Tourist scams

[bazza73]

This is a post about the various scams and cheats I encountered on a four day holiday in Krabi. You have been warned. If you are sitting comfortably, I’ll begin.

 

I can recommend the Floral House hotel in Ao Nang. 600 baht a night, very clean, desk people spoke good English. Free WiFi and coffee. Largish room, bed softer than the usual Thai tile floor. Only downside was a climb up two flights of stairs. Daily change of towels, free water and frigid aircon.

 

I hire a motor scooter. Scam # 1. The first business I approach wants my passport deposited with them. Forget it.

Second business wants copy of passport, OK. 3000 baht security deposit, OK. If I prang the scooter,

it’s 45,000 baht. Excuse me? This is a scooter with 55,000 km on the odometer. It would be lucky to get 10,000 baht if it was sold on the open market. Supplied with 1 litre of fuel in the tank. Unless I am a complete tightarse, they will siphon off the excess fuel I’ve put in and present it to the next sucker ( sorry, customer).

 

I want to go to the islands. Scam # 2. If I land there, 400 baht – ten times the fee for a Thai. I don’t mind two or three times, but ten times is simply greed. So I tell the agent I’ll just stay on the boat.

OK, specified on the receipt I won’t get off the boat.

Next morning, I’m picked up at the hotel. When I get to an assembly point to board the boat, 400 baht please. But I’m staying on the boat. Sorry, cannot. So I go back to the agent and ask for a refund. Eventually get a 50% refund after threatening to go to the tourist police.

 

I decide to hire a car. 5000 baht deposit, OK. Scam #3. The vehicle is not insured, and I’m up for 450,000 baht if I have an accident. Yeah right. No company is going to have an uninsured vehicle. If I do have an accident, the company will double-dip by claiming on insurance and screwing me for whatever it can get. No thanks. I finish up hiring a taxi for the day.

 

With the taxi, I go to the Emerald Pool. 20 baht for Thais, 200 baht for falangs. They don’t tell you it’s a 3 km walk there and back.

 

Next, I go to the hot spring waterfall. Scam #4. 200 baht to get in. Then another 20 baht on the back of a scooter to get me there. At this point I’ve lost patience and tell the taxi driver to take me back to the hotel.

 

Book an afternoon/ evening cruise, all inclusive with dinner. Free beer. Scam #5. When everyone gets to the pier, an extra 20 baht to walk a 500 m pier to the boat. The beer never appears on the menu. Dinner consists of walking at least 2 km off a floating pier to the furthest restaurant on the island, gulping down crappy food in a place too cheap to even have ceiling fans, then hurrying back to the boat.

 

I book a taxi ( 500 baht ) to take me back to the airport, in preference to a slower shuttle for 150 baht due to picking up other passengers. Scam #6. The taxi that turns up is a van, which picks up two more passengers. The driver surges back and forth on the accelerator, so I get the feeling I’m riding in a rocking horse.

 

Krabi has a lot to recommend it. Some great scenery, and very good seafood. Unfortunately, I did get tired of the constant attempts to extract an extra baht out of the falang.

 

Rant over.

[londoedan]

Happy holidays ?

[Rc2702]

Krabi is crappy Bazza.  Next time go to trang get a minibus to lanta and do what needs to be done on a holiday and relax. Hire a scooter at long beach they are fair around there. Ride to kantiang bay go see some monkeys for 100 baht but steer clear of saladan which is the centre and similar to your experience. Adventure required go across island for breakfast in old town. A great breakfast too. Step over the road and visit an eclectic coffee shop. Sorry to hear about scam central but if you must unearth these sinners please invest in a button camera and expose the bar stewards. Then make some cash off it and load it onto you know what tube. It will yield 1 million hits fast.

 

 

[AlexRRR]

Gees you wanna have a western holiday stay in the west...look at it as an experience your not going to go back whats $AU16 to get off the boat?

 

With your mind set you end up at all the wrong places...some forward planning might have been an idea hey?

[bazza73]

2 hours ago, AlexRRR said:

Gees you wanna have a western holiday stay in the west...look at it as an experience your not going to go back whats $AU16 to get off the boat?

 

With your mind set you end up at all the wrong places...some forward planning might have been an idea hey?

 

With your superior wisdom, perhaps you can educate me on what forward planning you would have used.

[Rc2702]

Just now, bazza73 said:

 

With your superior wisdom, perhaps you can educate me on what forward planning you would have used.

Orange robe bald head next time if not bald already. Every Bazza I ever knew was bald so I'd say just an orange robe and the shoes are on the other foot. 

[AlexRRR]

5 minutes ago, bazza73 said:

 

With your superior wisdom, perhaps you can educate me on what forward planning you would have used.

\

Sure Bazza....like id get on the net and id check out hotels, what to do, car hire, you know...all the things I've got in my mind to do....if i not been in the area before tripadvisor is a great tool to get some feed back from recent travellers .....actually planned a road trip through Cambodia just on the advice from what i read on Tripadvisor and it went as smooth as a baby's bottom and to top it off i got some great tips which there was no way in hell of me knowing about.

 

Also you need to loose the "rip off" idea yes if somethings seem over the top then forget it sometimes its part of the deal....man they charge like a wounded bull at events here in AU when you consider the actual cost of things over there its not really much...if you had of got on to Tripadvisor any hire car scams would have come up, the cost of getting off boats would have been mentioned tourist would have written and made recommendations also local business often get on that particular thread for advice and of course to make them selves known...

 

Hope i helped you for a future adventure.

[Rc2702]

Just now, AlexRRR said:

\

Sure Bazza....like id get on the net and id check out hotels, what to do, car hire, you know...all the things I've got in my mind to do....if i not been in the area before tripadvisor is a great tool to get some feed back from recent travellers .....actually planned a road trip through Cambodia just on the advice from what i read on Tripadvisor and it went as smooth as a baby's bottom and to top it off i got some great tips which there was no way in hell of me knowing about.

 

Also you need to loose the "rip off" idea yes if somethings seem over the top then forget it sometimes its part of the deal....man they charge like a wounded bull at events here in AU when you consider the actual cost of things over there its not really much...if you had of got on to Tripadvisor any hire car scams would have come up, the cost of getting off boats would have been mentioned tourist would have written and made recommendations also local business often get on that particular thread for advice and of course to make them selves known...

 

Hope i helped you for a future adventure.

Blinking heck Bazza that was a complete and utter knockout. Lights out son get to bed and live to find a new scam tomorrow. Keep the rants coming these knockout responses are few and far between don't let it deter you, not everyone has such superior wisdom!

[KittenKong]

On 01/09/2017 at 9:56 PM, bazza73 said:

Unfortunately, I did get tired of the constant attempts to extract an extra baht out of the falang.

 

Welcome to Thailand.

 

You can avoid nearly all these problems if you live here as I do and own your own transport and shop in supermarkets and dont go to "attractions" (few of which are very attractive). But would I come here for a holiday? Surely not. Too much grasping.

[cyberfarang]

13 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

 

Welcome to Thailand.

 

You can avoid nearly all these problems if you live here as I do and own your own transport and shop in supermarkets and dont go to "attractions" (few of which are very attractive). But would I come here for a holiday? Surely not. Too much grasping.

I`m in the same situation as you now, but when I very first came to Thailand I fell for all the scams and ripoffs as did the OP.

 

At the time I was naive and inexperienced. Thais can smell a new boy on the block from a mile off and unfortunately gaining the knowledge and experience of Thailand for first time Farlangs does work out costly and expensive.

[bazza73]

2 hours ago, KittenKong said:

 

Welcome to Thailand.

 

You can avoid nearly all these problems if you live here as I do and own your own transport and shop in supermarkets and dont go to "attractions" (few of which are very attractive). But would I come here for a holiday? Surely not. Too much grasping.

I've been living in Chiang Mai for 9 years. I've holidayed in the Issan region a few years ago. No problems there.

Your point is valid about having one's own transport. I did think of driving down to Krabi from Chiang Mai; however, it's a fairly long haul on unfamiliar roads.

Maybe it's the difference between being a resident and being a tourist. Although when I first arrived in CM, I found all the people I was dealing with there in terms of scooter and car hire were honest. Perhaps that's another factor in the divide between North and South Thailand.

[Rc2702]

16 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

I`m in the same situation as you now, but when I very first came to Thailand I fell for all the scams and ripoffs as did the OP.

 

At the time I was naive and inexperienced. Thais can smell a new boy on the block from a mile off and unfortunately gaining the knowledge and experience of Thailand for first time Farlangs does work out costly and expensive.

Geezers 9 years in so a newbie is a bit of an odd explanation. Perhaps he was asking too much too soon and worrying them. Inviting answers when everybody knows some people would prefer to have an answer than not, BS or not. 450k! Bit of common sense is required when evaluating answers from 1st line personnel and that goes for most places.

[scubascuba3]

Welcome to Thailand, scams everywhere. They don't miss an opportunity to fleece you. Even dual pricing irritates me, noodle soup stall charges 60 baht farang and 40 Thai.

On the subject of rented bikes i think its the norm not to be fully comprehensive. Usually 3rd party only. I'm buying a bike this trip and getting 1st class insurance

[maprao]

Lucky you were not r*ped

 

Always remember the video on you tube evil man from Krabi

 

 

 

 

 

 

[paulo59]

16 hours ago, bazza73 said:

I've been living in Chiang Mai for 9 years. I've holidayed in the Issan region a few years ago. No problems there.

Your point is valid about having one's own transport. I did think of driving down to Krabi from Chiang Mai; however, it's a fairly long haul on unfamiliar roads.

Maybe it's the difference between being a resident and being a tourist. Although when I first arrived in CM, I found all the people I was dealing with there in terms of scooter and car hire were honest. Perhaps that's another factor in the divide between North and South Thailand.

 

29 minutes ago, maprao said:

Lucky you were not r*ped

 

Always remember the video on you tube evil man from Krabi

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can get same in Issan , got ripped off going to Tat Ton waterfall near Chaiyaphum. Farang price way more than Thai price

[maprao]

Paulo 59 everywhere it us the same

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[wildewillie89]

On 03/09/2017 at 6:46 AM, bazza73 said:

Maybe it's the difference between being a resident and being a tourist. Although when I first arrived in CM, I found all the people I was dealing with there in terms of scooter and car hire were honest. Perhaps that's another factor in the divide between North and South Thailand.

It is as simple as that. Living vs being a tourist. When my old man came to visit earlier this year I took him to some tourist areas, and they just annoy the crap out of you. Excessively expensive/dishonest compared to what you are used to. Did I ever notice is before living here and only travelling a few times a year, not so much - or I just didn't care as much, Thai locals complain just as much when travelling. Living here ruins travelling so best to do all the travelling before you move (which one should do anyway). 

[Travel2003]

The post seems a bit recirculated. 

Have read these things quite a few times already.

[bazza73]

18 hours ago, Travel2003 said:

The post seems a bit recirculated. 

Have read these things quite a few times already.

You may be right. Possibly quite a few people experience the same kind of scams as I did, and take the time to post them.