Nothing to complain or nag about really, I am enjoying life as usual and my income / exchange value is the same as it been for years.

 

But then with all the quiet streets, sois, places, I was wandering around today after getting my Thai son his passport (which was amazingly easy, it took less than 20 mins at the city hall for everything).

I basically had to pick up my motorbike from 2 days ago as I left home by Grab taxi drunk. So I did and went to one of small old school bars in Chiang Mai.

 

These bars are cheap compared to most other places, I do not have a budget really and just ordered my casual Jameson with 2 ice. To then sit down and look at a new printed menu on the wall with all prices.

I realised the cost of a beer was 65-100B each (small and big). I continued drinking mine and then realised, jeesh, in Cambodia one could have 2-4 more beers for the same money.

 

After having finished there I went from bar to bar in populair areas, Loy kroh, Santitham and Nimman, all quiet and suffering basically (unless counting the few ones who do well). 
Nothing much to offer me either, I then checked prices more to only find insane higher quotes than the cheapest first bar. As well girls being fat and lazy, even unattractive, but desperate for a customer.

 

Anyway, I am not even sure what the point is I am trying to make but business is down desperate and the prices are actually very very high.
It is just not worth the Euro, AUD or GBP money at least, unless you do not have to care. 

Not to even mention the pollution on top, less available nice girls as of no repeating business (so more old fat girls and less rotating young ones), less fun in general, more boredom. 

The entire town basically looked like <deleted> unless you do not count the places that rely and run well on students with some money left and right.

 

What kept in my mind until writing this is mostly the fact that Cambodia or Vietnam could get me drunk for 4 dollars or less, while I only had 1-2 drinks for that here. 

It is not expensive with a big pension, neither is it too expensive as a rich holiday person, but it is over priced big time. In my opinion; not worth it for holidays at all. Not even close to be worth it really.

 

Basically it surprised and shocks me that not even one bar plays into this by lowering their prices, neither do you see girls adjusting their mentality and prices let alone see more girls working for money.

Even if forgetting about the entire girl scene, it are just insane prices to be paid if converted back to home currencies. Both for drinks and food. 

Made me realise too how unattractive Thailand is for a holiday destination, unless one really does not care about their spendings at all, or this is the last country on the list of ''to visit countries in SE Asia''.

My prediction is that tourism will suffer much much more than is known so far. Certainly if the THB stays this strong. It is burning money compared to many other options around the gobe, really.

 

Saeme time it is all kind of a joke, you feel sorry for people who do not care nor ever change their lifes, while I get the chance to come home in a beautiful home with healthy food and no money worries.

Perhaps I should be more ice cold and careless, or even enjoy stupid people like that to suffer, as they kind of do it to themselves in many cases. I do at least know I tried to help enough of them (obviously without a postiive result). Blessed I am at least, that is all. Guess it is the foolish teenager dream I once had to think I could educate and help people to progress in life here.

They do not want to progress, they just want confirmations of how sad they are from friends, who mess up in the same way as they do.
Guess that last things is what even people in the West do a lot, hide with the majority and blame the government for anything else, to not change your life but feel justified.

 

Last but not least, I feel ashamed each time when I buy any farang food costing 160B while it is actually only worth 50B. But it is so easy to consider as a normal price, when paying it long enough. We are all just being ripped off, wether we accept it or not. Feeling sorry for the early retiree fools who set-up a business with that pricing model, to only fail miserable right after, too.

Seems nowadays paying 100% additional profit for both drinks and food, to accommodate some farang wanting to live here on the benefits, became normal, while it is absolutely not normal.

36 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

What kept in my mind until writing this is mostly the fact that Cambodia or Vietnam could get me drunk for 4 dollars or less,

Two dollars enough...

5 minutes ago, Yinn said:

Two dollars enough...

You are totally right about that. There is also ( i did not know until recently) another can of Smirnoff or similar at 0.5L and 70B cost at 7/11. 
But I hope you know my real point here: drinking outside, to also socialise etc. This is just very very expensive in TH. 

Even tax plays a big part in this, it is still bars after all demanding very big margins at lower demanding drinker times.

If it comes to drinking at home with the few friends I still have due to visa issues, a nice moo kra ta bbq, is the best fun after all (my favorite).
You would never hear me about complaining over the cost of that, even it is still quite a lot in TH for alchohol.

Thank you for a dose of realism...

 

Expect backlash from the usual Thai apologist crowd!

From the OP ...

"Perhaps I should be more ice cold and careless, or even enjoy stupid people like that to suffer, as they kind of do it to themselves in many cases."

I stopped reading right there.

I think you'd be happier in Cambodia .... your not suited to this place

2 hours ago, steven100 said:

I think you'd be happier in Cambodia .... your not suited to this place

Well said.

That sums up the thread and is good advice for the OP and the cohort of pitiful misfits who dominate ThaiVisa CM Forum.

 

6 hours ago, canthai55 said:

From the OP ...

"Perhaps I should be more ice cold and careless, or even enjoy stupid people like that to suffer, as they kind of do it to themselves in many cases."

I stopped reading right there.

 

   I didn't get nearly as far as you did, but I DID get far enough to consider changing my username to "Casual Jameson".

Isn’t it typical Thai style to reverse whole “supply and demand principle”? Oh, business down must increase prices to make same moneeeee.

as far as Loy Kroh goes I stopped going there years ago, because basically it is pish.

On 2/18/2020 at 11:41 PM, ChaiyaTH said:

I realised the cost of a beer was 65-100B each (small and big). I continued drinking mine and then realised, jeesh, in Cambodia one could have 2-4 more beers for the same money.

 

I expect somewhere in the world you could get more alcohol for even less.  Perhaps in a slum in Brazil? 
 

seems obvious what your priorities are............

On 2/18/2020 at 11:41 PM, ChaiyaTH said:

as I left home by Grab taxi drunk.

Cambodia or Vietnam could get me drunk for 4 dollars or less

pitiful

On 2/19/2020 at 12:43 AM, Puchaiyank said:

Thank you for a dose of realism..

for the realists here, the facts of life go well beyond the cost of a bottle of beer... there are surely going to be places in the world that are more and less expensive... but then I did not move here many years ago due to pricing of anything... nor will I leave because of it...

 

sounds more like realism than apology...

We are very sorry, but, your audition for the part of "oracle" did not qualify you for the role.

 

However, we will definitely keep you in mind for a future production that calls for an alcoholic expat chauvinist sexist low-rent pub-crawler.

 

~o:37;

Don't know how many beers you drink but $4 wont get you any where near drunk in Vietnam!

Drunk for 4$ ?? Then you must have spend about 16$ before you wrote this B.S . Getting drunk at home taking a grab to go, out and then complain about girls and prices . While in your same post you say you dont have any money problems or did you say you don't have money problems just before that ??????? Sorry i think if you can get drunk for 4$ you defenatly spend about 16$ dollars before posting . 

What an incredible and adventurous life you lead!

On 2/18/2020 at 11:41 PM, ChaiyaTH said:

Anyway, I am not even sure what the point is I am trying to make but business is down desperate and the prices are actually very very high.

I totally agree with you, I live in Chiang Mai but now save all my 'party time' and eating out for Cambodia and Vietnam.

Was in Saigon in January, have booked Phnom Penh for April.

Vietnam is actually cheaper because of the direct flights (3kbht return) from CNX and the VISA waiver.

45 minutes ago, Nanaplaza666 said:

Drunk for 4$ ?? 

Siem Reap last April ............

Siem Reap is like Chiang Mai used to be 10 years back.

A sort of laid back rural town with plenty of temples and bars.

On 2/19/2020 at 12:19 AM, Yinn said:

Two dollars enough...

Yes, Lao khao is fine, if you have no respect for your liver or kidneys. Go to any Isaan village and see the majority drinking this firewater morning, noon and night, a lot of the time at funerals as it kills an unbelieviable number of people. I bet you don't drink this gut rot Yinn...

Strange --- other than some "fat girls" on

loi kroh, you don't mention any human beings....

Drinking is for loser. I do drugs and they are also cheaper in Cambodia.

 

* That’s a joke for those of you too ignorant to figure it out.

John Mayall, vocals/harmonica Eric Clapton, wah wah guitar; Harvey "the Snake" Mandel, phased guitar; Mick Taylor, unprocessed guitar; Don "Sugarcane" Harris, electric violin; Larry "the Mole" Taylor, electric bass.

3 hours ago, zyphodb said:

Yes, Lao khao is fine, if you have no respect for your liver or kidneys. Go to any Isaan village and see the majority drinking this firewater morning, noon and night, a lot of the time at funerals as it kills an unbelieviable number of people. I bet you don't drink this gut rot Yinn...

I not drink alcohol. 

No alcohol is healthy. It give you cancer. Make you stupid.

7 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

pitiful

And often quite typical 

7 hours ago, Darkside Gray said:

Don't know how many beers you drink but $4 wont get you any where near drunk in Vietnam!

In hcmc, Danang etc it would get u 4 -8 beers. In Hanoi on beer street it would get you 12 beer. I am here at the moment.

so yes, the OP is on track.

Great lengthy post. lots of boasting about your personal finances and feeling sorry for the Thais and Thailand.

Sorry you feel Thailand is not up to your standards of business, cleanliness, beer prices, or girls.  But the fact is Thailand for the last 19 years has had steady tourism growth and income from tourism.   Up over 10% of GDP is from tourism.  Your Thai bashing is unoriginal and unnecessary. 

Thailand will still be here after you are gone to get your cheap beer in Cambodia and Vietnam.

 

On 2/18/2020 at 11:41 PM, ChaiyaTH said:

was wandering around today after getting my Thai son his passport 

I basically had to pick up my motorbike from 2 days ago as I left home by Grab taxi drunk.

A couple of observations

Why do you call your son "my Thai son"? Why not just son? 

You like to get drunk, which is a bit odd if you have a family.

 

On 2/18/2020 at 11:41 PM, ChaiyaTH said:

the fact that Cambodia or Vietnam could get me drunk for 4 dollars or less, while I only had 1-2 drinks for that here

2nd comment on getting drunk

On 2/18/2020 at 11:41 PM, ChaiyaTH said:

I get the chance to come home in a beautiful home with healthy food and no money worries.

2nd comment boasting about your wealth.

On 2/18/2020 at 11:41 PM, ChaiyaTH said:

Last but not least, I feel ashamed each time when I buy any farang food costing 160B while it is actually only worth 50B.

This statement makes no sense at all. What type of farang food is only worth 50 baht in your mind?

In the USA you cannot get a hamburger for 50 baht, so why would the same hamburger in Thailand only be worth 50 baht? Imported foods cost more. But imported foods cost more in any country.   

 

Live long and Prosper.

Peace

If you want better looking bargirls, I suggest you wait until after dark.

What sad lives some people have when what is most important to them is the cost of beer and how cheaply they can get drunk.  If your goal is getting drunk for less, I feel very sorry for you, and I feel even sorrier for your families, especially your children.

5 hours ago, Iron Tongue said:

If you want better looking bargirls, I suggest you wait until after dark.

I've always found waiting until I've had four beers works.