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RE: Tips to handing the police with a motorbike in Thailand
I lived in Chiang Mai and remember the police shakedown checkpoints very well. I was privy to seeing them being not at all secretive about the fact that they were pulling over all tourists and then fleecing them for a bit of money. I always wondered how it was that they could tell the Chinese tourists from the native locals but then I later found out that all motorbike rental shops are obligated to display a large sticker on the front of the bike indicating it is a rental.... and there you have it. The police stand and look into the distance and simply flag down anyone on a rental bike and this equals easy money.
But I agree with most of what you wrote. Getting fussy and filming them is going to make your day a lot worse... they might just take your keys and not give them back. what are you going to do? Call the police?
that makes sense with the rental stickers on bikes. Now that you mention it even though I am clearly not Thai, I have been waved through checkpoints in the moat area if I had long sleeves on and a helmet because I own my bike. So maybe it is not the skin so much as an easily identified sticker on the front. This isn't better though, that just kind of means that the police are intentionally targeting tourists and the motorbike shops are forced to assist them in doing this.
of course they are intentionally targeting tourists. I think they always have. It's a nasty trick and doesn't do much for the impression of the country.