£1 gets you 50 baht now!

[Ivor Biggun]

Having lived in Phuket for 5 years I am always amazed that people find it more expensive than Pattaya. The main thing that I find expensive is eating out - about a third more in most cases. Longterm (decent) accomodation can be found for B10-15k a month, barfines in a lot of places B300-400, girls B1000 to 1500. I guess the difference is that when I'm in Phuket I'm at home and don't go out every night, in Pattaya I'm out every one of the 4 nights I'm there rather than hang around the guesthouse. This is a personal opinion and I know others would beg to differ.

The flipside of the coin is that if I lived long term in Pattaya or Jomtien i would probably find it the same, as I would soon settle into a 'normal'routine.

[robbo]

£1= 48.9 baht
anybody know where a good tree is with nice strong branches? i have the rope.

[Bumpa STIKKA]

Siam SCB (The purple one) is buying sterling notes for 47.59 baht!

Here are the XE rates...

[TEERAK]

95% prediction interval 26th Feb

46.9 - 52.1     in one month
43.3 - 51.8     in three months

95% prediction interval 10th March

45.2 - 50.8     in one month
41.3 - 50.6     in three months

So there's only a 5% chance the baht will be higher than 50.6 in three months at the rate things are going.....oops

[burnt_out]

Lads honestly what the f**k is going on here?
I arrived in the land of smirks in November and got nearly 50bht/euro and now it's 43,8 today.
12% in 4 months is a bit excessive, no!!!!

It's becoming a bit of a bummer really...

[robbo]

its all bollox,im not happy atall
i was due to go out within the next month,i may still go but mayby only for 2 weeks,and thats a mayby.
looking at other destinations now or will be next week when ive time,mayby south america Cambo or Vietnam,mayby do some BKK just to sample the LB lovlies for 4 or 5 nights then hit the other 2 neighbours for the GG,s i dont know but worth a look at flights rates and general info.
i see this as a positive for me as i may well finally spread my wings and venture away from LOS more and explore.on the other hand it can only be a negative for LOS as it may well lose some of my dosh, and mayby some of the addictive influence it has had on me, mayby its that time.
hmm i put off going to Brazil few years back to go to LOS now mayby the times come around.

[robbo]

(Bumpa STIKKA @ Mar. 03 2010,08:05)

as it would be more viable to stay at home and monger...

     Now there's a thought. Pop in to your local Cascades bar in down town Ipswich!

Blimey - a few strange comments here. Even if the pound stays around 50 baht it would still be a lot cheaper and better than anything you can get at home. Everything from the hotels and ladyboys and the taxis... all a lot cheaper than the UK and miles better quality.

The air fare hasn't changed in years - if anything it's even cheaper.

The only time the exchange rate really hits you is the tourist targeted Bangkok restaurants and bars which charge Western prices for booze and food. But that's easy to avoid or minimize.

Either go to Pattaya for the trip or at least spend more time there.

Phuket and Bangkok are just way too expensive for the budget conscious traveler.

not all that strange really.
if im at home i can monger ,yes it cost more but while it will never reach parity the expenses are fast closing a once big gap.
there is the quality and experience factor of LOS i do admit that,but i cant say ive never been there and done that now,and also it will be there should i want to go at anytime.
one thing i cannot do in LOS is monger and earn money and run my business at present rates i could probably monger at home 2 or 3 times a week and not be out of pocket atall in fact still have money left over for a hol to LOS or elsewhere.
no it is not such a strange view,as i say ive been there done a bit .
im one of the fortunate of us here.
as many guys here and not of the forum have never been and may never.
like i say LOS will still be there next year etc.
choice is what its about and i realised last year that LOS had some sort of grip on me,and that i began to dislike,so im not entirely unhappy about jiggling around my options.
as i say its a positive.

[mardhi]

(robbo @ Mar. 11 2010,02:47) its all bollox,im not happy atall
i was due to go out within the next month,i may still go but mayby only for 2 weeks,and thats a mayby.
looking at other destinations now or will be next week when ive time,mayby south america Cambo  or Vietnam,mayby do some BKK just to sample the LB lovlies for 4 or 5 nights then hit  the other 2 neighbours for the GG,s i dont know but worth a look at flights rates and general info.
i see this as a positive for me as i may well finally spread my wings and venture away from LOS more and explore.on the other hand it can only be a negative for LOS as it may well lose some of my dosh, and mayby some of the addictive influence it has had on me, mayby its that time.
hmm i put off going to Brazil few years back to go to LOS now mayby the times come around.

Why dont you consider Jakarta - much easier than Vietnam for picking up GG's with no strings attached - great hotels, STUNNING Girls (with big genuine knockers) and one of the best value places in Asia. I used to visit there a lot and rated it the best for GG's in Asia, without even taking into account the great prices. Lots of (safe) action in the 5* hotels - BATS at the Shangri-la is a good starting point, Tigga Pula at Meridien used to be great (and probably still is) - plenty more non hotel choices for clubs once you have found your feet. I recall the Meridien used to be about $50 night and its a good 5* hotel with the nightclub in the basement. Plenty of other options accomodation wise.

Cheers
Mardhi

[rxpharm]

The problem is not the strength of the Baht as it has remained relatively stable against the USD. The pound has gotten much weaker vs the USD and that is the issue.

Anyway if things go bad during this upcoming demonstration you can expect the Baht to weaken quite a bit. Already most countries have issued travel warnings for LOS.

[pacman]

   Oh wonderful...           the better the exchange rate gets, the less safe the place is to visit...

The baht is strong for a number of reasons, one of which it isn't one of the currencies on the radar of the forex guys to trade.

And I was told that the Treasury Dept of Thailand (whatever they are called) wants to keep the baht strong to make it less affordable for Thaksin to buy favours.

I don't know about that but the drop in returns from the reduced exports & poor tourist numbers will be biting & a big correction downwards must be on the horizon.

Thailand can't keep defying gravity & leaving their export industries up that famous creek without a paddle.

[robbo]

(mardhi @ Mar. 11 2010,09:01)

(robbo @ Mar. 11 2010,02:47) its all bollox,im not happy atall
i was due to go out within the next month,i may still go but mayby only for 2 weeks,and thats a mayby.
looking at other destinations now or will be next week when ive time,mayby south america Cambo  or Vietnam,mayby do some BKK just to sample the LB lovlies for 4 or 5 nights then hit  the other 2 neighbours for the GG,s i dont know but worth a look at flights rates and general info.
i see this as a positive for me as i may well finally spread my wings and venture away from LOS more and explore.on the other hand it can only be a negative for LOS as it may well lose some of my dosh, and mayby some of the addictive influence it has had on me, mayby its that time.
hmm i put off going to Brazil few years back to go to LOS now mayby the times come around.

Why dont you consider Jakarta - much easier than Vietnam for picking up GG's with no strings attached - great hotels, STUNNING Girls (with big genuine knockers) and one of the best value places in Asia.    I used to visit there a lot and rated it the best for GG's in Asia, without even taking into account the great prices.          Lots of (safe) action in the 5* hotels - BATS at the Shangri-la is a good starting point,  Tigga Pula at Meridien used to be great (and probably still is) - plenty more non hotel choices for clubs once you have found your feet.     I recall the Meridien used to be about $50 night and its a good 5* hotel with the nightclub in the basement.       Plenty of other options accomodation wise.  

Cheers
Mardhi

Thanks for info Mardhi,its worth looking about seeing what else is on offer,one can get blinkered as to other places as LOS does become the center of our universe at times.
the PI does interest me also,so looking around.

[Bumpa STIKKA]

(Bumpa STIKKA @ Feb. 26 2010,20:04) I was having a chinwag with a chum over Christmas about the exchange rate of the pound and the baht.

I said by next summer it will be 44 baht for a pound.

He couldn't conceal his laughter and thought I was off my rocker!

Well, it's now 50 baht for a pound and it'll get a lot worse...

Well, we're getting there...

[guydesavoy]

I remember saying at the time your mate would eat his words  

Now with the dysfunction @ Westminster and in the Euro zone, things won't be getting any better soon... USD got a bit stronger today too...

Maybe robbo should go up on the heath after dark and save some pennies  


(You are right about airfares too...in the last 25 years they've hardly moved...amazing when you factor in inflation etc )

[jimslim]

Enough to make a grown man weep

[whore]

I know am not as long in the tooth as some of you guys with regards to travelling to Thailand, but today is the very first day I have seen the Thai Baht under 40 for 1euro.