"Hello. Nice to see you again"

[Guest]

Walking towards Silom Complex, a Thai guy taps me on the shoulder and says "Hello, nice to see you again".  I say hello and carry on walking.

I don't recognize him. He's to big and to old to have been one of my previous dates and I don't recognize him from any other businesses.   Also, how did he recognize me under a facemask, sunglasses and sun hat ?  Even people who do know me have difficulty with that.

Later on, I see him in conversation with an older farang in The Silom Complex.  Possibly a successful victim this time. 

I'm getting about one a month trying this trick.  Of course I still have to look at every single one, as just occasionally I bump into an old acquaintance and would not want to be rude. 

 

[Londoner]

It's an old one that I recall from my time in West Africa. 

Going for a meal  in town I was accosted by a stranger who said, " Hi, my name is Lamin." By the way, Lamin is the name of the first son in every family and so there are many Lamins. ...."Lamin from the pool." He was referring to the hotel pool. "Can you lend me X so I can get the bus home?"

Sadly for Lamin, I'd encountered the same ploy in Tangiers- in that case it was the bus driver from the airport, despite my having arrived by taxi.

You can only smile at the cheek!

[spoon]

U know the saying that all asian looks the same? While its sounded racist, some thais figure this would work in their favor lol 

[anddy]

interesting. hasn't happened to me at all. Especially around this time I wouldn't expect it, isn't that sort of scam "reserved" for tourists, of which there are close to zero now (with z909's exception)?

[TotallyOz]

I have had this happen several times. The old Soi Twilight was good for this. The new gay area, I have not experience the same guys. But, back 15 years ago, there were tons of street guys and the K Bank steps were always filled with guys.

[kokopelli]

This scam has happened to me on several occasions. But sometimes it is not a scam as the Thais, Laotians, etc, have an excellent memory unlike myself.

[caeron]

All the homeless in the US do similar things, so I just shrug it off like I do here when I'm abroad. I have some sympathy for people who feel they need to do this, but that sympathy doesn't extend to giving my money or my time.

 

 

[MikeSyd]

The occasional tourist scam/ploy is unavoidable. I usually browse the web before any trip (been a while now) and see what's reported as current/common in the country. Had 2 trips to Sri Lanka (which I greatly enjoyed), Xmas 2017 and Xmas 2019, and was subject to the 'baby formula' scam in 2017 in Negombo and the 'free tuk tuk ride but you pay for petrol' scam in 2019 in Colombo. Not sure I wouldve fallen for them anyway, but had been alerted to them by my web browsing beforehand. 

[Londoner]

Kokopelli makes a good point.

jA few years ago, P and I were taking a short break in Chiang Mai near what's left of the gay scene in the Night Market when I was approached by a middle-aged guy. "Hi," he said." I remember you from Four Seasons. Don't you remember me? I was the mamasan."

Four Seasons was a short-lived  go go bar  in Patayaland 2 (I think). It closed  many years ago. Twenty? I believe I went there once and I know I didn't off anyone. Am I that striking in appearance? I think not.

[Guest]

22 hours ago, kokopelli said:

 sometimes it is not a scam as the Thais, Laotians, etc, have an excellent memory unlike myself.

I don't think they all have good memories.  Some do.  I made just one short visit to Oud's bar a few years ago and left alone.  12 months later, both Oud and his host remembered my name.

On the other hand, some that I met for several years in a row never remembered my name, but were still keen to meet again.

 

[10tazione]

56 minutes ago, z909 said:

I don't think they all have good memories.  Some do. 

It could be a language thing. In English, you can just say "hi" without need to remember the name. In Thai you (have to) use the first name much more often so they are well trained to remember names. Just my personal theory.

[vinapu]

9 hours ago, z909 said:

 

On the other hand, some that I met for several years in a row never remembered my name, but were still keen to meet again.

 

they did not remember your name but likely they remembered your tip 

[Vessey]

For me, it is often the other way around. It is me who says that to I guy I have offed before in the hope that they remember me.

Most will at least pretend to remember me; well they would wouldn't they haha, there would probably at least be a drink in it for them, maybe more.

But it is often quickly apparent whether they really do remember me or not, no matter how much my ego would like to hope they would.

One or two do remember my name, one or two remember me but can't remember my name. One of my regulars over the last five or six years still just calls me 'Darling', mostly I think because he had difficulty pronouncing my name - and believe me we have had 'coaching' sessions - but to no avail. 

A great night out and a great shag with a beautiful boy, and the chances are we will remember them for the rest of our lives, but for the lad himself, we are usually just another passing customer who he won't necessarily expect to see again. 

[vinapu]

I'm of opinion that generally speaking , like most of people working with many people (teachers , doctors etc ), boys have better face memory  than average person. They may not remember our names  but most of them do remember us as customers for quite  a time. When we eventually return it will be good opportunity to test it after that 1-2 years of absence.

[Guest]

One of the nicest and smartest working boys I ever met was in Pinnochio/Club Temple in Prague.  Every time a punter he recognized entered the bar, he'd get his notebook out to check previous records.

Totally professional and a nice balanced character with it.  A pleasure to talk to.

I cheat and record who I meet using the "Color Note" app on my phone.