While you might have been hoping for a tour of the more scenic areas of your holiday spot, you’ll find that your driver is more inclined to take you on a tour of a more commercial nature. At some playing on your sensibilities, by explaining that if you’d be willing to visit a shop he knows (his brothers, uncles, whoevers), he’ll be rewarded with free petrol coupons.
You had no specific agenda in mind when you set out, and as a wealthy foreign traveler, feeling a little sorry for your poor Thai driver, who in these hard times could obviously use all the free petrol coupons he could get, you agree. And so your tour begins.
You’ll be whisked around the city, from one stop to the next. Delivered by Tuk-Tuk to sellers of fine art sculptures, electronics, jewellry, and to high priced restaurants. Establishments, that form deals with Tuk-Tuk drivers, and pay them commissions, both upon final sales, but also for every potential customer they can bring through their doors.
As scams go, in general, the Thai Tuk-Tuk scam is not among the most severe. Tourists are not usually forced into visiting these establishments, by means other than a persistent cajoling. And as long as you keep your wits about you, and your guard up, you should come away from your tour with, at worst, your wallet a little lighter (or considerably so), than when you began. With the main problem, with this scam for tourists ultimately being in lost time. Because if you’re not the incredibly rich globe-trotter that many Thai’s will believe you to be. And you’ve saved up all year for a single week or two, in the exotic land of smiles. A day lost to the sneaky shenanigans of the commission seeking Thai Tuk-Tuk driver, is a day (and a memory) you’ll never have spent doing something far more rewarding.
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