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Thailand Shonks - What to Watch Out For

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Visiting Thailand can be a exciting experience, there are wonderful beach's, lots of shopping and a never ending night life. With all of this though, does come the chance that you will run into some less then reputable people.

The people in Thailand do not earn a lot of money, when compared to what we may make in the west so it is easy to understand why they feel the need to try and get every last dollar out of us they can. The following are a list of scams you may encourter while in Thailand, and how you can avoid it happening to you!

These issues mostly happen in the major Tourist area such as Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya.

Tuk Tuk Scam: Transport in Thailand is very cheap, so cheap in fact it does surprise most tourists. If you are going to take a Tuk Tuk some where, please be aware that it is a unwritten rule in Thailand that any local trip (Less the 15km) is 200baht, for every 10km more it is a extra 100 Baht.

Some Tuk Tuk Drivers will attempt to ask for up to 1000 Baht for a short trip, this is more common late at night and when it is raining.

You can avoid this happening to you by seeking a Tuk Tuk in a area that has alot of drivers looking for work, this will give you a upper hand in finding a driver willing to take you for the correct price.

Jet Ski Scam - Alot of tourists go to Thailand and end up renting Jet Ski's, the problem is that these operators do not have insurance and usually have no license to rent these out. The common sotry is, tourist rents Jet Ski, he returns Jet Ski to be told he has damaged it and must be a large sum of money.

Tourists have been scammed up to 60,000 Baht over Jet Ski issues they did not create. To avoid this happening to you, ensure you rent a Jet Ski through a reputable company and if you have any issue regarding costs call the Tourist Police, they are there to help you.

Massage Girl Scam - This is a new scam that has only been happening about 6months, massage girls will be on the look out for small groups of males of a young couple. The massage girl will go up, and either claim the man went with her for the night and he owes her money or try to tell the man he will cause issues for his girlfriend if he does not pay. - There is not a lot that can be done about this, as it is usually one persons word agent the other - the best advise anyone could give in this situation is to call the tourist police.

Large Bills - When you walk into a Go-Go Bar, Or a Pool Bar, ensure to ask for a menu to see what the drink Price's are. Often, men will walk into a bar and order a drink with out checking, they will then find the drink the ordered was cost 1000 Baht, which is double the cost they would pay back at home. If this happens, the only choice is to pay the bill.

www.bestphuketdeals.com

By Joel M - http://www.bestphuketdeals.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joel_McHugh

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Hmmmm....never heard the word "shonks" before (and I presume it means "scams"). Learn something new every day (oh well, I'll forget it soon....).

I've been coming regularly to Thailand for more than a decade, spending 6+ months this year, and I've never heard anybody talking about the scope/scale of tuk tuk issues you mention. Sure, I hear people moan about the cost but you protect yourself there by setting the price up front. If I'm lapse in that department, I've heard of them charging 100 baht for a ride that should have cost 50-60 baht but I've never heard anywhere near the numbers the author cites. Maybe I lead a sheltered life (not really and a tuk tuk driver has been a good friend of mine for the last 9 years).

As for cost of a bar drink (meaning a beer or standard drink you hear about in any bar in the states), I've never heard of a bar charging more than 200 baht for that (now, I'm not talking about the Oriental or the Hilton, ya know). Most times the beer is 60-100 and most drinks (whisky and coke, rum and coke, gin and tonic, etc.) are 100-200 baht. Of course, if you're going into a bar in Thailand and ordering champagne, somebody ought to take your ATM card away from you anyway....hehe.

Never heard of the massage scam cited. If a guy hasn't been there and he's with his wife when some Thai bimbo approaches, it's almost beyond belief to me that the guy wouldn't tell her to FO. Can't believe anybody's dumb enough to pay anything in that situation.

I suppose anything can happen once....but I for one don't believe much of what Joel McHugh has to say.

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I suppose anything can happen once....but I for one don't believe much of what Joel McHugh has to say.

After reading the article, neither do I. I've never heard of him. I've also never heard of any of the scams he talks about except for the jet ski scam. That scam does happen on occasion. But the others he listed, I have no idea where that's coming from or what information he is privy to that no one else seems to have ever heard of.

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