Wound-Up Over A Small Fry Rip-Off

[Surf FM]

I often go for a walk along the beach from Hilton to Kao Takiap, stopping at the restaurant at the end for a quick drink. I've noticed that the drinks are a bit expensive but you expect that for a beach restaurant in a tourist area. I usually have a little chat in Thai with the staff who now recognise me.

Today I thought I'd grab a snack, not a meal, just a plate of fried pork with no rice. I normally pay 20 to 25 Baht for this in town, with rice. It was a decent size portion and I expected to pay a bit more than usual, perhaps 40 Baht. I couldn't believe it when I was presented with a bill for 120 Baht, 100 for the fried pork and 20 for the Coke.

I smiled, told them politely (in Thai) that it was very expensive, that the normal price is 20 to 30 Baht and paid. They all found it very funny.

Maybe I sound like Victor Meldrew, but I don't belieeeve it! How can they justify charging four times the going rate? I'm quite obviously not a tourist, I go there regularly but now never will again. Why the short-term mentality? OK, these are rhetorical questions and perhaps I should know better than to ask the 'why' question in Thailand. Or perhaps I'm just being stupid and not realised that the coup has driven up the price of pork? Perhaps I should remember the sign at the entrance to the beach saying 'please check the price of food and drink before ordering'? Perhaps I should be thankful that I live in 'Paradise City' and haven't been ripped off anywhere nearly as badly as some other unfortunates on this forum. Or perhaps I should get a life and stop wasting everyone's time who's just read this?

Answers on a postcard.

[Jaime]

Do you mean the restaurant next to all the tanks of prawns and crabs etc.?

[JW]

Asia=Short term, its just the way it is. As the sign says - check the price. Its happened to all of us at some point and will do again and again and again.
Like you say mate, the only thing to do is walk your same route and make sure they see you go somewhere else, or take a wee packed lunch down with you and sit outside their place, explain that not all falangs are rich and you cant afford to pay 120 baht for a nibble. Give me a shout if you wanna do te last one.. could be a bit of a laugh!

[Surf FM]

Do you mean the restaurant next to all the tanks of prawns and crabs etc.?

Not sure Jaime, but it's the one right at the foot of the walk up to Kao Takiap, just to the right of the standing Buddha if you're facing the hill. Just a normal shack restaurant, nothing fancy.

Like the packed lunch idea JW, might try that!

[buksida]

I know the place, been past it on the way up the last few days, have made comments about their prices and get a sheepish grin in return. Its empty most of the time.

That sort of stuff winds me up also but for every expat that refuses to go there there will be five tourists that think "wow, this is so much cheaper than back at home".

[Jaime]

Yeas, it's the one with the tanks of prawns. We used to sometimes eat at Supatra, the posh-ish place next door (behind the stone wall facing the sea). One day we stopped at the place Villa Boy 1 mentioned instead, thinking we'd save a few baht only to find that the prices were not much different to those of Supatra!

[Jim]

we had lunch there one day last week; it's not beach hut or town prices for sure, but the food was very good. but there's not that many places to eat on the beach at high tide and parking's easy.

I take the point on Supatra. for a few baht more, it's well worth going for the proper job.

[deepee]

Oh, well as the Thais say '' falang dong"!

[DawnHRD]

Asia=Short term, its just the way it is. As the sign says - check the price. Its happened to all of us at some point and will do again and again and again.
Like you say mate, the only thing to do is walk your same route and make sure they see you go somewhere else, or take a wee packed lunch down with you and sit outside their place, explain that not all falangs are rich and you cant afford to pay 120 baht for a nibble. Give me a shout if you wanna do te last one.. could be a bit of a laugh!

We could make it an HHAD picnic! Gotta be worth it to see their faces!

[johnnyk]

Annoying crap but that's how some choose to play it. Dumbos.
I wouldn't say anything but I'd make sure they saw me pass by each time I was down that way.

[BaaBaa.]

A gathering of about 100 people eating packed lunches just to see their faces would be a sight to behold.

[Handsome Buddha]

Perhaps the original poster has unwittingly highlighted part of the reason why the Thais are clamping down on immigration.
What they want are tourists who spend a lot of cash in a short period of time, not immigrants who spend as little as they can & complain when they get treated like a foreigner.
If, by clamping down, they lose the odd "wealth creator(western capitalist)" then so be it. You're no use to them if you're not spending money, & lots of it.

[johnnyk]

I doubt the annoying little beach snack bar is aware of the "clamping down" in favour of rich tourists.
More likely let's rip this guy off now, he might not come back anyway so at least we get him once.

[Onlyme]

I always thought that the idea was to ask for the price first, or look at the menu and check the price?
Onlyme.

[Rider]

I always thought that the idea was to ask for the price first, or look at the menu and check the price?
Onlyme.

At some restaurants the prices and meals are all in thai though.