Post 2/2

First the tuk tuk took us to the White Stone Buddha (Wat Ratchanddaram). To our surprise the Tuk Tuk driver actually parked and walked us to the temple and told us a little about the temple - every bit the Tour Guide, and he spoke passable English too. We thought he was going out of his way to be helpful and friendly, so that we would tip him generously. We actually thought this was strategic training by the authorities teaching Tuk Tuk drivers and other people involve din the tourist industry to exceed expectations (especially after the previous unrest and political issues driving tourist numbers down).

The White Stone Buddha relics was indeed nice and not many tourists were there. After we came down (Tuk Tuk driver waiting by the entrance), he took us on foot next door to the "Lucky Buddha"), apparently one of the oldest Buddhas in the area. We paid our respects and a middle-aged man guarding the donation box and the fortune telling sticks (looks like a well-off man on volunteer duty at the temple) struck up a conversation with us, but in a very laid back manner, and seated back in his chair.

After the preliminary "where are you from's" he asked us where we are going next. My partner actually proactively told him we were going to the Export Centre. When he found out we had never been before, he looked all surprised and said he goes every year, and only this year he bought a sapphire-ring.

He pulled out a official receipt showing he made a purchase from "Premier Sapphire Factory Export Center Co. Ltd.", address: 463/9-12 1st Floor, Look-Luang Road, Mahanak, Dusit, Bangkok 10300, with Phone No 0-2628-3565 which cost him USD8,900.- He indicated that it is a bargain and he is able to re-sell it to the Nathan Road jewellers in Hong Kong (where we are from) with a big markup. He even reminded us not to buy loose stones and only finished products - in hindsight I guess loose stones have more of a fair value and finished products are more arguable as they can say the mark up is for the labour.

We expressed concern about being ripped off since we are tourists and he is a local. He said the marked price is the correct price, no bargaining allowed since it is monitored by the government agencies. He reminded us to tell the centre that they are "gifts" and not for re-sale otherwise they are technically not allowed to sell to us. He was laid back all the time and appeared to be merely sharing info on a good deal to us.

As we turned to leave after thanking him, a tall American, clean-cut, in his late 30s/early 40s wearing a short-sleeve casual white linen shirt and with a ruck sack, came in to look at the temple, asked if it was the Lucky Buddha, and struck up a conversation with my partner (or vice versa). He overheard my conversation with the Thai man that we had never been to the Export Centre and replied, "Are you kidding? I have been going every year for 5 years. I buy something for resale back in San Francisco, and it is my Bangkok trip paid for."

When asked by my partner, he said he was an engineer with Intel, and that he resale value back at San Francisco would be 100% higher than the price in Bangkok, although the retailers would further mark up another 100% in turn. Basically, the profit is shared.

We swapped stories about the ridiculously cheap Tuk Tuk rides and he said it is because the Tuk Tuk drivers get fuel coupons when they go to the Export Centre, which is fair.

So off we went - him to his Tuk Tuk and us to ours. I didn't pay much attention as I planned to, at most, buy a small bracelet or earring from the Export Centre at the USD100 mark. When my partner told me the intention was to buy something more expensive (refer to receipt shown by the Thai man), I became more sceptical.

What convinced my partner was the American man telling us of the bargains he had. This was however what alarmed me.

I remember seeing the same American exiting the temple when we first went in. How come we went back there when we left and were exiting (we spent some 10 minutes inside)? What was a seasoned traveller to Bangkok (his 5th trip to Export Center?) doing revisting a very touristy attraction?

We became more suspicious and thankfully I had my Blackberry with me and it had roaming. I googled "Bangkok Export Centre" and the old thread on Tripadvisor came up. By then the Tuk tuk was on the way to the Export Centre.

When we came to a busier street, we asked the driver to stop and said we preferred to eat first, to ask him to leave. We gave him THB50 for his time (since the agreed price was THB40 for the whole trip), and he left without another word - didn't even ask why, which added to our suspicious.

We took a metered cab back to the Grand Palace's main entrance - it was 12:15pm by then (not yet 1pm), and hey, of course the palace wasn't closed, and it looked like it never was that morning judging from the throngs of people there.

To sum up:

- Export Centre scam still alive and kicking

- The "Tourist Police" (or at least someone working in the palace) is also in on it

- They even hired an American "tourist" to help convince us

The scam is bigger than ever. Beware!