Thailand forum

Thanks so much for the heads up! I'm doing the Samui to Surat Thani trip in a few days. It's a shame that this has happened to you, even with a locked backpack.

warnings of theft from the 'non-government' buses serving popular backpacker destinations like Ko Pha Ngan & Ko Samui (& also Aranyaprathet):

http://www.travelfish.org/board/post/thailand/7074_bangkok-to-ko-samui-scam---getting-money-back-
http://www.travelfish.org/board/post/thailand/1760_stolen-things-on-the-bus-from-krabi-to-ko-phangan
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1691746
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=577937
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1192961
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1800664
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1573361
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=893413
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1390219
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1288857
http://www.travelfish.org/travel-planning/security-gear
http://www.bangkokscams.com/scams-in-bangkok/khao-san-road-travel-agents.html
http://www.talesofasia.com/thailand-getaround.htm
http://wikitravel.org/en/Ko_Pha_Ngan#Get_in
http://www.stickmanweekly.com/Reader2007/reader4672.htm (scroll down to 'Bus Scams')
http://www.travelfish.org/faq_answer.php?qID=130

(just to give an idea of how frequently it seems to occur...)

enter "(Thai beach destination name)+bus+theft" into blogsearch.google.com for lots more individual reports over the years.

figuring out government buses:
http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php/2008/04/21/how-to-travel-by-bus-in-thailand-1?blog=27
http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php/2008/04/24/how-to-travel-by-bus-in-thailand-3?blog=27

be aware + anything of value should always be on your person (else leave it at home).

booby trapping the bag sounds like fun to me.

Thefts on overnight buses going to/from KSR are notorious yet all the victims only seem to wise up AFTER the event. Maybe a sticky(like the one for the Halong Bay touts) containing all those links Wandering cat posted might be in order Somtam?

Most of the complaints concern thefts on overnight KSR buses ... this one seems to be a bit different as the OP says the theft took place while the bus was on the ferry from Samui to Surat Thani .

Did you actually collect your bags in Surat Thani or did you only notice stuff was missing once you got to BKK?

Yes this was a day bus, not a night bus, and it definitely happened on the ferry as this was the only point at which my bag was out of my sight the whole day. We were going to Penang , not BKK, so collected our luggage near Suratthani, when we were kicked off the bus to get our next connection.

However, I only noticed anything was wrong that evening when we arrived in Penang and I opened my bag - it wasn't visible from the outside, as they'd even gone to the trouble of relocking my padlock. Nice.

I wish I could remember the name of the bus company SBE, but as we bought a ticket all the way to Penang our voucher didn't have any bus company details on it. I do remember it had a blue and white exterior and the interior was very red and highly decorative. Not sure if that will shed any light on a name for any more regular journey-makers along this route?

Are these buses really illegal Captain Bob? This was a proper bus, not a minibus, with locals as well as foreigners on board, looked like a pretty official operation to me. It seems ridiculous that there's such a scam operating when these are the bus tickets that are sold at hotels and travel agents across Ko Samui.

It's really negatively affected my opinion of Thailand, I have to say, as this has (touch wood) been the only problem we've had in 3 months of travel around South East Asia. Not the land of smiles in my experience, but perhaps we were just unlucky.

Most of the complaints concern thefts on overnight KSR buses ... this one seems to be a bit different as the OP says the theft took place while the bus was on the ferry from Samui to Surat Thani.

as long belongings are out of the owner's sight for a long enough time...

always opportunists waiting to strike esp in places with rich pickings (cash/camera/ipod/netbook/etc-laden foreigners who can't hang around long enough in the country to deal with less than cooperative local police & pursue their cases).

been reports of theft on Surat Thani-Ko Pha Ngan/Ko Samui overnight ferries. & 'bus theft' reports i've seen over the years do include buses that don't start/end at KSR (e.g. from one southern beach destination to another), & also daytime trips (but not as many reports compared to overnight buses). have been reports for BKK-Chiangmai route too. & those who take the time to post warnings about their experiences online might be just the tip of the iceberg - for each of them there are probably more victims out there in the offline world.

I do remember it had a blue and white exterior and the interior was very red and highly decorative.

unfortunately that describes thousands of buses across Thailand...still if by any chance you do have photos of the (exterior of the) bus, might be clues. government buses (& buses of certain reliable, legal private companies) have company logo/name + numbers painted on both sides & the back that identify the route & individual bus.

scorpion idea sounds good but not sure what's the best way to unpack

Why don't you people take the train?