm very suprised that I'm the first respondant to the above thread, I think it's a good thread to have started. Anyway for me, Thailand is full of people wanting to rip you off, irrespective if your Thai or Farang. But that also applies to anywhere else one goes to. India has to be the biggest rip off country I have ever visited, everyone's seems to be looking to make a fast buck. When one goes to the likes of Pattaya or Phuket it's an expected thing when we go on holiday, or anywhere else in the world, to be ripped off. As I've said, it's not just Farangs here in Thailand. My Thai wife used to get angry with the taxi drivers in Phuket because of their blatant over charging even when she was on her own. So it's not a Farang thing. By the way my wife told me of an interesting story of when she worked in a hotel in Pattaya. When one books into an hotel one is asked to pay a large deposit on the room key. This is a staff perk. When keys are lost or not returned the deposit is forfeited but the deposit is shared between the staff. She says it never goes to the hotel owners. The key is replaced by a cheap copy.

[jumnien]

One must realize one's own karma. Some people just walk around with a "kick me" sign on their back and then wonder why people kick them. If you aren't street smart then be careful on the streets. Ask for help from people you trust. And develop the ability to trust trustworthy people, not total strangers.

[Ulysses G.]

I was living on the streets in the US at age 15 and I have no problem at all with picking out con-artists in Thailand. It's simple, any offer that is too good to be true, is too good to be true. Just get it through your head.

[girlx]

i really don't get ripped off that often in thailand- no one has ever tried to take me to jewelry shops or overcharge me in taxis or anything... but i have found the rudest people to be in koh samui and have heard loads of stories of ripoffs there.

[qwertz]

It's all about streetsmarts as UG says.

If you've been out in the streets of Manchester from age 12 looking for any opportunity to make a little readies, you know exactly where these people are coming from.

I can identify with them and we understand each other without the need for lengthy discussion.

As for jewellery shops and the like, I've often hired a taxi on rainy days and told the driver just to do the tour and take his time.

I get to ride in comfort, see some interesting corners of the town, take some pictures and the 5-600 baht outlay is cheaper than sitting in bars.

And if I always seek out the same drivers I get a better deal every time.

[scotsman]

I have only been ripped off by Baht taxis in pattaya and nearly one time in phuket but I was to smart. The restaurant tried to give me the wrong change. Most places in Thailand that I have traveled to I have never been Ripped off