Land of Smiles (LOS) or (LOS) Land of Scams

[berybert]

Sometimes a scam can be funny. I went into a 7-11 and bought some food and a drink. It came to the pricely sum of 44 baht. I gave the girl a 50 baht note.

She asked me if I had 4 baht in change which I didn't. So she just added 6 baht to my bill.

I asked her what was going on. She just spoke in Thai and pointed to the bill that showed a 6 baht item that I didn't have and said see 50 baht.

[Bangkokhatter]

Sometimes a scam can be funny. I went into a 7-11 and bought some food and a drink. It came to the pricely sum of 44 baht. I gave the girl a 50 baht note.

She asked me if I had 4 baht in change which I didn't. So she just added 6 baht to my bill.

I asked her what was going on. She just spoke in Thai and pointed to the bill that showed a 6 baht item that I didn't have and said see 50 baht.

Maybe its just me but i fail to see anything funny in that.

[how241]

When people arrive in Thailand, they dump their common sense at immigration.

+1...also many never had any.

[mettech]

Most of us have to be realistic we are not young any more and we are looking for the good cheap way of living. Thailand has good weather and nice ladies of course for a bit of excitement it is a fact that these young woman are looking for money and money only.

[pattayadude]

Just 'reporting' a small 'scam':

Yesterday night having dinner in a certain restaurant & XXXX Bar (the one with Pattaya bay view, on top of the water... to avoid defaming I can't mention the name 5555).

When serving the food, the waitress accidentally hit the (still 100% full) glass of orange juice (70 baht) of my teerak... all the content spilled over the table.

The waitress cleaned the table, brought a new glass of juice... + ADDED another 70 baht to the bill !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I called the manager: she and 3 other waitresses started debating, then they changed the bill to the correct amount... without saying any excuse.

Well, the waitress just tried (maybe the 70 baht was going to be withheld from her salary ???)

it's the management that sucks for trying to stick you another 70b and not the waitress..But the waitress sucks for not apologizing..And they all suck for their bad attitude in general.so what do you do?Bad attitude towards the foreigners is everywhere in most Thai cities.They are there ONLY to make money and they probably hate the fact that they are serving foreigners(invaders).Anyways hope you made it to some girly bars later on and had enough beer to forget it all.In my case, that bad attitude made me move to the Philippines after 4 yrs in Pattaya

and man! what a difference!

[mok199]

as in many countrys tourists are treated like ''targets'',never give more than you can afford to lose....sawadee(no)crap

Edited March 1, 2015 by mok199

[Tassie Norm]

There are fools in every county, there are misguided individuals in every country, there are those who can be tricked in any society, I have found Thailand to be short on all those specified earlier, but then that could be just down to those I frequent, just like my home country.

You can't fool someone who isn't an idiot, an idiot in Thailand is still an idiot in his home country, don't blame the tool, blame the idiot.

Well...following your immoral logic....a woman raped....she must have asked for it then ?

Uggh! Where's the nexus?

[Rancid]

Part of what makes Thailand attractive to many is its "lawlessness". This has many benefits but also some drawbacks.

For some it is the land of smiles and others scams. As Barnum said "there is a sucker born every minute". As such the old axiom "let the buyer beware" applies. Both of these sayings came from the West.

When I was home recently there were constant reports of conmen scamming, especially of the elderly.

If you choose to live in a semi-anarchist state then you need learn to be aware.

[Tassie Norm]

Hmm you really brought em out of the woodwork on this topic. This type of topic only stirs up a hornets nest of keyboard warriors just itching to cut you down to size. Take their advice they are all experts who have no doubt been done the dirty at one time or another. Its a right of passage here.

Your caricature is appropriate old boy. Gross (in at least two dictionary definitions) generalization.

[Jungle Jim]

That is their biggest problem zero if any common sense. The majority of tourists and expats are their own worst enemies . The expats bitch and moan about their bar girl girlfriend /wife. Never bothered to learn a word in Thai. No good normal Thai woman would ever think of taking them home to mom and dad. Who wants a drunk for a boyfriend. As far as tourists non stop problems. dining where all the foreigners go, sleeping where all the foreigners go, using the hotels travel services which 90% of the time are overpriced , too dumb to figure out how to travel on their own. The expats are totally at the mercy of the bar girl/hooker to assist them in everything. The list is endless. Sorry no sympathy for anyone them and they deserve everything they get.

When people arrive in Thailand, they dump their common sense at immigration.

+1...also many never had any.

[ronthai]

LOS has 2 meanings:

1. For the tourist area's - Love Or Sex

2. The real Thailand - Land Of Smiles

[Jungle Jim]

Agree with you with the foreigners that have it in their head that a young girl they met in a bar is really their girlfriend. Keep drinking enough and you will see anything you wish. The foreigners are at the total mercy of the hooker and just too dumb and or lazy to learn a word of Thai. Had one tell me that sign language is good enough. Another "They Need To Learn English". You can tell from their battered looks their brains are soaked in alcohol and the bar girl wants to keep it that way. Ever notice that if you speak Thai how the bar girl wants to get you away from the foreigner as fast as possible ? What is the saying in Thai ? Understand much no good.

It`s like this.

I can understand naive tourists and gullible newbies falling for scams from lack of experience, but there are no excuses for those who have lived here or travelled here frequently over a number of years.

The older guys who believe that women young enough to be their daughters or granddaughters will find them desirable for their looks, personalities and charm, those that become involved in dodgy business ventures or can`t be bothered to learn even the most basics of Thai language that need their wives or girlfriends to do all the negotiating while they stand there like a spare one at a wedding not having a clue what`s going on, the one`s that invest or part with vast amounts of money purely on trust, the fools that consider their bargirl lover is different from all the rest and the long and suffering who will ply resources into a relationship even though their partners treat them like crap but refuse to see the reality.

Thailand is no different from our home countries or anywhere else, no matter where we live there is always going to be someone, people or companies scheming to part us from our money because money is the only thing we have that everyone wants.

Being scammed depends on how gullible you are or trying to live the dream denying the reality.

So the answer to the OP is; Thailand is the land of smiles for some and a fools paradise for others.

Edited March 1, 2015 by Jungle Jim

[pattayadude]

Sometimes a scam can be funny. I went into a 7-11 and bought some food and a drink. It came to the pricely sum of 44 baht. I gave the girl a 50 baht note.

She asked me if I had 4 baht in change which I didn't. So she just added 6 baht to my bill.

I asked her what was going on. She just spoke in Thai and pointed to the bill that showed a 6 baht item that I didn't have and said see 50 baht.

Maybe its just me but i fail to see anything funny in that.

In Turkey something similar happened to me but the difference was I got a chewing gum instead of 6baht equivalent change back(he handed me a gum from a box of gums)..btw she wanted 4 so she can give u 10b coin back but u didnt have.So for you it was ok to lose 6 but not ok for 7/11 to lose the same? Now that's funny!

[mrtoad]

Agree with you with the foreigners that have it in their head that a young girl they met in a bar is really their girlfriend. Keep drinking enough and you will see anything you wish. The foreigners are at the total mercy of the hooker and just too dumb and or lazy to learn a word of Thai. Had one tell me that sign language is good enough. Another "They Need To Learn English". You can tell from their battered looks their brains are soaked in alcohol and the bar girl wants to keep it that way. Ever notice that if you speak Thai how the bar girl wants to get you away from the foreigner as fast as possible ? What is the saying in Thai ? Understand much no good.

It`s like this.

I can understand naive tourists and gullible newbies falling for scams from lack of experience, but there are no excuses for those who have lived here or travelled here frequently over a number of years.

The older guys who believe that women young enough to be their daughters or granddaughters will find them desirable for their looks, personalities and charm, those that become involved in dodgy business ventures or can`t be bothered to learn even the most basics of Thai language that need their wives or girlfriends to do all the negotiating while they stand there like a spare one at a wedding not having a clue what`s going on, the one`s that invest or part with vast amounts of money purely on trust, the fools that consider their bargirl lover is different from all the rest and the long and suffering who will ply resources into a relationship even though their partners treat them like crap but refuse to see the reality.

Thailand is no different from our home countries or anywhere else, no matter where we live there is always going to be someone, people or companies scheming to part us from our money because money is the only thing we have that everyone wants.

Being scammed depends on how gullible you are or trying to live the dream denying the reality.

So the answer to the OP is; Thailand is the land of smiles for some and a fools paradise for others.

Jimbo that is about the most sensible post you have made as it doesn't have the normal bitterness.

Good post

[mrfaroukh]

If you cheat me once, shame on you. But if you cheat me twice, shame on me.

Keep your eyes open, learn from your mistakes and others mistakes. But it is still no guarantee you will not be cheated again. So try your best to be more smart.

Scam, cheating, corruption is in all the countries of the world more or less and Thailand is not exemption.

Have you forgotten how Bush won the election 2nd time???????

[NoshowJones]

'Pik'......Its like this, it take a minimum of two people to get scammed.... One to cast the bait and one to take a bite.

Try looking at it this way, maybe its LOS....Land of suckers.

Land of Stupidity.

[carter1882]

I enjoyed one of my first experiences thirty years ago. Being a lifelong horse racing fan one of the first things I wanted to do was go to the races. I hailed a taxi and negotiated a fare (no metres then of course) and said take me to the races. He took me to a gem shop. Ok, ok i get it...so I looked round the gem shop said I might come back in a few days and got back in the taxi. i said take me to the races, please.....he took me to a crocodile shoe shop. Ok, ok there is still time before the first race so I had a free pepsi and made my excuses and got back in the taxi. One more tourist shop later and I said to the driver, come on please take me to the races!! He said don't worry I am going there too. We arrived at the track I now know to be called Nang Lerng, He didn't charge anything for the taxi, paid for me to get in and said a cheery goodbye. Of course he had got plenty of commission though I had spent nothing.

Scams or smiles? All rather depends on your perspective and whether you are prepared to go with the flow doesn't it!

[Jimbolai]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Just 'reporting' a small 'scam':

Yesterday night having dinner in a certain restaurant & XXXX Bar (the one with Pattaya bay view, on top of the water... to avoid defaming I can't mention the name 5555).

When serving the food, the waitress accidentally hit the (still 100% full) glass of orange juice (70 baht) of my teerak... all the content spilled over the table.
The waitress cleaned the table, brought a new glass of juice... + ADDED another 70 baht to the bill !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I called the manager: she and 3 other waitresses started debating, then they changed the bill to the correct amount... without saying any excuse.

Well, the waitress just tried (maybe the 70 baht was going to be withheld from her salary ???)

it's the management that sucks for trying to stick you another 70b and not the waitress..But the waitress sucks for not apologizing..And they all suck for their bad attitude in general.so what do you do?Bad attitude towards the foreigners is everywhere in most Thai cities.They are there ONLY to make money and they probably hate the fact that they are serving foreigners(invaders).Anyways hope you made it to some girly bars later on and had enough beer to forget it all.In my case, that bad attitude made me move to the Philippines after 4 yrs in Pattaya

and man! what a difference!

I second that. Officials are just as corrupt in PP as in LOS but the people are soooo much nicer including the bar girls.

Edited March 1, 2015 by Jimbolai

[metisdead]

An off topic post has been removed.

[Johnny S]

'Pik'......Its like this, it take a minimum of two people to get scammed.... One to cast the bait and one to take a bite.

Try looking at it this way, maybe its LOS....Land of suckers.

Def Land of Scams - nobody ask to be cheated but dont worry Thailand will not see these people Again for sure ...

[northernphil]

When people arrive in Thailand, they dump their common sense at immigration.

Then head off to the nearset bar to get refreshed.

[Wat dee]

There are fools in every county, there are misguided individuals in every country, there are those who can be tricked in any society, I have found Thailand to be short on all those specified earlier, but then that could be just down to those I frequent, just like my home country.

You can't fool someone who isn't an idiot, an idiot in Thailand is still an idiot in his home country, don't blame the tool, blame the idiot.

I think even many non-idiots can be fooled if the scam is good enough.

Reminds me, I should watch Newman and Redford in "The Sting" again.

Talking about scams - have you ever been vaccinated? If the answer to this question is yes, then you (or your parents) have been scammed.

Dr Russell Blaylock: Vaccine Program Based Upon Nonsense, Fear, Fairy Tales

So it must be all the apples we eat that keep those 25% of babies alive,who would have normally died 70 yrs ago.

[Jungle Jim]

you mean the first time

If you cheat me once, shame on you. But if you cheat me twice, shame on me.

Keep your eyes open, learn from your mistakes and others mistakes. But it is still no guarantee you will not be cheated again. So try your best to be more smart.

Scam, cheating, corruption is in all the countries of the world more or less and Thailand is not exemption.

Have you forgotten how Bush won the election 2nd time???????

[smotherb]

There are fools in every county, there are misguided individuals in every country, there are those who can be tricked in any society, I have found Thailand to be short on all those specified earlier, but then that could be just down to those I frequent, just like my home country.

You can't fool someone who isn't an idiot, an idiot in Thailand is still an idiot in his home country, don't blame the tool, blame the idiot.

Well...following your immoral logic....a woman raped....she must have asked for it then ?

That was a mighty leap. Are you suggesting women are fooled into rape, or that women who are raped are fools? How is Mossfinn's logic, whether right or wrong, immoral?

[Pattaya28]

Well considering I feel the need to be on my guard far more than most countries, I would say Land of Scams.

There's a scam lurking here around every corner.

[Ballbearing]

I have worked in construction for over 30 years and I have worked in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Phillipines, China, Vietnam, Fiji and Papua New Guinea and in all these countries the dregs of society seem to flock to the "bright lights".

Most of the posters on this forum seem to be from Bangkok or Pattaya - the "bright lights" of Thailand.

Is it any wonder that "scams" and criminal activities happen everyday in these places - of course not.

Get your ass out of Bangkok / Pattaya and experience the real Thailand and you will see why it is call the Land of Smiles !

[catman20]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Just 'reporting' a small 'scam':

Yesterday night having dinner in a certain restaurant & XXXX Bar (the one with Pattaya bay view, on top of the water... to avoid defaming I can't mention the name 5555).

When serving the food, the waitress accidentally hit the (still 100% full) glass of orange juice (70 baht) of my teerak... all the content spilled over the table.
The waitress cleaned the table, brought a new glass of juice... + ADDED another 70 baht to the bill !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I called the manager: she and 3 other waitresses started debating, then they changed the bill to the correct amount... without saying any excuse.

Well, the waitress just tried (maybe the 70 baht was going to be withheld from her salary ???)

it sure would of been

[nithisa78]

You can't cheat an honest man. For most of my life I thought it was Will Rogers that said it. It was WC Fields. Once I became an honest man, I didn't become any mental giant, but I stopped getting cheated. Amen

Though every now and then, I still cheat myself. As we speak, I'm receiving my just desserts. Nor am I currently in Thailand.

Maybe not, it is all a matter of perspective. I'm not too happy about what is going on, that's for certain. Maybe I'm just selfish.

[Jungle Jim]

I totally agree with you. These guys tend to get in non stop trouble because of the foreigners they hang with, alcohol and the places they visit. But you forgot to mention Phuket, Koh Samui and the numerous other shit holes that attract the dregs of society. Lucky for me i am not one of the MOST and avoid these places like the plague . I have not encountered much of any problems outside the tourist slums. You have to also realize the dregs are unable to speak much of any Thai , have bar girls for their so called girlfriends and their life is a constant drama. Often their final days of their miserable lives which they would never admit or are in alcoholic daze are in a hotel room and the balcony calls them to their death. Now Ballbearing the TV STALKERS are going to hunt you and me down. Happens everyday here.

I have worked in construction for over 30 years and I have worked in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Phillipines, China, Vietnam, Fiji and Papua New Guinea and in all these countries the dregs of society seem to flock to the "bright lights".

Most of the posters on this forum seem to be from Bangkok or Pattaya - the "bright lights" of Thailand.

Is it any wonder that "scams" and criminal activities happen everyday in these places - of course not.

Get your ass out of Bangkok / Pattaya and experience the real Thailand and you will see why it is call the Land of Smiles !

[benalibina]

I totally agree with you. These guys tend to get in non stop trouble because of the foreigners they hang with, alcohol and the places they visit. But you forgot to mention Phuket, Koh Samui and the numerous other shit holes that attract the dregs of society. Lucky for me i am not one of the MOST and avoid these places like the plague . I have not encountered much of any problems outside the tourist slums. You have to also realize the dregs are unable to speak much of any Thai , have bar girls for their so called girlfriends and their life is a constant drama. Often their final days of their miserable lives which they would never admit or are in alcoholic daze are in a hotel room and the balcony calls them to their death. Now Ballbearing the TV STALKERS are going to hunt you and me down. Happens everyday here.

I have worked in construction for over 30 years and I have worked in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Phillipines, China, Vietnam, Fiji and Papua New Guinea and in all these countries the dregs of society seem to flock to the "bright lights".

Most of the posters on this forum seem to be from Bangkok or Pattaya - the "bright lights" of Thailand.

Is it any wonder that "scams" and criminal activities happen everyday in these places - of course not.

Get your ass out of Bangkok / Pattaya and experience the real Thailand and you will see why it is call the Land of Smiles !

Why do I have the feeling that you still need to start the process of.....personal growth......?