When the Baht Bus reached Pattaya Second Road, I pushed the buzzer and disembarked, paying the driver with a 10 Baht coin I had in my pants pocket. I started to walk along Pattaya 2nd Road, with the intention of meeting some folks at Ezy Bar and instinctively reached down to check my wallet that I keep in a buttoned side pocket in my cargo shorts, only to find it was gone.
As panic immediately set in, I turned around and sprinted back to the Baht Bus, which was still stationary at the intersection, waiting for the lights to change. I jumped onboard, and yelled at the Ladyboy to give me back my wallet, which she placed on the seat where I’d been sitting, attempting to make out I’d left it there. I picked up the wallet, checked that the contents were intact, and jumped back off.
The adrenalin rush while all this was unfolding was incredible, and the thought of pursuing things further with police didn’t even register until I’d made it to Ezy Bar and had a chance to review what had just unfolded.
Whilst I can’t believe how lucky I was to retrieve my wallet, it’s worth noting that all my credit cards & cash reserves were secure in my hotel rooms safety box, so the worst case scenario would have been losing about 4000 Baht, a single debit card, a drivers license and a handful of membership cards.
Before I started to document this event, I “Googled” Baht Bus Pickpockets, and found a number of relevant articles on the topic. This particular gang is well known to police in Pattaya, and despite being caught on multiple occasions, continue to operate. Have attached a photo I found on the internet which features part of the gang that attempted to steal my wallet.
In summary, I can only re-iterate the need to be extremely cautious when out and about in Pattaya, and avoid carrying around excessive amounts of cash, and credit cards.
Finally, don’t think it can’t happen to you !
Cheers
Koykaeng
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