A man shares his harrowing experience of almost falling victim to human traffickers while touring Bangkok, Thailand, together with his friends.

The man recently shared on Facebook, claiming that he and his friends had a close call with danger while using a ride-hailing service in Bangkok on their way to the airport.

Getting A "Ride"

"We were a group of five people (2 men and 3 women), and the driver arrived at around 7 PM after we ordered a ride using a local ride-hailing service."

"One of our friends was more cautious and noticed something strange about the driver. The car windows were completely tinted, and as soon as we got in, the driver started making secretive phone calls and asked us where we were from."

The man explained that he understood the Thai language, and his friend asked him to eavesdrop on the driver's call. 

"Strangely, the driver and the person on the phone discussed details about all of us and where we were from, and they mentioned that I understood Thai, completely reporting our every move to the other party."

"When I heard the word 'Philippines' and the driver expressed his excitement, my hands trembled, and I couldn't put my feelings into words."

Run, Run, Run

The man pointed out that when they sensed something was amiss, they did everything they could to escape from the car.

"We checked the map and saw that the journey to the airport should take 30 minutes, but the driver's GPS showed a 50-minute route."

"So, we requested to get off the car to use the restroom. At that moment, we happened to pass by a mall, and the traffic was congested, so we asked to get off there."

The man revealed that when the driver noticed their attempt to escape, he tried to stop them. They boldly opened the car door in the middle of the road and took their luggage.

"When the driver realized we wanted to escape, he tried to stop us and said we couldn't park there. Then he said he had to go to a gas station."

"The driver also reported to the other party that we were trying to escape, but we didn't think much about it. We quickly opened the car door and took our luggage."

"The driver had a pickup truck, so we didn't have to wait for him to unlock it to get our luggage. Surprisingly, he didn't ask for any money or inquire about what had happened."

The Aftermath 

The man said that they were fortunate to escape when they encountered traffic congestion; otherwise, the consequences could have been dire.

"We saw in the driver's profile that he had served over 600 orders, and not everyone is as lucky as us to escape."

The man urged the public to open their maps and observe the driver when travelling and, if possible, choose to take a local taxi for safety.

He reiterated that his intention in sharing the story was not to create panic or make people anxious about travelling to Thailand but to remind everyone to be cautious.