The Russian woman, Elena Zholobetskaia, 42, was staying at the Khao Oat Airport guesthouse at Nai Yang Beach late last month. However, she left her earrings in the room when she checked out.
Ms Zholobetskaia realised her earrings were missing while she was traveling on Koh Samui. She reported her missing earrings to Koh Samui Tourist Police on Jan 21.
The police contacted Phuket Tourist Police for further investigation.
Phuket Tourist Police visited the Khao Oat hotel and found that the earrings were still being kept at the front office, where they had been since Elena checked out.
Housekeeping staff Wanwisa Maisaprao, 42, had found them and immediately handed them in to the front office of the hotel.
The hotel had tried to reach Ms Zholobetskaia, but had been unable to track her down.
Ms Zholobetskaia returned to the guesthouse yesterday (Feb 7), where she was reunited with her earrings.
Ms Zholobetskaia said that she was very happy and it was the right choice to choose Thailand as her destination.
She also thanked the housekeeping staff and both the Phuket and Samui Tourist Police.
Housekeeper Ms Wanwisa repeatedly declined any reward for handing in the earrings, saying the country’s reputation and hospitality to welcome travelers was much more important, especially nowadays while Phuket is receiving much negative news in the media.
However, Ms Zholobetskaia insisted that Ms Wanwisa receive something for her honesty, and gave her B100.
Ms Zholobetskaia will be returning home today (Feb 8).
Kurt | 09 February 2023 - 09:11:58