Thorn Tree travel forum

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4 The crooked currency exchange

How it happens

You're delighted to find that changing your money on the black market from the shady looking guy on the corner will give you a much better rate than at the bureau de change or the hotel front desk, and there's no commission either. You hand over the readies to get a huge wedge of notes, which you rush to put away: someone might nick them. Counting your money in the hotel room, you realise you've been handed a pile of worthless notes.

Variations: Newspaper is used to bulk out a couple of 'good' notes on either side of the pack.

Where: South America, India and anywhere there is a black market for the local currency.

5 The train compartment trick

How it happens

There you are, luxuriating in the fact that you've nabbed an empty compartment. While waiting for your train to draw out of the station, someone on the platform taps at the window, beckoning you. You approach, only to see them run off. When you return to your seat, you find an even emptier compartment: your bags have been nicked.

Variations: Bus drivers stow your luggage away, slipping any small bags out of sight.

Where: Europe, India and south-east Asia.

6 The taxi dodge

How it happens

You are just off the plane in a country you don't know. Everything's looking a little strange so you decide not to chance things: far safer to take a taxi to your hotel, even if has no meter. You hand the driver a $100 bill. As you wait for your change, he waves the banknote in your face, saying you've made a mistake: you've handed him a $1 note, though it's an easy error if you're not used to the currency. It all looks the same, after all. Only when you get into your hotel room do you realise he's somehow pocketed your first $100 bill and got you to give him a second one.

Variations: The cab driver doubles his original fare and isn't taking no for an answer. Or his route to the hotel - 15 minutes, according to your hotel brochure - mysteriously ends up as a 45-minute journey.

Where: The US, especially New York.

The forecast today is dark and cloudy with a possibility of a drive-by.

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7 The flat tyre trick

How it happens

Cruising along on the motorway, a helpful soul in another car gestures to your back tyre to tell you it's gone flat. When you pull on to the hard shoulder to take a look, they draw up behind you to offer you help with the tyre, which seemed all right before you pulled into the last service station. They might rid you of the puncture, but while you are struggling with the jack, their accomplice will also relieve you of any valuables in the front of your car.

Variations: Some thieves don't even bother with the tyre charade but simply wait for you to slow down at traffic lights and open your car door, seizing any bags they can grab.

Where: The south of France, Spain and anywhere your car - your own or rented - marks you out as a tourist.

8 The fake policeman routine

How it happens

No, it's not something out of Monty Python . In fact, it all seems perfectly above board. A friendly stranger strikes up a conversation with you and while you're chatting away, a policeman approaches, saying he is on the trail of some fake banknotes and asks to see your passport and money. The other traveller hands his over and gets them back. When you hand over your cash, the policeman and the traveller disappear with it.

Variations: Substitute fake policeman for fake official of any kind, at a roadblock, in a train station, or even someone charging you to take photographs at tourist sights.

Where: Colombia (fake policeman) and Egypt (fake officials, particularly at the Giza pyramids).

The forecast today is dark and cloudy with a possibility of a drive-by.

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9 The scratchcard scam

How it happens

Strolling along the seafront in your holiday resort you are handed a scratchcard offering you the chance to win a free holiday. To your delight you see that you've won a prize. However, in order to claim your 'free' holiday you will be asked to attend a short presentation or take part in a survey.

You will be told emphatically that this is NOT a timeshare sales pitch. It's a 'holiday club' giving you lifelong access to discounted holidays. Three hours of hard sell later you hand over a hefty membership fee to join this club, only for the promised holiday deals never to materialise. When you follow it up the company will mysteriously disappear too.

Variations: Sometimes you will be telephoned at home and told you've won a free holiday.

Where: Spain and the Canary Islands.

10 The hotel 'pickup' ploy

How it happens

Local hoteliers get hold of a tourist guidebook that recommends certain hotels to travellers. When you arrive at your destination someone who claims to be from the recommended hotel meets you and offers to drive you there but ends up taking you to a completely different, and no doubt inferior, property.

Where: Varanasi, India but can happen anywhere where you can't read or speak the local lingo.

The forecast today is dark and cloudy with a possibility of a drive-by.

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Re #4, the crooked currency deal...NEVER use the black market to change money.

"...I like reading mrsteve's stuff, always interesting and he knows how to write.
But I got to be honest, he has to be one of the biggest stirrers of other people on Thorntree."

Tezza

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In some parts of south america, the black market is the best way... in Ecuador and Peru the banks were charging huge commissions. We changed money on the black market and it was absolutely fine. In Ecuador we'd run out of cash dollars so we got Ecuadorian money out of the bank, and then changed them to US dollars in the main square - they were professional and fair. You just have to be sensible about it! And never change money at border towns...

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*>NEVER use the black market to change money. *

Depends where you are in the world really. Last year i had to use it all the time in Afghanistan. It's the only way to get cash there when travelling. Being very wary, you look out for all kinds of scams. But they were fully honest and did everything slowly and throughly. Depends on the culture you're in really and the attitude of locals towards tourists. If there is no need to change on the blackmarket, then dont do it. But sometimes you have to.

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NEVER use the black market to change money

in Myanmar, ALWAYS use the black market to change money!
  - official rate
  - black market rate

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I agree - In Myanmar you always use the black market to change money. I had no problems with this. The rates are slightly different in different cities in Myanmar. I never had a problem.

You can bargain prices much lower when you used cash.

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For the attention of everyone travelling to Bangkok,

Shops in Bangkok has a very sophisticated strategy to get you in their shop and
rip you off with jewellery or other things.

Lots of the tuk tuk drivers offer you a "deal",that you only have to pay 20baht
a day,cos they get fuel vouchers from goverment because its happen to be the
kings birthday,big buddha day ,or things like that... This is all crap!!!
What happens is they take you to few temples nearby , to a tailor,
jewellery shop,and probabaly to other places i never had the patience to stay that long in their fake tour.
It`s all about them getting their commission from shops , and not about
showing you the real tourist attractions in Bangkok.

The real trick comes when they leave you waiting somewhere by the tut tuk and the driver has to go to the toilet,
or you happen to be in the yard of the temple and your told you have to wait to get in.
As I was waiting ,other "tourists" from different countries tried to initiate a conversation with me.We started
talking about diving and where to go in Thailand,it is always good to meet people from different places.
But as the conversations went ,they tried to change subject to Jewellery and telling me what a great deal they
had by buying jewellery and selling them home for double or more.I met "Steve" from Liverpool,and an other guy from France,
but there other nationalities i heard of like US.They try to persuade me to buy jewellery in Thailand,
and sell them home to make profit,as they did. "you have your holliday free this way",they say.

They show you their receipt, and they come up with a story which is very well worked out:
They say its only one week a year in Thailand when you can buy cheap jewellery there as you pay no tax during this week
They called it "Grand Sale " or something like that.The King only reveals which week is it only days before.
The shop they tell you about is not open to public only during this week,so
you must hurry,this is the last day.(So why they had tourist information in the shop?big mistake)
You can buy jewellery up to$5000 and only 3 items.The receipts they show you are about this amount each of them,
in various currencies.
They also make up stories where they sell them in their countries.(ie.:Bondstreet in London,and also mentioned the shop)
"Steve" has even given his email address to me,which was later found out to be fake.

This all sound a very obvious scam,but beleive me they are doing it so well.These guys are not in your face too much
when you start talking to them.The british guy only started talking about jewellery after i had talked to him for a while.
The french guy was giving me the impression that he is absolutely not keen on talking to me.
Probably they have been doing this for a while.

Even a few days after i could not be hundred percent sure if it was a con.But I`m now since i met other tourists,all
telling me meeting these con men, and being told about"only this weeks sale" months before it happened to me, and since i checked
the email address i was given.I kept thinking with so many foreigners like americans,europeans standing on the streets
persuading strangers in a third world country,would be a fortune to pay them .Its just all done to organising as we later on
tried to put the puzzle together with other people who went through all of this.We came to the conclusion that these
"salesmans" most probably paid by comission as well as tuk tuk drivers.And they probably find wich tourists to go to when they are
waiting alone by knowing the number of their tuk tuk.

This is one of the most disgusting strategy to sell i`ve ever heard of.
The mentioned Jewellery shop is called : Piyamanne

BE AWARE, AND IGNORE EVERYONE TELLING YOU ABOUT HOW GOOD DEAL HE/SHE HAD!

I MUST SAY THAT THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MAJORITY OF THAI PEOPLE
WHO ARE AMONGST THE NICEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.

I can be contacted on:
daniel_sun@europe.com
Text

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Sometimes the jewellery scam works in your favor. Several trips to Thailand I've had a free taxi for the day. If you find a good driver, bargin up-front about how many gem shops you're willing to go to and knock them off first. 2-3 has been about average for me, with no more than 15 minutes at each one. After that your transporation for the rest of the day is free. The driver gets comped whether or not you buy anything and my experience has been that good natured negotiations up front have always worked out. Never buy the gems, but for a half hour of looking you get a day of transport. It's also pretty amusing to watch the gem store guys pitch.

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Thailand - the black money market exchange in Bkk works all right. Better rates than the banks give and quicker to, open until about 9PM. l go to some of the gold shops along Suphan Kwai, l have changed money there a dozen times or more over the years, and never had any problems. They will even give you a free soda, while you wait. Multiple currencies available.

Vietnam - There is quite a sophisticated black market money scam that operates in the park around the lake in central Hanoi. Difficult to explain, but the scam artists will offer you a better rate than the banks. The problem is when they pay you, there is always a discrepancy, they are always short a few notes, so you you change to another bundle, with the right number of notes, but the problem here is, some of the notes are now the wrong denomination, so you are getting short changed. Don't remember the face values on the look alike notes, l think they might have been 5,000 and 20,000 dong, but both are about the same shade of blue, so it is quite eay to confuse the 2. Yes l got taken by it, once.

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MrKrypto

Why would the taxi driver stay with you the rest of the day if he is already comped for the shop visits?

Surely he would just dump you and either look for another fool or take the rest of the day off and save his petrol?

The inscription on Wood's tomb reads, simply, "He loved Thailand".

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This was a good one.
Bankok Thailand, I was going to see the Emrald Buddha and a "guard" told me that I cannot wear shorts, come back tommorow, and hey go see these other places". I start to walk away. A tuk tuk pulls up and offers to take me to the suggested places. I check with other travelers down the street. When you go to the temple, they will offer you pants to wear.
Good try buddy.
Warren

You must become the change you wish to see around you... Ghandi