travelling and getting in trouble in a foreign country

[WANCH]

I decided to write this thread because I was watching Brokedown Palace where the main characters get mistakenly caught in Thailand for drugs. Anyway, it's common on tourist getting in trouble in a foreign country especially in Asia.

Honestly, just wanna get your opinions on situations like these and if your country's embassy can help you or not!

[Küsel]

When travelling in Asia I was always afraid of things like that to be honest. Someone I met in the airplane lost a friend like that who was misused for drug smuggeling (unwillingly) and executed! :(

Just watch your lagguage well and don't take anything from someone you don't know - children's stuff but it's true! Don't be paranoid, but careful ;)

[empersouf]

It's always usefull if you lock your lugage, that way crazy people cant put drugs in it.

[Bahnsteig4]

I believe your respective embassy can do quite a lot for you if you are caught in trouble unvoluntarily. However, if you are rightly accused all they can do is try to get you home and have a trial at home but chances are weak.

[Küsel]

Sorry, the embassies hardly can do anything, at least not for the Swiss in that situation in the Seychelles, Thailand, Singapore or Malaysia... there is hardly any hope unfortunatly. Clear that they try all the possible diplomacy, also that you can go to prison in Europe... but don't count on that. For me it was always and always will be my biggest fear while travelling :( Fortunatly nothing happened til now.

[Vertigo]

I wouldn't worry about these things too much. Of course it's always a good idea to keep a close eye on your belongings, but it's also good to remember that the chance of this happening to you is actually very very very slim. Events like it do always get a lot of media attention.

In most countries, you should worry more about the safety of crossing the street. ;)

[hkskyline]

Always register with the embassy if you're travelling to a lesser-developed country, and have the embassy contacts with you just in case.

[WANCH]

Always register with the embassy if you're travelling to a lesser-developed country, and have the embassy contacts with you just in case.

It's a pretty good idea but also in developed countries as well like Singapore for example.

There have been cases of foreigners who have been caught in Singapore in possession of illegal drugs even if some of them are innocent. There was even one case of a woman from HK who was caught with possesion of heroin and was executed.

[Küsel]

Like in Malaysia... SE Asian countries are very dangerous in that case. You get caught by the police or by the mafia that was misusing you - not a very nice thought!

BUT: Vertigo said it: Paranoia is not necessary - that you have a car accident, a serious sunburn or a horrible hangover on your trip is much more probable than that you've been robbed or misused as a smuggler... I was travelling all around the world and the "worst" I ever experienced was a wannabe pickpocket in an overfilled "taxi" in Yogyakarta. But he was behaving so badly together with his partner, that I only had to bang him on the hand and he stopped ;)

Also in the so-dangerous Brazil I never experienced or witnessed anything bad. But a friend of mine that was just sitting on a bench on Copacabana at night while we were shopping on a street market witnessed how a rich German couple was robbed: a guy on a bycicle passed by and was tearing the big gold necklace from the woman - sorry: who carries expensive jewllery and cameras and SHOWS them off without caring what is going on around him in a not too safe area is to blame himself ;)

[hkth]

Besides drugs, you should be very careful for the "Kind" People from the gem scam when you travel Thailand! You can read more here (http://angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/Scams/Sapphire.shtml).

[WANCH]

Despite that, there are still alot of tourists in these countries. The only thing is to be streetwise and watch your back :)

[hkskyline]

It's a pretty good idea but also in developed countries as well like Singapore for example.

There have been cases of foreigners who have been caught in Singapore in possession of illegal drugs even if some of them are innocent. There was even one case of a woman from HK who was caught with possesion of heroin and was executed.
Registering with the embassy is not going to help if people are going to commit crimes in a foreign country. The embassy is not going to magically free them somehow. Local laws prevail, and if a foreign country is willing to make a deal, they're just doing a favour. It's not always that lucky.

[Baianóide]

In a foreign country, the things are more dangerous...

[empersouf]

You´re absolutely right Gabviana, as a tourist you´re very weak. Because you´re in a place where you aren´t from. A place you barely know.
That´s why tourists are such weak targets.

[WANCH]

You´re absolutely right Gabviana, as a tourist you´re very weak. Because you´re in a place where you aren´t from. A place you barely know.
That´s why tourists are such weak targets.

They are if they're dumb and not using common sense. It's always better to be streetwise :)

[empersouf]

And that is what makes travelling fun Wanch!

[Captain Chaos]

I wouldn't worry about these things too much. Of course it's always a good idea to keep a close eye on your belongings, but it's also good to remember that the chance of this happening to you is actually very very very slim. Events like it do always get a lot of media attention.

Hmmmmm, try telling that to the people who've been locked up! I know, I know, many are guilty and get what they deserve, but others aren't, and their lives are ruined.

As for the Gem Scams that hkth mentioned, man, those guys are absolute bastards.

Myself and my wife had a great holiday in Thailand, and whilst in Bangkok we spent plenty of time telling these Gem-Touts, politely but forcefully, to leave us alone. (It doesn't take a genius to know what they're all about). These people were mainly cabbies or guys on the street, and if ever we encountered one, we just walked away.

But we never expected it to happen with a tour-guide from a large, very reputable company. But it did. And had this happened in my country I'd've smacked the bastard black and blue for what he did.....

We'd been on a fabulous tour with this guy who seemed like a top bloke for the time we were with him, but once the tour was complete, he suggested we stop by a gem factory. Now, my wife has cancer, and after all the trudging around the temples we'd done on the tour, by now she had a banging headache and felt nauseous due to the chemotherapy and all she wanted to do was get back to the hotel and rest. So I politely said...

.... no, could you please take us back to the hotel, my wife has cancer, she needs to lie down and have a rest to try and get rid of her nausea and nasty headache. She feels terrible. (Looked it too)!

He asked all about her condition, sounding concerned etc., and then this bloody prick says, 'it won't take long, you'll be okay, I'll take you anyway'.

He then says 'it's on the way back to your hotel, you take a quick look and walk around. Oh and by the way, I'm not going back to the hotel, so you'll have to get off this bus and take a different company vehicle home'!

Knowing full well it WASN'T on our way home, again, I said no, but he just ignored us and took us anyway!

As soon as we arrived at the gem factory this slimy fucker got out of the bus and just disappeared before I managed to clamber out of the back, which definitely for him, and possibly for me, was a good thing in hindsight! Just like he said, we both had to get out of the vehicle, and my wife had to suffer standing in the heat until a different bus arrived to take us back to the hotel.

We had the last laugh though. We reported this incident to the company immediately. They couldn't apologise enough and said it was totally against their policy for any employee of theirs to even suggest going to a gem factory, let alone take you there against your wishes, not to mention someone who is ill.

So, a formal complaint against him was made, and the very sweet lady who'd listened to us (and booked our tours in the first place) said she didn't rate his chances of having a job to come back to!

Lesson to anyone encountering Gem-Touts or even tour guides from reputable firms - don't trust any of them! There's no limit to how low they'll stoop, or how few principles they have.


As for this prick making my wife's day hell.... I hope the bastard is now living on the streets and eating out of the city's garbage bins. What a lowlife scumbag!