When those two guys first approached and said 'Today Only'... is the only clue you need.

Just so you know, the Reclining Buddha is not made of gold. It's brick and plaster, coated with gold leaf.

Thanks for the heads up. Heading to Thailand in next couple months 👌👌

The same thing happened to me and my friends in Bangkok. We got so mad we ditch the tuk tuk driver and took a pink taxi back to our hotel. To avoid such scam, just avoid tuk tuk at all cost.

thanks for sharing , I'm from cuba and I grow uo with this kind of things but I can see this people are even worse

Interesting video man :) the storytelling was strong, keep it up. I just got back from Vietnam so kind of know what you're on about...South East Asia is an incredible part of the world but you definitely have to have your wits about you because there's always going to be scams and rip offs targeting the tourists! Fair play to you for helping the guy out by going to the store anyway. Looking forward to more of your vlogs!

Great video, i knew about the gem scam but this gave it great context. Least you got a great story and could share the word.

Thanks for posting the scammers man, and safe travels!

Thanks for the info and upload mate. I’m off to Bangkok in may

I speak English and Spanish and know a little bit of German that I can fake it in front of non-German speakers. I've used pretending to not understand whatever language the person is speaking (normally English) to get them frustrated with me that they'll leave me alone. You know Monty Python's, "Hungarian-English Phrasebook," skit? That works. "I will not buy this record... it is scratched. My hovercraft is full of eels."

You're a decent guy for acknowledging his honesty and doing him a favor in the end. And you're right, you spent 100 baht and got to see those cool places. Realistically, the only people who would get scammed are the people who think a scheme to sell gems at a higher price is actually a good idea. They get what's coming to them. I went on a similar tour, paid the equivalent of a few bucks, had a great time sight seeing and didn't buy any gems in the end. Where else are you going to get a full day or even half day touring around for under 10 dollars?

Good story and great advice. Big thumbs up guy!!

Brother thanks for the video very good information. Your a good guy :)

I experienced that scam too, but caught on from the start, and bought nothing. taxi driver took me around and I only paid him 20 baht.

Thanks for the information brotha!

Such a tight edit and stella story telling joshy. So good mate. We gotta do some aussie travel together this year homie. YEW

This kind of thing happens everywhere. I just returned from Indonesia and was constantly told that ferries were cancelled or I couldn't get a shared lift In order to get me into a speed boat or private car. It's annoying as hiking up prices and lying to tourist is bad in the long run. If it's sounds too good to be true it probably is. Whatever the price it's usually half of it. Don't be afraid to haggle and walk away. Use trip advisor etc and do your research.

I was first there in 1985 and the Tuk Tuk to the gem store was big even back then. We just got out of the Tuk Tuk and caught a different one. We refused to pay because he didn't go where we asked.

Had a similar experience my first time in bkk except fortunately for me it was the last day of my trip and I was completely out of money. I didn’t know I was being scammed, for me it wasn’t gems it was the “tailor made suits” but I was telling the guy how I didn’t want to go to another store and I think he thought I knew and he got real with me too and said “we’ll stop by for five minutes, I just need to be paid for taking you there”.

Thanks for the tips bro since this is our first visit to Bangkok.

Just returned from Bangkok. Scams everywhere!! I refused to have anyone lead me where I did not. Intend to go. I ignored anyone approaching me. I told them “No!” Whenever they started their song and dance. No and walk away!

Good story mate👍 you did get ripped off though, when it happened to me the ride was free😉

I was in Thailand over a year ago. My story is very similar to yours but we only had the suit part of the story. We were going home the next morning and was not in a mode for that luckily and just left :D Funny thing is I just realised that this was a atemted scam just now. Thanks for sharing

Thanks for sharing this happens everywhere.

30 odd years ago was taken to gem shop. When he explained how much money I was going to make I broke down and started crying. It's my best acting yet. I told them I don't want extra money. I left in an unknown part of Bangkok with my money intact.

I was born there so I know. Last time I visited there and I don’t know if it a scam or not here it’s goes , we were trying to buy a flight ticket from Bangkok to Phuket,at the airport, right before I go in Bangkok airway booth there is a guy in a nice suit stop me and ask me where we are going, we have around 8 people and I told him we would like to buy some tickets to Phuket than he told me they are sold out but he can help get some and he took me over to a third party and try to sell me a 2200 Thai baht. He didn’t know that when he said it all sold out that rings the bell. So I went told the guys thanks but not thanks and went back in to Bangkok airways and bought a 1500 baht ticket per each person. If I didn’t know all this tricks he would had scam us 700 baht per each ticket and we have 8 people and that’s a lot of Money

well said friend. I went on the same tour and also didn't buy into the scam. The driver also told me about the 2 liters of petro. I chose not to help the driver out. The reality is, he does this all day and is aware of just how much these naive tourists are being scammed out of. Even though he's a small player, he's consciously making a decision to play his role.

It's always smart to read up on any place you visit to avoid and scam...small or elaborate.

I also got tricked but it was a different story , I was on my way by walk to siam paragon at 9 and when i pass the shortcut a tuktuk guy came to us and told that the siam gate opens at 10 and he recommended to go to other places first for only 250 baht , he said to go to the famous floating market donmuang and it was a one hour trips , he told us that he did not know how much the ticket cost and he said that siam on that day at 1pm will have sale so we took the offer coz it was really cheap for a far journey , but when we got there , the ticket was fckng 6000 baht per boat , i only brought 3000 at that time and 6000 baht for a market is weird af , he lied about not knowing the price so he could took us , he also lied that the siam has sale , when we were already on the way to donmuang then he told us that the sale is not today but when Thai’s birthday ! I refuse to buy the ticket that does not make sense and he directly seemed panic he told us that but we already went so far away so i kept on bargain to the ticket seller and got 2500 baht STILL for a fucking market, i did not know that tuk tuk trips GETS commissions every time they took tourist to some places , the pretend not to know the price , lie about the place you are going is closed and other more , after from don muang we were supposed to go to the train market but i told him no just send us home , then the trip home he became suddenly quiet , while at the time when we were on the way to don muang he kept telling how awesome that place was ! I mean like YES ! , it was a beautiful place but THE PRICE WAS JUST SO BIG , then he suddenly offered again to go to this honey place he said that this time you wont need to pay but if you go there he will get 1 liter of fuel and if i buy the honey he’ll get 10liter of fuel , i thought that it was free and i already knew that it was a scam but i helped him anyways like 1 liter fuel is not bad i mean it’s free right? And then he fcking told us that over there you can see how honey bees are made , the process and more BUT I WAS ALL JUST BULLSHIT , when we fckng got there IT DIRECTS YOU TO THE SHOP ! NO BEE SEEING , NO PROCESS MAKING , JUST SELLING HONEY LIKE WTF AND THE HONEY WAS 3000 BAHT WTF MAN I KNEW THAT HE WAS SCAMMING SO I ONLY BOUGHT 300 baht SOAP , when i went out the first thing he saw at me was what i carried at the plastic bag and when he saw that we did not buy honey he was like “no honey?” YES BITCH NO HONEY 4 U ! And the way home was just silence that fckng dude made me waste SO MUCH MONEY AND TIME ! My plan was all ruined ! And today i got back to siam paragon at the 8th in the morning AND THE GATE IS OPEN IT IS NOT CLOSED IT’S NOT EVEN 10 AM YET THAT LIAR !

been on that tour 5 years ago,, ,Lucky Temple and all,, ,exactly the same!

you got scammed its not 100 its 20 baht

I was in bangkok today walking by and a stranger guy just aproched us as we was speaking mauritian, the guy did not rush into it anying just casualy talking to us saying he has been to mauritius and he knows some places, so we asked for tips for places to look around as he seem nice. He showed us a minning factory nearby. We went in the other guy was also smooth with us, saying he is willing to educate our knowlege of gems and jewellry, he showed us a ring that was supposed to be a cartier model that had three rings that you could change and personalise that was for like 3000 usd and he was going to sell us for 900 usd and he made all profit because cartier sold out that model which was limited to 200 pieces only and he had two of the samples that was made for cartier. I felt like i was in a movie it was all the same, open only today 80% off bla bla bla. Good memories if you dont get fooled easily. Cheers guys

Great video. Thank you so much.

Every country has their own scams so ruling that Thailand is the only destination that scams tourists is quite silly. I lived in China for two years, I experience the tea house scam and saw many others. I've moved to Bangkok and it wasn't difficult recognizing the scams or the play for a scam, just don't be a over eager tourist with poor judgement. Cool Video :)

Thanks for helping us in advance about these scams in Thailand mate! These scums/scammers are from other neighbouring Asian countries who have their businesses set up in Thailand just like the gem store. They unfairly bring down the reputation of the Thai people.

I've been to Thailand three times. I always, very politely, decline the Tuk Tuk drivers offers. I hired Tuk Tuks in Chiang Mai, as a taxi service, no tourist tour, but never in Bangkok. The Tuk Tuks in Bangkok just seem shady. The Sky Train (BTS), subway (MRT), or a metered taxi are the way to go while in Bangkok. Cheers.

How to avoid being scammed by Taxis OR Tuk Tuk. Download the App called Grab. Choose your current location and your destination and system will bid for you based on the average. Then you can choose to pay by cash once the taxi drop you off. So they can't mark up the price seeing you are a tourist.

Thank you for sharing!!

thanks very informative

If in doubt do what I did. You tube dos and donts in Thailand. And Thailand scams before going. Going back for our second trip in October. Cant wait

So are the gems actually fake or just overpriced?

Happened to me. Spot on video!!!

It depends where u go and how u act, but don't forget u can get scammed anywhere in the world even on your own door step

love to Thailand on this difficult day.

Its more like the land of scams than the land of smiles. Always be on the lookout. Although we normally deal with girl scams nearly all of our clients have been scammed in some other ways. It often starts with Taxi scams at the airport taking advantage of tired travellers.

To avoid scams not just in Bangkok, or anywhere in the world, just avoid talking to strangers...best to rely on a guidebook or internet for information.

great informative video cuz! good to know

All scams in Thailand have one thing in common.... the scammer WILL APPROACH YOU!!!....

Awesome video 👍

A lot of ppl from Singapore speak great English because it’s actually one of their national languages .

Pure gold lol no no no

I wish I saw this video earlier as yesterday I fell victim to the gem scam.

Not pure gold at all. Painted in gold leaf paint. If it was pure gold it would be worth zillions. Gem stones and other precious stones in Thailand are of poor quality as investigated by A Current Affair Australia

I'll add to the moral of the story if you're not a businessman visiting Thailand then enjoy your vacation and be strictly a tourist. Avoid buying any precious stones. And do your research before you leave. I was lucky someone sent me a link to Bangkok Bob, who has since closed down his site but one can still find some pages of his site on the internet archive wayback machine. My first time in Thailand, Bangkok to be exact, I came upon several scammers with exactly the same lines. Years ago I would buy travel books and some did mention scams. Like one in Lebanon where some men would approach you then try to sell you ancient coins going back to the Roman Empire. So on a trip to the ancient Baalbeck they were waiting for me with phony ancient coins. Needless to say not falling for the scam was worth the price of the book 10 times over. While in Bangkok a man approached me with one of the exact scams I read about. It was a Monday morning and I had my camera out somewhere on Sukhumvit Road. He declared authoritatively that "this area is closed for photography but I can take you to another area in my tuk tuk where you can take as many pictures as you like." Well they don't call Thailand the land of smiles for nothing because I was smiling just like a Thai still with money in my wallet that I was not scammed out of.

Great video Thanks Bro

The gems are a scam because they say you can sell it for double the price, but in reality it's worth only half of the price you'll pay.

I got scammed the same way and lost as much money in scam as much I spent for whole trip including airfare. I got lab tested the stone 3 times in my country but all said it was fake. I have their certificate and guarantee and address (email). please please help me guiding if I can recover my money

Thanks Joshua

i want this channel to get over 500k subs

Not pure gold, it is gold leaf.

THANK YOU

Money saving tip6 if by the end of your holiday you have baht left over if you change it back go to a Thai bank instead of a bank back home you willget4% more happy holidays

you could put the scam in the description you know

"Because of the honesty of the tuk tuk driver..." LOL Surely, the world must be running out of stupid people to scam, right? Apparently not!

Spot on ,also dont use outdoor atm,s ok

The reclining Buddha is not made of pure gold, are you kidding me? Lol

its amazing that people book holidays without doing research on the country your going too.. if you get scammed then its your own fault

i have same experience and just realized i got scammed after i watch this video bcus it just 100 bath for the tuktuk and the tuktuk driver is just so nice so never think it was scam lol

how is this a scam? thats just called business. happens in EVERY country... just in different ways...

It’s probably best to learn Thai for, “If you take me to stupid market instead of my destination, I will not pay you. Okay?” right after you negotiated the price lol

same in Sri Lanka! plus the tuk tuk drivers get paid for taking you to the paid temples!!

The reclining Buddha at Wat Po is neither "pure gold" nor impure gold. There's no gold in it.

Often getting scammed is a bi-product of one's own greed...If it's too good to be true, then it probably is. Thailand is and will continue to be one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. It is safe and your western currency goes a long way.

So tourist get greedy and are scammed by the greedy locals... Fair game. Lesson, don't get greedy. Anything you chose to spend while abroad is best marked up to a donation to the people of the country. Not some investment to take home and profit from. There are simple market rules of arbitrage. But thats for later.

I got scammed EXACTLY like this in 2006 :)

Conning people in front of Lord Buddha...... Shame

Red Flag 101, if someone approaches you in Thailand offering to "help" you out with anything, 9 times out of 10, they are expecting to get compensated. Actually, this applies to most places where you are the tourist. If they are fluent in English, it is not their first rodeo....just saying.

Title says you got scammed...but you didn't get scammed. What am I missing?

i bought some gems and sold them for 3X the price. paid for our whole trip!

Bro u should never got in their tuk tuk the one that they recommended for u

Feel sorry dat you got scammed... But gotta tell you dat youre damn Handsome...💖

I clicked on this video because you're handsome. I almost thought the scam was going to be about the temples.

Thanks bro

Good intel.... but i go to thailand to visit my fiancee only.....meet her.....have numerous rounds....relax... eat.... and flew back to Singapore....

English is one of the official languages of Singapore. It's the main language there. :)

Why did u do this video?

here's what you do. don't let strangers tell you what to do. if you get scammed in thailand you have absolutely ZERO street smarts!

i would never help those guys who tried to fckn scam me with helping them to get the stamp:O

you do need a pair of trousers to enter the royal palace that was not a lie the rest of it tho classic gem scam

Everyone gets their commission

Greed is the master of all evil. If you are not greedy absolutely nothing can scam money out of you. Except robbery is different though.

Great video

Are they fake gems, or what?

Yeh shits corrupt man. Its a shame that as someone mentioned earlier, this is whats going to destroy their tourism which is basically their economy

you can buy gems cheap in thailand, and if you know where to go you dont pay any tax..

The fact you could enter temple in shorts but not gold buddah should have told you too

Nothing news, I’m Thai by birth, I liveing over sea all my life, am; not speaking Thai or Laos rely wells They knows,am not logo peoples, they try to scammer,me out, almost everything’s, sad but true,

Jam?? As in what you put on toast?? lol Why is that a thing?

Wow you are really nice for trying to help him get 5 L of patro

No I don't want a watch, no I don't want a suit, no I don't want gem stones, no I don't want to buy gold. Yes I'll bar fine you :)