HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Thailand is pricing itself out of the western expat retirement and tourist markets

Not allowing Mr Pinder to have the last word

Food for thought

She-males blocking footpaths after dark are indeed a problem

Thailand is pricing itself out of the western expat retirement and tourist markets

Dear Editor:
I would like to expand on Tom’s (3 Oct.) observation, “Thailand is not cheap”. In fact, Thailand is down right expensive, unless you come here to take advantage of poor, marginally educated rural Thais who earn their living in the sex trade, or you’re a multinational taking advantage of Thai national resources, lax pollution regulations, and in general the Thai workforce itself.

I’d like to make some more direct comparisons of cost. For instance, I use multiple ISPs for internet access throughout the world. In the US, my basic ISP, which is the equivalent of the providers in Thailand, costs $5.95 (B 238) for a month’s worth of unlimited access anywhere in the US. I routinely access streaming audio while I work, so for say 120 hrs of access in Thailand a month, I would spend over B 1000 ($25). Cable or satellite TV with over 200 digital or HD channels available and even on demand service, cost about the same as in Thailand where you get less than a quarter of the channels and many are of questionable quality. Electricity costs are higher in Thailand, and is out of service far more often. Phone service is a bit cheaper to use when it works, but installation costs are considerably higher; that is if you can get a phone line installed at all.

I recently built a house; everyone talks about how cheap housing is in Thailand. A house in Thailand in what would be the equivalent of a typical small town USA middle class neighborhood runs 4 to 5 million baht ($125,000). We are talking about a 140 to 150 sq. meter copy of a California ranch style home with two bedrooms across Sukhumvit Highway. The problem is, this is still a Thai house, noisy, poorly insulated, humid, with questionable electrical wiring. A better constructed, more comfortable, energy efficient house could be found along the Gulf Coast of the US or in Florida for maybe two-thirds the cost. My house in Thailand, built to US standards, cost over 150% of what a similar home would cost me to build in the southeastern US.

Land costs in Thailand are totally out of proportion to the economy. Considering the amount of bank loans backed by land and property titles, when the bubble burst this time the Thai version of an S&L crisis will be a huge economic train wreck. The so-called growth of the Thai economy is fiction; selective accounting inconsistent with the world economic picture. If the overall Thai economy is on the rise, why is crime on the increase and living standards clearly on the decrease. (Been upcountry lately?)

Beer at Lotus, 25% higher than what I would pay in America. A basket of name brand groceries at Foodland, 50% higher or better. Gasoline, about the same, but it’s been unusually high this season in the US. Bottled water is cheaper, but in the US you can drink the tap water. Dinner in a nice restaurant, maybe about 10% cheaper.

The bottom line is you can live cheaply in Thailand if you live “Thai-style”. If you want to live upscale it’s going to cost you. For me, living in Thailand runs about 15 to 20% higher than living in the US. I live here because my daughter is here, my work is mostly in Asia, I like the climate, and I also get some tax breaks. Contrary to the beliefs of some Thais, foreigners are not waiting in line to come to Thailand. I think most long time expats live here because of a combination of reasons also, but not because Thailand is cheap. In fact, Thailand is quickly pricing itself out of the western expat retirement market and the tourist market because of its rapidly increasing lack of value, which will eventually impact Thailand’s ability to attract quality foreign investment.
Pattaya Bum

Not allowing Mr Pinder to have the last word

Dear Editor,
So, Mr Tom Pinder (PM 5/9/03) wants the last word on the subject of two-tiered pricing. How noble of him to preach from his exalted position as self-appointed Defender of the Realm and declare an end to the matter. Well, I’m not going to let him. Let’s analyze Mr Pinder’s letter sentence by sentence:

“Week after week of complaining about absolute triviality.” I agree with the first part about the ‘week after week of complaining’. But if there are continuous complaints by so many people, surely that means there must be something wrong? If one person complains about something, he or she may be overreacting, but when thousands complain about the same thing, there has to be some substance to their concerns. And isn’t it the right, nay obligation, of every human being to point out injustice whenever we see it?

“There are rip offs everywhere and nothing to do with race.” Gotcha! Is Mr Pinder actually conceding that double charging foreigners is a ‘rip off’? It seems that way but, if it has nothing to do with race, Mr Pinder, answer me this: I know of at least one guy who has no problem whatsoever paying the ‘Thai price’ everywhere he goes in Thailand. He is a Filipino traveling on a tourist visa, but he looks Thai and is clever enough to keep his mouth shut when paying for anything. Dare I suggest that he only gets away with it because he looks the same ‘race’?

According to my dictionary, ‘racism’ means, “Discrimination or prejudice based on race,” while ‘discrimination’ means, “Treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit.” What does your dictionary say, Mr Pinder?

“As to the difference between paying 5 baht or 10 for a ride along Beach Road, we are talking about the difference between 20 cents and 40 cents Australian when heading out on a night of carousing where the cost of the song taew pales into insignificance.” Granted that the five or ten baht is insignificant when compared to ‘a night of carousing’, but not everyone uses baht buses simply to go out ‘carousing’. It may surprise Mr Pinder to know that some foreigners use baht buses to travel to and from local markets where they purchase groceries and household items.

But since he is determined to make comparisons, look at the long term. A foreigner living in Pattaya for a year and traveling by baht bus four times per day could be charged an extra 7,300 baht, or around 280 Australian dollars at today’s rates. Still insignificant? I wonder if Mr Pinder would complain if he was overcharged $280 on his annual hot air - I mean water - bill.

If Mr Pinder wants to play Santa Claus, he should extend his benevolence to cover everything. He eats at a Thai restaurant and is charged 100 baht for his meal. He should say to the waiter, “This is Thailand and I am a foreigner. In my country this meal would have cost the equivalent of 200 baht so I will pay 200 baht.” C’mon Mr Pinder, let’s be consistent. If you want to use the comparison of prices in Thailand to the prices in Australia, then offer to pay Australian prices everywhere you go. Why should baht bus drivers be the only recipients of your generosity?

“If people’s budget is that tight when on holidays or even when living in Pattaya then they should seriously question whether they should stay at home rather than come on a holiday or live in a place that they can’t afford.” Well said, Pinder! Working class people don’t have the right to travel or a holiday. Let them have a picnic in their local park instead. “Let them eat cake!” ‘Budget’ travel companies and cheap hotels should be forced to close and those popular ‘Do Asia on a Shoestring’ type books should be banned. The absolute nerve of poor people to seek to expand their horizons or want some enjoyment in life!

The puerile argument that Westerners who do travel are all rich and can afford to pay extra is even more ludicrous. If ‘affordability’ was the excuse for two-tiered pricing, then what about the mega rich Thais with more money in their petty cash drawers than many Westerners see in their lifetime? How much would they be asked to pay? To my knowledge, at the entrances to Thailand’s tourist attractions the sign does not say, “Rich people pay double,” and travel on a Pattaya baht bus is not means-tested.

“Nothing will be changed by the constant reiteration of baht bus prices and differential pricing in the letters section so how about we have some sensible letters for a change.” Defeatism is not a quality worthy of someone with your eloquence, Mr Pinder. Explain your argument to the American revolutionaries who, incidentally, began their revolution over the ‘trivial’ matter of an increase in the tax on tea. Press freedom is the first avenue for ordinary people to voice their opinion but if you insist upon limiting that freedom to ‘sensible letters’, I’m afraid that might exclude yours.

Mr Tony Ashby (PM 10/10/03), in his less than successful attempt to defend Mr Pinder, stumbled upon the whole essence of the debate. “Wake up “Double plagued” ... you are in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Yes, we are in Rome (Thailand) and all we are asking is to be treated like the Romans - no more, no less.
Neil Hutchison

Food for thought

Dear Sir,
The correspondence columns in the Pattaya Mail seem to carry more and more complaints about the authorities trying to enforce various regulations that previously have been ignored.

Before continuing to whinge perhaps the authors of these letters should look to the regulations of their own countries first, particularly those from Europe. The following information may assist their thoughts.

“The Word Game”
Pythagorean theorem: 24 words
The Lord’s Prayer: 66 words
Archimedes Principle: 67 words
The 10 Commandments: 179 words
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: 286 words
The U.S. Declaration of Independence: 1,300 words
The European Commission’s regulations on the sale of cabbage: 26,911 words
Food for thought perhaps!
Yours sincerely,
Roy Harris

She-males blocking footpaths after dark are indeed a problem

Editor;
I just read the story about the British businessman getting shot 6 times in Sattahip district. It would appear that security is nothing to laugh about as Khai Khem suggests from the ivory tower in the wealthy estates on the far side of Sukhumvit Road. In downtown Pattaya, along most major tourist routes, the she-males blocking footpaths after dark are indeed a problem, as well as the drunken young juvenile gang-members racing their motorbikes around.
Joe tourist

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