My kid is about to spend a few months in Bangkok and was just freaking out about it. She fears she is not as well prepared as she would hope. I have lived overseas but not there, and my last trip was over a decade ago, so the advice I can give her may be long out of date and is certainly limited. Can anybody help?
Since the OP is looking for advice, let’s move this to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
What is she freaking out about specifically?
A few months suggests she is going as part of a group or in a programme of some sorts?
She will be fine. Don’t insult the royalty. Stay away from drugs. Learn some basic phrases and greetings in Thai.
It started with her worrying about what would happen if her debit & credit cards were stolen and spiraled from there. I think, more than anything else, it was the notion of being in such a foreign culture. She has been to Paris and Belgium, but Bangkok is much more different.
Is she going on a tour? Backpacking? Staying in cheap hotels? Traveling in a group? By herself? With a friend?
It’s been a long time since I’ve been there, so I don’t know how much my experience can help, but the more information you provide, the better quality of advice you can get.
One thing I’ve considered for a similar reason, after my last trip to Ukraine: get 2 bank accounts, with 2 different ATM cards. Never be out and about with both cards on you. (and obviously keep them in inner pockets).
The reason is you should be using cash for most of your purchases. That way you don’t have to keep any cards on you most of the time at all, among other reasons. Also, the Ubers only accepted cash and about half of shops did not work with my USA credit card.
But at the time, I had one checking account, and 1 ATM card. So that single plastic card was a single point “mission failure” : lose that, it gets damaged, an ATM machine eats it, or someone swipes it, and suddenly I would be in a heap of trouble.
(frankly, losing my passport might have been less of an issue, since there is a process for getting a temporary one at the U.S. embassy, while if you lose your ATM card, you would not generally be able to get a replacement over a 1-2 week trip. Plus, you don’t need your passport to get lodging or food or transit, but you need money for any of that)
Also, you don’t need your passport day to day, just keep it secured in the safe in your room and keep a photo of your passport on your phone if you want the numbers on it.
Anyways, a second checking account with it’s own ATM card is generally free. And I’d open it in the same bank, and my bank does instant account to account transfers at least within the same bank.
She is traveling alone. She has decided to go back to school and is taking a semester abroad and has an apartment already. I think her issue today was just cold feet. Nonetheless, I would welcome more input.
I keep thinking about how for a young man, the modest risks of a long stay in Thailand (it’s a third world country, day to day life is very slightly riskier than in the USA/Europe) wouldn’t even occur to them. Since, you know, If you can’t get sex in Thailand, you couldn’t buy bread in a bakery with an entire duffle bag of money…
For clarification, she is taking a semester abroad in Bangkok, and already has accommodations there?
That certainly does change things. It should be very straightforward.
Wear a fake mustache at all times.
She shouldn’t worry too much. Use common sense, be careful, and she’ll have lots of fun.
And don’t talk to strangers!
Paging Siam Sam
Some basic things to do:
-register as an American abroad with the US embassy
-2 different credit debit cards and never have all of them in the same place
-photo copy of the passport and credit/debit cards
-call the banks in advance to inform them that she will be living in Thailand and any destination countries in Asia she may be travelling to (avoid the bank auto cancelling a card because they see it used outside of the normal country and think it might be stolen/used fraudulently)
-photos of passport and credit/debit cards on your phone
-keep passport and back up credit cards in a safe location
-always keep some cash on you. It’s a much more cash economy. Dunno, enough for a taxi home or the just pop in somewhere that seems like a safe oasis. Say $50?
-read up on the standard tourist scams. There are plenty of websites that will explain some of the obvious ones. Here’s a link: https://travelscams.org/asia/common-tourist-scams-thailand/
-use common sense
-listen to the spidey sense more. You’re a stranger in a strange land. It’s better to err on the side of caution. You just don’t have the cultural clues that you have back home.
-People’s heads are considered sacred. Don’t touch someone’s head. Don’t pat a child on the head (but someone more versed in Thailand can confirm if kids are ok). Don’t pat the Buddha statue on the head.
Here’s a site of do’s and don’ts I randomly searched: Top 10 Things NOT to Do in Thailand - Expat Contest
She should have a great time!
DO NOT keep copies of passport, visas etc on your phone! Send them to a friend, in case your phone gets snatched, which is not uncommon.
The best advice is for her to not let the behaviour of those around her shape her behaviour. Excess booze, dodgy people, even drug use are things people most commonly ‘just following the group vibe’, lands them in hot water, when it’s not actually behaviour they’d consider engaging in at home. Like climbing into an overcrowded boat because everyone else seems willing.
As a woman alone, she might consider telling anyone casually asking, cab drivers etc, the name of the Hotel across the street, as where she stays, then walk over when dropped off. No one can casually hear where she’s staying that way.
[ul]
[li]keep all jewelry at home*(not abroad)* … easy target.[/li][li]keep the $3k “hasselblad-slr” at home*(not abroad)* … easy target.[/li][li]never drink liquor … ruffies*(date-rape drug)* or other drugs can easily be slipped inside.[/li][li]never leave your bottled-water unattended … the bottle could easily be exchanged by someone giving you a laced bottle.[/li][li]try to wear similar clothing to what the locals wear … dressing as a tourist is magnet to thieves.[/li][li]know the number*(s)* and location to the nearest police-department as well as medical-clinic.[/li][li]do not take pic of passport/credit-card … make a photocopy and keep that in your wallet. if your phone gets lost or stolen … those numbers can be viewed.[/li][li]always keep your purse/handbag fully zipped closed … pickpockets love easy targets.[/li][li]keep the smart-phone in your hand at all times … the black-market loves those damned things.[/li][li]keep all your luggage fully closed and locked at all times … someone could slip something inside your luggage and then retrieve it later.[/li][li]if someone asks you to hold their luggage … politely and adamantly refuse … it may contain drugs or contraband.[/li][li]while many hotels have safes … a safe is only as secure as the controls placed on the device. anyone can state which room they are staying in and cajole the desk-clerk to open the safe for them.[/li][li]have your wallet lined with aluminum-foil … thwart “rfi” scanners.[/li][li]if you keep your credit-cards somewhere else … wrap them in aluminum-foil. same goes for your passport.[/li][li]twenty-five years ago, travelers-checks were good way to travel … nowadays, nobody uses them … definitely not banks.[/li][li]some money-changers charge more than nominal exchange-fees.[/li][li]when first landing in thailand(bangkok) … avail yourself of the money-changers within the airport. you will need cash right away. when leaving thailand … change all the currency into the currency your home-country uses.[/li][li]some streets use two or three different names … the names google-maps uses are never*(almost)* the name on street-signs. you might think you’d purchase a street-map in a bookstore … they will have an even different name from other two names.[/li][li]personally, i found bangkok to be relatively crime-free … but don’t tempt fate. you should probably be more wary of other tourists than of the locals.[/li][li]taxi-drivers and tuktuk-drivers … they may offer/wish/coerce to take you some place … or tell you they know of such-n-such place to buy something. they will be very persistent. you are being set up with racketeer. find your own merchants and take control of your own commerce. this is an epidemic which local police have been unable/unwilling to infiltrate or crack down on.[/li][li]careful of internet cafes … keyloggers, pw-stealers and other malware could have been installed … patiently waiting for the next victim. sticking a thumb-drive or other device into the computer could allow the infection to migrate to your device.[/li][li]if necessary … before going to bangkok, you may consider temporarily changing your password into a generic one … and then, when leaving bangkok to return home, immediately change it back to your more secure password. this is only for the likes of “facebook” and “tweeter” … it is not about banking … never use generic pw for banking.[/li][li]have your kid contact you daily via phone … not via “facebook” or similar. if those accounts are hacked … the person contacting you might not be your kid.[/li][li]pattaya and phuket are the party ‘hot spots’ … you may wish to avoid those cities.[/li][li]above all … use common sense.[/li][/ul]
as a tourist … he/she needs to be on best behavior … no shenanigans like what happened in singapore a decade-and-half ago. that young man should have gotten much worse punishment than what he got. i have no idea about the policies for smoking … it’s a scornful habit and jeopardizes others’ health. but, i can imagine, probably similar to here in america … most places ‘lighting up’ is prohibited.
the above are just to keep watch for … this post is not intended to change your mind about visiting thailand … this is about any overseas trip. your son/daughter needs to get out and find what makes the world tick … whether it is with a group or by one’s self.
thailand has many wonderful man-made splendors and ancient wonders … one would love visiting and finding out about. i encourage that … enjoy yourself while there … just be cautious and practical.
ref:
google search filter
Albino : most of your advice is true and I would agree with them. I went to Ukraine recently and saw some of these scams. (nobody bothered to try to roofie me, a modestly attractive man, sadface)
However, I will comment that the aluminum foil wallet is overkill. Most credit cards, while they do have a chip, do not support RF or induction (there’s no coil of wire or all the circuitry involved) or have any way to be read remotely. Link me to an article explaining otherwise if you disagree.
While we are waiting for Siam Sam or the other Dopers who live there, I did talk to my friends last night. Both live here in Taiwan now, but visit there frequently. One of my friends will retire there and the other lived in Cambodia. He said Cambodia is the place you really need to watch for crime.
Thailand pretty safe. Occasional serious crimes happen but they even happen to people back home.
Obviously, as a tourist/short term resident, you always need to watch out. Lots of pickpockets around, so don’t do what my friend’s friend did and keep your passport on the outside pocket when it’s easily taken. Whenever I go to questionable places, I keep cash in one front pocket and a card in the other rather than having a wallet.
For changing money, the rates in airports generally aren’t great anywhere in the world. Withdrawing cash from ATMs in the local currency has worked best for me. I had an account with Citibank, and found it very convenient.
Of course, watch out for scams! I met a scammer in Singapore when I was in my early 20s. Fortunately, I didn’t fall for it, but many people do.
Looking at albino_manatee’s post, I don’t think that having her call everyday is really necessary for the three months.
I use Skype Out a lot for calls back to the States. As long as I can get wifi, then I can call for very cheap rates.
Wow. Lots of paranoia in this thread, especially for someone traveling to Bangkok. These days, that’s not much more exotic than Prague. As for crime, no, it’s not Tokyo, but street crime is just not that much of an issue. Some pickpocketing, apparently, though I’ve never been aware of such an occurrence anywhere around me.
There are ATMs everywhere, and little currency exchange booths in SkyTrain stations and other places visitors are likely to visit. Tuk-tuks are kind of a ripoff, but metered taxis are everywhere. English is surprisingly easy to find.
The city is tropically warm, and there are exotic flowers and earthy smells, lots of traffic belching lots of exhaust, back lanes where poor families squat on plastic stools to watch a small TV, or hang laundry to dry. But a Westerner used to big cities will find it easy enough to navigate, and feel perfectly at ease in familiar stores, restaurants, and shopping malls.