How I Escaped Human Traffickers at The Cambodian / Thai Border - Part 1
As a solo female traveller it can be quiet tough at times to travel the world... Especially when you are young and inexperienced and think most people in the world are good people...
About 8 years ago I started my first solo trip as a women to the other side of the world and ever since, traveling became my passion. If you have read my intro post yesterday, you know how it all started...
Short recap: I started to work as a travel agent in Sydney and when the travel bug got me again, I started my own travel agency online, my main business where I can keep doing me and travel the globe.
I travelled South East Asia by myself. I trusted the wrong people faaar too many times. This time it was very close to be human trafficked, and it really took me a looong time to read the red flags.
I will share this story with you in this post.
As a result of this and many other travel experiences and have had, Girls Kick Ass was born.
My goal is to get women into self-defense to expand their awareness and to stay safe on the road. As I wish I was aware at the time when things happened to me...
So, let's get started with part 1:
**The Time I met this Girl in Bangkok… Was she part of the Gang? **
What happened?
How did I get there?
How did I got stuck in this hotel room? How did I NOT read all the obvious red flags along the way?
I met this girl in a bar in Bangkok. She was a local girl. Very nice, friendly and very open and bubbly.
Rhynn was about the same age as I was at the time (23). She came up to me at a bar in Koh San Road, I was there with two friends of mine.
My friends had left earlier, Rhynn and me danced the night away.
When I decided to go home, she took my number and wanted to hang out again ‘as she likes to hang out with Westerner people’.
She really wanted to introduce me to her Spanish friend Gerard, whom she has been friends with since many years.
Gerard teaches English in Bangkok.
On the next day we visited him at his house where I met a few other Westerner people (and locals) as well, who were doing the same thing as him: Teaching English and trying to survive on a local salary.
We shared food, tea, cigarettes and played games.
We spend some more time together over the next two weeks or so.
Rhynn took me to different places around Bangkok, she introduced me to her family. I even stayed over one night at her place.
Her family and friends took me out for dinner, and bought me presents.
I felt VERY awkward about them paying my food for me and giving presents, however, Rhynn explained to me that this would be normal in the Thai culture and that this simply means they welcome me to their country.
Refusing presents and paying your own bill would be rude and I please shouldn’t do that.
Okay, gotcha. Who wants to be rude to people who treat you nicely? Not me.
Time passed by, we had an AWESOME time, caught up with another local friend of mine whom I met at a language school in Australia. We all bonded very well and had great fun!
My time was up and I had to leave the country as my visa was about to expire.
Next destination: Cambodia. My plan was to travel to Vietnam through Cambodia.
A one way tourist bus ticket to Cambodia cost $50 at the time, whereas catching the local bus (going in exactly the same direction) would cost me $2.50.
Rynn thought it’s a brilliant idea to connect me with one of her girl friends, because she was travelling in the same direction.
I can’t remember her name, but let’s call her Fifi. Fifi works in the ‘wild west’ border town of Poipet as a cashier at a casino.
Leaving Thailand / Entering Cambodia looks like this:
Poipet is a transient, dirty, lawless little town.
Cambodia (and Poipet especially!) is regularly referred to as the human-trafficking hub of Southeast Asia, but it's hard to know by which measure. Anywhere from thousands to hundreds of thousands of men, women and children are trafficked there annually. AND I HAD NO IDEA ABOUT IT!
I had been blindly following Rynn’s friend, in hope I will make it in time in order to catch this one bus to Cambodia, only to find out the whole thing was set up and planned from the beginning…
If I only read the red flags popping up from the beginning. My awareness failed throughout this bus journey, I was hungry, tired, exhausted from months of travelling and simply not thinking someone would want to do any harm.
This was certainly one of the edgiest experiences I have EVER been through.
I don't want to write too long blog posts, so in the next post tomorrow I will share with you what happened along the bus journey and how I ended up in this man’s car...
Much Love,
Tina ‘I wish I had more awareness at the time’ Dahmen
I have created an online self-defense course for female travellers. Feel free to get your FREE video lessons here: https://girlskickass.org/female-traveler/
You will learn about the 4 most common scenarios & attacks which happen to women on the road.
Women on Steemit: Check this out: http://bit.ly/2r9eIZ0
Oh My God, this is one of those fascinating stories I've read in a long time. I can't wait to read tomorrow's post. You've really built up the suspense!
It's clear these people play the long game by gaining trust. I mostly travel on my own, and I'm glad I've never been in this situation (although I was on an organised tour when I went through this particular border). I think every (young) woman travelling alone should read this.
I'm glad you escaped and turned it into something positive through your girlskickass website. You also seem to be living the life you want, which I think is great. Good on you for not letting them win. Great story. Great post!
@choogirl Thank you for your kind words. I am happy you are hooked and want to know more <3
Every women (not only young) should read this... It can happen any time everywhere... Even in your own home town you know...
Great you were participating at an organised tour when you went through Poipet. If you are in a group you can feel safe, especially if you have local tour guides with you, how
a) know the area and their own country very well and
b) have a very well established and trusted relationship with the operating tour company.
Glad you went!
I still don't know what happened or how it occurred but you are right about red flags, the signals are always there and many times we do not pay attention on it. The euphoria, the emotions, to be excited for the "new" for the "different" blind us leaving precautions on a side.
Life teach us in different ways, some of us learn while we're growing to distinguish from situations can end in bad moments.
Bad for you it had to be on that way but you're taking the positive side and you want to share your experience.
I like girls traveling solo. I hope this had no tear your spirit down.
Thanks for your kind words. Nope it didn't tear me down... maybe a little at the beginning. But hey, an amazing project called Girls Kick Ass was born through this, so I see it as a good thing, like you said :)
Growing through the adversity !
Great 😉
Never stop, there are more destinations waiting for you.....in America and also in Panama (that was a comercial je je)
Anyway, take care.
Will never stop, of course not :)
I'm curious what happens next!
I promise it won't be boring. AT ALL.
I'm looking forward to the second part!
:-)
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Awesome, cheers guys. I hope many people will read it and are more aware of what's going on in this small border town.
Nice article Tina!
Thanks @powersiba, nice to have you around
What the heck!!! I hate this person who abuses the fellow man! Beware next time... Better to contact any Steemians in any country before you go to guide you and to help you. And I swear, they will definitely help you and meet you personally! May God bless your trip all the time...
This is a few years back now.... I certainly have learned my lesson ;-) I was super blind.. .wait for the next part tomorrow and you will see what I mean... Thanks @kennyroy
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@clixmoney All right cool will do thanks! :-)
Wow, I've been a solo traveler (I think we're same age) many times and never been closed to this kind of danger. Do you still travel solo? How do you prevent this?
@theinspiredlife Yes I still travel solo.... I was very lucky this time... but many other things happened to me on the road while my 8 years of travelling... After I moved out of Istanbul, I took a self-defense class in Perth.
I have dedicated some of my time now to build a brand (Girls Kick Ass) which is for solo female travellers. We teach them self-defense, awareness, setting boundaries, how to get out of situations etc.
It's crucial for women to know a few self-defense moves. It changes everything. It changes the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you interact with people and the way you come across. It will prevent you from becoming a victim, which is our ultimate goal.
Where have you travelled so far?
I like and admire that you have created that company based in a traumatic experience and that you managed to make it your job, awesome.
I don't know self-defense itself but I'm pretty much in tune with my gut feeling and have avoided people that ended up being not much of a good company.
I'm from Ecuador and when I was living there I traveled through South America, several times I packed my backpack and when on a month or two-month journeys. So I have been to almost every country there except Venezuela and it's tiny neighbors to the east. Since moved to Europe four years ago, I have traveled quite a bit this continent. I've been to South Africa and to Asia for the first time on December when I explored Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia, three months as well...
Still thinking that in the not-so-far-future I would like to move for a while somewhere in Indonesia, you might understand why :)
Talk about a cliffhanger. Looking forward to reading part 2 tomorrow!
Hahahah yes, I want you guys to be curious!
I will upvote and resteem your last blog post free to my 35,000+ followers if you reply with the word, "free".