Scammer or Scammee?

Yesterday, I found myself at the Wat Phra Kaew & Grand Palace, home of the infamous Emerald Buddah, and former home of Thailand’s monarch. It was breath taking with its gold leaf luster shimmering in the sunlight. It is required that one’s legs and shoulders are covered (and westerners must wear close-toed shoes) before milling about these sacred sites, so I had to rent appropriate attire: a long, beautiful sarong, or wrap-around skirt, and a men’s button-up work shirt (completely ungly!). This is where solo sight-seeing becomes a disadvantage, as I didn’t care to bother other tourists with a request to take photos of me with my camera. Fortunately, another single woman named Lori (from Chile) requested that I do just that for her, and we immediately befriended one another during our tour of the Palace, taking pictures with one another’s cameras. We decided to continue our adventures together beyond the palace.

The Grand Palace is notoriously known as a high profile con artist hang out, as it is largely visited by naïve, all-to-trusting tourists. There are placards posted warning tourists to heed their mother’s advice, “Don’t talk to strangers.” My Lonley Planet Guide Book even provides a detailed run-down of the well-practiced, step-by-step standard scam. Unfortunately, despite all warnings, Lori and I fell prey to one of these scandals…

We intelligently declined all tuk-tuk offers for rides leaving the Palace, deciding we would walk to our next destination. After a good mile or so, our feet began to drag, and the thought of a taxi began to sound appealing. We were passing another Wat (temple) that had closed, when a well-dressed man approached us speaking very clear English. He asked us where we were going, where we were staying, and then began listing sight after sight of must-sees, most of which were closed for the day. Pointing on our map, he began highlighting an itinerary we should follow for the next day. He then pointed to two wats that were still open and free. He suggested we take a tuk tuk, but warned against the tuk tuks with yellow license plates. He then asked us if we knew what to pay, we stupidly shook our heads. He “helpfully” warned against paying 100 B, and suggested that we take a Tuk Tuk that would send us to all 3 of our next destinations for only 50 B.. and that we pay only after we had reached our final destination. Having been warned not just by the Palace signs, my Lonely Planet, and Rafael, I was skeptical of the Tuk Tuk altogether… but we were on an adventure, so what the heck!

The driver wove in and out of ally ways, and I braced myself to jump out of the Tuk Tuk on a moment’s notice. Unlike most tuk tuks that I witnessed around town, this driver seemed to have our safety in mind, as he carefully took corners and didn’t challenge pedestrians. We arrived at a set of buildings that looked suspiciously un-temple-like, but sure enough, we entered the courtyard, and lo and behold there stood a wat with the reclining Buddha I wanted to see all day!

Moments after we arrived, another English-speaking man in a business suit approached us, asking the popular series of chit-chat questions. He demonstrated knowledge of the United States, highlighting the upcoming inauguration of Obama. He diligently kept us engaged in conversation, changing the topic from politics to his upcoming wedding. He randomly shared with us his process of selecting tailors and fabrics for his ceremony, and I started to become a bit uneasy. What did this man really want? Trying to be polite, we tried to slowly pry ourselves from the conversation, until, I abruptly interrupted, thanking him and excusing us back to our tuk tuk. As we wove in and out of ally-ways, I shared my skepticism with Lori, highlighting some of the warnings mentioned in my guide book. We were stuck in grid-lock traffic, and soon our driver scooted past the cars and pulled over at a fancy silk shop, motioning us to follow him. Completely wary at this point, we followed. He motioned for us to go into the shop, and I assertively declined. He pulled a card out of his wallet, explaining that he gets free gas if we just go in for a few minutes. Shaking our heads, we pulled out our map and showed him where we wanted to go. He elevated his voice and argued that we needed to go into the shop. I also elevated my voice, insistently pointing to the location on the map, restating our final destination. In exasperation with wide-eyes, the driver yelled a hearty, “Fuck You!” then strode off in the opposite direction. I was surprised he didn’t insist that we at least pay for our ride to the first wat.

We quickly got our bearings, then set off on foot to our final destination. In hindsight, I’m amazed at just how rehearsed the scam was, with so many “random” players. There was the educated English speaker who helpfully highlighted an itinerary for us, then the tuk tuk driver, then the man “randomly” speaking about fabrics at the 1st wat, then the fabric store. Almost like clockwork.

Well, I’ll steer clear of all tuk tuks from this point on, just as my intuition, guide book, and friends had suggested. But… I’m glad I went along for the ride yesterday, if for no other reason than to have a good story.

More to come! xoxo, Alegria