Chapter 2
Welcome to Bang Cock!
did is, right in front of the girl, pull out $300 cash out of his wallet and then place it in his unlocked suitcase. He then went to take a shower. Now, the girl was smart enough to not steal all the money, but just grab $100. When she left, he was a bit confused as he counted only $200 in his bag, rather than $300. The moral of the story: Tempt someone and they will probably give in. Don't make it that easy for anyone to steal your hard earned cash.

Travel tip: If you must keep any money or valuables (such as a camera) in your room, place it in a suitcase that has a lock. Buy alight bicycle lock and take it with you. Then use that to lock your suitcase to a chair or something else sturdy in your room. Between the bike lock and the lock on your suitcase, nobody is going anywhere with your stuff. We do this when Dexter - Horn travels with all our expensive video and camera gear. So far, it's, worked, great, knock on wood.

KEY POINTS

Keep all your valuables, such as your cash, jewelry, airplane ticket, passport, etc., in your hotel safe deposit box.

When bar hopping, keep your larger bills (500 and 1,000 note baht) in your back pocket. Keep your smaller bills in your front pocket to pay for your drinks.

In your hotel room, keep any valuables (expensive watch, jewelry, camera, etc.) locked in your bag or suitcase (a small padlock will do the trick).
STREET SCAMS

You won't have the same problems with con artists in Thailand as you have in places like the Philippines. As a tourist, you will have Thai men (strangers) approach you on the street. It's common to be approached by taxi drivers who will show you a colorful brochure of some of the more popular Thai massage parlors (such as Atami). They will then offer to take you, via their taxi, to the massage parlors. Many of these drivers hang right on the street corner of the Ambassador hotel in Bangkok because there are so many tourists coming and going in that area. They are probably safe to go with for the most part (I went and had no problems). The problem with these taxi drivers is not fear of robbery; it's fear of being overcharged, both for the ride to the massage parlor and the massage itself; the drivers get commission every time they
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