Cheap Charlie Tales

[a3tsw]

I am at present sitting in swampy waiting on my flight to Phuket and have been down at the basement level opposite where the 7-11 and entrance/exit to the airport train link is. I have just had a somtam at the little eatery there and as I was eating a Chinese (I guess) lady in her ~50s sat down next to me and started scoffing on the plates of food that had been left there , at first I thought that perhaps she had just returned from the toilet and was finishing off her food , but then she got up and went to a different table , again with leftover food on the table and began munching down on that also , she then jumped back to where I was sitting and started eying up my food , I left a little bit on my plate and got up to leave ,  before I had a chance to slide my stool away , she grabbed my plate and tucked in to what I had left..... gives a whole new definition to zero Baht tourism ????????????. It brought to mind a story a bargirl told me many years ago of a farang frequent visitor who would buy a beef burger the night before he left to eat at the airport in Phuket the following morning.

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, a3tsw said:

of a farang frequent visitor who would buy a beef burger the night before he left to eat at the airport in Phuket the following morning.

Why pay airport prices?

[samsensam]

 

anyone resorting to the behaviour you describe is probably, due to mental health or other issue/s, in need of compassion and help, not mockery.

[Dumbastheycome]

7 minutes ago, samsensam said:

 

anyone resorting to the behaviour you describe is probably, due to mental health or other issue/s, in need of compassion and help, not mockery.

Maybe she would agree with the post above  yours?

Or, you could  also be riht.

[b17]

An old, old friend of mine told me about a cheap Charlie who lived in his village. Apparently, this guy would fill glass jars with tap water and leave them out in the sun. Then, he would use the warm water for the household showers. When he went to parties, he liked to carry a half drunk bottle of Pepsi - after hurried hellos, he would dive straight for the fridge, and exchange the Pepsi for two or four beers. 

[a3tsw]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Why pay airport prices?

Yes, I agree that the prices at the airport are extortionate, but a cold burger from the night before , I mean , back then the airlines served a hot meal not long after take of , this was about 15years ago ,before the low-cost carriers became popular.

1 hour ago, samsensam said:

 

anyone resorting to the behaviour you describe is probably, due to mental health or other issue/s, in need of compassion and help, not mockery.

I was compassionate, I left her some of my Somtam , didn’t I? ????

[a3tsw]

40 minutes ago, b17 said:

An old, old friend of mine told me about a cheap Charlie who lived in his village. Apparently, this guy would fill glass jars with tap water and leave them out in the sun. Then, he would use the warm water for the household showers. When he went to parties, he liked to carry a half drunk bottle of Pepsi - after hurried hellos, he would dive straight for the fridge, and exchange the Pepsi for two or four beers. 

That reminds me of what were referred to as balloon chasers . People who would go from bar to bar where there were balloons hung at the entrance , usually a celebration of a staff members birthday and there would be a spread of food put out , these guys would buy a bottle of water and have a good feed for free , sometimes drink as well , if there were customers ringing the ???? 

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, a3tsw said:

That reminds me of what were referred to as balloon chasers . People who would go from bar to bar where there were balloons hung at the entrance , usually a celebration of a staff members birthday and there would be a spread of food put out , these guys would buy a bottle of water and have a good feed for free , sometimes drink as well , if there were customers ringing the ???? 

Why not, the bars usually charge the same for a bottle of water as they do for a bottle of beer.

[DingDongLing]

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Why not, the bars usually charge the same for a bottle of water as they do for a bottle of beer.

really?  Shocked at these ballon chasers.

 

How did people treat them

[Spaniel]

Wife and myself get the salad bar at Sizzler several times a month in Pattaya.    More then once I have noticed a cheap charlie sneaking in a bottle of water rather then have to buy one for B30.

[Bkkjimbo]

Whenever we got to pizza company restaurant they always try to change our order after we have paid for it to take away or whilst we have been waiting for the meals to eat in.

 

It's never an instant advice with a choice it's just their choice of what to offer us instead and I always kick up a fuss and get more as the way they do this is just not on.

 

So we tried pizza hut for the first time in Thailand last weekend.

 

For 549 baht we got

 

2 medium pizzas from the red titled menu 

2 shrimp donuts

2 spicy wings

2 little chicken legs 

5 pcs of garlic bread

6 cheese filled breaded balls

1 metal tin of spaghetti carbonara

1 cup with refill privelages.

 

Surprisingly good value and the pizza was no worse than the other brand we visited many times.

 

The meal was for 4-6 person's there are 2.5 of us.

 

We took half home.

 

Decent deal.

 

We shared the refill as did 2 other families one had 1 cup and 4 straws. Smart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Toknarok]

     I knew a bloke that on Saturday mornings he would go round to various churches in the city looking for wedding notifications in the entrance. He noted the dale and time of the wedding(s) to be held that day. He would then go home, dress in his Sunday best and mingle with the waiting crowd at the church.

     He would casually ask where the reception was being held, and after the ceremony would proceed to the venue once again mingling with the crowd as they entered. There never once was any sort of check to see invitations. He would sit down and enjoy free food and drink for the rest of the afternoon.

    Only once when he got to the reception venue he was horrified to see that all the tables had names allocated to the seats and he was forced to beat a hasty retreat!

[Dexlowe]

A couple of years back I started to notice this English guy who hung around the fruit section of Big C Extra. He didn't appear to be shopping, and he was acting kind of furtively. After a few quick glances he would grab a bit of fruit and stuff it in his mouth, then casually walk away. With oranges (his apparent favourite) he would quickly rip them apart, stuff half in his mouth and leave the peels among the fruit tray. For months I used to walk past the orange trays to check for discarded peels to see if he had visited, and sure enough there would be. Used to crack me up. It was out-and-out stealing, but I found it quite amusing. He was also a regular at Friendship, sitting outside shirtless among other regulars and with a bottle of water. I wonder what happened to him?

[a3tsw]

2 hours ago, Dexlowe said:

A couple of years back I started to notice this English guy who hung around the fruit section of Big C Extra. He didn't appear to be shopping, and he was acting kind of furtively. After a few quick glances he would grab a bit of fruit and stuff it in his mouth, then casually walk away. With oranges (his apparent favourite) he would quickly rip them apart, stuff half in his mouth and leave the peels among the fruit tray. For months I used to walk past the orange trays to check for discarded peels to see if he had visited, and sure enough there would be. Used to crack me up. It was out-and-out stealing, but I found it quite amusing. He was also a regular at Friendship, sitting outside shirtless among other regulars and with a bottle of water. I wonder what happened to him?

I remember seeing a farang guy doing this also and so brazen about it , was this in Phuket , bacause sounds about the same period , approx. 2 or 3 Years ago , he was also helping himself to the lychees.

[JTXR]

Put on a suit and tie and it's not all that difficult to crash wedding parties at nice hotels around Sukhumvit....

[Lacessit]

I leave the Cheap Charlie stuff to my Thai GF. Most ruthless haggler around.

[Dexlowe]

7 hours ago, a3tsw said:

I remember seeing a farang guy doing this also and so brazen about it , was this in Phuket , bacause sounds about the same period , approx. 2 or 3 Years ago , he was also helping himself to the lychees.

Pattaya. Big C Extra on Pattaya Klang. 

 

Given the sorry state of exchange rates, it wouldn't surprise me if this wasn't happening more often.

[madmen]

Thats amatuer stuff . You want the real deal? google dumpster diving the latest trend in the west.

 

 

[Happy Grumpy]

I don't use toothpaste or deodourant.

 

Fashioned sandals out of old socks and water bottles. 

[DingDongLing]

1 hour ago, madmen said:

Thats amatuer stuff . You want the real deal? google dumpster diving the latest trend in the west.

 

 

back story?  why

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎5‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 12:47 AM, b17 said:

An old, old friend of mine told me about a cheap Charlie who lived in his village. Apparently, this guy would fill glass jars with tap water and leave them out in the sun. Then, he would use the warm water for the household showers. When he went to parties, he liked to carry a half drunk bottle of Pepsi - after hurried hellos, he would dive straight for the fridge, and exchange the Pepsi for two or four beers. 

What's wrong with heating water that way? Not every place has water heaters. I did that on the islands when staying in a hut with no hot water.

I have loads of cheap Charlie tales from home. In one, a guy borrowed my big torch with 10 batteries in it. brought it back with flat batteries! Didn't offer to replace them. Same guy came to a pot luck dinner with a 6 pack of beer, ate everyone else's food and drank all his beer himself.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

14 hours ago, madmen said:

Thats amatuer stuff . You want the real deal? google dumpster diving the latest trend in the west.

 

 

Recycling is good. We live in the most wasteful society in the history of mankind. Shame on us.

[from the home of CC]

On 5/21/2019 at 12:27 PM, Dexlowe said:

A couple of years back I started to notice this English guy who hung around the fruit section of Big C Extra. He didn't appear to be shopping, and he was acting kind of furtively. After a few quick glances he would grab a bit of fruit and stuff it in his mouth, then casually walk away. With oranges (his apparent favourite) he would quickly rip them apart, stuff half in his mouth and leave the peels among the fruit tray. For months I used to walk past the orange trays to check for discarded peels to see if he had visited, and sure enough there would be. Used to crack me up. It was out-and-out stealing, but I found it quite amusing. He was also a regular at Friendship, sitting outside shirtless among other regulars and with a bottle of water. I wonder what happened to him?

on retirement visa through an agent...

[from the home of CC]

14 hours ago, madmen said:

Thats amatuer stuff . You want the real deal? google dumpster diving the latest trend in the west.

 

 

first time I heard of this is when I read 'Steal this book' by Abbie Hoffman in the late sixties..

[watcharacters]

 

"he would grab a bit of fruit and stuff it in his mouth, then casually walk away. With oranges (his apparent favourite) he would quickly rip them apart, stuff half in his mouth and leave the peels.

 

The scientific definition for the above is described below as  "grazers"

 

Very entertaining flick with Frank Whaley and the enchanting Jennifer Connolly.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2019 by watcharacters