20 Sleeping Tourists Robbed

[Tango7]

On a trip to Canada a few years ago I had the misfortune of having to stop off in L.A where I witnessed the baggage handlers literally slamming luggage as hard as they could off the conveyor belt and onto the floor. Not sure they realised anyone was watching or not but these guys must have been doing their utmost to break anything and everything inside each case.

Now I know the post is about robbery and losing all your stuff, but this behaviour is just as bad and in a developed country.

Imagine opening your suitcase ( hard case or not ) and finding tiny fragments of what was your iPod, camera, laptop etc. Just as bad as being robbed.

Those guys really should have been arrested for criminal damage.

[easyride]

Happened to me years ago from BKK to Chaing Mai,

only farang on the bus and I could hardly get on the bus and cuddle my case for 12 hours.

They gave EVERYBODY coke & snack (I ate mine). I woke to find the bus at the side of the road

thinking maybe a blown tyre and only when I got to my hotel did I know I'd been robbed.

Clever bugge.s even got my wallet which I was sitting on and left a few notes in it to confuse me.

You just ain't at your most astute after a journey like that. Police couldn't give a dam_n though.

[easyride]

For years now on other websites (particularly the backpacker oriented ones, if not this one) people have reported thefts on private buses.

Why on earth anyone seems to think it is necessary to book a "package" on Khao Saan Road of all places is beyond me.

Feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but I have never heard of this sort of thing happening on the scheduled Govt run transport system.

So to all those who are new to this country; Thailand is still very safe and relatively crime free but you increase the risk by dealing with some of the "agents" who prey on vulnerable tourists.

Travel on scheduled Thai transport like Thais and I am sure you will have no problems.

I fully understand what you are saying, But, how does your average innocent tourist to this lovely country know which company is good and which is bad?

Maybe a star rating system? 5 Star = little chance of being robbed - 1 Star hand over your belongings upon entry to the bus?

FF

And how much would these stars cost? TIT

[wineaux]

Im just waiting for all the thai defenders coming over the hill shouting " oh this can happen in the USA UK etc blah blah blah !

oh this can happen in the usa uk etc blah blah blah!

c u next tuesday

[Chung noi]

After reading all these stories, I will never ride a bootleg bus again. Nor one I have to help push start .

Thank you

*j*

[Johpa]

Yes, I remember at about that same time, around 1983, I took a bus from Chiang Mai down to Bangkok and awoke at the Mor Chit Station with a headache, 20 baat in my pocket, and no passport. The scam had been going on for months and the bad guys, who were based out of the Montri hotel in Chiang Mai, were in cahoots with employees of the bus company who made sure they were seated next to the targets. It took about a year before the police in Chiang Mai finally busted the gang despite a long list of complaints to the TAT over the previous two years.

Now you want real travel adventure, try arriving on a bus in Bangkok with only 20 baat and no passport.

Please continue this story......

Well the details should probably wait until a future trip through Fang (is Mr. Sing still alive?) but the important details include having a few copies of your passport, including visa stamps, scattered amongst your possessions and presenting yourself as being very polite and humble when approaching the Thai immigration officers. One also needs to immediately visit the nearest police department to obtain a police report as the first order of business. I was beholden to some monks at a small temple that allowed me to sleep there the first night and I shall always be indebted to the angel who worked at the American Express office on the 4th floor of Siam SaQuare who stayed past closing to wait for approval of the issuance of a new card. I would imagine that with the advent of the Internet the resolution of such trials and tribulations are now a bit simpler although with the increased security concerns I would also imagine that the issuance of a new passport would take quite a bit longer.

[WujouMao]

lol, we maybe next time the tourists should make their way to the bus station like every normal person did. they only have themselves to blame. just being lazy and taking the 'easy option' of 'khao san services'

[carlthailand]

Wow!!!

My wife (Thai) and I have come back here for a well deserved holiday. 3 years in the making.

The amount of things we have come across, this being the last has amazed not just me but my wife. She is amazed of the changes that have happened over the last 3 years. She is now in no hurry to come back again as its not the same.

I agree in some ways but all countries have gone through changes over time but she worked in the tourism industry before and is upset on how things like this will turn tourists away.

On the other hand we actually came back here for well priced dental work.

Also she got to see very close hand the daughter of the crown prince and she was over the moon. Some good things thank god.

Thailand will always be home for her just lots of sad news today. Including the delay today on the BTS due to some bombing which I am yet to read about.

CC

[LaoPo]

stories like this disgust me.

I agree Donna !

But...most people on here don't know that this was VERY common practice in the old days when tourists in buses from Bangkok>Phuket and vv were robbed over and over again; sometimes 2 or 3 times a week.

I know of a robbery whereby a bus with Japanese tourists was robbed 2 times within 1 hour !

The bus was stopped at a remote part of the road and driven into the bushes; ALL passengers had to give away all of their belongings, cash, jewelry and even their suitcases.

The bus driver managed to hit the road again with flat tires (shot) and the passengers were robbed again -of what was left- by another gang within the following 10 minutes.

It was weekly news back then.

TIT

LaoPo

[shielded220011]

Im just waiting for all the thai defenders coming over the hill shouting " oh this can happen in the USA UK etc blah blah blah !

I hear that!!! only in Thailand where nothing is done to stop people like this.

Hey common farang what would you like us to do, arrest our own?

Sorry you are a guest so deal with it.

[shielded220011]

lol, we maybe next time the tourists should make their way to the bus station like every normal person did. they only have themselves to blame. just being lazy and taking the 'easy option' of 'khao san services'

Wow, I thought being on holiday and finding convenient means of transport,

plus being lazy was part of the holiday.

I'll make sure to take a normal persons advice like yourself, the next time I travel.

Thanks for the heads up!!! Can blame those guys for stealing dam_n!!!

[Sabum]

Im just waiting for all the thai defenders coming over the hill shouting " oh this can happen in the USA UK etc blah blah blah !

In Canada they just take your head and not your luggage......

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...y/National/home

I would prefer to have some of my valuables missing to be honest.....

Either you're being funny or you are seriously trying to infer that this kind of thing is common in Canada and therefore much worse than Thailand? This is one of those seriously rare and freaky occurances you usually only see in movies. And what the press didn't release was that the psycho killer was in fact a Chinese immigrant who was not a citizen of Canada.

[balo]

Never had any problems with the buses , always take the express aircon bus BKK - CM , its official, great service and no problem with the luggage. Most of the passengers are Thais. I feel very safe.

Just stay away from the "special deals" from travel agents and you'll be safe.

[brahmburgers]

Happened to me years ago from BKK to Chaing Mai,

only farang on the bus and I could hardly get on the bus and cuddle my case for 12 hours.

They gave EVERYBODY coke & snack (I ate mine). I woke to find the bus at the side of the road

thinking maybe a blown tyre and only when I got to my hotel did I know I'd been robbed.

Clever bugge.s even got my wallet which I was sitting on and left a few notes in it to confuse me.

You just ain't at your most astute after a journey like that. Police couldn't give a dam_n though.

i related a story which was very much like this - as told to me by a friend to whom it had happened to. Some die-hard ThaiVisa doubters said it was complete drivel. As usual, they were wrong.

[Rico3000]

Thailand has one of the world's highest per-capita murder rates – when the UN last counted it in 2000, it stood at 5,140 per year, though the annual total is now speculated to be more than 6,000.

In the years 2003 to 2006, 17 of these victims were UK nationals, according to the FCO. These murders include a sexually motivated killing of a young British woman; a Thai police officer executing two backpackers in a crowded street; shootings, throat cuttings and two cases of other Westerners murdering UK nationals; and, more pertinently, several cases of Thai wives or their family members slaying British husbands. On average, about 50 civilian UK nationals are murdered around the world each year (excluding terrorist attacks).

This means that almost 10 per cent of all murders of Britons abroad are committed in Thailand – a chilling figure, given that Thailand comprises only 0.6 per cent of all foreign travel from UK shores.

For those who are numerically challenged that means you are 20 times more likely to get murdered on a visit to Thailand than to the rest of the world altogether.

[Kf6vci]

Let's hear about the Police getting the names of the staff and tracking htem down. Surely, the bus company must know who was on that bus?! Cops not following this lead would be a scandal.

[dingdongrb]

Im just waiting for all the thai defenders coming over the hill shouting " oh this can happen in the USA UK etc blah blah blah !

In Canada they just take your head and not your luggage......

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...y/National/home

I would prefer to have some of my valuables missing to be honest.....

Either you're being funny or you are seriously trying to infer that this kind of thing is common in Canada and therefore much worse than Thailand? This is one of those seriously rare and freaky occurances you usually only see in movies. And what the press didn't release was that the psycho killer was in fact a Chinese immigrant who was not a citizen of Canada.

You tell me, what is worse losing your head or your luggage? I know what I would prefer.... What difference does it make that it was a Chinese madman, it did happen in Canada.... Is that like saying that if it was Burmese that stole the luggage on the bus then no big deal?

Now I am wondering how common is the robbing of an entire bus load here in LOS.... I have ridden the bus well over 20 times in the past two years and didn't encounter a problem except for sometimes a crazy driver....

[BlackArtemis]

Don't feel like re-quoting everyone whose panties I put in a bunch. So here goes.

A laptop is the same as cash, would you leave your wallet with $1000 lying in an area where you can't see it?

You are a fool to leave valuables in areas like this, and YES for the 3 years that I lived there, every vacation I would have family hold expensive items at their houses and if went out I would bring the valuables with me. Like the Hotels say, they are not responsible for your belongings, you are, even if the hotel staff steal em.

And yes you should think like a criminal and think ahead, that is call street smarts.

example:

A women is riding her motor scooter

example A: She is holding her purse on her side

example B: she has it in her lap (still has the strap on)

which one is more likely to be victim on a grab?

[louielou]

so they got away with half?

how did not one person wake?

This is a good question. I was typing away at an internet cafe in Chiang Mai in 2003. Suddenly a really foul-mouthed American packpacker sticks his head in the door and starts venting. The ranting story he told was pretty much EXACTLY the same as this posting. The bus was traveling from Khao San to Chiang Mai--full of people. He was convinced that they had to have pumped in some sort of sleeping gas. Are there any Anethesiaologists on this board? How hard/risky would it be to pump in sleeping gas--or maybe it was just plain old Carbon Monoxide pumped in from the exhust manifold??

[BlackArtemis]

Like I said before, they drug ya. Had some friends accept the free coke, I didn't drink it, they passed out like a rock, but I didn't.

Edited November 26, 2008 by BlackArtemis

[Sabum]

Im just waiting for all the thai defenders coming over the hill shouting " oh this can happen in the USA UK etc blah blah blah !

In Canada they just take your head and not your luggage......

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...y/National/home

I would prefer to have some of my valuables missing to be honest.....

Either you're being funny or you are seriously trying to infer that this kind of thing is common in Canada and therefore much worse than Thailand? This is one of those seriously rare and freaky occurances you usually only see in movies. And what the press didn't release was that the psycho killer was in fact a Chinese immigrant who was not a citizen of Canada.

You tell me, what is worse losing your head or your luggage? I know what I would prefer.... What difference does it make that it was a Chinese madman, it did happen in Canada.... Is that like saying that if it was Burmese that stole the luggage on the bus then no big deal?

Now I am wondering how common is the robbing of an entire bus load here in LOS.... I have ridden the bus well over 20 times in the past two years and didn't encounter a problem except for sometimes a crazy driver....

Uhm.. READ THE THREAD for many stories of this happening over and over in Thailand for years. Are you being silly? That beheading in Canada was a freak rare occurance, you are still trying to make it sound like people are beheaded in Canada all the time and nobody gets robbed in Thailand ALL THE TIME, what are you defending here? Unbelievable...

[tartempion]

Tourists get the tour operators they deserve

Just returned from a Vietnam trip.

I booked excursions to Sapa and Halong bay directly through the hotel reception.

Don't ask me the name of the tour operator, I would not bother to know.

So you say I got the tour operator I deserved.

Now tell me, how you would have done it, then your post on this board might be useful to someone.

And nothing went wrong during these excursions

[mclaus]

Without reading all the replies:

Sometimes they slip drugs into those free cokes.

Also, if you put your laptop, game, wallet, etc under the bus or ANYWHERE where you can't feel it being taken from you, well then you deserve what happens to you. Travel safe and use common sense.

I have to say while yes you have to look after your stuff. I strongly disagree that these people deserve what happened to them. If you can't travel around Thailand using a tour company safely that says alot about Thailand and its tourism. You would think with the situation with tourism in Thailand just now, that the authorties would come down hard on situations to show that it is a good country to visit!

[BlackArtemis]

Without reading all the replies:

Sometimes they slip drugs into those free cokes.

Also, if you put your laptop, game, wallet, etc under the bus or ANYWHERE where you can't feel it being taken from you, well then you deserve what happens to you. Travel safe and use common sense.

I have to say while yes you have to look after your stuff. I strongly disagree that these people deserve what happened to them. If you can't travel around Thailand using a tour company safely that says alot about Thailand and its tourism. You would think with the situation with tourism in Thailand just now, that the authorties would come down hard on situations to show that it is a good country to visit!

If they don't stop their airports from being shut down by protestors, what makes you think they care about an age old scam like this?

[insideleft]

Im just waiting for all the thai defenders coming over the hill shouting " oh this can happen in the USA UK etc blah blah blah !

I'll save you the wait. Yes it could happen anywhere else.

but it's about a million times more likely to happen on a tourist bus from Bangkok to Suratthani than on a tourist bus from Bristol to Penzance.

Gee, your conclusion seems to be in the same genre as "the middle of nowhere". It does appear (sic) to be an illusory form of calculation - are you an Illusionary?.

It goes without saying that the expression 'a million times more likely to happen than...' is not to be taken literally. Illusionary is an Adjective. One cannot be an 'Illusionary'.

Well, one may not be able to be an illusionary within English grammar, but what if the Illusionary had poor English grammatical knowledge, like me? Of if they were using Cyrillic, Australian Aboriginal or Summarian grammar rules?

I understand statements like ' a million times more likely...' to be arguments based upon fallacies, the intention of such an argument is to inflame the emotions of the reader/audience, not to inform them of factual data to enable them to react reasonably.

Why can't one be an adjective exactly, isn't an adjective a noun or sorts, and aren't nouns used to identify people...wouldn't I be a 'Genghis' if I were named Genghis?

missionary, apothecary, illusionary, reactionary, revolutionary...???

If one who produces apoths is an apothecary, why isn't one who produces illusions an illusionary?

Edited November 26, 2008 by insideleft

[mi5t3r]

ok everyone here it is straight from the horses mouth. i was a passenger on the bus. i had 23000 baht stolen in pssetions from my bag. heres the real story. the bus was designed with a trap door to the luggage room. they didnt drug us but they were professional pick pockets. they could reach up through the floor and steal from carry on bags under our seats. one of us realised that they had been pick pocketed when they went to get there phone from their carry on and found there wallet gone. i and another fellow got up and threatened to smash the driver unconsious if he didnt stop the bus. at that point one or the 4 bus drivers bailed out a side secret door and quickly jumped in a taxi with all the loot. the other 3 ran as fast as they could through oncomming traffic. i chased them with one of the other passengers barefoot we caught one and the other two went and hid in the jungle across the road we split up and searched for them but couldnt find them. the one we did catch we strip searched in the middle of the street but he was clean. so we took he took his pic and i admit stupidly let him go. we called the police who were completely inept. but found someone who could kinda drive the bus. to the police station. where we spent 12 hours giving our statements over and over to the inept probably corrupt police man. when i got too fed up i called my embassy and the tourist police. i got my embassy on the line and told the cop to talk to them in thai. he ran from me downstairs and hid in a room to talk to his superior. so i busted in the door and forced the phone on him. not long after tv crews came and suddenly things started to happen. all of a sudden the managers daughter was on her way with bribe and payoff money. she told us she only had half we told her look we have your bus if u want your vip bus u have to pay us all we didnt ask for any more than what was taken. and that is what we got!!!!!!!!!!!!

all u people who talk smak about us if i ever met u i would straighten u out real fast. we did the best we could it happened real fast. and there was alot of confusion. at that point we only knew one of us had been stolen from. it wasnt until later we realised everyones bag had been rifeled through. admitidly 150000 baht isnt alot of cash from 25 people but only one guy ran with the loot how much can he carry. with a series of events that happened in minutes he took what he could when he realized he was caught in the act and ran as quick as he could. or i would have personally made it so he would never run again.

[ianh68]

ok everyone here it is straight from the horses mouth. .... all of a sudden the managers daughter was on her way with bribe and payoff money. she told us she only had half we told her look we have your bus if u want your vip bus u have to pay us all we didnt ask for any more than what was taken. and that is what we got!!!!!!!!!!!!

Was this a VIP bus, i.e. top of the range/most expensive option? And even this wasn't safe??? Seems necessary to only book through approved travel agents. But were these Kao San agents approved? If they were then it's even scarier.

[tso310]

Mi5t3r, thanks for putting the record straight and you and your fellow passengers have my sympathies. I doubt if anyone will be caught or who planned/carried out this crime will ever be known.

[mi5t3r]

Mi5t3r, thanks for putting the record straight and you and your fellow passengers have my sympathies. I doubt if anyone will be caught or who planned/carried out this crime will ever be known.

we didnt book the bus in khao san we booked it in changmai at a tourist authority of thailand . the vip busses are tourist busses yes their kinda fancy doubledeckers but the local bus is more expensive (dont ask y they just are at least in changmai we asked several places the price of a local bus because we prefer them) and u have to get yourself to the bus station. from now on im takin the train whenever possible. and never get on a bus where your bag goes in a room inside the bus. they should have to load and unload it from outside and even then its only a lil safer. the crime is knowen tho thais were stopping me in the street telling me they saw me on tv and read and saw my pic in the news. its a frequent and knowen about thing that happens in thailand just most passengers dont realise until its too late we busted them in the act and then we exposed dirty cops so we made a big f---n stink.

[Mi5ez]

Hello , i was also on this "Bus adventure"

First of all i want to say that this in not my first time traveling in southeast asia or backpacking in general i an not some naieve chic on a vacation .

2 yrs ago i was in southeast asia for 2 years.... some points:

1. KAO SAN IS A BUBBLE , NOT A SAFTEY NET OR THE PLACE YOU CAN TRUST OR DEPEND ON .. LEAVE THE BUBBLE ...

2.THE ANNOYING FACT IS THAT SOMETIMEZ WHEN HEADING TO MAIN DESTINATIONS THESE VIP BLAH BLAH ORGANIZED BUSES ARE THE CHEAPER OPTION ... EVEN CHEAPER THAN THE LOCAL,BUS TRAIN OR GOVERNMENT OPTION... CHEAPER BY A LOT .... BECAUSE THEY ARE MOST LIKEY GOING TO BE FULL... OR AT LEAST MEET THEIR QUOTA

3. THEY ARE SO TARGETD AT FRESH OFF THE PLANE NAIEVE TOURISTS THAT THEY WONT EEVN ALLOW AN THAI PERSON ABOARD.( THIS IS WRONG)

4. TRUE I WAS SPENT 2 YEARS AND SOMETIMES BUSES WE AWSOME AND HAD THAI PPL AND GRAT SEATS AND AWSOME STAF BUT I'D SAY ITS 60-40..

I'M NOT SAYING ONE WAY IS THE WAY ... JUST LAYING OUT THE FACTS..

*** 6 TIMES I HAVE HAD THE SAME SITTUATION HAPPEN ON THAI TOURIST BUSSES .. THE HAPPY COLORFUL ONES.... EVERY TIME THE SAME SITTUATION ANS SAME ORDER OF EVENTS....( YES I SHOULD OF TRUSTED MY INSTINCT AND NEVER TOOKA BUS AGAIN .. BUT AS I SAID ITS 60-40 SOMETIMES THEY ARE A-OK SO I WAS OPEN MINDED (2 YRS LATER)

FIRST THE PLAYY 1 MOVIE THE TURN OFF THE LIGHTS AND STOP ONCE FOR GAS AND THEN AGAIN LATE AT NIGHT FOR FOOD STOP.....

PEOPLE DONT JUST THROW THEIR BAGS ON THE FLOOR AND HANG THEIR MONEY BELTS OUT ... ONE TIME I WAS DRUGGED ANOTHER TIME DUMPED AT A RESTAURANT AND THE BUS ....

A FEW HOURS AFTER THE FOOD STOP SOMEONE SCREAMS AND SAYS TURN ON THE LIGHTS I JUST STEPED N A MAN CRAWLING ON THE FLOOR... THE DRIVER SAY NO PPL SLEEP YADDA YADDA FIGHTING YELLING ARGUING ETC....

_______ BUT THIS TIME THE STAFF ABANDONED THE BUS... 25 tourist standing on the side of the highway i was amazed at how unhelpful passing cars were.. i asked the taxis to please call the poice and they drove away .... a nice thai lady on our bus kindly went to the poice station and returned with police.. they counted how many ppl on the bus the took pictures of the license plate.. and thats is didn even go aboard past the first row..they couldnt drive the buss soo they asked some local guy ( one i pointed out as a witness) to drive the bus to the station.....

tourists went upstairs and no one even thought to investigate the bus.. i felt as if the poice were children playing police..... some girls and i searched the bus ourselves ..opened the engine took the keys and took photos..... ..

my point and real frustration is the game the police played .. just wasted time writing a report then frogetting to save it then sending for a different translator then asking for our stories again.. just circles..... and giggles...... 9 hours of back and forth info ( ya right the man in trouble - owner of company is gonna bring himeself to the police station.... he should be escorted or brought in ... then they want to send us to his office without a police escourt .... ya right .. we were calm ish .. just wanted progress and a ride to bangkok our destination....

we didn't ask for a refund for our ticket .. we simply asked for reports to be written for insurance purposes and evidence and they just played games with us.... the phone calls to the embassy and the tourist police 9 hours later was what made real action start to happen..... not sure who notified them exactly .. but .. overall i thought the police system was absurd..... getting money back was more than i expected... the game played was absolutely insane and frustrating .....

also ... the article was wrong no computers were stolen and the 3 nationalities were Israeli,canada and france...

when the media and tourist police arrived they were amazing and came with us to see the bus .. then all of a sudden off duty police show up with those criminal head-shots of 3 out of the 4 men from the bus.... thats what i call a investigation .... all was solved with in the last 2 hours... so simple .. they had the resources just not the drive..

THANK YOU MEDIA THANK YOU TOURIST POLICE THANK YOU THAI WOMAN

I AM NOT EXPECTING EVERY COUNTRIES POLICE FOURCE ETC... TO BE THE SAME AS IN MY COUNTRY.... BUT THIS WAS OBSURB AND PURELY SILLY LIKE CHILDS PLAY.... i still love thailand .. i know its highs and lows and i am currently stuck hours later at the airport due to the protests.....

-the cash portion of our possessions were on our body under our blanket .. and ppls id cards were all switched arround and in completely different ppls wallets .. seriously <deleted>....

NOW I NEED SLEEP.... excuse the typos.....PEACE OUT THNX FOR HEARING MY STORY

OH ONE MORE MAJOR POINT ... EVERY BUS(THIS IS 100%) in which the bags are stored inside the bus have this trap door connection to the drivers bed area..... just know that.. from now on i will only take a bus where i have my bag or its stored in the hatch on the outside of the bus...