Getting scammed in Bangkok

March 24, 2012

When you don’t have 3 young kids to travel with, you can get a lot of things done.  In Bangkok, Thailand for less than 40 hours in August 2011, hubby and I can say that we did it. Done. We got to see the Grand Palace, ate amazing street food, got really good (and legit) massages (hey, it’s Bangkok and you can google that) for a very low price, went shopping and saw a movie.  Oh, and we got scammed – without losing any money – and I highly recommend it!

But first things first, are friends gave us wonderful tips on where to stay and I highly recommend the Shangri-La.  It’s so convenient and is adjacent to the train station.  Ask for the river view.

Our view in one direction from our room.

View from the window bench. LOVE the bright pink taxis in Bangkok.  Click on this pic to enlarge and you’ll see the pink taxis.

This screams tranquility. LOL. Shangri-La style.

Hands down the most spectacular flowers I’ve ever seen. Right in the Shangri-La lobby, this massive show of flowers is unreal in person. The colors are in technicolor. No, not fake.

From the hotel, I did a short walk to the train station to catch their clean, modern, beautiful train. It runs on a raised track so you get to see the city!

The stop for the Siam Paragon connects to the station.  Really colorful here, too.

A floral sculpture with delicate butterflies.

Love the different textures on this massive wall of plants.

But I wasn’t here for shopping. I was on a mission to see Harry Potter – The Deathly Hallows Part 2. Why? Because they did not release HP in 2 countries on this side of the world (China and Vietnam) and Bangkok has the closest IMAX 3D theater!  Well worth it, I might add.

We then met up and took the river ferry to go to the Grand Palace. This is not me being coy:  this is me hiding and knowing that those poles will elongate my frame and hide my hips. Yes, vanity.

Beautiful butter yellow church along the way.

We made it to the Grand Palace.  Had amazing grilled kabobs, fresh coconut juice, and papaya salad from the street vendors adjacent to the palace.  Then we got scammed in the best way possible.

Backstory:  Shangri-La personnel had asked where we were going (Grand Palace) and then warned us:  there are people dressed as volunteers or police and will tell you the Grand Palace will be closed.  It’s not.  Then they will take you to another temple (we have many in Bangkok) and then take you to a lapidary and try to sell you overpriced rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. So be careful…

We did not just fall off the turnip truck.  There is no way we’d fall for it.

We fell for it.

The gentleman was so nice.  Well-dressed. Well-mannered.  In his 60s.  Helpful.  There was a sign that said “Closed”.

He got us a tuk-tuk for less than the guy was asking for (how nice), and took us to this temple that’s off the tourist map that is open only for today for the King’s brother’s birthday. OK, we’ll go.

Another wonderful man greeted us and said how lucky we were to have run into the previous man because this place was NOT on any maps, and even locals didn’t even know about it. See how the royal colors of emerald, blue sapphire, and red ruby are so prevalent in the temple decor?  Yes, yes. It’s because Thailand is known for the fine jewels. Really? Amazing.

See the significant and importance of the ruby red? Yes, yes.

Look at the 3 different kinds of architecture. Come, take a picture at this spot and you can capture all 3. The 4th, 6th, and 7th kings are all buried here. Wow. Really? These are the private mausoleums of the royal family and we get to see it??  WE ARE SO LUCKY!

So this goes on, this not-so-accurate history lesson with subtle inserts of “emerald, gold, ruby and sapphire” sprinkled in, for 2 and a half hours.  We get a tour of the whole grand place (not Grand Palace) and then he says we should buy emeralds or rubies while we are here.  In fact, there is lapidary right next to the royal compound that has a wholesale price sale just today for 33% off.  I can’t believe our luck!  So we go.  We get a 5 minute video of the process, a tour of the “factory” which is a room of some jewelers working, and then onto the sales floor where we see amazing jewelry for exorbitant prices.

Then we feel like idiots.  We did exactly what the Shangri-La had warned us about.

But we LOVED it.  Those guys worked HARD for 3 hours in hopes of getting us to buy jewelry, and you just have to admire the gumption and dedication.  They were so crafty.

So, our debate was “Can you get ‘scammed’ if you didn’t lose any money”?  I’m on the fence.  What do you think?

Back at the hotel and we book a tour guide for the Grand Palace. Totally worth it for the history lesson. The REAL history lesson. 🙂 This is a pic of temples within the Grand Palace.  Oh, there is only one way to get in — the main entrance.  So those “Closed” signs that we saw were because we were on the side or back walls of the compound.  Duh…

It even had a miniature (though still massive) temple at Angkor Wat.

This Buddha is an old relic. Don’t quote me, but I vaguely recall our historian saying it’s over 700 years old.  Guess what?  As it turns out, emerald green, sapphire blue, and ruby red are all colors used at all of the temples and only blue is the royal color.

Real gold leaf is used in these massive murals that tell the history.

There are over 100 of these figurines adorning this side.

It was grand!

 

I like your shape, Mr. Tree. 

Even the side door was pretty. Love the iridescent jewel tone, the lighting, and the iron work.

One last look on our tour of the Grand Palace.

We left Bangkok with full stomachs and smiles from our adventure.  That scam was so much fun and I highly recommend it if you go to Bangkok.  Go to the side of the Grand Palace and look for the guy wearing a “Police Volunteer” lanyard and go where he tells you.  Just don’t buy any jewelry, but enjoy the ride.  Really nice older man.  And the revised history lesson from the “temple guide” is very good!  His English is excellent so make him work for your time.  🙂  I have only fond memories of Bangkok and can’t wait to go back for another adventure.