“Thailand is so safe, the people are Buddhist, they believe in Karma.” Well, well, didn’t I eat my words last night. I feel like a pretty big fool now, after what happened to Brittany two nights ago.
Last night we were at the restaurant when the most unthinkable of Thailand events took place. A robbery, on my girlfriend, in my own restaurant. I was in the back of the restaurant talking strategy with my two partners, when one of our employees busted through the doorway, “Thai Thai Thai Charlie Thai Thai Thai Charlie”. Not understanding the Thai parts, I ask my partners what is going on, because I clearly heard my name in the utterance she made. The translation I got was “Brittany has been stolen”. Brittany is stolen, what?!?
All three of us bolt for the front of the restaurant to find a bar full of big white guys, and Brittany crying. In a frenzy we find out, a teen has snatched her purse from under her arm, ran 15 feet to a waiting motorbike and off they went.
Immediately we go to the security cameras, call the police, and begin our own investigation.
The security cameras showing a lack of license plate on the motorbike prove this is not the first rodeo for this pair of thieves. A half an hour has passed by the time we review the cameras and I decide I might as well take a trip down the road to see if the thieves took the money and ditched the purse. Our condo key and security pass was in the purse in addition to 2,500 baht.
As I am cranking up the Nova Motorbike, two suspicious looking individuals, matching the description we had formed from the security cameras, pass by the restaurant. Adrenaline pumping, I take off after them.
In my best PI attempt, I lurk back a little, not to be obvious to them. I catch up with them at a red light, and I am convinced these are the guys, I am following them and “serving justice.” As we are doing 80-100 Kilo/Hour, I am snapping pictures of their license plate (that is now on the bike) and I soon realize we are going the same way back to our condo. Ah Ha! They saw the security pass for the condo complex, with the key, and they are planning to rob us more.
By this point, I am not sure if its me or the Nova shaking so bad. We reach the final light before the condo complex, and sure enough they are in the turning lane to make a U-Turn back into the complex….
Turns out, instead of U-turning, they continue the turn down a dark road by a lake. Again, in my best PI attempt, I shut the Nova off, and watch. They were down at this dead-end road near a lake for no longer than 30 seconds. This has lead me to believe they ditched the purse here. I circle-round and go down there in the pitch black, using my dinky headlight to see if I see the purse. No luck. Back to the crime scene.
Three beers later in an attempt to calm the nerves, we decide there is no point in filing a police report for $100 USD worth of material, especially considering I have already completed a far more involved investigation than Thai Police ever would.
Although the three beers did somewhat calm the nerves, I surely did not sleep that night, in fear the thieves would be busting through our condo door at any moment. At sunlight (5:45 am) I could no longer take it, I had to go check the lake again. I set out on foot, in the rain of course, to search the lake. Getting strange looks along the way, for being the only white guy awake at this hour, with no umbrella in the rain, and I can only imagine the expression on my face, I reach the lake. I spent a half an hour at the lake, and yet again, no luck.
As of now, who knows if it was even them. Did I follow two random kids thinking I was the next greatest detective? Who knows, but it sure did shake us up, and was a lesson learned in awareness.
We are Brittany and Charlie - we traded the 9 to 5 and the so-called "American dream" to live our own dream and see the world. We sold all of our belongings and left the US in August 2013. For 5 years, we lived primarily in Thailand and built our online business and location independent lifestyle while we traveled to over 30 countries. We’ve had house sitting gigs on 3 different continents and we’ve even appeared on HGTV’s House Hunters International.
GEEZ!!! Sure am glad Patrick wasn’t there to help you–I would probably be sending bail money if he was!! HAPPY Birthday-Charlie Chan!!!! Keep Thailand safe and take a bite out of crime!!!!
Were holding it down here fore sure. Going on a big motorbike trip tomorrow on my 1987 Honda Nova. Were going to look at a new motorcycle, though I find it bittersweet to part with a motorbike with such a prestigious name as NOVA, very fitting.
[…] you can imagine, it was a pretty eventful afternoon for us, especially considering the Brittany Robbery Situation, we’re getting over from just a week ago. We stuck around the scene to see how it would play […]
[…] of Northern Thailand. We’ve swam in the stunning turquoise waterfalls in Laos. Brittany was robbed in Khon Kaen. Our lives have changed so much in so many ways yet, in other ways, it really hasn’t changed […]
[…] that will drive up and snatch your purse before you even realize what happened. After having my purse snatched in Thailand, I thought I was being extra cautious by wrapping it around my waist and tucking it between me and […]
Get new posts with travel and budget tips delivered straight to your inbox!
Your information will never be shared or sold to a 3rd party.
Loading Comments...
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok
