Old posting but it may explain why the parks aren't up to scratch on your visit Marckymarc...
looks like its oficial and the money goes to a good cause source

This is also a good read ....source

quote:

Originally posted by mervyn:
Sorry but I have been into places with foreign students (we had quite a few stay on exchange visits to UK) where discount is allowed for students and so long as proof is given no problem - did you actualy ask for discount ?

Whilst I was aware that students often get discounts, as Pick was neither British nor studying in the UK it simply didn't occur to me that he would qualify. So, no, I didn't ask.

Too late now, he's finished university.

Nick,

quote:

Our flat overlooks Woking station, and on many Sundays in the summer we are treated to steam trains stopping, in the morning going one way and again in the evening going home.

Should I charge an entrance fee? No discounts for T-UK members, as many would see such blatent dual pricing as unfair!

Sorry, I'm not into "kettles", but if you get any nice long heavy freight trains going through (you should at least get two or three Freightliner trains), I might be interested!!

Ian

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Casey Jones:

If so I'll blow the horn next time![QUOTE]

You are a real train driver...

Wow....Respect


"Question....& I'm being serious here Ray. Why is it that when I/a train comes through a station & you all get your note pads & pencils out & run to the platform edge...that once you've taken the number down you all turn away? I thought it was the train folk were spotting but it seems more like number spotting to me."


Pass on that one. I gave up collecting numbers when I was about 10. Interestingly though, the boys that used to hang around Poole railway station with me, circa 1962 all went on to Poole Grammar school. I didn't by the way.

quote:

Originally posted by mervyn:
Ray

quote:

We like trains

Doth thou wear an anorak lad ?

Funny you should ask that, as I must admit that my coat does have a concealled hood, so perhaps that makes me a closet anorak

ps. apologies to Markymack for slight deviation, off topic.

quote:

Originally posted by IanB:
Sorry, I'm not into "kettles", but if you get any nice long heavy freight trains going through
Ian

"KETTLES"

Give me a steam engine any day. Much better than a deeeeeeevious diesel.

quote:

Originally posted by IanB:
Sorry, I'm not into "kettles", but if you get any nice long heavy freight trains going through (you should at least get two or three Freightliner trains), I might be interested!!

Several, every night from about 11pm on (mainline to both Portsmouth and Southampton ).

Yes Ray...I'm a "real train driver". Drive freight now. Green diesel class 66 loco's. I wanted to be an astronaut. Never mind...still time. I keep checking the add's in the "big" papers for "NASA NEEDS YOU!". Maybe one day

Sorry...off subject.

quote:

I keep checking the add's in the "big" papers for "NASA NEEDS YOU!". Maybe one day

Remember Max Boyce's "Ballard of Morgan the Moon", Casey?

Old Mog the mechanic,I remember him well,
He once built a rocket,or so they will tell,
From an old winding-engine he found on the dole,
Built in the Rhondda and powered by coal.

A Welsh astronaut

Sorry...off subject again. Blame Rolyshark...I'm easily led.

quote:

A Welsh astronaut

And in higher places too....

The last verse of Morgan the Moon (after Morgan has landed on the moon)-

A strange piece of rock soon old Morgan found,
Just lying there shining on the dust covered ground,
He picked up closely and he let out a call
'Cos written right through it in Welsh was "Porthcawl"!

quote:

Yes Ray...I'm a "real train driver". Drive freight now. Green diesel class 66 loco's. I wanted to be an astronaut. Never mind...still time. I keep checking the add's in the "big" papers for "NASA NEEDS YOU!". Maybe one day

Sorry...off subject.

Maybe not long to wait. Did anyone see Horizon last night? Branson is selling tickets to space for $200,000 from 2008, and the technology looks very sensible to me.

Ian

Guess I'll have to put some overtime in then!!

JonnyC,

I regularly complain about things here in the UK, but returning to where I came from would cause me more of a problem as I can not afford to live down South anymore!

A post has mentioned about Stonehenge here in the UK. When you drive past you can see it and think "why don't I stop and take a closer look". You then decide to do this and you manage to find a parking space and then pay £x x people to walk under the road and around the fenced off area to see it. This amounts to far more than it would cost to see any attraction that I know of in Thailand (including the gals ). The cost of the place detracts from the fact that you are looking at the mystique of history and means that unless you are rich you will never stop again. My point is that: Farangs want to visit sights in Thailand and to add facilities to these sights a charge is levied. The charge is quite often (when it seems high) levied towards what farang will pay, if a Thai had to pay these once then they would think it expensive (same as me with Stonehenge), they would/may not pay a second time to visit. By keeping the costs low for a local national and charging a "fair" price for a farang there is an attempt to let the farang enjoy the visit with their Thai companions without the Thai local companions having to pay a price that they can't/won't afford.

There is lots more that I could add to this...

quote:

Originally posted by IanB-UK:
JonnyC,

I regularly complain about things here in the UK, but returning to where I came from would cause me more of a problem as I can not afford to live down South anymore!

Well, if I were narrow-minded and bigotted than I'd say that's fine because it's your country so you're allowed to complain, it's just johnny foreigner that should keep their traps shut, including any Thais that complain because they might have negative encounters because people think they're gold-diggers, hookers etc... And those people from Brazil complaining about their son being shot on the tube can shut it too. It's our country and they can lump it.
But then I'm not serious while others are.

Content edited by moderator (Conrad) to remove personal attack on forum member

JonnyC, There are many occassions when a forum member makes a post that others do not agree with. By all means challenge that post but please refrain from making a personal attack on the original poster. Thank you

Mark,
I don't like the unequal treatment we get in a lot of situations in LOS.
But I do turn it to my advantage.
If Nid isn't happy with me, I'll find somewhere that does charge me 100% more then her, and for some strange reason it really cheers her up. So I think an extra £3 a day for matrimonial peace is worth it

IanB-Uk...the charges are not levied at what a farang may pay at all...
If you read the 2 links at the top of this page that i put in you will see exactly when they started charging 10 times as much at parks, where the money actually goes, how much goes back to the parks facilities, who takes this money and even the guy who runs it all....
If you dont believe the links find me something that tells us where the money goes beacause after much trawling i cant find a thing...

Its a good read.....

A thai only pays 20baht, whats that a tenth of a days work on a 6000bt a month job....its nothing to any working Thai either because a 6000bt job is right down the scale...

Its not the money its the principal...
why should we pay because we are different race?
Is it ok for chinese, japanese, korean etc to pay the reduced rate because i have seen these people paying the normal 20bt rate??

If i took my missus out in the uk and it cost me 20 quid to get in a zoo and they wanted 200 quid off the missus because they thought it was a fair price for someone of a different race to pay then would you think that would be ok??

Thailand is corrupt enough without this adding to it all!

We all know nothing will happen but just being happy to pay extra seems absurd, would we let this happen to ourselves back in the uk just because we belived it was going to better facilities and helping the British pay less...No we wouldn't because it would probably be illigal??

quote:

However, I still feel it is entirely justifiable to have one price for Thais and another for visitors, simply to reflect the huge mismatch in incomes

Another point.

The vast majority of Thais that visit the 'expensive' attractions are not the ones that earn 150B a day, they are the Thais that could afford the inflated price.

If there are any 150B a day Thais there, you can practically guarantee that there will be a farang in tow.

Instead of the 20B/200B split, they should make it 60B for everybody.... that way the farang still ends up spending about the same, but the wealthier Thais make a more significant contribution.

And that should only happen in places where the money goes towards the upkeep of the place.... attractions that are there just to line someones pockets should be boycotted.

quote:

they should make it 60B for everybody....

quote:

And that should only happen in places where the money goes towards the upkeep of the place.... attractions that are there just to line someones pockets should be boycotted

Well said mate....

Not really sure what the hell you are trying to say Jonny c?? Im sure your not serious but statements can be nisconstrued as Racist, currently a crime.

Wish i had never started this topic now, but from other posts it doesnt really matter whether we pay 60 baht or 200 baht the parks dont get much of it anyway, just the corrupt bosses....nothing new there then....thats defamation...oh well never mind eh?

Well said Thad, at least you understand.

Thanks for the info Ian, wont be going there again has to be said even more so now i know that.

quote:

Originally posted by markymarc:
Not really sure what the hell you are trying to say Jonny c?? Im sure your not serious but statements can be nisconstrued as Racist, currently a crime.

Wish i had never started this topic now, but from other posts it doesnt really matter whether we pay 60 baht or 200 baht the parks dont get much of it anyway, just the corrupt bosses....nothing new there then....thats defamation...oh well never mind eh?

"But then I'm not serious while others are."

I hope that clarifies

quote:

The vast majority of Thais that visit the 'expensive' attractions are not the ones that earn 150B a day, they are the Thais that could afford the inflated price.

Sorry, not true in Khao Yai! The park is a very popular place for ordinary Thais to visit from their village - hence queues of pickups every weekend, with noisy crowds of youngsters visiting the watefalls.

Ian

Ian (& Nat),

The source you pointed to (Philip Round) is the leading expert on Thailand's birdlife, so is a respected person. However I still disagree with him! The solution is to sort out the mess in the Royal Forestry Department, not to let tourists visit Thailand's heritage on the cheap.

Ian

So...judging by a large amount of the posts on this thread it seems to be the principle of being charged more rather than the actual cost of it to our pockets that upsets certain folk. This point of view I agree with but I doubt if anything will ever happen to change it. There are a number of things about Thailand I don't subscribe to yet I still go there. I still pay that difference in price at the entrance gates. Sadly I think it's one of those negative issues to come out of the meeting of two different cultures. It's called culture shock for a reason. There's no way on earth I'm ever gonna like it but it's something I either gotta accept or have trouble with. As much as it annoys me I choose to accept it...like the poll tax...I'm afraid we're stuck with it.
Like I've said before, change the difference in price into £'s in your head. It's not so bad then. But I guess the principle remains. Maybe a few Beer Changs can ease that problem too on a beautiful, hot saturd