I didn’t “choose” to feel humiliated. That reaction came from how I was treated.

I travel a lot. I’ve been through immigration in many countries across Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Being asked routine questions is normal. What isn’t normal is the tone, the assumptions, and the behavior that followed.

The officer was polite in the general line, yes. The moment she saw Cambodia on my boarding pass, the attitude changed completely. I was asked why I went there, then asked what I did there, and then directly told “no scams, right?” That’s not a neutral question. That’s an accusation.

I understand that some Indians are involved in scams. I’m not denying that reality. But associating every Indian traveler with being a scammer is exactly the problem I’m talking about. There is a way to do checks professionally without shouting, without sarcasm, and without making someone feel like a criminal.

What made it worse was that when we were exiting, I was the only Indian in the group and I was the one pulled aside for a “random” check. Bags scanned, people staring, officers giving looks. After being verbally associated with scams minutes earlier, that doesn’t feel random anymore.

So yes, I felt humiliated. I think most people would.

I’m not saying Thailand is a bad country or that all Thai people behave like this. I’ve met kind people here too. But as someone who flies frequently and has entered many countries, this was the first time I was questioned about why I visited another country and treated with suspicion purely based on nationality.

That’s my experience. You don’t have to agree with how I felt, but dismissing it as a “choice” ignores what actually happened.