Uncle Frank, I gather you call yourself Uncle as you want people to respect you. And judging from your tone, you gather that Thai people do not respect you. Thailand does not have the democracy you crave, people here live on a subsistence level and if they see that a tourist has flashy clothes and has done a trip from overseas, they are going to try and get some of your money off you. Live amongst them, and you will see that they are trying to be clever to survive, not to hurt tourism. They really don't care if you don't like the way they operate, all they care about is that they can get just that little bit more to enjoy life. Most of the taxi drivers work 6 days a week - 12 hours a day.

Let em get off someone else. People shouldn't be ripped off, and thai apologists should condone it. It's simple really.

...................Let em get off someone else. People shouldn't be ripped off, and thai apologists should condone it. It's simple really.

Who said anything about condoning it - just trying to explain why people do what they do. Simple really!

"...go to Departures instead of Arrivals at the airport, you do not have to pay the 50 baht surcharge..."

You can afford to fly, not not pay 50THB to pick up a taxi at the designated area? Ouch!

why not? I do it all the time! drivers r glad for it, saves them a long wait, and they will always turn the meter on immediately when you do it this way, no questions asked.

Between the 2 airports you can expect to pay around 300 baht or a little more. So figure it out from there with where you are going to. (This is minus the 50 baht charge, any tolls, and tips)...... Compare that with NYC, London, Stockholm, Tokyo, HK and it brings and instant smile to your face..... But for some kei-nils it is too much.....

Yes, compare it also with the salaries in NYC, London etc. and IT IS too much.........for some kei-nils like me!!!!

By the way...it is about 500Bht between airports with tallway fees.