biggestbopper

Haven't been to BKK since the dollar's recent dramatic drop against the Baht (thank you, Mr. Bush).

But, a lady I was talking to at a recent party told me she found BKK kinda pricy now, given that it is a Third World city. And, I have noticed that folks don't appear to be getting good rates for hotels on Priceline or otherwise recently.

How bad is it in BKK and Thailand now for Dollar spenders? Euro spenders are, no doubt, in fat city.

driftings

Consider this - In the US, 10 hours of (legit, though often inferior) Thai massage costs about $1000. The price is about the same for 10 hours of Thai massage in Thailand - but only if you include the roundtrip airfare!

I don't doubt that things used to be cheaper there - and that the weak US Dollar contributes to that, but things are still quite inexpensive. Even more of a bargain in neighboring countries.

gleff

Get outside of Bangkok, the further out the better the bargains that remain.

Recently at the Le Meridien Khao Lak (and this *is* still a resort, mind you - though off-season and prices are 25% lower as a result) an hour-long Thai massage was ~ US$38. Sure that's higher than it would have been a year ago. But still wonderful IMHO.

Go off-property and it's much MUCH less expensive still.

jfh1107

It's about 25% more expensive than it was a couple years ago. $1 now equals about 30 baht...in 2005 $1 was just over 40 baht.

But I wouldn't call Bangkok a "Third World city."

MegatopLover

Since the capital-flow restrictions imposed by the Bank of Thailand in December 2006, the on-shore and off-shore exchange rates of the baht have diverged. Many websites currently quote the offshore (i.e., freely tradeable) rate, but those for commercial banks in Bangkok and, for the last couple of months, the table in the back of The Economist quote the onshore. A standard retail spread from the onshore rate is generally what you'll get in Thailand, as the name suggests. My credit cards and ATM card have processed charges at the (better for me) onshore rate. These days, the offshore rate is approaching 30:1, but the onshore is about 33.7:1 In December 2006, the rate broke the 35 mark. A year earlier, it was closer to 39, and a year before that over 40. In those days, things were very cheap. And back in '01, when the rate was over 45, things were ridiculously cheap.

Things aren't ridiculously cheap any more. But I'd say that Bangkok is still a bargain. For those converting from euros or pounds, Bangkok is surely a real bargain. 5000 baht for tailoring a three-piece suit isn't $110 anymore; it's $150 now. That's still a bargain.

Something to keep in mind: a big chunk of what a visitor will spend on a trip to Thailand goes to the hotel room rate. That is often quoted in US dollars but charged in baht at the exchange rate prevailing at the time of the stay. To that extent, costs are exchange-rate neutral, or close to it.

And I definitely wouldn't call Bangkok a "Third World City."

garyphil

nor would i call bangkok a "third world city" either

dtsm

Stay at the Oriental or ShangriLai hotel(s) or any number of other places and tell me how that compares with London and Paris hotels....most of europe is backwards compared to what's available in modern asia.

Spend $200 for top flight 5+ star in Bkk and try to get something even closely comparable for 200 pounds (or euro)....nadda!

IMHO

Pauldublin

Bangkok is certainly not a third world city. I suggest you stay at some real third world cities on the continent of America or Africa and you might get an idea of what the third world really is.

luxury hotels in bangkok are a bargain compared to Europe or major U.S. cities even with the current exchange rates. Dining out in Bangkok is also substantially less expensive than most cities.

seanthepilot

I've always said that Thailand is a 1st world country in disguise.

To further the topic, I find that living in Thailand is expensive. Not as expensive as where I come from, but expensive nonetheless. I like it so much more than North America, so it's worth it.

BTW it's inflation as prices have risen... not the YankeeBuck.

PDXUAFAN

Bangkok Apr 2006 Westin Grande Sukhumvit $115/night
Bangkok Mar 2007 Westin Grande Sukhumvit $199/night

Krabi Apr 2006 Scooter THB100
Krabi Mar 2007 Scooter THB250

From one year to the next I saw more and more Western tourist with no clue about the local costs. Rich westerners willing to pay more artificially jack up the price as much as international economics.

During my Mar trip with my buds... told them that the metered cab should be no more than $2.50 to anywhere in Bangkok. My idiots friends refused to demand that the meter is on and and were okay with THB500 cab fares ($15) saying that it is cheaper than Chicago !

So I'd blame the tourist as much if not more so...

Guy Betsy

Um... Bangkok is NOT much of a "Third World City" than say, Okalahoma.

Thailand is not "Third World". It may be developing but fare from "Third World" status.

True, airfares have gone up in price. But the standard of living is generally still quite affordable than say, anywhere else in relatively similar standards.

MegatopLover

In defense of biggestbopper, I think the "third world" comment may have been made by the "lady" he was speaking with, not by him as an editorial point of his own. Hard to tell, though, given how he wrote the sentence and the one that follows it. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt: it's the lady's comment that should be slammed.

Then again, my mom made pretty much the same comment today. And she knows better--she's been there, and the comment was in connection with planning another visit that she's eager to plan. I didn't want to fight her on it.

YVR Cockroach

"Third World" used to refer to the countries that weren't aligned with the U.S./"Western" powers/NATO ("First World" - relatively industrialised democracies) or the U.S.S.R./Warsaw Pact ("Second World"). It just happened that most "Third World" countries were underdeveloped and so this is the more popular (and incorrect) definition.

Mr. Vker

This is what Flyertalk is all about. Thanks for this great post. We are going back to Thailand in Feb and have been lamenting the exchange rate. I usually order Bahts in advance and pick them up at Amex travl services in Baltimore. We will exchange in Thailand this time.

transpac

In addition to the strengthening Baht against the USD, prices for airfare (ex-USA, in USD) and hotels in THB have increased generally over the last 12 months. Local inflation also contributes to somewhat higher prices but energy costs make up the bulk of the increases so maybe affect tourists less. So yes, for US travelers Thailand is much less of a bargain than it was 12 months ago. Whether it remains a bargain is very much a personal calculation and decision so I wouldn't want to tell someone it is still a bargain for them.

I have no idea how to define "third-world" but once you get outside the bright lights of Bangkok and the tourist/resort areas, Thailand is a very, very rural society and an agricultural-based economy. Even in Bangkok it is quite easy to find shanty-towns (2-story bamboo and corrugated aluminum, divided into 3mx3m rooms, or worse) and living conditions which I would associate with third-world countries. So in some ways it does strike me as a bit 'third-worldish'. (I spend ~ 3 months per year in a very rural area in the northeast of Thailand.) Access to reasonable universal public education and decent health-care certainly separate Thailand from third-world countries. Freedom from disease, increasing literacy rates, increased life-expectancy, increasing personal income (although more than off-set by debt) are other positives. I think that accidents are now the number one cause of infant and child mortality, rather than disease or malnutrition.

I think allowing the military to overthrow a democratically elected government and institute a military dictatorship which greatly limits personal rights and freedom has been a step back towards the third-world for Thailand, so maybe this has contributed the perception? I think many people associate military dictatorships with third-world countries.