Hope dies last...

[DILLIGAD]

This is not an old thing, as one poster has said. It is relatively new. Amongst other things, one of the reasons is that word gets around of all of the scams. One other reason, as someone had mentioned, is cost. Why would tourist come to Thailand and pay as much for a restaurant meal and a beer as they would at home?

where do u live, need to visit your country, as now way can i buy a meal in Oz as cheap as in Thailand.... Europeans arent traveling due to one thing, economic issues, like most of the world...

I'm from England. Last time I was in Bangkok I paid more for a beer than my local in England. The food was also way expensive.

Your local is not really a benchmark against dining out in a cosmopolitan city, or is your local in soho?

Not too many pubs still open in UK ( as at 2015)unless it was a Weatherspoons. Maybe it was years ago??????

[puchooay]

This is not an old thing, as one poster has said. It is relatively new. Amongst other things, one of the reasons is that word gets around of all of the scams. One other reason, as someone had mentioned, is cost. Why would tourist come to Thailand and pay as much for a restaurant meal and a beer as they would at home?

where do u live, need to visit your country, as now way can i buy a meal in Oz as cheap as in Thailand.... Europeans arent traveling due to one thing, economic issues, like most of the world...

I'm from England. Last time I was in Bangkok I paid more for a beer than my local in England. The food was also way expensive.

Your local is not really a benchmark against dining out in a cosmopolitan city, or is your local in soho?

Not too many pubs still open in UK ( as at 2015)unless it was a Weatherspoons. Maybe it was years ago??????

So you call Weatherspoons a pub. I disagree.

No, my local is a free house. Great place, often with guest ales. Price comparison as of April 2015

[Norlund]

Why would tourist come to Thailand and pay as much for a restaurant meal and a beer as they would at home?

Because the Issan hooker (from the OP) he takes home, after dinner and the beer, costs 1/10 the price of a western girl and is 10x more attractive (not to mention 1/2 the age and 1/2 the weight).

But now you have an increasing numbers of tourists ( farangs ) in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodscha and Myanmar. Most of this places are cheaper and easier ( Visa ) as Thailand. Thailand is down for theie politicle situation and mant restrictions and the habit of cheating / overprizing the people.

my next stop colombia.... 180 days on arrival, FREE

Sounds good. Nothing is for free in Thailand.

[Jip99]

I'm from England. Last time I was in Bangkok I paid more for a beer than my local in England. The food was also way expensive.

Your local is not really a benchmark against dining out in a cosmopolitan city, or is your local in soho?

Not too many pubs still open in UK ( as at 2015)unless it was a Weatherspoons. Maybe it was years ago??????

So you call Weatherspoons a pub. I disagree.

No, my local is a free house. Great place, often with guest ales. Price comparison as of April 2015

Bangkok is a rip off as is London, unless you pick your places.

This year I paid 132 Baht for a small Singha in BKK and almost 20 Quid for a round of 4 drinks in O'Neills near Chinatown in London. Then again, I have paid 950 Baht for a litre of Mont Clair in a Pattaya restaurant, knowing I can buy 5 litres for less than that in Makro. I had a very pleasant bottle of Sauvignon Blanc in a UK pub (yes, there are still loads of them around) for less than 700 Baht.

Good quality food (especially from supermarkets) can be far cheaper and better in the UK - not pies, obviously, as good quality, good value pies are available in Isaan.

However, that is all but in relation to the economics of Isaan if I want a beer in Bangkok I will have one (but I will buy at Cheap Charles bar off soi11 for 80 Baht a bottle and not at the Nana hotel), if I want a girl in Pattaya I will have one (but I will pay 1,000 Baht for something of my choosing and not a Walking Street GoGo girl for 2,000+ Baht. If I want a steak and kidney pie or a pork pie I will have one - but I will buy from my local Buriram supplier and not some of the overpriced suppliers in Pattaya/Bangkok.

So, IMO, the tourists (sex tourists and others) will continue to come to Thailand in their thousands. Numbers and budgets may be down for those adversely affected by economic situations at home - but I have to tell you that I have several people telling me it is buoyant in the UK and those guys will certainly be back to Thailand this year. So..... the Thais will do what they have always done - subsist. If they listen to their monarch they will diversify a little. They will still be poor and if they only have a 100 Baht to spend they will spend it. Girls (and boys) will still go and find work in the factories and service the sex trade in key areas. It sounds like business as usual to me - with a few squeezes here and there if it doesn't rain or, if it floods in Ayuthaya/Bangkok or if the Chinese don't come or if USA/Europe hit a downturn.

[Jessi]

obviously, as good quality, good value pies are available in Isaan.

I tried both Burriram pies and also Korat chef... 2 words "Bloody awful"

I found a English lady in Nan Rong that makes good pies. She has moved to a new shop and I must find it.

As with most food some like & some dont its all a matter of taste.

[lostinisaan]

You never gossip?

What the hell do you think you're doing telling the world on here.

Whats the price of a hooker from Issan in Issan? Is it the same as it is when shes in Pattaya?

Why would he tell you that? Can't you read, or what? He doesn't "gossip."

[PT4]

Pure market forces in play. The value of any product is price + quality + service. Here, price is up, quality is down, service is down, which means that Thailand as a product, has lost value.

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​Remember to include currency exchange rates, too.

[PT4]

Economic activity is down around the globe, and in Thailand's case the currency woes of AU, NZ, Eurozone, Japan, Russia, etc. certainly do not help tourism.

"Mpyre's" comment fits everything I've seen. The "currency woes" of other countries will continue to be felt strongly here. Besides tourism, all exports: rice, chicken, shrimp, rubber, palm oil, auto parts, clothing, wood furniture, shoes, etc. With "currency woes" the Japanese can't build more car factories. Russians can't buy villas in Phuket and condos in Pattaya. Swiss expats won't be building many more chalet-style retirement houses in Isaan. Going to be a lot of hungry people in villages up country.

Sad for them. Likely dangerous for us - expat and tourist alike.

I wonder how can we know when hope dies? Will it be with a bang (suddenly)? Or with a whimper (slowly)? And when hope here does die, what is a farang to do? Frankly, I have no alternative plan.

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[willyumiii]

." (they know, that I don't gossip around.)"

​Hmmm.....is posting what they tell you on an internationally accessed forum considered gossip?

I think it is!

Good thing for you they probably do not read or write the English language either!

[elliss]

Pure market forces in play.

The value of any product is price + quality + service.

Here, price is up, quality is down, service is down, which means that Thailand as a product, has lost value.

Well said. You forgot to mention the two level pricing system for nearly everything.

Spot on , bet my teeraks, thai boy friend, brother/lover , has every ting free .

Farlang pay fee , every time .

No problem , we are all happy family .