Article of the Month
European Break - Berlin
With the exchange rate against the Euro at an 18 month high, now might be the time to dust off your plans for a little break away. Berlin is only a 2 hour flight and with a cheaper cost of living than the UK, the summer months are a great time to go.
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Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok seems to be on the way to everywhere. Many airlines offer it as a stop over between destinations and you have to transit through here if you want to go to Thailand’s beaches, the golden triangle of many of its neighbouring countries. Most people arrive jet lagged or in awe of this incredible city and not necessarily at their best. It’s no wonder that so many of us are victims of scams or being taken advantage of - are we too trusting?
 Maybe it’s just me but I like to think that with all the travelling I have done, that I come across as a seasoned traveller and not someone who is in any way gullible. Despite this, I have encountered more than my fair share of people trying to sell me something that I didn’t need or dupe me. Although all of the tales below occurred in Bangkok, this is by no means the only city where tourists are taken advantage of. These are a few classics, so you know what to look out for:
- Tuk-Tuks not taking us to our destination without going via a jewellers or tailors first. This is generally because many receive a voucher or commission on your purchases if they bring tourists into a shop which they have an arrangement with.
- Our Tuk-Tuk ran out of petrol outside a jeweller’s. This happened when we refused to get out of the vehicle to visit the shop and we had to walk back to our hotel. Fortunately we had a great guide book which enabled us to do this but it still took us almost an hour.
- Being told the Grand Palace was closed over the lunch period and we had the time to go to a Jewellers or carpet shop or tailors first before it opened again. The Palace is open from 8.30 am until 3.30 pm and will only be closed for State functions which your Hotel should be able to advise you about.
- Being stopped in the street to ask if we needed help or stopped by someone giving us a compliment and then engaged in conversation. This eventually led to the stranger giving us advice about the best way back to our hotel or to a destination in the City. We spotted them outside our hotel later on that day!
- Being told the river was closed that evening due to a member of the Royal family travelling and that we would not be able to take a water taxi back to our hotel but would have to use a Tuk-Tuk instead –probably via a jeweller’s!
- Asking a Tuk-Tuk driver to take us to a local restaurant and being taken straight to a revolting tourist restaurant with room for coach loads of people instead of an intimate dinner. We found what we were after later and joined the locals for incredibly cheap beer and noodles at a pavement stall just as you get off the Chao Phraya Express (water taxi) at the Harbour Dept stop.
- Asking to be taken to Jim Thompson’s House and being driven around for 10 minutes before the driver decided he didn’t know where it was. He had the cheek to ask us to pay for our trip anyway, even though we were nowhere near the Hotel or our destination. We didn’t pay so had to use our trusty, much thumbed guide book to find our way back to our hotel.
Bangkok is a great city with so much to offer but I would advise anyone staying to have your wits about you. If you want to go to a great Tailors then ask your Hotel, we used the Chinese Tailors at 138 Phetchaburi Road who were fabulous. I would recommend taking along a picture of the clothes that you would like making or a garment that you want copying for the best results. Above all, stay safe.
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