Thailand Love Scams And Passport Trouble
My name is Tim. I live in the United States. I have never been married, but I have had a great life and I’m pretty well known as a successful attorney where I live.
When I was 43, I was living a wonderful life. I’m six and a half foot tall, that’s about 1.93 meters, and at the time I went to the gym five or six days a week. I was 109 kg, but I was healthy and fit and really looked younger than my age (although I guess a lot of people think this way).
I met a Filipino girl living in the United States, and she was absolutely beautiful and sweet. We dated for two years, and we traveled to meet her family in the Philippines a couple of times a year. These were my first times in Asia, and as you can imagine, I was really intoxicated by Asia.
As we traveled together, I admit I took a lot of notice of all the beautiful women we passed in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and other places we went together. We had fun, passion, and adventure, and more than a few foggy mornings with hangovers. I was in love, 100% faithful, but really liked that Asian women took notice of me even when I was holding my girlfriend’s hand.
I know part of it was my ego getting stroked. That is one part of traveling to Asia that you cannot explain to some people back home. They focus only on the beer bars and the girls and ignore a lot of the culture, the warm and real smiles, the curiosities and sometimes childlike curiosity, the willingness to welcome strangers as if they are old friends.
A Broken Heart Leads Back To Thailand
Eventually, my relationship ended, and I was pretty depressed for three to four months. I loved her, but I knew it was not meant to be. The end of the relationship was not easy.
I was still working out and working hard, but at night I would just watch TV until I slept. I felt like life was on reruns, every day was the same as before. I just sank into a routine. It was kind of like the movie Groundhog Day.
I decided that I needed to snap myself out of this situation, so I planned another vacation to Asia. Since I loved my short visits to Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket, I decided to return to Thailand. The beautiful women, the amazing food, the beaches, and in 2015, quite cheap prices, made it a great choice.
The only problem was none of my friends would be able to travel with me. I decided to take a chance and booked my trip alone.
I’d stayed in touch with some girls I had met as friends when I traveled to Thailand before. Most of the girls that were friends were now in relationships, but they all welcomed me and offered to show me around in true Thai fashion. Some offered to let me stay in the family home and they would treat me as an honored guest. The offers were so sweet and loving, and it really made me excited.
I packed a small bag with necessities and brought about $2,000 for my ten-day stay. I had already paid for all my travel and hotel, so the $2,000 was just for food, fun, and anything extra.
Painful Arrival In Bangkok
I arrived in Bangkok about 11 p.m. after changing aircraft in Seoul, South Korea. I was a little worse for wear since I had decided against business class and opted for economy instead, giving me more money to spend in Thailand. Being a big man in a little seat for 17 hours from Newark, New Jersey to Seoul, South Korea was not a good choice. My back was in bad shape, and I knew I was in need of a traditional Thai massage to help get rid of the pain.
The reason we had arrived so late was a delay in our takeoff for mechanical reasons.
I messaged my friend Noy, since she had promised to meet me at the airport and drive me to my hotel. Noy is a beautiful Thai woman and really fits the stereotype of a stunner, beautiful face, big smile, white teeth, and a lovely figure. Noy was a tiny girl, only four foot ten tall, but had the type of figure that made it appear that she had long legs. It is difficult to explain if you have never seen her.
When I saw her in the airport, she was wearing a short skirt and high heels. In any other country, people would have thought she was a working girl, but in Thailand, it was just fashion. She looked so beautiful.
The reason I met Noy was because we had always had some weird chemistry. I met her when I was with my ex-girlfriend, and she was with her boyfriend, but sometimes you feel an attraction that is never discussed. Over the years, we had flirted with text messages, but never anything too over the top. It was more like the innocent flirtations you might have with a regular waitress or shopping mall assistant you encounter when out and about.
Noy came from a very small village up in the north of the country but worked as a real estate agent in Bangkok. She was 32, divorced from an abusive foreign guy after only 18 months of marriage, and had no children. She had recently broken off a relationship with a French man who had cheated on her. We both chatted regularly as we exchanged our tales of heartbreak. Her English was nearly fluent, with that accent that makes my heart beat faster.
Noy Takes Care Of Tim
It was easy for Noy to spot me in the airport as I was so much taller than most people. She spotted me, came over with a big smile, and gave me a very polite hug. She also offered to carry my bag, which was way heavier than she was.
Noy walked and talked quickly, and soon we were driving through the traffic in her Toyota until we arrived at my hotel. Noy was concerned about my back pain and insisted I get a massage immediately. We dropped off my bags and made our way to a small massage shop near the hotel.
Noy talked to them and told me that she had booked me in for a two-hour massage. I was a bit shocked because although I have no problems with ladyboys, I did not want everyone to assume I was into ladyboys myself. She laughed and said, “No, tilak, you big man and girls have break hands on your big body.”
I got the point, laughed, shook my head, and followed her into the private room. I had arranged for Noy to get a massage too, and she seemed happy to enjoy it.
Massage Shop Patience
After two hours of the best massage I had ever had, I came out feeling happy and healthy.
The poor girl had worked hard, and I had heard her hands cracking and popping as she tried to work out the knots in my back. I had fallen asleep for most of the time but woke regularly to find she was still working even while I slept.
I got dressed, went to the lobby, and Noy was curled up sleeping in a chair. You know how the Thais are, they can sleep at the drop of a hat. She did not get a massage because she did not want me to spend money on her. Watching her fast asleep, she looked beautiful, innocent, and at total peace.
Noy and I were just friends, but she was quickly becoming irresistible, and I was finding it incredibly difficult not to make a pass at her.
A Relationship With Noy Begins
After we left the massage shop, we got something to eat, a small street restaurant: noodles with shrimps and chilis. This was the Thailand I dreamed of back home. After eating, we went to a bar next to the hotel and I had a couple of beers, but I was soon overcome with a need to sleep. Noy walked me to my room, got me settled, and then left to go home. I was hoping for a kiss or to have her stay the night, but as we were just friends, I did not want to risk ruining the relationship on the first night.
I slept like a baby for eight hours straight and woke up just before noon to the buzzing of my phone. Noy had been texting and calling me for about an hour. She had been waiting in the lobby patiently. I hurried to shower and shave and ran to meet her.
She looked beautiful in a Thai-style dress and high heels. Her smile was so big when she saw me. We went out to get lunch, and Noy walked and talked very fast, I just smiled and listened. I love the way Thai women can speak in a way that sounds like machine-gun fire.
While we waited for the food to arrive, she reached across the table and grabbed my hand. She said, “Tilak, you are too polite. Why you not ask me to stay last night?” I explained that since we were friends, I did not want to risk offending her and losing her as a friend.
She laughed and said, “You too polite guy. I often meet you and show you around. I wear high heels because I small, so you can kiss me.” We both laughed and enjoyed the meal.
Nine Days Traveling With Noy
I spent the next nine days traveling with Noy, laughing, eating, drinking, watching her dance with her friends, while at the same time having the time of my life just hanging out with her. I did not contact or try to meet anyone else as I was in love with Noy, and she said she loved me too.
She took time off work and never asked me for any money or complained about her loss of income. We talked about how to make a long-distance relationship work, but since we had both had them before, we knew they cannot work even if you want them to.
Noy took me to Pattaya, and we had drinks and fun while she held my hand tight. She promised to protect me from the bar girls and the ladyboys, and I promised to protect her from rowdy, drunken foreigners. We really acted like a married couple, holding hands, going to temples, meeting friends, taking photos. The memories are very vivid, and I will never forget them.
Pulled Apart By Life
Noy and I were in a relationship for about a year before life pulled us apart. I returned to see her every four months, but with each visit, I felt she was slipping away. Sometimes you just feel it is not working even though you both try your best. My work consumed me more and more of my time, and her family needed her more and more. It was a typical story of her providing for eight family members, which included her sister’s children after her sister abandoned them all.
When I ended things, it was sad for both of us, but we remained on good terms. We would message holiday and birthday greetings, but nothing more than that. I knew I would never move on if I stayed in close contact with Noy.
I look back on my time with Noy with fondness and imagine what could have been. And that is all there is.
Reconnecting During The Pandemic
That was all there was to the story, until November 2019. I got an email from Noy asking how I was. I did not reply as I had seen her on social media pages and she was dating another foreigner. Noy started to text me on the app LINE and sent texts to my phone. We started talking again quite regularly.
I found out that her boyfriend was French but had deceived her. She had found out he was married to a Filipino lady and had four children with her. Noy and I did not have the connection or passion that we had had before. It was similar to reconnecting with someone you dated in high school when you bump into them later in life and are both polite to each other.
Eventually, the current situation hit hard in Thailand in March 2020. As we talked for the first time, she asked me for help. Since she was always so honest and generous (she often paid for our meals in Thailand and never asked me to pay for the gas she consumed while driving me around), I sent her $1,000. Not a lot of money. She explained that as a real estate agent, things were really bad. She promised to repay the money as soon as she got a commission on a deal she had closed.
Well, thanks to the pandemic situation, the deal was put on hold, and she never repaid the money, even though it has been more than a year. I do not think that this was a scam because she stayed in touch and let me know what was going on. She also never asked for any more money.
Would I send the money again if I could go back in time? Yes. Am I foolish? Maybe. But I have seen the best of Noy, and I always love her in a special way.
Once all the restrictions are gone, I intend to travel to Thailand again. Maybe Noy will meet me, and our story will have a second chapter. But if nothing materializes, that is okay too.
Penn And The Belgian Man
My first story concerns a lady who was 35 at the time. Her name is Penn, another notorious bar girl from Khon Kaen in Isaan.
Penn was now retired from the bars. She had worked in Pattaya over the years and had learned to speak very good English, which has helped her greatly while manipulating unsuspecting foreigners.
While sat having lunch with my Aussie wife at Graham’s Restaurant (situated at the rear of the Landmark Hotel in Khon Kaen), we met a man called Gary. Gary knew Penn well, as Gary’s Thai wife told him what she had gotten up to in the past, as Penn was proud to boast of her many achievements over foreign men.
Gary told us a story about how Penn had abandoned her foreign partner. Penn left him while he was attending a medical appointment in Bangkok, leaving him with no visa and an empty bank account. The poor man was left abandoned in the Bangkok Hilton (which is the prison). Penn was only too happy to tell others about how clever she is at ripping off foreigners.
Gary Shares Penns Story
Gary knew Penn very well and listened as she recounted her latest story with a foreigner, a Belgian guy that she had been stringing along (her words, not mine) for about six months.
She told Gary how she’d met the man in Bangkok on her way back from Pattaya, where she’d been working in a bar for a while. After staying with him in Bangkok for a few weeks or so, Penn brought him back to Khon Kaen to meet, as she put it, her brother and her 10-year-old son.
Leaving Thailand a week later, he joined the ranks of two other foreign men involved with her who had arranged to pay her 30,000 baht a month so she didn’t have to return to Pattaya.
The Brain Tumor Request
About three months later, she told the Belgian guy she had a brain tumor and needed 150,000 baht for an operation, which he sent to her.
Two weeks later, he told Penn he was coming back to Thailand because he was worried about her, meeting him at Khon Kaen Airport with a full head of hair. Penn was holding a picture of him while scanning the arrivals. The guy asked her why she was holding a picture of him, to which she replied: “Since my operation, I’ve had problems remembering faces.”
She terminated the relationship a short while later when, in her words, “he became suspicious.” Probably when he saw her brother’s brand new pickup truck and a house full of brand new furniture.
Passport Nightmare In Thailand
I am 26 years old, so a lot younger than most of your viewers, and from Germany.
Last year, me and my best friend traveled to Pattaya in March, right before the terrible situation hit us all. It was our second visit to Thailand, and we were both very excited and had planned this trip for months.
In early March, we headed to the airport to fly to Bangkok with Finnair. We had a layover in Helsinki. Everything was going as planned. We arrived in Helsinki, which had a very nice small airport but a bit expensive.
Trouble In Helsinki
Our troubles started when we went through immigration at Helsinki. One of the Finnish airport staff asked me to follow him into an office. Once in the office, a guy explained that there were issues with my passport.
Now, at this point, I should explain something. My passport was missing for a while back in Germany. However, about 10 days before my flight, I reported my passport as “found again” in Germany. A missing passport is usually marked as stolen right after you report it missing. I specifically asked the lady if my passport will be cleared by the time I’m taking my trip. She said, “Yes, no worries.”
Little did I know that I was in for one of the most hellish experiences of my life.
The Passport Still Marked Stolen
Back to Finland. The border patrol agent made some calls, asked some questions, and called the police in Germany. After about 30 minutes or so, one of the guards told me that my passport is still marked as stolen and the police were investigating it.
I tried to resolve the situation by proving that I am in fact the owner of that passport, and I had an ID with me. Now, this part gets weird, and I’m not sure if I should blame the Finnish authorities or not for this.
After about 15 minutes, they cleared me for travel, since I am allowed to cross Finland to my connecting flight with my EU ID card, being part of the Schengen Zone. However, they advised me to go to the German Embassy in Bangkok to resolve the matter, otherwise, they would confiscate my passport on my return flight to Finland.
I asked if this might be a problem in Thailand, and the border police said, “No, they don’t have these kind of databases in Thailand that we have in the EU.”
Denied Entry In Bangkok
Catching our connecting flight to Bangkok with my friend, we finally landed in Bangkok. That first moment stepping out of the aircraft is always exhilarating, Finally, I was back after six long and stressful winter months.
Back home. We just needed to get through immigration.
And here it comes.
“Sir, there is a problem with your passport. Please follow me.”
The lady at the immigration booth walked me very far and into a basement of some sorts. I was worried but thought that they will hopefully resolve this issue similar to how they did in Finland, after all, it’s my passport and I could prove it.
Waiting In The Basement
The lady sat me down and went into the office of the immigration authority’s boss. I had no Wi-Fi signal in the basement, so I had to text and make phone calls without a Thai SIM card to tell my friend to get the bags and wait in the arrivals hall for me.
I sat there for probably close to two hours. It was horrible.
Forced To Fly Back
After what felt like forever, another woman came out with a couple of papers and told me in a stern manner that I can’t enter Thailand with that passport and that I will fly back the same night. My flight was scheduled in eight hours.
My heart dropped like a brick. The paper she handed me stated that I must go back to the country I came from, and she insisted that I should sign it.
I couldn’t believe my ears. I asked her if I could make a phone call before signing the paper. She was visibly annoyed but granted me this wish. So I called up my friend who lives in Thailand who has connections with the police. I sent him my passport pictures and everything. I managed to stall the situation for quite a while.
Then I got a call. There was nothing my friend could do about this situation. He went on to explain to me that my passport was the target of an international manhunt. If it was a local matter, he could have resolved it, but this one was too big for the boys at immigration.
So I signed that damn paper. I was always escorted by a nice lady that worked for the airline I flew with.
Eight Stressful Hours At The Airport
I wasn’t going to give up. Following that, I had the most stressful eight hours of my life. I knew that if I could clear my passport before the flight, I might stay.
Fighting Against The Clock
I made many phone calls, text messages, etc. I called up the German Embassy in Bangkok, spoke to several people. One of them said I should try and ask for a transit hotel, this is basically a hotel that you can stay in for a short period without actually entering the country.
I had made calls already back at the government offices in Germany to get my passport cleared, and they assured me that it is done but might take a day or so.
I was denied a transit hotel. When I called the emergency number at the German Embassy in Bangkok, the man told me that Thailand doesn’t offer transit hotels as an option any longer. Everything has to be in order, or you need papers that are translated in time by the embassy to get you cleared.
As the hours passed, I started to realize it’s over, and I finally lost my fight against the clock.
The most frustrating thing about the whole situation is that nobody is willing to talk to you. I was treated like a criminal. Traveling in the EU never made me feel anxious because you are treated like a citizen in every European country, which is one of the few benefits. But here, the mood was quite different.
Waiting For The Flight Home
The immigration put pressure on Finnair to arrange a flight back on the same day ASAP, or they would have to pay for bringing me into the country. Yep, that’s how strict they were.
Imagine sitting at the airport waiting for your flight home already, while everyone else is going about their day arriving in the Land of Smiles. It was a terrible experience.
At 11 p.m. that night, I finally boarded the plane back to Helsinki, and I was still in shock. The flight back was terrible, as you can imagine. I tried to force myself to sleep, but my mind was still racing for quite a while.
Back In Germany For A New Passport
Back in Germany, I busted into the government facility to get a new passport. They had already prepared one for me, since I was raging at them on the phone back in Bangkok. They said that they were terribly sorry about the whole situation and that they didn’t have control over when the police cleared documents or not.
Yeah, red tape is bad, even in Germany, a country that basically perfected it.
My dad came to pick me up and drove me home. I booked my tickets for the following day last minute, but I wanted that one night of sleep at home. I had seen enough airports for today.
Returning To Thailand Again
Overall, I spent 24 hours on aircraft within two days, but I didn’t care anymore. Aircraft and airports started to feel familiar, and I took my 14-hour flight the following day.
When I finally passed through immigration in Bangkok and got my SIM card and some cash from the ATM, it finally hit me: Yes, I’m in Thailand.
I took a cab to Pattaya where my friend was waiting at our condo, the one we’d booked, and had an absolutely amazing time after all. We left the country days before the trouble hit and the Thai airports were closed, so we barely made it out of there.
I love the country, and I already know that despite this problem I had, I will return for decades to come.
Get Your Papers In Order
This horror story should be a lesson to everyone. Thailand isn’t messing around with this stuff. People assume that they are a third-world country, like the Finnair police told me, that they wouldn’t have any databases or any information on me.
The man from the emergency hotline at the embassy was very helpful and knew the Thais very well. He said people need to be aware that Thailand has some strict rules in place as of late and won’t tolerate you for longer than 12 hours at the airport. They have all the databases now too that we in the West have.
Overall, it cost me an additional 800 euros for the flight, the phone bills, almost three days of my vacation, and a good portion of my sanity.
So make sure you have your papers in order. Don’t listen to the BS. And if you lose your passport, get a new one right away, your old one will be stained forever.
