Justice in the Kok
So getting robbed wasn't on the "to do in Bangkok" list but it happened anyway...
On the bus trip to Bangkok some terrible men did a terrible thing. As it happens more frequently than one would like to think a bus company (although not the one we had bought a ticket for - rather one we got shuffled onto after a sketchy bus-bus drop odd) had some professional thieves stowed away in the luggage compartment of the bus and as the innocent and fare paying passengers watched "The Rock" and slept sweetly they picked locks, rummaged, and nicked every last penny and card. It is unfortunate yes, but also not the worst thing that could have happened. Aaron and I were raped of about $200USD emergency money and one emergency Mastercard that of course was cancelled with ease but more upsetting was the fact that the thieves also took our souvenir money from Burma, Nepal, New Zealand, Singapore and the rupees we had ready for India - a very small sum of money and totally useless in Thailand. Bastards! On this bus ride we happened to make friends with a New Zealand/Canadian couple Shaun and Nadien who ended up at the same Bangkok guesthouse as us and of course, also got robbed. On a more severe scale than ours, their situation involved not only stolen cash (and perfume - weird) but a Visa TravelEx card that works like a loaded credit card but cannot be charged and needs a pin code to withdraw money. Little did they know but as the bus stopped for dinner in a small side of the road town Nadien's card code had been busted (somehow) and cleared out to the last penny. 80,000 Bhat (over 3,000 Cdn dollars) - enough to last her the rest of their 7 month trip and all the way to Vancouver where they will be moving in the fall. Not good, especially because of the fact that not only did they steal the card, crack the code (which she herself doesn't even know) and rock her for all she's worth... they put the card back! Unlike Nadien's card, Shaun's was stolen but they couldn't get into it, although they did attempt five times before the card shut down. Of course this became a major problem for them and when we saw them in the morning they were distraught with worry that the money would not be compensated with insurance from TravelEx. This is when the mission began.
After collecting our thoughts at lunch we made a plan and headed to file a report at the police station on Koh San - the middle of the Bangkok tourist ghetto. The kindly and cute police reception directed us to the "tourist police" which were a hundred bhat cab ride away - really far! We decided to see if we could get some more info on the bus... We went to the original bus company office where they told us were were surely not on one of their buses and that most of the other buses would be picking up people on the Koh San corner around 6pm that evening and we should see if we could identify the bus and get it's number and licence for our police report. "Ok. Good idea". We wandered down and waited... I though we were taking a stab in the dark but I was wrong. The bus showed up and we were certain it was the same one for the smashed up front and taped up headlights were all "same same". The driver and workers were NOT happy to see us. They knew what was going down: Justice in Bangkok. With cameras in hand we had a lengthy photo shoot of the bus and a few bad ones of the driver hiding behind the windshield ready to swing a metal bar at us.
"Ok ok, we need to get the cops". As Shaun and Aaron stayed to hold the bus as it was being loaded Nadien and I ran to grab a cop. Only one of us could fit on the back of the motorbike so she went and I ran back. As I came around the corner I ran into Shaun with a swollen and tearing eye and Aaron looking stunned.
"What happened?!?"
"They attacked me"
The workers/thieves of the bus had a flip out on Shaun when he snapped a few photos of their faces one tried to punch him and as he was holding him off the other got a good right swing in. After that they took off. Nadien tried finding the bus with the bike cop but returned after searching failed. We ended up back at the Koh San police station again, printed photos, and then were pushed in a taxi to go to the "tourist police". Three hours later, after explain the story about 45 times we left with little satisfaction and a copy of the report as a souvenir but of course, as most Asian cops go... there was little they could (would) do. We like to think the photos and report will help confirm the stealing of Nadien's money but a lot of effort yields only a little way here.
It leaves a bad taste of Thailand in my mouth but we'll be aight. It may sound crazy but we're going back to India. Why? Because I love India (and sorta hate it too). Next stop Delhi where it's smelly and curry will be in my belly!
On the bus trip to Bangkok some terrible men did a terrible thing. As it happens more frequently than one would like to think a bus company (although not the one we had bought a ticket for - rather one we got shuffled onto after a sketchy bus-bus drop odd) had some professional thieves stowed away in the luggage compartment of the bus and as the innocent and fare paying passengers watched "The Rock" and slept sweetly they picked locks, rummaged, and nicked every last penny and card. It is unfortunate yes, but also not the worst thing that could have happened. Aaron and I were raped of about $200USD emergency money and one emergency Mastercard that of course was cancelled with ease but more upsetting was the fact that the thieves also took our souvenir money from Burma, Nepal, New Zealand, Singapore and the rupees we had ready for India - a very small sum of money and totally useless in Thailand. Bastards! On this bus ride we happened to make friends with a New Zealand/Canadian couple Shaun and Nadien who ended up at the same Bangkok guesthouse as us and of course, also got robbed. On a more severe scale than ours, their situation involved not only stolen cash (and perfume - weird) but a Visa TravelEx card that works like a loaded credit card but cannot be charged and needs a pin code to withdraw money. Little did they know but as the bus stopped for dinner in a small side of the road town Nadien's card code had been busted (somehow) and cleared out to the last penny. 80,000 Bhat (over 3,000 Cdn dollars) - enough to last her the rest of their 7 month trip and all the way to Vancouver where they will be moving in the fall. Not good, especially because of the fact that not only did they steal the card, crack the code (which she herself doesn't even know) and rock her for all she's worth... they put the card back! Unlike Nadien's card, Shaun's was stolen but they couldn't get into it, although they did attempt five times before the card shut down. Of course this became a major problem for them and when we saw them in the morning they were distraught with worry that the money would not be compensated with insurance from TravelEx. This is when the mission began.
After collecting our thoughts at lunch we made a plan and headed to file a report at the police station on Koh San - the middle of the Bangkok tourist ghetto. The kindly and cute police reception directed us to the "tourist police" which were a hundred bhat cab ride away - really far! We decided to see if we could get some more info on the bus... We went to the original bus company office where they told us were were surely not on one of their buses and that most of the other buses would be picking up people on the Koh San corner around 6pm that evening and we should see if we could identify the bus and get it's number and licence for our police report. "Ok. Good idea". We wandered down and waited... I though we were taking a stab in the dark but I was wrong. The bus showed up and we were certain it was the same one for the smashed up front and taped up headlights were all "same same". The driver and workers were NOT happy to see us. They knew what was going down: Justice in Bangkok. With cameras in hand we had a lengthy photo shoot of the bus and a few bad ones of the driver hiding behind the windshield ready to swing a metal bar at us.
"Ok ok, we need to get the cops". As Shaun and Aaron stayed to hold the bus as it was being loaded Nadien and I ran to grab a cop. Only one of us could fit on the back of the motorbike so she went and I ran back. As I came around the corner I ran into Shaun with a swollen and tearing eye and Aaron looking stunned.
"What happened?!?"
"They attacked me"
The workers/thieves of the bus had a flip out on Shaun when he snapped a few photos of their faces one tried to punch him and as he was holding him off the other got a good right swing in. After that they took off. Nadien tried finding the bus with the bike cop but returned after searching failed. We ended up back at the Koh San police station again, printed photos, and then were pushed in a taxi to go to the "tourist police". Three hours later, after explain the story about 45 times we left with little satisfaction and a copy of the report as a souvenir but of course, as most Asian cops go... there was little they could (would) do. We like to think the photos and report will help confirm the stealing of Nadien's money but a lot of effort yields only a little way here.
It leaves a bad taste of Thailand in my mouth but we'll be aight. It may sound crazy but we're going back to India. Why? Because I love India (and sorta hate it too). Next stop Delhi where it's smelly and curry will be in my belly!
posted by Justina at 11:45 PM
3 Comments:
...sorry to read about the robbery (bummer) - figured things things were going just too well - doesn't seem like too much damage. And, it could have been a lot worse. All par for the course when on the (Asian) road.
Travel safe, you guys...
dad
I can't even believe it!! Like I said before though - thank Vishnu that the scrubber & katie flashlight are still there.
Ohhh it sounds sooo corrupt...thank goodness the guys weren't punched to pieces....
Pls be careful in BKK and India....feel so sorry for the friends who lost $3000...terrible to have that happen at the beginning of the trip..
Stay safe...xoxox
Mobert
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