After many years of visiting Pattaya, I am staying in Soi Bhuakaow for the first time.

Very convenient location I must admit, but too busy. Every time you cross the road you risk to get killed by Taxis, cars and motorbikes.

One thing that pisses me off:

went to a bar a few days ago (soi Lengkee) and asked for a Sang Som Soda. the bar tab says 95 Baht. I asked why so expensive and the answer was you get 2 for one. I told the cashier I only want one and she made me pay 60 Baht.

next day I went to another bar, bar tab said 75 Baht and was acompanied by a token. Upon asking, I was told that the token is for a second drink. Again, I said I only want one. They still made me pay 75 Baht. this time I was so pissed off that I took the 2nd drink and emptied it into the big plant pot at the entrance.

next dayI went to another bar and the same thing again, 80 Baht, buy one get one free, so they said.

this is ridiculous since in most common bars in Bhuakaow a sang som soda costs 40 Baht, you are actually forced to drink 2 (and pay for 2).

last night I went to a well established British beer bar and asked for a San Miguel beer. The tab said 99Baht. I told the cashier that this must be wrong since beers in Bhuakaow are going for 40-80 Baht average. Here I was told that the price is for 2 beers.

in all these establishments there was no advertisement that you get a 2nd drink, and you are not told either; they just assume you will have a 2nd one.

I think this is a very unhealthy practice that many bars in Bhuakaow are picking up now.

Maybe the reason is that, according to some people wearing rose tinted glasses, business in Pattaya is so flourishing.

Next day I went to another bar, bar tab said 75 Baht and was acompanied by a token. Upon asking, I was told that the token is for a second drink. Again, I said I only want one. They still made me pay 75 Baht. this time I was so pissed off that I took the 2nd drink and emptied it into the big plant pot at the entrance.

That really showed them eh ?

What a dick - I think you need to work on your anger management / dispute resolution skills a bit. I can't abide this sort of behaviour in Thailand (or anywhere else).

You go to enough bars you're gonna have a problem eventually. Ignore it. Better to move on with your life than get angry.

Yeah that sort of thing would really ruin my whole holiday.

JEEZ the sneaky B@stards. Lets hope it doesn't catch on elsewhere. This giving something away for free needs to be stamped out now !

Last time i was drinking in that area many of the bars had the BOGOFF , common practice, if you only want 1 beer, then go to a bar without this offer, there are plenty of them.

You just can't please some people eh

JEEZ the sneaky B@stards. Lets hope it doesn't catch on elsewhere. This giving something away for free needs to be stamped out now !

Where did you read that he got the second drink for free?

I read that they charge fro 2 drinks,regardless of the OP wanting only 1.

JEEZ the sneaky B@stards. Lets hope it doesn't catch on elsewhere. This giving something away for free needs to be stamped out now !

Where did you read that he got the second drink for free?

I read that they charge fro 2 drinks,regardless of the OP wanting only 1.

When you buy a drink in these places, the second one is automatically free, whether you want it or not. The price of the first drink is normally more expensive than the average price in bars in that area, but you get 2 drinks for the advertised price of 1. Up to the bar how much they want to charge for a beer...and up to you if you want to pay it. Hardly a sneaky practice.

I certainly hope this despicable practise of forcing 2 for the price of 1 doesn't spread to the girlie bars! I can hardly handle one now . I have no problems with liquor though!

that is horrific, i would be looking for an alternate holiday sex destination.

Imagine the gall of charging sub 50 baht a piece for 2 san miguel!!

40 Baht for a Sangsom! INCONCEIVABLE!!!!!!!!

If you are niggling over the price of 2 drinks for sub 100 baht, it is time to reconsider whether or not alcohol is a vice you can afford.

what next, 35 baht for noodles? Say it isnt so.

Ask the price before you order. Sorted. On to the next big problem.

Maybe the reason is that, according to some people wearing rose tinted glasses, business in Pattaya is so flourishing.

OMG, OP, you've inadvertently left an imaginary opening for the DYING PATTAYA brigade to flood in! Little scams and "promotions" only happen here when business is BAD, BAD, BAD as it so obviously is in Pattaya.

Your Modships, please close this thread quickly before we all have to listen to the weekly "last nail in the coffin" and "goose killed who laid the golden eggs" nonsense.

OP, I can imagine the sleepless night you must have had going over and over and over this discpicable hoodwinkery, finally you could take it no longer and vented your frustrations / pent up anger on this forum.

But, please, before it drives you out of your mind, there may be a way to get your own back!

Today try a bit of reverse psychology, instead of walking out towards the bars with the thought that you only want one Sang Som Soda in each bar, and then feeling thoroughly used and ripped off after pouring the second one down a drain, I suggest you say to yourself, "I'm going to have two Sang Som Soda's in each of those swindling bars"!! That way when you hand over the 70 / 80 / 90 Baht you can walk out and then say to yourself (and to the bar staff if you think they'll give a monkeys), "I'm having a great time, I'll be back here tomorrow to take advantage of you lot again"!!

See it works, I bet you're feeling better already and can't wait to go prove this to them. Cheers.

Too late people it has already spread ! I have just been to Tesco and they have two Brie cheeses for the price of just the one. I of course ripped of the second cheese as I only wanted the one but she still charged me the same price. Biatchhh !

I threw the other cheese on the floor and stamped on it

That showed her not to mess with a Farang !

Too late people it has already spread ! I have just been to Tesco and they have two Brie cheeses for the price of just the one. I of course ripped of the second cheese as I only wanted the one but she still charged me the same price. Biatchhh !

I threw the other cheese on the floor and stamped on it

That showed her not to mess with a Farang !

Two for the price of one is not the same as two for the price of two.

Too late people it has already spread ! I have just been to Tesco and they have two Brie cheeses for the price of just the one. I of course ripped of the second cheese as I only wanted the one but she still charged me the same price. Biatchhh !

I threw the other cheese on the floor and stamped on it

That showed her not to mess with a Farang !

Two for the price of one is not the same as two for the price of two.

He said that the bar tab was 75 baht twice and on another occasion where he poured the FREE beer into a plant pot was given a token. Show me a bar anywhere in thailand especially Pattaya that sells a beer for 37 Baht 50 satang ? A single beer cost him 75 Baht. He was offered a second free one but declined. he is nothing but yet another Tight ar#ed cheap Charlie wanting to get a beer in a bar for 40 baht or less.

I suggest he sticks to drinking outside the 7/11 as that seems more in his budget range !

I hope this has cleared things up for you as you seem to be struggling to come round to the BOGOF system

I once saw an amusing blackboard sign outside a bar here.

BUY ONE !

GET ONE !

ALL DAY !

Too late people it has already spread ! I have just been to Tesco and they have two Brie cheeses for the price of just the one. I of course ripped of the second cheese as I only wanted the one but she still charged me the same price. Biatchhh !

I threw the other cheese on the floor and stamped on it

That showed her not to mess with a Farang !

OP, I can imagine the sleepless night you must have had going over and over and over this discpicable hoodwinkery, finally you could take it no longer and vented your frustrations / pent up anger on this forum.

But, please, before it drives you out of your mind, there may be a way to get your own back!

Today try a bit of reverse psychology, instead of walking out towards the bars with the thought that you only want one Sang Som Soda in each bar, and then feeling thoroughly used and ripped off after pouring the second one down a drain, I suggest you say to yourself, "I'm going to have two Sang Som Soda's in each of those swindling bars"!! That way when you hand over the 70 / 80 / 90 Baht you can walk out and then say to yourself (and to the bar staff if you think they'll give a monkeys), "I'm having a great time, I'll be back here tomorrow to take advantage of you lot again"!!

See it works, I bet you're feeling better already and can't wait to go prove this to them. Cheers.

Yes. As it is (or should be?) written:

Coming to Thailand on holiday? Travelers should... and to be aware that the GPA (greater Pattaya area) has been designated as a DHZ (Despicable Hoodwinkery Zone), therefore all visitors are strongly encouraged to remain alert and aware of their surroundings at all times and act accordingly, while proceeding with caution (and all-the-while striving to sabai sabai no matter what! crazy shit happens)..."

Pattaya is dying (again) ?!?!? Mercy sakes alive, I'd better sell my house (at a loss) and move to (Laos ? Cambodia ? Myanmar/Burma) before the rest of you sots do (again).

Oh wait. Low season is almost done and hi season should just be starting. OMG ! Maybe there's hope yet ! Quick, call the realtor - cancel the house sale (again) !! We shouldn't have to panic (again) for at least a couple months now !

You sound like a right party pooper.

What the hell was wasting an alcoholic drink and pouring it into a plant pot going to achieve? I bet you looked like a right plonker.

I think you need to get a life and sort out your grumpy anger issues.

There no such thing as FREE they just charge double for the first drink.These bars think farang stupid.....oop"s maybe so to some ha ha

A thread complaining about the price of free Sangsom. Unbelievable at it's absolute best

A thread complaining about the price of free Sangsom. Unbelievable at it's absolute best

Yeh but it was good for a laugh.

Too late people it has already spread ! I have just been to Tesco and they have two Brie cheeses for the price of just the one. I of course ripped of the second cheese as I only wanted the one but she still charged me the same price. Biatchhh !

I threw the other cheese on the floor and stamped on it

That showed her not to mess with a Farang !

Two for the price of one is not the same as two for the price of two.

He said that the bar tab was 75 baht twice and on another occasion where he poured the FREE beer into a plant pot was given a token. Show me a bar anywhere in thailand especially Pattaya that sells a beer for 37 Baht 50 satang ? A single beer cost him 75 Baht. He was offered a second free one but declined. he is nothing but yet another Tight ar#ed cheap Charlie wanting to get a beer in a bar for 40 baht or less.

I suggest he sticks to drinking outside the 7/11 as that seems more in his budget range !

I hope this has cleared things up for you as you seem to be struggling to come round to the BOGOF system

I once saw an amusing blackboard sign outside a bar here.

BUY ONE !

GET ONE !

ALL DAY !

where did the OP mention what drink it was they poured away?

Pattaya is dying (again) ?!?!? Mercy sakes alive, I'd better sell my house (at a loss) and move to (Laos ? Cambodia ? Myanmar/Burma) before the rest of you sots do (again).

Oh wait. Low season is almost done and hi season should just be starting. OMG ! Maybe there's hope yet ! Quick, call the realtor - cancel the house sale (again) !! We shouldn't have to panic (again) for at least a couple months now !

Business is SO bad in the Soi Buakhaow area--as it is everywhere in Pattaya, deserted streets, empty parking places everywhere, hordes of beggars, boarded up shops, empty hotels, concrete coffins, bleached bones of collapsed shopping mall once known as Central Festival--that a couple weeks ago some fools opened the brand new Showgirls Entertainment Center on LK Metro, 3 floors w/ an elevator! Even that idiot Tony with no business sense whatsoever, always going around wearing rose-tinted glasses, opened up a new Tony's Fitness Gym & Sports Bar right there on Soi Buakhaow itself. Incredible. Yep--no doubt about it, in only two months, if not sooner, they'll be closed and boarded up, waiting years for new leasees.

Seems to me that one of our members w/ a markedly superior business sense could make a fortune as consultant advising these losers to invest in Spain or somewhere.

Is this a serious post? Take your one and give the other to the bar fly, enjoy the limited banter and kid yourself she's interested in you because you are handsome ... <deleted> - stupid post - as was my reply.

I am so pleased that the OP didn't come across a bar with a "Free drinks tomorrow" sign

Oh wait. Low season is almost done and hi season should just be starting.

I'm glad you use the correct words in the right context.

JEEZ the sneaky B@stards. Lets hope it doesn't catch on elsewhere. This giving something away for free needs to be stamped out now !

Where did you read that he got the second drink for free?

I read that they charge fro 2 drinks,regardless of the OP wanting only 1.

Well said jbrain!

Disregarding those who think the OP is being fastidious, I would argue that we should always be entitled to know what is on offer. If it's 50 baht for one, and 75 baht for two, well fine, then we have a choice that we can make.

I have often found that those who spout off on forums like this about how people should "get a life" are the first to complain when they're confronted with such "real life"...!!

Londondan, how do you react when things aren't quite right? Do you just deal with it, or go around calling everyone a dick?!