Attidude On Samui

[smokie36]

EH ?

I must confess to having been approached to become the new Gator.....we agreed on a fee easily enough but the sticking point was on discounted air tickets....

[smokie36]

The regular price from Bangkok-Samui return is £200 and not a penny more, cheaper on different classes of flight. Really thats not bad for any flight never mind one that gives a 1st class service.

Hmmmm ..... BUT ....

Less than 2 years ago the price was HALF that, and ....

A return flight to Samui from BKK with this 1st class service is under £200. A return flight to Chiang Mai, using the same 1st class airline, is less than HALF that, despite it being further to travel.

Why is that?

First class service. I remember my last trip in Biz class...sitting in the lounge at Samui....their own airport and lounge there....asked for a beer....

"No have." was the answer. I smile and say "How about you go and get some then?".........you can guess the rest!

[baneko]

"back in the uk it still isnt that bad to fly there is £1.398 return for 2 people "

sorry u completely lost me ???

"

Sorry BigC just reading though post and seeing people saying that Bangkok Airways is expensive to get to samui but we booked here in the uk and only cost just under £200 return for the 2 for us, yes expensive.though saying that Bangkok wanted £200 each which is very expensive yet we fly from phuket to bali for £204 with Asia air and again that is return for 2 people,their must have the monopoly on the flight and can charge what they like?

The regular price from Bangkok-Samui return is £200 and not a penny more, cheaper on different classes of flight. Really thats not bad for any flight never mind one that gives a 1st class service.

You think that's a reasonable price? Myself and gf flew BKK to HCMC return for £120! That's for two by the way! It's an hour flight! to Samui. I don't want a sandwich and a glass of orange! 80 bt for a beer too! Great service. So you've never had a flight cancelled at USM and put on another later flight with no excuses! I have many times. Bangkok Airways are expensive and a rip off! I still love Samui and have many friends there but when there are so many great places to visit in Thailand it gets more difficult to justify paying to fly to Samui!

[BigC]

The regular price from Bangkok-Samui return is £200 and not a penny more, cheaper on different classes of flight. Really thats not bad for any flight never mind one that gives a 1st class service.

Hmmmm ..... BUT ....

Less than 2 years ago the price was HALF that, and ....

A return flight to Samui from BKK with this 1st class service is under £200. A return flight to Chiang Mai, using the same 1st class airline, is less than HALF that, despite it being further to travel.

Why is that?

First class service. I remember my last trip in Biz class...sitting in the lounge at Samui....their own airport and lounge there....asked for a beer....

"No have." was the answer. I smile and say "How about you go and get some then?".........you can guess the rest!

agreed bangkok air is a litle more posh than othr airlines but far from 1st class

[anon345535]

i used to frequent samui a bit.

looking on bkk airways website i am quoted 12k baht for a return flight from bangkok.

i could get a return bus to pattaya for 300 baht, spend 3 nights in a mediocre hotel for 3k baht leaving me with just under 9k baht for drinks and food.

or i could get a flight to samui... tough one that...

*edit* i was able to get the price down to 7360 baht but not much good to me if i can't fly on those days/at those times

Edited July 4, 2011 by c411um

[ClaudeFeller]

Phuket is more expensive than Samui but on both places you can find good hotels / restaurant / bars for a fair price.

BKK Air is a real pain in the ass for expats here in Samui. I work sometimes in Phuket together with a guy who comes from Bali by AirAsia. You guess who is paying more for airfares..

Last year the Bali guy bought 10 tickets Bali-Phuket for 160 USD return while standard fare is 300 USD return.

[samuijimmy]

I understood the original post to be aimed residents rather than tourists. With this in mind, here are my (obviously blinkered) observations.

Most Thais and farangs that I deal with on a day by day basis are really nice hard-working people. They are usually helpful and great to deal with. The obnoxious ones I try to stay away from.

As in any country that I live in - I stay away from known scams and high priced hotels/tourist rip-offs. I would rather crawl on my knees from Nathon to Chewang than call for a taxi. However, I know that if I made a couple of phone calls, someone would come and give me a lift.

The OP questioned the 'lack of tourists'. From my very few forays into tourist territory, I think that there are at least the same numbers as in previous years. However, they too seem to be avoiding the usual traps and are now looking, eating, drinking in other areas.

Well, I must have "blinkered" or "rose tinted glasses" too, because these are my observations, generally speaking, I find the same thing...

Living & staying away as much as possible from the "tourists trap or bar" areas, is a plus... Most Thai's and I'll add, Burmese I know, are genuinely .... just nice, hard working and helpful people.... and not looking for hand outs... or think we are all ATM machines.... and some stores do give discounts for as they put it "returning customer"...... also I find service at most stores very good compared to the west.... "can do" .....right now....

I wonder sometimes why some Farangs stay here.... but they would probably not be happy anywhere,.... ?

As for prices on many things here there is not a whole lot of difference with prices in BKK..... yes, somethings hard to find, but that is a reality of living on a small island... If anyone can tell us where prices are going down in the world, I think they'll have a hard time telling us where.... & I don't mean comparing the cost of a beer......

[carmine]

I understood the original post to be aimed residents rather than tourists. With this in mind, here are my (obviously blinkered) observations.

Most Thais and farangs that I deal with on a day by day basis are really nice hard-working people. They are usually helpful and great to deal with. The obnoxious ones I try to stay away from.

As in any country that I live in - I stay away from known scams and high priced hotels/tourist rip-offs. I would rather crawl on my knees from Nathon to Chewang than call for a taxi. However, I know that if I made a couple of phone calls, someone would come and give me a lift.

The OP questioned the 'lack of tourists'. From my very few forays into tourist territory, I think that there are at least the same numbers as in previous years. However, they too seem to be avoiding the usual traps and are now looking, eating, drinking in other areas.

Well, I must have "blinkered" or "rose tinted glasses" too, because these are my observations, generally speaking, I find the same thing...

Living & staying away as much as possible from the "tourists trap or bar" areas, is a plus... Most Thai's and I'll add, Burmese I know, are genuinely .... just nice, hard working and helpful people.... and not looking for hand outs... or think we are all ATM machines.... and some stores do give discounts for as they put it "returning customer"...... also I find service at most stores very good compared to the west.... "can do" .....right now....

I wonder sometimes why some Farangs stay here.... but they would probably not be happy anywhere,.... ?

As for prices on many things here there is not a whole lot of difference with prices in BKK..... yes, somethings hard to find, but that is a reality of living on a small island... If anyone can tell us where prices are going down in the world, I think they'll have a hard time telling us where.... & I don't mean comparing the cost of a beer......

Why are you being so defensive? We're all just offering our opinions!! And tropicalevo aswell. We obviously won't all agree. Both of you love the place and think its great. I think its a smelly lawless dump. But i'm certainly not having a pop at either of you. Tropicalevo, who i will say always sounds very pleasant, seems to be walking through a minefield of avoidance in order that his/her day is not spoilt and i can understand that as there are so many aspects of life here to really piss you off.

There is hope for the place and it would not be difficult to put the place right. However these improvements won't happen because greed is still all consuming here.

[smokie36]

I understood the original post to be aimed residents rather than tourists. With this in mind, here are my (obviously blinkered) observations.

Most Thais and farangs that I deal with on a day by day basis are really nice hard-working people. They are usually helpful and great to deal with. The obnoxious ones I try to stay away from.

As in any country that I live in - I stay away from known scams and high priced hotels/tourist rip-offs. I would rather crawl on my knees from Nathon to Chewang than call for a taxi. However, I know that if I made a couple of phone calls, someone would come and give me a lift.

The OP questioned the 'lack of tourists'. From my very few forays into tourist territory, I think that there are at least the same numbers as in previous years. However, they too seem to be avoiding the usual traps and are now looking, eating, drinking in other areas.

Well, I must have "blinkered" or "rose tinted glasses" too, because these are my observations, generally speaking, I find the same thing...

Living & staying away as much as possible from the "tourists trap or bar" areas, is a plus... Most Thai's and I'll add, Burmese I know, are genuinely .... just nice, hard working and helpful people.... and not looking for hand outs... or think we are all ATM machines.... and some stores do give discounts for as they put it "returning customer"...... also I find service at most stores very good compared to the west.... "can do" .....right now....

I wonder sometimes why some Farangs stay here.... but they would probably not be happy anywhere,.... ?

As for prices on many things here there is not a whole lot of difference with prices in BKK..... yes, somethings hard to find, but that is a reality of living on a small island... If anyone can tell us where prices are going down in the world, I think they'll have a hard time telling us where.... & I don't mean comparing the cost of a beer......

Why are you being so defensive? We're all just offering our opinions!! And tropicalevo aswell. We obviously won't all agree. Both of you love the place and think its great. I think its a smelly lawless dump. But i'm certainly not having a pop at either of you. Tropicalevo, who i will say always sounds very pleasant, seems to be walking through a minefield of avoidance in order that his/her day is not spoilt and i can understand that as there are so many aspects of life here to really piss you off.

There is hope for the place and it would not be difficult to put the place right. However these improvements won't happen because greed is still all consuming here.

Most 1st time visitors end up in Chaweng...the smelly cesspit of Samui with rip off taxis and songtheuws. So they think to hire a bike etc....then make a trip to the hospital....oh dear its not going well is it?

Next one of their party decides to get away from it all for an hour on a jetski....oh dear oh dear....

Then after a few drinks one night one of them decides to walk home alone at 3am and is accosted by one of the ladyboys and robbed of a few thousand Baht.....

They decide to leave Samui and are overcharged for the taxi to the airport....the beers inside the airport....and 5000 Baht each for the flight......

Friendly locals are in short supply in Chaweng Jimmy.....unless you're putting Baht in their pocket regularly.

To sum up there are cheaper and friendlier places within Thailand where you can reasonably expect the law to be followed and applied as a routine. Within the region there are places where people are welcomed not treated as 3rd class soi dogs.

[BigC]

Agreed. Though it is the same with any business or business island.

At first everyone is nice and friendly then when business is boom

Quality and service drops.

Basically people wo treat cusomers bad have too much money and I cannot blame them for going somewhere else.

Paypal I am having problems with at the moment after many years of using them.

Just an example business and business island.

My misses said that as soon s thai or forang get off thr boat in samui they change.

[nod]

Yawn

[samuibeachcomber]

Can i have my 2 bobs worth?

On a samui positive note you've got cheap and expensive restuarant/bar prices,just stay away from the high end and eat and drink in bars/restuarants on cheweng beach,you can get beers for 50-60 baht and eat thai food for 120 baht,not expensive.In banrak and FV its easy to get a beer for 60-70 baht.

Taxis can be expensive(but then so is price of gas)For example,it costs 400 baht from bophut to nathon,a 20 minute ride.In pattaya(as an example) to go from pattaya to utapao airport,a 45 minute ride is 800 baht,so its about the same.

Trying to compare pattaya to samui is like chalk from cheese.For one thing there's a bigger expat and traveller/tourist population.Land prices are cheaper than on samui,therfore rents are cheaper makinig it easier to sell beers at a cheaper price.Ther are many places in pattaya that charge 80baht and up for a beer.

I like Samui and i like pattaya,i stay here cos i like the island life and i guess thats why even though we have a moan we still stay here,just like pattaya expats moan about pattaya,about the incessant noise,pollution,no decent beach,russians,arabs,israelis,indians etc etc but they still stay.

[doingok]

Agreed. Though it is the same with any business or business island.

At first everyone is nice and friendly then when business is boom

Quality and service drops.

Basically people wo treat cusomers bad have too much money and I cannot blame them for going somewhere else.

Paypal I am having problems with at the moment after many years of using them.

Just an example business and business island.

My misses said that as soon s thai or forang get off thr boat in samui they change.

We have traveled a lot and no matter where you go anyone is after your cash if you are not happy paying the price then look else where, you will always find price's different from bar to bar from restaurants to restaurants including KENYA,BALI CUBA USA the list can go on so its up to you what you pay, a friend as just came back from samui and he was paying less than quid for a beer and 3 to 4 quid for food,and if you do not like the service you just do not go back end of.and life goes on

[nod]

Agreed. Though it is the same with any business or business island.

At first everyone is nice and friendly then when business is boom

Quality and service drops.

Basically people wo treat cusomers bad have too much money and I cannot blame them for going somewhere else.

Paypal I am having problems with at the moment after many years of using them.

Just an example business and business island.

My misses said that as soon s thai or forang get off thr boat in samui they change.

We have traveled a lot and no matter where you go anyone is after your cash if you are not happy paying the price then look else where, you will always find price's different from bar to bar from restaurants to restaurants including KENYA,BALI CUBA USA the list can go on so its up to you what you pay, a friend as just came back from samui and he was paying less than quid for a beer and 3 to 4 quid for food,and if you do not like the service you just do not go back end of.and life goes on

Too right.

I've been involved with this Island a long time now. Many things I like and some I don't. However on balance the good wins well over the bad.

Those that winge, moan and complain should vote with their feet and bu--er off! It seems that some of them do that and still come on wining and moaning. It seems to be in their nature.

What really amazes me is how many complain about the place and then complain that not enough tourists are coming! Don't they realise that in these days of internet many people go on local forums to help with making a choice about where to go on their holidays!?

They do what is still a great Island (though not without some faults) a great disservice.

[BigC]

i want to start a forum where u cannot mention bangkok airways but not this one. i have just herd of some people cansel their villa rentals for august because of the expensive air flights. with the money they save they can get a villa somewhere else and have extra cash to spend.

nothing wrong with complaining if people want to suggest or do something about it. otherwise it is just waistless moaning.

complaning can be constructive if people come up with solutions.

unfortunalty some solutions cannot be discussed online lol.

though with BBK airways and BBK hospital swallowing up all the good doctors on the island and pushing the needs of customers through the roof. expensie wise.

with taxi rip offs and other things i can just about handle. for example taxis rip themselves off becuase it is cheaper to rent a bike for the day than get a bike taxi down the road 1 way.

but push health needs through the roof and controling the price of people coming and leaving is discusting.

it is a shame i know that BBK airways is a business and it would be pointless having a private airport if they could not make a profit but surely being the only airline opperating should be enough to genorate a massive income.

Just comes down to pure greed. How much is enough. when will the directors of these mass manolpies be satisfied that they have enough to buy a few cars made of gold to put fair to a realistic price and hospital fees to an also realistic price. Maybe Samui would be so popular that people would have to book their tickets 3 months in advance. in that case with all those full seats. they could get ride of those crap prepeller planes and upgrade all to air buses.

As for over charging for hospital fees is a real piss take. Even if u have insserence it does not do the populaton any good if when coming to thailand inssuerence either go up or refuse to inssure or pay up due to the fact not that it is a dangerous country but to the fact that the hospital seems to be a money making insserence scam. so we all lose out.

i don't really know a solution to that because the hospital holds allot of thre life saving tools. which puts a manolopy on your life being saved with bills adding up to 30 k GBP !!!

As for my attidude here. it is the place i chose to live. so i do my best to put into the island. don't ask me what i do because i won't tell u.

Leaving is not an option apart from in a box or due to me being unlikey. so i do my best to make the place better to live.

My attidude in since i have first arrived has changed because when i first arrived i ws a tourist and now i am not.

Basically it all comes down to money. before people were spending and Thailand ws a cheap and luxury place.

now due to economic problems and strong baht and week home currencies people are allot more pickie about things that they did not used to be pickie about. apart fromt the super rich who sould not be effected but lets fce it they ain't here. they r probably reading my post from their 20 million dollar yohct in phuket marine park.

[smokie36]

Amen to that BigC.

None of us want to be criticising the island but the realities are there for us all to see. In the wider picture Samui is losing out and unless the authorities begin to see and deal with the problems then it will sink without trace.

[doingok]

yep

Amen to that BigC.

None of us want to be criticising the island but the realities are there for us all to see. In the wider picture Samui is losing out and unless the authorities begin to see and deal with the problems then it will sink without trace.

If i haven't booked are flights i would of thought twice before i came to spend my hard earned cash on the island and might still though i will come to see it from our self's then if it is bad move on,but hoping this is ok.

[BangrakBob]

yep

Amen to that BigC.

None of us want to be criticising the island but the realities are there for us all to see. In the wider picture Samui is losing out and unless the authorities begin to see and deal with the problems then it will sink without trace.

If i haven't booked are flights i would of thought twice before i came to spend my hard earned cash on the island and might still though i will come to see it from our self's then if it is bad move on,but hoping this is ok.

oh the irony, one of the many things the whinging few complain about on here is not enough tourists, now they are contributing to turning them away.

doingok, you will have a great time on Samui, it is a fantastic place, take this lot with a large pinch of salt, in fact a 30 kilo bag of it!

[smokie36]

yep

Amen to that BigC.

None of us want to be criticising the island but the realities are there for us all to see. In the wider picture Samui is losing out and unless the authorities begin to see and deal with the problems then it will sink without trace.

If i haven't booked are flights i would of thought twice before i came to spend my hard earned cash on the island and might still though i will come to see it from our self's then if it is bad move on,but hoping this is ok.

Doubt you'll even notice a lot of what's being discussed to be honest.....I recommend you get down the south of the island and have a look around though...very peaceful contrast to the more touristy areas.

[doingok]

yep

Amen to that BigC.

None of us want to be criticising the island but the realities are there for us all to see. In the wider picture Samui is losing out and unless the authorities begin to see and deal with the problems then it will sink without trace.

If i haven't booked are flights i would of thought twice before i came to spend my hard earned cash on the island and might still though i will come to see it from our self's then if it is bad move on,but hoping this is ok.

Doubt you'll even notice a lot of what's being discussed to be honest.....I recommend you get down the south of the island and have a look around though...very peaceful contrast to the more touristy areas.

so you would recommend the south cause i was thinking lamai area? close to a beach but far enough from the noise am i asking to much? plus got to get to koh tao for our diving then to phuket to the airport to go to bali for a week.

[smokie36]

so you would recommend the south cause i was thinking lamai area? close to a beach but far enough from the noise am i asking to much? plus got to get to koh tao for our diving then to phuket to the airport to go to bali for a week.

I'd recommend Chaweng Noi or Maenam personally....but it depends what you're looking for really. Both are decent for swimming though. Lamai beach is good but I'm not a fan of the nightlife there.

When I mentioned the south look at a map and head southwest from Lamai...that's the area I recommend you explore.....

[samuijimmy]

SamuiNige

Posted Today, 01:37

doingok, on Today, 01:09 , said:

yep smokie36, on Today, 00:16 , said:

Amen to that BigC.

None of us want to be criticising the island but the realities are there for us all to see. In the wider picture Samui is losing out and unless the authorities begin to see and deal with the problems then it will sink without trace.

If i haven't booked are flights i would of thought twice before i came to spend my hard earned cash on the island and might still though i will come to see it from our self's then if it is bad move on,but hoping this is ok.

oh the irony, one of the many things the whinging few complain about on here is not enough tourists, now they are contributing to turning them away.

doingok, you will have a great time on Samui, it is a fantastic place, take this lot with a large pinch of salt, in fact a 30 kilo bag of it!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

sorry not quite figured out the "multi quote" thing here!

I agree with all this!

As for beaches that are quiet, Ban Tai between Maenam and Nanthon, could be added to the list.... If west of Lamai, perhaps consider closer to Thaling Gnam, some of the beaches still remain unspoiled...

You have a choice in all price ranges of places to stay, from "No Star" to "Five Star"...... in all areas....

Some (actually most of it) of the island is still very nice, so it gives a good choice, for those with different tastes to enjoy what ever they are looking for....

[carmine]

Yawn

If you are tired why don't you have a nap?

[Tropicalevo]

yep

Amen to that BigC.

None of us want to be criticising the island but the realities are there for us all to see. In the wider picture Samui is losing out and unless the authorities begin to see and deal with the problems then it will sink without trace.

If i haven't booked are flights i would of thought twice before i came to spend my hard earned cash on the island and might still though i will come to see it from our self's then if it is bad move on,but hoping this is ok.

oh the irony, one of the many things the whinging few complain about on here is not enough tourists, now they are contributing to turning them away.

doingok, you will have a great time on Samui, it is a fantastic place, take this lot with a large pinch of salt, in fact a 30 kilo bag of it!

Well said Nige.

Doingok - Choengmon is a nice quiet beach at the moment. Enough hotels/resorts to give you a choice from 400 - 5,000 baht a night and tons of good restaurants. It is also on the east side of the island (sheltered). The weather comes from the west through to December

[NALAK]

Can i have my 2 bobs worth?

On a samui positive note you've got cheap and expensive restuarant/bar prices,just stay away from the high end and eat and drink in bars/restuarants on cheweng beach,you can get beers for 50-60 baht and eat thai food for 120 baht,not expensive.In banrak and FV its easy to get a beer for 60-70 baht.

Taxis can be expensive(but then so is price of gas)For example,it costs 400 baht from bophut to nathon,a 20 minute ride.In pattaya(as an example) to go from pattaya to utapao airport,a 45 minute ride is 800 baht,so its about the same.

Trying to compare pattaya to samui is like chalk from cheese.For one thing there's a bigger expat and traveller/tourist population.Land prices are cheaper than on samui,therfore rents are cheaper makinig it easier to sell beers at a cheaper price.Ther are many places in pattaya that charge 80baht and up for a beer.

I like Samui and i like pattaya,i stay here cos i like the island life and i guess thats why even though we have a moan we still stay here,just like pattaya expats moan about pattaya,about the incessant noise,pollution,no decent beach,russians,arabs,israelis,indians etc etc but they still stay.

Suvarnabhumi Airport to pattaya 800 baht including 70 baht tolls.

Thai food 40-50 baht, beers can be got for 29 baht, prime locations like walking street and soi 7-8 i would think as expensive as anywhere on samui. good breakfast 99 baht.

from the airline down Samui is to expensive, the so called bars in soi reggae all 90 baht for a san mig, no air con no entertainment and hardly justify the name bar, regaee pub 140 for san mig. my experience of Samui and many people i meet here is its a rip off and the attitude is one of that of greed. here i pay 39 baht for hair cut no battering, in Samui even they advertised in Thai 39 baht they would not budge from 100, i told them advert says 39, no you farang pay more. i just dont find that here. not many here for the beach but id you are 30 baht bus trip gets great beach. indians russians, never see them at night time, cross sukumvit and theres no noise.

back to OP the attitude from me and people i meet who have been there is one of greed and rip off from the airline down. paying less than 3000 baht from BKK to Had Yai, quater of BKK price for twice the distance in couple of months to do visa bounce in malaysia.

15 baht beers in phnom penh sound good.

Thailand has a decreasing and changing tourist market, the changes are more and more asians and russians and they wont spend the pices Samui wants, and they high end market certainly would not go there, put it agasinst Carrabean resorts and i comes no where near a high end resort

for those who like it great but when questions are asked about the place most come back negative, the constant threads about bkk or bandit airways prices, well who went to live in Samui not knowing that was the case before they went to live there?

Edited July 5, 2011 by NALAK

[carmine]

I must admit, in defence to it seems "many" other places in Thailand, the two tier pricing does seem particularily popular here. I cant remember it happening to me anywhere else actually. Its almost like a matter of pride here to make us pay more. Charming i know. So delightfully xenophobic.

Isn't it about time the "if you don't like it why don't you leave" brigade start posting or are their heads still uried in the sand.

[smokie36]

I must admit, in defence to it seems "many" other places in Thailand, the two tier pricing does seem particularily popular here. I cant remember it happening to me anywhere else actually. Its almost like a matter of pride here to make us pay more. Charming i know. So delightfully xenophobic.

Isn't it about time the "if you don't like it why don't you leave" brigade start posting or are their heads still uried in the sand.

SamuiNige already gave us realists all a bunch of yellow cards carmine.

He seems to have stopped short of buying us one way flights off the island. Perhaps he can't afford it?

[smokie36]

Can i have my 2 bobs worth?

On a samui positive note you've got cheap and expensive restuarant/bar prices,just stay away from the high end and eat and drink in bars/restuarants on cheweng beach,you can get beers for 50-60 baht and eat thai food for 120 baht,not expensive.In banrak and FV its easy to get a beer for 60-70 baht.

Taxis can be expensive(but then so is price of gas)For example,it costs 400 baht from bophut to nathon,a 20 minute ride.In pattaya(as an example) to go from pattaya to utapao airport,a 45 minute ride is 800 baht,so its about the same.

Trying to compare pattaya to samui is like chalk from cheese.For one thing there's a bigger expat and traveller/tourist population.Land prices are cheaper than on samui,therfore rents are cheaper makinig it easier to sell beers at a cheaper price.Ther are many places in pattaya that charge 80baht and up for a beer.

I like Samui and i like pattaya,i stay here cos i like the island life and i guess thats why even though we have a moan we still stay here,just like pattaya expats moan about pattaya,about the incessant noise,pollution,no decent beach,russians,arabs,israelis,indians etc etc but they still stay.

Suvarnabhumi Airport to pattaya 800 baht including 70 baht tolls.

Thai food 40-50 baht, beers can be got for 29 baht, prime locations like walking street and soi 7-8 i would think as expensive as anywhere on samui. good breakfast 99 baht.

from the airline down Samui is to expensive, the so called bars in soi reggae all 90 baht for a san mig, no air con no entertainment and hardly justify the name bar, regaee pub 140 for san mig. my experience of Samui and many people i meet here is its a rip off and the attitude is one of that of greed. here i pay 39 baht for hair cut no battering, in Samui even they advertised in Thai 39 baht they would not budge from 100, i told them advert says 39, no you farang pay more. i just dont find that here. not many here for the beach but id you are 30 baht bus trip gets great beach. indians russians, never see them at night time, cross sukumvit and theres no noise.

back to OP the attitude from me and people i meet who have been there is one of greed and rip off from the airline down. paying less than 3000 baht from BKK to Had Yai, quater of BKK price for twice the distance in couple of months to do visa bounce in malaysia.

15 baht beers in phnom penh sound good.

Thailand has a decreasing and changing tourist market, the changes are more and more asians and russians and they wont spend the pices Samui wants, and they high end market certainly would not go there, put it agasinst Carrabean resorts and i comes no where near a high end resort

for those who like it great but when questions are asked about the place most come back negative, the constant threads about bkk or bandit airways prices, well who went to live in Samui not knowing that was the case before they went to live there?

16 Baht beers in Phnom Penh eh?

You must be drinking in some flea pit as most are $1 a beer....good beer mind not like the Thai rubbish.

For 15 Baht beer go to Hoi An in Vietnam....yes 15 Baht for a large bottle of Saigon....mmmm.....lovely!

Meanwhile its "60 Baht Happy Hour!" on Samui.........yeah right.......

[carmine]

I must admit, in defence to it seems "many" other places in Thailand, the two tier pricing does seem particularily popular here. I cant remember it happening to me anywhere else actually. Its almost like a matter of pride here to make us pay more. Charming i know. So delightfully xenophobic.

Isn't it about time the "if you don't like it why don't you leave" brigade start posting or are their heads still uried in the sand.

SamuiNige already gave us realists all a bunch of yellow cards carmine.

He seems to have stopped short of buying us one way flights off the island. Perhaps he can't afford it?

Never did i think the day would arrive where Pattaya reflects very favourably against Samui Ooops, that is ofcourse if the rose tinted spectacle wearers can get it into their heads that Pattaya really isn't just about walking street! Mind you the beach is crap.

[smokie36]

I must admit, in defence to it seems "many" other places in Thailand, the two tier pricing does seem particularily popular here. I cant remember it happening to me anywhere else actually. Its almost like a matter of pride here to make us pay more. Charming i know. So delightfully xenophobic.

Isn't it about time the "if you don't like it why don't you leave" brigade start posting or are their heads still uried in the sand.

SamuiNige already gave us realists all a bunch of yellow cards carmine.

He seems to have stopped short of buying us one way flights off the island. Perhaps he can't afford it?

Never did i think the day would arrive where Pattaya reflects very favourably against Samui Ooops, that is ofcourse if the rose tinted spectacle wearers can get it into their heads that Pattaya really isn't just about walking street! Mind you the beach is crap.

They'll be back soon to order you off their beautiful island....I hope your bags are packed!.......see you in the Pig and Whistle.