How it works:
- Version 1: tout claims that the Grand Palace is closed for a Buddhist ceremony and suggests an alternative place (e.g. Happy Buddha, Export Centre) which only opens once a year! If you go along, you will end up at a gem shop or tailor shop.
- Version 2: tout brings you to an entrance only Thais can enter. The duty officer who only speaks Thai stops you and the tout pretends to translate. He will lie that the palace is closed and then propose bringing you elsewhere first.
Places to beware:
- Bangkok: Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Jim Thompson House, Wat Traimit, the Golden Mount, Wat Phra Kaew, Chinatown, National Museum, Wat Suthat, Dusit Zoo, Khao San Road
- Phuket: Old Town
What to do:
- Check opening hours and see for yourself if a place is really closed.
