Budgeting for my trip to Thailand!

[marshal]

I choose max the cards,but in the past that has been more about spending in the bloody lacost shops in Bkk, and spending a couple of days in another se asian country. I have now locked the cards away,and will only carry one next trip in october, for absolute emergency.

[jhcal26]

I budget $250-300 usd per day excluding accommodation and I usually end up spending $200-250.

[smeghead_arch]

I have never spent less than £1000 a week , tried so hard last june , july , just couldnt bring myself to be a tight arse , amazing isnt it , you can drink 20 bottles of beer and only spend 1500 baht yet i seldom have any change left when i return from a night out with 8000 baht in my pocket !!

[doug]

I live here, so normally I don't spend much more than 500 baht a day, if that.

In fact, when my girlfriend is out of town (and I'm not downtown whoring it up), I probably spend less than 100 baht a day. Two meals in the market, plus a couple of stops in 7-11 for candy bars and pepsi, that's about it. I guess that's one of the benefits of working all the time is that I really don't get many opportunities to spend a lot of money.

If I include all my expenses, such as rent, business expenses, gym membership, non-sex-related hobbies, taxes, and utility bills, I probably get by on 30,000 to 40,000 baht a month.

Since my girlfriend works for a foreign company, she gets paid a real salary too, so she's just as likely to pay for dinner or a movie as I am. Which means that keeping her happy isn't an "expense" for me. As long as I'm saving money for the eventual wedding, she's content. And since I make between 150,000 and 200,000 baht a month, so that leaves me a "bit" of discretionary income when it comes to ladyboys .

Then again, unlike you guys, I'm not here on a holiday and I didn't come to Thailand to blow my life savings on whores and ale (not that that's a bad thing, mind you). I came to Thailand to make buckets of cash, and bopping ladyboys on the side is just a perk of the locale, nothing more.

So for me, most of my days in Thailand are just boring, "daily grind" days, same as I had back in the States. I'd like to buy a house and get married some day so most of my money goes into savings or stocks (Thai weddings are expensive!). Living in Thailand requires a lot of "cash on hand", which I find rather annoying. I could live here for 20 years, pay all my bills and have deep roots in the community and the credit companies would STILL make me find a co-signer on a loan as if I was some 18 year old kid buying his first car with Dad's help.

So for me, most of the money I make goes into that "cash fund" for my business (for buying things like air con units or computers, etc...). Which means that in spite of making boatloads of cash, I'm living in a state of self-imposed poverty.

Also, I honestly and truly have no idea why I get booty-called so much. After all, most days I look worse than those sad-sack English teachers you see nursing beers around Nana hotel. I'm definitely average-looking by any standard. But for whatever reason, I do, and so normally I get enough ladyboy action coming to find me, that I don't need to blow wads of cash "entertaining" mamasans and waitresses in Obs. I just wait for the Fuck-phone to ring, slide down the Fuck-pole into my Fuck-cave, and then jump into the Fuck-mobile (the 20-baht mini-van to Sukhumvit ) and away I go to whatever gangbang they are plotting for me.

Living far from Sukhumvit helps a lot though. If I had the daily temptation of Nana within walking distance I'd probably spend a lot more time in that shitpit than I'd like to admit. Fortunately, most days I'm just too damn lazy to go all the way down there. Trust me, that saves A LOT of money.

So for those of you considering the move, I'd recommend living "outside the city" in some place like Bangkapi or Thonburi. Rents are cheap (3000 to 7000 for townhouses), daily expenses are cheap (50 to 100 baht a meal if you're a meat and potatoes guy), and temptation is far enough away that you won't be running up 9000 baht a night party bills.

[The Pioneer]

Interesting reply Doug considering I might be doing my far share of time over there in LB paradise myself. Can I ask what do u do for a quid there?

During my last trip holidaying I was livin it up spending around 2,000 baht a day. Im sure the fact I knew a few locals and LB's before my arrival helped with that.

[PigDogg]

(doug @ Apr. 01 2008,23:38) Bangkapi or Thonburi.  Rents are cheap (3000 to 7000 for townhouses),

Doug, In locations like that do you need a car or bike?

[doug]

(PigDogg @ Apr. 02 2008,15:41)

(doug @ Apr. 01 2008,23:38) Bangkapi or Thonburi.  Rents are cheap (3000 to 7000 for townhouses),

Doug, In locations like that do you need a car or bike?

I guess that depends on how you define "need".

If you're taking buses/taxis/trains/motorcyles all over the city, you can easily spend up to 500 baht a day on transport.  Might as well buy a car at that point.

If you're only going from point A to B and back again, you can probably get by on a budget of 100 to 200 baht a day (depending on the mode).

Car Rentals are aimed at tourists and so they are outrageously over-priced.  No fucking way am I going to pay 25,000 baht a month to rent a Honda City (when I could BUY one for 10,000 baht a month).

Motorcycles will set you back around 20K to 50K and they truly are the best way to get around the area on short trips (taking them across the city is insane), but riding a motorcycle in Bangkok requires a high tolerance for INSTANT DEATH and I'm a big fucking baby when it comes to kissing a suddenly-opened taxi door at 50kph.

Still, there are times when Bangkok's traffic makes you think "Hmm... instant death might be worth it right about now...."

(The Pioneer @ Apr. 01 2008,15:00) Interesting reply Doug considering I might be doing my far share of time over there in LB paradise myself. Can I ask what do u do for a quid there?

Well now, if I told you what I was doing over here, then everyone would be doing it and I'd have competition, hahah!

Basically, it involves doing things with computers that Thais can't do because all the smart-Thais are in America making real money and all the ones left here are too fucking uncreative to be able to do actual problem-solving without being told exactly what to do at every single minor step along the way...  I think the most bizarre thing about my situation is that I actually make more money here than I ever did in the States mostly because the tech market in the States is flooded with "low wage" foreign workers.  Thais won't pay Thais real money, so all the smart-Thais leave.  But then they have nobody left to do the tough jobs, and so they need to hire "expensive" foriegn contractors to come in and fix things that their own employees most likely broke.

Unfortunately, it's not something you can just walk right into.  It takes years to build up the personal contacts and reputation.  So if you're considering coming to Thailand let me give you this bit of advice:

Keep the whoring and boozing PRIVATE.  Thais are very "tolerant", but there is a huge difference between "tolerance" and "acceptance".  And the one "sin" they absolutely cannot forgive is public displays of your private life.

I'm finding this harder and harder to do, because I've lived here long enough that I can't go to any part of the city without running into people I know.  But it's good advice to follow even if you're fresh off the plane and only intend to teach English at AUA while you're here.

Take the example of two sad-sack English "teachers":  WhoreBoy and NeatBoy.  Both work at AUA. Both spend their weekends whoring and boozing in Nana Plaza. Both live near work and thus their comings and goings are observed by everyone in the neighborhood (including customers and coworkers).

The difference is that WhoreBoy brings home one or two different bargirls every week (and sometimes every night).  He's also red-faced drunk in the local market (getting into the occassional fight with a local or a screaming match with some ladyboy he blew off) almost every night he's not whoring it up downtown.  

Neatboy, on the other hand, avoids clubs in his neighborhood, NEVER brings a girl home (he publicly dates a nice girl and takes his whores to love-hotels like any sane guy would do back home), and he drinks with moderation around Thai coworkers or customers (but really ties one on with his farang buddies).

Both guys are "tolerated" in Thailand, of course, and WhoreBoy never gets a whiff of bad vibes from anyone.  He blissfully lives a carefree life and doesn't give fuck-all what the locals think about him.  But he doesn't get word-of-mouth recommendations to tutor people on the side.  He doesn't get invited over to people's homes for holidays.  He doesn't get invited on camping trips or beach holidays, and he doesn't make connections with "normal Thai people".

He's tolerated, but not accepted.

NeatBoy, on the other hand, lives essentially the same lifestyle as WhoreBoy, but he takes just a bit more care to "keep up appearances" and maintain a public facade of being a "good guy".  That may seem superficial and disingenuous to a Westerner, but this is Thailand and that's EXACTLY how Thai men behave.  Everyone knows that Thai men are playboys, but as long as they don't rub people's faces in it, nobody cares.

So NeatBoy makes all those connections and gets all those tutoring jobs.  Pretty soon, he's turning down work and only accepting private lessons that are willing to pay him 800+ baht per hour.  That's real fucking money, you know.  

He easily puts in an extra 15 hours a week doing privates and he easily pulls in another 45K to 50K a month.  Add that to his base pay at AUA (what is it? I have no idea what they pay: 30K? 40K?) and he's making somewhere between 75K to 90K a month, compared to WhoreBoy who's drinking Piss Beer and trying to Cheap Charlie girls because he has to scrape by on 30,000 a month.

Over a year, WhoreBoy makes a little over $11,000, which is below the poverty line back home.  If he stays here for more than three or four years, he ends up STUCK here because if he went home, he'd be flat broke.  How many bitter long-timers do you know who fit this example?  I know bunches...

NeatBoy, on the other hand, makes around $34,000, which is an actual, real income, even in America.  Plus, he's only paying 7% tax on a THIRD of that month (the rest is off the books), so he's making an after tax income comparable to someone making nearly $70,000 in America.  I know a couple of guys like this, but they are a rarer breed.

So NeatBoy can actually go home after a few years of whoring it up in Thailand with a net PROFIT from the experience.  Or, if he chooses to stay, he can turn all those connections he made tutoring into a support network to start his own business.

WhoreBoy, on the other hand, is still sitting on a barstool at Big Dog's nursing a beer, dispensing "wisdom" to the tourists and pretending like he "knows Thai culture" when in reality, he knows fuck-all about it because he's been on the outside fringes of it for his entire stay.

So, if you're considering a move to Thailand, do yourself a favor, and try to "fit in" like 'NeatBoy', rather than being a "I-going-to-move-to-a-new-country-but-I'm-not-changing-one-God-damned-thing-about-my-behavior-(except-for-the-worst)" prick like 'WhoreBoy'.  Seriously, I can understand tourist acting like that because they're on a holiday and they're supposed to not give a fuck.  But why would someone MOVE to a new country with the expectation that they can just go on about themselves without any regard for local sensibilities?

Don't get me wrong.  Whore it up like a randy goat, of course!  Just be discrete about it like any Thai man would, and you'll fit right in with the locals.

(The Pioneer @ Apr. 01 2008,15:00) During my last trip holidaying I was livin it up spending around 2,000 baht a day. Im sure the fact I knew a few locals and LB's before my arrival helped with that.

You should seriously try staying out in the suburbs.  It's a whole different reality out here.  The one drawback being that you be a bit more discrete (as I said) because you stick out like a sore thumb, but I think the advantages outweigh that.

For example, it's really HARD to spend more than 1000 baht a day out here.  Food, transport, living expenses, rent, etc... You can cover basic needs very comfortably for less than 25,000 baht a month, which is less than what some people pay for rent down on Sukhumvit.

Yah, living on the outskirts of Bang Nowhere sucks sometimes (especially late at night when you fall asleep in a taxi and wake up in Bang Someplace-Else with a 400 baht fare on the meter).

But take these two examples:  I went out with my girlfriend to a VERY nice restaurant recently.  Live jazz band, hip crowd, imported liquors, stylish atmosphere, etc... the works.  Really posh place.  We met up with a group (of course) and I paid for myself, my girlfriend and her uni-mate.  Total bill for the three of us:  2200 baht (around 700 baht a person).  Pricey!!

A few weeks ago, I met some chums from work at the Conrad hotel downtown.  A supposedly "posh" hotel bar that charged 1000+ baht for a plate of CHEESE, and probably watered their liquor too.  A quick glance around the bar confirmed that pretty much every girl in there was a freelancer looking to fleece STUPID travelling businessmen (7000 baht for a ST, cheap!, but you can bet that those same girls can be had outside Nana for 1000 baht if they don't manage to land a big fish in the hotel bar).  And for the "thrill" of basically sitting in an over-priced version of the already insanely over-priced Q-Bar the bill for myself totalled: 4300 baht!!

Sukhumvit: 0,  Suburbs: 1

[Freebird]

Had really good days for just 2.000 - 3.000 baht and also good days for 20.000 baht.

Depends on my company, if I'm drinking or not, where I'm drinking, etc.

[katoeylover]

Doug... You sir, are an invaluable asset to this message board.

[friedfrunk]

Wow, very detailed and informative post, Doug. I enjoyed reading it!

[Naang Faa]

Does that mean i can't fill him in then?
x

[friedfrunk]

He'll want to fill you in actually.

[JustSumGai]

(tampanugget_2001 @ Mar. 30 2008,02:47) If you can't afford it, don't go on vacation.

If I think I need extra money in the travel budget, I try to work a little extra before I go.  Pinching pennies on holiday would be miserable.  I always get a laugh from posts on similar Thailand forums from the "Cheap Charlies" who go from bar to bar looking for a 10 baht cheaper beer.  If your going to be that cheap don't fly halfway around the world to go on vacation.

apalling. I'm glad you have not the power to decide how we all live. Please stay in Tampa and do not breed. Thank you

[stogie bear]

Yah, living on the outskirts of Bang Nowhere sucks sometimes (especially late at night when you fall asleep in a taxi and wake up in Bang Someplace-Else with a 400 baht fare on the meter).

Oh boy... that hits home!

Great stuff doug... always good to hear from the feet on the ground.

[stogie bear]

(JustSumGai @ Apr. 03 2008,04:21)

(tampanugget_2001 @ Mar. 30 2008,02:47) If you can't afford it, don't go on vacation.

If I think I need extra money in the travel budget, I try to work a little extra before I go. Pinching pennies on holiday would be miserable. I always get a laugh from posts on similar Thailand forums from the "Cheap Charlies" who go from bar to bar looking for a 10 baht cheaper beer. If your going to be that cheap don't fly halfway around the world to go on vacation.

apalling. I'm glad you have not the power to decide how we all live. Please stay in Tampa and do not breed. Thank you

That sounds like a bit of an over reaction to an innocuous opinion...

I tend to agree that scrimping and saving during your holiday detracts from the enjoyment of it.

In my younger days I was all to ready to soak up the hipness and inconvenience of povety and sloth.

These days I want more...