British survey points travellers to Bangkok: ‘Cheapest city on earth’ not proud of it

[Morakot]

4 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Fake news. BKK cheap.

 

Tourist numbers must be down. Hence the (wishful) announcement.

[madmitch]

I made the comment on another thread recently that the figures provided by the Post Office are so heavily weighted towards the price of a meal with wine that the figures are practically meaningless.

 

If wine's expensive, I drink beer or a local beverage, as do millions of other tourists.

 

Anyway, back to the article which is, IMHO, dreadful. Poorly researched with a xenophobic tone. Cheap prices attract tourists; tourist don't create cheap prices. 

 

As many have pointed out, Thailand isn't a cheap destination any more for many. Backpackers have the uncanny ability to live cheaply wherever they are but buy a beer in a decent bar or hotel and you're talking Western prices. Eat in a proper restaurant and those thousand baht notes soon disappear. The tax on luxury goods, indeed most imported items make them prohibitively expensive for many.

 

What does the writer want? Mega-inflation, which will damage the currency and the economy? Or is he, in a roundabout way, simply telling Cheap Charlie visitors to p1ss off? In which case lat's say goodbye to the millions of Chinese.

 

The Government consistently calls for more quality tourists yet continues to welcome increasing numbers of low-cost, short-stay package tourists. They seem as deluded as the writer of this article.

[TheMacMan]

Not cheap (not expensive either... but not cheap!)
Can buy house but cannot own land under it... can lose the right to live/extend your land-lease on your house easily.

Can start a company, can put 100% of the money in to start it.... but cannot own more than 49%.

Cannot get visas to stay long-term easily (it can be done, but not easily)

 

In Phuket, nearly all I see is tourist based or tourist dependent.... prices are rising but the benefits are falling.... (Phuket is one of the most expensive areas, if not THE most expensive area of Thailand and yet it seems harder and harder....or should I say 'more and more expensive' to stay in Phuket with the increasing costs and fees for accounts, visas, extensions etc.)

More basic-rights security is needed for foreigners who wish to move here to live/work and invest heavily in Thailand (whether by business or home/family/school fees etc) - if that changes then the money WILL come.... until then, it is really down to the individuals and whether the risks outweigh the benefits.

 

[NCC1701A]

2 minutes ago, tryasimight said:

                        and I hate to say this, but being a retired upper middle class American Snob the biggest shock coming to Thailand was seeing all the very low class people from all over the world wandering around. Most high end tourist would be put off by this.     

 

Fixed the typo for you.           

I am not a snob, but when you are living at certain level all your life like I did in Malibu, Manhattan Beach and West Los Angeles in Southern California, suddenly seeing a lot of morbidly obese, ugly people from all over the world with no money or taste and not wearing deodorant can be a big adjustment. No one with money is going to pick Thailand for vacationing UNTIL they have gone to the high end places first.

 

Go to the Bora Bora yacht club in Tahiti, one of the most beautiful places in the world and look around. I spent five weeks in Tahiti, it was incredibly expensive, I spent around $35,000 USD on that vacation 20 years ago. 

 

I do have to say living in Thailand and sometimes going into bars and trying to guess who just got out of prison or who is a child molester can be a entertaining way to spend an afternoon.

[TheMacMan]

16 minutes ago, madmitch said:

The Government consistently calls for more quality tourists yet continues to welcome increasing numbers of low-cost, short-stay package tourists. They seem as deluded as the writer of this article.

That right there is the bit that constantly puzzles me....

Quality tourists wanted, investors wanted and yet those that fit that bill are treated the same(sometime worse) by immigration and government....????

 

I retired here early, I have a foreign wife, we have a baby. I pay for houses (cash) I buy new cars (cash) I pay for gardeners, pool cleaners, I bring in my retirement money and spend it in Thailand.
I pay for school fees, everything I spend goes in to the Thai economy and yet it has been a constant struggle with fees and visas to stay here legally and properly!

 

My wife started a company, we spent 1000's of baht setting up and starting but constantly, constantly there was checks, fees, accounts.... it was costing so much it made it hard to get the company started and off the ground and viable..... so we shut-it down and just live off of my retirement.... Something is wrong when the bureaucracy makes it too expensive to start up a small company that will pay wages and taxes.... (Sure, some people will have had good luck with this - but what I see is basically a "screw the farang out of as much as we can as quick as we can" attitude.
If someone is bringing in millions of baht to Thailand to spend and it makes no difference at all then what on earth qualifies as a quality tourist or a "good farang"

 

That said, I love it here - but if someone was to ask me about coming here to invest or live and start a small company, I would genuinely tell them to forget it!  Currently the only people benefitting from the current 'structure' are the older or long-term retired people with the money to sit back and keep themselves to themselves and of course the back-packers and cheap 'zero-dollar' tourists who are in and out quickly for a cheap jolly....

The middle class (quality) tourists are fewer and have no additional benefits coming their way!

 

 

 

 

Edited August 17, 2017 by TheMacMan
spelling

[Morakot]

6 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

seeing a lot of morbidly obese, ugly people from all over the world with no money or taste and not wearing deodorant

Believe it or not! Strangely that seems to be the appeal for many visitors to this country...

[Pdaz]

3 hours ago, Ace of Pop said:

Perhaps someone should post a List thats for Non Backpackers.Cars are a Stupid prices,gutter foods Cheap, but a descent place isnt.Trying to think what's cheap for me by comparison .?.....can only say Car Service and Electricity.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

Yep. Cheap if you want made in China plastic junk, rotgut local booze or street food. Labour also cheap, unless you want qualified skilled labour. Buffets, Five star hotels, Rates/Local council charges and parking are still good value.

Everything else I like or want is expensive. Wine, Craft beer, Spirits, Cheese, Quality meat, Cars, Bicycles, Motorbikes, Quality kitchen goods, Coffee machines, Quality tools, Shoes, Clothing (Large Farang size) Electrical goods and pretty much anything that includes "quality" in the description.. All cheaper in UK or USA

[Time Traveller]

The biggest piece of xenophobic trash from the Nation that I've seen in a long time.

 

"The cheap prices foreign tourists enjoy come at the cost of Thai taxpayers, whose money is spent on infrastructure, electricity, tap water and other services. These are what is keeping the cost of living here highly affordable for visitors from overseas. The several million people coming to Thailand each year also contribute to traffic congestion and rubbish in the big cities, making local lives worse. Is all this worth the bragging rights over being called the cheapest city on earth?" -----

Oh those poor Thai taxpayers having to pay for Infrastructure,  electricity and tap water !!!  Like every other city on earth . And don't the tourists also contirbute for that on airport taxes, tolls, hotel room rates etc...

 

 

And there was this comment:

"But there are critics who believe free visas aren’t a good idea for Thailand, since the practice brings in so many stingy visitors and backpackers. "----

 

No, the reason they are not spending money, propping up the failing businesses of the critics, is because they simply don't offer anything unique or special that the visitors want to buy. People are here on vacation most probably prefer to be relaxing rather than spending every minute shopping or buying cheap pathetic souvenirs or special fake tuk tuk tour. 

 

It's clear whoever wrote this garbage hate the tourists coming, but need their money. These dumb journalists simply don't understand the reason thai businesses are not benefiting.

Clue: It's because they have never had to compete on level playing field, so have never developed a superiour product that foreigners would want.....nothing beyond the lying-on-the-beach holiday concept.

 

 

[Time Traveller]

42 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

I am not a snob, but when you are living at certain level all your life like I did in Malibu, Manhattan Beach and West Los Angeles in Southern California, suddenly seeing a lot of morbidly obese, ugly people from all over the world with no money or taste and not wearing deodorant can be a big adjustment. No one with money is going to pick Thailand for vacationing UNTIL they have gone to the high end places first.

 

Go to the Bora Bora yacht club in Tahiti, one of the most beautiful places in the world and look around. I spent five weeks in Tahiti, it was incredibly expensive, I spent around $35,000 USD on that vacation 20 years ago. 

 

I do have to say living in Thailand and sometimes going into bars and trying to guess who just got out of prison or who is a child molester can be a entertaining way to spend an afternoon.

So glad we have high and mighty people like you  (and who are not Snobs) to leave your upper class homes and come to live in thailand to judge all of us.

Can you guess what category I fall into ? 

[Essecola]

5 hours ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

When I went to Kuala Lumpur I found just about everything cheaper than Bangkok. Also, Malaysia issues 30 day "visa" exemption.

Malaysia offers 90 day visa exemption to some nationalities although if a person decided to live there thru 3 or 4 of those 90 day stamps in a row then I wonder if immigration would start to ask them more in depth about what they are doing there. But for week long visits the limit seems to be endless unlike in Thailand where once some people have a few of the exempt stamps in their passport, they start getting pressured a little upon entry.

[InMyShadow]

Thailand and Bangkok in particular is not cheap. Used to be until the greed machine kicked in and the prices escalated. Many other parts of SEA are cheaper than Thailand. I know what someone is going to and that is "if you don't like it leave". Well like many foreigners here I have a Thai family. As for not contributing I bring in over Baht 2m a year. Not bragging but it is needed to take care of my family. Many other guys I know with Thai families also spend around the same.
Overly expensive I don't believe so but cheap it certainly is not.

What isn't cheap about it? Anybody can get a bowl of noodles at mall for 30 baht or a seafood buffet 5 star for 5000 baht.
Taxi for 40baht or around clock limo , hotels from 1000 in soi 8 to unlimited penthouse.

The one thing that isn't cheap are new condos in lower Sukhumvit. But that's not really a tourist issue.

Bangkok can be as cheap and expensive as your wallet is

[Morakot]

18 minutes ago, Time Traveller said:

So glad we have high and mighty people like you  (and who are not Snobs) to leave your upper class homes and come to live in thailand to judge all of us.

Can you guess what category I fall into ? 

The Great Unwashed?

 

My favourite band, incidently!

 

 

[petedk]

5 hours ago, gandalf12 said:

Thailand and Bangkok in particular is not cheap. Used to be until the greed machine kicked in and the prices escalated. Many other parts of SEA are cheaper than Thailand. I know what someone is going to and that is "if you don't like it leave". Well like many foreigners here I have a Thai family. As for not contributing I bring in over Baht 2m a year. Not bragging but it is needed to take care of my family. Many other guys I know with Thai families also spend around the same.

Overly expensive I don't believe so but cheap it certainly is not.

Actually everything is relative and depends on where you go.

 

Bangkok can be cheap. Noodles 40 baht. Pad Thai 60 baht

Beer 80 baht a small bottle. 

Rooms from a few hundred baht.

 

The survey was probably aimed at tourists visiting the cheaper areas where street food is still allowed.

 

Just last Friday I was walking on my soi looking for a place to eat.:

 

Salad 420 baht

"Fried sausage" 520 baht

Small local beer 170 Baht

all ++

 

Now that is by no means cheap.

 

 

[jaywalker]

3 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

With the exception of Soi Six, Pattaya.

 

and I hate to say this, but being a retired upper middle class American the biggest shock coming to Thailand was seeing all the very low class people from all over the world wandering around. Most high end tourist would be put off by this.

Thanks! LOL 

Yeah, you see some true wacko's in BKK and Pattaya.

 

They range from old hippies to young hippies.....Or skinhead Brits.

 

I saw a guy who had a Robert Plant/David Lee Roth hairdo on Sukh near Asoke once with a gold alarm clock on a big chain around his neck, replete with cowboy boots and shorts.

 

Soi Six has its own share of weird willy's. Most of them are Thai men trying to act like women.

 

 

Edited August 17, 2017 by jaywalker

[jaywalker]

1 hour ago, NCC1701A said:

I do have to say living in Thailand and sometimes going into bars and trying to guess who just got out of prison or who is a child molester can be a entertaining way to spend an afternoon.

Reminds me of a few bars I used to frequent 30 years ago in Florida.

 

Saw some clown I'd just met at The Longhorn Tavern on the America's Most Wanted TV show once...Child molester. I called him in. Never saw him again, but he was not featured on the next week's show, so I guess they got him.

 

You forgot to mention watching for all the ex Special Forces/Navy Seals. Can be mildly entertaining as well.

 

Watching your buddy get dragged out of a bar by his ear, by his wife, for groping a really ugly bargirl (she drove by & spotted him), is beyond entertaining though.

Edited August 17, 2017 by jaywalker

[Xaos]

Bangkok cheapes in earth? Doubt it

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

[gandalf12]

2 hours ago, InMyShadow said:

What isn't cheap about it? Anybody can get a bowl of noodles at mall for 30 baht or a seafood buffet 5 star for 5000 baht.
Taxi for 40baht or around clock limo , hotels from 1000 in soi 8 to unlimited penthouse.

The one thing that isn't cheap are new condos in lower Sukhumvit. But that's not really a tourist issue.

Bangkok can be as cheap and expensive as your wallet is

If you want to live like a back packer I agree. When you have a family to consider that option is really a no go. Taxi's actually start at Baht 35 so if you are paying Baht 40 you should be walking the 1 km

[gandalf12]

1 hour ago, petedk said:

Actually everything is relative and depends on where you go.

 

Bangkok can be cheap. Noodles 40 baht. Pad Thai 60 baht

Beer 80 baht a small bottle. 

Rooms from a few hundred baht.

 

The survey was probably aimed at tourists visiting the cheaper areas where street food is still allowed.

 

Just last Friday I was walking on my soi looking for a place to eat.:

 

Salad 420 baht

"Fried sausage" 520 baht

Small local beer 170 Baht

all ++

 

Now that is by no means cheap.

 

 

I am talking from the point of view of having a family here. It is different if you are on your own of course but the cost of living here in Thailand is getting more expensive.

[dcnx]

Big spenders go to places where it's unlikely that their taxi driver is going to hack them with a machete.

[mommysboy]

12 minutes ago, gandalf12 said:

I am talking from the point of view of having a family here. It is different if you are on your own of course but the cost of living here in Thailand is getting more expensive.

It's the cost of housing that makes Bangkok still seem cheap relative to UK for instance.  Public transport is also a great deal, although there is a safety compromise.  These are 2 major costs, and it is just as well they are cheap because from that point onward UK starts to seem good value, particularly health and education costs.  Ultimately, if you are working class, I suspect UK is a better deal because as we age we start to need medical services a lot more. 

 

To holiday: I can't see Thailand being bettered for the budget tourist, what with clean rooms available for 500 baht, multitudes of diners serving dishes at 50-100 baht, and free beaches. And entertainment is all around.

[Rc2702]

8 hours ago, lkv said:

Let's get this straight please. Thank you for the wonderful report written by a Thai in The Nation based on fiction.

 

http://www.postoffice.co.uk/travel-money/holiday-money-report-2017

 

This is Top 12 worldwide. Thailand not included (too expensive).

This is the "rest of the world", Phuket Thailand, number 4.

 

Conclusions:

 

- Tokyo is way more cheaper than Phuket.

 

- The first 10 European destinations (different pic - find on the website) are ALL cheaper than Phuket.

 

It's beyond my understanding how someone writes an article / opinion in the Thai press discussing a third party survey from the UK, and then we go to the website of that third party and we see different data.

 

Seriously? I mean like....seriously?

 

Its is also implied in the article that Thailand has the generosity to provide visa exempt, while Malaysia doesn't. For the writer of the article, please be informed that Malaysia offers a 90 day visa exempt for many nationalities and does not charge 1,900 baht for 30 day extensions so one can actually spend 60 days in Thailand. Or 90 days, only if they apply for a visa that costs 1000 -1400 baht depending on where one gets it from.

 

 

Fark me it's embarrassing when a graph reader like yourself overlooks the one variable that the data was pointing at. BANGKOK. Your phuket rant is irrelevent.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

3 hours ago, InMyShadow said:

What isn't cheap about it? Anybody can get a bowl of noodles at mall for 30 baht or a seafood buffet 5 star for 5000 baht.
Taxi for 40baht or around clock limo , hotels from 1000 in soi 8 to unlimited penthouse.

The one thing that isn't cheap are new condos in lower Sukhumvit. But that's not really a tourist issue.

Bangkok can be as cheap and expensive as your wallet is

 

Yes and Canada is even cheaper because back home I can sleep on the street for free and not get arrested for it.

 

I can go to soup kitchen and get free food without paying 30 baht.

 

I'll even get free money thrown at me if I don't have a job.

 

Your point?

[Oceanbat]

59 minutes ago, gandalf12 said:

I am talking from the point of view of having a family here. It is different if you are on your own of course but the cost of living here in Thailand is getting more expensive.

yep. not to mention schooling...

OB

[lkv]

36 minutes ago, Rc2702 said:

Fark me it's embarrassing when a graph reader like yourself overlooks the one variable that the data was pointing at. BANGKOK. Your phuket rant is irrelevent.

Yes you are right, Bangkok is nowhere to be found on the original charts of the survey, unless somehow I have missed it, which makes one wonder what on earth is the journalist at the Nation talking about.

Edited August 17, 2017 by lkv

[gandalf12]

2 hours ago, mommysboy said:

It's the cost of housing that makes Bangkok still seem cheap relative to UK for instance.  Public transport is also a great deal, although there is a safety compromise.  These are 2 major costs, and it is just as well they are cheap because from that point onward UK starts to seem good value, particularly health and education costs.  Ultimately, if you are working class, I suspect UK is a better deal because as we age we start to need medical services a lot more. 

 

To holiday: I can't see Thailand being bettered for the budget tourist, what with clean rooms available for 500 baht, multitudes of diners serving dishes at 50-100 baht, and free beaches. And entertainment is all around.

Accommodation compared to the UK is cheap I totally agree with you. The house we have we could not buy it in the UK unless we paid maybe 3 or 4 times what we paid for it in Bangkok

[Jonmarleesco]

12 hours ago, webfact said:

The cheap prices foreign tourists enjoy come at the cost of Thai taxpayers, whose money is spent on infrastructure, electricity, tap water and other services. These are what is keeping the cost of living here highly affordable for visitors from overseas. The several million people coming to Thailand each year also contribute to traffic congestion and rubbish in the big cities, making local lives worse. Is all this worth the bragging rights over being called the cheapest city on earth?

Spent on infrastructure, electricity, tap water - and payments to the many extended hands. Much of the infrastructure in Bangkok is poorly planned, poorly constructed, and poorly maintained; electricity is cheap for the population, and it's unreliable; tap water that is undrinkable ... and the writer thinks tourists should be thankful for getting a good deal?

 

Increased traffic congestion? Down to tourists? So without those pesky tourists, we could all drive to work/school/the shops in a fraction of the time it currently takes. I don't think so.

 

As for rubbish? Which planet is he/she writing this from? The Thais are the biggest culprits by far when it comes to dumping rubbish, toxic and non-toxic, hazardous and non-hazardous, and well he/she should know it.

Edited August 17, 2017 by Jonmarleesco

[TheMac]

2 hours ago, lkv said:

Yes you are right, Bangkok is nowhere to be found on the original charts of the survey, unless somehow I have missed it, which makes one wonder what on earth is the journalist at the Nation talking about.

It is so funny how people missinterpret you

[the guest]

I must admit it would be a good idea to bin the exemption visa, and replace it with normal visa requirements, which would then involve having mandatory insurance as a requirement. It would solve a lot of problems.

 

With regards to the repot :http://www.postoffice.co.uk/travel-money/holiday-money-report-2017

It's a load of rubbish as far as Thailand is concerned. For example: 0,51 UKP for water? Right it costs 7-10 THB in most stores

 

Thailand is still cheap for many things (even for tourists)

 

 

[The manic]

it is one of the most expensive cities in the world.

[wakeupplease]

7 hours ago, Paul Collins said:

"Those idiots" voted to take back control of their country, to stop their country and services being overrun by by countless economic migrants who have no intention of ever contributing anything to the economy and to leave a corrupt EU which, after virtually bankrupting all of it's member states (apart from those who contribute nothing) is going to fail and fall apart in spectacular fashion in the not too distant future. So to say that voting for Brexit has inflicted hardship on millions due to a temporary drop in the value of the £ is utter stupidity. A price had to be paid to correct the idiocy of taking the UK into the old EC in the first place. I am one of the idiots who voted for Brexit and will never regret it

Was he saying maybe was the £ had dropped and his pension did not go as far as it used to, so he is finding it expensive here now.

Then goes on to slags off fellow Brits for voting for Brexit and curtaining his activates here due to the £ drop.

 

Most only move here for two reasons and one was being a cheap Charlie, so they forgot about the exchange rates and did not factor it in.

 

Which means there is an idiot around.

 

They could always go back I suppose, but highly unlikely as they have blown the cash pile and have very little left.

 

So no plan B then. Try blaming that on Brexit.

 

How on earth anyone can live in a country that you pay or your taxes to and forever and a day you are just classed as as a guest with no roots I will never know.