Midnight Bus Ride From Khao San Road

[DP25]

Wrong. It does happen. Not necessarily a lot. But people being robbed on trains in Spain by thieves using gas certainly happens. This story doesn't sound like an urban myth because it actually happened to the OP. So, yeah. You all might be cynics about something that doesn't fit in your preconceived worldviews, but I'd say that's your own problem.

Really? I would love to hear about even one documented case of a 'gas attack' used to rob passengers in Spain. A gas attack used to make passengers pass out so that they could be robbed would be headline news all over the world, so it should be relatively easy for you to find me a documented link. No 9-11 or UFO conspiracy sites, I want to see to see an actual case of this happening on BBC, CNN, or some local Spanish news station with pictures and documented evidence.

Read about the Beslan school siege if you want a real life example of what happens when you try to use knock out gas on people. People die.

Edited August 20, 2007 by DP25

[siamamerican]

Many posts lately about dishonest Thais. How about some stories about not being taken advantage of by Thais.

Siam, it's the norm here, Thai bashing is acceptable, but Farang bashing is certainly frowned upon.

I try to even up the playing field somewhat by bashing Farangs, but it's like pizzin' in the wind.

Such is Forum life.

Nothing lost from trying, except a damp pant leg.

I think most people regardless of nationality are inherently honest ( now I sound like a peacenic ).

The only country I've had major issues with honesty is Mexico. I was ripped off everyday, but this added to the excitement a little. At times it was even laughable. My car must have been broken into 10 times in 7 months. The last few months I just left my windows down - there was very little take at that point.

[Etrigan]

SiamAmerican - I also trust you noticed after looking at my posts that I never started any thread that bashes this host country, nor have I joined any chorus that flames the Thai people.

....and I'll offer you a "touche" for your attempt at sarcasm.

[meadish_sweetball]

Workers tried to rob me on that bus excursion once. A Thai helper was squirming around on the floor -- funny, he was "sleeping" in the aisle up a few seats from me and then I woke up again and he was sleeping under my seat. I checked my bag and behold! my wallet was missing. I woke up the guy sitting next to me and started questioning the Thai man, who said he would help me find it. Ya, it was under his blanket and he put it down on the floor while we were "looking" and then he "found" it for me. Funny, I had my wallet in my bag when we left the food stop, so I guess it just did a walk-about when we got back on the bus. Not. This scam happens all the time on those bus runs. Always took the sleeper train after that, and never had a prob.

I took a Khao San Road cattle express (VIP) down to Surat Thani 12 years ago, and nearly the same thing happened to us. My mate who had the aisle seat noticed the blanket approaching and stepped firmly on the hand slowly reaching out for his daypack under the seat in front of him. The blanket then retreated to the front of the bus.

Another nice detail on that bus was that there was no toilet, not even a Thai toilet. Instead they had a big vat. After a few hours the whole bus stank to high heavens, since the vat was full and its contents kept spilling over the brim. This was solved by stopping the bus and emptying the vat by the roadside.

Yes, I used to travel in style.

[sbk]

Actually, the guy creeping down the aisle is pretty well documented. I saw it years ago when I rode the bus, but then, I never put a bag under the seat so nothing was stolen, and its happened to loads of our customers more recently. I never recommend the Khao San Road bus to Bangkok for that reason.

Gas attacks, no idea, never heard of it but then the OP wasn't claiming the guy was gassed, merely robbed on the bus.

As for the idea the manager forced the bus driver to return the money, well, never heard of that one either.

[DamianMavis]

If the story is true, the friends of the driver are in cahoots with the driver, the manager knows this. They do it all the time, so if the manager gets a complaint she immediately goes to the driver and gets the items returned, if there is no complaint, perhaps they all take their cut later.

I think it's obvious, bus drivers do NOT carry 6000 baht. For those of you saying" you dont know many thais" well I do, I hang with Hi-so and they all have lots of money in their pockets, but poor bus drivers DO NOT. I think it's ridiculous and maybe YOU dont know many Thais if you think all Thais are carrying thousands of baht in their pocket, maybe you missed all the poor people in this country? If the story is true.

Damian

[larvidchr]

There is gas attacks/ robberies happening all over Europe's highways regularly, mostly the victims are people in Auto campers and Lorry drivers, the most recent I read about was in Sweden, but they are absolutely no sensations or world news, they happen far to regular to even reach the news in many cases, just the incident report on the local Police station.

Every well equipped camping shop sells gas alarms, people certently don't die from it, they just sleep and get robbed.

Likewise there are pickpocket gangs operating all over Europe as well, buses, train stations, malls, everywhere with many people crowding is the favourite spots for these petty thieves, I wholeheartedly believe this is happening in Thailand as well, why shuldent it, but it is not a special Thai problem, everywhere you go you should use your common sense and protect your big notes and passport ect.

Edited August 20, 2007 by larvidchr

[madjbs]

I didn’t say ALL Thaïs are carrying around 6000 baht! As it has been said BEFORE there is lots of reasons the driver may have had that money, having stolen it is one BUT IT IS NOT the only one so don’t just accuse people of what might seem obvious as its not always the answer, anyone with half a brain should realize that. I know lots of Thai people thank you and it seams YOUR the one who doesn’t know any real Thai people as your just hanging with your HiSo friends that you like to tell everyone about. You will find that lots of normal people often carry that kind of money around. One example is a tuk tuk driver in chiang mai who when opening up his money pouch to give me change and had at least 6000 baht in there.

Edited August 20, 2007 by madjbs

[markg]

Ok, in an attempt to cheer this thread up, i will tell you a tale that was told to me just last night.

A friend of mine left her keys in her newish scooter, parked up and went for food and drinks.

After some considerable time, she realised what she had done and hot footed it back to where she had parked her bike - a very busy area of Patong in Phuket.

The bike wasnt where she had left it.

It had been moved.

Just up one row so that the good samaritan could park their bike behind hers.

And they left the keys for her in the little drinks-holder thing.

Could have been a Farang. Could have been a Thai.

Whoever it was, it was a decent gesture eh?

[ColPyat]

Really? I would love to hear about even one documented case of a 'gas attack' used to rob passengers in Spain.

I was once in one in the night train between Venice (the one in Italy ) and Munich a few years ago. Fortunately i had a top bunk and lost nothing. Everybody on a lower bunk though lost most valuables.

[Neeranam]

I think it's obvious, bus drivers do NOT carry 6000 baht. For those of you saying" you dont know many thais" well I do, I hang with Hi-so and they all have lots of money in their pockets, but poor bus drivers DO NOT. I think it's ridiculous and maybe YOU dont know many Thais if you think all Thais are carrying thousands of baht in their pocket, maybe you missed all the poor people in this country? If the story is true.

Damian

Exactly how many bus drivers do you know? Most Hi-sos don't carry large quantities of cash - your friends are lying to you about their status

The hi-sos I've known carry very little cash and some are even scared to wear their expensive jewellry. Some wear false rolexes.

It surprised me that the average working class Thai DOES carry 6000 baht or more in his wallet.

I took that bus 14 years ago and someone was robbed on the bus.

I was robbed in Spain a few years ago, in Barcelona - the thieves there on that famous walking street Las Ramblas(I think) are very good. I was impressed the way they got my bag, which was placed around the leg of my chair.

[londonthai]

just interesting why the OP - mr samuiwatch - does not participating on the thread.

as his other posts here on the forum - this literary fiction might be just yet another c+p job

[LongThaimer]

If it was stolen, it is highly inconceibavle that the dirver would have given up the dosh as casually as he did . He could have put up a strong verbal arguement at least, just to see if he could get away with it. Wouldn't you think??? Why was a poor driver in possession of 6000TB??? Well...you could chew over it all day long, nothing else.

Now...if it was his own hard earned cash that was being taken away just to please a disgruntled foreigner. 6000TB???....that could have ended up in a blood bath.

For this reason, I would have let the police handle the case.

[DP25]

I was once in one in the night train between Venice (the one in Italy ) and Munich a few years ago. Fortunately i had a top bunk and lost nothing. Everybody on a lower bunk though lost most valuables.

Sounds like they were just asleep, and the thief took the stuff on the bottom so they wouldn't wake anyone. Those types of robberies are common. If there was gas they would have taken everything. These thieves must be master anesthesiologists if they're able to knock out passengers for a 10 minute window while they swipe their goods, but not dose them so high that they kill them or that they're unable to wake up when the train reaches its destination. Especially as 'sleeping gas' as commonly described in these scenarios does not exist. Am surprised they don't take a kidney or two while they're at it. Here's a short article about these stories, timely enough just put out a couple days ago. http://www.eursoc.com/news/fullstory.php/a...39;s_A_Gas.html

[SamuiWatch]

Well, I'm glad I started this thread because after a dodgy start several of you have now confirmed similar stories on that same overnight VIP from Khao San Road. I swear it DID happen - and exactly as I remember it - how could I forget such a thing? And why in the world would I want to invent such a story? Really, I've got better things to do with my time. But I would like to say a really BIG thank you for those who are now plunging in with their own experiences of travelling around Thailand because this is what a good travel forum should all be about - not Thai bashing or Farang Bashing - but real-life experiences that are of interest to all who want to know more about Thailand and its truly wonderful people.

When someone called me an idiot, maybe he (she?) was right, maybe I shouldn't have got involved, but as I did it with all the best intentions I don't really have a problem with that - I was just trying to help a hapless tourist after all. I said at the very start, there are obviously good and bad in all of us and if we can engage in swapping exciting experiences instead of silly name-calling - and slagging each other off - then many of us can become enlightened to ALL sides of life in a country that most of us have a big soft spot for or a very keen interest in. Keep 'em rolling!

[madjbs]

Where are these World Class tourism destinations, considering that people have the same problems in countrues such as Spain, Italy, France etc...

[ColPyat]

I was once in one in the night train between Venice (the one in Italy ) and Munich a few years ago. Fortunately i had a top bunk and lost nothing. Everybody on a lower bunk though lost most valuables.

Sounds like they were just asleep,

I don't care what it sounds like. I do remember the dizzy feeling after having woken up, a sensation which was shared by every other passenger there.

There are some very good and professional thiefs around, and i have had the honor of having been robbed, or attempted to be robbed, by some of them in many countries . One should be aware of the possibilities, and try to find ways to make it as difficult for them as possible.

[Tootah]

Are some Thais lowlife crooks? Yes of course, like some Brits, Yanks, Kiwis and Ozzies are lowlife crooks. Are some Thais extremely honest? Yes obviously - as are many other nationalities too. Here's a thread that will hopefully give you some food for thought and might run for a couple of good posts containing similar experiences of your own:

Last April I was travelling on the Super VIP bus from Khao San Road to Samui. When we got off the bus, the dawn was just breaking, and a dejected and sleepy German guy walked up to me complaining that he had had 6000 THB taken from his wallet while he was asleep on the overnight journey. Well, he wasn't particularly accusing me but he did mention that some Thai blokes were huddled asleep just underneath his seat in the luggage compartment area beside the driver - as they do sometimes - probably friends or relatives of the driver - who knows? Anyway I asked him if he had complained to the manager at the way station because they should be insured against theft of passenger's luggage etc but he said no - he'd just let it pass. But I said he should complain because suspicion could now fall on anyone - including the friends he was travelling with as well as all the other passengers - including myself. But this guy for some reason was very reluctant to make a complaint so I had to virtually drag him into the manager's little office. Well, blow me down if the manager didn't storm up to the driver of the bus and told him to turn his pockets out! Then he confiscated exactly 6000 THB from the bewildered driver's wallet and gave it to the German bloke - just like that! Some farang would call that a great injustice and indeed it was - because the driver could never have stolen it - as he was driving a flipping great bus all night! When I asked the manager why he had done that he just said "It's his bus and therefore he's responsible and we Thais do not like to see farang robbed." That was that - end of subject - he just carried on checking the passengers ferry tickets as though nothing unusual had happened. Can you imagine such a thing like that happening back home?

To this day I don't know whether I did the right thing to help that guy get his money back or whether I should have kept my big nose out of it altogether. One thing I do know is that he never came up to me and say thanks for helping him although he clearly knew I was anxious to hear of his relief at such an incredibly swift turn of events. He just scarpered as fast as his legs would carry him with a big fat grin on his face - he never even looked back. You live and learn they say - but do we? What would you have done? We just don't know until the event is upon us. BTW some of my best friends are Germans so I'm not looking at this from a racial angle - it just makes you wonder though - did he lose that money in the first place? How many times have we woken up from a night on the tiles and checked our wallets and found it contained less than we thought was in it. Then, when we try to concentrate and recall the night's events and do some counting we find we just spent it after all. Aah well, just another day in paradise.

"It's his bus and therefore he's responsible and we Thais do not like to see farang robbed."

yeah right

[larvidchr]

I was once in one in the night train between Venice (the one in Italy ) and Munich a few years ago. Fortunately i had a top bunk and lost nothing. Everybody on a lower bunk though lost most valuables.

Sounds like they were just asleep, and the thief took the stuff on the bottom so they wouldn't wake anyone. Those types of robberies are common. If there was gas they would have taken everything. These thieves must be master anesthesiologists if they're able to knock out passengers for a 10 minute window while they swipe their goods, but not dose them so high that they kill them or that they're unable to wake up when the train reaches its destination. Especially as 'sleeping gas' as commonly described in these scenarios does not exist. Am surprised they don't take a kidney or two while they're at it. Here's a short article about these stories, timely enough just put out a couple days ago. http://www.eursoc.com/news/fullstory.php/a...39;s_A_Gas.html

Police forces in all of Europe, uk foreign office, caravan organisations, professional lorry company's all over Europe, and many hundreds of victims over the last 10 years or more, are all wrong, because Russian special forces without knowing what they where doing filled a Moscow theatre with massive amounts off gas that nobody till this day exactly know what was, and killed more than 100 hostages. ( it has nothing to do with beslan as you claim). and nothing to do with putting someone gently to sleep.

Dentists routinely used to gas people, there is chloroform in aerosol form and ether , and probably many more forms of gas that in moderate dosage can be used to knock people out for a short while.

It is a fact and it is happening all the time in Europe.

Here in pattaya especially men from India for reasons i don't want to speculate, are being knocked out with pills or drops in drinks and then robbed, and believe me they are truly knocked out, it has happened several times over the last many months, surely the same ingredients used could be used in aerosol form to create the same effect. and By the way " micky finn's" "knock-out drops" is not a Thai invention but has been used in the rest of the world for many many years to rob people. So this is not a special Thai thing either.

Edited August 20, 2007 by larvidchr

[DP25]

Police forces in all of Europe, uk foreign office, caravan organisations, professional lorry company's all over Europe, and many hundreds of victims over the last 10 years or more, are all wrong, because Russian special forces without knowing what they where doing filled a Moscow theatre with massive amounts off gas that nobody till this day exactly know what was, and killed more than 100 hostages. ( it has nothing to do with beslan as you claim). and nothing to do with putting someone gently to sleep.

Yeah, I got Beslan school siege and the Moscow theatre siege mixed up. I posted that soon after waking up, sorry about that. None the less, what exactly is the chemical that these people are supposedly using to gas trains then? Ether and chloroform both need to be applied directly to the mouth, there is no way you can fill up a room with them in order to knock people out. If the stories claim someone is breaking in to the compartments and applying a rag covered in chloroform to the victims mouth, then that is possible. They don't claim that however, they claim something is sprayed into the ventilation system, or in through the door, or some type of gas grenade is used. Knock out drops that can be put in to drinks also exist, and like you said that does happen to people often. Gas given by dentists does not cause you to pass out though, if they want you to pass out they give you an injection. But there is no gas that is capable of being piped through ventilation systems that is capable of knocking people out, and can be controlled so that it is non lethal. That's why so many people died in Moscow, because the Russian military has no gas that is capable of making people pass out and not killing some as well. If this were really true, there would be people who have died from it, not just wake up confused and missing some cash. Additionally any chemical that could do this would be toxic, some people would require hospitalization and the chemical should show up in any blood work. That has never been documented.

In my opinion, the reality behind these stories is, people think there is a knock out gas from reading books and talking to friends, so that when they are robbed while sleeping, they wake up and assume that they've been gassed, as everyone thinks themselves too clever to have simply been robbed by ordinary means. Companies want to take advantage of the hysteria, so they produce products to 'protect' people from a non existent threat. Police and the foreign office report what is claimed, and if people say they've been gassed, they want to warn the public. It doesn't make it true. A few months ago there were hundreds of reports of organ thefts in Thailand, none of them were real, but the police still put out warnings and wanted posters of suspects.

Anyway, I don't want to argue too much about this. The link I provided, and the links in that article (specifically the Janes Defense article detailing the military's desire to obtain a safe knockout gas after the Moscow theatre siege) and wikipedia, claim that there is no known gas capable of this, and in my opinion their arguments are more compelling than those who claim such a gas exists. If others think otherwise, fair enough. I won't be watching what I breath next time I take a train or a bus here in Thailand, but like always I will watch what I drink when I'm in a bar in Bangkok or Pattaya.

[Jimjim]

Well, DP25 it's not really relevant to the OP, but here's a link about gas robberies:

gas attack

It happened to my good friend in Spain on a train. I know it's hearsay, but I don't see why he'd lie about it. Also, I went to a private school with boys dorms. One night some guys pumped something into another guy's room to knock him out. They went in and shaved his pubic hair and made him bald down there. Everyone in the showers noticed, as their work was advertised by word-of-mouth. So, I suppose there is some sort of gas that robbers can use. But it's hard to prove, isn't it, as people who get gassed are asleep while it happens. I think people know what it's like to wake up normally and wake up after being gassed, as it certainly feels much different. I bet it probably doesn't happen too much as some like to say, but it probably happens. It all depends on the type of chemical used.

[LongThaimer]

For this reason, I would have let the police handle the case.

The Police are well aware of these robberies on VIP buses and in most of the many documented cases do absolutely nothing.

There are regular reports of thefts from personal belongings on these VIP tourist buses and the advice is do not use them! Get Government buses instead!

Getting robbed on these kinds of buses is yet another reason why Thailand will never achieve its dream of being a World Class tourism destination.

The issue of police is really a question of judgement call. The fact that the driver was totally submissive to the end was indeed a fortunate thing otherwise this ad hoc interrogation exercise could have turned into violent confrontation . Point is, people will think twice before resorting to violence with the law enforcers around, even if they happen to be incompetent Thai cops.

What is world class tourism destination???? What defines it??? Is it having pricey ski resorts, low crime rate, having top notch infrastructures.....? rather subjective point, isn't it? JAPAN is clean, virtually crime free, has got first world class facilities.....then why isn't the land of the rising sun known as the world class tourism destination???

Well.. is THAILAND one?? The answer is....YES.... for millions of working class people from around the world and for millions of minimum wagers from rich countries, Thailand is a WORLD CLASS TOURISM DESTINATION!!!!!!

[LongThaimer]

For this reason, I would have let the police handle the case.

The Police are well aware of these robberies on VIP buses and in most of the many documented cases do absolutely nothing.

There are regular reports of thefts from personal belongings on these VIP tourist buses and the advice is do not use them! Get Government buses instead!

Getting robbed on these kinds of buses is yet another reason why Thailand will never achieve its dream of being a World Class tourism destination.

[LongThaimer]

For this reason, I would have let the police handle the case.

The Police are well aware of these robberies on VIP buses and in most of the many documented cases do absolutely nothing.

There are regular reports of thefts from personal belongings on these VIP tourist buses and the advice is do not use them! Get Government buses instead!

Getting robbed on these kinds of buses is yet another reason why Thailand will never achieve its dream of being a World Class tourism destination.

The issue of police is really a question of judgement call. The fact that the driver was totally submissive to the end was indeed a fortunate thing otherwise this ad hoc interrogation exercise could have turned into violent confrontation . Point is, people will think twice before resorting to violence with the law enforcers around, even if they happen to be incompetent Thai cops.

What is world class tourism destination???? What defines it??? Is it having pricey ski resorts, low crime rate, having top notch infrastructures.....? rather subjective point, isn't it? JAPAN is clean, virtually crime free, has got first world class facilities.....then why isn't the land of the rising sun known as the world class tourism destination???

Well.. is THAILAND one?? The answer is....YES.... for millions of working class people from around the world and for millions of minimum wagers from rich countries, Thailand is a WORLD CLASS TOURISM DESTINATION!!!!!!

[Tinkelbell]

quoted............"Just up one row so that the good samaritan could park their bike behind hers.

And they left the keys for her in the little drinks-holder thing."....

................................................................

There are good samaritants everywhere.

I had experienced so many times. Some were so serious that I convinced everyone that I have an angel on my shoulder.

Reading somewhere:

The story about this gentleman, retired, lived in NYC. He enjoyed his daily walking along his neighborhood. But whenever he noticed the cars parking' meter was about to expired, he would drop a fews quarters to extend the parking time a little longer. As he said a few quarters goes a long way since the the parking ticket costs the owner of the car 25-30 times more. He has been doing his good deed for years.

Doing good deed is contagious. Pass it on !

[gburns57au]

To the OP, you shouldnt have got involved....you didnt see the money being taken, therefore you accepted the word of a total stranger. The fact that he was reluctant to report it suggests he wasnt worried about it so why should you. He went away with a big grin on his face....so would I if I just scored 6000 THB for nothing. Farangs can pull scams too.

For those who say that the driver wouldnt have 6000 THB on him...and those who say its a months wages....exactly....it may have been his payday...most Thai companies still pay wages in cash.

In your mind you know you shouldnt have got involved and now seek jusification.....why because you have doubts as to veracity of the Germans claims

[tropo]

For those who say that the driver wouldnt have 6000 THB on him...and those who say its a months wages....exactly....it may have been his payday...most Thai companies still pay wages in cash.

And you believe that a manager would take away a bus driver's wages just after he's been paid?

The OP's story makes sense. The manager knew exactly what was happening on the bus and decided to give the money back immediately to keep things quiet.

It's a fool proof scheme. If someone cries "robbed", then give it back, if no complaints, they're in the money. They'll never get caught if they do it like that because if a robbed person gets his money back he's too happy to take matters any further.

[gburns57au]

For those who say that the driver wouldnt have 6000 THB on him...and those who say its a months wages....exactly....it may have been his payday...most Thai companies still pay wages in cash.

And you believe that a manager would take away a bus driver's wages just after he's been paid?

The OP's story makes sense. The manager knew exactly what was happening on the bus and decided to give the money back immediately to keep things quiet.

It's a fool proof scheme. If someone cries "robbed", then give it back, if no complaints, they're in the money. They'll never get caught if they do it like that because if a robbed person gets his money back he's too happy to take matters any further.

Merely stating an alternative reason as to why the driver was cashed up....it also says that 6000 was confiscated....not that the driver had 6000 on him....we dont know how much was in the drivers wallet.

The German still had his wallet on him....so these Thai guys lifted his wallet...extracted 6000 baht and put the wallet back....unlikely.

[torrenova]

I never put anything valuable in the bus hold, not even an expensive bag with nothing of value in it. On night trains, I've caught the 1st class compartment with a door. I've taken the Nakhon Air VIP bus to Buriram and that seems ok but still nothing in the hold.