Trip & Travel

#Going to Thailand? Here’s 5 Tourist Traps To AVOID

Going to Thailand? Here’s 5 Tourist Traps To AVOID

You’re in Thailand, a tourist in a foreign country, unable to speak the language. In your eyes, you’re an adventurer ready to explore the sand and soil of this new land, absorb the food and culture of this majestic place. To scammers, you’re naive and vulnerable. In other words, you’re prey.

Scammers are notorious for preying on lost and vulnerable tourists, taking advantage of their home turf. They aim to manipulate and mislead tourists in an attempt to take more of your hard-earned money.

Here are our top 5 tourist traps that you need to know.

Rentals

Thousands and thousands of tourists choose to rent a motorcycle when exploring the cityscape of Thailand. It offers the flexibility of being able to travel wherever you want, whenever you want at a relatively cheap price. Or so you think…

As popular as this mode of transport is, it’s also a very popular method of scamming.

It happens when you return the motorcycle (or whatever it is you are renting). The renters will falsely claim that you damaged the item and demand payments to cover the repairs.

Make sure you closely monitor all the dents and scratches on the item before renting it, also taking pictures of it as well. To go one step further, take a video of the vehicle, making sure to inspect it and get the staff in the video as well.

There have also been reports of motorcycle theft – by the very same people who you borrowed your bike from! These people will claim that you have stolen their bike, or misplaced it – and will charge a very heavy fee.

To avoid this, make sure you don’t provide any valuable documents as collateral and also use your own bike lock.

Taxis and Tuk Tuks

Another way tourists choose to travel is through taxis and tuk tuks.

While tuk tuks are pretty fun, as they aren’t commonly used around the world – it’s not only slightly dangerous, but many are also a tourist trap themselves.

In a similar vein to taxi drivers, tuk tuk drivers take advantage of the fact that you are unfamiliar with the streets of Thailand. Drivers often claim that their meter doesn’t work, or cannot be operated and instead offer a flat fee. This fee is usually way higher than what you’d pay via a meter, and worst of all – the meter usually works!

If you do happen to get the driver to use the meter, drivers are still able to take advantage of you by going super long routes to make the most our of that meter. It is also common for taxi and tuk tuk drivers to drop you off at various bars, restaurants and shops where they make a commission (should you spend your money there).

One way to avoid this scam is to simply apply for a foreign license in Thailand, hire a car and drive around yourself. Although it might be a little more time consuming, it may end up being safer and less of a scam in the long run! However, make sure you are insured on the road, as according to Budget Direct Insurance, rental cars make up a large portion of accidents on the road.

Fake Police

For some, this is the scariest scam of them all – with locals dressed as police officers, or even real police officers using foreigner’s lack of knowledge on the law to scam them.

Foreigners in Thailand must always carry their passport with them (or at least photocopies or pictures) of their passport, entry stamp and arrival card, as dictated by the law.

This is where foreigners get scammed.

A policeman (or fake policeman) will approach you and ask for you to produce your passport. If you are unable to produce it (or a copy of it) – they will fine you on the spot.

If you are able to show your passport, no problem right? Wrong. They’ll find a “problem” with your visa and will then demand you pay a fine on the spot.

It’s important to note that there are no “on-the-spot” fines in Thailand – it’s illegal.

This type of scam is scary for most travellers, as they are dealing with who they perceive to be people enforcing the law. This is especially scary if you do not know the laws yourself. Be careful!

Should you find yourself in this situation, ask for paperwork or a ticket from the officer. If they are unable to provide this – call 1155, which is the 24/7 hotline for foreigners in distress.

Closed Tourist Destination

There are loads of tourist attractions that have scammers loitering around, waiting for you. In many instances, these people will claim that the tourist attraction is closed due to a variety of reasons.

Luckily for you though, they will then claim to know a great alternative location to spend your day instead. What’s not so lucky is that these places end up being shops and restaurants which aim to charge you overpriced, low-quality goods.

Another common instance of this scam at play is the same process, but conducted by taxi and tuk tuk drivers, who will claim the attraction is closed. They will then proceed to take you to the next location, charging you more for the ride and pressuring you to spend at the shops they take you to.

To make sure you don’t get scammed this way, make sure you do your research before you arrive. It is important to note the opening hours, ticket prices, and any other information regarding the location.

Wrong Change

It is highly recommended that you get used to, and comfortable with dealing with the Thai currency. Those who are not – are most likely to get scammed with Wrong Change. Here’s how it works:

Drivers, small shop owners, restaurants and other areas where transactions occur will claim you gave them a note of a lesser value than the one you handed over.

It’s important to note that to the untrained eye, many of the Thai Baht bills look almost identical. An example is the 1 000 Baht note and the 500 Baht. You would provide a 1 000 Baht note when making a purchase, but the vendor will claim it’s a 500 Baht note. When you try to argue, an already prepared 500 Baht note is used by the vendor to show you.

by Reshika Pillay

If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on Google News too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.

For forums sites go to Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com

If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our Trip & Travel category.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button
Close

Please allow ads on our site

Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker!