Thai driver returns bag with $4,200 to Finnish tourist

By Hoang Phong February 9, 2023 | 01:17 am PT

A taxi driver (L) returns a bag to a Finnish female tourist in Thailand's Pattaya, February 8, 2023. Photo courtesy of We Love Pattaya Facebook page

A driver in Thailand's famous tourist hub of Pattaya on Wednesday returned a bag with 4,000 euros ($4,200) inside to a Finnish female tourist who left it behind after getting out of his car.

The driver, only identified as Lek, found the bag in the back of his car, and tried to return it to the woman by going to the hotel where he had picked her up, The Phuket News reported.

The incident went viral on Thai social media after it was shared on the Rao Rak Pattaya (We Love Pattaya) Facebook page, which has over 700,000 followers. Many Facebook users praised the car driver for his honesty and kindness that helped to boost Thai's tourism image.

On Tuesday, police in Phuket also returned diamond earrings worth 70,000 baht ($2,089) to a Russian woman who left them at a guesthouse in Koh Samui Island last month and only found out after checking out.

Several days ago, police in Thailand returned a Richard Mille watch worth 6 million baht to a Vietnamese tourist who had left it in a taxi in Bangkok.

Thailand welcomed 11 million foreign visitors last year thanks to its open visa policy, making its tourism industry among the fastest in the region to recover following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Thai government is targeting 30 million arrivals this year.