Asia Warnings

SO, the airport tax when you leave bangkok has a 200 baht fee if you leave before February 1st 2006? I've heard about the tax, I also heard it was 500 baht for international flights.

Nothing like another MILITARY COUP to brighten your day in Bangkok!

Fortunately MOST of the previous military coups have been harmless to tourists (from what I heard!)

So far today, Wednesday 20 September is pretty normal, sort of like a typical Sunday with so many people taking the day off - except for the tanks and soldiers in town of course!

VietNam - MONEY
VN has recently introduced new value notes / bills: Dong500,000 and Dong200,000.

They are converting old paper bills into polymer ('plastic') versions. Unfortunately, the Australian company who printed the D500,000 made a mistake in the printing by omitting a '.' (period).

Some ruthless businesses in Ha Noi are taking your money and (1) Returning it, having switched your original with a forgery; (2) Saying they will have to call the police - if you want it back.

When paying off receipts, make a note of the number of the bill / note on a piece of paper - AND LET THE CASHIER / WAITER SEE YOU DO IT. This will dissuade them from switching the money.

Also remember that the D5,000 and the D20,000 are the same colour - check the numbers before handing the money over.

Finally, VN has introduced coins - the VN traders HATE them and will refuse to accept them - and if you off paper money will say they don't have change.

Insist on using coins - or say you will call police.

Ha Noi is the worst place for rip-offs and scams in the country.

There is no reason to have any bill above 100,000 anyway. If the bank gives you larger ones, insist upon 100,000 dong notes.

BAGGAGE THEFT
In all the Indochinese countries transport is similar - as are the problems.

(1) To avoid theft I *always* use www.Pac-Safe.com stainless bag protectors. When preparing to leave an airport secure area I loop the security cables together and secure to each other with a lock. this stops people 'helping' you by carrying bags in different directions and allows you to relax whilst locating transport.

(2) On exitting an airport, taxi touts demand to know where you are going. They often cannot speak much English but rather listen for the names of towns and cities. I always reply NOWHERE. Some have even offered to take me there - it has the effect of having most of them leave you alone.

(3A) The use of Pac-Safes requires the addition of a canvas bag to go on the outside of the stainless steel net of the Pac-Safe - otherwise you will end up re-engineering the airline baggage handling equipment if it snags your bag.

(3B) Bus baggage lockers are often where theft occurs. Sometimes a person is hiding in the locker waiting for the driver to close the doors. The idea is whilst you are riding the bus, locker boy is busy knifing his way through the passenger baggage stealing all the goodies. The aforementioned Pac-Safe, plus a flashing LED - that can just be seen near some opening - guarantees your bag won't be stolen or even touched.

(3C) Baggage travelling on a bus roof rack should be LOCKED to the rack or some immoveable object AND your baggage should be *tied down* to the rack, with rope, to stop it swinging around as they go around corners.

(3D) I often buy a second ticket and put my bag beside me on the seat. They won't complain - as you have paid for the privelege.

(3E) Never, ever use Chinese-made or other locks produced locally - the thieves know how to open them. Get a strong lock made in your country - then the thieves will face a lock picking challenge.

(3F) When travelling by boat (ferry or other) I am the older guy who sits on the deck wearing a gas-inflated life jacket - alongside his trusty backpack. I always wrap my waterproof backpack in a stout plastic bag and seal the opening with Duct Tape. Over the top I put the Pac-Safe and outer canvas bag. Then I tie string cord (not 'string') to it and attach the other end of the cord to a tubular plastic boat fender (inflated). On 4 occasions over the past 15 years I have 'lost' the boat I was riding on - two sinkings were in the Philippines, one each in VietNam and Indonesia - but I and my baggage have always survived.

Moral - NEVER travel below decks when a boat is crowded - you will likely never make it out before the water makes it in. If you feel a boat is overloaded - GET OFF THE BOAT. Better late that drowned.

To many sailors in the Far East the 'Pilmsoll' line is decorative artwork - rather than a maximum load line.

ROAD SAFETY in the FAR EAST
(1) Never, ever ride in a 'cyclo' - a passenger carrying bicycle - the angle at which you are seated prevents you from chasing anyone who tries to steal from you.

(2) Motorcycle riding snatch thieves often pull up along an open taxi or bus window and then they try to snatch whatever is on your lap (frequently a camera or similar high value item).

If you are prepared you can anticipate it happening. The last one who tried it on me was unlucky. I thought he wanted to shake-hands - so I hung onto his arm until he fell off his bike, it nad the driver went under the mini-bus and he ended up with two broken legs and a broken motorcycle. The police thought it was funny.

There is a great book available in Thailand called Siam Smile/s that deals both with good and the bad aspects of a foreigner either as visiot or expat. The four chapters on the Art of Felony give a humorous look at what can happen in the Land of Smiles. This book quietly puts you on your toes to the usual 3rd World scams and points out the QPQT...quid pro quo tariff... In the undeveloped countries you are going to pay a kind of tariff by being cheated, over charged, etc. Those who don't like this can go to 1st world countries where higher prices will wipe out the budget traveller in a few weeks.
Thailand is a great place to visit and more so if you have an idea of what is going on.
william usa

Vietnam, Phu Quoc Island:

We got robbed in our hotel room (at the beach), while we were sleeping. It was a small hotel (can't recall the name) directly at the beach with small concrete beach huts.

Obviously it was not enough to just lock the door, as the door was opened, our bags taken out and door closed again sometime in the early morning hours of the night. We didn't hear anything!

We found our bags emptied out and all stuff all around the beach the next morning.

Hotel denied any responsibilities.

The police didn't know, what a police report is. We had to write your own one. They stole another 2 days of our time without any help, support or outcome.

Tip: accept the loss and leave the police playing their soccer (what they did most of the day)....

Yikes! A bomb was found last night on Khao San Road.

Looks like revenge grenades are being thrown in Chiang Mai.
Looks like it may be heating up.

AVOID HA PHUONG TOURIST CO. --- Vietnam

Also known as Hanh Cafe...

We have had some pretty awful experiences with these guys over the last week or so. They are possibly the rudest bunch of people I've ever come across - They shout at you in Vietnamese on the bus, never tell you whats happening, make random drops along the way delayng you bot most of all they are just plain rude!

We went into the shop today to try and sort out onward travel from Hoi An to Hue and then Hanoi and after initially having the ticketr snatched out of our hands we were subjected to a verbal abuse and shouting for just asking about our onward travel. Had this been the first time we'd experienced such rudeness it would have been shocking ut passed off as a one off however this wasn't the first!

Refusing to go back into the shop we asked the hotel to call them who were also given abuse over the phone ("They are so rude!" says the girl making the call for us) from not only the Hoi An office but also the Hue office!

To say we were shocked is an understatement and we are gradually being dissolusioned by the immense bad attitude shown by the Vietnamese we encounter on our travels!

FOr the good of everyone travelling in these parts, please please stay away from these people, they dont deserve your money and shouldnt get it!

dont get sucked into the hype of shopping in china. They yank the prices up. Bargain with them then walk away. They'll probably call you back and give u further discounts.

If travelling on the car ferry from Samui to Surat Thani DO NOT leave your backpack on the bus when the driver tells you all to go onto the deck of the ferry. The chances are, whilst you are on the deck, he will be looking through your bag/s for something to steal. This happened to me yet all my compartments were locked with combination locks. They took the time to check every combination before finding the right one!
The worse thing about it is that I didn't realise anything was taken until much later in the day because they put everything back in the pack in exactly the same place.
Be aware. If you have combination locks on your bag, I recommend 4 dial ones if you intend to leave your bags unattended in situations like this, Also, everyone says it, but DO NOT leave valuables in your bag!