A Well Conceived Scam

So last week, before Andrew arrived in Bangkok I fell into a very well organized scam. It started like this...

I was walking around Bangkok aimlessly, and wandered into a temple. On the way out, a guy started making fun of my shoes because they are so worn. We got to talking, and after a few minutes he started telling me some places I should check out. Then he mentioned that as a thank you to everyone for celebrating his birthday so magnificently, the king (who everyone in the country LOVES, and who in turn supposedly loves everyone in his country) was sponsoring a tuk tuk (a little motor taxi, so named for the sound its uncovered engine makes) company for the day and that they would drive you pretty much anywhere you wanted to go for 20 baht (about 66 cents--really cheap for a long tuk tuk ride). He told me to look for the yellow flags, as they marked the sponsored tuk tuks. On the way out of the temple, a tuk tuk with a yellow flag was waiting and the driver approached me: "Special deal! King sponsor today! I drive you many places, 20 baht!" So my thought is of course "Well, these two are working together to get me into this tuk tuk" so I say "No thanks" and keep walking.

So after about 15 minutes I wander into another temple. I stand and stare at the Buddha for a few minutes, when a Thai man that has been kneeling there looks up at me and asks if I know how to make a wish to the lucky Buddha. I say no and he leads me through the process on my knees. Then we get to talking, he tells me he is an English teacher at the school attached to the temple, etc etc. He asks me where I'm planning to visit today, and recommends a few other places. Then he says "You know, what you should really do is get into a tuk tuk with a yellow flag, there's a special promotion, etc etc

So I walk out of the temple and I'm like, "What are the odds that two super nice people at two separate temples are working in concert to get me involved in some elaborate scam?" I decided whatever the odds were, 20 baht was a good deal for a tuk tuk adventure. So I flagged down a tuk tuk with a yellow flag and asked "Is there some sort of special deal today?" "Yes, yes! The king sponsors tuk tuk rides today! 20 baht! I take you anywhere!" So I hopped in.

After taking me to a couple of temples, he tells me he needs to go get a stamp to be reimbursed from the government. So we stop in front of a clothing store and he tells me to go in and at this point I realize I've been suckered. So I go into the shop and tell them I want to buy two suits but their price is too expensive and come back out. I ask the driver what the next stop is, and he tells me it's a temple. I figure I might as well get another temple out of the deal and go with him. On the way I ask him who is sponsoring this trip, the government or the stores, and his answer is murky (intentionally, methinks) thanks to his uncertain grasp of the English language. So we go to the temple and on my way in a man sweeping the ground tells me I can't go in yet, and directs me to a little sitting area where I can wait. There's a very friendly-looking man there and I sit and stare at the trees, counting down the seconds until he starts up a conversation that leads to talking about this amazing deal the king has going on. It takes about 8 seconds.

When I leave the temple, I ask the driver what the NEXT stop is, and he says it's another sponsor. I tell him I don't want to go to any more shops, and pull out my 20 Baht. Then he levels with me, and tells me that if he takes me to three stores today, the person running the scam promotion will fill his gas tank and give him dinner. He begs me to keep going with him. I figure it's like TV commercials or ads in a magazine--sometimes you gotta put up with a little crap to get what you want. And I was enjoying the cheap ride around, so I accepted the subsidized trip and had a fine time for the rest of the day.

What amazes me is how intricate the scam was. They had friendly people planted all over the city just to plant the idea in people's heads that this government promotion was going on, so that when a select group of tuk tuk drivers, who are notoriously untrustworthy, mention the same thing it comes with a certain amount of credibility. Impressive!