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> Most people aren’t stupid like this so going on vacation to Thailand has a 99.99% likelihood of being ok. You don’t need to be an idiot for you trip to go ba

> Most people aren’t stupid like this so going on vacation to Thailand has a 99.99% likelihood of being ok. You don’t need to be an idiot for you trip to go bad. I used a local transportation. When getting off a Chinese tourist had lost is wallet in it. A local just took it for himself while the tourist was still in sight. The scene went too fast for me to do anything but I felt bad for the guy who will likely get charged on credit card, lost all his cash and probably ID too.

nicolas_t 6y ago
Not being an idiot in the context of traveling to developing country means a) not carrying too much cash b) not having all credit cards in the same wallet c) not having IDs in the same wallet as the above and finally knowing your credit card numbers (or have a record of it) so that you can quickly call and cancel them. It sucks that it happens but if you take proper precaution it shouldn't ruin the vacation besides a slight annoyance... It's also bad luck, as a counterpoint, I forgot my bag with my computer at a restaurant in Bangkok, I noticed 30 minutes later, came back and the restaurant staff had kept it for me.
kinghtown 6y ago
You absolutely did the right thing by keeping quiet. If you don’t speak Chinese (or any local language) it is so easy to be taken advantage of. There is no guarantee, but what if you grabbed the guy and wrestled with him, trying to get the wallet off him when suddenly the thief yells to the crowd “Help! This foreigner is stealing someone’s wallet and is trying to kill me!” Then a cop shows up who doesn’t like foreigners and it could be all over. The culture in China is different, very possible that someone could have seen that you are innocent but stayed quiet, avoid the trouble plus who knows, maybe he really did steal that wallet. I’ll go home to my family and the courts can decide if he’s guilty. Like things probably wouldn’t play out that way, Chinese (and Taiwanese, Cantonese) people are incredibly decent and well to do but the perfect storm of a misunderstanding could easily turn on you.

nicolas_t 6y ago

Not being an idiot in the context of traveling to developing country means a) not carrying too much cash b) not having all credit cards in the same wallet c) not having IDs in the same wallet as the above and finally knowing your credit card numbers (or have a record of it) so that you can quickly call and cancel them. It sucks that it happens but if you take proper precaution it shouldn't ruin the vacation besides a slight annoyance... It's also bad luck, as a counterpoint, I forgot my bag with my computer at a restaurant in Bangkok, I noticed 30 minutes later, came back and the restaurant staff had kept it for me.

kinghtown 6y ago

You absolutely did the right thing by keeping quiet. If you don’t speak Chinese (or any local language) it is so easy to be taken advantage of. There is no guarantee, but what if you grabbed the guy and wrestled with him, trying to get the wallet off him when suddenly the thief yells to the crowd “Help! This foreigner is stealing someone’s wallet and is trying to kill me!” Then a cop shows up who doesn’t like foreigners and it could be all over. The culture in China is different, very possible that someone could have seen that you are innocent but stayed quiet, avoid the trouble plus who knows, maybe he really did steal that wallet. I’ll go home to my family and the courts can decide if he’s guilty. Like things probably wouldn’t play out that way, Chinese (and Taiwanese, Cantonese) people are incredibly decent and well to do but the perfect storm of a misunderstanding could easily turn on you.