How the weak dollar is effecting your nights in Thailand

[bucknaway]

I know that most of you guys on here are very wealthy and even if the USD fell to 18 baht to the US Dollar, it would not effect you at all. But for me... Being that I am a poor boy from a poor family.... I am watching the Dollar/Baht and biting my nails!

Excluding hotel cost and travel cost to Thailand, I tended to spend about $1200 to $1500 during my 3 1/2 week stay in Thailand. I am now accepting the fact that I may have to expect to spend $2000 to $2500 in spending for the same amount of time this trip.

You can spot me in a bar as the guy who ordered 1 drink an nursed it all night long! I have a 100 baht note in my picket to give to one of the guys in the bar if it is a gogo bar.... Once I give out my note, I leave.....

Buying crap on the street is out of the question anymore for this trip..... I will buy a travel bag in Chiang Mai and some clothes in Pattaya & Bangkok but once that is done, my spending for "Stuff" comes to a stop.

Will the weak Dollar effect your holiday any?

(Try to keep your reply board troll neutral. He LIVES for threads like this!).

... has not really affected the UK pound, in fact I would have thought there would have been more bht to the UK pound, but its obvious that it doesn't work like that. Although it is off its highs, it was at one point 75 ish to the UK pound.

The dollar has lost almost 3 or 4 bht to the dollar over the past year, it must be hurting the Thai economy like mad, as a lot of trade is probably done with the US.

Over the next few years, I suspect there will not be much change, as China vs US currencies need and will be revalued, which will have some effect.

Mind you the Bank of Thailand could step in and revalue also. As we know there is already offshore and onshore rates.

Also it could be Thailand are glad this is happening in that they want to discourage US visitors.

From this week's Stickman column:


The oh my God award for the cheapest Charlie in town comes from an increasingly popular bar in Sukhumvit Soi 4. A guy entered the bar for the free pool promotion and ordered a bottle of water for which they charge a perfectly reasonable 30 baht. The customer poured some of the water into a glass of ice and sipped it for, get this, 2 ┬╜ hours! At 6 PM, that is the point at which pool is no longer free, he asked the staff to drain the remaining water back into the bottle and took it home with him! If that wasn't bad enough, he returned the next day carrying the same half bottle and asked for a glass of ice! When the manager refused his request he retorted, "I'll take my business elsewhere!" Wouldn't you love to be a bar manager!

Some good ideas in there for you, Billy!

This has affected me profoundly. Instead of accepting 300 baht from the boys for sex, I now have to charge them 500.
Some object to it at first. I just stop talking, look at my shoe tops until he relents and coughs up the cash. I should last another year I expect. Then, I will turn 60 and it will be very difficult to charge for my sex any longer. I'm a realalist. cheers

That should be realist. spell check was not working well.

[Smiles]

" ... spell check was not working well ... "
... and combine it with 'Edit'. (The Board's a complicated machine indeed).

Cheers ...

It's obviously not designed for use by 59 year-olds. Perhaps they'd be handier with a slate and chisel.

and the slate is much more durable than a hard drive. thanks for bringing that up.

And smiles.. I used to think you were a decent man. Used to.

The value of US currency is just reflecting the US international strategies. Therefore the USD is loosing ground against all currencies world wide.

The Chinese gov might not like the devaluation very much, since China with many billion USD in reserves is since several years the biggest lender to the US, next to Japan, Taiwan and some Arab states.

Against JPY, GBP, and EURO the Thai Baht looks pretty stable despite Taksin's very large withdrawals. Lower USD rate is helping Thailand to keep costs of USD quoted imports (i.e. oil, gas, steel) low. The exports from Thailand to US are not that much and can be redirected on time. Luxury goods will sell at any price. Large contracts are well insured against losses.

The weak USD is supporting US exports only.

It is high time that the pendular is swinging this way; the unbalanced policies are in need to be adjusted. This happened now.

Exports from Thailand to the US "are not very much"? You sure about that, cowboy?

[Wesley]

It sucks no matter how much money you have, in my business I am loosing 200 dollars per 1000 here in Central Asia as opposed to last year. I went back to America for a nine month stay I had not seen Christmas in the USA in 9 Years so I took a break. I came back and business is costing me $8,000 to $10,000 a month more just to keep going. Not good, I don't know how in hell you stayed that long for 1200-1500 a 3 week stay I was there a month, I took ten thousand with me and brought back 7. Obviously I could learn something from you.

[Aunty]

I think it's primarily an American thing (weakness of the $US). The exchange rate between Thailand and NZ is only about 2.5 baht (10%) different to what it was two years ago.

If you really want to know how weak the $US really is, the New Zealand dollar has appreciated by almost 100% against the greenback in the last 6 years!

I know that most of you guys on here are very wealthy and even if the USD fell to 18 baht to the US Dollar, it would not effect you at all. But for me... Being that I am a poor boy from a poor family.... I am watching the Dollar/Baht and biting my nails!

Excluding hotel cost and travel cost to Thailand, I tended to spend about $1200 to $1500 during my 3 1/2 week stay in Thailand. I am now accepting the fact that I may have to expect to spend $2000 to $2500 in spending for the same amount of time this trip.

You can spot me in a bar as the guy who ordered 1 drink an nursed it all night long! I have a 100 baht note in my picket to give to one of the guys in the bar if it is a gogo bar.... Once I give out my note, I leave.....

Buying crap on the street is out of the question anymore for this trip..... I will buy a travel bag in Chiang Mai and some clothes in Pattaya & Bangkok but once that is done, my spending for "Stuff" comes to a stop.

Will the weak Dollar effect your holiday any?



(Try to keep your reply board troll neutral. He LIVES for threads like this!).

The most of the guys are not rich. They are talking only that they are rich. 1200-1500 USD is not a little bit money and you don't need to eat your nails.

[Wesley]

I take a salary just like any other employee, so how much I make is up to me and the tax police as they call them here, if I leave the money in the business the tax police don't bother my little salary as much. However, when I get a wire from USA for Business it remains my business. The Tax man is screwed and I get to take a trip to Thailand.

Wesley

some statistics:




Some statistics ...

Tourist rate : 2004 2005 2006 (10 month)
All Arrivals 10,082,109 11,737,413 9,249,469
U.S. Arrivals (Nationality) 514,863 627,506 508,140
including Visa-Run

Export ranking:

21,1 % to ASEAN
15,2 % to US
14,8 % to EU
13,1 % to Japan
8,7 % to China
5,6 % to Hong Kong
4,5 % to Middle East
2,8 % to Australia
2,0 % to Korea


Import ranking:

18,3 % from ASEAN
6,8 % from US
10,8 % from EU
20,8 from Japan
9,6 % from China
1,3 % from Hong Kong
13,4 % from Middle East
2,5 % from Australia
1,8 % from Korea

FOREIGN TRADE WITH U.S.A.
(By 1-digit SITC commodity, From U.S. Department of Commerce)
In Millions of U.S.$ 2004 2005 1Q06
Exports to U.S.A. (f.o.b.) 17,577 19,892 5,179
0 Food and Live Animals 2,009 2,199 548
1 Beverages and tobacco 44 47 16
2 Crude Materials, Inedible, Except Fuels 437 425 129
3 Mineral fuels, lubricants 32 56 87
4 Animal and vegetable oils and fats 3 4 1
5 Chemicals 281 435 136
6 Manufactured Goods 1,857 1,971 530
7 Machinery and Transport Equipment 7,573 9,309 2,344
8 Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles 5,025 5,124 1,289

Imports from U.S.A. (f.a.s.) 6,363 7,233 1,713
0 Food and Live Animals 345 325 80
1 Beverages and tobacco 23 17 1
2 Crude Materials, Inedible, Except Fuels 638 600 138
3 Mineral fuels, lubricants 77 121 31
4 Animal and vegetable oils and fats 3 2 1
5 Chemicals 770 793 237
6 Manufactured Goods 402 456 115
7 Machinery and Transport Equipment 3,443 4,039 914
8 Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles 500 629 155

On my first trip to thailand in 94 the baht was 25 to the dollar so the curent rate doesn't bother me as much as it does some of you. I just take one less off and but less for th boys and things average out ok. My biggest problem is I do not eat thai so my meals out cost me more than some of you. I'm not concerned about the baht as I can adjust my offs and expenses to compensate. If I was one who lived there full tiem then I would worry some but for my one month trips I;ll just plan a little better.

if one thinks about it, it has hit sterling just as hard as the dollar. A couple of years one could nearly 74-75 to the pound, its now barely touching 67.

if one thinks about it, it has hit sterling just as hard as the dollar. A couple of years one could nearly 74-75 to the pound, its now barely touching 67.

It not hit hard. May as everyone remember, b4 the Baht crashed. You got for 1 USD about 25 Baht, 1 UKP about 35 Baht. Nothing changed! You still get your drink for 4 USD or 2 UKP. And this was about 10 Years ago!!!!

This is the type of thread that sawatdee forum excels at!

Absolutely hilarious while still informative.

More please!

I noticed about a year ago the plate prices in "good Thai food for farang restaurants" like @Richards, Balcony, Sphinx, Mali, averaging over 100 baht/plate. Those rises plus the devastated dollar have raised most full meals at these places to as high as $7 - $8 plus a beer.

So? I'm sending the maid downstairs to a nearby Thai restaurant much more often to get some dinner ready in the refrigerator.

My realtor says my CONDOMINIUM is holding steady in THB what he thinks I could sell it at and right now it could be a bonanza for me should I sell and take it back to the USA.

.....My realtor says my CONDOMINIUM is holding steady in THB what he thinks I could sell it at and right now it could be a bonanza for me should I sell and take it back to the USA.

If you had use the same money to buy real estate in USA at that time, you might get even better return now!!

My biggest problem is I do not eat thai .

Can't imagine traveling to Thailand and eating western food. That's hilarious. Thai food is one of the best things about coming here (other than the guys hehe).

My biggest problem is I do not eat thai ...Obviously there's a limit to the luv <chortle>. Perhaps the handle should be "luv2fuckthaibutnotmuchelseaboutthailand"