Gem scam experiences - Bangkok
If you are a victim of the gem scam and would like to tell your story in order to help warn others or to let people know tactics for getting their money back, please type it in below and we'll be happy to publish it. Sadly, the sheer volume of experiences we've received shows how many people have been, and still are, getting caught out by this scam . We've got stories of the scam operating basically unchanged going back as far as 10 years, and it's known to have been going on for years before that too.
Sorry, but we can't "name and shame" every shop that's guilty of this practice. Shop names and locations change frequently though, so it's easier just to remember: never buy gems or jewelry from a shop you're taken to by a tuk-tuk (or next a temple a tuk-tuk took you to), and you're very unlikely to have any problems.
There is no such place as the "Lucky Buddha Temple" or "Standing Buddha Temple", no such thing as a gem-related "Government Export Center", "Thai Trade Center", "Gem Warehouse", "Gem Education Center", "Government Gem Export Promotion For Students", "Government Tax-Free Jewelry Export" (etc, etc...) . Anyone, Thai or foreign, who mentions anything about any of these or about a jewelry-related promotion on its last day is definitely trying to scam you!
Thanks to Mayura:Please stay away from LAELA LAPIDARY 589 Prasunmain Road, Watborwornniwate Pranak in Bangkok Thailand. They had a organized group of criminals approach my husband and I outside of Grand Palace. It started with a "university" professor telling us to see all the different sightseeing places, got us a tuktuk -thought my husband should buy me a Thai Ruby to bring us good luck and do so from Leela's. We were taken to the Golden Mount where a "Thai airways pilot" told us about Leela among other lies like Tiffanys and Bulgaris buy from there. The tuktuk took us to Laela where the high pressured sales lady sold us a fake ruby ring for BHT 35,600 (US ~$900). PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THIS CRIME AND LAELA's - please learn from my lesson
Thanks to MB:My self and two friend fall into this trap in 1990 - it is long time a go BUT - after we learn that it was all a scam we came back from Austrail (were they shipped the stoned to as we headed this way) we came back from Austrail to Bangkok and forced ourself into the shop - after getting into a srtong argument we told the guys we will stend near the shop for a week and telling everyone about the business - we got all our money back it was 2500$ (which we paid all 3 of us together). Thinking back we probably were crazy to do all that but we finally got what we paid in full. In any case the experiance is with me until today and can tell you that my holiday to Thailand was not so nice beacuse of this scam. Guys, be carefull - do not spend money on what you do not understand. There is not easy money only hard work - do not be naive (I was 24 at that time, now I am 37 and since then did not fall in any business scam).
Thanks to Anna:well, my story happened in mid-feb 2005. There were 3 of us, myself and 2 of my male friends, and it was our last day in Thailand and we wanted to see a few sights jsut for some photos. So we asked our hotel concierge for any suggestions and he suggested we go to Wat Pho, a temple.
So we went there, and were stopped by a local guy just outside the front, and he told us we couldn't go in becuase of our thongs, skirt, singlets and shorts, as well as there were monks praying because it was the last day of Chinese New Year. So he asked us what we were doing, and suggested a few places to go to visit, marking them on our tourist map we had. The places that he marked were not marked on the map, which we should have realised was a bit weird. He then hailed down a tuktuk for us, and told us we would only need to pay 30BAHT for the whole afternoon, and the driver would wait on us. So naturally we thought that was awesome, cos usually we have been getting ripped off about 100BAHT for a one way trip.
So we were taken to a temple, where we again were stopped by another local, and he told us that monks were praying and would have to wait around 20 minutes. So he striked up a conversation with us, about where we're from, what we're doing. And he then mentioned the Export Centre where we are able to buy jewelry tax free, and able to take it home and sell for 195% profit. As well as this, an American tourist came and pretended he was wanting to go inside the temple as well, and overheard us talking about this. He joined in the conversation, and recommended we go and buy something there, saying it will cover our expenses on this trip, and that he does it everyyear. He even gave us his email and contact number, making friends with one of my male friends, and kept saying we should buy something and split it between us.
So becuase of that, we really didnt think it was a scam, cos of the American. Added a nice touch to the situation.
So we went to the export centre, and the moment we stepped in, the place looked dodge. The salespeople there just didnt look professional, there were local ppl inside talking to out the back, and we also noticed dodgy photocopied paper signs stuck around the walls, which just didnt seem right for a jewelry store.
So we left, and were pretty convinced that it was all a scam. So we were then taken to another temple, which was really small and only had a tiny little prayer room we would look at. While we were there we noticed a man just hanging around, quite well dressed, looked respectable, and seemed to be watching the place for some reason. So we decided to ask him about the export centre, just to see if he knew of it. We figured it couldnt be a scam if we approached him, becuase he did nothing to urge us to go.
So we asked him about it, and he said of course. He claimed that he does it every year to support his family, that thai students do this all the time to pay for their education, and he also had his documentation to show us. Mind you, the other 2 men at the other temple had theirs to show us as well. How convenient!
Anyway after all that, my friends were quite convinced it wasnt a scam, so we went back and my friend bought a ring worth around AUD$400.
We were then taken to a tailor, where we were approached by the shopkeeper that it was tje last day of their CNY sale with 50% off all suits. So one of my friends purchased one, paying only a deposit upfront. The salesman wasnt really too happy about this but eventually allowed this. The suit was sent to our hotel the next morning where he paid the remainder of the price.
Anyway later on that night, we went out to KhaoSan rd where we met a nice backpacker, and we asked him to tell some funny stories of his stay here. He just so happened to tell us a funny sotry that 3 months ago he went to visit Wat Pho, and was approached by a local guy that told him to go to these other places, which included a few temples, a jewelry store, and ended up at a tailor.
My friend has not been able to sell the ring so far. =[
Thanks to Mat:
I'd just like to say that if you have any suspicions then you should walk away at an early stage. I have twice been targeted by these scammers, and both times I was able to walk away without buying anything.
I moved to Bangkok in October 2004. A few weeks after I arrived, I was walking up my soi towards Thanon Silom (one of the main shopping/business areas). I was intending to take the SkyTrain to the MBK shopping mall. A tuk-tuk driver slowed down beside me and asked where I was going. I told him. He explained that the SkyTrain fair would be around 40 baht (true) and that he would only charge 20 baht. I said no thanks and kept walking. He kept following and asking. I said no again and kept walking. He kept following, and jokiing asked again, smiling. I though, what the hell I might as well save some money and he seems friendly. So I got in.
He started driving along Thanon Silom, talking in broken English about Manchester United (the usual, in other words). After a few minutes, he pulled over and explained that, if we take a detour to a gem shop, he will be given free fuel coupons and I only need to browse for 5 minutes then we'd continue to MBK.
I said I didn't want to go on any detour, just to MBK like he'd originally said. He kept asking. I said I was late for an appointment with someone at MBK (not true, but a good excuse) and had to get there soon. He said that by only charging 20 baht he was doing me a favour, so I should do him a favour too. I kept saying I didn't have time and wouldn't go.
So he flagged down another passing tuk-tuk, and asked him to take me to MBK. I left the 1st one, who didn't ask for the 20 baht from me, and took the other one. He charged me 50 baht when we got to MBK. (I know we took an extra-long route, down a few dodgy-looking sois. We didn't stop there or meet anyone else, though I was very worried that we would.)
The seond time was this morning (1st February 2005). I was standing at the bottom of the BTS steps, opposite MBK, taking photos of the traffic to send to my family in the UK. Specifically, I was waiting for tuk-tuks to drive past so I could photograph them. There was one tuk-tuk waiting on the opposite side of the road, not going anywhere.
A well-dressed, young/middle-aged woman approached me, asking why I was taking photos. She seemed genuine. I told her I was photographing Bangkok for my family. She talked in good English about her family and asked me if I was taking any souveniers back to the UK. She recommended that I go to Jim Thompson's silk shop, which I took to be a good sign (why would scammers recommend other people's shops?). Then it dawned on me, when she suggested I buy some gems for my family. She said she knew a place called Siam Export Center with a 40 per cent sale that morning. She said I could get a tuk-tuk from here, and she wrote the name of the place on my newspaper.
She must have signalled to the tuk-tuk waiting on the opposite side of the road, because he suddenly pulled over next to us. She suggested I go with him. I said I couldn't go now as I had to go somewhere else, but would go to this Export Center later (I had no intention of doing this). She got worried, and kept asking where I was going, so I quickly walked away.
I have also been approached by people around Siam Square, making polite conversation but seeming a bit too friendly to be genuine. In these cases, I just walked away immediately.
Thai people are usually happy-go-lucky and friendly, though they are also quite reserved. If someone approaches you, they are not to be trusted. This sounds like a generalisation but it's not. Simply, don't believe what people tell you if they approach you first.
If you flag down a taxi or tuk-tuk, or if you stop someone and ask directions, etc, they will usually be as helpful as they can. But if someone approaches you they are probably con-artists.
I would also suggest that it's safer not to use tuk- tuks at all. Taxis are around the same price, and more comfortable, and safer. If you are with a Thai person you know (eg, when I am travelling with my Thai partner) then using a tuk-tuk should be fine, but tourist groups and especially individual tourists really should avoid tuk-tuks.
Thanks to Orchid from Japan:
When I arrived near Sao Ching Cha, I decided to go to Grand Palace, then I asked a man, who was just standing near me with his friend, how to go there. At first I did not know he was a driver. He said "Grand Palace is not open at the moment, so I offer you a lift only 20B for 1 or 2 hours."It sounded fishy to me, because I had read such trouble on the web, so I asked him why it was so cheap. He said he could get ESSO coupen. At that time I did not understand what he meant. He said "I will take you to some temples and silk shop and jewellery shop." I insisted I would not go to such shops, but he said "you don't have to buy it. It is up to you." Then he circled where to go in my map.
First we went to to the temple where there are standing, sitting and big belly budda. I walked around, then a man started to talk to me. I thought it was a good idea to ask him whether I can trust Tuk Tuk driver. He said "Are you going to the silk shop? (seeing my map) I bought a suits this morning because today is the last day of big discount. I have a members card.(showing me a card) With this card I can buy everything 20% off." After the driver took me to the silk shop. I did not buy any. The name was V-something. Maybe Venus??
Next, he took me to the temple. It was closed. I met an American man who was travelling in Thailand and talked to me. I do not think he was one of culprits, but he said today was the last day of good offer, so Tuk Tuk is very cheap. At first I was very suspicious to a driver. But I became to believe "Today is holiday, so some temples close in the morning or evening! Today is the special day because of Royal Family Day!"
Next, he took me to another temple. There was a huge budda, 40M. I wanted to make sure whether what the driver said was true or not, so I was listening to conversation between a Thailand man and an American couple. He said today is special day, so some temples open, some are not.
Then we headed for a jewellery shop. I do not remember the name. It was a quite small shop. I did not buy any. After that we went to the Chinese temple. When I entered inside, a woman was praying and taught me how to pray and left there. In few minutes, when I was about to leave there she came back with a man. He tried me to stay there, then conversation began. When I said I was Japanese, he started speaking Japanese fluently. I can speak English to some extent, so at first I talked to him in English. He said "My mother is from Thai, father is Japanese and lives in Tokyo." I asked him why the driver could get ESSO coupen or whether today is holiday. He taught the system. It was like that.
Today is the last special offer day. If Tuk Tuk drivers take tourists juwellely shop, they can get ESSO coupen from the government, because the government want tourists to buy more jewellery with reasonable price. The government levys 195% tax on jewellery, but until today you can get jewellery without tax. He have bought a jewel about 300,000 yen then went to Japan to sell it to where the jewellery shop introduced to him. He sold it for 600,000 yen. His aunt bought a lot of jewellery during special offer, then went to Europe to sell them. She went well. He asked me whether I watched this commertial on TV. He said I could trust the driver. Nobody has no intention of cheating me.
I trusted what he said completely, because I did not think Japanese did not cheat Japanese.
After that, we went to the jewellery shop, UNIVERSAL GEMS & JEWELRY EXPORT CO., LTD.
At first I was not interested in jewellery, but I completed believed that the government was running. In the shop, a Thai woman was buying a set of jewel and said to me "This is the second time I have bought jewel at this shop. When I bought the jewel last time I went to Switzerland to sell it and earn a lot of money." She was filling in the documents.
When I decided which jewel I buy, a woman and a driver took me to ATM. I needed 115,000B, but I could withdraw 90,000B. It was limitation. The woman was a bit nervous. Then we went back to the shop, I paid money and filled in the documents. A man who are charged of the shop said to me, "We will send you your jewel by EMS. When you receive it, the shop you choose will contact you when I can sell it to the shop. You can get 180,000B worth yen." Unfortunately I do not have EMS sending copy.
Next, I left the shop with a man who was a driver. The car was Honda, White, Sedan car. He took me to a temples and shopping centre. He told me he was going to Germany to work with German boss for BMW. He showed me the boss's photo. Then we went to the express way and went to the restaurant which the jewellely shop had contracted with. He took me to the airport. Then I asked him to tell me his e-mail address and his address. He started to write them but he said he could not. I thought Thai people cannot spell well because they write Thai language we cannot read and write. At the airport I took his photo.
I am in panic now. I cannot get enough sleep and lost a lot of weight. I hope next victim never appear.
Thanks to Mandy from Hong Kong:
Unfortunately, I have just been scammed and realized it after reading your website. I just can't believe how sophisticating the organized crime is...to help other travellers not fall prey to the scum, here's my story to share.
I was walking around and wanted to go the weekend market, but tuk tuk driver convinced me that the market is quite far and offer me to take me around to temples for 30 baht...and alright there i went to this big belly budda chinese temple. where a respectable looking thai spoke fluent english approached me... asked where i'm from, and said that he works in bangkok embassy in hong kong. because i thought we came from same place, this is why he are very nice to me, tell me where i should go. and of course, he mentioned about the gem trade. before i left, the thai man offer to take me out for dinner, and meet with me at 6pm...and when we both back in hk, he'll take me to tsiu sa tsi, and he can even named a reputable jeweller in hk, he also told me he's leaving on the same flight but hinting he's fying first class.
So I went to the store and the mangaer spoke to me... but because a set of gem is expensive around 170,000 baht, i don't have the money and thought the place was dodgy. the manager told me this is the last of the 7 days sales which opens to public, and the store will close at 1.30pm. i left and tuk tuk took me to another temple.
In that temple, two men approached me, one english speaking thai, and an AMERICAN man who claim he works in the one of the listed tech company. they are friends and we were just chatting. then i started to ask them about the trade and disgustingly, the white man claimed that he has already done it for 3 times. it is very safe and he have the company sent it back to the states. and the thai person confirms me it's legit and they have both done it....makes me think it's a fool not to participate in it...so i look at their watch and there's still 1/2 hour to go, so i quickly went back...thanx to the AMERICAN, if it wasn't him, i could have escaped the ill episode
I was going to max out my card to get the cheapest set, so they took me to ATM and gold shop. Luckily, both cards has limit and my visa refused the transaction, so i was able to draw 20,000 baht from the bank. of course the lady who accompanied me try to calm my dissonance.
So with that money, I bought 2 small sapphire and they convinced me to mail it thru them, I was very skeptical but was so tired after a 2 hours traffic jam, so I just let them. and later, I ask tuk tuk to take me back to Kao San rd but he convince me to go to siam centre, which i did...and i thought he will wait for me. after my shopping, i wait for the driver for 1/2 hour, but he didn't show up, felt very sorry that i've used his service for 5 hours but have not pay him....
So I went back and really met the guy on kao san, i thought he's just lonely and wanted some companion so had a drink and let him bring me around for dinner, drinks. The dinner cost me 2500 baht and we shared the cost, we only have a plate of prawn and tum yum soup and couple of beer and bottle of rum, it's ridiculos to cost so much, but i really don't know the price and since he's spliting the cost and so i didn't suspect.
Later took me to a bar where i have shrimp fishing, had fun and another hostess club.. he offered to pay for both places and at the end he asked if i would like to come back to his, and i said no. Later he asked one of the hostess to put me on a cab.
During the drinks, he flaunted how connected he is and, that he has some humble amount of money but he wants to make more, he would like to do furniture trading and being very nice and say if in the future, he will help me out if he find anything that are suitable for me to help. listening to his soulful drunken talk, i lay low of my guard, and he offers to take me out tomorrow to pattaya. he also said if i don't make enough money from gem trade, he can bring me to the headquarter where i can use my card. gave me his number and ask me to call him the next day for a meet up. and reminded me to meet up with him in hk to sell the gem....
The next day,i didn't call, cuz' of personal matters, and couple of days later, went back to hk and did recieve my package. I have not yet checked the price of the gem but i don't think i even have to now...
Thanks to Matt from Washington, USA:
After returning home from a week in Thailand, I now learn that one of my experiences in Bangkok was part of an elaborate scam. Luckily, all that was involved was about USD $10-15 or so. We were pressed for time to catch a flight to Phuket so we didn't have much time to fall into this trap, but we did fall somewhat.
Since I am a caucasian male, I couldn't pull off passing for a native in Bangkok, so I was spotted as a target from a mile away wearing a Mets baseball cap and carrying a small backpack.
My friend Jennifer and I were approached outside of the gates of the Palace by a Thai man wearing a shirt and tie. Since we both were wearing shorts, he told us that we wouldn't be able to enter the palace grounds unless we had pants on -- but it didn't matter because today the palace was closed... the one day the palace closes for a Monk's festival.
He introduced himself as the Manager of the Palace - to which we just laughed and said "Whatever". We didn't know who he was or what he wanted, but we knew that the real Manager wouldn't be outside dressed in long sleeve shirt and tie on a day when it was near 100 degrees, wandering around chatting with tourists.
Instead of seeing the Grand Palace, he said we should go to see another temple nearby or up the street. I don't recall the name of the temple, but he said it would just be 50 baht (a bit more than USD $1) by tuk-tuk to get there. He flagged a driver down who was waiting in what appeared to be a tuk-tuk queue and gave him instructions in Thai, since he allegedly didn't understand English. This "Manager" of the Palace then told us that not only would we see a nice temple, but we'd be near a Government jewelry shop where we could purchase jewelry as part of a Government promotion that was only taking place that day.
Even though the "Manager" was a bit shady, we figured at least it would be a ride in a tuk-tuk through Bangkok and we'd get to see city life mid-day -- worst case, we could jump out of the tuk-tuk if there was trouble.
After a fairly nice ride (about 10-15 minutes), we arrived at a temple... it was next to a school where Thai students were outside playing ball. The grounds of the Temple were nice and we saw monks praying and setting up chairs for something, maybe a festival? This added nicely to the story but we still kinda wondered about the weird "Manager".
Since we were pressed for time, we went back to the tuk-tuk and waited for our driver, who seemed to disappear somewhere. While waiting, another Thai guy approached us and asked us all the typical tourist questions... and asked where our driver was because he wanted to "move his car". He claimed to have studied in the USA on a particular exchange program (AFS) in New Jersey and loved America... blah blah. Then of course, he told us about this special Jewelry sale. It seemed like everyone we talked to knew about this special sale, but we didn't really question it since we weren't going to be making any major purchases. The tuk-tuk driver came back and this former exchange student told him in Thai to take us to that jewelry story - or it appeared as if he was saying something like that.
When the tuk-tuk pulled away, we looked back and saw this man just walking around. Where was his car he had to move? We didn't see any car, nor was the tuk-tuk blocking any parking space. That was shady too, but we didn't realize or suspect all these people could be connected in a big scam. WRONG!
We got to the jewelry story and went inside. It was a non-descript cement storefront with no signage or anything to identify what it was. I suspected it was like that for security reasons, but in any case, it was air conditioned and we were dying of heat.
We were the only ones in the store besides about 10 salespeople... they didn't really hover over us or anything - probably because they realized we weren't going to spend $1000 or anything substantial. They offered us drinks and one man claimed to be from Washington DC -- citing a location of his Jewelry store at 16th and K -- something we'd recognize. I think he may have said he was on a buying trip or something, but I can't remember.
Luckily, because we had a flight to catch, we only had about 5 minutes to browse around the store. Jen didn't buy anything, but I saw a silver ring I liked. I know it cost no more than USD $15 so I figured why not... it fit, it looked good and I bought it. I used my credit card (which I'm about to go cancel right now) and the sale was completed. Nothing suspicious there.
The tuk-tuk driver took us back and 50 baht was all it cost but this adventure, plus the lost time of not getting to see the Grand Palace. But next time, next time I'll know truth about the Palace and the special jewelry sale... and march right into the Palace, leaving those idiot scam artists dripping with sweat from the 100-degree heat. Of course, if I see any tourists falling prey to this scam, I'll warn them and call those guys on this scam.
I've been prompted to write my story here after a co-worker just asked me if I bought jewelry in Thailand on my trip. Same thing happened to her, but no substantial money was involved.
My ring...? Well, I noticed there was no sterling silver stamp inside of it. I guess it's really not silver, but I figure it's still nice and no one needs to know it's not real.
One more thing... I'm a very experienced traveler, work for an airline and have traveled to at least 50 countries, but I still fell prey to this scam for a two reasons: (1) I didn't do much research before my trip, (2) I didn't leave these shady characters when things didn't add up (e.g. "Manager" of Palace).
Perhaps my story here might prevent an unknowing traveler from spending money on something that just isn't real.
Thanks to Yong:
The day was 21st Oct 2001. I reached Bangkok at or about 1100 hours, tired after 17 hours of train from Hatyai. As I was only transit in bangkok, planning to go to Chiangmai that day at 1455 hours, I did not go beyond 2 km of the railway station.
As I was walking along the Chinatown, a Chinese-Thai approached me, he merely asked me what is the time. I told him and then he told me that I should visit some Wat, Export centre,etc.
Furthermore, he added that Tuktuk is only 20Baht per hour, hence, being greedy, I took up the offer by boarding the tuk tuk that he has arranged for me.
The first temple I met no one. It was at the second temple, a Thai approached me, show me about a Wat. He spoke Fluent English and say how much he earned from the Export Centre which opened only 7 days in a year. Well, I believe him but still has doublt. He left without telling me where is the export centre. In the temple itself, there are several other statue. Hence, while I was seeing another statue, I met another Thai with a Foreigner. This foreigner claim that he is from Belgium, maybe that is true. He tell me that he had did it 3 times on successfully bringing the Blue Sapphire back to Belgium and earned a profit, and each time he earned US10000. Well, Like most other, I went to the shop by the tuktuk and spent US2400. Though I do not have enough cash, these people are professional enough to bring me to the Linked Gold shop, I used my Card and paid for the Gems. Well, though I am being cheated, I still do not blame these people. Because, I was being greedy in the first place. Definitely, I will remember this for life. Now, at this time, I will wait for the Gem to be post to my house, and at the same time, will go to Bangkok to look for the shop again to see if I could get my money back. May God bless all of you and all the cheats.
Thanks to Jack:
Similar story to the rest, I don't consider myself gullible. People have tried and failed before to drag me into scams and I have walked away.
But the sophistication of this scheme lies in all the seemingly independent people who guide you to the goal of buying. I just didn't connect the fact that all these people were working together. Even worse, the initial contact was made by two (I still assume) independent people and they pointed out two different stores on my map. Thus when I went to the shop I thought that the fact that two people told this story about 195% tax and then pointed out different shops added veracity to the whole thing.
The second contact was made by a man claiming to work for the UN here in Bangkok.
The seller seemed very trustworthy and the whole scheme seemed so complicated and had so many forms that again, I thought this was adding authenticity to the whole thing. He also showed me the address of the dealer I could sell to for my great profit (423 George St, Sydney if I remember) and I got the impression that he would give me this information in the envelope with the receipt. I fully intended to ring the dealer immediately afterwards to confirm they exist, etc. I asked lots of questions, thought the answers were satisfactory and went ahead. They even said 'don't talk to the people in the hotel when you go to get your passport as they'll want a commission. In fact the people in the hotel would have told me it was a scam.
They paid for that taxi and sent an attractive girl with me (alarm bell) to assist in retrieving my passport and enough cash to pay (20% for cash - otherwise use a third part gold dealer to buy enough gold on Visa and pay with that - they normally only deal wholesale which is why they don't have Visa facilities themselves).
Other alarm bells did ring, but just not loudly enough. And finally, I (fortunately for me) have a bunch of cash lying in the bank. I won't go broke over this as so many backpackers would. So I thought I'd live by the rule "never bet more than you can afford to lose". Well, I'm pretty sure I lost it.
After the sale, the guy set me up with another (less attractive - I assume once the sale is over it matters less) girl to show me around the city for the rest of the day - take me to any temples, get a traditional Thai massage, eat a meal out together. All presumably to distract me from putting all the parts together and doing anything about it.
She was particularly keen to look after my books for me - especially my guide book. Guess why? Every guide book tells you about the scam. But when I was insistent about things she was always cooperative - nothing strange going on here - nothing wrong - you're suspicious? Is good for you.
And so I read the little section on the scam in the book. Immediately I felt my stomach sink. How was I going to fix this? But still I gave it a chance that this was still real and I could make some money. Everything after that kiboshed that idea.
Firstly I asked the girl if I could ring the dealer in Sydney - she had been very accommodating in letting me ring my bank to increase my withdrawal limit - I know it costs a bomb to ring Australia from a mobile but she didn't hesitate. Getting in contact with the Sydney dealer was next to impossible. First of all she got my salesman on the phone, but as soon as I said "I have a problem" he hung up - the girl said her battery must have died. So I called back on my mobile - he has just left. So I asked her why he would just leave when he knew I'd be calling back. So she rang again (on her suddenly working phone) and got him. I put it to him that I was worried this was a scam and would be reassured if I could ring the dealer in Sydney. "Yes, those details will be included in the package when it arrives". I said I'd prefer the number now. "No." Why not? "Because he is very busy man and would not have time." That's ridiculous, just give me the number and I'll discuss it with him. "No." Then he reverted to silence. He wouldn't talk to me but stayed on the line. The girl tried to talk to him but seemingly got no response either.
Obviously she acted like she was on my side and shared my concern, but reassured me it was all okay. Let's just go for our meal amd massage. I said I'd prefer to go back to the office. She said sure, after the meal and massage. But it would be closed, and the Sydney dealer would definitly be closed by then. I had to push the issue but convinced her to go back to the store right away. She was compliant in the "everything's cool" way. However I changed my mind and decided it would be better to call back to my hotel first (on the pretext that I wanted to drop back my passport - carrying it made me nervous). She agreed to this and suggested I then go to the dealer alone. No dice, I said (well, nothing that cool actually - unfortunately the Thai people wouldn't get the phrase "no dice"). So she agreed to wait outside.
When I went to the safety deposit box room, I asked the hotellier if I had gotten dragged into a scam. When he asked me the details he confirmed probably, yes. I asked if I should call the police or go to the shop. He said it would be worth calling to the shop first. I'm not sure this was such hot advice.
When I got back to the taxi I half-expected the girl to be gone - but she had left the taxi and was making a phone call somewhere according to the driver. I waited a while and decided this was a delaying tactic on her part. Eventually I got in and told the driver to just take me to the shop. At which point she suddenly appeared again, aggrieved that I was going to run off without her.
Needless to say the "assistant manager" at the shop was most unhelpful. They said everything was okay. Can I see the salesman - no he took his commission and went. Can I call the Sydney agent - no we don't know which one he works with. I said I remembered the address - no, we don't have the number. After batting around the issues with them (one of them was either pretending to be or actually was asleep), I realised they weren't going to admit anything was wrong. What if they're fake? They're not. And if they are? Send them back to us and we'll refund you. As if.
So I said: Listen, I know you're running some operation here and you have expenses, just pay me back all but say, 5,000 baht and I won't go to the police.
No.
This was my last gambit so I decided to go to the police. They didn't try to stop me or anything else, but they were two stringy young guys and I'm sure they could have beaten the shit out of me if they wanted. I didn't want to get too pushy.
The police offered me the following advice:
1. There's nothing actually illegal about overpricing goods.
2. There's nothing they can legally do about it.
3. It happens all the time.
And then they offered me (in summary) these options:
1. Get the stuff posted back from Sydney and return it in person and try to get a refund - probably 50-60% (not an option as I was leaving the following day)
2. Send the stuff back from Australia after getting it valued - good chance I'd get nothing as they're conveniently 'lose' the package.
3. Get them (the police) to get me a partial refund and do no more about it (unless the jewellery turned out to be fake rather than overvalued - in which case I would have a criminal case).
I decided option 3 was the only decent chance I'd have of getting any moey back. I got 20% of the price delivered in cash to the police station. The rest, I have to put down to experience - what I like to call a self-imposed stupidity tax. I'm only glad I can afford it. The way I see it, it's a week's salary and I deserve to pay it for being so dumb as to fall for this.
Thanks to Ichiro:
I never thought there would be any scams more elaborated than we see in a movie, but my experience in Thailand let me know I was wrong.
After visiting the Grand Palace, I and my wife decided to have a look to Wat Pho. When my wife was checking the map to see how to walk there, one guy kindly asked us if we need help, we knew we should be careful to strangers, so we said no. He asked where we are from, and kindly said we can stand in the shadow of the wall because it is very hot under the sun, and then walked away. Because he didn't try to persuade us to buy anything, I thought maybe Thai people are very friendly since they all have the belief of Buddha.
On the way to Wat Pho, a very well-dressed man asked us where we are going to. When we said Wat Pho, he said it is not open to foreigners till 1PM, and the Thai government open several other temples for free today, and government has some tuk-tuks with white number plate other than the yellow one in a very low fee for foreigners to visit these temples.He also mentioned if we like we can visit jewelry shop. He showed us these temples in our maps, and asked a tuk-tuk occasionally running in the road to stop, and asked the driver to give us a tour only with 20 Baht.Because we didn't have other plan, and the friendly man and the driver didn't seem to know each other, I didn't doubt what he said.
Though my wife doesn't like tuk-tuk, we still got on the tuk-tuk. The driver was trying to talk with me in his very bad english to say he is working for government. He acted so kindly, I really thought we met a very kind guy. I only felt a little bit strange to his bad driving manner as to he was like a so kind person. But this didn't stop me to believe him.
The driver firstly took us to a small and quiet temple not worth for foreigners to visit at all. Though I was very disppointed, I still thought I should just give a quick look. Inside the temple, a very thin guy invited us to sit before the buddha, and started to chat with us. He said he is a businnesman, and has travelled to a lot of countries.He said every year the government will have one week export promotion, foreingers are allowed to buy gems limit to 5 pieces without taxes in the export center. He said he did it every year to sell the gems in other countries to earn at least 100% profit. Because we really didn't want to waist too much time in this small temple, we finished the chat. Till now I was not interested to the gem story at all.
We went back to the tuk-tuk driver, he asked us to wait for a moment because he needed to go to toilet. There are one Thai and one white guy standing nearby seemed like waiting for somebody. Then the Thai guy asked if there is any problem with the tuk-tuk driver because they usually cannot speak good english, and he said he is an officer here.(I felt a little bit strange here because I don't think he needs to tell me he is an offccer.) Then he started to ask me where we are from, and the white guy said he is from Belgium. They again started to talk about the government promotion, the Belgian said He already did this to pay for his trip to Thailand several times, and the Thai huy even showed me his $6000 receipt he bought two days ago, and they said today is the last day. I confirmed the difference between white and yellow number plate tuk-tuk, they said just same thing as we were told at the beginning.
Just after we finished our talk, the driver came back. I felt a little bit stange why he went to toilet for so long time, but not strange enough to doubt the whole thing. The driver asked us if we like to go to the export center, we agreed. I told to my wife, if this is a scam, this network is too big, too elaborated, so it should not be a scam.
I thought it must be a good buiding with crowded people because this is a big chance to earn money. When we arrived to a very small shop with only "Export Center" on the glass door, I douted if I am right to come here. Inside the shop, there are a big photo of a man wearing like a king and a newpaper on the wall. I don't know the standard price for the gem, but the price listed there was really expensive, so we tried to see some cheaper thnigs.Again the salesperson said we can eaily sell it out if we buy the gem stones. While we were seeing the jewelry, a white guy came and bought a 5-piece box, and showed his passport. After he left, I saw there is a box with a name on it showing that it is already sold. The saleperson even showed us the whole receipt and EMS document of the whole customers (Later may wife said she felt it is strange they expose other customers' information to us). We spent much time there, wanted to make a decision to buy or not. Finally we thought we cannot buy a so expensive jewelry without even checking the price in other shops.
After leaving the "export center", it was already 1PM, according the first guy's saying, Wat Pho should be open. But the driver said Wat Pho is only open to Thai people in the afternoon, we didn't believe it and insisted the driver to send us back to Wat Pho. He said OK, but he needs to go to another shop to get free gas coupon. But after arrived to another jewelry shop, he asked us to stay there for 10 minutes. Now we knew he just wanted to take us to jewelry shops, so we paid him 20 Baht and took a taxi back to Wat Pho. When we bought the ticket for Wat Pho, we asked the ticket guy if it was closed this morning, and he said it was open from 8AM.
When we were walking around the Wat Pho, we thought through again the whole things happend in the morning, we suddenly realized the whole thing was a scam. We are so astonished there is so well elaborated scam exist in the real life. Just like a movie, this scam needs a well-written script, good directors and actors to make it like a real. My wife said sometimes the human being is the most scareful and dangerous thing in this world.
Thanks to Roger:
I got scammed in late July, 2002. Usual story of tuk-tuk drivers, a supposed tax lawyer (local guy who thought I was English, so said he lived in London), and a "Government Expo", allegedly advertised on Thai TV.
Back at Khao San Rd, I found out I'd been scammed (did a google search), and called the tourism police, who told me to go to the airport to intercept the courier (EMS is the carrier of choice for the scammers).
The actual mail center is a few miles from the international terminal (exiting the terminal you turn left, catch a cab, go past the domestic and cargo terminals, and turn left at a road with a gas station on the corner). The center is open even at night (I was initially worried 'cos the place was darkened).
The mail guys found my package in about 20 seconds, and the next day I went back to the jewelry store and asked for a refund. After an hour or so of haggling I settled for just over 70% refund (they tried the ol' goodcop-bad cop routine, the "don't have cash on premises" routine, and "I'm not authorized to refund more than 50%" routine). Needless to say they were just bullshitting.
I took my cash and left.
My suggestion is to go with someone else whose role is just to wait in the showroom (it'll make them nervous), while you ask for a refund. A couple who did this got ~90% refund.
It's funny that a scam/fiction based just on allegations can be done so effectively(like in the movies "The Sting", and "The Spanish Prisoner").
Politically, the scam relies on Thailand's lack of effective consumer protection/fair trading/trade practices laws.
Thanks to JW Kong from Singapore:
My purpose of contributing is not to illustrate my experience of gem scam. Since the tactics used by these conmen are rather similar, my purpose is to inform others that such scam still exist now. I don't know when did the above scams encountered by fellow travellers occurred, but I was in Bangkok on Nov 2002, and I did encountered the scam.
My secondary purpose is to tell how I "got off the hook". As usual, my girlfriend and I was approached outside Grand Palace. I think by now, you should know very well what was to follow. The usual tactics were used. The place indicated by the guy was called "Leela". And as usual, we were bought to this place after all the elaborated plots. I begin to feel fishy when I was at the second temple, with the "Thai government guy".
So when we reached the gem shop, I'm quite sure it must be a scam and decided not to buy no matter what. We indicated that we are students (thus have little money). We were lucky in this area as both of us looked rather young. We also indicated that we do not have any credit cards. We were again lucky as the salesperson didn't pressure us much into buying. We left the shop in less than 5 minutes.
My sincere apologies for those who have been scammed. To me, this is a good experience since I didn't lose much in the scam, and I get to experience such seamless scam, that have made Thailand so infamous. To me, it was part of my experience with the one of the "highlights" of Thailand.
Thanks to Edo, who lives in Bangkok:
Three days ago my mother came to Bangkok from Italy to visit me, and the following day I took her to visit Bangkok. She stayed in a hotel in Pratunam and just outide the hotel we took a Tuk-Tuk, and asked for Wat Phra Kaew. We were four people, me, my thai lady, my mother and her friend. The tuk-tuk said that we cannot go four people in one tuk-tuk as he feared police, and so he said to take another of the many tuk-tuks there were waiting there.
I stayed with my lady in the first tuk-tuk and my mother went in the new one. My lady asked the driver to speak with the other tuk-tuk in order to travel together to Wat Phra Kew and don't lose my mother somwhere.
The first driver spoke with the second driver, and he said to him that before he had to go to get 'Namman', fuel.
He spoke in Thai with my lady and told her that he has a free coupon for an Esso fuel station, and he showed a little paper with the Esso name on it on the top, the middle blank, and a serial number on the bottom.
He also explained the other tuk-tuk that before him had to go there, and so to follow him.
I asked what was happening, making as if I didn't speak thai, as I do indeed. The driver asked my lady if I speak Thai, and she said no, him asked if we spoke English and my lady said only me. So he said to me, showing a map that on the road to Wat Phra Kew there were "something", where he wanted to go for put a stamp on the coupon for free fuel, and he showed me again this ESSO coupon. He said only 1 minute, and on the road to Wat Phra Kew. He continued to show me this ticked everytime we stopped because of the traffic, and saying put stamp for free 'Namman', and he also said "my sponsor".
Free Namman, my sponsor. I said ok.
During the travel, remembering all the stories on your website I thought that maybe this was a scam, but I also thought that maybe I was paranoid and I should not buy anything anyway. I was only a little afraid as I remembered that I read on your website that these people had illegal connections.
We headed to Wat Phra Kaew, and as we stopped sometime to wait for the second tuk-tuk (the one that "didn't know the road") the driver also told my lady that she cannot come inside Wat Phra Kaew because her shirt didn't cover her shoulders. As I heard this I suspected more and I warned my lady that this could be a scam, and that maybe now they would take us to buy some face jewels.
Finally, riding on the cement 10 centimeters high, (I don't know how to call this, the thing that separates the two lanes in the road), making an U turn, we stopped in front of a shop, with a sign with "Jewel Factory" written on it. It was a big door on the first floor, and cannot look inside of the windows, or the glass door, as they were like mirror or black.
As I read this I understood everything.
The drivers now looked not like strangers between them, but as longtime friends, and other people came outside of the shop.
I remember that there were no security outside, and a man with a blue tshirt and old pants came outside.
I said to my mother to go away, and wait for me. The men said come inside please, free, don't have to pay nothing, only look.
I spoke in Thai with the two drivers, I said to them that I cannot come inside, and paid the 200 bath they had asked before to go to Wat Phra Kew, I also took two 50 baht banknotes and said to them, this is your free coupon for your fuel, go and make it. I also said that I was sorry but I know about this story. So the third man that came out of the shop before, approached me and said that cannot make this, and showed me his finger making NO! He also said and me, you have to pay me. I said to him that it was better for everybody to forget about each other.
And I went away, I turned the corner and went on a taximeter, that with 40 baht and AIR conditioned, took me to Wat Phra Kew, that was really near, as the "Jewel Factory" should be really near.
In the taxi I explained to my mother about what happened to us. Luckily before they found me, I found your website, so I already knew about that story. It was expecially useful the section about the experiences of the other people, as I suspected a lot when they wanted to worry my lady and said here that she cannot inside Wat Phra Kaew, because she had not the proper dressing.
Please all tourist be aware, inside Wat Phra Kaew there is an office where you can borrow the proper dress for no money, only leave your ID card there, and take it back when the tour ends. Completely safe, as my lady tried that day.
Thanks to Anil of Suk11 guesthouse for permission to republish this story which happened to one of his guests:
I will write down my story once again for you to put it on the internet so that as many people as possible hopefully will be warned. It all started in front of the Grand Palace but probably that is not the only place where these professionally organized Mafia "actors" operate. I was about to walk to the direction of the Grand Palace when a guy introduced himself as a student and said that on Saturday afternoons the Palace was always closed due to a public blah blah blah (which is not true). Then Number 1 recommended me some other temples to go to and I jumped on a Tuk Tuk to get there. I met Number 2 meditating inside the small temple to which the Tuk Tuk driver took me. He looked like a truthful and honest Thai businessman in casual clothes and we started to have a chat. After asking me some questions about where I come from and so on he said that there was a special government promotion for jewellry -- this week only -- with Saturday being the last day. His country's economy wasn't going well and that's why they had this promotion week where you don't have to pay tax and therefore later on could make quite some money when selling the gems back in your home country.
I started to get interested and I started to ask questions. You have to know that all those people are very aware of all the doubts you can possibly have and they are extremely well trained to be looking and acting honestly and they will never put any kind of pressure on you. Basically, this guy just told me what HE was about to do with no proposals for what I should do. We had a vivid discussion and in the end I asked him for the address of a reliable place at which to buy things like that, which he gladly gave me. I passed that over to my driver (who was probably one of them, too, because otherwise he would have warned me).
Inside the shop there were about 5 people: The vendors as well as Actor No. 3 who was a European male claiming to be Swedish (which is probably true) and about to buy some sets of gems which he would later, as he did every year during the governmental promotion period, sell back in Sweden to finance his holidays in Thailand. I bought a set of gems for a LOT of money but I know now that there are even more people who have spent MUCH more money than I did on this. I spent around $2000 US which I don't even have on my credit card. You will get receipts for everything but they won't help you in the end because it is technically a legitimate business deal; the gems are just worth much less than they claim them to be worth and you will take a large loss when you try to sell them. After we had made the deal they got for me as their "new customer" a driver with a nice 4WD - a young Thai guy of my age who I just want to call "Number 4" now, who drove me around for all the rest of the day and took me to any place I wanted to go. He invited me for dinner in the evening where we met Number 5 who claimed to just have arrived from the other end of Thailand (Chiang Mai) and, of course, confirmed everything about the jewels once more. We had a beautiful day and night together, they paid everything for me and in the end Number 4 even gave me his favorite music cassette as a present.
I started to have doubts the next day when I heard a very similar story from Mark, who had stayed at Suk11 as well. The awakening came when I went to the Tourist Police where they have special "Jewellry Complaint Forms". I met about 6 other people there who had very similar stories to tell and I know now that there is a web of about 30 jewellry shops and god knows how many Number 1's 4's and 8's. I don't want to say anything about the tourist police that later I will regret so I'll just say this: Don't believe they will ever help you. In the end, with some help from suk11 I managed to get back 75% of my money. I had to postpone my flight to sort everything out here but by far most of the tourists are not that lucky. Once you have left the country, there's nothing you can do.These people are organized Mafia in my eyes but, as it always is with the Mafia: They will find a way to break the law without breaking it.
This is the story I have to tell and I hope for you that you will read it b e f o r e you take your first step into the money trap. But, of course: You are much smarter than me and this only happens to stupid people.... yes, maybe... and maybe not.
Marcus
Sorry, but we can't "name and shame" every shop that's guilty of this practice. Shop names and locations change frequently though, so it's easier just to remember: never buy gems or jewelry from a shop you're taken to by a tuk-tuk (or next a temple a tuk-tuk took you to), and you're very unlikely to have any problems.
There is no such place as the "Lucky Buddha Temple" or "Standing Buddha Temple", no such thing as a gem-related "Government Export Center", "Thai Trade Center", "Gem Warehouse", "Gem Education Center", "Government Gem Export Promotion For Students", "Government Tax-Free Jewelry Export" (etc, etc...) . Anyone, Thai or foreign, who mentions anything about any of these or about a jewelry-related promotion on its last day is definitely trying to scam you!
Thanks to Mayura:Please stay away from LAELA LAPIDARY 589 Prasunmain Road, Watborwornniwate Pranak in Bangkok Thailand. They had a organized group of criminals approach my husband and I outside of Grand Palace. It started with a "university" professor telling us to see all the different sightseeing places, got us a tuktuk -thought my husband should buy me a Thai Ruby to bring us good luck and do so from Leela's. We were taken to the Golden Mount where a "Thai airways pilot" told us about Leela among other lies like Tiffanys and Bulgaris buy from there. The tuktuk took us to Laela where the high pressured sales lady sold us a fake ruby ring for BHT 35,600 (US ~$900). PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THIS CRIME AND LAELA's - please learn from my lesson
Thanks to MB:My self and two friend fall into this trap in 1990 - it is long time a go BUT - after we learn that it was all a scam we came back from Austrail (were they shipped the stoned to as we headed this way) we came back from Austrail to Bangkok and forced ourself into the shop - after getting into a srtong argument we told the guys we will stend near the shop for a week and telling everyone about the business - we got all our money back it was 2500$ (which we paid all 3 of us together). Thinking back we probably were crazy to do all that but we finally got what we paid in full. In any case the experiance is with me until today and can tell you that my holiday to Thailand was not so nice beacuse of this scam. Guys, be carefull - do not spend money on what you do not understand. There is not easy money only hard work - do not be naive (I was 24 at that time, now I am 37 and since then did not fall in any business scam).
Thanks to Anna:well, my story happened in mid-feb 2005. There were 3 of us, myself and 2 of my male friends, and it was our last day in Thailand and we wanted to see a few sights jsut for some photos. So we asked our hotel concierge for any suggestions and he suggested we go to Wat Pho, a temple.
So we went there, and were stopped by a local guy just outside the front, and he told us we couldn't go in becuase of our thongs, skirt, singlets and shorts, as well as there were monks praying because it was the last day of Chinese New Year. So he asked us what we were doing, and suggested a few places to go to visit, marking them on our tourist map we had. The places that he marked were not marked on the map, which we should have realised was a bit weird. He then hailed down a tuktuk for us, and told us we would only need to pay 30BAHT for the whole afternoon, and the driver would wait on us. So naturally we thought that was awesome, cos usually we have been getting ripped off about 100BAHT for a one way trip.
So we were taken to a temple, where we again were stopped by another local, and he told us that monks were praying and would have to wait around 20 minutes. So he striked up a conversation with us, about where we're from, what we're doing. And he then mentioned the Export Centre where we are able to buy jewelry tax free, and able to take it home and sell for 195% profit. As well as this, an American tourist came and pretended he was wanting to go inside the temple as well, and overheard us talking about this. He joined in the conversation, and recommended we go and buy something there, saying it will cover our expenses on this trip, and that he does it everyyear. He even gave us his email and contact number, making friends with one of my male friends, and kept saying we should buy something and split it between us.
So becuase of that, we really didnt think it was a scam, cos of the American. Added a nice touch to the situation.
So we went to the export centre, and the moment we stepped in, the place looked dodge. The salespeople there just didnt look professional, there were local ppl inside talking to out the back, and we also noticed dodgy photocopied paper signs stuck around the walls, which just didnt seem right for a jewelry store.
So we left, and were pretty convinced that it was all a scam. So we were then taken to another temple, which was really small and only had a tiny little prayer room we would look at. While we were there we noticed a man just hanging around, quite well dressed, looked respectable, and seemed to be watching the place for some reason. So we decided to ask him about the export centre, just to see if he knew of it. We figured it couldnt be a scam if we approached him, becuase he did nothing to urge us to go.
So we asked him about it, and he said of course. He claimed that he does it every year to support his family, that thai students do this all the time to pay for their education, and he also had his documentation to show us. Mind you, the other 2 men at the other temple had theirs to show us as well. How convenient!
Anyway after all that, my friends were quite convinced it wasnt a scam, so we went back and my friend bought a ring worth around AUD$400.
We were then taken to a tailor, where we were approached by the shopkeeper that it was tje last day of their CNY sale with 50% off all suits. So one of my friends purchased one, paying only a deposit upfront. The salesman wasnt really too happy about this but eventually allowed this. The suit was sent to our hotel the next morning where he paid the remainder of the price.
Anyway later on that night, we went out to KhaoSan rd where we met a nice backpacker, and we asked him to tell some funny stories of his stay here. He just so happened to tell us a funny sotry that 3 months ago he went to visit Wat Pho, and was approached by a local guy that told him to go to these other places, which included a few temples, a jewelry store, and ended up at a tailor.
My friend has not been able to sell the ring so far. =[
Thanks to Mat:
I'd just like to say that if you have any suspicions then you should walk away at an early stage. I have twice been targeted by these scammers, and both times I was able to walk away without buying anything.
I moved to Bangkok in October 2004. A few weeks after I arrived, I was walking up my soi towards Thanon Silom (one of the main shopping/business areas). I was intending to take the SkyTrain to the MBK shopping mall. A tuk-tuk driver slowed down beside me and asked where I was going. I told him. He explained that the SkyTrain fair would be around 40 baht (true) and that he would only charge 20 baht. I said no thanks and kept walking. He kept following and asking. I said no again and kept walking. He kept following, and jokiing asked again, smiling. I though, what the hell I might as well save some money and he seems friendly. So I got in.
He started driving along Thanon Silom, talking in broken English about Manchester United (the usual, in other words). After a few minutes, he pulled over and explained that, if we take a detour to a gem shop, he will be given free fuel coupons and I only need to browse for 5 minutes then we'd continue to MBK.
I said I didn't want to go on any detour, just to MBK like he'd originally said. He kept asking. I said I was late for an appointment with someone at MBK (not true, but a good excuse) and had to get there soon. He said that by only charging 20 baht he was doing me a favour, so I should do him a favour too. I kept saying I didn't have time and wouldn't go.
So he flagged down another passing tuk-tuk, and asked him to take me to MBK. I left the 1st one, who didn't ask for the 20 baht from me, and took the other one. He charged me 50 baht when we got to MBK. (I know we took an extra-long route, down a few dodgy-looking sois. We didn't stop there or meet anyone else, though I was very worried that we would.)
The seond time was this morning (1st February 2005). I was standing at the bottom of the BTS steps, opposite MBK, taking photos of the traffic to send to my family in the UK. Specifically, I was waiting for tuk-tuks to drive past so I could photograph them. There was one tuk-tuk waiting on the opposite side of the road, not going anywhere.
A well-dressed, young/middle-aged woman approached me, asking why I was taking photos. She seemed genuine. I told her I was photographing Bangkok for my family. She talked in good English about her family and asked me if I was taking any souveniers back to the UK. She recommended that I go to Jim Thompson's silk shop, which I took to be a good sign (why would scammers recommend other people's shops?). Then it dawned on me, when she suggested I buy some gems for my family. She said she knew a place called Siam Export Center with a 40 per cent sale that morning. She said I could get a tuk-tuk from here, and she wrote the name of the place on my newspaper.
She must have signalled to the tuk-tuk waiting on the opposite side of the road, because he suddenly pulled over next to us. She suggested I go with him. I said I couldn't go now as I had to go somewhere else, but would go to this Export Center later (I had no intention of doing this). She got worried, and kept asking where I was going, so I quickly walked away.
I have also been approached by people around Siam Square, making polite conversation but seeming a bit too friendly to be genuine. In these cases, I just walked away immediately.
Thai people are usually happy-go-lucky and friendly, though they are also quite reserved. If someone approaches you, they are not to be trusted. This sounds like a generalisation but it's not. Simply, don't believe what people tell you if they approach you first.
If you flag down a taxi or tuk-tuk, or if you stop someone and ask directions, etc, they will usually be as helpful as they can. But if someone approaches you they are probably con-artists.
I would also suggest that it's safer not to use tuk- tuks at all. Taxis are around the same price, and more comfortable, and safer. If you are with a Thai person you know (eg, when I am travelling with my Thai partner) then using a tuk-tuk should be fine, but tourist groups and especially individual tourists really should avoid tuk-tuks.
Thanks to Orchid from Japan:
When I arrived near Sao Ching Cha, I decided to go to Grand Palace, then I asked a man, who was just standing near me with his friend, how to go there. At first I did not know he was a driver. He said "Grand Palace is not open at the moment, so I offer you a lift only 20B for 1 or 2 hours."It sounded fishy to me, because I had read such trouble on the web, so I asked him why it was so cheap. He said he could get ESSO coupen. At that time I did not understand what he meant. He said "I will take you to some temples and silk shop and jewellery shop." I insisted I would not go to such shops, but he said "you don't have to buy it. It is up to you." Then he circled where to go in my map.
First we went to to the temple where there are standing, sitting and big belly budda. I walked around, then a man started to talk to me. I thought it was a good idea to ask him whether I can trust Tuk Tuk driver. He said "Are you going to the silk shop? (seeing my map) I bought a suits this morning because today is the last day of big discount. I have a members card.(showing me a card) With this card I can buy everything 20% off." After the driver took me to the silk shop. I did not buy any. The name was V-something. Maybe Venus??
Next, he took me to the temple. It was closed. I met an American man who was travelling in Thailand and talked to me. I do not think he was one of culprits, but he said today was the last day of good offer, so Tuk Tuk is very cheap. At first I was very suspicious to a driver. But I became to believe "Today is holiday, so some temples close in the morning or evening! Today is the special day because of Royal Family Day!"
Next, he took me to another temple. There was a huge budda, 40M. I wanted to make sure whether what the driver said was true or not, so I was listening to conversation between a Thailand man and an American couple. He said today is special day, so some temples open, some are not.
Then we headed for a jewellery shop. I do not remember the name. It was a quite small shop. I did not buy any. After that we went to the Chinese temple. When I entered inside, a woman was praying and taught me how to pray and left there. In few minutes, when I was about to leave there she came back with a man. He tried me to stay there, then conversation began. When I said I was Japanese, he started speaking Japanese fluently. I can speak English to some extent, so at first I talked to him in English. He said "My mother is from Thai, father is Japanese and lives in Tokyo." I asked him why the driver could get ESSO coupen or whether today is holiday. He taught the system. It was like that.
Today is the last special offer day. If Tuk Tuk drivers take tourists juwellely shop, they can get ESSO coupen from the government, because the government want tourists to buy more jewellery with reasonable price. The government levys 195% tax on jewellery, but until today you can get jewellery without tax. He have bought a jewel about 300,000 yen then went to Japan to sell it to where the jewellery shop introduced to him. He sold it for 600,000 yen. His aunt bought a lot of jewellery during special offer, then went to Europe to sell them. She went well. He asked me whether I watched this commertial on TV. He said I could trust the driver. Nobody has no intention of cheating me.
I trusted what he said completely, because I did not think Japanese did not cheat Japanese.
After that, we went to the jewellery shop, UNIVERSAL GEMS & JEWELRY EXPORT CO., LTD.
At first I was not interested in jewellery, but I completed believed that the government was running. In the shop, a Thai woman was buying a set of jewel and said to me "This is the second time I have bought jewel at this shop. When I bought the jewel last time I went to Switzerland to sell it and earn a lot of money." She was filling in the documents.
When I decided which jewel I buy, a woman and a driver took me to ATM. I needed 115,000B, but I could withdraw 90,000B. It was limitation. The woman was a bit nervous. Then we went back to the shop, I paid money and filled in the documents. A man who are charged of the shop said to me, "We will send you your jewel by EMS. When you receive it, the shop you choose will contact you when I can sell it to the shop. You can get 180,000B worth yen." Unfortunately I do not have EMS sending copy.
Next, I left the shop with a man who was a driver. The car was Honda, White, Sedan car. He took me to a temples and shopping centre. He told me he was going to Germany to work with German boss for BMW. He showed me the boss's photo. Then we went to the express way and went to the restaurant which the jewellely shop had contracted with. He took me to the airport. Then I asked him to tell me his e-mail address and his address. He started to write them but he said he could not. I thought Thai people cannot spell well because they write Thai language we cannot read and write. At the airport I took his photo.
I am in panic now. I cannot get enough sleep and lost a lot of weight. I hope next victim never appear.
Thanks to Mandy from Hong Kong:
Unfortunately, I have just been scammed and realized it after reading your website. I just can't believe how sophisticating the organized crime is...to help other travellers not fall prey to the scum, here's my story to share.
I was walking around and wanted to go the weekend market, but tuk tuk driver convinced me that the market is quite far and offer me to take me around to temples for 30 baht...and alright there i went to this big belly budda chinese temple. where a respectable looking thai spoke fluent english approached me... asked where i'm from, and said that he works in bangkok embassy in hong kong. because i thought we came from same place, this is why he are very nice to me, tell me where i should go. and of course, he mentioned about the gem trade. before i left, the thai man offer to take me out for dinner, and meet with me at 6pm...and when we both back in hk, he'll take me to tsiu sa tsi, and he can even named a reputable jeweller in hk, he also told me he's leaving on the same flight but hinting he's fying first class.
So I went to the store and the mangaer spoke to me... but because a set of gem is expensive around 170,000 baht, i don't have the money and thought the place was dodgy. the manager told me this is the last of the 7 days sales which opens to public, and the store will close at 1.30pm. i left and tuk tuk took me to another temple.
In that temple, two men approached me, one english speaking thai, and an AMERICAN man who claim he works in the one of the listed tech company. they are friends and we were just chatting. then i started to ask them about the trade and disgustingly, the white man claimed that he has already done it for 3 times. it is very safe and he have the company sent it back to the states. and the thai person confirms me it's legit and they have both done it....makes me think it's a fool not to participate in it...so i look at their watch and there's still 1/2 hour to go, so i quickly went back...thanx to the AMERICAN, if it wasn't him, i could have escaped the ill episode
I was going to max out my card to get the cheapest set, so they took me to ATM and gold shop. Luckily, both cards has limit and my visa refused the transaction, so i was able to draw 20,000 baht from the bank. of course the lady who accompanied me try to calm my dissonance.
So with that money, I bought 2 small sapphire and they convinced me to mail it thru them, I was very skeptical but was so tired after a 2 hours traffic jam, so I just let them. and later, I ask tuk tuk to take me back to Kao San rd but he convince me to go to siam centre, which i did...and i thought he will wait for me. after my shopping, i wait for the driver for 1/2 hour, but he didn't show up, felt very sorry that i've used his service for 5 hours but have not pay him....
So I went back and really met the guy on kao san, i thought he's just lonely and wanted some companion so had a drink and let him bring me around for dinner, drinks. The dinner cost me 2500 baht and we shared the cost, we only have a plate of prawn and tum yum soup and couple of beer and bottle of rum, it's ridiculos to cost so much, but i really don't know the price and since he's spliting the cost and so i didn't suspect.
Later took me to a bar where i have shrimp fishing, had fun and another hostess club.. he offered to pay for both places and at the end he asked if i would like to come back to his, and i said no. Later he asked one of the hostess to put me on a cab.
During the drinks, he flaunted how connected he is and, that he has some humble amount of money but he wants to make more, he would like to do furniture trading and being very nice and say if in the future, he will help me out if he find anything that are suitable for me to help. listening to his soulful drunken talk, i lay low of my guard, and he offers to take me out tomorrow to pattaya. he also said if i don't make enough money from gem trade, he can bring me to the headquarter where i can use my card. gave me his number and ask me to call him the next day for a meet up. and reminded me to meet up with him in hk to sell the gem....
The next day,i didn't call, cuz' of personal matters, and couple of days later, went back to hk and did recieve my package. I have not yet checked the price of the gem but i don't think i even have to now...
Thanks to Matt from Washington, USA:
After returning home from a week in Thailand, I now learn that one of my experiences in Bangkok was part of an elaborate scam. Luckily, all that was involved was about USD $10-15 or so. We were pressed for time to catch a flight to Phuket so we didn't have much time to fall into this trap, but we did fall somewhat.
Since I am a caucasian male, I couldn't pull off passing for a native in Bangkok, so I was spotted as a target from a mile away wearing a Mets baseball cap and carrying a small backpack.
My friend Jennifer and I were approached outside of the gates of the Palace by a Thai man wearing a shirt and tie. Since we both were wearing shorts, he told us that we wouldn't be able to enter the palace grounds unless we had pants on -- but it didn't matter because today the palace was closed... the one day the palace closes for a Monk's festival.
He introduced himself as the Manager of the Palace - to which we just laughed and said "Whatever". We didn't know who he was or what he wanted, but we knew that the real Manager wouldn't be outside dressed in long sleeve shirt and tie on a day when it was near 100 degrees, wandering around chatting with tourists.
Instead of seeing the Grand Palace, he said we should go to see another temple nearby or up the street. I don't recall the name of the temple, but he said it would just be 50 baht (a bit more than USD $1) by tuk-tuk to get there. He flagged a driver down who was waiting in what appeared to be a tuk-tuk queue and gave him instructions in Thai, since he allegedly didn't understand English. This "Manager" of the Palace then told us that not only would we see a nice temple, but we'd be near a Government jewelry shop where we could purchase jewelry as part of a Government promotion that was only taking place that day.
Even though the "Manager" was a bit shady, we figured at least it would be a ride in a tuk-tuk through Bangkok and we'd get to see city life mid-day -- worst case, we could jump out of the tuk-tuk if there was trouble.
After a fairly nice ride (about 10-15 minutes), we arrived at a temple... it was next to a school where Thai students were outside playing ball. The grounds of the Temple were nice and we saw monks praying and setting up chairs for something, maybe a festival? This added nicely to the story but we still kinda wondered about the weird "Manager".
Since we were pressed for time, we went back to the tuk-tuk and waited for our driver, who seemed to disappear somewhere. While waiting, another Thai guy approached us and asked us all the typical tourist questions... and asked where our driver was because he wanted to "move his car". He claimed to have studied in the USA on a particular exchange program (AFS) in New Jersey and loved America... blah blah. Then of course, he told us about this special Jewelry sale. It seemed like everyone we talked to knew about this special sale, but we didn't really question it since we weren't going to be making any major purchases. The tuk-tuk driver came back and this former exchange student told him in Thai to take us to that jewelry story - or it appeared as if he was saying something like that.
When the tuk-tuk pulled away, we looked back and saw this man just walking around. Where was his car he had to move? We didn't see any car, nor was the tuk-tuk blocking any parking space. That was shady too, but we didn't realize or suspect all these people could be connected in a big scam. WRONG!
We got to the jewelry story and went inside. It was a non-descript cement storefront with no signage or anything to identify what it was. I suspected it was like that for security reasons, but in any case, it was air conditioned and we were dying of heat.
We were the only ones in the store besides about 10 salespeople... they didn't really hover over us or anything - probably because they realized we weren't going to spend $1000 or anything substantial. They offered us drinks and one man claimed to be from Washington DC -- citing a location of his Jewelry store at 16th and K -- something we'd recognize. I think he may have said he was on a buying trip or something, but I can't remember.
Luckily, because we had a flight to catch, we only had about 5 minutes to browse around the store. Jen didn't buy anything, but I saw a silver ring I liked. I know it cost no more than USD $15 so I figured why not... it fit, it looked good and I bought it. I used my credit card (which I'm about to go cancel right now) and the sale was completed. Nothing suspicious there.
The tuk-tuk driver took us back and 50 baht was all it cost but this adventure, plus the lost time of not getting to see the Grand Palace. But next time, next time I'll know truth about the Palace and the special jewelry sale... and march right into the Palace, leaving those idiot scam artists dripping with sweat from the 100-degree heat. Of course, if I see any tourists falling prey to this scam, I'll warn them and call those guys on this scam.
I've been prompted to write my story here after a co-worker just asked me if I bought jewelry in Thailand on my trip. Same thing happened to her, but no substantial money was involved.
My ring...? Well, I noticed there was no sterling silver stamp inside of it. I guess it's really not silver, but I figure it's still nice and no one needs to know it's not real.
One more thing... I'm a very experienced traveler, work for an airline and have traveled to at least 50 countries, but I still fell prey to this scam for a two reasons: (1) I didn't do much research before my trip, (2) I didn't leave these shady characters when things didn't add up (e.g. "Manager" of Palace).
Perhaps my story here might prevent an unknowing traveler from spending money on something that just isn't real.
Thanks to Yong:
The day was 21st Oct 2001. I reached Bangkok at or about 1100 hours, tired after 17 hours of train from Hatyai. As I was only transit in bangkok, planning to go to Chiangmai that day at 1455 hours, I did not go beyond 2 km of the railway station.
As I was walking along the Chinatown, a Chinese-Thai approached me, he merely asked me what is the time. I told him and then he told me that I should visit some Wat, Export centre,etc.
Furthermore, he added that Tuktuk is only 20Baht per hour, hence, being greedy, I took up the offer by boarding the tuk tuk that he has arranged for me.
The first temple I met no one. It was at the second temple, a Thai approached me, show me about a Wat. He spoke Fluent English and say how much he earned from the Export Centre which opened only 7 days in a year. Well, I believe him but still has doublt. He left without telling me where is the export centre. In the temple itself, there are several other statue. Hence, while I was seeing another statue, I met another Thai with a Foreigner. This foreigner claim that he is from Belgium, maybe that is true. He tell me that he had did it 3 times on successfully bringing the Blue Sapphire back to Belgium and earned a profit, and each time he earned US10000. Well, Like most other, I went to the shop by the tuktuk and spent US2400. Though I do not have enough cash, these people are professional enough to bring me to the Linked Gold shop, I used my Card and paid for the Gems. Well, though I am being cheated, I still do not blame these people. Because, I was being greedy in the first place. Definitely, I will remember this for life. Now, at this time, I will wait for the Gem to be post to my house, and at the same time, will go to Bangkok to look for the shop again to see if I could get my money back. May God bless all of you and all the cheats.
Thanks to Jack:
Similar story to the rest, I don't consider myself gullible. People have tried and failed before to drag me into scams and I have walked away.
But the sophistication of this scheme lies in all the seemingly independent people who guide you to the goal of buying. I just didn't connect the fact that all these people were working together. Even worse, the initial contact was made by two (I still assume) independent people and they pointed out two different stores on my map. Thus when I went to the shop I thought that the fact that two people told this story about 195% tax and then pointed out different shops added veracity to the whole thing.
The second contact was made by a man claiming to work for the UN here in Bangkok.
The seller seemed very trustworthy and the whole scheme seemed so complicated and had so many forms that again, I thought this was adding authenticity to the whole thing. He also showed me the address of the dealer I could sell to for my great profit (423 George St, Sydney if I remember) and I got the impression that he would give me this information in the envelope with the receipt. I fully intended to ring the dealer immediately afterwards to confirm they exist, etc. I asked lots of questions, thought the answers were satisfactory and went ahead. They even said 'don't talk to the people in the hotel when you go to get your passport as they'll want a commission. In fact the people in the hotel would have told me it was a scam.
They paid for that taxi and sent an attractive girl with me (alarm bell) to assist in retrieving my passport and enough cash to pay (20% for cash - otherwise use a third part gold dealer to buy enough gold on Visa and pay with that - they normally only deal wholesale which is why they don't have Visa facilities themselves).
Other alarm bells did ring, but just not loudly enough. And finally, I (fortunately for me) have a bunch of cash lying in the bank. I won't go broke over this as so many backpackers would. So I thought I'd live by the rule "never bet more than you can afford to lose". Well, I'm pretty sure I lost it.
After the sale, the guy set me up with another (less attractive - I assume once the sale is over it matters less) girl to show me around the city for the rest of the day - take me to any temples, get a traditional Thai massage, eat a meal out together. All presumably to distract me from putting all the parts together and doing anything about it.
She was particularly keen to look after my books for me - especially my guide book. Guess why? Every guide book tells you about the scam. But when I was insistent about things she was always cooperative - nothing strange going on here - nothing wrong - you're suspicious? Is good for you.
And so I read the little section on the scam in the book. Immediately I felt my stomach sink. How was I going to fix this? But still I gave it a chance that this was still real and I could make some money. Everything after that kiboshed that idea.
Firstly I asked the girl if I could ring the dealer in Sydney - she had been very accommodating in letting me ring my bank to increase my withdrawal limit - I know it costs a bomb to ring Australia from a mobile but she didn't hesitate. Getting in contact with the Sydney dealer was next to impossible. First of all she got my salesman on the phone, but as soon as I said "I have a problem" he hung up - the girl said her battery must have died. So I called back on my mobile - he has just left. So I asked her why he would just leave when he knew I'd be calling back. So she rang again (on her suddenly working phone) and got him. I put it to him that I was worried this was a scam and would be reassured if I could ring the dealer in Sydney. "Yes, those details will be included in the package when it arrives". I said I'd prefer the number now. "No." Why not? "Because he is very busy man and would not have time." That's ridiculous, just give me the number and I'll discuss it with him. "No." Then he reverted to silence. He wouldn't talk to me but stayed on the line. The girl tried to talk to him but seemingly got no response either.
Obviously she acted like she was on my side and shared my concern, but reassured me it was all okay. Let's just go for our meal amd massage. I said I'd prefer to go back to the office. She said sure, after the meal and massage. But it would be closed, and the Sydney dealer would definitly be closed by then. I had to push the issue but convinced her to go back to the store right away. She was compliant in the "everything's cool" way. However I changed my mind and decided it would be better to call back to my hotel first (on the pretext that I wanted to drop back my passport - carrying it made me nervous). She agreed to this and suggested I then go to the dealer alone. No dice, I said (well, nothing that cool actually - unfortunately the Thai people wouldn't get the phrase "no dice"). So she agreed to wait outside.
When I went to the safety deposit box room, I asked the hotellier if I had gotten dragged into a scam. When he asked me the details he confirmed probably, yes. I asked if I should call the police or go to the shop. He said it would be worth calling to the shop first. I'm not sure this was such hot advice.
When I got back to the taxi I half-expected the girl to be gone - but she had left the taxi and was making a phone call somewhere according to the driver. I waited a while and decided this was a delaying tactic on her part. Eventually I got in and told the driver to just take me to the shop. At which point she suddenly appeared again, aggrieved that I was going to run off without her.
Needless to say the "assistant manager" at the shop was most unhelpful. They said everything was okay. Can I see the salesman - no he took his commission and went. Can I call the Sydney agent - no we don't know which one he works with. I said I remembered the address - no, we don't have the number. After batting around the issues with them (one of them was either pretending to be or actually was asleep), I realised they weren't going to admit anything was wrong. What if they're fake? They're not. And if they are? Send them back to us and we'll refund you. As if.
So I said: Listen, I know you're running some operation here and you have expenses, just pay me back all but say, 5,000 baht and I won't go to the police.
No.
This was my last gambit so I decided to go to the police. They didn't try to stop me or anything else, but they were two stringy young guys and I'm sure they could have beaten the shit out of me if they wanted. I didn't want to get too pushy.
The police offered me the following advice:
1. There's nothing actually illegal about overpricing goods.
2. There's nothing they can legally do about it.
3. It happens all the time.
And then they offered me (in summary) these options:
1. Get the stuff posted back from Sydney and return it in person and try to get a refund - probably 50-60% (not an option as I was leaving the following day)
2. Send the stuff back from Australia after getting it valued - good chance I'd get nothing as they're conveniently 'lose' the package.
3. Get them (the police) to get me a partial refund and do no more about it (unless the jewellery turned out to be fake rather than overvalued - in which case I would have a criminal case).
I decided option 3 was the only decent chance I'd have of getting any moey back. I got 20% of the price delivered in cash to the police station. The rest, I have to put down to experience - what I like to call a self-imposed stupidity tax. I'm only glad I can afford it. The way I see it, it's a week's salary and I deserve to pay it for being so dumb as to fall for this.
Thanks to Ichiro:
I never thought there would be any scams more elaborated than we see in a movie, but my experience in Thailand let me know I was wrong.
After visiting the Grand Palace, I and my wife decided to have a look to Wat Pho. When my wife was checking the map to see how to walk there, one guy kindly asked us if we need help, we knew we should be careful to strangers, so we said no. He asked where we are from, and kindly said we can stand in the shadow of the wall because it is very hot under the sun, and then walked away. Because he didn't try to persuade us to buy anything, I thought maybe Thai people are very friendly since they all have the belief of Buddha.
On the way to Wat Pho, a very well-dressed man asked us where we are going to. When we said Wat Pho, he said it is not open to foreigners till 1PM, and the Thai government open several other temples for free today, and government has some tuk-tuks with white number plate other than the yellow one in a very low fee for foreigners to visit these temples.He also mentioned if we like we can visit jewelry shop. He showed us these temples in our maps, and asked a tuk-tuk occasionally running in the road to stop, and asked the driver to give us a tour only with 20 Baht.Because we didn't have other plan, and the friendly man and the driver didn't seem to know each other, I didn't doubt what he said.
Though my wife doesn't like tuk-tuk, we still got on the tuk-tuk. The driver was trying to talk with me in his very bad english to say he is working for government. He acted so kindly, I really thought we met a very kind guy. I only felt a little bit strange to his bad driving manner as to he was like a so kind person. But this didn't stop me to believe him.
The driver firstly took us to a small and quiet temple not worth for foreigners to visit at all. Though I was very disppointed, I still thought I should just give a quick look. Inside the temple, a very thin guy invited us to sit before the buddha, and started to chat with us. He said he is a businnesman, and has travelled to a lot of countries.He said every year the government will have one week export promotion, foreingers are allowed to buy gems limit to 5 pieces without taxes in the export center. He said he did it every year to sell the gems in other countries to earn at least 100% profit. Because we really didn't want to waist too much time in this small temple, we finished the chat. Till now I was not interested to the gem story at all.
We went back to the tuk-tuk driver, he asked us to wait for a moment because he needed to go to toilet. There are one Thai and one white guy standing nearby seemed like waiting for somebody. Then the Thai guy asked if there is any problem with the tuk-tuk driver because they usually cannot speak good english, and he said he is an officer here.(I felt a little bit strange here because I don't think he needs to tell me he is an offccer.) Then he started to ask me where we are from, and the white guy said he is from Belgium. They again started to talk about the government promotion, the Belgian said He already did this to pay for his trip to Thailand several times, and the Thai huy even showed me his $6000 receipt he bought two days ago, and they said today is the last day. I confirmed the difference between white and yellow number plate tuk-tuk, they said just same thing as we were told at the beginning.
Just after we finished our talk, the driver came back. I felt a little bit stange why he went to toilet for so long time, but not strange enough to doubt the whole thing. The driver asked us if we like to go to the export center, we agreed. I told to my wife, if this is a scam, this network is too big, too elaborated, so it should not be a scam.
I thought it must be a good buiding with crowded people because this is a big chance to earn money. When we arrived to a very small shop with only "Export Center" on the glass door, I douted if I am right to come here. Inside the shop, there are a big photo of a man wearing like a king and a newpaper on the wall. I don't know the standard price for the gem, but the price listed there was really expensive, so we tried to see some cheaper thnigs.Again the salesperson said we can eaily sell it out if we buy the gem stones. While we were seeing the jewelry, a white guy came and bought a 5-piece box, and showed his passport. After he left, I saw there is a box with a name on it showing that it is already sold. The saleperson even showed us the whole receipt and EMS document of the whole customers (Later may wife said she felt it is strange they expose other customers' information to us). We spent much time there, wanted to make a decision to buy or not. Finally we thought we cannot buy a so expensive jewelry without even checking the price in other shops.
After leaving the "export center", it was already 1PM, according the first guy's saying, Wat Pho should be open. But the driver said Wat Pho is only open to Thai people in the afternoon, we didn't believe it and insisted the driver to send us back to Wat Pho. He said OK, but he needs to go to another shop to get free gas coupon. But after arrived to another jewelry shop, he asked us to stay there for 10 minutes. Now we knew he just wanted to take us to jewelry shops, so we paid him 20 Baht and took a taxi back to Wat Pho. When we bought the ticket for Wat Pho, we asked the ticket guy if it was closed this morning, and he said it was open from 8AM.
When we were walking around the Wat Pho, we thought through again the whole things happend in the morning, we suddenly realized the whole thing was a scam. We are so astonished there is so well elaborated scam exist in the real life. Just like a movie, this scam needs a well-written script, good directors and actors to make it like a real. My wife said sometimes the human being is the most scareful and dangerous thing in this world.
Thanks to Roger:
I got scammed in late July, 2002. Usual story of tuk-tuk drivers, a supposed tax lawyer (local guy who thought I was English, so said he lived in London), and a "Government Expo", allegedly advertised on Thai TV.
Back at Khao San Rd, I found out I'd been scammed (did a google search), and called the tourism police, who told me to go to the airport to intercept the courier (EMS is the carrier of choice for the scammers).
The actual mail center is a few miles from the international terminal (exiting the terminal you turn left, catch a cab, go past the domestic and cargo terminals, and turn left at a road with a gas station on the corner). The center is open even at night (I was initially worried 'cos the place was darkened).
The mail guys found my package in about 20 seconds, and the next day I went back to the jewelry store and asked for a refund. After an hour or so of haggling I settled for just over 70% refund (they tried the ol' goodcop-bad cop routine, the "don't have cash on premises" routine, and "I'm not authorized to refund more than 50%" routine). Needless to say they were just bullshitting.
I took my cash and left.
My suggestion is to go with someone else whose role is just to wait in the showroom (it'll make them nervous), while you ask for a refund. A couple who did this got ~90% refund.
It's funny that a scam/fiction based just on allegations can be done so effectively(like in the movies "The Sting", and "The Spanish Prisoner").
Politically, the scam relies on Thailand's lack of effective consumer protection/fair trading/trade practices laws.
Thanks to JW Kong from Singapore:
My purpose of contributing is not to illustrate my experience of gem scam. Since the tactics used by these conmen are rather similar, my purpose is to inform others that such scam still exist now. I don't know when did the above scams encountered by fellow travellers occurred, but I was in Bangkok on Nov 2002, and I did encountered the scam.
My secondary purpose is to tell how I "got off the hook". As usual, my girlfriend and I was approached outside Grand Palace. I think by now, you should know very well what was to follow. The usual tactics were used. The place indicated by the guy was called "Leela". And as usual, we were bought to this place after all the elaborated plots. I begin to feel fishy when I was at the second temple, with the "Thai government guy".
So when we reached the gem shop, I'm quite sure it must be a scam and decided not to buy no matter what. We indicated that we are students (thus have little money). We were lucky in this area as both of us looked rather young. We also indicated that we do not have any credit cards. We were again lucky as the salesperson didn't pressure us much into buying. We left the shop in less than 5 minutes.
My sincere apologies for those who have been scammed. To me, this is a good experience since I didn't lose much in the scam, and I get to experience such seamless scam, that have made Thailand so infamous. To me, it was part of my experience with the one of the "highlights" of Thailand.
Thanks to Edo, who lives in Bangkok:
Three days ago my mother came to Bangkok from Italy to visit me, and the following day I took her to visit Bangkok. She stayed in a hotel in Pratunam and just outide the hotel we took a Tuk-Tuk, and asked for Wat Phra Kaew. We were four people, me, my thai lady, my mother and her friend. The tuk-tuk said that we cannot go four people in one tuk-tuk as he feared police, and so he said to take another of the many tuk-tuks there were waiting there.
I stayed with my lady in the first tuk-tuk and my mother went in the new one. My lady asked the driver to speak with the other tuk-tuk in order to travel together to Wat Phra Kew and don't lose my mother somwhere.
The first driver spoke with the second driver, and he said to him that before he had to go to get 'Namman', fuel.
He spoke in Thai with my lady and told her that he has a free coupon for an Esso fuel station, and he showed a little paper with the Esso name on it on the top, the middle blank, and a serial number on the bottom.
He also explained the other tuk-tuk that before him had to go there, and so to follow him.
I asked what was happening, making as if I didn't speak thai, as I do indeed. The driver asked my lady if I speak Thai, and she said no, him asked if we spoke English and my lady said only me. So he said to me, showing a map that on the road to Wat Phra Kew there were "something", where he wanted to go for put a stamp on the coupon for free fuel, and he showed me again this ESSO coupon. He said only 1 minute, and on the road to Wat Phra Kew. He continued to show me this ticked everytime we stopped because of the traffic, and saying put stamp for free 'Namman', and he also said "my sponsor".
Free Namman, my sponsor. I said ok.
During the travel, remembering all the stories on your website I thought that maybe this was a scam, but I also thought that maybe I was paranoid and I should not buy anything anyway. I was only a little afraid as I remembered that I read on your website that these people had illegal connections.
We headed to Wat Phra Kaew, and as we stopped sometime to wait for the second tuk-tuk (the one that "didn't know the road") the driver also told my lady that she cannot come inside Wat Phra Kaew because her shirt didn't cover her shoulders. As I heard this I suspected more and I warned my lady that this could be a scam, and that maybe now they would take us to buy some face jewels.
Finally, riding on the cement 10 centimeters high, (I don't know how to call this, the thing that separates the two lanes in the road), making an U turn, we stopped in front of a shop, with a sign with "Jewel Factory" written on it. It was a big door on the first floor, and cannot look inside of the windows, or the glass door, as they were like mirror or black.
As I read this I understood everything.
The drivers now looked not like strangers between them, but as longtime friends, and other people came outside of the shop.
I remember that there were no security outside, and a man with a blue tshirt and old pants came outside.
I said to my mother to go away, and wait for me. The men said come inside please, free, don't have to pay nothing, only look.
I spoke in Thai with the two drivers, I said to them that I cannot come inside, and paid the 200 bath they had asked before to go to Wat Phra Kew, I also took two 50 baht banknotes and said to them, this is your free coupon for your fuel, go and make it. I also said that I was sorry but I know about this story. So the third man that came out of the shop before, approached me and said that cannot make this, and showed me his finger making NO! He also said and me, you have to pay me. I said to him that it was better for everybody to forget about each other.
And I went away, I turned the corner and went on a taximeter, that with 40 baht and AIR conditioned, took me to Wat Phra Kew, that was really near, as the "Jewel Factory" should be really near.
In the taxi I explained to my mother about what happened to us. Luckily before they found me, I found your website, so I already knew about that story. It was expecially useful the section about the experiences of the other people, as I suspected a lot when they wanted to worry my lady and said here that she cannot inside Wat Phra Kaew, because she had not the proper dressing.
Please all tourist be aware, inside Wat Phra Kaew there is an office where you can borrow the proper dress for no money, only leave your ID card there, and take it back when the tour ends. Completely safe, as my lady tried that day.
Thanks to Anil of Suk11 guesthouse for permission to republish this story which happened to one of his guests:
I will write down my story once again for you to put it on the internet so that as many people as possible hopefully will be warned. It all started in front of the Grand Palace but probably that is not the only place where these professionally organized Mafia "actors" operate. I was about to walk to the direction of the Grand Palace when a guy introduced himself as a student and said that on Saturday afternoons the Palace was always closed due to a public blah blah blah (which is not true). Then Number 1 recommended me some other temples to go to and I jumped on a Tuk Tuk to get there. I met Number 2 meditating inside the small temple to which the Tuk Tuk driver took me. He looked like a truthful and honest Thai businessman in casual clothes and we started to have a chat. After asking me some questions about where I come from and so on he said that there was a special government promotion for jewellry -- this week only -- with Saturday being the last day. His country's economy wasn't going well and that's why they had this promotion week where you don't have to pay tax and therefore later on could make quite some money when selling the gems back in your home country.
I started to get interested and I started to ask questions. You have to know that all those people are very aware of all the doubts you can possibly have and they are extremely well trained to be looking and acting honestly and they will never put any kind of pressure on you. Basically, this guy just told me what HE was about to do with no proposals for what I should do. We had a vivid discussion and in the end I asked him for the address of a reliable place at which to buy things like that, which he gladly gave me. I passed that over to my driver (who was probably one of them, too, because otherwise he would have warned me).
Inside the shop there were about 5 people: The vendors as well as Actor No. 3 who was a European male claiming to be Swedish (which is probably true) and about to buy some sets of gems which he would later, as he did every year during the governmental promotion period, sell back in Sweden to finance his holidays in Thailand. I bought a set of gems for a LOT of money but I know now that there are even more people who have spent MUCH more money than I did on this. I spent around $2000 US which I don't even have on my credit card. You will get receipts for everything but they won't help you in the end because it is technically a legitimate business deal; the gems are just worth much less than they claim them to be worth and you will take a large loss when you try to sell them. After we had made the deal they got for me as their "new customer" a driver with a nice 4WD - a young Thai guy of my age who I just want to call "Number 4" now, who drove me around for all the rest of the day and took me to any place I wanted to go. He invited me for dinner in the evening where we met Number 5 who claimed to just have arrived from the other end of Thailand (Chiang Mai) and, of course, confirmed everything about the jewels once more. We had a beautiful day and night together, they paid everything for me and in the end Number 4 even gave me his favorite music cassette as a present.
I started to have doubts the next day when I heard a very similar story from Mark, who had stayed at Suk11 as well. The awakening came when I went to the Tourist Police where they have special "Jewellry Complaint Forms". I met about 6 other people there who had very similar stories to tell and I know now that there is a web of about 30 jewellry shops and god knows how many Number 1's 4's and 8's. I don't want to say anything about the tourist police that later I will regret so I'll just say this: Don't believe they will ever help you. In the end, with some help from suk11 I managed to get back 75% of my money. I had to postpone my flight to sort everything out here but by far most of the tourists are not that lucky. Once you have left the country, there's nothing you can do.These people are organized Mafia in my eyes but, as it always is with the Mafia: They will find a way to break the law without breaking it.
This is the story I have to tell and I hope for you that you will read it b e f o r e you take your first step into the money trap. But, of course: You are much smarter than me and this only happens to stupid people.... yes, maybe... and maybe not.
Marcus
Previous Page
Thanks to this site and internet access on my cell phone, i was saved at the last moment. For us it began with a well groomed gentleman in front of the palace, with the official duty to tell all the visitors that the palace is closed today due to a classified internal meeting. He offered to help us with our day by suggesting some places. The same temple with a tall budhha to another temple with an in between stopover to this Thai heritage center called LEELA, about which he coincidentally saw on tv last night thats its having this special once a year duty free sale of jewellery. Since we didnt have a paper map of bangkok, he had them ready in his pocket to be offered to us with his suggested land marks in the map which he circled and gave to us as a favour. He also suggested to take 2 tuk tuks as we were a group of 4 for 40 bahts each. Suddenly out of the blue 2 tuk tuks appear and agreed point blank for the whole trip at the price. We were taken to their first temple, where we asked the only elderly gentleman in sight about the entrance to the temple. he turned out to be a lawyer working with the ministry of law (whhhoooaa !!!). He struck up a conversation and we told him we are going to leela next. He told us that we are on a very lucky day in thailand and then came the usual names of major jewellors in my country who order from leela and the thai students and his personal visits to various countries and that day morning only he purchased stuff worth 3000 USD (the person was of thai origin). We had a no shopping pact for the trip so we were not planning to buy anything but we were definitely intrigued so we went to this leela place. i guess seeing our reluctance from the beginning the sales people realised that we are not worthy of their time so we came out after 5 mins with nothing. now the drivers start taking us towards our final stop another temple. On the way the drivers mentioned that they get fuel coupons from the jewellery shops and would we be kind enough to visit 3-4 more shops before the temple. They said we need not buy anything, just spend 15 min in the shop looking and trying things. we thought of this as a hassle but as a goodwill gesture agreed to visit may be 1 more shop. but before reaching to the second shop suddenly i remebered reading about some scam abt telling people that their destination is closed during my pre trip research. i quickly searched for bangkok leela scam on my cell and came to this page and then the whole story just became clear. we quickly gave some reason to catch an early flight and paid the drivers their promised 40 bahts each and got the hell out of there as soon as possible. it cost us 80 bahts and couple of hours and we missed the chance to watch the palace as it was closed for the day by that time, but thanks to this site and technology... instead of a grievance or loss i got a interesting story to tell.
Neo
What a disgrace to know that well dressed Thai men are prowling outside sacred temples to lure innocent tourists to a well organized jewelry scam. What a sad state of affairs. Innocent but not stupid my friend whose brother works at Eaton Centre in Toronto and his accomplice who just happened to be parked next to our tuktuk driver at Lucky Temple - he was a tax lawyer who studied at Cornell -
hugo hirn
I would just like to say a big thank you to all those who have posted here, it saved me a lot of money. Same old story: respectable looking guy tells us the Grand Palace is closed for 2 hours and suggests we see a nearby temple; tuk tuk driver is told to take us there for 20Baht, when we get back to the tuk tuk he disappears to the toilet for 10mins and a "thai air pilot" explains about sapphires, showing us a ring he bought from Leela's Lapidary and how it was much cheaper than abroad; everyone is so polite and believable that we went along to Leela's and almost bought a USD$5K ring which (I must admit) was beautiful. Being a little wary I googled the name on the internet and found this site, prompting us to leave the store immediately without making a purchase. It is such a shame because it makes you distrustful of all the genuinely friendly Thai people because of a few scammers. The police would presumably crack down on it unless they were in on it since it is in such prominent tourist areas. Thank you again.
Matt
This happened to us in November 2010. We were stopped heading to the grand palace and told by a student that it was closed. Our story is the same as everyone elses. Why is this allowed to continue when it has been going on so long? It was a well executed scam - we had no idea what was going on. We are now chasing our credit card company to see if they can help us.
cathy
I'm in Bangkok all the time and get approached by these scams often. I always find it strange because I'm never dressed well, just a t-shirt, capris and flip flops. I have a great way to get rid of them. I ask them how to get a job as the "foreigner" in the shop. I tell them I'm a great actor and really need the money because my ticket home isn't for three weeks. They pretend to be confused and not know about the scam. I just put the pressure on them to give me the job very strongly and they find reasons to get away.
Heather
Might be a variation of the scam. We book a half day boat trip tour via a well know air operator.
After spending a great day on the tour and building a great rapport with our tour rep, She advise us that an extension of the tour is that they will take us to a famous jewellery factory.
As we had book the tour via a well known operator, we had no reason to doubt this was not part of the tour. Also after spending a half day with this lady we had no reason to doubt the guide.
When we arriveed , the factory is as explained by others on this site. Arm guards, free drinks, personal "guide"
Thankfully I hate jewellary, and my Gf wasn't to intrested either.
Yen
Hi, my 2 friends and I were scammed on 1 August at a jewellery shop located at Look-Luang Road, Mahanak, Dusit. The taxi driver who took us to airport warned us but it was a little too...late and we were on our way back to Spore. The stories were exactly what has been told by fellow tourists as listed on your web site. Singaporeans please be aware!! and do not trust or talk to A tall young man who speaks with an American accent. He and the shop people are in cahoot. Just do not be gullible like us.
A fellow Singaporean
I just returned from Bangkok (February 2010) and the scam is alive and well. All of the elements were there for my daughter and me. One unique factor for us was that, after leaving the jewelry shop without buying anything, we asked the tuk-tuk driver to take us straight to the Palace - it was raining and we didn't want to see any of the other "sights". He refused, talling us he would take us to another shop. At this point I recognized the scam immediately. The more I insisted that he take us back, the more antagonistic he became, shouting at us and insisting "I help you! You help me! You buy!" I asked him how much he would charge us to take us straight to the Palace, and he shouted angrily "400 baht!" My daughter was getting very upset - we had only one full day in Bangkok and this was taking us away from the sights. The driver started yelling at us "You so mean! You buy!" We waited until he stopped at a red light and then we jumped out of the tuk-tuk. I handed hin the 40 baht agreed fare and we fled, with him screaming at us, "You stupid! You so mean! You stupid!" The situation actually had become quite dangerous for us. We found a metered taxi which took us straight to the Palace. As we approached the gate, we were stopped by someone telling us the Palace was closed for "religious ceremonies" - he suggested we get in a tuk-tuk to go see the Happy Buddha and the "Thai Export Mart"! Unbelieveable. It is everywhere.
Joanne
My first trip to Thailand, from 08.09.2009 for 14 days and started off with no problems as our hotel was in hau hin, on the follwing sunday we did a day trip to Bangkok which was arranged for the hotel with a english speaking guide, from tui.
The day out in bangkok started off well we visited the kings palast and went for a meal, which was all arranged from the tui guide and it was great.
After lunch we then went the MBK shopping mall, where we could do a 2 hour shopping tour without the tui guide, but before our holiday i read the storys on your web side and the storys saved me from being ripped off as inside the shopping center me and my wife where approched from a very well dressed young man that asked what time it was, and then started talking about how nice it is here and how frendley the people are here.
I then became a little bit worried and though this could be the start of a scam?many thanks
Jeffrey Aisthorpe
For the cases of Tourists purchasing Jewelry from the shop
Tourist Police Division express our hearted sympathy for the events of tourists who have purchased jewelry from the shop and receiving the unsatisfaction on the products. Tourist Police Division has not ignored with these situations, we provide the assistances and conveniences to tourists until the tourists receiving the satisfactions and fairness on transactions they made with the merchants. This make tourist get impressed with Thailand. For example there were 2 France tourists purchased the goods from S N P Jewelry Limited Partnership on 22 July 2009 then they felt not confident on the product quality, the tourist police helped to corporate with the shop and made the shop accepted the purchased jewelry back and refunded the amount to the tourist 90 % of the amount paid, the tourists were very impressed with our friendly assistance.
In such case, Tourist police Division straits and supervises for tourists to not get rid off or taken advantage from the entertainment places or shops and in case the shop sells the fake products and misleads the customers as the original the shop will be proceeded with the law case, however in case the selling jewelry even it is overprice but it is agreed by both parties, the police is not able to proceed the law case against the shop, however the tourist police helps to negotiate and being a mediator for the shop to accept the purchased product back and agrees to refund the amount to tourists.
For the picture on the website indicated that a France man is a person who persuades tourists to buy jewelries from shops, Tourist Police Division has an order to officers for monitoring the movement of the said man and if he is found anytime commits the criminal offense under the law of Thailand, we will proceed him with the law case forthwith.
Thai Tourist Police “ Your First Friend †Call 1155
Tourist Police Division
I am getting married in 3 days in phuket and have just been scamed for saphire earrings in Bangkok today.They were ment to be the something blue for my futre wife. I have cancelled my flight for tomorrow and am going to the store to demand a full refund. If it makes anyone feel any better I'll be sat out side the store all day telling tourists about the con untill I get a full refund. I am so angry. I do not earn a lot and this was a once in a life time trip. I will post tomorrow how it went. Does anyone have any Thia gangster contact who could maybe set fire to the shop? (Only joking)
thomas fox
Last year, April 2008 I was holidaying in Thailand again. Whilst eating at MBK a well dressed, small thin Thai man sat at a table opposite and struck up a conversation in his best English. After explaining my wife and I had been to chuta chuk market that morning to see how much it had changed in the past 20 years he told me of another. This market was extremely cheap and not many foreigners would know of it with prices around 60% cheaper. Also it was next to a jewellery shop selling wholesale strictly to O/Seas tourists. With this he was joined by his 8 y.o. daughter who had wandered over after being dropped at the door. After introductions with his cute little girl he asked when we had arrived, which hotel we were booked into and for how long. An allround nice friendly thai he would have you believe. He asked if we would like the address of the market & jeweller but I sensed a scam having been to bangkok more than a dozen times. I said I would take the address but would not go today and said goodbye as he grabbed his phone and feverishly made a phone call. Maybe 30 metres away from the entrance a very attractive well dressed young woman waved, smiled and approached us. "Hi, how are you today Mr. & Mrs.-----". I did not recognise her but she continued. " You don't recall me talking to you at the hotel on check in." now I knew what the phone call was about. So I told her I could not recall her face as I had never seen her before and I knew she and her partner were scammers. I walked away and turned after about 10 metres to see her now looking bewildered toward her boyfriend standing at the doorway of the restaurant. They are very good and the child was a nice touch. I am very cautious and on guard at all times having caught a pickpocket on my first trip in '85. Please beware EVERYWHERE in thailand there are so many ways to get stung...Tony.
Continued from 'Syncronisity'...
and that we needed to take more risks on life to get greater rewards, this was to become the start of a bit of 'wheeler dealing'- it was actually just GREED)
We arrived at the shop and looked at may pieces, I have to say most of the stuff looked a bit old fashioned, an neither of us liked any of it that much- I asked about Diamonds, but was told by a fairly un-pushy saleswoman that we might as well buy them in London or Paris as they would be the same price but Saphires and Rubys were cheaper in Thailand because they mined them there-
We had absolutely no idea of what we were looking at and thought it all seemed pretty good value, we were shown bad quality Saphires to compare to the 'Good' ones that we were starting to make moves towards buying, and were shown a ring for 695 pounds that looked like it could easily sell in the UK for over 1000.
She offered us a set of Ring, Pendant and Earrings for 2000 pounds and at this point my GREED/Brain balance tipped the right way thank god!! I just got the ring.
I took the ring home (nicely wrapped up by the shop so I wouldn't peek at it and have second thoughts) and on the first day back took it to a Jewellers whao told me that he would pay no more than 200 for it!! And that he didn't want it anyway!
Gutted!
I'm is the process of having it checked for authenticity, I only hope that it is fake so I have a chance of reclaiming the money on the grounds of miss selling- I doubt this will happen but I just feel lucky not to have been stupid enough to spend (Loose) more.
This Scam is clever- it is a classic confidence trick- I will never trust a friendly fellow tourist on holiday again- more's the pity, I probably won't trust a Thai again- most of whom are probably lovely people- this is just another nail in the the coffin for the lighter side of my personality- and another support for my growing cynicism towards fellow humans.
Jack
I am Nice from the Phlippines. I have just been victimized by this scam. I am so devastated that I cannot even tell the story here as it brings sad and painful memories. Please help me. Anyone who successfully got 80%, please email me: niceavila@yahoo.com..
Nice
On 29th January 2009, my family arrived in Bangkok. Our stay in Bangkok was for 5 days and 4 nights, ie from 29 January to 2nd February 2009. This was our first holiday trip to Bangkok and we were first time tourists. We have always had a good impression of Thailand. We were very happy and excited to visit all the interesting tourist places in Bangkok.
The following day, 30 January 2009, we decided to take a metered taxi to the Grand Palace as we had heard so much of it. The taxi fare from the hotel to the Grand Palace was 73 bahts. As we alighted from our taxi, a nice gentlemen, who spoke perfect English and claimed that he was an English lecturer, approached us and asked us some questions about where we came from, where we were going, etc. We told him that we were going to Grand Palace and he told us that at that time (about 10.30am), they were having some prayer ceremony and it was not open to foreigners yet until after 1pm. He told us that we could not go into the Grand Palace at that time. Instead, he suggested that we go to 3 other nearby places first, ie another temple, then the Thai Trade Centre, then another temple nearby and then go back to the Grand Palace. Immediately he hailed a tuk tuk driver, who "happened" to be waiting just by the road side. He said that this driver, who was in in blue uniform with a badge, was employed by the Thai Government, whose job was to take tourists around and make them happy. We only had to pay him 10 bahts for the places that he was going to take us. Since he spoke so convincingly, we thought that the Grand Palace was really closed, so we agreed to go on the tuk tuk to the other places first. He kept insisting that we must get on the tuk tuk first and seemed quite irritated when we asked further questions about going into the Grand Palace. We were then brought to a small quiet temple nearby where there was a buddha inside a small building. One gentleman, who spoke perfect English, suddenly appeared in the compound and started telling us the history of the temple and the Buddha, which is supposed to be the oldest one in Thailand and was brought in by one of the Thai kings, after several failed attempts. He even showed us the place where "his ancestors" had their ashes kept there behind the marble slabs below the buddhas. He said that he sponsored part of the renovation works of the temple and he is actually a teak merchant and supplies teak to teak manufacturers. He said that his factory was nearby and he was staying nearby also. This gentleman who called himself Somchai was very knowledgeable and said that he graduated with a law degree from University of Colorado, USA and he had been in US for more than 18 years but had to come back to carry on the family business. He seemed so polite and knowledgeable about other countries and even about Malaysia and said that he has a friend named Tony from Genting Highlands so much so that we did not doubt him. Finally, after we had taken some photographs around the place, he told us that currently the Thai Govt is having a special promotion to encourage tourists to Thailand. Due to the economic crisis, the Thai Govt had waived the tax on gems jewelry for a week and that day was the last day and we must take advantage of this special promotion. Besides that, the prices of gems would be given a discount of 30%. Hence, as tourists, it was the best time to buy some gems jewelry and bring back to our country. Because of the tax waiver and the discount, we saved 60% and we could actually invest in gems as the prices would appreciate when the economy recovers. He then told us to go to Leela Lapidary Co, Ltd and marked it on the map for the tuk tuk driver to bring us there. He said that this was a Thai govt controlled company and they sell genuine gems. In fact, his friend had already bought USD 20,000 worth of jewelry and the following day, he sold it in Malaysia, and had already made USD6,000. He himself had already bought USD100,000 jewelry for investment and he was keeping it as investment for the future. Thinking what he said was true, we agreed to go and have a look. We never suspected that he was scamming us as he looked sincere, polite and like a businessman. He said that if we don't buy now, we would have missed the opportunity as it was the last day of the promotion. When we arrived at Leela Lapidary, there was a middle-aged Chinese lady in her 60s or 70s named Karuna who served us. The shop looked rather organized, with salesgirls everywhere. There was a sign outside which said ISO certified. We thought that this was a govt approved center and they sell real gems. The lady Karuna confirmed what the man Somchai said and told us that this was the last day of the promotion and the prices would go up the following day. She said that their shop is selling genuine jewelry and prices are all under Thai Government control. She also said that it is a wholesale shop and they supply to Malaysian jewellers like Habib Jewellers and Poh Kong. She then brought us around and showed us sapphire rings, pendants, ear-earings. She told us that she would give us special discounts because we were Chinese. Finally, after all the explanations and convincing, I bought 2 sets of jewelry comprising one set of yellow gold orange sapphire ring, ear-rings and pendant, another set of ruby white gold ring, ear-rings and pendant, and 2 silver rings of blue sapphire. The total cost came up to 139, 600 bahts. She said that this is tax-free and she gave 40% discount. She even gave us Certificates of Guarantee and told us that if we go back in future, they could take back the jewelry at the price that we bought and we could up-grade. She said that the goods that we paid would cost double in Malaysia. We trusted her as she seemed genuine and sincere and was like a nice old lady, just like grandma.
I remember that when we arrived, we were given tea and coffee first and somehow, when the lady Karuna talked to us, it seemed that we accepted what she said. When she asked us to pay, we used our credit cards and signed, according to what she wrote in the receipt book. I had no idea how this could be done so easily as 139,6000 bahts is equivalent to about Malaysian Ringgit 14,500.00. Under normal circumstances, I will not spend more than RM1,000 without thinking and considering many times. Somehow, in the shop, it was as though I was not alert and conscious of what I was doing. I can never afford to pay the credit card bill of RM14,500 as I do not have so much money. I have a feeling that we had been hypnotized by the man at the temple (who looked into our eyes when he spoke) and by the drinks offered at the shop. When we left, we were given 3 bottles of water as Karuna said that it was a hot day and she wanted to give us the drinks. After paying for the goods, Karuna gave us receipts and certificates of guarantee and even told us to go straight back to the hotel as we might be robbed of our jewelry on the way. She seemed to be so kind and nice, as if she was on our side. When we left Bangkok on 2 February 2009, we were quite happy with our trip and thought that everything was alright and did not suspect anything and that we were actually victims of a scam, one of the worst in Bangkok.
When I reached home, I checked the internet on this shop and to my horror, realized that this shop, Leela Lapidary Co. Ltd., was actually on the list of "con" gems shops and had been blacklisted. Many tourists had exactly the same experience as us, starting with the Grand Palace (or other tourist spots), the tuk-tuk ride, the nice gentlemen and the jewelry shops and purchases. I have checked with my credit card company and they said that the money of Malaysian Ringgit RM14,646.26 had already been paid to them and charged to my account. There is nothing the credit card company can do except complain to the consumers tribunal. I took my jewelry purchased from Leela to several Malaysian Jewellers and they said that the so- called orange sapphires are actually semi-precious stones and the so-called diamonds attached, are actually zirconia and not real diamonds. The only thing is the little bit of 18 carat gold attached (about 1gm) which is valued at RM64.00 per gram. All the stones and white gold and silver are actually worthless and have no market value. You can imagine how shocked and upset I am. I paid RM14,500 for a batch of worthless products because the shop is unscrupulous and had a very organized syndicate to victimize tourists. Their prices are inflated more than a thousand times. This has given your country a very bad reputation and I will advise my friends to be careful about all the dishonest merchants in Thailand. I am very, very distressed and having sleepless nights over this matter. The money is a very big amount and I cannot settle it. I have written to the Department of Internal Trade Thailand twice and have not received any response. I have also written to the Thailand Authority of Tourism (TAT) and am awaiting a response to get a full refund.
It is actually a syndicate operating to con tourists. It is a shame that Thailand is promoting itself as a land of friendly people and calls itself "Amazing" Thailand. This scam is very prevalent and is happening every day. It seems that this has been happening for 20 years and yet the Thai Authorities are not doing much to stop these con men.
Please advise. I need to get my refund urgently, otherwise I will be in financial diffulties.
Our experience in Bangkok has been marred by this very unpleasant incident and I hope that other tourist will not fall prey to these con men. My weakness was to trust people and think that everyone was sincere and honest. Now I know better.
Chan
In 2006 we were offered a ride in a tuk tuk outside baioke / indra hotels. We wanted to goto hard rock cafe but were told this didn't open until 3pm and it was 1pm so he would take us on a tour first for 100baht. what a bargain. first stop jewellery shop, we were obviously lucky as we don't wear much jewellery anyway so we just walked in didn't listen to a word anyone was saying cut a lap of the shop to fein interest and then walked back out so the tuk-tuk driver could get his coupon. he then took us to the suit shop, problem is we have been to bangkok before and I went to a previously used respectable tailor the day before, so we didn't even get out of the tuk-tuk, we then firmly suggested that we would not go to another jewellery shop instead of tailor and would walk around Siam until HRC opened if necessary. Tuk-tuk driver took the hint and drove us to Hard rock cafe which was amazingly open at 1.45pm :) . A quiet but firm tone of voice goes a long way in bangkok / all of asia and thus far touch wood have not had many problems. Also watch out for the same scam in Singapore, driver tried to tell us that a public fountain in a public park didn't open until after 1pm, we left the cab.
Aaron
Aaron
SEP2008: I heard that there might be new trick to convince travellers to buy gems in this kind of scam. Some travellers think that they would make a lot of money for their education from reselling these gems.
Hi there I thought I would add in my ten cents worth, My partener and I were recently in Bangkok and noted that it appeared that everyone who talked to us was trying to scam us one way or another apart from the folk in the hotel who were very polite and obliging, anywho we decided to take a buss to another part of Bangkok and have a look at a market, as soon as we made our way off the buss we were approched by a fluent english speaking man who talked about our home country and himslelf and general pleasantaries, we then tried to cross the road to a market and were told by another english speaking chap that the market we wanted to go to was closed as it was a national lottery ticket selling day and was only availablefor thai people, he was quite friendly but obstructive and told us that we should take a tuk tuk as the government was offering a discount on tuk tuks today and it was really a fortnate thing for us, he also told us that we could identify govt tuk tuks as they had yellow licence plates etc , he pretty much grabbed our map and marked it with "sites of interest" we were pretty much keen to get on our way and left him, we had avoided getting into oneof
these tuk tuks since arriving in Bangkok however we were approached by another chap who was a tuk tuk driver who insisted it would only cost 20 bhat for the ride to the attactions, unfortunately we got into his tuk tuk, he drove lke a maniac through narrow backstreets to a temple then another on the way he called someone on a cellphone and uttered a couple of words when arriving at the first tempe he told us to take our time then he took us to another temple and insisted he would be reimbursed by the government for his fuel usage while in this temple we were approached by an elderly asian man who in retrospect appeared to be chinease he stated he was an offical who had the day off and worked in the customs and excise area in bangkok, he stated his parents ashes were buried at the temple and gave us a tour of the temple, he then asked us how long we were there for andproceeded to inform us of a gem sale that was export orientted and this was the last day for us , purhasing a gem would enable us to avoid the 195 pervent vat that would normally be charged , he raved on for a whil,e and then left(one insideous part of his story was that we woudl need to have our passports stamped), soon after another younger looking man who was also chinease or perhaps thai asked us if we were bhuddist and then started on the same scam ,he showed us a ring on his finger that was purportedly a saphire and stated that he was marriedn in englan recently and he financed this by seling gems to "tiffanys" he also stated that we could just hold onto them once they were purchsed as they would increase in value by 15 % per year he then produced a business card that had a symbol of a shop that would give us the stamp of authenticity etc and that they would stamp our passport, after this we left the temple and the driver took us to the "expo" as he stated that he would need to get coupons form the expo for his petrol that he was using" on our way to the store the tuk tuk driver was pulled over by armed police, there were about six of them wearing side arms and they were wearing several styles of hats, I recognised what appeared to be a glock pistol and what could have been smith and western style revolvers on thier hips, they talked ot the tuk tuk driver for a couple of minutes, it appeared they knew him and they did not check his drivers licence, they seemed ot have a rapport with him, once the tuk tuk driver had talked to the police he drove us to a store, we agreed to go in as he stated this was how he would be getting his fuel voucher for taking us to a government store, once outside we could see people peering thorugh the net curtains and once inside the sales person tried to sell us saphirfe gemstones, they appeared to all look the same my partner was suspicious and I had a bad feeling about it,all ther folk in the store were wearing the same horrible looking aqua blue suits and one of them was asleep in a chair I went outside to use a payphone but the tourist police number that I called would not work and when I tried a second telephone the person who answered told me I needed to talk to someone else and hung up on me.I tried to call back but got no answer in the end we went back to the tuk tuk driver who tried to take us to another expo shop, we have a photo of this guy and it is my opinion that he was well versed in all of thier locations when in the shop we noted that there were two other tourists at the other end of the shop, I wished I had tried to warn them and only hope that they did not purchse anything when outside we told our tuk tuk driver that we did not want to go to another expo shop and wanted to be taken to the skytrain as discussed he drove us a few streets away and dumped us in the middle of bangkok in an area we were completely unfamiliar with, we finally caught a taxi and were relieved to get home,
We were young looking girls travelling in Thailand - we went to Bangkok, first few nights then the rest of Thailand - then back to Bangkok. We had no trouble anywhere else at all & even the waiter who posed as a tourist guide in his spare time turned out to be ok - well, the only money we parted with for him was paying for lunch. However when we arrived back in Bangkok, we stayed in Khaosan road. First day back we decided to go to the Grand Palace and see the reclining buddha. Stupidly we took the wrong turning and whilst looking at our maps - a man approached us - he was very friendly asked us where we were from & where we're going etc. He said that the Grand Palace was shut until 3pm as it is a public holiday and thai people are praying but he said he had a tuk tuk which would be happy to take us around some of the other monuments etc all for 20 baht! He told us because it was a holiday the tuk tuk driver would get a petrol coupon from the govt. We were still a little wary but thought, well, we're not parting with any money so no big deal! He took us to a temple, all's fine, then next stop to the lucky buddha! There we met two guys, a guy who looked like a buddhist monk but wearing casual trendy clothes & lots of jewellary. He spent ages just chatting to us telling us about thai culture etc then going on to buying gems, telling us that this is promotions week & for this week only (and today was the last day!) - they were selling at 195% tax free & that he buys every year and goes away on holiday to sell the jewellary to england and makes double the profit which pays for his trip. And because it's on his credit card he gets 45 days interest free & pays it all off when he gets back home from the sale of the jewellary. He seemed very friendly and marked on our map where this place was. We had no intention of buying any gems so wasn't too worried. We then went to see another buddha temple thing and a man in there started talking to us - telling us the same story and showing us an authenticity certificate and it all looked very genuine. He said that we could only buy 3 pieces and sapphires & rubies are the best to buy. He showed us accreditions etc that this company had which made me believe that they must be ok. He wrote the address of this place down & we went there. I questioned why if he bought these gems on 2nd oct - over a month ago why he was carrying them around all the time. Surely they shoud be at home! But we didn't think that much of it!
The actual place looked very genuine with smart well dressed people inside, although there were quite a lot of members of staff which I found odd. There were a few other tourists in the shop but don't know if they had bought anything. I quite liked the look of a sapphire & diamond studded pendent and the ring which I bought for £63k baht (£900) They even made the ring smaller for me. My friend almost bought something but realised her Credit card was up to the limit and didn't go through with the transaction. They didn't force it and weren't too pushy. The price they told us was fixed because it was tax free & we weren't allowed to negotiate. We even went into their factory next door & saw the guys making the jewellary. At the time of buying I did think that it was a lot of money for something like that but thought sapphires & diamonds must be hiked a little bit if fixed but still be vastly cheaper than england. After taking my CC details & copying my passport - they offered to chauffeur us around for the next few days because we had spent £50k and over and even offered us to drive us to the airport two days later. Little did we know that this was their way of keeping us under their eye til we left the country.
The girl & chauffeur took us around the rest of the day and took us to the MBK centre. Fortunately for us and unfortunately for them, they left us alone at 6.30 where we had the chance to go into a jewellary shop and pick a similar ring which she told me was 23k but could offer a better price. I'd paid 26k baht for my ring which had a smaller stone! That's when the warning bells rang.. still the pricing was not that much out and the workmanship/stone etc could be different. When we tried to take a tuk tuk back believing it was still a national holiday the tuk tuk driver charged us 60/70 baht which seemed ok but wondered why it was so much as it was a national holiday. We asked the driver and he told us only if he was taking us to certain shops to buy things and he would get commission.
That's when I read the guide book & looked it up on the internet. The company was accredited and their values were that the gems were genuine quality and a reasonable price,. My heart sank when I read other scams that were identical. I still believe the gems were real but overpriced. I didn't get them valued - didn't need to!
We didn't know what to do so we went to the police on khaoson road. They told us 'why didn't we contact the tourist authority before buying anything?' why would we do that? He told us to go back to the shop and that they woud give us 80% of our money back! I wanted 100% of it back. He didn't seem too bothered and couldn't speak that much english. He told us to go to the Dusit police station and said the police officers from there will go with us.
Next day at the Dusit piolice station, they couldn't speak english and wanted to know what we wanted them to do. We said that we wanted someone to come with us whilst we got our money back. They looked shocked when I told him how much I had paid etc and one officer even had a smirk on his face. My friend swiftly told him that it was not funny and why do they let people do this to tourists in thailand?!
They were good though and escorted us to the shop in the police car. Don't know why they were being so helpful as this was a consumer issue and not criminal as the goods were overpriced and not fake, but we were grateful they came with us!
I was also concerned the police might want a cut of the commission as we had heard stories about everyone being in on it. Nonetheless I would have been happy with 80% as it's better than nothing and put the rest down to stupidity.
When we approached the store - the expression on the girls face who was standing on the steps turned worried. We were very polite, smiled and said hello. She led us inside with the police in tow and tried to get us to sit in a little meeting room. The policeman hovered outside. We weren't in a sitting down mood so wondered slowly round the shop and greeted the man who sold us the jewellary. We told him that I believed he had sold me overpriced merchandise & that I wanted all of my money back. He looked worried/nervous and said why we had brought the police & that he's not going to murder us. He agreed to give us my refund and took me to the cashiers desk. He still kept citing that it was genuine merchandise etc which we never denied. I said that he had lied to us and said it was tax free. At first he said it was tax free but later said that he hadn't said 195% tax free. No but the other lady in the store said it was 195% tax free. We asked him why he did it and he said he had to pay the tuk tuk driver commission and stuff. He wrote me out a credit slip for my credit card for the whole amount and gave me copies of everything and showed me my orginal credit card slip which he hadn't even sent off.
We were lucky in this instance and grateful that we got all our money back and didn't think to take any pictures etc of the shop. If the shop hadn't been acredited or we had the police with us I wondered what would have happened. I am still wondering whether they will try and get that money from my CC anyway but I have both the debit voucher & the credit slip to prove a refund.
Later that day whilst wondering around the grand palace we got approached twice more by people saying th wat pho is closed and that a different monument was open! I think that we would much rather see for ourselves whether something is closed or not!
If I hadn't got all my money back it would have completely soured our entire trip. We were fortunate!
Jay
Jay
Keep away from Leela Lapidary Co. Ltd.
On a stop over in Bangkok in August 2007 on the way to visit relations in Australia my wife and I fell for the gem scam. Having been approached by a smartly dressed man near the entrance to the Grand Palace within ear shot of the Palace Guards who told us the Palace was open only to Thai people until 1.30 p.m., as it was a public holiday, we entered the chain of chance meetings that have been well described by other contributors to this site. Eventually we arrived at Leela Lapidary Co. Ltd.; where my wife fell in love with a ruby pendant and earrings, which I foolishly bought for her.
It was not until much later in the day that I realised that we had been scammed. We had been lied to, but no one had actually stolen anything from us. We had bought the jewellery of our own free will. I have since had the pieces professionally valued, which has shown that we paid double their retail value in the U.K. It is incredible how many people were involved in this scam.
I encourage others who have been cheated to speak out about their experiences, post to this and similar web sites and write to the Thai Tourist Office at the Embassy in their home country. Maybe, if enough people complain something will be done to put a stop to the activities of these people who prey on tourists.
Please do not publish my name.
Anon
As of September 2007, this scam is still happening. I fell for it hook, line and sinker. I won't go into detail because you can read the same story on this page. But, suffice it to say, stay away from "factory" stores in general. No matter how honest your tour guide is, there's always a factory store involved somewhere during your tour and there's good kickbacks to be had by those who can get you in there to buy something. I'll definitely go back to Thailand, but this is just a reminder that even though something is said with a braod smile, it doesn't make it honest.
I am a recent victim of the jewellery scam (August 2007). It is worth emphasising that the touts at the entrance to the main tourist attractions often stand next to the official guards, they are well dressed and speak good English within ear shot of the guards. Sometimes they even have official looking identification tags. After having a series of 'chance' encounters similar to those described by other contributors to this site, my wife and I ended up at Leela Lapidary Co., Ltd. where we foolishly bought some jewellery. Everything was genuine: real rubies, 18 ct gold etcetera. The problem is that back in Britain a professional valuation has shown the jewellery to be worth almost exactly half the price that we had paid!
I consider myself to be extremely well-travelled as I travel around the world for business. It is with great humility that I write this post in hopes that others may take heed to my warning and learn from my mistake. It's my last day in Bangkok and I came here ending a week-long vacation following a business trip in Hong Kong.
After relaxing on the beach in Phuket, my boyfriend I decided to spend our last day in Bangkok seeing the sites. We exited the MTR station right outside the Central train station on our way to the Golden Buddha and Grand Palace. As we were discussing which direction to walk we were approached by a well-dressed Thai man in a dress shirt and slacks claiming to be an engineer for the construction project across the street. He asks us where we were headed and told us that many of the temples and even the Grand Palace were closed for prayer and would re-open at 2pm. My boyfriend was in Bankok for a few days before my arrival and it happened to be the King's birthday. The palace had also been closed that day so we thought it possible. The "engineer" then hailed a tuk-tuk and said as a favor between Thais he would drive us to many of the open temples for 100 baht for the day. He took our map and circled an area saying it was a shopping expo that was only open one week a year and today was the last day.
The tuk-tuk driver took us to Loha Prahat and then to the White Buddha. Upon entering the white Buddha temple we sat for a rest and a well-dressed gentleman next to me commented that it was nice to escape the heat and his name was Andy. He asked us where we were from and when we mentioned we were from the San Francisco area said he had been there a few times and had a friend that lived in San Jose. He said he was from Singapore and worked in the UK. He was on holiday before returning home and stopped here in Bangkok every year during the one week that the expo was open. He said he picks up presents for his girlfriend and mother from the sapphire exporter and is able to bring back 3 pieces a year. He said his friend from San Jose does the same and takes the pieces back to the US and is able to sell them for double the money. He even mentioned Valley Fair Mall in San Jose that I'm familiar with. He also mentioned that university students there also do the same to pay for their tuition. Since we had time to kill we thought why not kill time and check it out. When we mentioned that we didn't have our money and left most of our credit cards and cash at the hotel he said the store even escorts you there, takes you to the bank and allows you to pay once you have everything in order.
The tuk-tuk driver took us there and the door magically opens upon our arrival. We're served water while we look over the glass cases. We mention that we'd like to look at rings and a woman takes us upstairs to the VIP viewing room. They bring out a few trays of sapphire rings and I proceed to try on different ones. I fall in love with a simple 3.29 carat sapphire set in white gold with two diamonds. My boyfriend offers to buy it for me and was impressed with the 10% discount if paid by cash. The woman writes up the receipt, the certificate of authenticity and boxes the ring and offers to let her colleague accompany us back to our hotel to retrieve our cards and take us to the bank in their taxi.
We stop at our hotel and get cash and cards and are driven to the bank where my boyfriend withdraws the remaining balance. The woman counts the money and hands us the bag with the ring then leaves the taxi. The taxi driver drives us to a restaurant for lunch and waits for us to finish our meal. The whole time the taxi driver is offering to book us on dinner cruises that evening or take us to the floating market outside Bangkok the next day before our flight.
Once we return to our hotel we happen to go online and Google the PREMIER SAPPHIRE FACTORY EXPORT CENTER CO., LTD. only to find this scam listing and so many others with the exact same sequence of events. I was shocked and broke down in tears. My boyfriend insisted we go directly back and get our money. We stop at the concierge desk at our hotel, The St. Regis, and asked for a trusted taxi as we were now wary of all people. She listened to our story and called a colleague who dealt with a similar guest issue recently. She called security and offered to have one of their officers go to the store to retrieve our money. They called the store and was told they closed at 6 pm but that they would honor the 80% buyback as noted in the contract. It was 4 pm and they made copies of all our documents and had the officer take a motorbike to the store to get our refund.
As I write this the concierge has called to inform us that the issue has been taken care of. Luckily for us the staff at The St. Regis has experience with this scam and provides the service level to get our refund on our behalf. I am embarrassed to have fallen for such an elaborate scam but hope that anyone who reads this will be smarter and more cautious than we were.
Misha
Misha
I was walking in the Sukhumwit area, a tuk-tuk guy approched me and asked me where do I want to go. I just ignored him as I had a flight that afternoon and i had just 3 hours to spend in the area so I did not want to go anywhere. He offered me a very cheap price like 40 BHT to show me around Bangkok. I refused him politely and moved on. But this gave me an idea that I can visit Bangkok just for 50 Baht. After roaming here and there I myself stopped a tuk-tuk and asked him how much would he cost to show me bangkok. H esiad he would cost 50 Baht. I agreed and sat in. He took me to a chinese temple which appeared to be close but then a guy opened it and told me that he has opened it just for me. I believed him as there was no one there. Later we took some pictures and tuk-tuk guy was waiting outside.
I boarded the tuk-tuk again. the driver asked me to visit a shop where i can buy watches which are of international standard but very cheap and he will get a coupon for the petrol. He further said that he is living in very poor conditions and he has to work for his school going children and his wife and he cannot make more money. He further said you do not need to buy anything just spend 15 minutes in the shop and he will get a coupon. Out of sympathy I agreed and we went to the shop. He stayed away and when i was entering the shop I asked the shop owner do u sell original watchs which he denied and i said i am not intrested in buying the fake watches so i left the shop immidiately. The tuk-tuk guy was obviouly not happy and i had a guilt in my heart that i could not help this poor tuk-tuk guy. He then said that there is a nice jewellery shop with sale on it and he took me there. The shop seemed ok and there were smart ladies standing behind the counters. They tried to show me different jewllery but I was realy not intrested. So i went out of the shop ans sat in tuk-tuk. The driver became more angry that i have not bought anything. I said I am here to just roam around and am not intrested in buying. Later I asked him to drop me to a cinema while he was forcing me to go some other places the names of which i do not remeber. I had thought in my mind that i can beter spend my time watching a movie than roaming here and there so finaly he dropped me at a cinema. The driver setmed upset and i thought may be it is becoz he could not get that coupon and it was all coz of me so i gave him 100 Baht instead of 50 to compensate which he took and went away.
Now I thank that I was not roobed and scammed and just lost 50 Baht.
Im so glad i read about this page before going to Bangkok last week. I cant believe i was nearly scammed too by these culprits.
My boyfriend and I was takin photos at CentralWorld where suddenly a very tanned man who looks like a security guard approached us.
He was explaining to us the difference between the two Buddhas statues in front of the shopping mall. He spoke quite abit of english and seems very friendly with us. He was asking us what have we been doing in bangkok and where do we plan to go after this.
Later on he told us to visit the Smiling Buddha Temple nearby claiming that its only open once a year and we have been lucky enough today.
He was telling us that it will only cost us 20baht to go there by tuktuk and not more than that. Besides that the tuktuk can also bring us to shop at the Export Centre and wait for us there and eventually sendin us back to the CentralWorld to continue shopping.
We didnt feel suspicious hence we just waited followed what he suggested. HE flagged down a tuktuk for us, telling the tuk tuk in Thai in a very strict manner, indirectly to show us that he made a deal with the driver that he will only charge us 20baht for the whole trip.
When we reached the Temple, it was just a normal temple and doesnt seem to tally with wat the man told us tat it was only open once a year. If its really open once a year, I bet there should be alot ppl there, but no. It was just like any other day.
When we entered one of the prayers room to take photos of the beau buddha statue, a well dressed man came up to us to strike a conversation. He was telling us that he is a Thai married to a malaysian woman,having two kids. He told us he met a couple from Malaysia and even showed us the namecard of the person. After a couple of friendly talks, he began askin us if we heard about the export sales day. My bf told him we heard about it and planned to go later. He then asked us if we knew what are they sellin there. Slowly he disclose to us that they are selling cheap genuine stones.
Im not sure if he saw but my facial expression has changed rather dramatically after hearin him said tat. Im sure that this is the scam where this site has been tellin us. I kept tellin my bf in chinese that this is a scam dun trust him. He seems abit blur while tryin to catch up wat i said as he continues to converse to the Thai man.
Later when we left the temple, I told my bf i heard abt this scam and i asked him to tell the tuktuk that we wanna go back to centralworld.The driver seems angry but he just nodded.
After a while of travelling we noticed that the tuktuk is driving us elsewhere. My bf asked him to send us bck to where we came and he angrily nodded at us. Then he stopped at a shop nearby Dma Pavillion Hotel saying that we can get him some gasoline coupons by buying something from the jewellery shop. We refused and we told him that we will go bck on our own. He just said " Up to you!"
We never dare to look back at that man or the shop, fearing that they might harm us. We took a cab back to hotel and dare not go to Central world again tat day.
So pls be cautious, thai ppl are friendly but over-friendly ones are worth to be cautious about. Hope my story will alert future travellers to Bangkok
Angel
On the way to the Grand Palace a Thai guy in neat dress approach me for a conversation. Before the incident I’ve a very pleasant experience talking to the locals in other part of Thailand so in my opinion Thais are friendly and polite people. The Thai guy seem to be very nice, he took out a pen and started circling the Wat (temple) that I should visit and said that it would only cost 20THB. I was a little suspicious, as I’ve read Lonely Planet that these guys often take you around to jewelry shop. I asked the driver why it’s so cheap and he replied in broken “ Today Thai’s holiday the government paying us to take tourist to temples for 20THB for the whole dayâ€. So I thought well I might as well take advantage of the occasion as tuk-tuk driver are well known for overcharge tourist. The first destination was the temple with a 40m tall standing Buddha there wasn’t much tourist there probably because it was not in Lonely Planet. Next he drove me to a temple with a lucky Buddha statue again there wasn’t much tourist in the temple. Upon arrival I met a Thai/American guy who I was believe to be visiting the temple. He told me that the temple was closed for 1 hour for mediation so I though I will wait. We have conversation as we wait. First we talk about the places that he had been to in Thailand then he mentioned Thai Expo, which he said only opened for seven days and today is the last. He said how he came back to Thailand every year to buy ready-made Gem products and sold to Tiffany back in America for double the price. I thought he had been scammed so I ask him to show me the receipt, which he kindly did. The receipt stated he bought a set included ring, necklace and pendant for 139,000THB on credit card. He said that the jeweler gave you certificate of authenticity upon purchase. He persuaded me to buy some jewelry saying he was able to sell them to jewelry shops in Sydney and Melbourne at double price. I still wasn’t convinced by what he said; I paused for a moment and think. Suddenly there’s another tourist of European nationality came to see the temple. I asked him if he knew anything about the Expo to cross check with what the other guy had said. He also said that he Bought 2000USD worth of jewelry to sell to Tiffany in France and this was his second time. I told him I don’t bring credit card with me on my trip and I don’t carry much cash either. Afterward, the France guy left and he left also. Tuk-Tuk driver than drove me to another temple with statue of black Buddha. There I met a Philipino who worked in Taiwan for an IT firm he seem to speak Chinese very well. He also showed me the receipt of what he bought from the Expo and said that he could sell it to Tiffany store in 101 Taipei building and make a small fortune. He evenly recommended me on where to buy. I kindly refused his offer, as I didn’t have enough cash with me. He then said that I could purchase small items for membership so that when there’s an Expo next year they would send me letters. Now I was convinced that this is not a scam because 3 other people have bought it and claim to be making a fortune from it. So I asked the tuk-tuk to take me to the Expo to make a purchase for membership. The tin on the glass makes the jewel shop look dark from outside. Outside one could not recognize it as a jewel shop it I weren’t for the word displayed “ Factory outlet Gem†something like that. Inside the seller were beautiful and young Thai girls with fluent English. They served you very well, let you look at all the pieces until you’re please and persuade you by giving discount on this piece and that. You could hear some of the girls say something like “Some people only buy small items but think for the whole day†a little further away.
In the end I bought a pendant cost 200AUD it came with a receipt and a certificate of Authenticity, which took 1 minute to print on my name.
Now that I’m back in Australia and read some of stories I think I’ve been scam for a few reasons. Firstly, if you sell ready-make gem products to retail jewelry shop in Australia you’re more likely to make a loss. Secondly, I don’t know if the gem I bought is real and it would cost me money to have it tested. Thirdly, I doubt of Tiffany would bought the ready-make gem products. Fourthly, most of the things in the stories on the website happened to me.
DT
My husband and I went to Bangkok in February 2007. We visited LEELA LAPIDARY CO LTD in Bangkok and paid 43,425 baht (£642) for a ruby and diamond bracelet. We have a 'certificate' and receipt which details 18k gold with Ruby 1.2 CTS and diamonds 0.04 CT.
On a recent trip to our regular jewellers to get a repair done to another item we showed it to the jeweller to be told that they strongly suspected the rubies were fake. Also even if they were real we would have paid over the odds.
Following this I have read the web sites detailing the gem scam in Bangkok only to realise that we too were scammed. I'm quite shocked to realise how sophisticated the scam is.
We were told by someone at the Grand Palace in what looked like a uniform that it was closed for foreign visitors that day due to Chinese New Year. We then had places to visit marked on our map and sent on a 10 baht Tuk Tuk ride. We visited several small sites while the driver waited. At one site a smartly dressed Thai man told us about his business with the UK and how he had bought his wife ruby jewellery for Chinese New Year today and also where he bought it from - this seemed particularly genuine and made us feel that the jewellery shop was legitimate!
My husband bought me the bracelet as a romantic gesture and not for us to resell and make a profit.
We will be far more suspicious when travelling in the future. We had believed all Thai people were genuinely friendly!!
D & I England
Like many others my 22 yr old son and his friend were victims of the gem scam on their first day in Bangkok. He said everything happened so quickly and was very professional, but as soon as he arrived back at the hotel he began to doubt it and rang us, after looking up Leela lapidary gems we soon found out it was a very clever scam. They make sure they post the gems immediately so any refund is impossible......However, the gems arrived to us 5 days later, we then immediately took them to a local jeweller who said they were worth a fraction of what paid for. MY son in the meantime had reported it to the local tourist police who said they woud help with a refund if could get them back to Thailand. The problem now was how to return them as reading reports it said if sent by courier with insurance they would be seized by customs. We decided to send them back normal air mail ( a risk I Know) with sign on delivery, and sent them back to the Hotel my son had been staying in. To my delight they arrived back there within 5 days. After reading many reports I really didnt think they would be successful in getting a refund. However, they returned with the Thai police and were given a 80% refund. It was not a nice way to spend his first two weeks in Thailand and feel not enough is being done to make visitors aware of this scam as two days later they were approached again by the same Tuk Tuk driver!!
Dee
I got scammed out of 950 euro as a backpacking student but thanks to the help of a fantastic tourist police officer, I managed to get 80% of my money back before leaving the country the afternoon after I bought the ring. If you have already fallen prey to the conmen, don't give up!
I came to Bangkok suspicious of tuktuk drivers and dress stores. I had even heard of scams involving silk dressmaking so was on the alert butnot enough but I hadnt noticed the beware signs in our hostel warning against export centres and jewellery centres.
I was approached by (what seemed to me) 6 independent people with nothing to do with each other or could benefit from advertising the jewellery store:
1) a thai man passing on his way to work who stopped to help us with our directions
2) a "university student from chang mai" who seemed so friendly who had bought a tasteless piece of jewellery from there to benefit from LUCKY BUDDHA
3) a tuktuk driver who parked next to us as we were talking to the tuktuk driver
4) a welldressed american outside the closed LUCKY BUDDHA
5) a man hanging out by the STANDING BUDDHA
6) all the people in the jewellery store itself
looking back, it was clear but everyone seemed so friendly and genuine - it just all fell into place later that night
it was naive and stupid but they were very well organised
GETTING IT BACK
we called 1155 (the tourist police) and were given a policemans cell number. We called him and he came to our hostel and we gave him a detailed written report of what had happened. I thought I had no hope but he said he would come with me to the jewellery store and if I didnt say anything about scams or fakes and just acted like I was returning it just because of the money, I could sell it back for 80% of the purchase price.
He then took me on his motorbike to the jewellery store and dropped us off in a 7-eleven until the shop opened cos he was worried they wouldnt open if they saw we were waiting. When it was open, he accompanied us in and I simply asked if I could sell the ring back for 80% (it said I could on one of the pieces of paper I was given the day before) and he went and got money. I dont think he would hjave if the policeman hadnt been there tho. I'll be eternally grateful to that policeman.
Anne O'Driscoll
After reading the gem scam page I couldn't help but relay my expereince:
My brother, sister-in-law and I set off one morning in Jan 2005 to visit the Grand Palace. We got off the river taxi and started walking towards the entrance.
Along the way, a man who spoke english really well asked us where we were going. We told him. As the website describes, we were told the palace was closed for dignitary visits, so we should take a cheap tuk-tuk with a side detour to a wat that no one goes to, then on to Royal Lapidary. So we went along.
I should also say that I am a US Navy veteran. I have been overseas before and have seen or heard of just about every scam possible. I know when to be suspicious and I was, but we had been walking and were tired.
The wat was beautiful. We then went on to the gem place. The gems were very nice. But I told my brother and sister-in-law that we cant verify the quality of the gems so it is better not to buy any. On top of that, none of us are really 'into' jewelry so we politely declined.
This is where it gets funny. We were 86'ed like an obnoxious drunk at a bar, and not even out the front door. We were escorted - so fast you would believe it - out the back door to a parking and deliveries area through a door that when it was closed, had no door pull to get back in. Several tuk-tuk drivers and taxis were parked out back. When I approached one and asked for a ride, he just looked at me and walked away. As did ALL the other drivers. They went to a far corner of the lot and huddled together. You would have thought we had some sort of contagious disease!! I was laughing. My brother and sister-in-law were in shock and were wondering what we were going to do now.
No worrys. We walked to the street. It took about 1 minute to flag down a taxi and we were off back to our next stop on the list.
I am on my way back tomorrow (Jan 2007). I am sure I will see the Grand Palace this time!!
Stan
Stan
hi i am coming from egypt last noverber 2005 i was in bkk i was waling around Siam SQ , i had a cigrette in my hand and tried to find a ashtray but i couldn't i thought it a side of the sid walk . all the sudden i found a offcer like and a solider seem like theone you see in the street , asked me about my nationality i answred then asked me to walk to a small tyosk " small wooden " and opne it and there he signed to me to read in multy languages that there a fian to pay if you spit or smoke aroud 2000 bht he asked me if i want to go to the police station and if i have my passport on me i was really worried then i asked what should i do they keept speaking to each other and he asded me to pay 1000 bht insted i was extremly stupied i did and after a wile i took a taxi and passed by the same tyosk i found it is closed again then i was sure i was realy stupied to pay 1000 bht but i was laughting not that much money but much stupied i am
bishay
I'm writing this because I need to release my frustration. I was just another victim of a jewelry scam that ended just about half an hour ago. Here goes the story...
I only had two days to spend in Bangkok before I fly out on the third day in the morning and I was staying around Khao San Rd. I've read some jewelry scam stories in the lonely planet but I didn't really read the whole thing cause I thought it could never happen to me. On my first day I decided to walk around and visit some temples on a map a friend of mine gave to me. As I was walking and looking at the map at the same time a guy approaches me and started a conversation about the new Thai government, and if I saw on TV last night how the new government is sponsoring tuktuks by just charging tourists 20 bahts for three hours worth driving you around and waiting for you. This offer is only good for today and that these tuktuks are special and you could tell which ones they are by the flags they have in front of the tuktuk. He also talked about how he's a proffesor and circled some good destinations on my map. He mentioned something about a jeweler's expo today and it's the last day of the event where I don't have to pay taxes. 190% he said was the normal tax for these jewelries and I don't have to pay it.
After a while it just so happens that a tuktuk with a flag passes by and he flags it. He talked to the tuktuk about the three hour special and he showed him where he should take me. So I thanked the guy and got on my tuktuk for my first day of adventure. I wanted to talk to other travellers and tell them about this new great government special!
So my driver takes me to a few temples and like promised he waited for me each time. On the third temple I go in and the place looked kinda empty. There was just one thai guy there and he started talking to me. It just so happens he was from california where I came from and that he owns a thai restaurant. He told me the temple is currently closed and that his brother was the monk that works there. He's just visiting him and he's waiting for him to come out after his prayer. After talking for a while he mentions the jewelry expo to me and that he comes here every year buying jewelry for cheap prices, pays no taxes, and sells them in the US for 100 percent profit. He shows me a receipt and he urges me to go buy some jewelry and make some money myself.
We were talking for a while when a french guy comes asking if the temple was closed. He started talking to us he mentions the jewelry expo and that he's buying some to make some money back in France. He shows me a receipt and some small voice in my head started telling me that that was kinda fishy how they both have receipts. I quickly squashed the voice to make way for my interest in making some money. They both urged me to go and that the shop was about to close in an hour.
So I quickly went with my driver to the store and the manager started talking to me inside. Everybody looked really proffesional and there were a few other tourists inside shopping. After looking for a while another customer talked to me how he's going to sell his new found jewelry back in Sydney and make thousands of dollars. He convinced me to buy a Ruby Diamond jewelry set which was one of the most expensive pices over there. I was told by everybody that I could only buy three pieces because they're not going to tax me. I was also told to pay half in cash and half with a credit card so I could get 20% off the price. Then the manager was really concerned about my safety and he asked me to ship the jewelry so it won't get stolen. Thank God I refused and decided to just hold on to it.
Because I was their "last customer" he provided me with a car and driver to drive me around till I leave on the third day. He even offered to take me to Pathaya beach or Kanchanburi and that he would pay for the guest house. I gladly agreed and everything just made sense to me at the time. I made friends with my driver (his name was Sammy) and we had a great time in Kanchanburi on my second day (today). I was happy that I got to visit another place in Thailand and that I had my own chaffeur. I even bought Sammy a few drinks and thanked him everytime for what he's doing. The whole time I was paranoid that somebody would jump me for my jewelry because of the manager's warning. He took me back to Bangkok because I have to leave early tomorrow morning.
When I got to my guest house I quickly got on the internet to see how much I could sell my precious jewelry on Ebay. I also researched several jewelry stores and see how much I could get for it. I started to see that the prices online wasn't as much as the guy at the store was telling me it's worth. I kept on searching hoping that I have some rare jewelry that's not easily found on the web. After one disappointment after another I decided to look under Thailand Jewelry Scam and that's when I found this website. My heart sank.
That takes us to now. The heart sinking part happened just half an hour ago and I think typing this story is releasing some of my frustrations. My plan now is to stay in Bangkok for an extra day, make a copy of the purchase aggrement (I wasn't entitled to a full refund but 80 percent only if I wasn't satisfied, and clearly I am not), keep the copy in my room and tomorrow rush to Erawan Lepidary. I'm going to get my 80 percent refund back and the rest of the day I'm going to camp there and warn the tourists that comes in.
I hope you learn from my mistake and this is pretty much the same story as everyone else's. It just all made sense at the time and I didn't think it could happen to me. Pray for my safety as I attack the mafia tomorrow. God Bless.
Romeo
Romeo
Was along the famous 4-face buddha at erwan shrine while a friendly english speaking thai "policeman"approach us around noon time claiming that it was a last day of sale at this place where only the locals knew of.All items were meant for export and were offering a 30% disc/- till 3pm that afternoon.While walking us to take a tuk-tuk,his hp even rang and he conversed in Thai to an accomplice I believed was the tuk-tuk driver who was ready to take us to the place where the "sale" was on.Thinking back,I was correct,while walking down the bridge,coincidentally,a tuk tuk was there to pick us up.At the place(GEM AND JEWELRY CO.LTD),we were convinced judging from the number of staff and product range the shop has.There were even a couple at the shop.After some negotiations,we bought a pair of ruby earrings and a sapphire ring. The lady who sold us even said,if not real,can get full refund before presenting "CERTIFICATES" for the items we purchased.We left the shop without any suspicions.That evening while taking photos at this famous temple,we were approached by another english speaking thai who claimed to know about another store that offers cheap discount for local jewelry.He bonded with us with his knowledge of the places of interest Singapore has.We decided that since earlier we had bought some jewelry,we shall not buy more due to cash constraints.We thanked him and left.His tuk tuk accomplice obviously thought that we were about to head for the place but we kindly declined his offer.Then a "businessman" from malaysia approached us and bragged to us his purchases from the same shop the thai conster told us few minutes earlier.Naive then we were,we thought there was no harm having a look there since transport is only 20 bhat and the area we were told had a night market.However,when we reached YINDEE LAPARIDARY,the con-men began their modus operandi,a "Singaporean"appeared and started telling us that we were very lucky to know about the sale and had even persuaded us to consider buying some for "profits" which we can gain by selling them later.We bought a sapphire pendant not for profits but it was nice.We left the shop still not knowing that we had been part of THAILAND INFAMOUS GEM SCAM.Once we reached Singapore,a click on the internet to verfiy the companies that we thought were legetimate,our worst fears we confirmed.We were scammed!I began to doubt the quality and autenticity of the accessories as claimed by the consters. EVERYONE BEWARE WHEN VISITNG THAILAND. THERE ARE PROFESSIONAL CON-ARTISTES WAITING TO POUNCE ON THE NEXT TRUSTING VICTIM.IM SURE THE THAI AUTHORITIES ARE AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM BUT FOR REASONS THEY STAND BY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ERADICATE IT LET ALONE CONTROL IT. MAYBE THEY SHOULD HAVE A TRAVEL ADVISORY "BEWARE OF OUR LOCAL GEM SCAM" POST ON THEIR NEW AIRPORT.IT'S A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE I HAD WHILE HOLIDAYING FIRST TIME IN THE LAND OF SMILES WHICH I BELIEVE WILL ALSO BE MY LAST.
FALLEN PREY
It happened on 4 Sep '06. Please stay away from GEMS AND JEWELRY TRADE CENTER CO.,LTD, Rong Muang Road, Prathumwan Bangkok Bangkok Thailand. They had a organized group of criminals approached my wife and I at elevated walkway in front of the CentreWorld Building . It started with a "university" professor telling us a great discount of 30% and also VAT refund on local products to foreigner only at Thai Trade Center. He even wrote us the name and address in Thai and English to show to tuk-tuk driver. When we approached the driver, he couldn't read, a passerby Thai Chinese 'doctor' offered us help. When we arrived, we were attended by a high pressured Thai Chinese male supervisor. He told us we should buy Thai Ruby to bring us good luck, happiness and as an investment which would doubled in couple of years. He explained that we would never lose with the great discount offered to us. He sold us a low quality ruby ring for THB 34,500 (MYR3,450). Which another jewelry dealer told us it worth less than THB 20,000 PLEASE BE AWARE OF THIS CRIME AND THE GEMS AND JEWELRY TRADE CENTER CO.,LTD - please learn from our expensive lesson.
Ernest
My experiance was in 2004 It was my first visit to Bangkok and I was only staying for two days on my way back from Vietnam on route to UK.
I was staying in Kho San road and decided on a walk to the palace.
I was about 5 minutes away from my destination when I noticed a man aproaching me from behind. I am very well travelled and was cautious of him. But he said hello, what is your name he also asked where I was from.
He was very friendly and wanted to chat as he was learning English as a student, he even mentioned the name of his teacher, an english guy, and asked if I knew him. I said no I didnt as I was only visiting.
He then asked where I was going and sugested that there was better places to go where not many tourists know about. He said he could get me a Tuk Tuk for 20TB all day as there was a government scheme where the driver could get petrol coupons. He said I would have to go to a travel agant with the driver and get a map of the city so the driver could get the coupons. He also mentioned a discount Tailors and a specail offer on Gems as it was a government scheme the same as the petrol coupons.
I said OK that seems cheep for the Tuk Tuk and I would be happy to help with the drivers coupon. So first we were to go to see the Temple of the sitting, standing and Lying down Buddah.
Off we went, the temple was OK but nothing to impresive, however, once inside I was approached by a smartly dressed man, he told me he was something to do with the department of buiseness and we cahtted for a while in the temple. Then he said his friend had a tailors shop where there was a special discount on suits and a free shirt would be included. Also there was a good discount in the Gem Wherehouse. I was a bit suspicious because he was giving me almost the exact same speel as the first man. But he was so friendly that I thought he must be genuine.
I have to point out that I had no intention of buying gems but thought the visit to the wharehouse would be interesting as my new friend told me that there was an education centre there.
As it happened I was going to buy a siut anyway so I decided to go ahead to the tailors. The tuk tuk driver was waiting as promised and off we went to the Tailoys where I had a suit fitted, they insisted I pay up front but it was only about $100 so I wasnt to worried and I had a business card from the tailor. I was to come back the next day in the morning for a second fitting.
Again the friendly tailor mentioned the petrol scheme and the Gem deal.
I was getting a bit suspicious.
Next the tuk tuk driver wanted to take me to the travel agent where I was to ask for a map and he could get his petrol coupon. I went in and asked for the map and was told I would have to pay 300Tb for it, I told him it was to expensive and they could be got for much cheeper. He told me I would have to book a tourist trip and I could have a free map. He got a bit aggressive insisting that I book a guided tour now. The only time anyone had been anything less that perfectly charming.
I had had enough by now and told him I would have to ask my friends frist, this was a lie as I was traveling alone but it gave me an excuse to leave without causing a fuss.
As I left he said dont forget there is a special discount on Gems today
I got back in the tuk tuk and told the driver that I wanted to go back to my hotel as I had seen enough. He insisted on going to thr Gem store but I said no take me back now. He still insisted but I said if you dont take me I will just get another tuk tuk and he wouldnt get paid.
He took me back and I gave him 100TB for the fare and a tip
I was sure something was wrong but couldnt work it out all I could put my finger on was the coincidence of it all with each person I met knowing the origional plan.
I decided not to worry as it had all been realy friendly and all I had done was buy a new suit which I had intended to do any way.
The next morning I went back to the tailors for the second fitting. All was well and I picked the suit up later that day.
I didnt know anything about the scam until I read of it some months later and I realised that I had been caught in a trap. As I said I had no intention of buying Gems but had I ended up in the Gem shop, who knows, maybe I would have been taken in by it. If it handt been for the angry nature of the travel agent I would probably have gone.
One final thing which occured to me after I had realised it was a scam and I reflected on it. The following day, as already mentioned, I went back to the tailor. I used a tuk tuk and asked the driver the price and he quoted 200Tb. I said it was to much as I had only been charger 20Tb yesterday. He said yesterday special government day for petrol coupons. Just shows they must be all in on it.
Mick
I have went to Bangkok for a holiday on feb 2006. I have never read any warning about gems scam before i went there.
To me, i am a very careful person, i know how to be wary to strangers & not to trust anyone easily. Lucky for me.
On the 2nd last day of my trip, i went to Wat pho to pray. My guy friend was the stupid one who never think.
We were outside Wat Pho when a thai guy who speaks good english came up to us & told us the temple is closed for the monk's prayer & will be open to visiters after 2pm. it was about 11am at that time.
He start talking to us on where & where to go, i start feeling something fishy, he simply got a pen from his pocket & draw something on our map. I never talk to him as I dun like talking to strangers. My friend is so not careful as he forgets to zip close his pouch after taking out his map, showing his wallet. i zip back & start scolding him infront of this thai man.
He smile & tell us to relax & he is not bad people. (like real, who will tell u i'm bad???)
He explain to us that he is waiting for his family to come & they are going for lunch together.
My stupid friend belives & carry on talking to him, i am so fed-up & i sees alot of tourist walking inside the temple. I point out the crowd to my fren & pull his hand & quickly walk away.
That man call out to us but we just walk in to the temple without turning our heads.
We stay in the temple for almost 1.5hrs. When we walk out of the temple, we still saw the man outside trying to approch another tourist.
I laugh & told my friend, see that man still waiting for his family to have lunch.
Joanne (Singapore)
Highlights
- Bangkok Tourist Attractions
- Wat Phra Kaew, the Emerald Buddha temple
- The Grand Palace in Bangkok
- Wat Pho, the Reclining Buddha Temple
- Wat Arun
- Bangkok's National Museum
- Other Tourist Attractions in Bangkok
Shopping
- Shopping in Bangkok
- Bangkok Shopping Areas
- Bangkok Shopping Areas - Part 2
- Bargaining for shopping
- Risks of shopping in Bangkok
- Pantip Plaza in Bangkok
Travel & Getting Around
- Bangkok Buses
- Banglamphu bus routes
- Chatuchak bus routes
- Chinatown bus routes
- Dusit bus routes
- Phaya Thai bus routes
- Phetburi bus routes
- Pin Klao bus routes
- Pratunam bus routes
- Ramkhamhaeng bus routes
- Ratchada bus routes
- Rattanakosin bus routes
- Siam Square bus routes
- Silom bus routes
- Sukumvit bus routes
