Prices compared to 1990?

[Dolphin99]

Not a topic to complain about rising costs.  I am just curious how much things cost in baht the 90's, things like local restauraunts, hostels, fan rooms, etc?

 

[Naam]

5 hours ago, Dolphin99 said:

Not a topic to complain about rising costs.  I am just curious how much things cost in baht the 90's, things like local restauraunts, hostels, fan rooms, etc?

haircut still the same 80 Baht. full meal western style 100 Baht, now 200 Baht, suite 55m² 4-star hotel 1,200 Baht now 4,000 Baht. all prices Pattaya.

 

Bangkok 1977: shave 10 Baht, haircut 50 Baht, "de luxe room" Nana 500 Baht. suite in old Nana building 950 Baht, 6 decent size rock lobster (Nana coffee shop) 60 Baht (now most probably 600 Baht) bar fine 50 Baht, working lady 300-500 Baht. taxi BKK to Pattaya 250 Baht, taxi downtown BKK to Don Muang 200 Baht. no idea of prevailing prices.

[Dolphin99]

40 minutes ago, Naam said:

 

interesting.  people here complain that everything has gotten more expensive but that sounds roughly in line with what you would expect from inflation.  to me it sounds like prices have remained relatively the same in terms of purchasing power in usd/euros

 

I was curious, and Thailand in the 80s still looked significantly more developed than most ASEAN countries today, and I am suspecting Thailand has always been more expensive.

 

maybe the older guys just complain too much?

[ben2talk]

39 minutes ago, Dolphin99 said:

interesting. people here complain that everything has gotten more expensive but that sounds roughly in line with what you would expect from inflation. to me it sounds like prices have remained relatively the same in terms of purchasing power in usd/euros

 

I was curious, and Thailand in the 80s still looked significantly more developed than most ASEAN countries today, and I am suspecting Thailand has always been more expensive.

 

maybe the older guys just complain too much?

ROFL - well I'm an older guy - and I paid less for my iphoneSE than I did (relatively speaking) for a Nokia N70 back in the day - together with an ipad cost the same as the iphone 4s was when that came out, then out came the Kindle to sort out problems travelling around and buying books, internet and computers and LCD TV's make staying home more palatable - so I'm a very happy bunny.

 

Prices have changed, but then so do the habits of people who have brains and are not too rigid to live happily with their environment.

[Dolphin99]

30 minutes ago, ben2talk said:

ROFL - well I'm an older guy - and I paid less for my iphoneSE than I did (relatively speaking) for a Nokia N70 back in the day - together with an ipad cost the same as the iphone 4s was when that came out, then out came the Kindle to sort out problems travelling around and buying books, internet and computers and LCD TV's make staying home more palatable - so I'm a very happy bunny.

 

Prices have changed, but then so do the habits of people who have brains and are not too rigid to live happily with their environment.

Yes, perhaps.  I think drastic inflation has definitely occurred in europe/america.  Crippling inflation that no lifestyle changes can possibly compensate for.

 

In contrast, going by what the above poster has stated (I was not alive then, and cannot seem to find thr information) inflation adjusted costs in Thailand seem to be about the same.  I simply have seen a lot of complaints about this issue and I was just curious if this was the case, or if I should dismiss them as groundless.

[dotpoom]

Oh my God!

[Naam]

11 hours ago, ben2talk said:

ROFL - well I'm an older guy - and I paid less for my iphoneSE than I did (relatively speaking) for a Nokia N70 back in the day

i'm an old fart too, eat prawns, shrimps and rock lobster every week but buy a new phone every ten years.

[Stanthenomad]

It costs two days wages to buy box of 24 Chang or Singha (minimum wage is approx 350 THB /day). This seems pretty expensive to me and beer is not the only pricey commodity when comparing to UK, US and Oz. Coming to Thailand since 1995 and moving to LOS eight years ago there was more spending power in past.

[cucme]

Just an example: butter was less than 20 Baht and is now more than 120 Baht ???? not to talk about drinks and veggies, rocketeering

[Thaidream]

14 hours ago, Dolphin99 said:

nteresting.  people here complain that everything has gotten more expensive but that sounds roughly in line with what you would expect from inflation.  to me it sounds like prices have remained relatively the same in terms of purchasing power in usd/euros

 

I was curious, and Thailand in the 80s still looked significantly more developed than most ASEAN countries today, and I am suspecting Thailand has always been more expensive.

 

maybe the older guys just complain too much?

There has definitely been inflation and of course the currency situation so much of the price fluctuation depends when you were in Thailand and what the exchange rate was.

 

For example- in 1971 when I  first arrived- a small hotel with air and fridge was 100 Baht and a large beer 17 Baht-  The exchange rate to the US Dollar was just over 20 Baht.  There was no Nana Plaza or Cowboy and I don't ever remember paying a bar fiine and the  honorarium for a lady was normally - 'up to you'  Arounf 1996- the US Dollar rate to Thai Baht was around 4o to 1 but the price of the same hotel was about 800 Baht per night and I believe a large beer around 35-40 Baht.  Bar fines then about 300-500 Baht with the honorarium around 500-700 Baht.

 

As of today- the US Dollar exchange is  30.5 to one Dollar and  the same hotel is 1500 Baht per night and  you can't find a large bottle of beer in Bangkok and the small ones go for around 90 Baht.    I don't know what the bar fines are  in most places but every now and then i stop in for a drink  on one of the more expensive Sois and the quote is around 1800 and the honorium around 3000.

 

Prices have risen through the years mostly because of the rise in oil prices which affects transportation and the movement of goods and services.  In addition- prices of alcohol -beer, wine and spirits have risen not only because of inflation but the Government  continually raises the taxes on them. All alcohol products cost more in Thailand than in the US where I am from /

 

I can also remember having my first visit to Pattaya in 1971- only one Western Hotel and  a plate of 10 large prawns could be had for 100 Baht. Thai style loding was arounf 50 Baht and the beer  very cheap.   Obviously Pattaya today is much more expensive- the seafood costly - those same prawns woulld probably cost around 200 Baht per.

 

Rents for appartments and  condo's are very cheap in comparison to Western cities but the price of land in Bangkok has exploded in cost over the years and now is on a par with most Western large cities.  

 

In summary-  prices in Thailand have sone up over the years- Thai wages have increased and  the effect on the Expat depends on the exchage rate and their income stream.  

 

Edited August 23, 2019 by Thaidream

[thedemon]

As a tourist it was definitely much cheaper in the early nineties even factoring in exchange rates and inflation. But for an expat, I think if you include the cost of setting up house, buying furniture, appliances etc. the equation would change. They were seriously expensive. Also expat level housing/condo rents in central Bangkok weren't cheap though the 97-98 crash sorted that out.

 

Want a new landline? That will be a THB30K (USD1200) bribe to TOT.

 

My first mobile phone was one of those Motorola bricks, cost ca THB100K (USD4K then). There was no choice.

 

No one bought electronics etc. in Thailand. It was much cheaper to fly to HK/Sing and smuggle them back in. Cars were relatively much more expensive too.

[khunPer]

Apart from inflation – and local taxes on especially alcohol – also currency exchange rate affects prices, especially when having the money in foreign currency.

 

I missed the 90ies, but at my first Thailand visit in 1987 we got 4 baht for each Danish krone, today we cry over having only about 4.60 baht for the krone, and a few years ago we got more than 6 baht.

 

On a package 1987-tourist trip with most included – i.e. accommodation and domestic flights and transfers – we mainly spend money on private excursions. A hotel limousine with English speaking driver – well, little to some English – would be 600 baht for a day; whilst a minibus would be 800 baht. We might have paid for fuel also, but I believe to remember that it was included.

 

Just after the millennium, some 15 years later, a minibus would be 1,200 baht a day plus fuel, and the exchange rate was 5 baht to the krone; i.e. 25% more local money for our foreign currency, so relative the minibus was 960 baht plus fuel.

 

I don't drink beer, so I have no recall on booze prices, but 100 baht would get you a fine dinner at most places in '87, except when renting a private dinner cruise for five persons on a Chinese junk boat, and the riverfront buffet at Oriental in Bangkok, they ware both slightly more than 100 baht a person, but still affordable...

 

I remember I bought two cheap fancy battery wrist watches at the market for 20 baht each – probably tourist price, but cheaper than the battery inside would cost me at home – same kind of junk-watches today would probably be in the 200 baht range; however the batteries, and thereby the watches, lasted quite long time, two-three years.

 

I came back to LoS next time in 2001, this time on my own expenses, so I got a much better detailed view on various prices, but that's just after the 1990ies...????

[MartiniMan]

Beer was sold everywhere i mean literally any dirt road you could find a chiller full of beers and they were all 15 to 20 baht 

At the exchange rate it was pennies

You could do pretty much anything on 1000 baht no question asked - maybe 2000 for something huge like a group

I Would rent a bus with six of us and driver for 4 days for 1000 baht and he loved it that included fuel

You could tip 20 baht and it meant something

Food for all my friends again six of us would often be settled with that magic 1000 baht (and a little change would come back that i would always leave for them)

Life was good real good I still day dream about it and i know it can come back its just because they tanked the economy and wont print more money but times are changing and it will crash very soon again so just hold on tight and dont buy any property or land until the crash gets well under way then accumulate as much as you can 

 

[smutcakes]

3 hours ago, Stanthenomad said:

It costs two days wages to buy box of 24 Chang or Singha (minimum wage is approx 350 THB /day). This seems pretty expensive to me and beer is not the only pricey commodity when comparing to UK, US and Oz. Coming to Thailand since 1995 and moving to LOS eight years ago there was more spending power in past.

The minimum wage in 1990 was below 100 baht a day. What was the cost of 24 Chang in those days?

[natway09]

The inflation rate has certainly been kinder to me in Thailand than in Australia

[exemplary21]

Prices that matter:

 

Can of Singha beer: was 25 baht in 1990, now 45

 

Bottle of Singha beer: was 40, now 65

[LennyW]

14 minutes ago, exemplary21 said:

Prices that matter:

 

Can of Singha beer: was 25 baht in 1990, now 45

 

Bottle of Singha beer: was 40, now 65

Less than a baht a year increase.....cant be bad!

[Naam]

5 hours ago, Thaidream said:

Arounf 1996- the US Dollar rate to Thai Baht was around 4o to 1

mid 70s till 1985 USD/Baht was 20, from 1985 till 1996 the US-Dollar bought 25 Baht. that lasted till the Asian crisis mid 1997 when the Baht fell to an alltime low of 55.50 in January 1998.

 

[Skeptic7]

Early-mid 1990s Bangkok...about ฿25 : $1USD

EVERYTHING  much cheaper back then. And from 1997 when  it was even better for a decade! 

 

Honey Hotel Air-con room w/fridge 2nd/3rd floor ฿700. The same room when it closed a couple years ago ฿1100.

Dinner in the Honey Coffee Shop: Curry, vegetable side, rice and large Chang ฿140. 2 years ago ฿300

Beer in a go-go or beer bar (or Thermae!) around Nana & Soi Cowboy ฿30-50

Barfine: ฿300-500

ST: ฿300-500

LT: ฿500-1000

 

Remember going out one night with a gal and 2 of her friends in 1992 to a bar Called "Stick" if memory serves, on Soi 22 (Sukhumvit). Got a 750ml bottle of "Black" all the mixers and ice and our own personal "bartender" for the night. Left at closing and all I had was ฿500. Got enough change back to leave the guy a tip...and they gave us what was left of the bottle to take with us! 

 

That's about all I recollect from back then!  

Edited August 23, 2019 by Skeptic7

[Dolphin99]

22 hours ago, Thaidream said:

There has definitely been inflation and of course the currency situation so much of the price fluctuation depends when you were in Thailand and what the exchange rate was.

 

For example- in 1971 when I  first arrived- a small hotel with air and fridge was 100 Baht and a large beer 17 Baht-  The exchange rate to the US Dollar was just over 20 Baht.  There was no Nana Plaza or Cowboy and I don't ever remember paying a bar fiine and the  honorarium for a lady was normally - 'up to you'  Arounf 1996- the US Dollar rate to Thai Baht was around 4o to 1 but the price of the same hotel was about 800 Baht per night and I believe a large beer around 35-40 Baht.  Bar fines then about 300-500 Baht with the honorarium around 500-700 Baht.

 

As of today- the US Dollar exchange is  30.5 to one Dollar and  the same hotel is 1500 Baht per night and  you can't find a large bottle of beer in Bangkok and the small ones go for around 90 Baht.    I don't know what the bar fines are  in most places but every now and then i stop in for a drink  on one of the more expensive Sois and the quote is around 1800 and the honorium around 3000.

 

I can also remember having my first visit to Pattaya in 1971- only one Western Hotel and  a plate of 10 large prawns could be had for 100 Baht. Thai style loding was arounf 50 Baht and the beer  very cheap.   Obviously Pattaya today is much more expensive- the seafood costly - those same prawns woulld probably cost around 200 Baht per.

 

 

Respectfully, it sounds like you dont understand inflation.  100 baht for a fan room at 20 baht to the dollar is 5 dollars. 5 1971 dollar is roughly equivalent to 30 2019 dollars.

 

30 dollars for a fan room is more than I think what you would normally pay.

 

Feel free to correct me, but it doesn't seem like you have actuallt accounted for inflation.  It will have only gotten more expensive for you if you are living on fixed income, but that is the fault of the fixed income, not prices rising faster than inflation.

 

I suspect prices for land specifically in Bangkok has outstripped inflation, but so far the other posters are also not demonstrating an understanding of inlfation.  In western countries given prevailing rates, you should expect inflation to double prices roughly every 20 years.

[Dolphin99]

22 hours ago, thedemon said:

As a tourist it was definitely much cheaper in the early nineties even factoring in exchange rates and inflation. But for an expat, I think if you include the cost of setting up house, buying furniture, appliances etc. the equation would change. They were seriously expensive. Also expat level housing/condo rents in central Bangkok weren't cheap though the 97-98 crash sorted that out.

 

Want a new landline? That will be a THB30K (USD1200) bribe to TOT.

 

My first mobile phone was one of those Motorola bricks, cost ca THB100K (USD4K then). There was no choice.

 

No one bought electronics etc. in Thailand. It was much cheaper to fly to HK/Sing and smuggle them back in. Cars were relatively much more expensive too.

I'd be willing to believe it, but the prices people are providing dont seem to indicate this.

 

I think your money probably went further in terms of isolation, clean beaches, etc.  But in terms of pure costs for a room or a beer the prices people are providing indicate it has stayed the same.

19 hours ago, natway09 said:

The inflation rate has certainly been kinder to me in Thailand than in Australia

This has certainly been my experience. I was initially surprised to even find people complaining about rising prices.  My assumption is that they are simply bad at compounding inflation via math and are simply shocked that things ever go up at all.  But I thought I'd ask around for the prices to see for sure.

[khunPer]

14 hours ago, Dolphin99 said:

Respectfully, it sounds like you dont understand inflation.  100 baht for a fan room at 20 baht to the dollar is 5 dollars. 5 1971 dollar is roughly equivalent to 30 2019 dollars.

 

30 dollars for a fan room is more than I think what you would normally pay.

 

Feel free to correct me, but it doesn't seem like you have actuallt accounted for inflation.  It will have only gotten more expensive for you if you are living on fixed income, but that is the fault of the fixed income, not prices rising faster than inflation.

 

I suspect prices for land specifically in Bangkok has outstripped inflation, but so far the other posters are also not demonstrating an understanding of inlfation.  In western countries given prevailing rates, you should expect inflation to double prices roughly every 20 years.

A 20-year rule is unfortunately not working that well anymore, the last 20 years it has been 40-50 percent up, and during the past decade only 10+15 percent up – whilst in the 70ies it was merely doubled in 10-year – you need to compare with a price index, for example consumer price index.

 

But you are right, looked from a dollar economy side of view, that $5 in 1971 equals some $35 now (in consumer price equivalent), and $35 converts to about 1,000 baht today in currency exchange. However 100 baht equals around 700 baht if same consumer price equivalent is used.

 

So the same things are relative becoming more expensive for a dollar-alien, than for a native; i.e. 1000 baht vs. 700 baht, and the difference might be even greater for some Europeans.

 

Now comes the room location into the picture, because you can find fan room for both 299 bah,t and 700-800 baht, where I stay in Thailand. If it was a circa 700 baht today location in 1971, then it fits quite well.

 

But didn't user @Thaidream talk about "small hotel with air and fridge"?

Again depending of location, you can find air & fridge rooms for 700-800 baht today, and you can also easily pay a lot more, also more than equivalent to $30-$35, i.e. in the 1,000 baht range. Where I live 1,500 baht and up is merely the going rate.

 

The official Thai consumer price index is here, but maximum period runs from 1976, with index number around 30, and today index is about 103.

????

[Cryingdick]

On 8/22/2019 at 8:21 AM, Dolphin99 said:

interesting.  people here complain that everything has gotten more expensive but that sounds roughly in line with what you would expect from inflation.  to me it sounds like prices have remained relatively the same in terms of purchasing power in usd/euros

 

I was curious, and Thailand in the 80s still looked significantly more developed than most ASEAN countries today, and I am suspecting Thailand has always been more expensive.

 

maybe the older guys just complain too much?

 

The problem is Thailand used to be so cheap they spent all their money. Now they live on a pension that hasn't changed since they came here. 

[Dolphin99]

7 hours ago, khunPer said:

A 20-year rule is unfortunately not working that well anymore, the last 20 years it has been 40-50 percent up, and during the past decade only 10+15 percent up – whilst in the 70ies it was merely doubled in 10-year – you need to compare with a price index, for example consumer price index.

 

But you are right, looked from a dollar economy side of view, that $5 in 1971 equals some $35 now (in consumer price equivalent), and $35 converts to about 1,000 baht today in currency exchange. However 100 baht equals around 700 baht if same consumer price equivalent is used.

 

So the same things are relative becoming more expensive for a dollar-alien, than for a native; i.e. 1000 baht vs. 700 baht, and the difference might be even greater for some Europeans.

 

Now comes the room location into the picture, because you can find fan room for both 299 bah,t and 700-800 baht, where I stay in Thailand. If it was a circa 700 baht today location in 1971, then it fits quite well.

 

But didn't user @Thaidream talk about "small hotel with air and fridge"?

Again depending of location, you can find air & fridge rooms for 700-800 baht today, and you can also easily pay a lot more, also more than equivalent to $30-$35, i.e. in the 1,000 baht range. Where I live 1,500 baht and up is merely the going rate.

 

The official Thai consumer price index is here, but maximum period runs from 1976, with index number around 30, and today index is about 103.

????

Yes, doing an actual CPI calculation, it looks like most spending power comes out slightly ahead in Thailand except for individual cases of economies weakening like the euro.  but properly atated thatvis europe becoming weak, not Thailand becoming expensive.  You are right that location is everything though, and I have no doubt Pattaya or Patong are more expensive these days.  CPI does a poor job of capturing that.  Thank god most people don't like in Pattaya.

15 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

The problem is Thailand used to be so cheap they spent all their money. Now they live on a pension that hasn't changed since they came here. 

Sounds like a common problem.  Many of their pensions are higher than the full time wage of their children back home.  It is hard to feel sorry for someone in that position.