There have been a number of letters to the Bangkok Post's PostBag over the last few days complaining about the blatant scamming of tourists at the Grand Palace. The most common being, "The Grand Palace is closed, let me take you someplace else".
Although this type of con is not limited to Thailand what is unusual about Thailand is the targeting of farangs in a way that almost amounts to a national sport. Double pricing for major events and tourist attractions appears to be state sanctioned whereas overcharging seems to be the staple practice of many Thai businesses when dealing with farangs. My own personal experiences in this area are:
- When I first started coming to Thailand a favourite early evening haunt was the Renoir on Soi 33. Now the Renoir didn't and still doesn't keep your drinks chits next to you in a cup. They are kept with the cashier requiring the customer to have total trust in the cashier, particularly when you are in a group and one or two ladies drinks are being bought. Let's just say that trusting the cashier has proven to be a very costly mistake for many farang.
- In Pattaya, a favourite restaurant of mine is/was Star Dice on the Beach Road. As a regular, I got to know many of the staff but that still didn't keep me out of harms way. On one bill, the calculator journal roll started with with the requisite zero to show the register had been cleared but was then followed by a couple of blank lines before the amounts for each dish were listed. The total on the roll was 150Baht more than the items listed on the roll which explained the blank line between the zero and first item listed. As if this wasn't bad enough, the next time I went in, they added a couple of meal chits to the bill for dishes I hadn't even ordered or eaten.
- My watch packed up and I went to the Watch Repairers on the first floor of Royal Garden. He checked the watch and told me it would be 1,500Baht to fix. I told him to forget it, I wouldn't bother. He suggested I try a replacement battery and see what happens. Okay says I and of course the watch worked fine. Cost 600Baht. As I walked out of Royal Garden thinking how smart I was, I realised I had just paid 600Baht for a 300Baht battery!!!
- On the beach at Jomtien - basically any bill anywhere, anytime. Can't remember receiving a correct one, ever.
Moral to the story. A fool and his money are soon parted and the Thais think farang and fool are the same thing.
Sierra Tangos
- Men, brace yourselves for something pretty special, two female DJs will be spinning House at Glow. The mighty Nakadia and Magic Muffin are promising one of the most exciting nights around, this Thursday 20th of September 2007, 22:00 to 02:00, with the warm up by DJ Damo. Free Entrance. 20 + I.D. Required. Location Glow - Sukhumvit Soi 23
- Beach Guard Graduation Ceremony - At the Asia Pattaya Hotel in South Pattaya, Khun Ronagit, Deputy Mayor of Pattaya who was joined by Vice Admiral Jumnong, The Commander of the Fleet for The Royal Thai Navy Region 1 attended a certificate presentation ceremony to mark the end of a Beach Guard Training Course for 110 City Security Officers. 105 passed the intensive course and were presented with their Certificates of Achievement and are now qualified Beach Guards. The newly trained guards will be stationed on Pattaya and Jomtien Beaches and on Larn Island. [via Pattaya City News]
- Pidgin 2.2 Flies The Coop - Multi-protocol instant messaging client Pidgin has just released version 2.2 and when they say multi-protocol, they mean it. Pidgin supports AIM, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, Groupwise, ICQ, IRC, MSN, MySpaceIM, QQ, SILC, SIMPLE, Sametime, XMPP, Yahoo!, and Zephyr. In other words, there's a good chance this open-source program is the only instant messaging client you'll ever need to install on your Windows or Linux PC. There are a bunch of updates since the last release. One of our favorites is the return of optional protocol icons which make it easy to tell which of your friends are using MSN Messenger, and which are using AIM (and so on). Here are some of the other changes:
- Yahoo! Chat is fixed
- AIM file transfer issues fixed
- Properly restore idle status time for AIM and ICQ accounts that reconnect after being disconnected
- Remember "enable sounds" setting for a conversation
If you've got friends and family using 17 different instant messaging applications, Pidgin is a great way to keep in touch with everyone without installing 17 different programs. And the best thing is when you turn it off, they all go away. You know, unless they e-mail, call, or stop by your house for a visit. [via Downloadsquad]
- TV Schedule Of Major Sporting Events - link to the TV schedule for major sporting events such as the IRB Rugby World Cup, English Premier League, F1 Grand Prix, Cricket and Euro 2008 qualifiers. Note: The Twenty20 Cricket World Cup has started in South Africa and although it's not shown in the schedule it may get some coverage on the Sophon Indian or Australian channels. The only way to find out is to tune in.
- Japanese AV Star - Sora Aoi
- The Duck & The Lawyer
The litigator said, "I shot a duck and it fell in this field, and now I'm going to retrieve it." The old farmer replied, "This is my property, and you are not coming over here." The indignant lawyer said, "I am one of the best trial attorneys in the United States and, if you don't let me get that duck, I'll sue you and take everything you own." The old farmer smiled and said, "Apparently, you don't know how we settle disputes in Virginia. We settle small disagreements with the 'Three Kick Rule'."
The lawyer asked, "What is the 'Three Kick Rule'?" The Farmer replied, "Well, because the dispute occurs on my land, I get to go first. I kick you three times and then you kick me three times and so on back and forth until someone gives up." The attorney quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that he could easily take the old codger. He agreed to abide by the local custom.
The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the attorney. His first kick planted the toe of his heavy steel toed work boot into the lawyer's groin and dropped him to his knees. His second kick to the midriff sent the lawyer's last meal gushing from his mouth. The lawyer was on all fours when the farmer's third kick to his rear and, sent him face-first into a fresh cow pie.
The lawyer summoned every bit of his will and managed to get to his feet. Wiping his face with the arm of his jacket, he said, "Okay, you old fart. Now it's my turn." The old farmer smiled and said, "Nah, I give up. You can have the duck!
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