Bangkok has played around with us, once again. This time though, we had a better outcome than the first time…
This little tale of ours comes to show you, again, just how much we love Thailand. And here’s why:

How We Lost & Found our Wallet in Bangkok

We finally decided to leave Chiang Mai and make our way to Yangon, Myanmar. After a bit of research, we found out the cheapest way was to go to Bangkok by bus and fly from there to Yangon.
Going overland was a bit of a uncertainty as we couldn’t find much information about it. But off we went.

We left Chiang Mai at 6:35pm after nearly missing the bus due to the crazy peak-hour traffic. Thanks to our tuk-tuk driver, we made it just in time.
The bus ride itself was pretty smooth. We took the Express bus which was very comfortable and spacious, not to mention a few perks like snacks, water and blankets throughout the whole trip. Once we arrived in Bangkok around 4:50 in the morning we got into a taxi to head straight to Dom Muang International Airport to fly at 8:30am, yet to find out that I didn’t have my wallet on me. I thought for some reason  that Larissa had it. Well, from this moment on we thought that only a miracle could help us to find my wallet.

First things first, we tried to call the bus company. As it was 5:15am and no one answered. After a few more tries we found out that it opened at 6am. We had to board our flight at 8am, so we only had 2 hours to find the wallet and also find a way to bring it to the airport.

We managed to find a Tourist Police office in the airport, we ran over to the booth where we found it empty. After a bit of desperation, we found out that the office was still ‘asleep’ so Larissa just walked in and asked for help. A little hope was recovered.
As I was a bit stressed, Larissa did the talk. The officer started to make some phone calls and ‘ordered us’ to “go and check-in and come back here, I will keep trying”. We obeyed her order as we were 2 hours from the departure time.

By 6:10am, after checking in we ran back and she was on the phone again. Someone answers the phone and she manages to inform the situation. We stay put and wait. We were somehow hopeful that the wallet would appear. And it did! The bus company called back with the news: wallet was found with everything untouched! What are the chances, really? Phew, we thought, we only need to have it delivered…

They informed us that a taxi driver could do the run for 500 Baht (it usually costs only 150 Baht from where the wallet was) but I agreed anyway, obviously.

At 6:50am we started to get a bit nervous as we had to go through immigration and do all the check-in procedures, by then, no news of the wallet…

At 7:30am the officer ordered us again to go through immigration and head to our gate so we wouldn’t miss our flight. She instructed us to wait at the gate, if by boarding time, your wallet hasn’t arrived, she’d let us know. We exchanged emails and informed that we would happily pay for postage in case we didn’t get the wallet in time.

After going through immigration, we were both starving and not talking much. As we walked towards our boarding gate, there was only silence between us, I guess a bit of a mixture of hunger, tiredness and worry. We had no money on us and were struggling to keep the good mood.

Approaching the gate, I struggle to identify the officer which was waiting for us at our gate with a huge smile and the wallet in her hand! Realising our struggle, she greets us again with a smile and kind words. I’m in awe and feeling like I had a rock removed from my shoulders, I smile back in relief. We of course, couldn’t thank her enough. She asked us for a picture to prove to her boss that the wallet was returned (we assume it was the procedure) and so I took the opportunity to snap a pic of with our ‘angel’.

Now with money in our hands, we turned around and ran towards a coffee shop to spend the remaining baht left in the wallet with plenty of croissants just before embarking to Yangon.

Taking off Thai soil, we left with a grateful and nostalgic heart. From South to North, Thailand surprised us and inspired us with kindness, smiles and great stories. Thank you, Thailand.

Have a similar story? What was the most annoying thing that happened to you when travelling? Share it wiht us!

Larissa & Jean
Nomaddictives