Dual Pricing Reconfirmed In Thailand National Parks

[Irate priest]

5 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

How much would it cost you for a haircut back in your country ? Last time I got a haircut back home it was 650 baht, that was 6 years ago.

 

I pay 100 baht here and sometimes tip them if I am happy with the cut, still miles ahead and that's not just for a haircut, so best to adjust to where your at, or go back to where you came from, no doubt you will complain more there when you realise how good you hag it here regarding the cost of living.

 

 

 

 

Sounds like you don't mind been ripped off where ever you are if you where paying 650 baht hot a haircut 6 years ago back home. It's no where near that now at a gents barbers however maybe you prefer a well coiferred Barnet.

[KanchanaburiGuy]

39 minutes ago, rainham said:

I think its a great idea, most Thai people have a lower income than many Tourists and it's their country, it should be free for Thais the same as it should be free for every National of their respective country. Its not ok in my opinion  for citizens of a country to pay to see whats their birth right take the UK as an example everyone has to pay the same money to visit outstanding areas of natural beauty  so a thai comes over for a holiday and he has to pay several days wages to visit a National Trust place for example then get mugged off for parking and food and a guide book they can't afford it we have to fork out a couple of quid in Thailand which is nothing to most tourists  and we cop the hump cos the thais pay little or nothing we should be copping the hump cos we are getting ripped off to see things in our own countries.Rant concluded 

Hmmm. 

 

National Parks exist in countries that have private land ownership primarily to 1) allow the general public access to some special places, rather than have a private buyer buy it up and lock it away; and 2) to prevent private land owners from irreparably and irrevocably harming a special place, because it's "their own land." 

 

Once the government takes control of the land and declares it a "National Park," there is usually a lot of maintenance that needs to be done behind the scenes: undergrowth and overgrowth to be dealt with; predator and prey populations to be monitored and/or controlled; roads and trails to maintain; trash and litter to be corralled; unsafe conditions to be recrified; and on and on.

 

These things need to be done on a regular basis whether or not people come to the park. Much of it gets done away from where the public generally goes, and much of it that gets done in more public areas, gets done intentionally invisibly, so as to not detract from visitors' interaction with "nature." 

 

(A lot of work that gets done in National Parks.......... is intentionally done in ways that LOOK LIKE nothing has been done! "Nature" isn't manicured, so they sometimes go to great effort to avoid getting a "manicured look!") 

 

So, even if no one visits a National Park, there's still a lot of time, effort, and money that goes into maintaining one. (Well, most of the time anyway!) 

 

But here's the thing.......... 

 

The more people who go to a park, the more costly and difficult it is to maintain. It's tough work to keep a place looking "natural".......... when thousands or even millions of people are tramping through it! 

 

That's what "Entry Fees" are all about. 

 

Your taxes pay for the ORDINARY  upkeep. ONLY the ordinary upkeep. And the people who use it...........the people significantly  driving up the costs involved in maintaining it......... pay a small additional amount to help offset the additional costs created by their presence. 

 

In a way, it's like owning a car:

 

It's much cheaper to own a car that you don't drive......... than it is to own a car that you do drive. Just owning a car is going to cost you something............. But every time you drive it, it's going to cost you even more. Maybe a lot more! 

 

National Parks: Your taxes just pay for owning it. But if you're actually going to use it........... it's entirely reasonable that those who use it......... and ONLY those who use it.......... help pay for the addition expenses created by doing so! 

 

Make sense? 

 

Cheers! 

 

 

[Watchit]

5 hours ago, Kenchamp said:

It's not only the national parks that apply duel pricing. Many businesses charge the farang more than Thais if they think they can get away with it. 

Yep and even the local traffic plod target the falang as they are seen as easy pickings. Try riding a scooter around Phuket and see what happens

[khunPer]

Dual pricing is okay in my view. Many Thais cannot afford a high price, and foreigners have a choice between paying the fee - most of us can survive 100 baht, or even 500 baht at Grand Palace - or staying outside and save the money...????

[bbko]

Complaining here solves nothing, either learn to live with it, go home or pay the miniscule fee and have nice stressfree day.

[rainham]

47 minutes ago, dutchman said:

It seems you dont live here , tourist stay here 4 weeks have a holliday budget and they dont care.

Living here and spend a lot of money here and support thai family and get confronted by scames regulairy you realy get <deleted> off by the mentality here.

Nothing about being a cheap charly but living here you are a walking ATM for them,

They love tourists money because they go home.

Living here they dont like you because you know it all.

When they start give back in 100 bath notes from 1000 bath i already know 1 bill is short many times.

I work in the UK have a thai mrs of 14 years and investments in Thailand I'm not a Tourist and i know that Thailand is always more expensive for us its because the vast majority of Thai people are not wealthy and they  seem to think we are all millionaires I've lost millions of Baht over the years on a variety  of scams which is why I'm still coming here to work 

 

[Barrydives]

7 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Last week at Kalasin falls in Kachanaburi I was charged 10x's more than the GF who they thought was Thai. Her 30 baht, me 300 baht and then 30 baht for the car to enter.  Tried to show my Pink ID card and was pointed to a sign confirming even non Thai resident/expat ID'S not accepted anymore. If your a foreigner your a tourist in their eyes.  If you look Thai, like my GF from Myanmar they don't even blink.  It is what it is, dual pricing, and a way to make money.  Luckily the vendors selling food don't charge the same way.......

Kalasin Falls? I live in Kanchanaburi and have never heard of these.

 

[marquess]

8 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

"He said the agency wants to introduce an identity card for expats, helping to distinguish them from tourists so they will be charged the same price as locals"

 

Don't overcomplicate it, just ask for passport if they must

 

 

I've often shown my pink I.D card, to no avail.

[ThailandRyan]

33 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

You may be the exception to the rule? Most tall white Scotsmen do not have a Thai ID card I presume?

From what I am reading. If you look non Thai, i.e Caucasian, or black, negro etc you do not get the local discount. If you look Thai, even though you may be Burmese, Indonesian, Cambodian etc you do? So thats not racial?

 

As I posted early on in the OP, my Myanmar GF speaks Thai, just as I do, and has lived in Thailand for 15years, she is never asked to show a passport or ID when we go places such as a National Park or museum.  In fact sometimes, like when we took the daughter to Dreamworld, she bought the tickets for all of us and it was the Thai price.  Erawan falls was different because I was driving the car and stopped at the kiosk, the ladies working the Kiosk then charged me one price and her the Thai price.  So I guess one could say, I broke even.......could have been both charged the foreigner price.

[PEE TEE]

1 hour ago, Orinoco said:

Totally agree.

But if she stays all night and we have seconds in the morning.

 I may well give a 20 baht tip. 

 

No tip for sloppy seconds 

[dutchman]

10 minutes ago, rainham said:

I work in the UK have a thai mrs of 14 years and investments in Thailand I'm not a Tourist and i know that Thailand is always more expensive for us its because the vast majority of Thai people are not wealthy and they  seem to think we are all millionaires I've lost millions of Baht over the years on a variety  of scams which is why I'm still coming here to work 

 

Sorry for my bad asuming something was not right i apologize for that, sorry some of us lost a lot by the hard way

,

[PEE TEE]

If they introduce the 300b entrance fee into the kingdom the its more than 5 times the price 

[chrissables]

9 hours ago, ChissBurger said:

Is this as commonplace in Vietnam and Cambodia?

 

Vietnam no, Cambodia at Anchor Wat yes, not sure in general.

[PolarAttack]

6 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

No it's not.  Non resident pricing for Disneyland and some places like it have always been done as locals go more often, but you do not pay more to go to a museum or national park....nice try.

Yes exactly, it’s NOT based on your nationality or ethnicity. It’s based on your postal code.  If you live within a region, and anyone who lives within that region, will get the discount. That’s a lot different than charging foreigners more money. 

[chrissables]

8 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

"He said the agency wants to introduce an identity card for expats, helping to distinguish them from tourists so they will be charged the same price as locals"

 

Don't overcomplicate it, just ask for passport if they must

 

 

I carry my passport only when 100% required.

 

They should find a way to stop this dual pricing.

[apophyss]

They just HATE us,

nothing more !

 

 

 

[ThailandRyan]

17 minutes ago, Barrydives said:

Kalasin Falls? I live in Kanchanaburi and have never heard of these.

 

I meant Erawan Falls, my mistake

[rainham]

18 minutes ago, KanchanaburiGuy said:

Hmmm. 

 

National Parks exist in countries that have private land ownership primarily to 1) allow the general public access to some special places, rather than have a private buyer buy it up and lock it away; and 2) to prevent private land owners from irreparably and irrevocably harming a special place, because it's "their own land." 

 

Once the government takes control of the land and declares it a "National Park," there is usually a lot of maintenance that needs to be done behind the scenes: undergrowth and overgrowth to be dealt with; predator and prey populations to be monitored and/or controlled; roads and trails to maintain; trash and litter to be corralled; unsafe conditions to be recrified; and on and on.

 

These things need to be done on a regular basis whether or not people come to the park. Much of it gets done away from where the public generally goes, and much of it that gets done in more public areas, gets done intentionally invisibly, so as to not detract from visitors' interaction with "nature." 

 

(A lot of work that gets done in National Parks.......... is intentionally done in ways that LOOK LIKE nothing has been done! "Nature" isn't manicured, so they sometimes go to great effort to avoid getting a "manicured look!") 

 

So, even if no one visits a National Park, there's still a lot of time, effort, and money that goes into maintaining one. (Well, most of the time anyway!) 

 

But here's the thing.......... 

 

The more people who go to a park, the more costly and difficult it is to maintain. It's tough work to keep a place looking "natural".......... when thousands or even millions of people are tramping through it! 

 

That's what "Entry Fees" are all about. 

 

Your taxes pay for the ORDINARY  upkeep. ONLY the ordinary upkeep. And the people who use it...........the people significantly  driving up the costs involved in maintaining it......... pay a small additional amount to help offset the additional costs created by their presence. 

 

In a way, it's like owning a car:

 

It's much cheaper to own a car that you don't drive......... than it is to own a car that you do drive. Just owning a car is going to cost you something............. But every time you drive it, it's going to cost you even more. Maybe a lot more! 

 

National Parks: Your taxes just pay for owning it. But if you're actually going to use it........... it's entirely reasonable that those who use it......... and ONLY those who use it.......... help pay for the addition expenses created by doing so! 

 

Make sense? 

 

Cheers! 

 

 

Perfect sense Sir.

Very informative,  many thanks and kind regards.

[KanchanaburiGuy]

58 minutes ago, Harveyboy said:

glass half full eh ..ha

Noooooo......... 

 

A glass half full is also half empty. 

 

A person who only sees it as one or the other............. is overlooking half the pertinent information!

 

And that means, ultimately, they're likely to make a lot of bad, poorly thought-out decisions! 

 

Yeah, I know the "Glass half full" thing is supposed to be an indicator of an optimist vs. a pessimist. But to me, it's actually much more useful as an indicator of a careful, considerate thinker vs. a sloppy, easy-answer thinker! 

 

Of course, most people find such clarifications more annoying than helpful. Such is my lot in life! 

 

????????????

 

Cheers! 

[rainham]

28 minutes ago, KanchanaburiGuy said:

Hmmm. 

 

National Parks exist in countries that have private land ownership primarily to 1) allow the general public access to some special places, rather than have a private buyer buy it up and lock it away; and 2) to prevent private land owners from irreparably and irrevocably harming a special place, because it's "their own land." 

 

Once the government takes control of the land and declares it a "National Park," there is usually a lot of maintenance that needs to be done behind the scenes: undergrowth and overgrowth to be dealt with; predator and prey populations to be monitored and/or controlled; roads and trails to maintain; trash and litter to be corralled; unsafe conditions to be recrified; and on and on.

 

These things need to be done on a regular basis whether or not people come to the park. Much of it gets done away from where the public generally goes, and much of it that gets done in more public areas, gets done intentionally invisibly, so as to not detract from visitors' interaction with "nature." 

 

(A lot of work that gets done in National Parks.......... is intentionally done in ways that LOOK LIKE nothing has been done! "Nature" isn't manicured, so they sometimes go to great effort to avoid getting a "manicured look!") 

 

So, even if no one visits a National Park, there's still a lot of time, effort, and money that goes into maintaining one. (Well, most of the time anyway!) 

 

But here's the thing.......... 

 

The more people who go to a park, the more costly and difficult it is to maintain. It's tough work to keep a place looking "natural".......... when thousands or even millions of people are tramping through it! 

 

That's what "Entry Fees" are all about. 

 

Your taxes pay for the ORDINARY  upkeep. ONLY the ordinary upkeep. And the people who use it...........the people significantly  driving up the costs involved in maintaining it......... pay a small additional amount to help offset the additional costs created by their presence. 

 

In a way, it's like owning a car:

 

It's much cheaper to own a car that you don't drive......... than it is to own a car that you do drive. Just owning a car is going to cost you something............. But every time you drive it, it's going to cost you even more. Maybe a lot more! 

 

National Parks: Your taxes just pay for owning it. But if you're actually going to use it........... it's entirely reasonable that those who use it......... and ONLY those who use it.......... help pay for the addition expenses created by doing so! 

 

Make sense? 

 

Cheers! 

 

 

It absolutely does,

Many thanks. 

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

Please get the facts right.

Foreigners pay the normal price and Thais get a discounted price, like happens all over the world. 

As a Thai, I paid $550 for a game of golf at RMGC in Melbourne, but my Ozzie friend got 5,000 baht local discount.

Similar in Disneyworld USA. 

 

 

 

 

You would have got a  lower price playing The National, and had three courses to play on, all three different design philosophy. You can play all three in a day if you have the stamina, included in the price.

The heart of Royal Melbourne is the Composite Course; however, that is only open for professional events. Visitors don't get to play it.

 

https://www.nationalgolf.com.au/cms/

 

[rainham]

14 minutes ago, apophyss said:

They just HATE us,

nothing more !

 

 

 

They only hate us some of the time my Mrs hates me a lot more now thanks to the womb shutting down in fact she hates everyone particularly her Brother he cops some abuse bless him. 

[4MyEgo]

35 minutes ago, Irate priest said:

Sounds like you don't mind been ripped off where ever you are if you where paying 650 baht hot a haircut 6 years ago back home. It's no where near that now at a gents barbers however maybe you prefer a well coiferred Barnet.

Old school barber shops don't exist back where I come from and the last time I got a haircut at one was 2 decades ago, the cost then was about 375 baht vs the 650 baht I used to pay, i.e. it was the cheapest haircut you could get prior to me leaving back then and coming here in 2015.

 

They couldn't survive on those wages as rents were high, and a lot of them retired or went to work for the big franchise chains, suffice to say the girl that used to cut my hair left where I used to get my haircut, but lived close by to me and I bumped into her in that shopping centre one day and she told me the story and said she had a granny flat at the back of her house and managed to service a few customers, that said, I went to her as I liked the way she cut my hair and continued to pay her the 650 baht although she only wanted 500 baht, after all that is what I paid the shop she worked at.

 

I went to her for 4 years after she left the shop, and it's been 6 years since I've been living here. Now having had a look at the old shops prices that I used to go to, they start at 875 baht for a haircut, so if you call that getting ripped off vs paying 100 baht here for a haircut, then nothing more to add.

 

I do have a question though, i.e. are you related to that earlier guy in this post, I believe his surname is Charlie and Thai's are all familiar with that surname.

 

Keep counting your coins ????

[Purdey]

Got charged the local entrance fee (300 vs. 500 baht) at Nongnooch park in Pattaya the other week by letting my wife buy the tickets. However, tourists would pay the white face 500 baht because it is still cheap. Just over 11 pounds. EU parks roughly 1,500 baht or 3,400 baht in the USA depending on the site (these are just rough Thai baht prices). 

I guess white face tourists simply say to themselves they came all this way and might as well see it.

[Lacessit]

56 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Phom jon mak mak ... ????

 

Seems everyone in my neighborhood is sittin' prettier than me.  Renting (1 of 2 available, how embarrassing), can only afford a cheap a$$ Chinese MG.  Have E-scooter, since can't afford petrol.  On that, just noticed 91/95 knocking on ฿45  ????  Can only afford to feed 1 small dog.

 

They all own their homes, got multiple high end cars, got multiple big guard dogs ... it's damn embarrassing.

For all you know, those people are in debt up to their eyeballs. You think they would admit it to you?

I don't get envious about what other people have. I'm not interested in impressing friends and neighbors with my possessions.

OTOH, the last time I was in debt was 1974, and I guess I can call up more cash at short notice than most.

[scubascuba3]

2 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Tourists would also have passports, and can hardly expect park officials to leaf through passports and figure out visa stamps.

 

However, there are already cards that could be used to identify resident expats as opposed to tourists:

 

- pink ID card

- Thai Driver's License

 

 

Tourists get thai driving licences, i had one when i was a tourist. Not that complicated to check for a tourist visa, visa exempt or extension. Pink cards are a PITA to get in some locations

[Guderian]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

He said the agency wants to introduce an identity card for expats, helping to distinguish them from tourists so they will be charged the same price as locals.

No need. Just open the Mor Prom app on your phone to show that you've been fully vaccinated here in Thailand and there can't be any doubt about where you live.

[KanchanaburiGuy]

13 minutes ago, PolarAttack said:

Yes exactly, it’s NOT based on your nationality or ethnicity. It’s based on your postal code.  If you live within a region, and anyone who lives within that region, will get the discount. That’s a lot different than charging foreigners more money. 

As Shakespeare said: "A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet." 

 

The same might be said of poop, with the correct corresponding descriptive adjective. Lol

 

If you're discriminating based on something that is basically arbitrary............ zip code discounts, age discounts, race, ethnicity, nationality, whether you have a particular card or coupon, whether you served in the military, and many others...........ethically and morally, you're doing something wrong. 

 

Charging people more because they are NOT Thai........... (or charging them less because they ARE Thai, depending on how you choose to interpret it).......... is no different than denying someone a discount because they didn't cut the coupon out of the newspaper, or print it off the internet.

 

It's no different than State Colleges charging more for tuition for "non-residents." I

 

It's no different than some people being entitled to a "Not Dead" discount (senior discount), or having to pay more because they don't have a particular stupid little card! 

 

It's all the same! It's two-tiered pricing based on something almost completely arbitrary. It's DISCRIMINATION! 

 

But I'll bet most here are happy to gobble up their discounts when they qualify for them. And I'll bet they never think twice about how they are an active participant in discrimination! 

 

Because this is a classic example of............. when you're on the receiving end, everything is cool......... and when you're on the other end, everything is bad, bad, bad!

 

So how about this........... 

 

Next time you turn down your Senior Discount or coupon discount even though you don't have the coupon, because you "Don't want to participate in and promulgate a culture of discrimination"............ let me know. 

 

Cuz, well, you know........... you wouldn't want to be accused of being a "Do as I say, not as I do" kind of person, would ya? 

 

????????????

 

Cheers! 

[sawadee1947]

2 hours ago, rainham said:

I think its a great idea, most Thai people have a lower income than many Tourists and it's their country, it should be free for Thais the same as it should be free for every National of their respective country. Its not ok in my opinion  for citizens of a country to pay to see whats their birth right take the UK as an example everyone has to pay the same money to visit outstanding areas of natural beauty  so a thai comes over for a holiday and he has to pay several days wages to visit a National Trust place for example then get mugged off for parking and food and a guide book they can't afford it we have to fork out a couple of quid in Thailand which is nothing to most tourists  and we cop the hump cos the thais pay little or nothing we should be copping the hump cos we are getting ripped off to see things in our own countries.Rant concluded 

If you visit Europe on your own without support of a big spender you got definitely enough money for any tickets.

I doubt Prayuth's daughters in London would complain ever......as all Thai Oligarch's offspring.????

 

[The Hammer2021]

I think kids should get in cheaper but adult tourists  should pay  more. We get so much stuff for free it's a small price  to pay. Now way should a poor Thai  family pay the same as rich foreigners.