Scenario Emergency In Thailand

[autan]

I apologise if this "what if" post has been done before, but I thought I have to ask the question, if only to help to some poor ex pat or tourist who has landed themselves in hard time in my favourite country in the world. Thailand

The best way to approach this is by setting up the following scenario. COMPLETELY FICTIOUS

"I am British and in Thailand for 1 month. 7 days into my trip, my hotel has experienced a robbery, where my passport, flight tickets and all of my 50,000 THB has been stolen from my room safe".

The hotel denies all responsibility and won't pay out, and I am sat alone in a hotel room, wondering how I am going to get my hands on a new passport, flight tickets and cash, so my holiday to Thailand isn't spoit.

WHAT DO I DO ???

PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS FICTICIOUS BUT HAPPENS TO PEOPLE ALL THE TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU DO AND HOW WOULD YOU GET YOURSELF OUT OF THIS PROBLEM.

[autan]

Myself, I would first contact my Consulate and make arrangements for a new passport. Second I would contact the airline and get new tickets sent to my hotel and thirdly I would get a family friend to send a loan via Western Union so I have some cash.

What would you do.

[Gers1873]

1. If the hotel hasnt done so then contact police
   
2. Get a police report you may need it for the Embassy
   
3. Contact embassy / consulate re: passport -- phone numbers available in some newspapers
   Hopefully you carry a photocopy of your passport
   
4. Ask hotel if they can provide you some free internet access for research and for contacting relatives
   
5. Cancel and ATM or credit cards that were stolen. Ask credit card company to send new card 24-48 hours in emergencies
   
6. Visit your countrys website for details of lost passports, download and complete any forms needed
   
7. Get passport photos taken -- if you were able to borrow some cash
   
8. Ask if Embassy can provide you some emergency funds - you may have to provide a guarantor in your own country
   
9. Contact relatives or friends to send you cash
   
10. Ask hotel for a free beer--- you may need it.
    

[Semper]

Nothing else to do really. You said it all already, just sit around and wait for the money.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

You answered your own question. Also, why would anyone have 50,000 baht in cash.. ATMs exist, credit cards exist.. you withdraw 20,000 at a time. Losing that shouldn't mean the end of your holiday.

And flight tickets: really? That probably means you need to Time-Space-Worm-Hole Communicator and speak with the 1990's of the last century, and tell them your paper tickets need to be replaced.

Now stop worrying and go on a holiday to Thailand.

[JurgenG]

Agree with everybody, no reason to panic here. The mistake you made is to carry so much cash. I never have more than 5k with me and it's more than enough for daily current expenses.

The only reason for despair, and I've no solution for that, is in your opening sentence : "I am British". Maybe you could just pretend to be a second generation Polish immigrant ?

[IMA_FARANG]

Probably you will get a lot of replies from some hopefully not to experienced (i.e. they don't have direct personal experience with that exact scenario) from people here in Thailand.

Some points:

1. On arrival in Thailand make a photocopy of your passport, passport photo page, Thai visa and entry stamp and entry card. Carry that with you to show police if you are somehow stopped and asked for passport. Your actual passport, flight tickets, and any cash you don't need for the day go into the HOTEL safe. Not the one in your room...but the one downstairs where the reception/cashier is located. Not all hotels do this, but the 4 and 5 star hotels usually do. Ask them at check-in to find out if they do. They may charge you a fee...but once you put your stuff in their safe (get a reciept) they are legally responsible for it's safety.

2. Carry a major internationally recognised ATM/debit card in your wallet at all times. If you have "company" at night...sleep on your ATM/debit card...have it underneath your pillow. You might even leave that card in the hotel safe downstairs. That is your source of emergency funds if everything else is stolen.

3. Make that police report the first thing you do...right after you get some emergency funds with that ATM/debit card. You will need that police report for your embessy/consulate,

4. These days your flight ticket, your passport, etc are all stored in computer records. The embessy can access your passport records...but they will want a PHOTO-ID (I.D.with picture) from you to verify your idenity. So always have one in your wallet...or purse for females. The airline office for the airline you arrived on can access your flight ticket records. Here's another tip...do NOT throw away your boarding pass on arrival in Thailand....because the airline will have a record of your flight number and depature and arrival of that flight...it's on that boarding pass. From that they can access your ticket details.

5. Getting money sent to Thailnd....your embessy can help you with that. The U.S. embessy for eamaple will NOT provide you money...but they will arrange transferring money for you from your U.S, bank. They will charge you a fee for this...but in an emergency that fee is the least of your worries, isn't it. Other embessies have similar procedures.

But the biggest safety precaution you can make is this, if you are spending the night with "company" who is Thai...write down their Thai I.D. card number and name...and keep it with you. But nobody ever thinks of that at the time, do they?

[JurgenG]

But the biggest safety precaution you can make is this, if you are spending the night with "company" who is Thai...write down their Thai I.D. card number and name...and keep it with you. But nobody ever thinks of that at the time, do they?

In most hotel, the reception usually records the id of "visitors"

I've seen people making a lot of noise because the hotel reception insisted to write down the id card number of their "guest" but it's for their own safety as you rightly say.

[zzaa09]

Nothing else to do really. You said it all already, just sit around and wait for the money.

Money trees don't grow that fast.

[scorecard]

Probably you will get a lot of replies from some hopefully not to experienced (i.e. they don't have direct personal experience with that exact scenario) from people here in Thailand.

Some points:

1. On arrival in Thailand make a photocopy of your passport, passport photo page, Thai visa and entry stamp and entry card. Carry that with you to show police if you are somehow stopped and asked for passport. Your actual passport, flight tickets, and any cash you don't need for the day go into the HOTEL safe. Not the one in your room...but the one downstairs where the reception/cashier is located. Not all hotels do this, but the 4 and 5 star hotels usually do. Ask them at check-in to find out if they do. They may charge you a fee...but once you put your stuff in their safe (get a reciept) they are legally responsible for it's safety.

2. Carry a major internationally recognised ATM/debit card in your wallet at all times. If you have "company" at night...sleep on your ATM/debit card...have it underneath your pillow. You might even leave that card in the hotel safe downstairs. That is your source of emergency funds if everything else is stolen.

3. Make that police report the first thing you do...right after you get some emergency funds with that ATM/debit card. You will need that police report for your embessy/consulate,

4. These days your flight ticket, your passport, etc are all stored in computer records. The embessy can access your passport records...but they will want a PHOTO-ID (I.D.with picture) from you to verify your idenity. So always have one in your wallet...or purse for females. The airline office for the airline you arrived on can access your flight ticket records. Here's another tip...do NOT throw away your boarding pass on arrival in Thailand....because the airline will have a record of your flight number and depature and arrival of that flight...it's on that boarding pass. From that they can access your ticket details.

5. Getting money sent to Thailnd....your embessy can help you with that. The U.S. embessy for eamaple will NOT provide you money...but they will arrange transferring money for you from your U.S, bank. They will charge you a fee for this...but in an emergency that fee is the least of your worries, isn't it. Other embessies have similar procedures.

But the biggest safety precaution you can make is this, if you are spending the night with "company" who is Thai...write down their Thai I.D. card number and name...and keep it with you. But nobody ever thinks of that at the time, do they?

I emphasise one point - use the hotel safe box located at reception.

Hotel rooms are not secure in pretty much every country in the world, regardless of whether the hotel uses electronic passcards or not.

[metisdead]

A nonsense post advocating suicide has been removed.

[dean999]

It's the 21st centry. The only thing you should have a problem with is lossing your passport. Unless your still living your life in the 90's.

Lost passport - Police report, go to the embassy and they can issue a temp travel document (not sure what it's called). Because a passport will take ages, due to it coming from outside Thailand.

If your stupid enough to put all your eggs in one basket, then you deserve everything you get. Always prepare for the worst.

[theblether]

I back up my passport and banking details online, and three of my family members also have copies of them. The one thing I always do is make sure that my travel companions have a paper copy of my passport and insurance details + emergency phone number ( three of again ) just in case I get hurt. i also leave a copy of my insurance details and emergency phone number at the hotel reception.

i havent printed an airline ticket for about ten years, all you need is the booking number, again easily backed up online or accessible if you sign up as a member with the airline you travel with.

Western Union is also a point of last resort but if you have lost all your photographic ID then you may have a problem obtaining the cash, most decent hotels take a photocopy of your passport on check-in though so that problem should be solved.

I take an attitude that if I am compos mentis I can handle problems like this easy, however if I am knocked out of action through illness or accident then I need to ensure that my back up is in place.

[autan]

Probably you will get a lot of replies from some hopefully not to experienced (i.e. they don't have direct personal experience with that exact scenario) from people here in Thailand.

Some points:

1. On arrival in Thailand make a photocopy of your passport, passport photo page, Thai visa and entry stamp and entry card. Carry that with you to show police if you are somehow stopped and asked for passport. Your actual passport, flight tickets, and any cash you don't need for the day go into the HOTEL safe. Not the one in your room...but the one downstairs where the reception/cashier is located. Not all hotels do this, but the 4 and 5 star hotels usually do. Ask them at check-in to find out if they do. They may charge you a fee...but once you put your stuff in their safe (get a reciept) they are legally responsible for it's safety.

2. Carry a major internationally recognised ATM/debit card in your wallet at all times. If you have "company" at night...sleep on your ATM/debit card...have it underneath your pillow. You might even leave that card in the hotel safe downstairs. That is your source of emergency funds if everything else is stolen.

3. Make that police report the first thing you do...right after you get some emergency funds with that ATM/debit card. You will need that police report for your embessy/consulate,

4. These days your flight ticket, your passport, etc are all stored in computer records. The embessy can access your passport records...but they will want a PHOTO-ID (I.D.with picture) from you to verify your idenity. So always have one in your wallet...or purse for females. The airline office for the airline you arrived on can access your flight ticket records. Here's another tip...do NOT throw away your boarding pass on arrival in Thailand....because the airline will have a record of your flight number and depature and arrival of that flight...it's on that boarding pass. From that they can access your ticket details.

5. Getting money sent to Thailnd....your embessy can help you with that. The U.S. embessy for eamaple will NOT provide you money...but they will arrange transferring money for you from your U.S, bank. They will charge you a fee for this...but in an emergency that fee is the least of your worries, isn't it. Other embessies have similar procedures.

But the biggest safety precaution you can make is this, if you are spending the night with "company" who is Thai...write down their Thai I.D. card number and name...and keep it with you. But nobody ever thinks of that at the time, do they?

MODS PLEASE PIN THIS.

IT IS THE MOST USEFUL ANSWER I COULD HAVE IMAGINED AND COULD GENUINELY HELP SOMEONE.

Excellent Post. Many Thanks.

[autan]

But the biggest safety precaution you can make is this, if you are spending the night with "company" who is Thai...write down their Thai I.D. card number and name...and keep it with you. But nobody ever thinks of that at the time, do they?

In most hotel, the reception usually records the id of "visitors"

I've seen people making a lot of noise because the hotel reception insisted to write down the id card number of their "guest" but it's for their own safety as you rightly say.

I have seen this too and have had also seen the hotel charge a fee for having company in your room.

[Naam]

Myself, I would first contact my Consulate and make arrangements for a new passport. Second I would contact the airline and get new tickets sent to my hotel and thirdly I would get a family friend to send a loan via Western Union so I have some cash.

What would you do.

tickets to be replaced have ceased to exist since more than two years, no need to contact the airline. those who burglared your hotel safe did not steal something from the airline computer.

Western Union works only if you have an I.D.

correct first move is: contact your embassy and have a replacement I.D. issued as soon as possible.

[autan]

There are some slight revisions to my post thanks to the contributors.

1) I said flight tickets, when I meant boarding cards. As one of the replys stated airlines store all details of flights as an eticket. I did make a call to Qatar Airways to see what the procedure would be if one lost their boarding card. A fee maybe payable for a replacement, but your not talking a lot of money. Negotiate they might be sympathetic.

2) The British Embassy in Bangkok no longer issues replacement passport. These are now processed by the Regional Passport Processing Centre in Hongkong. Further details

3) You need valid photo ID in order to collect funds from Western Union. However if you take travellers cheques and they are lost or stolen, these can be provided usually to your hotel within 24 hours. I spoke to American Express this morning and they said if you buy their brand and write down each cheque number, then you can ring their number and get all of the cheques cancelled and in addition, they can instruct you to visit their local partners (there are 833 in Patayya alone), who can give you replacement travellers cheques then and there are give you the face value of the cheques in cash. (well worth thinking about).

[Crossy]

There is some useful information in Autan's other thread http://www.thaivisa....rt-in-thailand/ which I have closed, let's keep discussions in one place