Will You Still Visit Los If Gbp

[spiderman2]

I was meant to be having a 3 month holiday in LOS shortly, i have been planning this for the last 6 months when the GBP was worth 65BHT now its down to 54BHT this holiday is now down to 2 months, if it drops another 10% which seems possible this holiday may get cut to 1 month.

Now im a single guy with no responsibilites ie. kids/ wife/ mortgage/ debt and have enough money to fritter away on a longish holiday without it bankrupting me, but as i'm 35% poorer then last year when it was 72HBt - 1GBP the thought of having to be careful and not being a 2 month millionaire certainly makes LOS look less desireable.

Now i'm not looking for Thailands projected tourist stats or interested about the world imploding there is enough of that on the news, but on a microlevel will the GBP going as low as 50BHT make you decide its not worth the while travelling 1000s of miles to LOS as tourist essentials such as beer and restaurant food are now a similar price to what is is back home.

I believe the Aussies and Kiwis have suffered similar drops so same rules apply.

[473geo]

Good question spiderman it could affect the type/standard of your holiday......but I love Thailand because there are just so many options......you can quickly make up a few baht by giving up an aircon room for a week and dropping to a 'fan' room.....there are just so many options to experience.....and that for me is part of the holiday....not just to come with bundles of cash and live in luxury......unless of course that is a requirement!!!

Having said that I always make my baht calculation on 60 baht to the £....I have been fortunate that over the years the variants on that have not been too large to cause any problems that I recall.......and I will arrive for a trip in a couple of weeks...and just enjoy it.......a few quid here and there won't change a thing.

[GungaDin]

Yes Spider,

the Aussies are with you on this one.

I guess 20 to the dollar will be the limit.

No one here can understand why the baht is so strong, maybe the bubble will burst soon and the baht will get back to reality.

The Aus economy is not in the <deleted> as most of the West is, thanks to what's in the ground here in W.A and the rest of Aus... coal etc.

3 million baht became 2.2million overnight, a loss of 800,000bt

What did I do!

[roamer]

Good question spiderman it could affect the type/standard of your holiday......but I love Thailand because there are just so many options......you can quickly make up a few baht by giving up an aircon room for a week and dropping to a 'fan' room.....there are just so many options to experience.....and that for me is part of the holiday....not just to come with bundles of cash and live in luxury......unless of course that is a requirement!!!

Having said that I always make my baht calculation on 60 baht to the £....I have been fortunate that over the years the variants on that have not been too large to cause any problems that I recall.......and I will arrive for a trip in a couple of weeks...and just enjoy it.......a few quid here and there won't change a thing.

Yep thats the spirit !! Of cause for some folk explaining to the bg you want to take back with you, that in view of the current economic crisis she has to take a pay cut might prove tricky.

[easyride]

I was meant to be having a 3 month holiday in LOS shortly, i have been planning this for the last 6 months when the GBP was worth 65BHT now its down to 54BHT this holiday is now down to 2 months, if it drops another 10% which seems possible this holiday may get cut to 1 month.

Remember all those years when is was 36-38 baht to the pound?

And those blissful few weeks when it went up to over 90?

I see your point and given that prices in Thailand have risen rapidly

(petrol, milk, transport) it may become the same for me too.

Boo hoo!

[yabaaaa]

Thankfully I receive some of my income in Thai baht so when the £ nose dived I got a rise

[SoiSource]

Well if its keeps going down, me and mrs will sell the house and go back to UK with a tidy profit. then again....lol

[Bangyai]

Rising unemployment and worries about job security are just as likely to affect peoples decisions as exchange rates. Talking to people back in England the consensus of opinion is that you have to take the rough with the smooth. When they were getting a favourable rate they stayed in hotels around the 1000 baht mark. Now they are talking about looking for cheaper hotels, fewer girls and a slightly shorter stay. If however, with rising unemployment, they lose their jobs, it might be that the only holiday they dare take is a weeks camping in Bognor. Bit of a comedown.

Oh, and a friend tells me he just spent 700 pounds on a 4 day minibreak in Amsterdam. You could probably get a package tour to Pattaya for a week for about the same money ?

[473geo]

Well if its keeps going down, me and mrs will sell the house and go back to UK with a tidy profit. then again....lol

Now you have found your answer on how to control your eye for the beauties

Just hope the baht stays strong.....and you make a your profit and return to the UK.....problem solved and everybody is happy

[473geo]

Good question spiderman it could affect the type/standard of your holiday......but I love Thailand because there are just so many options......you can quickly make up a few baht by giving up an aircon room for a week and dropping to a 'fan' room.....there are just so many options to experience.....and that for me is part of the holiday....not just to come with bundles of cash and live in luxury......unless of course that is a requirement!!!

Having said that I always make my baht calculation on 60 baht to the £....I have been fortunate that over the years the variants on that have not been too large to cause any problems that I recall.......and I will arrive for a trip in a couple of weeks...and just enjoy it.......a few quid here and there won't change a thing.

Yep thats the spirit !! Of cause for some folk explaining to the bg you want to take back with you, that in view of the current economic crisis she has to take a pay cut might prove tricky.

One lady won't take a pay cut.....the other two you don't take back as usual might be a bit p1ssed.....but hey times are hard..

What about taking a regular GF sending money every month to spread the effect of a fluctuating exchange rate....makes real economic sense.... .........

[SoiSource]

Well if its keeps going down, me and mrs will sell the house and go back to UK with a tidy profit. then again....lol

Now you have found your answer on how to control your eye for the beauties

Just hope the baht stays strong.....and you make a your profit and return to the UK.....problem solved and everybody is happy

LOL Even if it went 1 baht to 1 pound i wouldnt be settling back there thanks. Anyway at this precise moment in time it doesnt really make any odds to me. However the rate could do in the future.

[TopDogger]

how low do the experts think its going to go? I need to transfer quite a large amount over soon..

[lazygourmet]

If Gbp and Euro are still falling down?!?

Plus the bonus of fuel surcharges lowered: for sure, we are going to cancel our end of the year holidays in Club Med Phuket ; and instead, going for a Xmas shopping spree in London followed by (if snow permit) a week of ski in Courchevel.

[SoiSource]

how low do the experts think its going to go? I need to transfer quite a large amount over soon..

Im no expert but i assure u its gonna get worse mate.

[Soutpeel]

how low do the experts think its going to go? I need to transfer quite a large amount over soon..

An experts guess is as good as a bar girls guess at the moment.....both dont have a f*kcing clue

[TopDogger]

how low do the experts think its going to go? I need to transfer quite a large amount over soon..

An experts guess is as good as a bar girls guess at the moment.....both dont have a f*kcing clue

Sounds about rite..

[MinnieCauldwell]

Bide your time, whatever is "propping " up the Baht, cannot last forever, believe me, next year you will be in for the bargain of a lifetime! This "Insulated" problem as Thailand likes to describe it, will not "blossom" until Q2 or Q3 next year, 60 baht will probably be able to buy Bangkok! The country is on an express train to doomseday, you will be getting 100 baht for a pound in the coming months!

[Super Hans]

Bide your time, whatever is "propping " up the Baht, cannot last forever, believe me, next year you will be in for the bargain of a lifetime! This "Insulated" problem as Thailand likes to describe it, will not "blossom" until Q2 or Q3 next year, 60 baht will probably be able to buy Bangkok! The country is on an express train to doomseday, you will be getting 100 baht for a pound in the coming months!

Christ on a bike. Too many amateur economists around here.

I remember reading a post about 5 years ago on either here or another Thai forum, from a fella who was saying the economic climate had changed forever and there'd never be another downturn or recession. I thought at the time "what an idiot".

I suggest we all just sit tight and see what happens.

[SoiSource]

Bide your time, whatever is "propping " up the Baht, cannot last forever, believe me, next year you will be in for the bargain of a lifetime! This "Insulated" problem as Thailand likes to describe it, will not "blossom" until Q2 or Q3 next year, 60 baht will probably be able to buy Bangkok! The country is on an express train to doomseday, you will be getting 100 baht for a pound in the coming months!

Explain please?

[MinnieCauldwell]

Bide your time, whatever is "propping " up the Baht, cannot last forever, believe me, next year you will be in for the bargain of a lifetime! This "Insulated" problem as Thailand likes to describe it, will not "blossom" until Q2 or Q3 next year, 60 baht will probably be able to buy Bangkok! The country is on an express train to doomseday, you will be getting 100 baht for a pound in the coming months!

Christ on a bike. Too many amateur economists around here.

I remember reading a post about 5 years ago on either here or another Thai forum, from a fella who was saying the economic climate had changed forever and there'd never be another downturn or recession. I thought at the time "what an idiot".

I suggest we all just sit tight and see what happens.

Yes. let's..that wouold be good!

[MinnieCauldwell]

Bide your time, whatever is "propping " up the Baht, cannot last forever, believe me, next year you will be in for the bargain of a lifetime! This "Insulated" problem as Thailand likes to describe it, will not "blossom" until Q2 or Q3 next year, 60 baht will probably be able to buy Bangkok! The country is on an express train to doomseday, you will be getting 100 baht for a pound in the coming months!

Explain please?

Honestly? you need to have a look around you, how come the major currencies and major markets are falling to pieces and Thailand remains (as the BOT said.. INSULATED..) insulated from what! They are living in cloud cuckoo land, insulated...like the economy does not rely on exports... 49% GDP, and these foriegn countries that are not "Insulated" US/Europe are goiing to keep buying from Insulated Thailand, the only country in the world that can ride out the recession...do me a favour and WAKE UP!

They even keep spouting how tourism is not a major problem..true, about 5 % GDP, but look at how many people it employs! millions, all be it on poor money, where are they going to get their jobs from!

OK, whatever you want to believe, cut and paste this, then have a look next July, and see if you are stll laughing, it won't happen now, nor before Christmas, they have put too much shit in place to prop things up, but by Feb/March, reality will hit, so wait a little while!

[dumball]

How you can read and believe anything that comes out of a a goverment or bank office is beyond my comprehension , the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing half of the time , officials and henchmen fail to turn up half the time or are late if they do , missing much relevent information . Then information gets changed by the individual because he knows best (contra spouting off), the real truth gets fresh icing applied and the world is told whatever will allow them to keep face .One thing they cannot do is stave off the final renderings of the machinations of the falling(failing) world economy that is currently affecting almost every country on the globe .

My pound and C/dollar are falling like lead balloons , but i already have a self sufficiency programme 80% or so completed so my family can survive on a couple of dollars a day. Never trust a banker or a politician , they have 'Tube' pockets , your money is put in one side of the pants and quickly exits out of the other side .

[neil324]

I'm going to Thailand for 3 months starting december. As it stand now i will cutting it down to 2 months, if the exchange rate gets any worse then i maybe canceling the trip altogether, not on the grounds i can't afford it but because Thailand will become to expensive and not offer value for money. I noticed the pound is doing better towards the Brazilian Real and have always wanted to go so may look towards there.

[MinnieCauldwell]

How you can read and believe anything that comes out of a a goverment or bank office is beyond my comprehension , the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing half of the time , officials and henchmen fail to turn up half the time or are late if they do , missing much relevent information . Then information gets changed by the individual because he knows best (contra spouting off), the real truth gets fresh icing applied and the world is told whatever will allow them to keep face .One thing they cannot do is stave off the final renderings of the machinations of the falling(failing) world economy that is currently affecting almost every country on the globe .

My pound and C/dollar are falling like lead balloons , but i already have a self sufficiency programme 80% or so completed so my family can survive on a couple of dollars a day. Never trust a banker or a politician , they have 'Tube' pockets , your money is put in one side of the pants and quickly exits out of the other side .

LOL you have a good philosophy!

[spiderman2]

I'm going to Thailand for 3 months starting december. As it stand now i will cutting it down to 2 months, if the exchange rate gets any worse then i maybe canceling the trip altogether, not on the grounds i can't afford it but because Thailand will become to expensive and not offer value for money. I noticed the pound is doing better towards the Brazilian Real and have always wanted to go so may look towards there.

You sound as if youre in the same boat as me, i will visit this time but with prices rising and the GBP falling id definitely look into going somewhere else next time, and im one of the people who only goes to Thailand for a holiday as its better then everywhere else ive been

Edited October 25, 2008 by spiderman2

[neil324]

I'm going to Thailand for 3 months starting december. As it stand now i will cutting it down to 2 months, if the exchange rate gets any worse then i maybe canceling the trip altogether, not on the grounds i can't afford it but because Thailand will become to expensive and not offer value for money. I noticed the pound is doing better towards the Brazilian Real and have always wanted to go so may look towards there.

You sound as if youre in the same boat as me, i will visit this time but with prices rising and the GBP falling id definitely look into going somewhere else next time, and im one of the people who only goes to Thailand for a holiday as its better then everywhere else ive been

To be honest i love Thailand for many reasons and have gone every year for the past 5 years.This year a was hoping to go for 6 months but work has been effected for me in the present climate. It pains me to think that maybe i will have to cancel and i hope things stabilize or improve.

[roamer]

Watch and wait, Asia has had a relatively unscathed period so far. Thats about to change, On Friday both HSBC & Standard Chartered took very big hits, and its gonna spread from there, my guess is that will intensify over the coming weeks. Believing they are insulated against this as Thai officials have been quoted is laughable, liken it to a global flu pandemic, no one is immune.

There will be a lot of sell offs over the next week or two and a lot of baht flowing out of LOS. don't think this takes an economics expert, its a no brainer, there really are limits as to how much longer they can keep propping up the baht even though its being done for political reasons rather than economic ones.

Caveat. Sterling may still have a way to go in the short term.

[Livinginexile]

Thankfully I receive some of my income in Thai baht so when the £ nose dived I got a rise

So...?

What's that got to do with the topic?

[PhilHarries]

how low do the experts think its going to go? I need to transfer quite a large amount over soon..

Tell me about it . I set up a transfer of 8,000GBP that was enacted 20th October (checked my acc online, that was date money left UK) phoned Thailand Friday 24th and money still not received .

Of course this wouldn't be Kasikorn bank sitting on the money waiting for for a favourable rate/time to pass it on would it? No that would be a corrupt practice and we all know how much we can trust our banks don't we?

Trouble is I didn't specify that the UK bank should transfer the money in THB.

Oh well, live and learn.

I'm going to Thailand for 3 months starting december. As it stand now i will cutting it down to 2 months, if the exchange rate gets any worse then i maybe canceling the trip altogether, not on the grounds i can't afford it but because Thailand will become to expensive and not offer value for money. I noticed the pound is doing better towards the Brazilian Real and have always wanted to go so may look towards there.

If you go to Brazil watch those Latino girls, they make their Thai sisters look like complete amateurs in the fleecing stakes.