Thursday, July 29, 2010
An interesting scam
Today I encountered one of the more interesting scams that tuk tuk drivers run in Bangkok. A guy is crossing a street intersection with me as I head to the temple complex across the street. He asks me if I'm going to the temple. I confirm. He tells me that the temple is closed until 3pm because the monks are praying. So far this is a typical Bangkok scam - he is about to tell me to visit a silk or fabric factory while I wait for the temple to re-open. He asks to see my map. Here we go. But instead, he offers me a 3-point route: one buddha statue, a silk emporium, another buddha statue, then back to the temple complex area -- all for $2 USD! The scam works for them because the tuk tuk drivers get commission from the "silk emporium" for bringing foreigners there. But the scam also works for me, because I am not obligated to stay at the emporium long, and end up paying for about 3 hours of getting driven around for 2 bucks.