Retail chains peg their food items at 35 to 40 baht

[ratcatcher]

You may not know but it is still possible and cheaper to cook your food yourself. There are countries which don't offer ready to eat food on every corner and still people survive, some even get fat.

i cook for myself, but i would hardly say it is cheaper than eating out, but then i cook western and im a bit of a food snob as well.

cooking aint cheap especially if you are shopping at villa ore one of the gourmet marts

I bet you cook some tasty meals. Thais would probably spend the same amount on food for their daily needs as you spend on your vegetables for your home cooked meal.

Being a food snob and shopping at Villa Market is nice, however, most Thais have never entered a Villa, Foodland or Tops store.

Many foreigners in Thailand can afford to eat what they like, many Thais are forced to eat that which they can afford. Fortunately for you and I we fall into the first group but I sympathize with the second group.

Sounds like you live in a different country.

I live in one of the largest cities in Thailand. It's a very peaceful, beautiful place with loads of

historical and cultural attractions.

Counting the tourists, farang comprise about 25% of the population. What amazes me most

about living here these last 3 years is -- most of the Thais here seem to have a much higher

standard of living than the farangs. And it's not just a few rich hi-so Thais.

Most of the Thais here drive newer, more expensive cars. When I eat in a nice place, like Fuji

restaurant, I see Thai families of 6-8 persons who are very likely spending 1,500-2,000 baht

for their meal. And I've noticed that Thais typically eat more than I do.

This city has a hundred or so nice sub-divisions (and many more under construction) where

3-4 bedrooms are most common. I happen to live in an upscale sub-division. But not many

farang living here. In my sub-divisions, I have one neighbor (Brit) who bought his house here

7 years ago. Have seen only 2-3 other farang in this sub-division of 253 houses.

The bottom line is -- the city where I live reminds me a lot of Japan, poor folks are very few.

Most of the vehicles on the road/street are in the 1-2 million baht range.

I see so many folks on TV talking about how most Thais are so poor. Not where I live.

Interesting post. Unfortunately I've only been here 14 years and have never lived in an area where farangs comprise 25% of the population, preferring to live in rural areas away from cluttered streets and crowded malls.. Many Thais make a good living and I am happy for you that you live among them, albeit in the minority.

Many Thais are up to their eyes in debt in order to maintain the illusion of wealth, they buy fancy cars and trucks yet they sleep in rented rooms and apartments.

In the part of Thailand we live in we have a cross section of the population both wealthy and poor some living quite close to the others and not in an upscale moobaan.

It seems your little part of Thailand is not quite the same as the vast area containing the less fortunate Thais, and yes, they are in the majority..

You say you live in one of the largest cities in Thailand, might that be Chiang Mai?

[billd766]

You may not know but it is still possible and cheaper to cook your food yourself. There are countries which don't offer ready to eat food on every corner and still people survive, some even get fat.

i cook for myself, but i would hardly say it is cheaper than eating out, but then i cook western and im a bit of a food snob as well.

cooking aint cheap especially if you are shopping at villa ore one of the gourmet marts

I bet you cook some tasty meals. Thais would probably spend the same amount on food for their daily needs as you spend on your vegetables for your home cooked meal.

Being a food snob and shopping at Villa Market is nice, however, most Thais have never entered a Villa, Foodland or Tops store.

Many foreigners in Thailand can afford to eat what they like, many Thais are forced to eat that which they can afford. Fortunately for you and I we fall into the first group but I sympathize with the second group.

Sounds like you live in a different country.

I live in one of the largest cities in Thailand. It's a very peaceful, beautiful place with loads of

historical and cultural attractions.

Counting the tourists, farang comprise about 25% of the population. What amazes me most

about living here these last 3 years is -- most of the Thais here seem to have a much higher

standard of living than the farangs. And it's not just a few rich hi-so Thais.

Most of the Thais here drive newer, more expensive cars. When I eat in a nice place, like Fuji

restaurant, I see Thai families of 6-8 persons who are very likely spending 1,500-2,000 baht

for their meal. And I've noticed that Thais typically eat more than I do.

This city has a hundred or so nice sub-divisions (and many more under construction) where

3-4 bedrooms are most common. I happen to live in an upscale sub-division. But not many

farang living here. In my sub-divisions, I have one neighbor (Brit) who bought his house here

7 years ago. Have seen only 2-3 other farang in this sub-division of 253 houses.

The bottom line is -- the city where I live reminds me a lot of Japan, poor folks are very few.

Most of the vehicles on the road/street are in the 1-2 million baht range.

I see so many folks on TV talking about how most Thais are so poor. Not where I live.

Try living in rural Thailand where I live where there are no sub divisions, few 3 or 4 bedroom houses, where most of the vehicles are motorbikes and few expensive cars.

If the timing is right there may be as many as 10 farangs in a 5km radius (if all the offshore workers come back at the same time).

We do have one good restaurant but not much else.

I pay the same price as the Thais do in the local markets and shops and around here I don't get ripped off or abused and I can even get things on credit if I have left my money at home.

I have lived and worked in 38 countries around the world and you would have to pay me big money to live in a city ghetto, Thai or farang..

We live on 15 rai of land in a valley at the edge of Mae Wong national park and have done for about 10 years and this is where I will be leaving the world from in hopefully many years time

[BradinAsia]

Sounds like you live in a different country.

I live in one of the largest cities in Thailand. It's a very peaceful, beautiful place with loads of

historical and cultural attractions.

Counting the tourists, farang comprise about 25% of the population. What amazes me most

about living here these last 3 years is -- most of the Thais here seem to have a much higher

standard of living than the farangs. And it's not just a few rich hi-so Thais.

Most of the Thais here drive newer, more expensive cars. When I eat in a nice place, like Fuji

restaurant, I see Thai families of 6-8 persons who are very likely spending 1,500-2,000 baht

for their meal. And I've noticed that Thais typically eat more than I do.

This city has a hundred or so nice sub-divisions (and many more under construction) where

3-4 bedrooms are most common. I happen to live in an upscale sub-division. But not many

farang living here. In my sub-divisions, I have one neighbor (Brit) who bought his house here

7 years ago. Have seen only 2-3 other farang in this sub-division of 253 houses.

The bottom line is -- the city where I live reminds me a lot of Japan, poor folks are very few.

Most of the vehicles on the road/street are in the 1-2 million baht range.

I see so many folks on TV talking about how most Thais are so poor. Not where I live.

Interesting post. Unfortunately I've only been here 14 years and have never lived in an area where farangs comprise 25% of the population, preferring to live in rural areas away from cluttered streets and crowded malls.. Many Thais make a good living and I am happy for you that you live among them, albeit in the minority.

Many Thais are up to their eyes in debt in order to maintain the illusion of wealth, they buy fancy cars and trucks yet they sleep in rented rooms and apartments.

In the part of Thailand we live in we have a cross section of the population both wealthy and poor some living quite close to the others and not in an upscale moobaan.

It seems your little part of Thailand is not quite the same as the vast area containing the less fortunate Thais, and yes, they are in the majority..

You say you live in one of the largest cities in Thailand, might that be Chiang Mai?

Yes, Chiang Mai.

Nearly all my neighbors are Thai. I don't know about their debts, but they drive nice cars,

many of them have two cars per family. They have big satellite TV antennas, their children

dress well, have new bicycles and many nice toys.

You say most Thais up to their ears in debt -- have you seen the statistics on the average

debt for Americans? It is mind boggling. The Thais may be deeply in debt (like Americans),

but the Thais I observe have jobs, are hard working and obviously pay their bills, otherwise

they couldn't keep living in nice houses and driving expensive cars.

They have maids and gardeners. They keep their gardens pristine, there is no garbage or

debris lying around. I spent about 6 months looking for a house in many sub-divisions here

and they were all like this.

Even my gardener -- 55 years old, takes care of gardens for many people -- about half an

hour average per day on each garden. He charges each home-owner 1,500 baht per month.

I'd guess her earns 25,000-30,000 per month. His wife also does the same kind of work.

They are diligent and hard working, but certainly not poor.

I have no way to know the private lives and the finances of my neighbors, whether Thai or

farang. I can only tell you what I observe. It's very different from a lot of what i read on TV.

[Torrens54]

Ready to eat food ??????????????? just wonder who is buying those ...

What a strange comment. This is Thailand.

People who cannot afford to eat at restaurants or buy food at Foodland, TOPS or Villa Market.

Can we assume you are not in the ready to eat food market?

If it weren't for the food in a plastic bag system, many Thais would go hungry.

At least it would be better, than having to scavenge through a rubbish bin for a feed.

[Emster23]

I used to live in Phra Kanong, before the condos started going in. Most lived in one room flats. Not really room for kitchen; most didn't have refrigerators or microwaves (including me for quite a while). But the street food was great, wides variety, inexpensive and handy. No reason to go to Lotus for takeaway food.

As far as messing with the free market, appears learned nothing from rice scheme. Please take some econ 101 classes, or maybe look up "supply and demand" on google....

[BradinAsia]

Sounds like you live in a different country.

I live in one of the largest cities in Thailand. It's a very peaceful, beautiful place with loads of

historical and cultural attractions.

Counting the tourists, farang comprise about 25% of the population. What amazes me most

about living here these last 3 years is -- most of the Thais here seem to have a much higher

standard of living than the farangs. And it's not just a few rich hi-so Thais.

Most of the Thais here drive newer, more expensive cars. When I eat in a nice place, like Fuji

restaurant, I see Thai families of 6-8 persons who are very likely spending 1,500-2,000 baht

for their meal. And I've noticed that Thais typically eat more than I do.

This city has a hundred or so nice sub-divisions (and many more under construction) where

3-4 bedrooms are most common. I happen to live in an upscale sub-division. But not many

farang living here. In my sub-divisions, I have one neighbor (Brit) who bought his house here

7 years ago. Have seen only 2-3 other farang in this sub-division of 253 houses.

The bottom line is -- the city where I live reminds me a lot of Japan, poor folks are very few.

Most of the vehicles on the road/street are in the 1-2 million baht range.

I see so many folks on TV talking about how most Thais are so poor. Not where I live.

Try living in rural Thailand where I live where there are no sub divisions, few 3 or 4 bedroom houses, where most of the vehicles are motorbikes and few expensive cars.

If the timing is right there may be as many as 10 farangs in a 5km radius (if all the offshore workers come back at the same time).

We do have one good restaurant but not much else.

I pay the same price as the Thais do in the local markets and shops and around here I don't get ripped off or abused and I can even get things on credit if I have left my money at home.

I have lived and worked in 38 countries around the world and you would have to pay me big money to live in a city ghetto, Thai or farang..

We live on 15 rai of land in a valley at the edge of Mae Wong national park and have done for about 10 years and this is where I will be leaving the world from in hopefully many years time

City ghetto?

I'd never live in a city ghetto. Surely, you've been to Chiang Mai. Nothing resembling a ghetto

here, except maybe inside the old city walls, but primarily only tourists and business owners

living there. Just as you say, here we have maybe 10-15 farangs in a 5 km radius.

Our sub-division in Chiang Mai is in a rural area about 15 minutes from the city. We drive 5-7

minutes on a beautiful 4-lane highway to the most beautiful shopping malls I've ever seen in

my life (Promenada). We're less than 15 minutes from a first-rate hospital (McCormick) and

15-20 minutes from the airport.

Anyway, I haven't lived and worked in 38 countries, but have lived and worked 27 yrs in Asia

including 2 years in one of the poorest countries (Pakistan) and 16 years in one of the richest

(Japan), plus several others in between, such as the Philippines.

By the way, in 1960, I was bargaining in the bazaars of Peshawar, Pakistan, wearing Pathan

clothes, and speaking Pashto. Then as now, I paid local prices in the market, like you, and did

not get ripped off. Just seems like ordinary common sense to me.

[horsewell]

As costs rise there is either two ways for sellers to deal with it: higher prices or smaller portions. I think we see smaller portions until prices can move higher. It seems that the small sellers have a problem pushing prices higher. I must say the local fruit carts are one of the best examples. Prices can't go higher but portions sizes are so ridiculously small I gave up years ago. Rather go buy a whole watermelon, papaya, guava or whatever at the market.

I see my neighbours and there are a lot of people that do at least some cooking themselves. Even with a electric cooker it's still only about 50-60 Baht to cook a Thai style meal, enough for two plates. Cooking myself allows me to choose the types and quantity of food.

[Thai at Heart]

I find it incredible that in a country with 1 bazillion road side food stalls that this is a story.

I know people are poor, but a policy like this means diddly squat. Rather they enforce the 300 a day which represented about 100 baht a day more so that 3 baht on a plate of pad krapow doesn't matter.

Price controls don't stop inflation. Never have and never will.

[thongsuknork]

Very Nice every Country should follow this kind of limit on prices for Developement of people nice to hear such things

I salute who has done this