"Expensive" Phuket dead as a dodo this high season

[Henryford]

I can't even afford the mafia taxi from the airport. Bye bye Phuket.

[hansgruber]

1 hour ago, LivinginKata said:

 

Nice to see you posting Hans ...

 

You well know that Thais at every economic level avoid or just don't pay taxes as they well know that government at every level just waste or pocket the money.

 

I have no idea why taxes causes Phuket to be more 'expensive'.

I have been lurking a little on the forum. Trying to get things back to normal. 

 

The guy was whining about wine being expensive. 

It's considered a luxury and not a necessity. 

Also the big alcohol companies keep the import liquors taxed to protect their monopoly. Business and politics are intertwined. 

 

Luxury taxes are here to stay until they work out a 1st world tax system. 

Corruption is rife in the tax department. Many people pay way less than they should. 

 

[Wake Up]

On 12/17/2018 at 9:41 AM, Just1Voice said:

Thai's greed for the almighty baht will be their downfall. 

The whole world is greedy for the almighty baht, dollar, pound, rmb, euro, franc, peso ......What is your point? 

[madmen]

I was in Jomtien where a small beer cost me 100 baht, my room in a "converted house" was 1,000 baht per night, a bowl of noodle ?? soup was also 100 baht. I must have been in the wrong area.

Well jomtien isn't really Pattaya. Pattaya is beach Rd up to soi Buakhao for tourists.

Must have been a damn good soup for 100 baht

[phuketrichard]

2 hours ago, Henryford said:

I can't even afford the mafia taxi from the airport. Bye bye Phuket.

take the new shuttle, Max 170 baht!!
living in Phuket it costs me, at most 10% more to do or eat anything elsewhere in Thailand an who cares about a few baht
for a tourist u can find nice air con rooms EVEN in Patong Year round for under 700 baht $21

eat for under 100 baht,$3, drink for under 100 baht $3

Take the bus patong to phuket town for 40 baht ( $1.20)
OR between Karon beach and Patong for under 40baht ( $1,20)
How much cheaper do u need it??

[marqus12]

2 minutes ago, phuketrichard said:

take the new shuttle, Max 170 baht!!

still a rip off...ho chi minh airport to city centre 25 baht

[phuketrichard]

5 minute cab ride in sf  $10 MIN+ tip

[Old Croc]

4 hours ago, carmine said:

Yup, it sure looks like"one of the worlds premier tourist destinations"    Classic!!  keep living in the past!!!  If you are right I suppose the big lure must be the garbage strewn streets, filthy beaches and poor quality of service.

 

Considering its Z"one of the worlds premier tourist destinations" i will presume they are all hiding.

https://www.businessinsider.com/most-visited-cities-in-the-world-2018-9

[KhunProletariat]

Good! I lived in this hell hole a while back and the locals were akin to blood sucking parasites. They are the biggest cowboys in Thailand, all they do is scam tourists, day and night. I hope they never receive another tourist dollar and all their businesses go BUST. Bye bye Phuket, you are falling into the tourism abyss. Good riddance!

[amichetto]

I used to love Patong, I spent 3-4 months a year. Prices were right compared to the standard of living of the country. Unfortunately, after many, Thai, they have mounted their heads wanting to transform Patong as Montecarlo .... forgetting the great difference of the two countries. To all this, there is also the fact of the malice that the Thai have towards the Europeans. That's why Patong but like all of Thailand, if they continue this step .... they will have their decline. All this confirms that many Europeans have changed their holiday destinations.

[farangx]

1 hour ago, phuketrichard said:

take the new shuttle, Max 170 baht!!

 

Actually the airport shuttle bus to town costs 100b.  And less if you alight before that.

[farangx]

The word expensive says it all.  If I am on a budget I won't go there, self explanatory.  If you are on the island for a 4-day holiday and cringing at a 50b more here, an extra 100b there, maybe 2,000b over the 4 days, then you better go somewhere else. Why let your holiday make you miserable?  But if you want cheap eats and good cheap lodging, you can find them quite easily, in non-tourist hangouts of course.

 

[jinners]

I'm here now and it's fairly busy. Not sure how 'busy' things should be but plenty of bodies. Mostly Russki's as far as I can see. Though it is expensive. Here for a few days. Weather is <deleted> so be glad to leave.

[Odysseus123]

Horrible place,the construction site of Mordor.

 

More dead legionairres propped up against the wall than Pattaya-and that is really saying something..

 

I stayed at  a resort and all the time I was thinking.."I would be better off in New Caledonia."

[marqus12]

but phuket has one advantage ..andaman sea is much cleaner
than this cesspool on the other side with billions of jellyfishes

[phuketrichard]

1 hour ago, farangx said:

Actually the airport shuttle bus to town costs 100b.  And less if you alight before that.

was NOT referring to airport shuttle to town which is hardly new
but the new one that runs up an down the coast hitting every beach town along the way
max Airport to Rawaii   170 baht

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

On 12/17/2018 at 4:51 PM, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Yes, my first thought was what time were the photos taken? Go around my native London early on a Sunday morning and it will look the same. Having said that, the place has been a rip-off for a long, long time and I always warn any friends that plan a trip to Thailand not to go there.

Didn't anyone go to the source material? The photos were shot at 3 pm, 10/December/2561 (2018)

[Psimbo]

2 hours ago, farangx said:

Actually the airport shuttle bus to town costs 100b.  And less if you alight before that.

Actually he's talking about the coastal bus that goes through all the 'tourist' towns, not the one that goes to Phuket town. 

[Psimbo]

2 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

Horrible place,the construction site of Mordor.

 

More dead legionairres propped up against the wall than Pattaya-and that is really saying something..

 

I stayed at  a resort and all the time I was thinking.."I would be better off in New Caledonia."

Best you stay there then- all the more for those of us who like the place to enjoy.

 

Boy there's a bunch of out of touch whingers on there.

[chama]

On 12/16/2018 at 9:50 PM, darksidedog said:

Phuket is not alone in having very few tourists. Pattaya looks like the depths of low season compared with a few years back. It will be tough for TAT to spin some lies to pretend this is not the case, when the evidence, or lack of it, is clearly visible to all. Thailand has problems with its tourist industry, and it is time for the denial to stop.

Don't under estimate TAT. They can spin lies under all circumstances. And the public now knows that they are spinning and no longer listen. 

[chama]

This seems to be happening all over Thailand. The fleecing of tourist has become known worldwide and travelers are booking trips to other locations. The pricing at some locations for Thais versus tourist turns on the spotlight and then people become aware that they are viewed as an ATM and are less likely to return or speak highly of their trip.

[steve2112]

accomodation is very cheap, nice new condo's available on airbnb for 600/night all over the island

i can get 50 baht beer at my local pub in rawai and some places have 4o baht draft

 

[a977]

On ‎12‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 9:47 AM, jak2002003 said:

Looks lovely.  Nice and quiet.  Might go there next week.  

 

Maybe the tourists were put off, not by the price, but by the dirty, smelly and scruffy streets, rubbish on the beach, and polluted brown sea water?  

 

 

No that's Pattaya your talking about!

[carmine]

16 hours ago, Old Croc said:

https://www.businessinsider.com/most-visited-cities-in-the-world-2018-9

Fair enough, so have but one question.  Where are all the tourists?

[Dermah]

On 12/17/2018 at 2:57 PM, Joe Mcseismic said:

I'm betting those photos were taken between 06:30 am and 07:00 am.

The shops are open at that time?

[Joe Mcseismic]

5 minutes ago, Dermah said:

The shops are open at that time?

Actually, after a closer look, you can see that it is after midday because of the shadows.

[nausea]

12 hours ago, chama said:

This seems to be happening all over Thailand.

Maybe, but Phuket is a special case, and this is very much karma, if you ask me. But I have a bee in my bonnet, having very much enjoyed earlier times there (mid 2000s) but finding something very off on later trips, so much so that I pretty much boycotted the place.

[madmen]

The more I read this, and other similar topics, the more I become aware that there is an incredible amount of dirt poor, or subsistence pensioners, living as expats in Thailand. The uproar from many when it became likely they would have to actually prove income consistent with Immigration guidelines, further proved the theory. 
However, one of the great things about this country is that it can provide a place to live for all, commensurate with their income levels. Appreciate this.
Phuket is more expensive than nearly anywhere else in Thailand because it is one of the world's premier tourist destinations. There are rip offs galore in the tourist areas as in any popular tourist site. 
However, very few local expats live as tourists here, instead we shop in street markets, at Tesco, Makro, et al, the same as everyone else in the country. We live in jungles, farmland, smaller islands or near deserted beaches. We may pay a little more than elsewhere for a plate of rice. Big deal, it's still very cheap compared to where we originated!
Some of you characters who haven't been to Phuket for 10, 20 or even 30 years , but are still banging on about being overcharged for a drink (it's never happened to any other drinker!),  should, firstly get up to date knowledge of the place - you wouldn't recognize it from those days and secondly, get on with your life wherever it is that you've found your personal paradise, and stop moaning about other places that don't suit you! 
 

It's about tourists though. Your an expat. Tourists don't go to Tesco to by pork and Veges.
Any expat can live on sticky rice and mama noodles but makes no sense to compare to 2 week millionaires

[Old Croc]

1 hour ago, madmen said:

It's about tourists though. Your an expat. Tourists don't go to Tesco to by pork and Veges.
Any expat can live on sticky rice and mama noodles but makes no sense to compare to 2 week millionaires

Many of those complaining here about Phuket prices are expats elsewhere in the country. They are comparing their expat prices to Phuket's tourist prices. 

[LivinginKata]

3 hours ago, madmen said:

It's about tourists though. Your an expat. Tourists don't go to Tesco to by pork and Veges.
Any expat can live on sticky rice and mama noodles but makes no sense to compare to 2 week millionaires

 

Makro and Tesco are full of tourists .