Thai people are naturally very hospitable but the bad apples count on you not speaking a word of Thai, knowing that this leaves you in a weak position. But just where do you draw the line between cowering in a hotel room for fear of getting ripped off and going out and having a rip-snorting active holiday at the risk of being scammed? Getting wise to the scams beforehand is the obvious answer and staying sober enough to maintain your judgment certainly helps.
The long-lasting jet-ski scam has received worldwide media attention yet paradoxically on any given day you can still see visitors out on jet-skis at several Phuket beaches. How it works is this: The jet-ski is hired out and when it is returned the jet-ski owner will feign astonishment and anger at perceived damage to the bodywork. Huge amounts of compensatory money are demanded and so the hirer, taken aback by the sheer vitriol hurled in his direction, naturally calls the police, not realising that, in some cases, they are also involved in the scam and will insist that you pay up.
You bet. A similar scenario unfolds with motorcycles, but sometimes motorcycles, unlike jet-skis, are necessary to get around on β the solution being to photograph the vehicle in detail before hiring it. Everyone enjoys their couple of weeks on the beach and pretty much everyone wishes it could be longer. Unscrupulous scam artists - particularly in Patong, Kata and Karon - prey on that wish. The approach might come from a random European guy riding up to you on a motorbike or a couple of Thai girls asking you to fill in a quick survey.
The potential for a prize or reward will be included and you'll always win. The kicker is that, in order to claim your prize, you'll need to sit through a minute presentation for a timeshare or a holiday club. The deal they're offering will doubtless seem almost too good to be true, usually because it is. In return for huge sums of your hard-earned money, you get a worthless contract or meaningless vouchers you can never spend.
Whatever prize they are offering is not worth 90 minutes of your holiday time, so you're better off simply saying 'no' at the introduction phase. Of course the driver is in it for his commission and sometimes refuses to take his vehicle any further until alternative accommodation is booked through his pal, the travel agent. If the van stops simply decline any offer and insist on carrying on to your original destination. Many bargirls in Phuket are supporting their families in poorer areas of the country and so are financially motivated to earn as much as possible.
