My grandson is staying for the holiday season, so I took him to the Mall to buy some things and play in the game's arcade.
The games were always operated with little token coins. You go to the machine, put in 100 baht and you get 10 or 11 coin tokens.
Now this simple system has been replaced with electronics.
Okay, go to the machine with its digital screen. No English option. No problem, I read and speak enough Thai to go through a registration process.
Wait. A registration process?
Yes. Now you need to register your personal information and get an electronic card to play on the game machines.
Okay. Pay with credit card, no thank you. Pay with cash. It needs 20 baht deposit. Fine.
Next screen. Type my name and phone number on the digital keyboard. Okay.
Put in my 20 baht note. It spits it back out immediately, landing at my feet. It literally threw the money on the ground in front of my feet.
Okay, put it in again, no. Turn it over, no.
Try another two 20 baht notes, exact same.
Press cancel. Tell the machine to go <deleted> itself. And tell the grandson we'll play on his Nintendo Switch when we get home.
What was wrong with the simple coin tokens?