My Dept. secretary informed on this. Her cousin was detained in Bangkok for stealing a box of cigarettes in a duty-free shop in Bangkok
International Airport .

He had paid for chocolates and a carton of cigarettes. The cashier put a packet of smokes into his bag and he thought it was a free pack.

He was arrested for shop-lifting and the Thai Police extortion price was RM30,000 for his release. He spent two nights in jail and paid RM50 for
an air-con cell, 200-300 baht for each visitor, and RM11,000 for his final release.

The Police shared the money in front of his eyes. On top of that, he was charged in court and fined RM2,000 by the magistrate and handcuffed and
escorted to his plane.

His passport was stamped “Thief”. While there, his relatives requested help from the Malaysian Embassy and was told that they are helpless, as
Malaysians are victimised similarly daily and letters and phone-calls to the Thai Authorities are ignored.

He shared a cell with a Singaporean the 1st night who paid RM60,000 for his release.

The 2nd night was an Indian national who paid USD70,000.

Mind you this is not in a shag downtown Bangkok but in a duty free shop in Bangkok ‘s Int’l Airport

Drive away immediately.

Don’t check the note until you are in the company of your friends or relatives. The note could either contain powdered drugs to knock you out
or make you wonder if some guilty motorist compensating you for a knock or scratch on your car , while you are still wondering, the robber(s)
will attack you as you check the car.

This had happened in Johor. Please circulate to your friends and warn them!

When checking in, you give the front desk your credit card (for all the charges for your room). You get to your room and settle in.
Someone calls the front desk and asked for (example) Room 620 (which happens to be your room).

Your phone rings in your room. You answer and the person on the other end says the following:

“This is the front desk. When checking in, we came across a problem with your charge card information.
Please re-read me your credit card number and verify the last 3 digits numbers at the reverse side of your charge card.”

Not thinking anything you might give this person your information, since the call seems to come from the front desk.
But actually, it is a scam of someone calling from outside the hotel/front desk. They ask for a random room number.
Then ask you for credit card information and address information. Sounding so professional that you do think you are talking to the front desk.

If you ever encounter this problem on your vacation, tell the caller that you will be down at the front desk to clear up any problems.

Then go to the front desk and ask if there was a problem. If there was none, inform the manager of the hotel that someone called to scam you of your
credit card information acting like a front desk employee.

If you feel that the tips are useful, please forward it to your relatives, friends & colleague.

B – Bottled water is a must – don’t drink anything else.

C – Cookbooks from your travels are always a great souvenir. Cook a dish from one when you have friends over to see your video and pictures

D – Digital cameras save the day; their small and you never run out of film

E – Expect excitement; go with anticipation, not trepidation

F – Food is fun, try something you’ve never eaten before like zebra pate or Australian wine

G – Give generous tips, especially in poor countries, you’ll be so glad you did

H – Hang out with the locals. Get to know a new person on your trip and get a photo with them

I – Inform someone at home of your itinerary

J – Journal every day. Can you remember now what you did last week?

K – Kids love it when you have packed little surprises to open along the way

L – Learn something: Take a pasta making course in Italy, Scuba diving in Argentina or Belly dancing in Bagdad (just kidding)!

N – Note the local artisans and buy something authentic

O – One substantial souvenir is better than a lot of small things. Then ship it home to lighten your luggage

P – Postcards will rescue you when your photography fails. You can never have too many

Q – Questions help you get the most out of all you see and experience.

R – Read before you leave. Read lots of books about your destination. Find out who the local best sellers are, and read one of their books.

S – Scrapbook within the first week of getting home

T – Travel as light as humanly possible. Dragging luggage is no fun.

U – Unpack as soon as you get home.

V – Vaccinations and certain medications are necessary in some countries – be sure to check with the World Health Organization about what you need.

W – Whining never fixes anything – buck up and deal with the differences

X – exchange your currency at the airport or a bank and be sure you understand the value of your money

Y – You are the one who will make or break your adventure. Plan to be positive

Z – Zero in on one or two experiences and squeeze the most out of them. Adventure overload will leave you confused.

By: News Canada