ALHOLK Posted May 2, 2002 Report Share Posted May 2, 2002 Hi! I would guess that they are real passports that have been altered. Some years ago I met a yong Swedish bloke that said he was going to sell his passport and expected to get 150$ - 200$. regards ALHOLK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 3, 2002 Report Share Posted May 3, 2002 Post deleted by DoxyBlue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 3, 2002 Report Share Posted May 3, 2002 Yeah, 150-200 dollars sounds really low. I wouldn't sell mine and possibly face some police interrogations regarding how MY passport ended up with some criminals... not that my home country police would be able to stick something on me. The thai police on the other hand would just call some pal at the immigration office and arrange some unpleasant surprise... horrible thought! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 3, 2002 Report Share Posted May 3, 2002 "Even two hundred US dollars sounds ridiculously low." It is pretty low.But if you hang out a little around places like KSR or Soi SriBumpen,you'll meet some westerners in a very precarious situation,some who have been smart and active enough to end up pennyless,overstay and without a home ticket.In this group you'll find quite a few ready to do rather silly things for far less than the "market value" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted May 3, 2002 Report Share Posted May 3, 2002 Hi! Perhaps I should have written US$. I think that when people from countries that don't use dollar as currency speak of $ they are nearly always refering to US$. I agree that it's not an awful lot of money but this was a very young guy, most likely accustomed to get along on much less than we do. For him 8000 baht was probably a tidy sum. If he plays it cool there isn't an awful lot of risk involved. All he has to do is go to the police and report that his passport is missing and he was so drunk that he can't remember what happened. Then he goes with the police report to the Swedish consulate in Jomtien and in a day or two he gets a temporary passport that is good for leaving the country and returning home. This kind of shit happens on a daily basis in Pattaya (not only Swedes ofcourse) and both the police and immigration are used to it. Of course in most cases the passport are realy missing and they were relly drunk. It's happened to a couple of blokes I know and it was sorted out quickly and routinely. Ofcourse it's a serious crime, not only in Thailand but also in Sweden and Swedes can always be prosecuted under Swedish law no matter where the crime was committed. So if the Swedish police finds out he would be in big trouble. That said I don't know if he really did it because I returned hom just after I met heim. regards ALHOLK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted May 3, 2002 Report Share Posted May 3, 2002 Hi! I agree but the bloke I was posting about ahd a return ticket and hadn't overstayed. His only problem was that he had spent all his money. regards ALHOLK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirit_of_town_hall Posted May 3, 2002 Report Share Posted May 3, 2002 The most expensive passports to purchase on the black market are western passports with Asian photos. A valid UK passport with aN Asian photo inside is reputed to be worth 30 000 baht or £500. STH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 6, 2002 Report Share Posted May 6, 2002 "I agree but the bloke I was posting about ahd a return ticket and hadn't overstayed" Alhok,read again,that was only the bottom of the scale,some guys seem to accept more and more dangerous jobs the poorer they get(the question of how they got in such a situation in Thailand may give a hint about the guys dynamism).About selling one's passport it doesn't seem dangerous but can be an hassle,the issuing of a replacement passport depends on the embassy,seems that english can get a new one from here,some other embassies will only give you a travel document and no way to travel further in Asia without before going back home before and make a new one. Go explain to the embassy staff that it's not a good deal that way to sell you passport they're far from convinced yet.Happened to me,came back to Thailand as soon as I got my new book ,and after only a month and a trip to Cambodia the plastic protection at picture level broke and the best the girl thought at the embassy is I tried to alter it(it was impossible that the new kind of passport got that problem,even though of the 2 people(including myself) I know using that model,both had the same problem!!)I know some coke dealer lying less than that staff Anyway I kept using the damaged book and got little trouble with it.My friend in the same situation was deported once on arrival in Singapore though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 18, 2002 Report Share Posted May 18, 2002 I met a guy in cambodia who had overstayed his visa by like two months, his solution was to submerge his japanese passport in a sink making all of his stamps blurry and totally illegible. I watched him reason his way across the border with very little difficulty. He explained that his hotel had flooded and the passport was hidden under a piece of furniture. no fine. no problem. I was a little shocked as it was right after 9/11 and i thought borders would be scrutinizing things a little more closely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirit_of_town_hall Posted May 18, 2002 Report Share Posted May 18, 2002 Enterprising guy STH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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