Rip Off Hua Hin

[StevePIraq]

Reminds me of a bar I visit now and then, I asked why they don't do buy 3 get one free as another nearby bar does. The answer was fantastic.

Because I charge more for my beer. Now work that one out.

[crazy88]

Well the noodle soup lady near me now charges 25 Bt compared to 20 Bt 11 years ago

The place I have a couple beers after work charges 45 Bt for a Heineken! I am sure they were 35 Bt 20 years ago.

Don't even go there with my maid. She charges 500 Bt for the day and all she has to do is go shopping early morning, put fuel in the bike, clean a 3 bedroom villa with a shed load of windows and a kitchen that is used for a catering business, cook us food and pay all our utility bills on her way home. That works out almost a pound an hour if you include travel time

Crazy 88

[Geko]

The taxi's we use have never increased there rates in over 10 years.

[StevePIraq]

Shows you were getting ripped off 10 years ago

[Big Boy]

Yes, we're all ripped off, even more so in Hua Hin because its a holiday town. Hopefully most of us came here with our eyes open and were happy with the fact. I knew my pension would go a lot further in Hua Hin than it would in the UK. A win/win situation.

Now, as Geko used the example of taxis, I will continue on that theme.

There have been many taxi threads on this forum, some boasting they pay 1200 Baht, others paying 2,500 Baht to Bangkok. Whatever the cost, we're being ripped off, but if we're happy with the cost, no problem. My preferred company has always charged me 2,200 Baht - for that I know I'm getting a big car and a careful driver. If the next time I contacted them they were wanting 550 Baht (25%) extra, they'd lose me as a loyal customer. Loyalty works both ways.

Now, to prove my point, a neighbour of mine has a brother who is a Bangkok taxi driver. He often does trips to Hua Hin. When he gets here, he puts his name on the list for a return fare. He sometimes waits a week for that fare. The booking company take the fare, and all he gets is 400 Baht, which he's happy with. So whether we're paying 1200 or 2500, we're being ripped off - the cost of that trip is 400 Baht, but we accept the fare as being the going rate.

[crazy88]

One would have thought a driver would call any connection they had before heading to Hua Hin. Not wait a week sleeping in the car for enough money to pay the fuel back to Bangkok

Crazy 88

[Big Boy]

Apparently there's a booking agent in Hua Hin that allocates the jobs in strict rotation (and gets rich for doing very little) - they can only get a fare when somebody wants to travel.

He sleeps at his sister's house.

[StevePIraq]

Just down from the Hilton is a little stall you can book BKK taxi wanting a return trip one week in advance so I doubt a driver has to wait at all. I have used this service countless times

[Big Boy]

I would guess the little stall, like all the little stalls are working for the same fat cat.

I didn't say he waits a week every time, I said, "He sometimes waits a week for that fare." He often gets a return fare within 12 hours, but you guys are missing the point. Despite what amount we are all paying, and it varies, we're all being ripped off big time. However, we all accept that fact, as its part of living in Hua Hin.

I have absolutely no problem paying the going rate, its when that rate jumps suddenly for no apparent reason - it P's me off. Maybe you guys have so much money that you don't notice, which is why they get away with doing it. I am a pensioner, and I'm not finding money a struggle, but if I don't react to crazy price hikes well above inflation, the situation will soon change.

[StevePIraq]

I understand your point BB and quite agree, I recently stopped going to one Farang ran bar as he jumped the price from 60 to 80 Baht overnight

[Big Boy]

Out of interest (please don't mention the bar) did you ask if there was a reason, and if so did it sound reasonable or was it BS.

[StevePIraq]

I asked and was told operating costs have gone up, nothing further.

He also just introduced Lady Bar prices if you wish to buy a female staff member a drink, even a Leo now cost 130Baht for the lady and this is not in town.

[PeteC]

Two possibilities ......

1) These bar owners are British and supplementing inadequate bar earnings with pension funds which are now worth less in Baht terms.

2) There have been articles lately of Thailand raising the sin tax (booze and smokes) to supplement a loss ridden social security system, which is expanding rapidly with the aging population. Pete

[aimlink]

The more western amenities are added to Hua Hin, the more prices will go up. It's a given - expats increase their own cost of living every time they populate a low-cost country.

[aimlink]

400 baht for the driver is just one cost associated with the taxis. The cost of the car, fuel and maintenance also have to be factored in. When you do that there is little profit left over. 1,800 baht is the normal price for the BKK trip and that's pretty cheap in the real world. If it's too much, there are always the minivans and buses. Expats (i.e., immigrants) need to get used to the fact that their presence is why prices go up.