A First Night in Bangkok Ends in a Taxi Scam

I’m a guy in my early 30s, originally from South America, but for the past 5 years I’ve been living and working in Australia, specifically on the beautiful island of Tasmania. My engineering job allows me to work on a FIFO roster 7 days on, 7 days off. So using some annual leave, I was able to take a 21 day break from work with no solid plans.

I booked a last minute Jetstar flight from Melbourne to Bangkok. A friend of mine who was experienced in Thailand told me he’d be there for a month, and I thought about exploring a new country. It sounded a lot better than facing another brutal Tasmanian winter. I imagined myself on a tropical beach with a cold beer and a beautiful local girl. Little did I know my trip would start very differently.

Things started well. I lucked out and got a whole row to myself on the flight, which landed in Bangkok late in the afternoon. Suvarnabhumi Airport impressed me with its cleanliness and friendly staff a refreshing contrast to the rundown airports in Australia. On the airport WiFi, I booked a hotel in the Asok area where my friend was also staying. I found a hostel style hotel with large, stylish rooms and very friendly staff. By 8:00 p.m., I was ready to explore.

Unfortunately, my friend called it an early night, so I ventured out on my own. The streets were lined with massage parlors and bars, with women calling out “Hey handsome man” as I passed by. Shocked by the sudden attention, I decided to stop at a random sports bar for a beer, which cost around 5 Australian dollars much cheaper than the $15 I paid at Melbourne Airport.

I struck up a conversation with an American and some other Western men and was pleasantly surprised by how friendly the foreign crowd in Thailand was much more sociable than what I was used to back home.

The Taxi Ride Turns Into a Dangerous Chase

After a few beers, the bars closed and, feeling tipsy, I decided to head back to my hotel. This is where everything changed.

As I stepped out of the bar, several taxi drivers called out “Taxi, taxi!” Not knowing exactly where I was, I figured my hotel was nearby and hopped into a cab with an older Thai driver.

After about 10 minutes of driving, I noticed we weren’t heading in the right direction. The driver suggested taking me to a massage parlor for some “aerobics,” which I politely declined, asking him to take me straight to my hotel. He insisted we visit the massage parlor first, but I refused again and told him that I would just get out at that point.

I realized I had no Thai baht left after a few too many beers. I explained this to the driver, offering to pay by card, but he insisted on cash. He began muttering angrily in Thai and continued driving clearly not towards my hotel. I offered to withdraw money once we reached my hotel or buy something for him at 7 Eleven, but he rejected both ideas.

His frustration was growing, and as he drove us down a dark side street, I started to panic. Without a local SIM card, I had no idea where we were. The driver kept demanding 2,000 baht, and I started to freak out.

Hiding After Jumping from the Taxi

When the taxi finally stopped in traffic, I made a snap decision to jump out of the car. I ran down the street, rain pouring down, as the driver got out and began chasing me.

I ran towards what looked like a train station, but in my haste, I tried to jump onto the elevated platform and missed, landing hard on the road. The pain in my leg was intense, but I knew I had to keep moving. I limped towards a nearby park and hid in the bushes, trying to lose the driver.

After what felt like 20 minutes, I heard voices and saw flashlights. About eight taxi drivers surrounded me, including the one who had chased me. One of them pushed me, demanding money and asking me why I’d run off. In pain and unable to stand, I explained the situation.

One driver who spoke some English offered to take me back to my hotel if I agreed to pay 2,000 baht. Desperate, I agreed. He transferred money to the angry driver and then drove me back to my hotel on the back of a motorbike, my legs throbbing with pain.

When I finally arrived, I withdrew the cash and paid him. To my surprise, he even offered to show me around the next day, but I declined.

Back in my hotel, the staff noticed my condition. One kind receptionist quickly helped me to my room and brought an ice pack for my injured leg. The next morning, I called my friend who took me to a local hospital. After a few hours, I learned that while my feet weren’t broken, they were fractured meaning I’d be bedridden for the next few days.

The first 5 days of my trip were spent in my hotel room in Asok, in pain and unable to walk. Thankfully, strong painkillers offered some relief and a few vivid hallucinations.

Eventually, I recovered enough to start exploring Bangkok, visiting temples and experiencing the city’s nightlife. Despite my rough first night, I learned some valuable lessons:

Lessons from a Bangkok Taxi Scam

Don’t mess with taxi drivers. Many of them are involved in shady dealings, and you don’t want trouble in a foreign country. Always carry cash. A few hundred baht could have saved me a lot of trouble. Don’t try to outrun locals in their own city. You don’t know the area, and there could be more of them waiting. Ignore taxi drivers who call out to you. Hail one that’s already moving and insist they use the meter.

Thailand is a beautiful country with amazing people. Despite my ordeal, the kindness I received from locals outweighed any negativity from that first night. In the end, I chose not to report the incident to the police. What would you have done in my situation? Is it worth reporting taxi scams to the authorities?

Fourteen Years of Love with Nut in Bangkok

My name is Martin and I’m from the UK, 47 years old, slim built, and definitely not a handsome man but I do look young for my age. I was married to a Filipino woman, though we’ve since separated. We met on Yahoo Messenger in the mid 2000s, and after two trips to see her, she came to the UK and we got married. By late 2010 we decided it was best to split up. We just drifted apart, but we’re still good friends.

The Philippines is a beautiful country well worth a visit, though I can’t comment on the bar scene because I was already with her and her family.

Arriving in Bangkok During the 2010 Curfew

In 2010, I decided to go to Thailand after a friend a regular visitor encouraged me to. He warned me that if I went, I might never want to go anywhere else again. And he was right. I completely understand why people fall in love with Thailand.

I asked for his advice, packed my bags, and off I went. But my timing was terrible. I had booked a week in Bangkok at the end of May 2010, right when the protests were happening. Plus, the Iceland volcano disrupted flights. The weeks leading up to my trip were stressful, but the day finally came.

I arrived at the airport, which was nearly empty. Bangkok itself was quite quiet too a surreal experience for such a busy metropolis. My entire stay came with a 7:30 p.m. curfew. On my first night, I stayed in the hotel as I arrived in the evening. I had a number for an escort agency, so I decided to call it. The hotel kindly reminded me that I needed to dial 9 for an outside line not the best start. But a girl was sent to my room. She was in her mid 20s, very cute and petite, and she stayed with me for the night.

The next day I explored the city. The hotel told me that bars wouldn’t open until the afternoon due to the curfew. My hotel was near Asok, so I decided to check out Soi Cowboy as it was close by. The Skytrain was closed, and the ATMs were empty, but luckily I’d brought enough cash.

Meeting Nut in Soi Cowboy

By the afternoon, I headed to Soi Cowboy with a particular bar in mind, having done a lot of research and gotten advice from my friends. When I arrived, I went straight to the bar to order a drink, thinking it worked like pubs back home. But I was escorted to a seat, and my drink was brought to me on a tray.

As I looked up at the stage filled with girls dancing in minimal clothing, one caught my eye. If love at first sight exists, this was it. She was stunning, slim with dark skin and the brightest smile imaginable. Her name was Nut, and I was head over heels.

We spent the night together, and I bar fined her again later in the trip, although I did bar fine other girls too. But she was the one. We exchanged contact details, and I told her I’d be back soon.

I returned that August for another week, this time without a curfew, and saw how vibrant Bangkok truly is. From that point on, I became a regular visitor to Thailand, making two or three short trips a year.

Nut and I developed an open relationship. If she couldn’t see me, I’d find company elsewhere, and I was always honest about it. She didn’t mind, and neither did I. But after some time, she became less available, and during one trip when she couldn’t meet me, I decided it was time to call things off. It broke my heart, but it had to be done.

Mike’s Jealousy Creates Trouble in Pattaya

A few days later, another girl I had been thinking about a friend of a friend came to mind. I didn’t have her contact details, so I started visiting the bars where I’d seen her before but had no luck. Then one night after leaving the Eating Club, I felt someone following me. When I turned around, there she was. We went out for drinks and partied at the Bangkok Beat. One thing led to another, and she spent the night with me. But she turned out to be trouble and that’s a story for another time.

In 2016, while in Pattaya, I went to a beer bar on Soi 7 where a petite girl with an amazing body caught my eye. We danced the night away on Walking Street and had a memorable time back at the hotel. She became my regular for a few trips, but she had a jealous streak, and after drinking too much she would become unpredictable. Despite this, we kept in touch.

One day on Facebook, I commented on one of her posts, and a guy replied with a not so friendly message. It turned out this was her new boyfriend, an Aussie named Mike, who was incredibly jealous. Despite his presence, she continued to see me, and we met up again when I returned to Thailand. She even called him after a night out, screaming at him about things he hadn’t done. I felt sorry for the guy.

Later that year while at work, I received a video call from her online, which was unusual. It turned out to be Mike, who berated and threatened me over the phone. I stayed calm, explained how bar girls work, and let the truth sink in for him. He hung up. But I wasn’t the only one he treated this way.

He eventually took her back to his home country, and all contact was cut off more by him than her. As I suspected, their relationship didn’t last, and she returned to Pattaya after a few months. I reconnected with her, and we took a trip to Koh Pha Ngan. She posted pictures of all the treats and experiences I gave her on Facebook, and Mike was liking the photos without realizing she was with me. When he finally figured it out, he wasn’t pleased, and that was the end of that.

In December 2019, I made my last trip before COVID and stayed in Pattaya above the bar where I met her. By this time we were no longer serious, but I would still bar fine her occasionally. I heard Mike was back in Thailand with a new girlfriend and knew he would visit the bar where I was staying since he was friends with the owner. Sure enough, one night he showed up. I gave it a few minutes before heading inside to see if he had anything to say, but he didn’t even look at me. So much for his tough talk on the phone.

Keeping a Long Distance Relationship Healthy

I’ve been to Thailand over 20 times now, and I love it. One day I hope to live there. I’ve explored many parts of the country, including an amazing road trip from Bangkok to Krabi that I highly recommend.

Nut and I are still together after 14 years. She’s in her late 30s now, and I’m 47. I love her to bits, and if I move there, I’ll stay with her no more holiday girlfriends. We have an easy, understanding relationship.

For anyone considering a long term, long distance relationship with a Thai bar girl, my advice is to be understanding and not worry too much about what she’s doing when you’re away. If you don’t know it and it doesn’t affect you, she has her life and you have yours. If you’re prone to jealousy, this lifestyle isn’t for you. Don’t be like Mike.

A 1975 Phuket Trip Before Mass Tourism

In early 1975, I met up with a friend who had just returned from Phuket. He said I should make a trip there as it’s a beautiful island. Of particular interest was a coconut tree which had four branches, all bearing fruit. That planted the seed in my mind. I rounded up some friends to join me for this foray in October 1975.

We flew to Hat Yai as there were no flights from Singapore to Phuket at that time. After landing, we headed to the bus terminal to book tickets for the bus trip to Phuket. The bus fare was only 50 baht for the 230 km journey ridiculous. The current fare is now 355 baht.

Early next morning at 7:00 a.m., we boarded the bus to Phuket. The journey was horrendous as it was not an express bus and had no air conditioning. Along the way, passengers could hail the bus to get on board. We reached Phuket at about 5:00 p.m. It was tiring but interesting to see the different types of people using this transport. After a delicious dinner, we rested at the hotel.

Exploring Phuket by Tuk Tuk with Driver Jit

Next morning, my friend’s girlfriend Seang managed to book a tuk tuk to bring us all around. The rental was 200 baht for the whole day. The driver, Jit, said if we’re happy with his service, then give him 20 baht as a tip. We gave him a lot more than that. Kudos to Seang for her bargaining skills.

Our first stop was to find the famous coconut tree. We went through a coconut farm to reach the site. Unfortunately, the tree was struck by lightning 2 months ago. We could only see the main trunk and the pair of V shaped branches planted on the ground. We took some pictures of the remnants.

The other interesting place we visited was the Dinosaur Park. There were dinosaur statues and huge sculptures at this site. This park seems to have disappeared. On subsequent trips to Phuket, I’ve asked around and no one is able to tell whether the park is still in existence.

Phuket Beaches Before the Crowds Arrived

Jit brought us to all the beaches on the island. In 1975, there were hardly any hotels at Patong Beach. There were no crowds, no deck chairs, and no jetskis at all. We walked along the deserted beach, and our footprints were left on the fine sand. A world of difference compared to today, where the beach is overcrowded.

At Patong, there were two huge sheds at the treeline. There you could rent sleeping bags at $2 US per night and sleep at the sheds. We saw a few backpackers using the cheap accommodation.

We rented a longtail boat to bring us to Ko Phing Kan (James Bond Island), which was quiet and had no crowds. No need to jostle to take pictures. Similarly, there were no crowds at Promthep Cape either plenty of time to pose for the best shots. Promthep Cape reminded me of the Coke advertisement that was very popular at the time.

After 3 days, it was time to head home. On the last night, we asked Jit to bring his family for dinner. Jit cried during the dinner. He said he had served many tourists before, but none had ever invited his family for dinner. He told us he was very happy to have known us. We gave his children some money for good luck.

On a lighter note, Jit told us how he got his name. In Chinese Hokkien, “Jit” means “one.” He revealed that he only had one testicle, but that didn’t stop him from fathering children.

A Kind Phuket Driver Receives an Emotional Farewell

Now comes the interesting part. My friend Francis had been dating Seang for a couple of years. Seang was really good and looked after him well. Francis wanted to marry her. Francis brought his old fashioned mother to Thailand to meet Seang, hoping for her approval. Unfortunately, his mother, being conservative, was not in favor. The main reason was that Seang had a daughter from a previous marriage.

Francis had to give up. A sad ending.

Seang was a very independent lady. She took good care of us during the whole trip, bargaining for us, ordering our food, and making sure we were not cheated. What surprised us was that she had a small pistol in her bag and I’m sure she would have used it if the need arose. She handled the firearm quite well when we tried it out at the police shooting range.

I’m unsure what happened to her after our departure. We did not keep in touch as cell phones had not been invented yet. Overseas calls then were difficult and expensive. I hope she had a good life.

I will be flying to Phuket next month for the Vegetarian Festival. If there are any interesting episodes, I will send them in to you.

A Newcomer’s Expensive May Scam in Thailand

(Originally read in 2021)

Just a short email about the time I was in Thailand for the first time and events that occurred later.

In 2012, I had a working holiday visa for Australia. My friend from university in Glasgow lived in Pattaya, and he said, “Why not come over to visit for a week in transit to Australia?” So I did.

Like every new fish in the sea, I was amazed by everything that I saw in Pattaya. I remember thinking how so cheap everything was compared to back home. At that time, the exchange rate was 50 baht to £1. I had not done any research, so did not know how it all worked with regards to female company, but had an excellent time anyway. I stayed in Thailand for 9 days before heading off to Australia to look for work.

I had been looking forward to going to Australia, but after visiting Thailand, I just wanted to get back. When I was in Pattaya, I met a girl who worked in my hotel, and she spent several nights with me. She had not asked me for anything. It was kind of like a real girlfriend experience, although for a short period.

Fast forward 4 months. I struggled to find work in Australia as there were so many backpackers bidding for the same jobs. Being raised on a farm, I wanted to do real farm work, not fruit picking like most of the other backpackers. Eventually, I found a job on a cotton farm and worked there for 3 months. While working, I managed to save most of my money, which totaled $10,000 Australian dollars. And of course, all I could think about now that I’d replenished my funds was to return to Pattaya.

Eventually, the day came. I booked a flight Brisbane Bangkok Brisbane and headed straight to Pattaya. I was intending to have a real good time and spend all of my Australian dollars.

Falling for May and the First Requests for Money

I wasn’t in Pattaya for a very long time when I met a girl I liked called May. I got quite infatuated with May, and I kept going back to her bar. I was a little shy and naive back then, and looking back now, I realized May played me to her advantage. I fell into all of May’s traps and scams right from the start. I am a little angry with myself that I missed the signs and was quite foolish.

On the first night that I met May, I bought her lots of lady drinks just to be able to have her sit and speak with me. Then at the end of the night, some guy came along on a scooter, May jumped on the back, and they rolled off into the sunset. But me being Mr. Newbie and very naive, I overlooked this and went back to her bar to see her on the following night.

May’s bar was located in Jomtien in the Rompo Beer Bar area..

Anyway, time to cut to the chase. I eventually managed to take May out of the bar and spend the evening in my hotel room having drinks with her. I liked May’s company so much that one night became a week, and then a week became two weeks. I was compensating May for her time at 1,000 baht a day. At the end of the month, May asked me for some more money to buy gifts for her daughter who was 3 years old. I was spending a fortune, but I was blind and ignored it. I just wanted to spend time with May and hated the thought of her returning to her bar and talking with other men.

However, after 6 months or so, I started to come to my senses and realized May was playing me like a fiddle. My one month trip to Pattaya turned into 3 months, but eventually I had to return to work. When I left Pattaya, I paid 6,000 baht to May, and supposedly she was not going to work in the bar while I was working in Australia. She told me that we would go home to her village.

May’s Sob Stories Keep Escalating

May and I kept in touch with text messages on Facebook. May told me that she did not want to return to work in her bar. She went on to tell me that she had found a job working in 7 Eleven near her hometown in Buriram. I thought that was great and felt more at ease knowing that she was working for 7 Eleven and not in a beer bar talking to lots of men.

After about a week, I asked her how her new job was going. May told me that another girl didn’t like her at the shop and would be mean to her, so she didn’t want to work there anymore. I said, “Well, whatever makes you happy, but you have to work as you can’t rely on continued handouts from me.”

I was still sending May 10,000 baht every month, which I thought was pretty generous. May was never happy, telling me that her friends’ boyfriends were sending them 20,000 and 30,000 baht a month, but she was only getting 10,000. It was all a scam.

May told me that she wanted to go back to Pattaya and find work in a restaurant. I thought it was a good idea as long as she was working in a straight job. I knew the restaurant as we had eaten there when I was in Pattaya.

So apparently, May had started working in the restaurant and, like any job, received her salary at the end of the month. On the day that she supposedly received her salary, I got a frantic call from her in Australia. She was in hysterics, crying. I asked her what had happened, and she told me that a bad man had robbed her on a motorbike when she had been walking home from work. She said her ID card, along with everything else including her salary, had been stolen.

She was sobbing the whole time, and of course, I believed her. May’s first very predictable question was: “Can you send me some money, tilac? I have worked so hard all month and now have nothing.” I transferred 20,000 baht to her. I was suspicious at this point but still chose to believe her, thinking to myself, “She wouldn’t scam me after all I have done for her, would she?” How wrong I was.

The Costly Final Sting

Soon it was time for me to return to Thailand again, having saved up another $10,000 Australian dollars. This time, I had booked a flight but told May that I was arriving 2 days after my real arrival date. I also told her that I would meet her in Pattaya. My plan was to have some fun by myself in Bangkok, and I booked into the Nana Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 4, close to Nana Plaza.

I wanted to have a real blowout, drink a lot, and meet up with a new girl. And that’s exactly what happened but with a sting in the tail.

I started off my night at around 8:00 p.m. in Nana Plaza. I just sat at the bar in the middle of the plaza on the ground floor. Most of the girls in this bar seemed to be quite a bit older, so I chilled out with several cold beers. After a couple of hours, I headed out of Nana Plaza and turned right. I went to a bar that was only a couple of minutes’ walk on the same side of the road. It was a good sized bar and had a live band.

I got talking to a member of staff as I was sitting alone and offered to buy her a drink so that I had some company. I could feel myself getting very drunk and decided to slow it down for a bit by drinking some water. I also remembered that I hadn’t drunk in Australia for 3 months.

The staff girl I was drinking with said her friend was coming over and could she sit at our table. I said, “Yes, no problem.” Her friend sat down. She was an absolute stunner. I had made up my mind that this lady would be joining me in my room for drinks later. I think she was a freelancer, but me being Mr. Stupid, presumed that she was a normal girl and simply a friend of the waitress.

Back in the room, she was polite and got some drinks for us from the minibar. As it was so hot outside in the open bar, she had a shower and then I had a shower. Then we shared our drinks, and I was now very drunk. The shower did a little to help me, but I was still very drunk, and sharing a drink with this very good looking girl was about as much as I could manage.

However, that said, I thought I would try some aerobics. I felt instantly sick. This had never happened to me before. I had to rush to the toilet to be violently sick. I was sick for at least 5 minutes. The next thing I heard was the door slam. Yep, the girl had left.

I remember taking out 10,000 baht that night, but when I checked my wallet, only 4,000 baht remained. I couldn’t remember had she taken some money? Had I spent the money? I really wasn’t sure. Nothing else was missing from my room. My iPad was still where I left it.

I also couldn’t understand why I was so violently sick at the most crucial time of the night. Then it hit me: did this girl slip something into my drink that made me so violently sick? Nothing like this had ever happened before. That’s the only thing I could think of. But then again, she could have robbed me before she left as I was stuck in the toilet being sick. I really don’t know what the answer is, but it was certainly a self inflicted incident.

An ATM Skimming Nightmare in Pattaya

(Originally read in 2021)

This is the true story of my first two visits to Pattaya.

I first visited Pattaya in December 2017. This was my first trip to Thailand after hearing about the beach town dubbed “Sin City” from fellow travelers during my backpacking adventures. I booked into the Hole in One Guest House for a month, eager to experience Pattaya before continuing to Malaysia.

I was stunned by the number of women and had a great time visiting the many bars around the popular drinking spots. Within an hour of arriving, I had a girl in my guest house room for drinks, having met her at the first bar I visited on Soi Buakhao near Soi Made in Thailand.

About a week later, after eating at the Robin’s Nest Restaurant, I wanted to explore LK Metro for a night out. Too lazy to walk back to my guest house to retrieve cash, I withdrew 4,000 baht from my ATM outside Family Mart on Soi Diana. I met a lovely girl at the Billabong Bar, and we had dinner at the Pattaya Beer Garden, sitting on the balcony overlooking the bay.

Later that night, back in my guest house while she was in the bathroom, I put my bank card in the safe as I wouldn’t need it for a while.

A few days later, while watching TV in my room, I checked my online bank account and was horrified to find out that £1,790 had disappeared over 2 days. Multiple withdrawals had been made to a company called “Facebook Advertising Services.” I hadn’t used my card except at the cash machine on Soi Diana.

Panicking, I topped up my mobile phone and called my bank. While I was on hold, another £300 was withdrawn from my account. When I finally got through, the bank representative cancelled my card and reported the issue to the fraud department. Unfortunately, they couldn’t send a replacement card to Thailand only to my address in England. So my vacation was effectively over, and I had to return home.

Lesson learned: only use ATMs attached to banks.

Returning to Pattaya and Using Safer ATMs

In December 2018, I returned to Pattaya to finish what I started. I stayed at Selena Place for a month and had a blast meeting expats and travelers and discovering the famous Soi 6.

One night, I was having coffee with a YouTuber vlogger on Walking Street. While he was headed to Insomnia, I mentioned I was going to Soi Diamond. He laughed, knowing full well why. I stopped at the Carousel Bar, a quirky spot with a revolving seating area. A beautiful woman named Boon served me a Singha light. She had an artistic tattoo of a snake running up her leg, which she showed me. There was plenty of flirting, and I made a mental note to return to her bar later.

I continued up Soi Diamond to a place the late Kevin from Thailand recommended the Windmill Club. I’ll leave what happens there to your imagination, but it was intense. I had a great night and planned to return to Carousel Bar the next day to see Boon again.

However, the next morning I ended up getting lucky with a hotel housekeeper I’d been flirting with.

I hope you enjoyed this story, and I can’t wait to return to Pattaya for more fun when traveling alone.