A few weeks ago my friend Melissa and I were heading in to Wat Po and this older guy approached us and asked us where we were going. We told him, and he proceeded to tell us that Wat Po was currently closed, but that we could go to some other places in the area instead. We thanked him and kindly moved on and entered Wat Po, which was very much open. Later Melissa mentioned how she wondered what that guy was talking about. I thought the same but then didn’t think any more about it. So today I took the Chao Phraya ferry boat to the stop which has all the major tourist destinations and I was heading towards The Golden Mount, where you can climb to the top and see a nice view of Bangkok’s skyline. This seemingly friendly man approached me (I did have a map in my hand so I must’ve looked like a tourist with a big sign on my forehead that said, Easy Target). He asked me where I was going and I told him. He then proceeded to tell me that today was a Buddhist holiday and that he was a teacher. Then he said the Golden Mount was closed. I casually told him that I was a teacher too. He asked me if I taught in Thailand and I said yes. He asked me again if I was a teacher in Thailand in a less friendly, more straight-to-the-point way and again I replied, yes. He then quickly pointed down the street and said Golden Mount’s that way and then scurried off in a hurry. I proceeded on my way, very confused by what had just happened.
So then after Golden Mount I headed on the long walk back towards the Grand Palace. Of course as I was walking at least 10 tuk-tuk drivers harassed me with constant “where are you going?” “Tuk-tuk, cheap.” They get aggressive too, it’s super annoying. I’m going to have to just start ignoring them instead of just politely declining. You’d think a “no” would be enough, but, sadly, it’s not. Most of them are really rude anyway once you tell them a final no for the 3rd time. So as I’m approaching Grand Palace, what do you know, another friendly Thai man comes up to ask me where I’m going. At this point, I do sorta need directions so I point to the Grand Palace on my map and he tells me it’s closed but that I should go see some big Buddha statue and then some other place. He actually takes all this time to circle places on my map and write them down and make sure I know how to get there. I’m thinking, wow, that’s nice of this guy. And Grand Palace was actually closed for the day and I did know that, I was really just trying to find it so I’d know how to get back to the river. At the end of his whole schpeel, he asked me if I wanted a ride there in a tuk tuk for cheap. I told him no, again maybe 3 times, and proceeded on my way.
So I get home and am really wondering now about this whole deal with being told something is closed when it isn’t and I figured it must be some sort of scam, but I could not figure it out since I hadn’t given them any money. I was discussing it with Ismail who agreed it must be some sort of scam. I was especially skeptical of their “good intentions” after the weird way that guy reacted after I told him I was a teacher in Thailand and he just changed his tune and pointed the way to the Golden Mount. So I looked up Scams in Bangkok online and found out that it is the most common scam in Bangkok. Here is what it says online:
One of the most common scams is the Tuk Tuk Scam. If you are walking near the Grand Palace, someone will come up to you and say that it is closed at the moment for a ceremony. They then suggest you take a special tuk tuk ride for only 20 baht to the nearby Big Buddha and Lucky Buddha. If you fall for it, they end up taking you to tailor shops and gem shops where the tuk tuk driver gets a nice fat commission. Some people have reported that the pressure is high to buy and that the products are often overpriced. If someone tells you that a tourist attraction is closed, don't believe them. Go and see for yourself. If a Thai person comes up to you and starts speaking excellent English then be suspicious. Normally Thai people are shy and wouldn't do something like that.
So now I will know that if anyone approaches me to ask me “where I’m from?”, or “where are you going?” I will just ignore them and keep walking, which really sucks because it’s not like me to be rude and ignore someone if they speak to me, but I realize that 9 times out of 10 the person asking me questions is just trying to scam me out of my money. I was lucky enough to experience the hatred that many Thai’s feel towards “farangs” like me when I was in Kanchanaburi. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love that place and will go back, but the majority of the Thai’s I dealt with there were so beyond rude it was unbelievable. I won’t go in to the specifics because it’s a long story, but I no longer am naïve enough to think that most Thai’s actually like tourists. It seems that most will try and swindle you out of your money while they are giving you their nice, big, Thai smile. Of course I have encountered many genuinely helpful Thai’s, but today I had my fill of scammers and needed to vent.
Some pics from today’s total tourist outing:
1. Mythic creature statue at National Museum
2. Me at Nat. Museum
3. That is a red & white squirrel! Have you ever seen such a thing!?
4.Bells on way up to the top of Golden Mount
5. Golden Mount
6. Street seller
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