Just like he always did in the last 6 years or so.
According to him, as he was still walking, 2 men on
motorbike descended upon him with a
knife to his face and demanded that he surrendered everything he had. They took
his wallet and his I-Phone and was
looking for something more, when fortunately, a taxi pulled up right in front
of him as a passenger was being dropped off. The men immediately fled, but not
without yanking the gold chain around his neck.
He said that the guy who got off the cab seemed to have an
impression that something was not right, and asked if he could help. My
colleague was so stunned that he went blank and all he could ask for was a 100
baht so he could take a taxi home. The taxi driver had also refused to accept
his money and dropped him off at his home for free after he told his story.
He shared that he woke up several times that night and felt
like it was all a dream, because, he was still in bed and everything seemed
fine. I cannot imagine how traumatic that incident may have left him.
Granted, I have heard such stories happening in and around
Bangkok, but this is the first time I personally know somebody who got mugged.
It felt so real, and when he related the story to me, I was literally shivering
down my spine.
When I first came to Bangkok, I used to shrug it off when
well-meaning colleagues in the office told me to be extremely careful when I go
off on my own especially after 7pm. In my previous organization, bosses or
colleagues were always offering to drop me off at my home. No, in fact, they
did not only offer, they actually insisted and demanded that I wait for them so
that they can drop me off if I leave the office after 7 pm. When I told them
that I can always take a taxi, my excuses fell on deaf ears. It also did not
help that I don’t actually want any of my colleagues to know where I was
actually staying!
I used to think that
were overtly paranoid. I came from a very safe-haven of Singapore where you can
walk the streets at 3 am at night and no one would bother you. While I am aware
that Bangkok is unlike Singapore, I still did not think that it could be dangerous,
and that their reaction to such things was just a little OTT.
Besides, the last thing I want to do is inconvenienced them
as sometimes, depending on the person who was kind enough to offer me a ride,
where I was going may not be necessarily be on their way. Yet, for a good 2
years, they insisted and insisted such that most times, it became a norm.
Sometimes, I had to lie and told them that Silver Bullet will be picking me up as
I really did not want to trouble them. Their concern was rather stifling.
Over the years, such petty crimes made it to the headlines
and I started to err on the side of caution. And if my colleagues knew that I
would be alone with no one to drop me off, they would insist that I let
somebody know the taxi number and colour I was in. This has actually become a habit of mine –
whenever I am alone after dark in a taxi, I make sure that I texted Silver
Bullet the necessary information.
I truly had very caring colleagues then. When I moved on to
a new organization, I never really did get any offers from anyone. I guess that
is the peril of working for a much larger organization. The more structured
they are, the less personal they become while they suck the living daylight out
of you as a corporate slave.
Now that I hear such a story from someone I personally know
and work with, I begin to appreciate the concern of my previous ex-colleagues
even more. They had warned me right from the start, and I truly have no reasons
to doubt them.
Their paranoia was nothing but valid.
To those out there who thinks that Bangkok is relatively safe at night, when you are out and about on your own, think again.
To those out there who thinks that Bangkok is relatively safe at night, when you are out and about on your own, think again.
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