DIRECTORY A-Z
SHOPPING
intentions to a recipient who
does not share your culture’s
sexual norms.Border Issues & Hot
Spots
Thailand enjoys much better
relations with its neighbours
and most land borders are
fully functional passages for
goods and people. However,
the ongoing violence in the
Deep South (see the boxed
text, p 596 ) has made the
crossing at Sungai Kolok into
Malaysia completely off limits
and the entire Muslim-ma-
jority provinces (Yala, Pattani
and Narathiwat) should be
avoided by casual visitors.
Cross-border relations
between Thailand and My-
anmar have signifi cantly
normalised though borders
are subject to closing without
warning. Borders are usually
closed due to news-making
events, like Myanmar’s 2010
elections, so keeping abreast
of current events prior to
arriving at the border will
prevent potential problems.
The long-contested
area at Khao Phra Wihan
(known as ‘Preah Vihear’ in
Cambodia), along the Thai-
Cambodian border, is still a
source of military clashes
and should be avoided until a
lasting peace is found.
Check with your govern-
ment’s foreign ministry for
current travel warnings.Druggings & Drug
Possession
It is illegal to buy, sell or
possess opium, heroin, am-
phetamines, hallucinogenic
mushrooms and marijuana in
Thailand. Belying Thailand’s
anything-goes atmosphere
are severely strict punish-
ments for possession and
traffi cking that are not
relaxed for foreigners. Pos-
session of drugs can result
in at least one year or more
of prison time. Drug smug-
gling – defi ned as attempting
to cross a border with drugs
in your possession – carries
considerably higher penal-
ties, including execution.Scams
Thais can be so friendly and
laid-back that some visitors
are lulled into a false sense of
security, making them vul-
nerable to scams of all kinds.
Bangkok is especially good
at long-involved frauds that
dupe travellers into thinking
that they’ve made a friend
and are getting a bargain on
highly valuable gem stones
(which are actually pretty,
sparkling glass).
Follow Tourism Authority
of Thailand's (TAT) number-
one suggestion to tourists:
Disregard all offers of free
shopping or sightseeing
help from strangers. These
invariably take a commission
from your purchases. See the
boxed text, p 142 , for more
information.Theft & Fraud
Exercise diligence when
it comes to your personal
belongings. Ensure that your
room is securely locked and
carry your most important
eff ects (passport, money,
credit cards) on your person.
Take care when leaving valu-
ables in hotel safes.
Follow the same practice
when you’re travelling. A
locked bag will not prevent
theft on a long-haul bus.
When using a credit card,
don’t let vendors take your
credit card out of your sight
to run it through the machine.
Unscrupulous merchants
have been known to rub off
three or four or more receipts
with one purchase. Some-
times they wait several weeks- even months – between
submitting each charge
receipt to the bank, so that
you can’t remember whether
you’d been billed by the same
vendor more than once.
To avoid losing all of your
travel money in an instant,
use a credit card that is not
directly linked to your bank
account back home so that
the operator doesn’t have ac-
cess to immediate funds.
Contact the tourist police
(%1155) if you have any prob-
lems with consumer fraud.
Touts & Commissions
Touting is a longtime tradi-
tion in Asia, and while Thai-
land doesn’t have as many
touts as, say, India, it has its
share. In Bangkok, túk-túk
drivers, hotel employees
and bar girls often take new
arrivals on city tours; these
almost always end up in high-
pressure sales situations at
silk, jewellery or handicraft
shops.
Touts also steer custom-
ers to certain guest houses
that pay a commission. Travel
agencies are notorious for
talking newly arrived tourists
into staying at badly located,
overpriced hotels.
Some travel agencies
often masquerade as TAT,
the government-funded
tourist information offi ce.
They might put up agents
wearing fake TAT badges or
have signs that read TAT in
big letters to entice travellers
into their offi ces where they
can sell them bus and train
tickets for a commission. Be
aware that the offi cial TAT
offi ces do not make hotel or
transport bookings. If such
a place off ers to do this for
you then they are a travel
agent not a tourist informa-
tion offi ce.
When making transport
arrangements, talk to several
travel agencies to look for
the best price, as the com-
mission percentage varies
greatly between agents. Also
resist any high-sales tactics
from an agent trying to sign
you up for everything: plane
tickets, hotel, tours etc. The
most honest Thais are typi-
cally very low-key and often
sub-par salespeople.Shopping
Many bargains await you
in Thailand but don’t go
shopping in the company of
touts, tour guides or friendly
strangers as they will inevi-
tably take a commission on
anything you buy, thus driv-
ing prices up beyond an ac-
ceptable value and creating a
nuisance for future visitors.