For many travellers, Bangkok is their first contact with Asia or exotics in general, and often less experienced travellers head here, for whom initial fear of the unknown is natural.
Is Bangkok a safe city? What is the crime rate in Bangkok and what to watch out for? Read on in this chapter.
Scams and tourist traps
Bangkok is a tourist city, and unfortunately that includes scams and tourist traps. What are the most common ones?
Closed attractions
Often, when walking through downtown Bangkok, you will be approached in good English by a person who looks like a tourist agency employee or a tuk-tuk driver. He asks you where you're from, whether it's your first time in Bangkok, how you like it...
And finally, the most important question: Where are you going right now. You tell him the name of the monument or attraction and he immediately responds by saying that today the monument is not opening for a few hours. There are various reasons for this.
In the case of the temples, they will tell you that there are ceremonies going on or that the monks are sleeping, in the case of the Grand Palace, there is a royal festival that day and the gates do not open to tourists until the afternoon.
After a moment's thought, however, he will "helpfully" advise you and offer an alternative plan, with him or his friend waiting around the corner taking you by tuk-tuk at a bargain price to another - now open - monument.
Of course, none of what these hucksters tell you is true. The monument you are heading to is 100% open and the scammer just wants to extort money from you for a useless tuk-tuk ride.
A ride to the souvenir shop
Another very common scam is usually the work of tuk-tuk drivers. Even if the driver is suspiciously very communicative and friendly, you should beware. Some tuk-tuk drivers will offer to tell you during the call that they know a great local shop where you can buy good quality and cheap souvenirs. Of course, they agree with the owner on a commission for each tourist.
It's not that uncommon that if you don't pick up anything in a given shop, they lock you in and refuse to let you out until you buy something.
So when traveling by tuk-tuk, always determine your destination and the moment the tuk-tuk driver stops elsewhere, just get out and leave.
Driving without a taximeter
Taxis are the most efficient mode of transport in Bangkok, especially to areas not served by the metro. They're cheap, they're everywhere, they're safe... But even here you must always be on your guard. Especially with taxis standing outside hotels, attractions and nightclubs.
These taxi drivers are waiting exclusively for tourists and often, after announcing your destination, will tell you the price you'll pay for the ride with a sovereign calm. We recommend getting out and waving at one of the many passing taxis in return with a calm demeanour.
Taxis in Bangkok always have to use a meter, and since prices are determined by a combination of distance traveled and time spent in traffic, the taxi driver can never know the exact amount in advance. Simply refuse the offer of a ride without a meter, it will always be 3-4 times more expensive.
Fortunately, taxi drivers are honest in the vast majority of cases and there are so many taxis that you can always avoid a ride without a meter.
Cabbies
As in any major world metropolis, you need to be wary of pickpockets in Bangkok. Classically they are most prevalent at monuments, shopping malls, on public transport and on the crowded streets of Sukhumvit and Silom, especially at night.
Buddhist temples are also a popular target for pickpockets, with free admission.
Pickpockets are often very young children, so always be on the lookout if there are large numbers of children around.
However, it must be stressed that the number of pickpockets in Bangkok is not out of the standard we know from Europe.
Fake tourist officials
The Thai government runs several offices and agencies dedicated purely to tourism, but none of them have staff in official uniforms that they send out into the cities.
If you're stopped on the street by a person wearing a badge or pass with "Tourism Authority" etc on it, don't engage with them at all and move on. This is 100% a scammer who will try to extort money from you for a completely unnecessary service. For example, he may tell you that the monument you are heading to is overcrowded and is not currently accepting any more tourists, but that for a small fee he can get you to the front of the queue.
Also be warned if you are stopped by a person who looks like a policeman and wants to check your ID. Unless you've committed an outright offence, he'll probably be a crook again.
The real Thai police tend to be very friendly to tourists and random checks on the street are quite rare.
Serious crime and security in general
In terms of serious crime, Bangkok is a very safe city. Moving around outside is not particularly dangerous even after dark, and you won't come across any downright dodgy or dangerous neighbourhoods in the wider centre of Bangkok.
Bangkok is also safe for women travelling alone. Violent and sexually motivated acts are rarely encountered here.
