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Except a farang wouldn't get those prices on a song thiaw anymore. Probably 100 to Chaweng. Still cheaper than minivan though.

While the songtaew fleet has been upgraded with more new trucks, being in one with a leaky exhaust system spewing foul smelling and toxic gases into the passenger compartment still happens. They also go very slowly so as not to miss any potential customers. Fun to try sometimes, a must for a new visitor, but I am happier to take the minivans from the ferry on Samui. At Donsak some minivans are speeding unsafely, or stopping at will for personal reasons, or leaving you far from where they said they were going so you have to buy another ticket. I try to avoid them at Donsak.

"this pissed off local motorbike taxi stopped me in the middle of the junction and told me I'm not supposed to call any outside motorbike taxis to his turf. I wanted to so badly show him the finger and tell him that's what you deserve for overcharging like that."

I think this is out of that book "How to get yourself killed in Thailand". This is not an element you want to "piss off" or "show the finger". Good that instead, you had the sense Mole to just walk away.

There's no way a tourist is ever going to get the same pricing as a local for a service like this. Call it what you want but on Samui as well as in many parts of the world a tourist will always be forced to pay more.

I don't agree with it either but I don't really see it as a new low, more so same as always.

it doesn't matter if you are a tourist, a backpacker or a resident. What matters is that you are not Thai.

Anyone who is not Thai is expected to pay more.

The last time I used a songthiew I went from Mae Nam to Bang Po - about 12 kilometres.

I got on at the same time as a Thai woman

She rang the bell to get off just before the place where I was going to stop. She had already taken out a 20 baht note and I saw her give it to the driver.

200 metres further on I rang the bell, got off, and then handed the driver 20 baht. He immediately waved it away and told me 50 baht.

I stuck my head through the window and in Thai told him that I was not a tourist, not on holiday, that I'd been here 15 years knew what the prices were and paid income tax every month to the government - and asked him if he paid tax also???

When i walked away he followed me tooting his horn and yelling FARANG this and FARANG that - too fast for me to understand. In the end I had to dodge down a side lane towards the beach.

That was when I told myself that life was too short, it simply wasn't worth the hassle, and next time I'd just pay the effin money and resign myself to being a white man in a brown country.

R

The only surprising thing about this thread is that a new low was actually possible.

Its not.

Samui would rather you ride a bike drunk and have a crash costing you millions of baht than provide a cost effective alternative.

I really don't think that's true, Smokie.

I reckon they couldn't give a shit care less either way - it's not something the average working Thai dwells upon.

All they have inside their own little bubble of consciousness is doing what they've been told, charging the fare they've been told, looking forward to finishing work, eating, drinking,sleeping, shagging and singing karaoke.

Anything else in the world is vague and grey and misty and not connected with them in any way at all, especially anything to do with farangs.

R

I don't know what you are all complaining about. It's like 500 from patong to Karon over in Phuket.

I'm coming to lamai for the 1st time in August. How much should I look to pay to go to chaweng and back?

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Come on guys in any 3rd world country you know they will try it on,an extra 20 baht here and an extra 100 baht there.Any seasoned traveller would be aware of this,you either go with the flow or reject it.Always ask the price first is the no. 1 rule.

Lamai to Chaweng with taxi, at least 400 one way. It's about 10 km.