Guest Posted October 5, 2001 Report Share Posted October 5, 2001 thankyou spirit of town hall for pointing out out to ultra violet what London cabbies go through.I am a Licensed London Black cab driver,it is now 2.30 in the morning and i have just got in after a 12 hour shift !! I can,t remember the last time i got a fare out to Heathrow, a very rare fare indeed since the introduction of the Heathrow express train.I have never fleeced any member of the public apart from the time i asked some pissed up idiot to pay me before i took him home.He was too drunk to remember this and willingly paid me again at the end of the journey.Laugh i nearly cried as i drove away into the distance,watching him in my rear view mirror throwing up in the gutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thalenoi Posted October 5, 2001 Report Share Posted October 5, 2001 Dan, Great post. I used to take Aircon 13 from Dong Muan to Suk, was 16 baht in 1990, but taking 29 or 59 is even a better idea (38 goes to Suk). I stopped doing this when they started the Airport buses, was told I would not be allowed on normal city buses with luggage. Never tried again. Should I? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 8, 2001 Report Share Posted October 8, 2001 If anyone ever tells you that the train from Bangkok to Ko Samui isn't running because of some sort of 'ploblem' or 'accent' and then takes you to a travel ageny who can 'fix ploblem,' then it means you are about to pay a hefty commission. And so there was a bus load of us, all stupid enough to fall for this sweet Thai girl at the station. She had a very fucking convincing uniform and ID identifying her as a State Rail of Thailand official" Who was I to argue? How was I supposed to know if the badge was a fake? I joked with a French guy before we got onto the bus that it was probably a scam - he hadn't even considered the prospect as it just hadn't occured to him. I haven't been to Hualampong for years, but before taking a trip recently, I note they now have an 'official warning' to the effect that 'Beware of persons approaching you identifying themsleves as Railway employees and offering alternative transportation.' [ October 08, 2001: Message edited by: the g ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 9, 2001 Report Share Posted October 9, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Alfalfa: Why spend the extra 50baht getting a taxi from the stand at arrivals when you can get a taxi one floor up at departures for the same price less the 50baht taxi stand fee. Because it's a whole lot less likely that you will run into any serious problems, i.e., murder, robbery if the taxi you get into has been recorded by the dispatcher. I believe this system was instituted when several tourists were found dead after having been picked up by a "taxi driver" at the arrivals terminal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 9, 2001 Report Share Posted October 9, 2001 quote: Originally posted by MrLucky: Because it's a whole lot less likely that you will run into any serious problems, i.e., murder, robbery if the taxi you get into has been recorded by the dispatcher. I really liked alfalfa's idea of saving 50B, and I'm going to do that next time. The whole paying extra because the drivers 'have to' wait is stupid. We should pay 50B for them to take a break? I suppose one good aspect of it is that it ensures a queue of taxi's for weary travellers. I don't see what you think the danger is. If you're up at departures and you get in a cab that has just dropped off somebody, unlikely they are a 'rogue' taxi. Also, departures would hardly be the place to look for recent arrivals, potentially flush with cash from the airport money exchange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 9, 2001 Report Share Posted October 9, 2001 Worldwalker -- You're right, probably no danger at all. My post should have read, "Because the Authorities think it's a lot less likely, etc"... [ October 08, 2001: Message edited by: MrLucky ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thalenoi Posted October 9, 2001 Report Share Posted October 9, 2001 Lets come back to the general topic of "flkeecing" How do know when you pay to much??? In buying mode I use the rule of 3x. If the baht price x3 is the home price I consider to make a good deal. Thsi can not be an absolute rule for sure but it helps. I do apply this rule when buying shirts, T-shirts, fake watches, when shopping in supermarkets etc. I also find the "away from tourist spots" to quote reasoneable prices (reading glasses 90 to 100 baht versus 150 on Sukhumvit or Silom - 5 pairs of thick socks for 100b on a Nongh Khai market) In MBK the ask price is mostly a lot lower also, and subsequent bargaining difficult. What I do is offer a price I feel reasonneable to avoid stupid discussions. If that is found to low by the vendor, you will know soon and if you really want the merchandise, time to bargain. What I hate though are people offering ridiculous baht to the vendor. I remember a farang couple on Pratunam asking for the price of some handwoven material: vendor 300b, farang 30b, vendor 250, farang 50 b, vendor 230, farang pissed off, made unfriendly comments and walked away. I gave them a full load of shit. Second time I bought a watch in Chiang Mai, quickly got the price to 250 speaking Thai (that hepls) I then chose 5 watches and asked for a volume discount. The man did not look happy, showed his calculator and did 240x5=1200. I understood I was really cutting 50 baht of his income and gave him 1250. He smiled and was happy. Subject of T-shirts: average quality 100b. Pattaya, one I liked, fat lady asks 300b, I laugh and say roi baht (100), reply 250, I explain in Thai I never pay more than 100 and walk away, don't want to waist my time to get the price to 100. She runs after me, shouting 100 ok, 100 ok. But a NO is a NO. I desperately try to find the same T-shirt next shop, no have, next shop, no have etc, etc. Miracle in some place with plenty of T-shirt shops I see THE one on the wall. A beatifull girl, maybe 16 years old (who knows how old they really are?) helps to get the T-shirt off the wall, and when asked for the price says 80 b. Waw, happy to find my T-shirt and have a stunner selling it for less then I could hope. She puts the T-shirt in a plastic bag and has this strange weird look in her eyes telling something is wrong. She explains me her papa will not be happy when he will learn she sold a T-shirt to a faran for 80b and if I would mind paying 100b. I gave her 100 b. Have I been fleeced? I was a happy man to give her 100b..made her day.... Any other thoughts and advice? [ October 08, 2001: Message edited by: thalenoi ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 9, 2001 Report Share Posted October 9, 2001 I don't know if I am the only one, but I really have not found any stuff to buy in S.E. asia that it that unique. ( or worth hauling back). what is really "worth it"? maybe I am just a dull person, but tourist junk is just that, junk to me. I am always amsued by the ppl on the plane ( maybe not now with the new security measures) trying to stuff their teasures into the bins, like large hats, unbrellas, kites,(one nutcase actually had a hockey stick, go figure?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 9, 2001 Report Share Posted October 9, 2001 quote: Any other thoughts and advice? Several. The fair price is whatever price the buyer and seller agree to. In other words, the market price. But I have noticed in Thailand there seems to be some absolute, almost metaphysical, fair price that is independant of the market. I could never quite figure it out, or how one determines what this metaphysical fair price is. Of course, I could also never figure out why otherwise serious business people pay astrologers serious money for business advice. Or how anyone, particularly a PM (now that is embarrassing!), could seriously think that re-discovered hidden Japanese gold from WWII in the hills of Kanchanburi will somehow solve all of the Thailand's economic problems - the lottery theory of economic development?? OK, now here is my idea of unfair: to agree to one price or agree to a set of terms for anything, and then have the other side simply renege when it is no longer convenient. And in this area, my idea of "fair" sometimes seems to conflict with the local idea of "fair." When the terms are no longer convenient, say, for example, after I have already paid for the product, this metaphysical and absolute concept of "fairness" is invoked to justify my having to pay more than the agreed upon price. Now that is what I consider unfair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted October 9, 2001 Report Share Posted October 9, 2001 quote: Originally posted by thalenoi: Any other thoughts and advice? [ October 08, 2001: Message edited by: thalenoi ] Bargaining skills and possibly a pretense of thai semi-fluency (3 or 4 words or sentences) may get you prices cheaper than a thai would get. A merchant is a merchant, he will not spare a thai if he can sell its stuff at a highest price. I had thai G/Fs buy clothes with their money just because they liked it and at prices i would have bargained for even more, and get it. Personally, i resent all this talk about thais fleecing, because i dare anyone who's made an effort to escape the tourist tracks (where we'll get little and big $$ rip-offs EVERYWHERE in the world) to tell me he was constantly on his guard concerning daily expenses. That includes the little food and soup stalls in BKK, Pattaya and beyond. I just think that most of the whining comes from guys who have never travelled but in a very few countries, if at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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