"copy copy no pompem!"
Yeah, you know it: almost anything you buy in Pattaya (or let's say in half SE Asia) is a copy: Nike, Adidas, Rolex, all the software you can imagine, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Tommy Hilfiger, etc
Some places sell "real" stuff, like Royal Garden Plaza, Mike shopping or Big C but what is real in a country where nobody understands the difference between fake and real?
The only advantage is that you can get a buying ticket to satisfy the sad looking customs officer, on arrival in your home country, because I think a lot this "real" stuff is just as fake as all the rest. Only the shop is official.
Copying is a second nature...
So, you can pay your fake copies with your credit card, and while you do so... they scan and copy your credit card. Hah! The bastards! :-)
After a few months somebody might call you - if you are lucky they noticed the fraud - to ask you about your location, and tell you an "unusual amount" has been withdrawn from your account last night, at the other side of the world.
No problem, VISA knows about this very well, has a large budget and team for it, and will make sure you don't have to pay anything. They don't want any negative publicity of course.
My advice: DON'T USE YOUR VISA OR MASTER CARD WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE TO. It should be safe with the ATM's, but in a hotel, restaurant or while enjoying a good soapy, just pay cash. If you don't have enough cash while you just saw that unexpected sexy massage girl (if you are like me, you didn't get in for a massage, but only for a coffee of course), you should wait a little bit to have her number called through the speakers... Better go get the cash outside in the ATM and go back. Even if you trust the place - and most of the time you can - it will also save you 3% or more.
But if you don't play it safe: Sooner or later, they got you by the balls.
In Pattaya they got you by the balls all the time, but you don't want it to happen this way... ;-)
