Final Days in Thailand


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Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Ko Chang
June 20th 2006
Published: October 17th 2006
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After spending a couple of days in Bangkok, I am having a few days of beach time and getting sucked into World Cup soccer before returning to the US. The Thai World Cup broadcasts are not as entertaining as Indian ESPN. First, they are in Thai, with two very dorky commentators in yellow shirts (in honor of the King's 60th anniversary on the throne, which is this month). Secondly, I really miss that English commentator who knows absolutely everything (and then some) there is to know about soccer.

I saw the England vs. Trinidad and Tobago game at an Irish pub in Patpong, which is the red light district in Bangkok. I guess the Thais couldn't get Asian ESPN broadcasts, because the satellite broadcast came from South Africa. It took me awhile to figure this out, and needless to say, I was a bit confused by the repeated ads for the third largest bank in Nigeria. Go figure.

My Aussie friend and I ended up hanging out in Ko Chang, a nice tropical island near the Cambodian border. It was nice to relax at the beach, though Ko Chang was pretty touristy (especially after Nepal). Monsoon season has already started, so it rained in the afternoons. One day, it rained the whole day, so I only went out to get a pizza. The rest of the day was spent watching seasons 1 and 2 of "The Family Guy" on a laptop.

Several days before I was scheduled to return to the US, my camera was stolen in Ko Chang. Fortunately, all my Nepal photos were burned onto a CD while I was still in Kathmandu, so I didn't lose any pictures. I would have been very upset if I had lost those hard-earned photos.

Anyway, here is what happened. I got distracted watching a World Cup game and walked out of the café, leaving my bag sitting on the chair. I went back later to retrieve it, and the staff claimed they hadn't seen it. Though I suspected something was up, I left and came back a few minutes later. Saving face is important to the Thais, and this would have given them the opportunity to suddenly produce the bag and claim they couldn’t find it before, all without losing face.

I got really suspicious when they changed their story, saying that some lady had seen me leave with my bag. Of course, they couldn’t provide any details about what lady, when that happened, etc. I went back with the police and they lied, lied, lied. The police officer told me he knew they were lying, but there was nothing he could do about it. This type of thing happens all the time, including at that particular café. By the time they searched their dwellings, they would have moved my stuff somewhere else. So if any of you are in Ko Chang, avoid the Jinda Café on White Sand Beach. You have been warned…

Bastards! They got my camera and $170. And I would have given them some of that money if they had just given the bag back. So we spent the rest of the afternoon trying to catch a ride down to the main police station and getting a police report so that I could get something out of my insurance company to cover part of the cost of replacing the camera.

Lesson learned the hard way. I had traveled through other countries where theft was more of a problem and let my guard down because it was "just Thailand." I'll definitely be more mindful of my stuff from now on, but it's not the way I wanted my trip to end. I am sorry to be leaving Asia, but will not miss dealing with the Thais.


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