Yes, the US buck is strengthening, but the Oz dollah, the pound and Euro are stinking the place up now.
Yes, the US buck is strengthening, but the Oz dollah, the pound and Euro are stinking the place up now.
Vietnam and to a certain extent Cambodia will be better places for bang for buck. Dollars are accepted everywhere in Cambodia so no worries about exchange rates, nice beaches, good food at a reasonable price and plenty of touristy things to see as well. Got a friend with a bar there that hasnt got half the worries I have at the minute.
The Geek Shall Inherit The Earth
I would hazard a guess that few if any tourist locations here in Thailand are cutting their rates to try and attract customers.
I would also hazard a guess that most have gone to their "high-season" rates or greater because traffic is down.
There is more and more competition for Thailand and people will look for greater value for money when money is tight
Hotel rates cut as financial crisis bites - Telegraph
Hotel rates cut as financial crisis bites - Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/34...-as-financial-... 1 of 2 14/11/2008 13:51 Hotels in Paris, Amsterdam and Prague have all cut their rates in an attempt to attract more British visitors
Hotel rates cut as financial crisis bites
European hotels are cutting their room rates by to 50 per cent in a bid attract British travellers. By Charles Starmer-Smith
Last Updated: 1:34PM GMT 13 Nov 2008
Hotels are cutting room rates by up to 50
per cent in an attempt to keep Britons
travelling during the economic downturn,
a leading hotel booking agency has
claimed.
Ian Ackland, commercial manager of
Hotel Connect, which offers hotels in
more than 200 destinations, said concern
about a lack of bookings this winter are
prompting record discounts.
"Hoteliers have always dropped their
rates by five or ten per cent at the start of
winter, but only for a couple of weeks.
These reductions are at an
unprecedented level – we are now seeing
cuts of up to 50 per cent for the next two
or three months, as hoteliers recognise that this thing [economic downturn] is not going to go away."
He said that hotels in cities such as Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam and Prague were offering the biggest reductions, as the weakness of the pound and the dollar against the euro puts travellers off. Dubai hotels are also cutting rates by a third, he added. The pound has fallen against the UAE dirham by a third since last year.
Last month travel analysts had predicted that hotels would close floors to save money during the financial downturn rather than cut rates, but bookings have slowed since then.
Manny Fontenla-Novoa, chief executive of Thomas Cook, speaking at this week's World Travel Market in London, called on more hoteliers to lower their rates during the economic downturn. He said that, even with a 12 per cent reduction in the number of holidays being offered next year, the current conditions made it imperative that hoteliers give operators the best prices now to guarantee bookings for next summer, rather than wait until March to decide whether to reduce rates.
He added that he expected holidaymakers to continue to switch from traditional packages in Spain to mid-haul destinations such as Egypt and Turkey next year.
The savings are not confined to hotels abroad. Travelodge, the British chain, has cut its average room rates from £50 a night to £29 until the end of this year. A spokesman said that by next spring it will offer hotel rooms in 15 British cities from as little as £9 a night, as part of an aggressive price war against its rivals.
When you see prices like this (460thb approx.) you start to realise what you've been paying for that dirty fan room isn't really cheap anymore.Originally Posted by Troubled
If i was a British tourist looking for a holiday destination right now Thailand would not be on the list of options. At 52 baht to the pound Thailand is just too expensive.
The average sex tourist is gonna struggle to get layed. 1000 baht is over 19 GBP now.
Originally Posted by Smeg
... I like to fantasise sometimes, and I lie very occasionally... my superior home, job, wealth, freedom, car, girl, retirement age, appearance, satisfaction with birth country etc etc... Over the past few years I have put together over 100 pages on notes on thaiophilia...
Well, they'll move on to someplace cheaper, I suppose. Cambodia and Vietnam apparently being two nearby options, as Melvbot said. The point being, Thailand isn't as cheap as it once was, and isn't as cheap as people may think it is.
Or they'll do what Thais do, and move in with members of their extended family.
I disagree.
Here in Pattaya a Beach Road bitch charges 500baht for a short time.
In Cambodia you end up paying the same , 15$ , in a cheap brothel like Blue Mountain in Sihanoukville.
In Vietnam you pay 250.000-300.000 dong in massage place where btw they regularly try to steal your wallet.
So there is no save on the mongering side.
In Thailand you can buy a cheap condo saving a lot on accomodation. In Cambo and Vietnam you can buy nothing and have to pay inflated barang rents (in PP a real estate agency had only rents starting 600$ and up)
So the final maths is living in Cambo or Vietnam is about $ 300/month more expensive compared to Thailand.
Certainly agree with you lot that Thailand isn't really cheap anymore. But there are a few things that are still a good bargain for your money:
- Rent a scooter for 100Bht a day
- Shopping of non-imported goods (souvenirs, clothes and the like, and clothes don't necessarily need to be a cheap brandcopy)
-Fantastic hotel in Koh Phangan in low season for 900 Bht including breakfast buffet (normally 2700+Bht in the winter)
-Great thai food in a comfortable & clean restaurant for less than 100Bht outside Bkk
- etc etc ..
But yes, same things as in Europe goes for the same price.
Fascinating. Please get your self a nice apartment on a high floor with a small balcony.Originally Posted by Gaudente
I wasnt referring to sex tourists just your average Joe and his family who may want to go to the far east. Not everyone who comes out here is coming for the whoremongering. Phuket has a reputation for being a holiday island for the likes of honeymooners and families as well as the dodgy whoremongering.
I think your "Bang for buck" remark confused him.
Like I said I have a friend who lives in Cambodia, he rents a house, not a condo, for around $250pm, around 7,000bt. There are ways around the property laws similar to Thailand, the Cambodian goverment is also considering opening up the market so foreigners can own property to boost the economic development of the country.
If it does Thailand will be hit even harder still.
Last edited by melvbot; 14-11-2008 at 06:23 PM.
Ive noticed on quite a few Premiership football matches that you now see more adverts for holidays/travel to Vietnam than Thailand.
I am afraid these junkies know better than you
happy hippi cambodia sihanoukville southeast asia marijuana cambodian weed ganja adventure marijuana in the tropics southeast asia coffee shop amsterdam themed guesthouse sihanoukville victory hill smack pictures of hard drugs head marijuana south ea
"copy and paste" from "the NO BS FACTS" option the menu , sorry for the all cap text:
ONE OF THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS IS 'CAN I OWN LAND OR MY OWN BUSINESS IN CAMBODIA' AND THE SHORT ANSWER IS NO. FOREIGNERS CANNOT OWN LAND IN CAMBODIA AND AS FOR INVESTING HERE FORGET ABOUT IT. INVESTING IS INHERINTLY RISKY AND DIFFICULT ENOUGH IN THE WEST SO ANYBODY WHO BRINGS THIER LIVE SAVING HERE TO INVEST IS A FOOL, KHYMERS THEMSELVES OFTEN LOSE THIER LAND BECAUSE THEY'RE STANDING IN THE WAY OF PROGRESS (HUGE MULTI NATIONALS WITH CONNECTIONS) AS MATTER OF FACT I DON'T KNOW ANY KHYMERS WHO HAVE MADE MONEY OUT OF REALESTATE YET ALONE ANY WESTERNERS. YOU ONLY HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT YOU DON'T SEE MACDONALDS PIZZA HUT OR KFC (ALTHOUGH THEY MANAGED TO CLOSE DOWN 'PIZZA HOT' AND 'KHYMER FRIED CHICKEN') FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT CAMBODIA HAS NO LAND ARBITRATION COURTS OR CLEAR LANDOWNERS RIGHTS IN PLACE. SO AS THEY SAY IF THE BIG BOYS CAN'T PLAY WHAT CHANCE DO YOU HAVE. KEEP THIS IN MIND WHEN YOU GET OFFERED INVETMENT OPPORTUNITIES. BUSINESS VISA, LISCENCE AND LEASES ARE EASILY OBTAINED BUT DON'T BE FOOLED BECAUSE THESE BITS OF PAPER DON'T OFFER ANY PROTECTION. THE BEST WAY TO START A BUSINESS OR PLACE TO LIVE IS GET A LONG LEASE AND ANYTHING YOU BUILD MUST BE EASILY DE-MOUNTED AND MOVED EVEN SO NEVER PUT MONEY INTO ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN'T WALK AWAY FROM WITHOUT LOOKING BACK OR IT WILL SURELY END IN TEARS BEFORE BEDTIME! ALTHOUGH TEMPTING TRY AND STAY OUT OF THE WAY OF 'PROGRESS' ESPECIALLY ON THE BEACH OR HILLTOP WITH OCEAN VIEWS. DON'T RUSH INTO ANYTHING THINGS GO SLOWLY HERE GET TO KNOW THE PERSON'S REPUTATION YOU'RE LEASING OFF AND TRY AND FIND AND GET TO KNOW THE LOCAL 'CHIEF' (ELECTED OFFICIAL)
There are quite a few real estate agents in Cambodia that advertise, are they running a business or just a charity then?
Most punters stay in Thailand because this is where they want to be.
If one likes Vietnam or Cambodia more than Thailand they would already be living there I'd suspect.
The best option would be to tighten there belt's and ride out this current situation until things start to pick up again, which they surely will do.
Who knows when but its got to be a better option then uping your sticks and pissing off to friggin Cambodia.
Fok that, at least one is still where they want to be if they just hang in Thailand.
The ones that will cry the loudest is the fellas who spend all there spare money on trollups, piss and ciggies. This crisis has robbed them of there mongering money.
Suck it up lads.
What appalling writing. ^^
presume you meant ^^^ JJ...Originally Posted by jandajoy
DD won't like it if you take the piss out of his writing...being the edumacated sort and all that...
I assume he is refering to his fellow aussie mate km
Same here, ranging from B70-B80 for a good sized spit bird. Depends where you are as well. I really haven't seen a dramatic increase in market prices over the last several months. Where you might notice the sharp increases are the commercial products. Speaking for ourselves, we might be 60-70% self-suffcient and self-reliant. Everyday items, here and there, that we find a need to purchase still aren't out of sight. It gets down to how one insist on living.
Well sure. "Supermarket" prices will always be less than a decent value. Don't shop at the supermarkets or associated commercial places!!! Certainly, I couldn't begin to guess what your dietary habits are, but if insist to be taking a primarily Farang-style food, you will always suffer in the pocket book.
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