Hire Place Holding Passport

[Steiner]

How does he know it was a scam by the rental guys and not just a theft?! If theft then usually the renter is liable and should cough up...

He enlisted the help of a local farang and his Thai wife to go to the BIB about it. Apparently when the hire shop owners name was mentioned the cop said in Thai the equivalent of "not him again" and gave stern orders to a subordinate to ensure the shop owner showed up the next day.

That would indicate he does it often but 2 days later the BIB cooled (probably helped by tea money from the rental guy)

Also there were 2 Thais sitting outside the restaurant he went into when the bike was 'collected' and they were still there in the same chairs 10 minutes later when he returned. Of course they saw nothing.

When the guy asked where his scooter was they pointed at an old scrapper laughing

So;

Option #1 they missed 2 guys lift the bike onto a pickup and drive off.

Option #2 they missed someone calmly roll up in daylight and break the lock with a screwdriver and drive off.

Option #3 they knew the guy who arrived with the key and drove off on it and are not prepared to say anything.

.

I know which option I am going with...

<deleted> it was in Ao Nang, par for the course there!

[WilliaminBKK]

Anyone who doesn't travel with a birth certificate and other original ID sufficient to satisfy their country's requirements for getting a new passport is IMO as stupid as those handing their passport over to strangers. I've been doing this since I was twelve and never imagined not everyone does.

And of course don't keep them in the same places as your passport.

I never have traveled on holiday with original ID doco other than passport & drivers license nor do any of my friends.

. . .

Other country embassies may of course have a faster turnaround time.

All an American needs is an original birth certificate and one government-issued photo ID, and in an emergency (like showing an ongoing ticket out) an embassy can turn it around in hours - 24 hours is not unusual.

This was as true back in the days before high-speed international computer networks as post 9/11.

But I must admit I haven't had to actually test the system for over six years, with budget cuts it may be slower these days.

I certainly do not have my Birth Certificate with me, it is the long UK one, never needed to get a new passport. I doubt if many people actually have their Birth Certificates here.

I don't have mine either, although for my emergency passport in Manila they did ask me if I had a copy or the original, after I said no it is in my flat they simply said okay. The one odd question I recall was they asked me the last time I entered the UK, carrier, flight number, I had no idea as I travel often and couldn't give an exact date.

In terms of carrying back up supporting documents the only thing I've learnt over the years is to carry an extra set of pictures, it was dam_n near impossible to find the proper size.