First Trip to Thailand Taxi Scams and Soi 6

I am a 70 year old American, divorced for some years, and have enjoyed traveling for a good number of years. Previously I had built a successful business over 30 years and sold out some 15 years ago. I did manage to save money and also sold out for a good sum. I also learned financial management and investing over the years, thus my financial needs are nicely covered.

My wife and I parted company years ago, and I am rather footloose and fancy free. Dating in the US is no picnic American women don’t seem to know what they want, and most are very self centered. After dating five or six women (none of whom worked out for different reasons), I went on leave from dating and considered making this leave permanent. Who needs the drama and aggravation, right? I get along quite well on my own.

For my trip to Thailand (my first), I decided to book a tour with a tour company. I added days before the tour at the Bangkok Hotel used by the tour company, and more days still at the end of the tour in Pattaya, again at the hotel used by the tour company. At the beautiful Bangkok hotel, by US standards, a heavily discounted rate.

I worked through jet lag and a long flight. I walked the neighborhood and decided to venture off to the Jim Thompson House. I got a cab, asking what the fare would be before I left, and was satisfied with the rate. I was a bit amused when the driver tossed an old t shirt over the meter. “Welcome to Thailand,” I thought. “And aren’t taxi drivers in Thailand the same as US taxi drivers who do their best to run up a dishonest fare?” I imagined he was overcharging me, but by US standards, the fare was still very cheap.

On the way to Jim Thompson’s house, the driver turned down a side street and told me I would need to join him to visit some dodgy looking establishment. I told him no I would stay in the cab and wait for him. He finally continued the drive after my repeated and resolute refusal to get out of the cab. Before leaving the US, I had learned about this scam, and I still wonder what the cabbie had in mind had I got out of the cab and entered the building.

The return taxi was driven by a friendlier guy. He also pulled down a side street, telling me it was some kind of special holiday and I needed to go into the building so his sponsor would give him credit. I told him to send his sponsor out to the cab, and I would wait for them both in the cab. Again, I refused to leave the cab. We continued the trip back to my hotel.

Both drivers would have done better to simply drive directly to the requested locations. They lost the tip I would have given them. Somehow, I must have looked like a newbie to them. This was an early, unexpected education to be careful in Thailand and to keep one’s eyes open and alert. I still wonder with some trepidation just what waited for me behind those building doors. No doubt I would have found myself in trouble to some degree.

Exploring Pattaya

On the tour, we visited sites in Bangkok, including a canal boat ride, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, a jewelry outlet, and some other interesting stops. As I had heard so much about Pattaya, I decided I would take a trip to this famous city by the beach.

I am a hiker, and I started walking the city, learning the streets, restaurants, and other assorted locations. Gradually, my sense of direction and experience improved. The Thais I met along the way were friendly, helpful, and smiling most all the time. I was enjoying all their friendly nature, and I did my best to be as smiling and friendly to them as they were to me. I found the baht buses good fun and certainly enjoyed the 10 baht fare perhaps the best deal in town.

I walked down the infamous Soi 6 and was truly surprised with the dozens of scantily clad ladies happily approaching pedestrians with offers of cold beer and more. As I’m a bit reserved, I found myself a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable. Of course, the best method to handle this was to walk down Soi 6 a few more times and later I did. The scenery was impressive.

A day or two later, I stopped at a conveniently located currency exchange kiosk at the end of Soi 6 to turn one of my $100 bills into Thai baht. One drunk guy in front of me in the kiosk line completed his transaction and told his friends he had 10,000 baht and was ready to walk down Soi 6 and spend the lot. A fool and his money are soon parted. I hoped he would do okay. For myself, I would not wander around drunk.

I started my own walk, and I decided to duck into one bar for a beer to experience the friendliest side of Pattaya. Soon I had my beer, and many young, friendly, attractive ladies were around me. I invited one to sit with me, admiring her long black hair, tall, slim figure, and lovely smile. We attempted a conversation and were only partly successful as her English was almost as poor as my Thai. She brought over a Connect 4 game and thought we should play. Okay, I thought, let’s give it a try. She always won, and after a few games, she told me that I owed her three drinks for the games she won. The writing was on the wall. Her drink was a double shot glass filled with mostly Coke.

I looked at my watch, told my charming practice gold digger it was time I left for dinner. I paid my bill (which I had consistently checked along the way to avoid bill padding) and was on my way. It was fun she was beautiful.

A Clever Anti Theft Tactic

Another tactic I used (mentioned in my pre Thailand trip research) was to carry only limited money out on the streets. One should divide up their money into three or four pockets. I wore cargo pants or shorts with six pockets and had a small strap on bag.

I also have a tactic of my own invention I have yet to hear that anyone else has devised it. I have a second wallet a worn out, retired wallet. My actual wallet remains in the hotel safe with the bulk of my cash and passport. I carry a photocopy of my passport and fill the second wallet with expired credit cards, a few business cards of forgotten companies, and one actual debit card I can use as wanted. Thus, if my wallet goes missing, I am out not much. And there is also a note inside stating it’s not good to steal.

Oddly enough, the wallet did go missing a few days later where and when I don’t know. Inside was less than 1,000 baht.

In Thailand, the Thais struggle to earn a living as best they can. Most of the Soi 6 girls have little opportunity and education and in years past required the family to pay school tuition money a Thai family may not have. And Thailand is a Buddhist country.

I did visit Walking Street one evening and ducked behind a curtain door to face an amazing lineup of 16 scantily clad beauties on stage slowly dancing. I do like women. This place had me thinking I must have died and gone to heaven. One caught my eye especially, and she certainly did notice my attention. A few evenings later, I walked along Beach Road and was mesmerized by a stunning lady just across the street from my hotel. She took my breath away and well, I’ll save that story and the Walking Street story for the next episode.

I do like women, and if they are beautiful, friendly, charming, and affectionate, who can complain? I always treat them with affection and respect and value what time we share.

I am considering my next trip and perhaps a 6 week Airbnb rental close to the ocean, somewhere I can escape the cold winter here and enjoy the friendly Thais and their fantastic country. It is amazing. My only regret is that I didn’t travel to Thailand sooner. I will remedy that error. I wonder if Soi 6 girl will be there when I get back?

I knew straight away what was happening with the taxi drivers in that story. What happens is they get a payoff. If they manage to bring a customer to a business typically a KTV, a jewelry shop, a tailor shop if they manage to get one of their customers inside one of these shops, they’ll get a couple of hundred baht off the owner. So it doesn’t matter that the customer didn’t buy anything. If they could have gotten the guy into the building, once he’s through the door, they’ve earned their commission and that’s why they try to do it.

So again, guys, if you’re ever offered (tuk tuk drivers are notorious for it) a tour that seems a little bit too good to be true, then walk away from it because it’s probably going to be some kind of a scam.

Story 2: Professor John A Free Holiday That Cost a Life

This is an extremely sad story about a man I met when I first started visiting Thailand and his tale of woe.

It was 2017, and I came to Thailand with a group of fellow Aussies to watch the Asian Cup of football. I met a young lady who later became my ex girlfriend that’s a story for another time. One day, me and my girlfriend had a coffee at a nice coffee shop in our local mall, and it was here I met Professor John. John was an English professor at a major Thai University, had lived in Thailand for many years, and warned me many times to be wary of the bar girls. Little did he know that a normal Thai lady was to be his downfall.

One day, I called John to meet for a coffee, and this stunning girl turned up at the coffee shop looking for him. He introduced me to her he said, “This is Lek” and he told me that she was one of his star students. She had come along to practice her English conversation.

About a year later, John had asked me if I remembered his student Lek. I said yes how could I forget? She was stunning. John told me he was going away to Hong Kong with her. I told him that I didn’t even know that they were an item, and he said that they weren’t. However, Lek needed to go to Hong Kong and needed him to go with her. Later on, John told me that they were to pretend that they were married, and for his trouble, she would pay for his flight and his accommodation all he needed to bring was his own spending money.

I told him that this sounded a bit weird. He said that he had an idea why she wanted to go to Hong Kong and why they were to pretend that they were married. I told him I hoped he knew what he was doing, but there is no such thing as a free holiday.

For the next four weeks, they rehearsed all private information that only a partner would know such as birth dates, likes and dislikes, where they met, when they got married, etc. So the big day arrived. They were leaving at 6:00 p.m. John and I met for coffee as we had done every Friday for the three years that I had known him. I asked him one last time if he was sure he knew what he was doing that he was 100% sure that all would be okay. He was only gone away for 3 days, so I said that I’d see him next week for a coffee when he returned.

I asked John how it all went. He said that they got questioned at both Bangkok and Hong Kong airports but just the usual stuff: were they married, how long, why they were in Hong Kong, etc. I then again questioned John, and he came clean. He told me that Lek had told him that her family had a huge debt because her brother had an accident he was drunk and had killed somebody with his car in their hometown and that they needed the money. One of Lek’s friends told her that she could earn big money in Hong Kong selling her wares. I asked John I didn’t know she was that type of a girl. He responded that she wasn’t and that this was the first time she had done this, and that her family really needed the money. I guess you do what you’ve got to do.

For the next 3 months, John and I met every Friday for coffee as we had done for years. I arrived one Friday, but John failed to appear. I just thought that he had got caught up or was busy and forgot to call or message me. I tried calling him, but his phone was switched off. Strange, as John was very punctual and would always let me know even if he was a minute late.

On the following Tuesday, I received a strange call from the Australian Embassy asking me to go there to meet up with an Australian Embassy official. My first thoughts were that John had been in an accident or was in hospital, or even possibly dead. When I got to the Embassy, the official told me that John had been arrested by the Thai Royal Police under instructions issued by Interpol. I was shocked. What had he been charged with? You could imagine my face when the response was human trafficking. My jaw hit the ground.

I was confused. Anyway, John had given me as a contact, and the embassy official asked me many questions about John. It then dawned on me that even though we had coffee every Friday for years, I really didn’t know that much about him. I didn’t know any contacts for him in Australia brother, sister, parents and I didn’t even know his actual address in Thailand.

The embassy official asked me if I would like to attend Klong Prem prison with her and see him. I vowed when I moved to Thailand to never end up in a Thai prison, but I decided to go as John needed me. Klong Prem is not a nice place rather eerie, and there was a musty odor. To say that I was scared and nervous was an understatement. Anyway, we were ushered into a room, and after 15 minutes John came in. He appeared scared and confused and had shackles around his ankles.

“What happened?” I asked. He said that according to Interpol, Lek had been arrested working in an illegal brothel, and when questioned, she had told the Hong Kong police that John told her that they were going on a holiday to Hong Kong and once there, he had sold her to the Triads. John then told us that once they got through Hong Kong Customs, there was a Chinese man waiting for Lek, and that was the last that he had ever seen or heard from her.

Over the next 18 months, John had numerous court dates in Thai, and both of us never knew what the heck was going on. John’s lawyers stated that if we had money in the millions of baht that John could get a lesser sentence or even have the case dropped. But John said that both his parents were dead and that his sister in Sydney didn’t have that kind of money.

In the meantime, John had asked me to try to find Lek, saying that this was a misunderstanding and that she would clear it up. I did go to the university to look for her but had been told that she dropped out and none of her friends had seen her after “that Australian man trafficked her to the Triads.” What were they on about? How did they know this? I was later to discover that Lek’s younger sister attended the same university and had told everyone this story.

Finally, the date of sentencing had arrived for John. Life in jail was the verdict. John’s lawyer blamed me and John for this sentence, saying that if we had paid the money as requested, that the three judges would have taken pity and given only 8 to 10 years and with a royal pardon, he would have been out in 5 years. John and I were in shock. Life in jail. So much for a free holiday.

Things took a twist later that day when a younger girl in the courtroom came up to me, asking if I was John’s friend. I said yes, I was. She introduced herself as Lek’s younger sister. In her broken English, she asked me to pass on Lek’s apologies to John, but the Triads had warned Lek that if she gave them up, they would “knock off” her parents and Lek’s two younger sisters. Basically, John had been set up from the start.

I debated whether I should tell him, but I thought he needed to know as every time I visited him, he would ask me if I found Lek. When I told him, I could see the life literally drain from his body.

I visited him monthly for the next 9 months, and he was looking worse and worse each time. I could see that he was taking substances, and when I asked him, he finally confessed. He told me it took away the boredom and that he had given up on ever leaving the jail alive. I told him to start giving English classes, but he said that he now hated the Thais and that he didn’t want to help or teach them anything. This was so unlike John, who for years professed his love of Thai people and Thai culture. He started to turn away visitors.

I would put 3,000 baht in his prison account each month so he could buy some of his daily needs to try to make his life more comfortable. Three years after his sentencing, I received a call from the Embassy saying that John had died from an overdose. The official had told me that John was also HIV positive and had contracted hepatitis and diabetes.

Sorry that this was a long and sad story. However, there is a very important lesson to be learned here. If someone is too good to be true, then it usually is. Maybe John thought Lek liked him, or the thought of a free holiday inspired him. But that moment of madness ended up costing his life.

That is a really, really sad story. I don’t know why John would have offered to take Lek to Hong Kong or anywhere else for that matter, because it’s fairly obvious what goes on when people travel on their own abroad. I wouldn’t have risked it but he paid the price. What can you say?

Story 3: A Young Bartender’s First Night in Bangkok 1988

I’m a retired policeman from America. I had been consistently visiting Thailand two or three times a year for over 30 years, but now I’m living near Pattaya. I have lived here for 6 years now, and I’m loving it. I find the stories you read out entertaining and humorous, although I can’t laugh too hard because a lot of the silly stuff I’ve done myself.

My first trip to Thailand was in 1988 when I was 23 years old and before I was a cop. In those days I was a bartender in San Francisco’s Financial District the days of gray flannel businessmen, lawyers, stockbroker types drinking and smoking heavily in bars. Those were the 1980s, so I’m sure other party favors helped keep the smoking and drinking going strong. Needless to say, I was making a lot of money back then, so could afford holidays because of lots of tips.

I had just broken up with my super hot Filipino girl and decided I was going to go to Hawaii to clear my mind for a week’s vacation. Along with business people, I also had a travel agent who was a friend who also drank at my bar. This was before the internet, so the only way to plan a trip was through a travel agent and guidebooks like Lonely Planet yes, you’d actually have to read about places and hope for the best.

So on a random Tuesday evening, as the night was winding down and I was starting to close up the bar, just chatting with my travel agent friend and another broken hearted friend who also said he may want to go to Hawaii with me because he too had just broken up with his girlfriend at the same time and out of nowhere walks in this guy who I’d seen around from time to time but did not know his story exactly. Let me paint a picture for you: he was in his mid 50s, good looks, very tan, tall, thin, white hair, and wore a white Miami Vice type suit with his sleeves rolled up over a t shirt.

He was a friendly enough guy and sat next to my two friends at the bar and joined in the conversation about travel. My friend told the stranger about our Hawaii plans, and the guy just kind of scoffed and said, “Hawaii? Why?” My friends and I began to tell the stranger why the three B’s: beach, booze, and broads. Why else?

So this is the part where my life changes forever. The stranger looks at me and my friend and says, “If that’s what you want, then Thailand is the place for you. Thailand? Yes, Thailand!” So I get the stranger a cocktail on the house, of course, and he begins to tell us of this magical place called Thailand. It too has the three B’s but only better. He just happened to have a photo that he was carrying around with him of his Thai bar girlfriend and I was sold. She was stunning. We were sold absolutely gorgeous.

He then began to tell me about what the prices were for things like food, beer, hotels, and female company. His bar girlfriend’s daily allowance was 500 baht in those days. I was really sold, and this just got the stranger yet another drink on the house of course. My friend the travel agent basically backed up everything that the stranger had been telling us, and since she was a travel agent and had been to Thailand before, that’s when she dropped the bomb on us by telling me that the price of one week’s vacation in Hawaii, we could have a two weeks’ vacation in Thailand for the same price. That just got my friend the travel agent a drink on the house, and I told her to book the trip tomorrow.

We booked four nights in Bangkok and seven nights in Phuket all flights, breakfasts, and tours included. My friend and I are going to Thailand in two weeks’ time. I then spent the next two weeks reading anything I could find out about Thailand and there wasn’t much back then but I was able to find two travel books and a paper map.

The Solo Adventure Begins

So now the day has come. It’s mid November 1988, and I am at San Francisco International Airport with one carry on bag and one small shoulder backpack. That’s it for a two week vacation. But something is missing where is my friend? He should have been here already to meet me. The plane boards in one hour, so I find a pay phone and call my friend’s apartment (this was before cell phones, of course). He answers and tells me he’s not coming with me because of his girlfriend and he’s trying to win her back. “Are you joking?” I screamed down the phone. “You tell me now with one hour before the flight?”

Ultimately, the joke was on him, because she ran off with some other guy and got married. I think the tickets we were traveling on were non refundable because they were cheap. So here I am, getting on this airplane with my brand new passport mind you, I’ve never been out of the United States before going to some exotic country I only know a little bit about, and alone. I sure hope the Taiwanese people will be nice that’s a joke, but barely.

So the adventure begins: San Francisco to Seattle, Washington to Vancouver, Canada to Tokyo, Japan, and finally Bangkok, Thailand. Wheels touch in Bangkok at 1:00 a.m. in the morning. I feel crazy. I think I made a mistake coming here. I just check into the hotel very nice back in the day, four plus stars. Still feeling out of place and not sure what to do, so I decided to jump in with both feet and hit the streets. But have no idea where I am, what to do, or where to go. But I did see some white fluorescent lights that I assumed was a food stall or something. Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to have a look and wouldn’t you know it, the guy was selling beer. So one Singha please. It should be noted that back in the day, Singha was considered malt liquor it wasn’t even really beer. Very strong.

So as I’m standing around and standing out (as I’m a big Hispanic looking guy 187 cm, 105 kg) on a Bangkok street corner at 3:00 a.m., a tuk tuk comes flying past me, then locks up the brakes, does a U turn, and says, “Mister, mister, you want lady?” “No, thanks.” “Okay, okay, you want boy?” “No thanks, I don’t want a boy.” “Tuk tuk, okay, okay, you just want beer? Only beer?” “Okay.”

So I jumped in the back of the lunatic’s tuk tuk, and off we go and I immediately become concerned, having no idea where we’re going and why I agreed to any of this. I began to hide my money in my shoes. So now this guy’s driving in and out of small side streets and little alleys and then stops in front of what looks like a house. The tuk tuk driver says, “Bar inside.” “No, really?” So what the heck I go inside, and what do I find? A bar and lots of beautiful girls. Okay, I think I’m going to really like Thailand.

So to wrap this one up, I sat with one pretty girl, bought her a few lady drinks and breakfast in the morning. I had a great time my first night in Bangkok, and no, I didn’t get ripped off well, I’m sure a little, but it wasn’t noticeable.

You know what? I’d have loved to have come to Thailand when I was 23. I was in my mid 30s when I first arrived here, the very first time. But to arrive here at 23 and on your own that’s very, very brave of a young man. Glad he had a good time, and maybe he’ll send in another story of some more adventures when he revisited when he was a bit older.

Story 4: A First Time Romance in Phuket

It was about a month before my discharge from the Air Force. I was sitting with my two friends and roommates at midnight discussing our post Army trip to Europe in the style of the movie Euro Trip. Suddenly, another guy from an adjacent room overheard our conversation, walked in, and said, “Forget Europe you can go there anytime, even when you’re 70 and in a wheelchair. Go to Thailand trust me.” That was more than enough to convince us.

We did our homework and booked a flight for August 2015, setting off on a 3 week adventure to Thailand. We arrived in Bangkok and immediately took a flight to Phuket, spending a couple of days in Nai Yang before embarking on a two day trip to Khao Sok National Park which was a fantastic way to start our journey.

After that, we moved to the Patong area, and of course we had heard about the famous Bangla Road. Hearing about it and actually experiencing it were two very different things. After getting culture shocked in the best possible way, I arranged to meet a Thai girl through a dating app. I had no idea about the dos and don’ts, but we agreed to meet near the Tai Pan club on Bangla Road. From there, we made our way to my hotel Hemway Silk Hotel which from my last trip a month ago I noticed had shut down.

My first thought was that it would be a one night fling, but I was wrong. Over the next couple of days, I had to adjust some of my plans and drift away from my friends something they still call me out for to this day.

After a night of great aerobics, we exchanged phone numbers and arranged to meet the next evening. She arrived on her scooter, and we rolled to a more relaxed bar near the OTOP market, which turned out to be a lot of fun. We went to the bar where she worked, and the manager was a really fun guy who let me play some of my favorite rock and metal songs which he also loved. I don’t think the other girls at the bar were too happy with my music choices, though. We played some cards and table games, drank a lot of shooters, and had a blast.

When we left, I hopped on the back of her scooter. It never crossed my drunken mind that she might have also been drunk, but luckily we made it back to my hotel without an accident. She stayed the night, and the next day she gave me a tour around Patong.

We went back to her place so she could change, where I met her roommate (another Thai girl), and we hung out with a fellow tourist. We all went for lunch on the beach. I tried to chat with the other guy, but he was completely smashed. I assumed it was just alcohol, but the girl with him had to help him eat, so maybe there were other substances involved. We of course laughed about it, and when we finished, the ladies covered the bill which I didn’t expect. They just said, “It’s on us.”

Later, we rolled around to some parks and viewpoints in Patong, making for a really nice afternoon. Though at one point, we came across a car accident where one vehicle caught fire, filling the road with smoke. A policeman stood there telling everyone to just close their eyes and drive forward until they felt the smoke had passed which sounds insane, but somehow it worked.

That evening, I took her out for a nice dinner at a restaurant, and this time there was no debate over who would pay. Afterwards, we went back to my hotel.

The next day, my friends and I had a ferry to catch to Koh Phi Phi, so we had to part ways. But since we planned to return to Patong for a few days later on, it wasn’t really goodbye just “see you soon.” Koh Phi Phi was magnificent from cliff jumping and pristine beaches to getting drunk at 4:00 a.m. but that’s a story for another time.

After about a week, we returned to Patong. I met up with her again, and we spent the evening at a different restaurant before heading back to the same hotel we had stayed in before which we really liked, so we rebooked it. That night was full of laughs because I wasn’t used to wearing an earring, and it kept getting caught in her hair. But regardless, it was a great last night in Phuket.

The next day we said our final goodbyes, as I was flying to Bangkok. I walked her to the bike outside, and after a long hug, we parted ways. You should have seen my friends’ reactions when they walked into my room and saw the aftermath of the fireworks from the night before.

It’s really amazing the number of guys who come here for the first time and they fall in love with the first girl they meet. And it’s understandable a lot of the girls are very charming and easy to fall in love with. But luckily he didn’t lose out on anything, and she seemed to be a fairly nice girl.