Thailand Dual Pricing
I just wrote an article about how there are so many miserable expats in Thailand and I don't understand why they stick around. Well, this is another thing that really sets people off here and for the most part, I agree with the notion that this stuff kind of stinks. The Dual Pricing system of charging foreigners substantially more for things gets old, especially once you learn to read Thai.
source
The Thai numerals are almost never used anywhere. No one defaults to them as the Western numerals were adopted a very long time ago. They do still have their purpose though, and the place you see them most often is in tourist areas where an entrance fee is required.
The above sign says that adults are 20 baht in Thai and 200 baht in English. Some older signs had both sets of numbers in western numbers, but obviously this caused problems.
source
This is somewhat justified by saying that the foreigners do not contribute to the taxation that leads to the funding of these parks and that is a clever way of making money off of racism with impunity I suppose. The real reason it is done is because they can do whatever they want and you have no choice but to deal with it.
It is a bit of a shame because it kind of gives visitors a bad feeling when they find this out. They start to feel like a sheep that was meant for fleecing. It just kind of leaves a horrible memory about something that would otherwise be wonderful. It still is wonderful but recently in Krabi, they changed the already absurd 10x the price that foreigners were paying to access marine parks and changed it to 20 times the price. At this level, you can no longer say anything about taxation, this is simply greed and you know it.
It isn't just the government, it is private institutions as well, such as this noodle shop
source
The Thai script says the soup is 50B
out of principal, i will not visit a restaurant that charges two sets of prices based on the color of your skin.. that would be extremely illegal in other parts of the world. I don't want a law passed or anything because I hate the government for the most part, but I will not reward any business for doing this. There was a small rice shop I had been visiting for years in Krabi, and then I found out by overhearing that the Thai people were all being charged less than me. Without causing her to lose face I told the woman that runs the place that I heard what she said and I will never return. She then tried to tell me that "you can have Thai price" but at that point I don't want it.
So while this is definitely something you will encounter in this country, I don't think it is worth getting all worked up over and complaining about constantly. Normally it is just a small thing unless the government is involved. You do have to know how to speak Thai a bit to figure it out. Sometimes I wish I hadn't learned and then could be part of the "ignorance is bliss" segment of society.
This is wrong no matter what way you look at it. I think it is fairly common around the world though. I recall looking for a property when I was returning back to South Africa and the lady heard I was phoning from England she removed the sale price and added another R500 000 on the price which is about $30 000 extra. I didn't buy it even though I wanted it out of principle. I should have bought it though as it was a good deal still.
I recall a girl i knew that had this older Australian couple that she was trying to "help them get a good deal" on a locally owned Thai business. The "good deal" she was getting for these people that she was friends with to the point where she called them "mama and papa" and the relationship seemed genuine, was nearly 3x the sale price of the business.
I thought differently about this girl from that point forward. She ended up marrying a rich Australian that none of us had ever met. I wonder if she even cared about the guy. Whatever, crooks are everywhere!
Yes it's true, it's everywhere like this but it's done and shown to everyone more indirectly ... But it's good to know, In all cases we should negotiate. :/
What happens if you call them out on it? Like you said is it more of an ignorance thing or even if you know better will they still not give you the lower price because you are white? That would be pretty crappy indeed. This is why it is probably best for me to avoid foreign countries and just stay in my American bubble.
at a government place, nothing. They are government, so under threat of force, they can do whatever they want... just like USA. In a private establishment they will immediately try to befriend you and offer you the "Thai" prices.
Ah, okay. It probably just makes sense to avoid them like you do then.
Saludos, este sistema o novedad reina en gran parte de latinoamérica, es lastimoso ver y sentir tanta explotación y anarquía ante la humanidad. gente explotando gente.
It is surprising how they freely wrote this.. I never go in Thailand, now I will know it and would negociate all in Thai prices the day I travel there..
A policy that assumes Europeans, Americans and visitors from outside Thailand have a lot of money. This presumption might be based on the assumption that visitors come to prepare to spend a lot of money and according to their partners they certainly don't mind the price written specifically for non-Thai.
In this case, a government policy is needed to make all providers of service funds aware to keep the prices relatively the same. if prices with bargaining in advance are a consequence of creating market prices.
For visitors, it is important to learn that the local areas that will be visited, although a little, will help in many ways so that they are not easily fooled. as the saying goes, if you want to master then learn the language.
thank you @gooddream.
Warm regard from Indonesia
I think that's racist. I can not understand this. If we had a two-price system in Switzerland that would lead to a revolt. You just have to accept that in Thailand. You have no other choice.