Battered Tourism Sector Seeks Urgent Government Help

[mommysboy]

I can't see that long term visas are that important to tourists, and real tourist visas are easy to get anyway. This issue is dwarfing the thread.

A friend of mine just returned from Pattaya, said it was so quiet and he was put off by increased scams. Poor service all round and internet so bad.

This is now one of those critical situations, a vicious circle developing.

Thailand's problem is that it got too used to foreign bail outs. It's a miscalculation made top to bottom, quite simply- no problem Mr Farang : cheap for you, have ATM.

[JR Texas]

I can't see that long term visas are that important to tourists, and real tourist visas are easy to get anyway. This issue is dwarfing the thread.

A friend of mine just returned from Pattaya, said it was so quiet and he was put off by increased scams. Poor service all round and internet so bad.

This is now one of those critical situations, a vicious circle developing.

Thailand's problem is that it got too used to foreign bail outs. It's a miscalculation made top to bottom, quite simply- no problem Mr Farang : cheap for you, have ATM.

It depends on how you define tourists..........in my view and others, if you do not have a long term, secure visa solution (virtually impossible in Thailand given I used the word "secure"), you are a resident tourists or resident tourists expat.

And the visa rule changes over the past ten years have played a role in harming this group of tourists. Many have simply moved (with their money) to different countries.

But it is only one component. Other components:

scams and double pricing,

poor and often unfriendly service,

raising prices of hotels without offering better services (I know one hotel that went from 350 to 900 baht in three years and the only change was to the toilets and showers),

horrible internet service (most likely related to a Chinese style govt. censorship),

ATM fee discrimination against holders of foreign credit/debit cards,

international airport closure by yellow shirts,

ASEAN meeting closure by red shirts,

headless body floating up on shore in Pattaya (just happened),

seven unexplained deaths of foreigners in the same area in and around Krabi within a few months of each other,

general level of violence growing,

widespread xenophobia

tanks in the streets and soldiers walking around the streets with guns (not everyday but when you see that on TV it is not good for tourism)

perception that Thailand is no longer a bargain,

perception that Thailand only wants rich foreigners to come here (one of the worst moves by TAT that put off 90% of its tourism base)

filthy cities (water, air, trash)

failure to address Bangkok's traffic problem

[torrenova]

When will people acept that it is not going to change any time soon ? Why ? I'll explain.

The guys at the top, the decision makers, have their noses in the trough. Those a rung or two down, who would be the logical sounding board for any ideas are ineffective as they only care about getting their time at the head of the trough. They are not going to tell the boss that his idea is bloody stupid are they ? Add in the Thai way of not wanting to deal with confrontation and you get people in power being able to make policy which is praised by those around them for all the wrong reasons.

[loong]

When will people acept that it is not going to change any time soon ? Why ? I'll explain.

The guys at the top, the decision makers, have their noses in the trough. Those a rung or two down, who would be the logical sounding board for any ideas are ineffective as they only care about getting their time at the head of the trough. They are not going to tell the boss that his idea is bloody stupid are they ? Add in the Thai way of not wanting to deal with confrontation and you get people in power being able to make policy which is praised by those around them for all the wrong reasons.

Nail and head spring to mind.

If the decision makers and those in authority actually stopped and tried to consider "what would benefit my country and countrymen" instead of "what would benefit me" we might see some changes.

Anyone see it happening soon?

[pepi2005]

In order to avoid this list of nuisances being incomplete, may I add a few points that have been forgotten so far:

- discrimination againt foreigners if it comes to interest rates at Banks! This pisses me of since the first day I came here and (were) thinking about serious investments in this country

- ridiculous fees if you're trying to use your Thai ATM card in another province (okay, Thais are also affected by that, but it nevertheless pisses off and gives the feeling of a 3rd world country where either horses or paid riders must be transferring the cash between the provinces ... today, money transfers / ATM withdrawals are even free between European countries!)

- did anyone already mention corruption and double pricing? :D

[Ulysses G.]

Maybe things were different in CM......maybe you could not just go to Myanmar/Burma and had to go all the way to Malaysia....that would be a bit of a challenge.

We did have to go all the way to Malaysia, but also people were much less confident of getting visas than you seem to have been and a number of people were forced to, "go back to their own country", although they just changed passports and came back.

Also, if I remember correctly, it was only 15 days "free" visa when one entered Thailand, so 30 days was something new that did not last. I have no idea why your friends were so secure about staying here, but mine were not.

[rsraleigh]

I have been reading a lot of the comments on this thread.... and I am not going to add more things that should be changed... but just said .... I LOVE IT .... i love fewer and fewer tourists are coming to the country ... and hope we do not get any tourists in the future .... and that the economy goes down ... in fact i would love to see thailand going back back back ... so then they realize about all the things people in this thread have commented ...

I have been living in 4 countries in the last 9 years... and although i do love Thailand .... the more i stay here, the more i realize the country has something that makes foreigners get fed up of it pretty quickly after the "initial fun" wears off ...

[Ulysses G.]

If foreigners get "fed up" with Thailand with so quickly, why is the whole country over-run with them? There are a lot of other places in the world; Why do so many farangs insist on staying in Thailand for decades whinging, whining and moaning about it?

Go West young man!

[mommysboy]

I can't see that long term visas are that important to tourists, and real tourist visas are easy to get anyway. This issue is dwarfing the thread.

A friend of mine just returned from Pattaya, said it was so quiet and he was put off by increased scams. Poor service all round and internet so bad.

This is now one of those critical situations, a vicious circle developing.

Thailand's problem is that it got too used to foreign bail outs. It's a miscalculation made top to bottom, quite simply- no problem Mr Farang : cheap for you, have ATM.

It depends on how you define tourists..........in my view and others, if you do not have a long term, secure visa solution (virtually impossible in Thailand given I used the word "secure"), you are a resident tourists or resident tourists expat.

And the visa rule changes over the past ten years have played a role in harming this group of tourists. Many have simply moved (with their money) to different countries.

But it is only one component. Other components:

scams and double pricing,

poor and often unfriendly service,

raising prices of hotels without offering better services (I know one hotel that went from 350 to 900 baht in three years and the only change was to the toilets and showers),

horrible internet service (most likely related to a Chinese style govt. censorship),

ATM fee discrimination against holders of foreign credit/debit cards,

international airport closure by yellow shirts,

ASEAN meeting closure by red shirts,

headless body floating up on shore in Pattaya (just happened),

seven unexplained deaths of foreigners in the same area in and around Krabi within a few months of each other,

general level of violence growing,

widespread xenophobia

tanks in the streets and soldiers walking around the streets with guns (not everyday but when you see that on TV it is not good for tourism)

perception that Thailand is no longer a bargain,

perception that Thailand only wants rich foreigners to come here (one of the worst moves by TAT that put off 90% of its tourism base)

filthy cities (water, air, trash)

failure to address Bangkok's traffic problem

Now all of this I can agree with. Good posting. Thailand 5*!!!... kee gai.

[mostcurious]

Just come back from a holiday in China, and I have to say I will be returning there instead of the usual trips to Thailand. Overall the food is much better, there are far more places to visit again and again, the majority of the people are very friendly and there are no beer swilling yobs.

If you get fed up of Thailand then go elsewhere.

[mommysboy]

Just come back from a holiday in China, and I have to say I will be returning there instead of the usual trips to Thailand. Overall the food is much better, there are far more places to visit again and again, the majority of the people are very friendly and there are no beer swilling yobs.

If you get fed up of Thailand then go elsewhere.

Yes, have been advised the same by 2 friends.

But, as businessman I'm dependent on the internet. Any idea what it's like (can it be any worse than here?)

And can you watch English football easily?

[LaoPo]

Just come back from a holiday in China, and I have to say I will be returning there instead of the usual trips to Thailand. Overall the food is much better, there are far more places to visit again and again, the majority of the people are very friendly and there are no beer swilling yobs.

If you get fed up of Thailand then go elsewhere.

Yes, have been advised the same by 2 friends.

But, as businessman I'm dependent on the internet. Any idea what it's like (can it be any worse than here?)

And can you watch English football easily?

China: 298,000,000 Internet users as of Dec/08, 22.4% penetration, per CNNIC

China: 66,464,000 broadband Internet connections as of Dec/07, per ITU.

http://www.internetworldstats.com/asia.htm#cn

As a businessman I suppose you either live in hotels or rent/buy a house/apartment. In the case of hotels you have access everywhere from every room and in the case of renting, internet connection will be installed rapidly.

English Football.....???? are you kidding ? the Chinese are addicted to English football and follow each and every game from the UK; maybe not with English comment everywhere but at least you have the images.

LaoPo

[mostcurious]

Just come back from a holiday in China, and I have to say I will be returning there instead of the usual trips to Thailand. Overall the food is much better, there are far more places to visit again and again, the majority of the people are very friendly and there are no beer swilling yobs.

If you get fed up of Thailand then go elsewhere.

Yes, have been advised the same by 2 friends.

But, as businessman I'm dependent on the internet. Any idea what it's like (can it be any worse than here?)

And can you watch English football easily?

I stayed at hotels/ guesthouses in Beijing Shanghai and Xian and there was free internet usage available.

If you want to travel to different parts of the country it is advisable to fly, its not much more expensive than train travel. I booked through a site called elong which is part of expedia.

One of the reasons I like to travel is to experience different cultures and to taste their food. The restaurants I visited were of a high standard, prices very reasonable, big portions of meat, great service, friendly staff, traditional tea served with every meal, small side plates with fresh authentic spices to dip food into, and the staff will cook the meat or fish on a stove on your table.

As far as I can remember the hotel TVs had a number of channels, some of which had football although not to many English football matches.

The way I see it Thailand is not a cheap place anymore. You have a combination a factors. A weak Pound, increased prices, poorer quality services all round. Even if the pound did gain strength, say 60 baht to the pound, it still wouldn't be cheap.

[chirunr]

Maybe they should abolish racist policies regarding entrance fees to temples, parks, zoos, etc. If you have Asian physiognomy, go right in for the Thai price. But if a white skin -- Whoa, stop right there!!! Pull out your wallet, and be prepared to pay!! Amazing!

[cecco]

Maybe they should abolish racist policies regarding entrance fees to temples, parks, zoos, etc. If you have Asian physiognomy, go right in for the Thai price. But if a white skin -- Whoa, stop right there!!! Pull out your wallet, and be prepared to pay!! Amazing!

This policy is not "racist." I do not mean to say that Thailand is not racist, it is a very racist country.

But, regarding entrance fees, once you procure a Thai Drivers License, this will be viewed as Thai ID for everything, travel, entrance, etc, the only place that refused to accept this was the Long Neck's in Mae Hong Song, and they are forced to be zoo people to survive here, but on the other hand, the man I was with is from Shang Hai and holds a Chinese, Taiwanese, and Thai Passport, and is not Thai, but he is give benefits of being Thai.

Regarding racism, much of it comes from this board, board members use the word "farang" often here, which I have requested this word be banned from the site. Farang is a "fruit to be peeled" in Thai, the Thai know it's a dirty word, and even upon using the word, will admit to their friends "I know it's not a very nice word," and yet, the man farang keep using the word. Perhaps if we had more respect for ourselves, and stopped calling ourselves "fruit-to-be-peeled," the Thai and other groups here would stop viewing us as fruit-to-be-peeled.

Lately, I am tired of people blaming others. I think that on this one, you are incorrect about entrance requirements, and I think about racism, much of it is our fault. You reference "thai's," but where I live there are nearly 40 various tribes, and try, just try to find a workable, universal definition of a "Thai." I can assure you, that any definition a "Thai" can offer, I can give counter-examples in Thai society and culture as to why the definition is invalid.

About charging non-locals to use services for which we pay taxes, I agree! And, I wish the USA would do the same. Actually, I would like to see the Id Checks and benevolent treatment of locals over unwanted aliens to extend to the USA as well.

Another thing: People are here because they want to be here, if people don't like it here, why are they here. On the other hand, some groups which are not Thai call us farang .. but try calling a mountain tribal person a "kohn paa" and see what happens, and yet that is what thai's think when they reference people from the mountains, and their skin pigment is a commonplace skin pigment, but some groups, such as the "lisu" are not even capable of tracing their origin and their history exists in family worship and demon worship songs which goes back for thousands of years and may take weeks or months for them to sing in order to pass along their heritage. As we end the demonic worship, we end the lineage tracings. There are many things to consider, and perhaps our own narcissism and arrogance was taught to them. Did you ever read "Uncle Tom's Cabin?" That book isn't racist, in the way it typifies the "whites," and never even alludes to Black Slave Owners and mercantilism and their profits and abuses and death factories? And yet, we see a king brought up from childhood by Ana, and a modern king born in Cambridge, and they are the two most widely photograph distributed of the kings, while the first of the ramas was my personal favorite. If they Thai's are racist to the core, we would not be here, and they would not be respecting kings who liberated them based upon white cultures, racism towards whites and the omission of blacks slavers.

This culture is thousands of years old, and many of our birthplaces are only hundreds, and yet the king is born in a country that is about the same age as this country, and yet siam goes back for thousands of years as do the other kingdoms of this area. Etruscans also may predate the indo chinese groups, and of course we can all go back to ninevah and the Tower of Babel and recall WHY and HOW languages were created and divisions were created by God Himself.

[cecco]

Take your debit/credit card into the bank and do a cash advance, they are free from both ends. Thailand and host country.

I can't see that long term visas are that important to tourists, and real tourist visas are easy to get anyway. This issue is dwarfing the thread.

A friend of mine just returned from Pattaya, said it was so quiet and he was put off by increased scams. Poor service all round and internet so bad.

This is now one of those critical situations, a vicious circle developing.

Thailand's problem is that it got too used to foreign bail outs. It's a miscalculation made top to bottom, quite simply- no problem Mr Farang : cheap for you, have ATM.

It depends on how you define tourists..........in my view and others, if you do not have a long term, secure visa solution (virtually impossible in Thailand given I used the word "secure"), you are a resident tourists or resident tourists expat.

And the visa rule changes over the past ten years have played a role in harming this group of tourists. Many have simply moved (with their money) to different countries.

But it is only one component. Other components:

scams and double pricing,

poor and often unfriendly service,

raising prices of hotels without offering better services (I know one hotel that went from 350 to 900 baht in three years and the only change was to the toilets and showers),

horrible internet service (most likely related to a Chinese style govt. censorship),

ATM fee discrimination against holders of foreign credit/debit cards,

international airport closure by yellow shirts,

ASEAN meeting closure by red shirts,

headless body floating up on shore in Pattaya (just happened),

seven unexplained deaths of foreigners in the same area in and around Krabi within a few months of each other,

general level of violence growing,

widespread xenophobia

tanks in the streets and soldiers walking around the streets with guns (not everyday but when you see that on TV it is not good for tourism)

perception that Thailand is no longer a bargain,

perception that Thailand only wants rich foreigners to come here (one of the worst moves by TAT that put off 90% of its tourism base)

filthy cities (water, air, trash)

failure to address Bangkok's traffic problem

Now all of this I can agree with. Good posting. Thailand 5*!!!... kee gai.

[Thai at Heart]

Maybe they should abolish racist policies regarding entrance fees to temples, parks, zoos, etc. If you have Asian physiognomy, go right in for the Thai price. But if a white skin -- Whoa, stop right there!!! Pull out your wallet, and be prepared to pay!! Amazing!

As a myriad of people have mentioned "Why shouldn't tourists pay more, they are richer", it comes back to one of the best pieces of advice I have ever heard in business. "There are things that you shouldn't do even though today you can". The world changes day by day, minute by minute and what was right yesterday can be wrong tomorrow.

It leaves the nastiest of tastes in tourist's mouths and a large number of tourists (probably the vast majority) feel like they are being gouged. The law could change in a day and the prices could be equalised and a lot of tourists would be happier.

To leave this dual pricing in existence shows the most obvious microcosm of Thai attitudes to tourists. It simply shows that the overwhelming attitude is to treat a tourist as a walking wallet, and when this policy is in place at government sponsored parks is a travesty in the modern world.

Edited July 1, 2009 by Thai at Heart

[loong]

board members use the word "farang" often here, which I have requested this word be banned from the site. Farang is a "fruit to be peeled" in Thai,

No it isn't

Take your debit/credit card into the bank and do a cash advance, they are free from both ends. Thailand and host country.

Mostly not true. It depends on the bank in Thailand and the bank in your home country. In some cases it's much more expensive to use your card inside a Thai bank as they use dynamic conversion rate.

Edited July 1, 2009 by loong

[piet pompies]

The best quote somewhere else on this forum "Burma with electricity"!

[jackdanielsesq]

Ferner

BR>Jack

[Maestro]

A nonsensical post about an unnamed toxin and the reply to it have been deleted.

--

Maestro

[Hooliganzone]

Maybe they should abolish racist policies regarding entrance fees to temples, parks, zoos, etc. If you have Asian physiognomy, go right in for the Thai price. But if a white skin -- Whoa, stop right there!!! Pull out your wallet, and be prepared to pay!! Amazing!

Also Siracha Tiger zoo wont accept Thai drivers licences, Ko Samet national park 20 baht for Thais 200 baht for farangs a government rip off

[Hooliganzone]

Maybe they should abolish racist policies regarding entrance fees to temples, parks, zoos, etc. If you have Asian physiognomy, go right in for the Thai price. But if a white skin -- Whoa, stop right there!!! Pull out your wallet, and be prepared to pay!! Amazing!

This policy is not "racist." I do not mean to say that Thailand is not racist, it is a very racist country.

But, regarding entrance fees, once you procure a Thai Drivers License, this will be viewed as Thai ID for everything, travel, entrance, etc, the only place that refused to accept this was the Long Neck's in Mae Hong Song, and they are forced to be zoo people to survive here, but on the other hand, the man I was with is from Shang Hai and holds a Chinese, Taiwanese, and Thai Passport, and is not Thai, but he is give benefits of being Thai.

Regarding racism, much of it comes from this board, board members use the word "farang" often here, which I have requested this word be banned from the site. Farang is a "fruit to be peeled" in Thai, the Thai know it's a dirty word, and even upon using the word, will admit to their friends "I know it's not a very nice word," and yet, the man farang keep using the word. Perhaps if we had more respect for ourselves, and stopped calling ourselves "fruit-to-be-peeled," the Thai and other groups here would stop viewing us as fruit-to-be-peeled.

Lately, I am tired of people blaming others. I think that on this one, you are incorrect about entrance requirements, and I think about racism, much of it is our fault. You reference "thai's," but where I live there are nearly 40 various tribes, and try, just try to find a workable, universal definition of a "Thai." I can assure you, that any definition a "Thai" can offer, I can give counter-examples in Thai society and culture as to why the definition is invalid.

About charging non-locals to use services for which we pay taxes, I agree! And, I wish the USA would do the same. Actually, I would like to see the Id Checks and benevolent treatment of locals over unwanted aliens to extend to the USA as well.

Another thing: People are here because they want to be here, if people don't like it here, why are they here. On the other hand, some groups which are not Thai call us farang .. but try calling a mountain tribal person a "kohn paa" and see what happens, and yet that is what thai's think when they reference people from the mountains, and their skin pigment is a commonplace skin pigment, but some groups, such as the "lisu" are not even capable of tracing their origin and their history exists in family worship and demon worship songs which goes back for thousands of years and may take weeks or months for them to sing in order to pass along their heritage. As we end the demonic worship, we end the lineage tracings. There are many things to consider, and perhaps our own narcissism and arrogance was taught to them. Did you ever read "Uncle Tom's Cabin?" That book isn't racist, in the way it typifies the "whites," and never even alludes to Black Slave Owners and mercantilism and their profits and abuses and death factories? And yet, we see a king brought up from childhood by Ana, and a modern king born in Cambridge, and they are the two most widely photograph distributed of the kings, while the first of the ramas was my personal favorite. If they Thai's are racist to the core, we would not be here, and they would not be respecting kings who liberated them based upon white cultures, racism towards whites and the omission of blacks slavers.

This culture is thousands of years old, and many of our birthplaces are only hundreds, and yet the king is born in a country that is about the same age as this country, and yet siam goes back for thousands of years as do the other kingdoms of this area. Etruscans also may predate the indo chinese groups, and of course we can all go back to ninevah and the Tower of Babel and recall WHY and HOW languages were created and divisions were created by God Himself.

Siracha Tiger Zoo dont accept Thai drivers licence, Ko Samet so called National park (National Goldmine more like) there is a check point just before you get to the beach (not when you get to the island) 20 baht for Thais 200 baht for farangs what a ripoff. They even have guard look outs with binoculars on the beach to catch people who come with speed boats thus missing out the check point.

[SoiGirlHunter]

I had another scam tried that really bothered me. I went to the beer bar right at the gate to soi walking. i sat down and started watching the "staged" or fake fights. (I box myself) so one fighter comes over and says hello as he could see i keenly watching. we talked for awhile and he went off to get ready to fight. so i said enough of that its girltime. so i spotted something and made my way over. so i am sitting talking to her my face away from the boxing ring and not watching. a few minutes later i feel a tap on my shoulder and a different fighter is standing there, he blurts out "give me 100 baht". i guess he was looking for tips. I said "no sorry i not watching, have puying". he makes a sour face and storms off. a bit later another fighter taps on my shoulder, i turn and he has a posture like he was trying to scare me and says "100 baht". this time i just smiled and said "mai ow". he gives me a nasty look for a minute i swear trying to scare but i just stared him right down and he eventually storms off. i said to myself f this i am out of here.

i was just too ashamed to see fellow boxers intimidating people for money............

[animatic]

I had another scam tried that really bothered me. I went to the beer bar right at the gate to soi walking. i sat down and started watching the "staged" or fake fights. (I box myself) so one fighter comes over and says hello as he could see i keenly watching. we talked for awhile and he went off to get ready to fight. so i said enough of that its girltime. so i spotted something and made my way over. so i am sitting talking to her my face away from the boxing ring and not watching. a few minutes later i feel a tap on my shoulder and a different fighter is standing there, he blurts out "give me 100 baht". i guess he was looking for tips. I said "no sorry i not watching, have puying". he makes a sour face and storms off. a bit later another fighter taps on my shoulder, i turn and he has a posture like he was trying to scare me and says "100 baht". this time i just smiled and said "mai ow". he gives me a nasty look for a minute i swear trying to scare but i just stared him right down and he eventually storms off. i said to myself f this i am out of here.

i was just too ashamed to see fellow boxers intimidating people for money............

Not so much different than girls coming off the dance stage and hustling drinks or tips at a girlie bar.

Just a macho overlay. It's a stage show and the performers want 100 baht in their garter.

And I suspect more than a couple, given enough lao kao and 1,500 baht

would also go back to you room with you for an hour.

Tough days in a bad economy.

Edited July 7, 2009 by animatic

[BarryM]

Ok, let's put it this way. I don't recall ever entering(visa exempt or visa on arrival) a foreign country without completing an arrival card of some type, Thailand, just the same. Let me know if you know exceptions.

Yeah, but many countries give you 3 to 6 months for that, visa free! Why not Thailand?

Which "many countries" would those be? I agree some are more liberal, Malaysia, Singapore, P.I. But, I had to pay to get a visa for Laos, my undertsanding I would have to get a visa for China, Viet Nam, Indonesia, and Cambodia just to even enter. How does that make Thailand so far out of line?

You hit the nail on the head. Fifteen years ago Thailand aspired to joining Singapore as a developed nation and was neck and neck with Malaysia in the race to get there.

Thailand today is now on a par with Laos and Cambodia. Even Vietnam is now generally considered an easier place to do business amongst my contemporaries and they are working hard to develop a tourist business and encourage foreign investment. What will the rose tint spectacled "myopopats" come up with? "Thailand is a more welcoming tourist destination than Myanmar?".

LOS is behaving like an alcoholic. It's aware that things aren't perfect but is in denial about the causes, limping from short term fix to short term fix as the "illness" progresses.

[BarryM]

I had another scam tried that really bothered me. I went to the beer bar right at the gate to soi walking. i sat down and started watching the "staged" or fake fights. (I box myself) so one fighter comes over and says hello as he could see i keenly watching. we talked for awhile and he went off to get ready to fight. so i said enough of that its girltime. so i spotted something and made my way over. so i am sitting talking to her my face away from the boxing ring and not watching. a few minutes later i feel a tap on my shoulder and a different fighter is standing there, he blurts out "give me 100 baht". i guess he was looking for tips. I said "no sorry i not watching, have puying". he makes a sour face and storms off. a bit later another fighter taps on my shoulder, i turn and he has a posture like he was trying to scare me and says "100 baht". this time i just smiled and said "mai ow". he gives me a nasty look for a minute i swear trying to scare but i just stared him right down and he eventually storms off. i said to myself f this i am out of here.

i was just too ashamed to see fellow boxers intimidating people for money............

Not so much different than girls coming off the dance stage and hustling drinks or tips at a girlie bar.

Just a macho overlay. It's a stage show and the performers want 100 baht in their garter.

And I suspect more than a couple, given enough lao kao and 1,500 baht

would also go back to you room with you for an hour.

Tough days in a bad economy.

1500 baht for short time? That's London prices. Try 500. Maybe 700 if they'll call u daddy.

[SurfRider]

"1500 baht for short time? That's London prices. Try 500. Maybe 700 if they'll call u daddy."

I found one stunner who wanted 3000 -- told her all the other bars were only 1000 -- "girls here much better - OK, 2000" -- told her I'd think about it -- after a while, "OK, 1500" -- Told her I was leaving to check out a few other places -- "OK, 1000!" ( that was at "Super Baby", generally reserved for Japanese high-rollers )

In another incident, two girls on the street wanted me to take both of them -- I wasn't really looking, but I asked how much? -- "How much you pay?" -- Jokingly, I said 500 for both -- ( brief Thai conversation between them ) -- answer: "OK" -- result: VERY DELIGHTFUL!

.

[BarryM]

"1500 baht for short time? That's London prices. Try 500. Maybe 700 if they'll call u daddy."

I found one stunner who wanted 3000 -- told her all the other bars were only 1000 -- "girls here much better - OK, 2000" -- told her I'd think about it -- after a while, "OK, 1500" -- Told her I was leaving to check out a few other places -- "OK, 1000!" ( that was at "Super Baby", generally reserved for Japanese high-rollers )

In another incident, two girls on the street wanted me to take both of them -- I wasn't really looking, but I asked how much? -- "How much you pay?" -- Jokingly, I said 500 for both -- ( brief Thai conversation between them ) -- answer: "OK" -- result: VERY DELIGHTFUL!

.

World recessions aren't all bad then. Now...if only Sweden were a third world country

[BarryM]

The best quote somewhere else on this forum "Burma with electricity"!

Please don't run the place down.

Thailand's got gogo bars too.