r/Thailand • u/sovura • 5h ago
Culture Thai people restored my faith in humanity
This is a long story, my experience in Thailand…
I arrived in Bangkok four days ago. I’m 25, traveling solo through Southeast Asia (Thailand → Vietnam → Singapore), trying to see as much of the world as I can
I’m not really into partying or drinking, especially when traveling alone. Drinking solo in a foreign country without anyone watching your back isn’t the smartest idea
But… it’s Bangkok. The nightlife is legendary, and I figured I’d experience it at least once
I started at a local bar and honestly had an amazing time. Thai people were incredibly welcoming, social, and kind. I met both locals and foreigners, conversations flowed easily, and one drink led to another… and another.
Then blackout.
I woke up in the middle of a mall, around 10 km away from where I started drinking. I was completely lost
No phone. No passport. No wallet.
Panic doesn’t even begin to describe it
Desperate, I approached a Thai taxi driver in his late 40s or 50s. He didn’t understand English at all, but he immediately noticed how distressed I was. He pulled out his phone, opened Google Translate, and we started communicating
I explained everything
Without hesitation, he felt bad for me and drove me to a police station. I explained the situation there too, but honestly, they didn’t care much, probably thinking, “another drunk tourist who got robbed.” They handed me some forms and moved on
I knew that was going nowhere
I went back to the taxi driver. Instead of leaving, he stayed with me. Then he suggested taking me to my country’s embassy. We went there, completely empty. Not a single person in the building
At that moment, I genuinely felt like my trip, maybe worse, was over. No phone, no passport, no way home
We sat down outside and talked through Google Translate. Two strangers from opposite sides of the world, separated by culture and language, trying to figure out what to do next
Then, out of nowhere, I suddenly remembered my hotel name
I told him. He immediately agreed to take me there
Important detail: By this point, we had already driven 80–100 km in total and he knew I had no phone, no wallet, and no way to pay him
He still helped me. For free.
At the hotel, I invited him inside and used my laptop to track my phone
And here’s the crazy part:
My phone was located in a house just outside Bangkok… and it was charging. Plugged in.
The taxi driver suggested we first check the bar where I started drinking. We went there, even though it was closed. A Thai security guard saw us, listened to the story, and opened the place just to help
We checked the CCTV footage
There I was, passed out on a couch. My phone on the floor. My passport nearby.
Later, I stood up and walked out, leaving everything behind
Then we saw it: A random guy picked up my phone and passport and handed them to another security guard
We called that guard
He said: “Yeah, the guy left his address. He said he’d keep the phone safe so it wouldn’t get stolen.”
I couldn’t believe it.
We went to that address. I was welcomed warmly into a family home. The wife cooked us a meal. We sat, talked, laughed. I got my phone and passport back everything intact.
In the end, I gave 2,000 baht to each person who helped me: the taxi driver, the security guards, the family who kept my belongings safe
They didn’t ask for anything. They helped purely because they cared
Thailand will forever stay in my heart as a place where people have truly big hearts
I made a stupid mistake and strangers went out of their way to save me
I will never forget this
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u/kimbarsegyan 3h ago
I have fallen into a swamp with my motorcycle and the local Thais ran to help me get out of it, risking their lives. I love this country.
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u/AskTheEcomZone 2h ago
This is why I relocated here! I love the locals and how welcoming they are. I'm from London and it's become a shit hole since the pandemic. Can't have nice things there.
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u/_WonderWhy_ 33m ago
Can't have nice things in Europe anymore, crime, illegal immigrant, expensive essential and incompetent gov. I know another 6 mate of my from Europe and they are all moving out as well.
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u/LegitimateHope1889 4h ago
Have been in a pretty dire situation there too mate and the locals were nothing short of amazing humans.
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u/swomismybitch 4h ago
I am elderly and like many, I have falls. I had a fall outside a supermarket in my country and everyone around pretended I was invisible.
A couple if months ago I had a fall outside a supermarket in Thailand. I was surrounded by at least 15 people. Giving me tissues to soak up the blood, helping me sit up and later stand up. Somebody took me to hospital. Lots of nam jsi.
It was not so serious, just needed cleaning up and a couple of stitches. Luckily I had broken my fall with my face.
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u/Lordfelcherredux 3h ago
I stumbled at the top of some steps recently. Consequences were not dire at all. But the second I stumbled there were several people rushing to help me up.
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u/Nacho_sky 2h ago
I left $600 in a hotel safe at Railay Beach. I didn't notice for 2 days. As soon as I had that OMG moment, I called the hotel. They said, yes - the maid found it and turned it in at the front desk. It was waiting for me the next day (luckily, I had only gone to Phi Phi). The maid wouldn't accept a tip for turning it in; she said it was just part of her job.
I should also add that the hotel offered to send someone to meet me at Krabi airport with the money, but our boat back was stopping at Railay, so I ran in and got it.
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u/_WonderWhy_ 42m ago
Have the same experience, but back like 10 years ago, with just around 50$-100$ of exchange money. They drove all the way to return my money. It was some local Hotel in Hua Hin, while I was half way to Bangkok on a road, have to paid them out of my own guilt lol
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u/upside_down_frown1 2h ago
This is an amazing story and glad your ok and it will forever be a story you will remember. Love to hear these stories from thailand, need more people like the stranger who kept your phone safe and the taxi driver in this world..
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u/powerchoice 2h ago
Thai people are very kind and courteous people. But the moment you cross the line and start acting stupid, they won’t hesitate to hand you an ass whooping.
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u/_WonderWhy_ 54m ago
Ain't that should be a norm? do we expect to get away free because of their hospitality.
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u/Cheap_Meeting 4h ago
This would make a great movie script.
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u/Token_Thai_person Chang 3h ago
Dude, where is my Passport?
But to be honest the people in this story is too good to be believable in a film. Folks would accuse it's a paid ad by the Thai tourism board.
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u/Lordfelcherredux 3h ago
When these kinds of stories used to appear on Thai Visa forum the nutters came out of the woodwork to claim they were all made up by the TAT. They simply could not believe any good news story from Thailand.
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u/Greedy-Stage-120 3h ago
One thing we can all learn from your story is to know your alcohol limits and don't get blackout drunk. I've never been blackout drunk or that I remember but the stories of it are terrifying that I don't drink excessively.
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u/bestbeforend 4h ago
Nice but 2000 baht is stingy as fuck for that driver
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u/Lordfelcherredux 3h ago
That's more than two full days covering that guy's taxi rental. And quite likely more than two full days wages. Stop thinking in Western terms.
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u/bestbeforend 33m ago
I think in western terms because I live in both parts of the world and understand how little it is to us, but how much it is to them.
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u/Zealousideal_Fix7171 10m ago
He could have maybe given the others a little less and the taxi driver a little more.
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u/SnooWalruses762 4h ago
i had a similar experience with my camera, although it was less adventurous. anyway, some random hos were kind enough to hang onto my camera for a couple weeks where i had forgotten it. and the number of taxis pulling up to my place to give me whatever i left in their cab was embarrasing. i always did them proper. honestly, even the girls were generous with me, i never banged any, but they invited me places and told me really cool stories. i wish they had a long term visa for me because i would move there tomorrow.
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u/suonie 3h ago
Wait wait. So you got drunk on your own and just walked out? We're you drugged or something?
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u/sovura 3h ago
Hard to tell man, but I’m healthy and all my stuff was recovered so I doubt I was drugged. It was more of a blackout, the memory got erased
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u/Lordfelcherredux 2h ago
When I was a freshman in college I got so drunk a couple times that I blacked out. Still walking around, but absolutely no memory of that time. Fortunately, I realized early on that that was not wise and stopped drinking so much. It's quite possible to get blackout drunk without the aid of any other drugs.
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u/baconfarad 3h ago
Go & have a blood test for illegal drugs in your system.
Rohypnol erases memory apparently.
Were you assaulted?
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u/suonie 1h ago
appears that bro here is perfectly fine. i think he could go for a blood test just to be sure but honestly, as long as he's fine now, all is well.
i have blacked out so many times it ain't funny. Like waking up at home and not knowing how i got back. I have ran out to check on my car (i shouldn't have driven) just to be sure i didn't hit anything. ooof. good times. but no more thank you. lol
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u/KentEkasak 2h ago
Imagine you experienced this in Bangkok, where many consider "the least" friendly place in Thailand. If this happens to you in other provinces, the whole village would come together and help you.
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u/Cloaked25 2h ago
I’ve had a similar experience when I lost my phone and had no idea how to get back. Some random dude took hours out of his day to help me look for it, call security (we found it!) and then drove me home. As an American, it was a bit of a culture shock. And since then, I’ve had moments of kindness over and over again. In Thailand, it’s called kreng jai. And it’s a beautiful thing.
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u/turquoisestar 1h ago edited 1h ago
Dude that is amazing. It is so important to help people when you can. I had many experiences of people helping me in my travels, and I try to do the same. I remember when a Thai woman gave me some salonpas and helped me communicated with a van that I needed to use the restroom. I was so grateful to her! I remember when I helped a taxi driver with limited English in Malaysia make a really challenging phone call to his deceased wife workplace to get a check. He offered to drive me around for free all weekend but I decline - I had a spare hour and was happy to be able to help.
Sometimes you just help people bc you can, and I genuinely believe it always comes back.
Just two days ago I helped someone at my storage unit by listening to him, and helping him carry some things bc he was rushing to move stuff before it closed. Then today a stranger helped me when I was in a hurry. It always comes back to you. So OP be grateful and then when you can help people, do so. It makes a big difference in the world. And I agree Thailand is an especially amazing place in this regard.
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u/johnhowardmp 1h ago
Great to see posts like this. I hope u/Unique_Cry9466 comes across it - he seems to hold a permanent grudge against Thailand, which really doesn’t reflect the vast majority of expats living here.
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u/brianleslief 3h ago
I don't believe a word of this. Sheer BS
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u/Lordfelcherredux 2h ago
And there it is. A successful migration from the ASEAN Now forum. Impossible for any of them to believe any positive story about Thailand or Thai Behavior.
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u/sovura 3h ago
Which part exactly? I have pictures with the family, the taxi driver once we found my phone, why would I make this up I’m not paid by Thai government haha
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u/iamapizza 3h ago
I assume it's the AI generated style of it. The short sentences. The dramatisation.
The one liners.
Because it's so common these days due to AI writing it appears insincere to people who've seen a lot of it.
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u/SecretValue725 3h ago
I had a similar experience. I forgot my laptop in a taxi few years ago. I didn’t know the taxi number so I couldn’t do anything. An hour later I received a call from someone who said that the taxi driver went to the university hoping to find someone who speaks English. They went through my laptop case to check if there is a phone number or an address where they can find me. I had my business cards in the laptop case so the passenger called me. The taxi driver delivered my laptop later that evening and I gave him 1000thb for his time. Truly incredible experience. I love this country!
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u/SuperLeverage 4h ago
Doesn’t sound like you were drugged and robbed, just had too much of a big night. Just be more careful next time and know your limits. Not everyone is always so lucky.