One of the things SE Asia is known for is its low crime rate. I hear from many solo women travelers that this is one of their top reasons for traveling here. Joan and I are amazed to see people walk away from their laptops while they use the restroom or leave their keys in their motorbikes while they run into the store. You get so used to trusting people that you let your guard down, and that’s what happened when we got taken for a ride by a Bangkok tuk tuk driver.

After a visit to one of my favorite Bangkok temples, Joan and I decided nothing would relieve the afternoon heat better than a delicious Thai iced coffee. There’s nothing like an iced cold caffeinated sugar beverage to pep you back up for more sightseeing!

We walked past a tuk tuk driver who inquired about our travel needs. We assured him that we had all of our plane and train reservations taken care of. He then asked us what plans we had after getting our coffee, and that’s where I made my mistake. I told him we were going to the Grand Palace. He gave us a conciliatory look, and responded “Didn’t you see the news last night? That site is closed today for a national holiday.”

Well, what do I know about Thai national holidays? Before I could process my disappointment, he reassured me that he could make everything okay. For only 20 baht (less than a US dollar), he would take us around the city to see sites that were not closed for the holiday. Knowing that tuk tuk rides normally cost between 100 and 300 baht, I jumped at the deal. “There’s a sucker born every minute.”, once quipped PT Barnum.

To be fair, he did take us to a couple temples we wouldn’t have known about otherwise, but in between those visits, we stopped by various vendors including a travel agent, a jewelry store and a tailor. The driver explained that the low fare he’d given us for our tour did not account for the gas spent, but that each of the vendors would give him a gas voucher just for bringing us. We were not obligated to buy anything.

Although we’d figured out his game by then, we didn’t want him to be put out so we agreed to get him his gas vouchers. I can’t believe that I continued to miss components of the ruse. Fortunately, we did not need any travel arrangements, and neither of us wore jewelry. He did, however, find my soft spot when he took me to the tailor. I love picking out my own fabrics to be fitted just for me. I usually get this done in Vietnam, but I decided to give Thailand a chance. Unfortunately, I didn’t get my Vietnam deal.

I guess I should have known it was going to be more expensive since it was a fancy two story shop. The tailor wanted to sell me a suit, but of course, I have no use for one of those. When we turned to walk away, he said, “how about a shirt?” He took me to a wall of fabrics, and I would have ordered several had he not wanted to charge me the same amount I paid for a shirt in the USA. I ended up ordering just one, but our taxi driver still got his commission.

I finally got my Thai iced tea as he dropped us off at the place we’d originally been headed. Sadly, we had lost half a day and I’d overpaid for a custom made shirt. Later that week Joan informed me that she found an article about the tuk tuk scam and that there was no Thai holiday that day and the Grand Palace had been open. It just goes to show, even as an experienced traveler, you can get taken for a ride if you’re not paying attention. We’ve since dubbed the experience “Tom and Joan’s wild ride!”, and we laugh to think we were such suckers.