Average Thai people are desperate to show the world the ‘true’ Thailand – the Thailand of gracious hospitality and wide smiles that earned it the moniker ‘Land of Smiles.’
So don’t cancel your trip, invite friends as suggested in the post. But when you’ve checked into your deeply discounted spa/resort, please avoid heavy political questions; most Thais are embarrassed deeply by the airing of their dirty laundry on an international stage and as the wonderful non-confrontational people they are, would prefer to move on and make you comfortable and enjoy the ‘now’ rather than rehash the past… Just smile and enjoy the best weather of the year and amazingly placid beaches – you’ll be rewarded in ways you can’t imagine for having faith in the Thai people (as opposed to the government).

MBS from BKK

Thai is the most beautiful country to see. People are wonder and the food is awesome! After their political fight for the best interests, I was happy they got what they wanted! It shows how they can pull it together to make a wrong a right!

I am a foreigner who lives in Thailand for over 30 years and I must say I have the most respect for the King of Thailand. However what the court has done was not in the best interest of the country. The People’s Power Party was elected twice with a great majority and the PAD are nothing but a bunch of elitist selfish mob who have for centuries have disenfranchised the poor and the rural constituency. It is a shame on Thailand that a popular government was ousted through legal manipulation.
For all the westerners who want to come to Thailand please stay home and do not encourage mob rule so your tourist dollar gets the best possible bargain holiday. The PPP will reclaim what is rightfully theirs soon and the next time the tourist will suffer far greater inconveniences. This class war is not over yet, it is just the beginning.
Who cares if some international resorts or hotels are loosing money, their profits are being expatriated anyway and will not do any help the ordinary Thai.
Less tourism equals less Aids, less drugs, less prostitution. Long live his highness the King of Thailand and happy birthday.

Interesting article. We are heading that way for New Years to visit my son who is teaching English in a International school in Bangkok. He says he doesn’t feel the disruption where he is but we are concerned as travelers. It would be nice if they could resolve this mess.

Good luck to those who listen and go. There is something called “If you don’t go look for trouble, trouble will not come look for you”.

I cannot agree with Dan more. There will be some great deals – and it’s important to remember that tourist have never been an element in the Thaksin/PAD fight – only suffering due to things like the closed airports. During the recent events life in much of Thailand went on as usual. Equally important is Dan’s comment about the PAD not repeating the airport experience. The closures have seriously hurt Thai businesses – who have generally supported the PAD – so the PAD would be crazy to take that route again – even if the situation heats up again.

Please visit Thailand. You will love it

I’ve been twice to Thailand (Bangkok & Chiang Mai & look fwd to returning later this month. While I initially had some concerns about the political situation, I’m now relatively unconcerned about returning to ‘the land of Smiles’, the warmth, & beauty that exists there. I also plan on retiring shortly to Chiang Mai which I find, far & away, better than BKK. Fortunately, people have a short memory when it comes to most political events; however, I do believe that it’s gonna take many months for this to turn-around as it’s damaged Thailand’s economy, tourism, & image. Thailand needs to aggressively pursue an image-repairing advertising campaign.

Hi Dan Rivers,
Can you investigate the pay structure of the PAD protesters? I heard from my Thai relatives that the protesters are paid 500-800 bath per day to protest, but I’ve never seen any mention of this on CNN or BBC.

Also, can you investigate the PAD goals, power structures, and power behind the scene? Many people in the US are not getting the full picture and think PAD protesters are fighting for democracy.

Please reply to my email if possible.
Thank you,
-Joe

I am a frequent visitor to Thailand and SE Asia. Although your writier’s intention are noble, you are doing your readers a large dis-service by recommending that they fly to Thailand right now, in wake of the 300,000 passengers who are still stranded. The Thai Government is without a leader, and still reeling from a mob-ruled takeover of both large airports crippling the entire nation for over one week. No central government, police not willing to protect their people or their tourist guest, and an Army and government and the King- who stood by and did nothing, an economy fragile and listless. Why should anyone take a risk today to come to Thailand is both foolish and ill-advised.

Talk to the thousands of tourist who just left the country this week, one was my best friend, some by land, some by sea or other countries, all had to fight for a seat from surcharging and overwhelmed airline staffs, with no help from the Thai people and government, flying from an old military airport with one luggage scanner for 25,000 people per day, in pure chaos conditions with no Thai leadership. We do not owe them anything, they need to get their act together and prove it and earn it with the entire free world. Don’t be fooled by a “good deal”, it is worthless when they shut down the airport again. Meanwile, boycott Thailand – send them a strong message – and find a different country to visit and spend your precious dollars, who will welcome you and treat you like a real guest.

I agree with you that this altogether sorry affair should not fear would be travellers. Thailand is a wonderful country. The people and the way of life never fails to excite me. The average thai is a happy and gentle soul, who’s fun loving nature and strong buddist beliefs make them the most exceptional hosts.

Thailand has it’s problems, yes. Ones which are hard for us in the West to understand. I’m not even very confident of a happy ending to this paragraph in the Kingdom’s epic novel. But what I do know is that Thai people will survive. Their inner strengh is quite remarkable, even if they do have an awful habit of shooting themselves in the foot.

Furthermore, I feel safe in Thailand and adore the food and the surroundings. Come and see the most beautiful country in the world, but you’ll need a sense of humour! enjoy!

P.S. Dan, I thought your coverage was excellent

i,m gonna stay away from thailand a couple of years, lost a lot of money with the crisis, and thailand is not so save anymore as before, alot of thugs and drugs on the streets, and i know what i,m talking about, after 28 years in pattaya, cheers.

The terrorists are similarly evil and coward whether they killed in iraq, mumbai, new york or Lahsa, although they may be sponsored by different people. These killers should not be given peace prize from the people standing on moral high gound.

The people who encourage or support terrorism are terrorists themselves. Aren’t they?

Agreed!!! And it’s always a good idea to plan a contingency exit… for example, i was there durnig the 2006 coup and had the airports completely shut down for that long, I already was planning to leave through Cambodia, or take that 10 hour journey to the border with Malaysia (Pulau Langkawi)

Thailand is a great, albeit disfunctional, country. No reason to be scared off by some political unrest… they generally leave foreigners alone.

Yes, it’s peak season here!

For all people of the world. Please accept our apologize from all of Thais that we add some problem to this world.

Most of us doesn’t support this crazy mob, they are rude and definitely not normal Thai culture.

We elect the government to take care us and make our country go forward in right direction but this “Military’s Draft Constitution” takeaway all of government’s power. They can give the order to police they can give the order to the millitary but constitution says police & millitary can ignore the government orders. Even talking with other nation is a strictness in this constitution that government have to seek approve of all script from the paliament before talking to other country. Imagine that we have 4 Prime Ministers plus 2 Caretaker Prime Ministers and 4 governments in 1 year to rule the country in time that world has an economy crisis, that is not good for us.

So as we all see the mob actually create their own millitia unit and the normal people or our government can’t do anything. We are so happy that protesters is going home and it will not happen again because the mob leaders is running out of money and have to go to jail.

Finally all Thai people looking forward to see all of tourist coming to have a holiday in Thailand.

Thailand is a country of many splendours and worth numerous trips in good times, however I have to ask, is my precious holiday time really worth risking on a destination where this chaos happened? Not for me—-as with anything you are judged in how you handle things in bad times, and it didn’t seem to happen quickly enough, I feel sorry for Thai Airways a really great airline and the tourism staff in Thailand who make a living from tourism, cheap airfares and hotels may be a way to incent the public but a message from the King would be a nice first move to ensure it is safe and welcoming.

As a long time resident and friend of Thailand, what has happened in the last few weeks has greatly saddened me. But it is far from over. PAD will be back when the next elected government is put in place and will not rest until one of their own is in government. One PAD leader even went so far as to say that those outside Bangkok should not be allowed to vote because they are uneducated. This elitist view point is very dangerous. PAD has no solutions, they just don’t want people in power that they can’t control and manipulate. The damage to Thailand is on a global scale that far exceeds the damage of the tsunami – both economically and in reputation.

But the tarnish to Thailand’s reputation is far more severe than it need be. Media (including CNN) sensationalized the entire issue. One British publication labelled Thailand “The most dangerous place on earth”. The reality is that Thailand for the majority of the people was normal the whole time. The protesters disrupted the airports and travel, but any industry not dependant on tourists or travel was not impacted at all. Everyone in my office of several hundred turned up to work each day, the same as any other day. While being very disruptive to travel, the protestors were also very peaceful. Things could have got worse, but fortunately they did not. Both airports are well away from the city and surprisingly both the government and the protestors did much to avoid physical conflict, unlike in the past. For this, there should be some credit given at least.

All the talk of tourists stranded was also blown out of proportion. Thailand has many borders. Those who wanted to leave could do so at any time. I personally made a business trip to China by getting a taxi from Bangkok to the Malaysian border and then flying out from Malaysia. An inconvenience, but not the end of the world. Many also took this path out of Thailand, all busses and trains were fully booked, even additional busses put on. Some of the people I talked to were happy to be “stranded” here. Let’s face it, there could be far worse places that a tropical resort in the sun to be “stuck” in for a week. Flying back in yesterday was no problem at all. The organization at the interim International airport at Utapou was surprisingly good and a free bus was provided to get everyone to Bangkok, a 2 hour journey.

The reality for Thailand is that this wonderful country has been tarnished by the selfish acts of a group of elitists, who on one hand claim corruption and vote buying, while on the other hand they pay protestors to sit there and disrupt the country. Holiday season is a time where many Thai businesses get the money to keep them going for another year. Those considering travelling to Thailand should still come. Support the ordinary Thai’s who have been impacted by these selfish few. From the tourists perspective, it will be cheaper than ever to have a fantastic holiday in this tropical paradise. Anyone considering travelling here should still do so, let us help the “Land of Smiles” keep smiling.

I think it is wonderful how just Monday all the headlines said don’t got to Thailand… Now you say come. I live in Thailand and i can honestly say that the new i have read on here is well nothing like what it was here. The news focused on one main violent event and that was it. Living here and living with Thai people it was amazing that the sage never entered the conversations. Only the the season is here and there are no tourists. Thailand is a wonderful place. I am very happy to live here. I can also say that I have not seen any criminal acts like i did in good old Columbus Ohio.
It is a true live and let live society and i would encourage anyone who is thinking of coming to Thailand to come. It is truly a unique place.

I almost cancelled, but as soon as the airport blockade ended, I am heading to Thailand no doubt. I wonder if Hotels would offer me better prices now, as circumstances changed. Not an option, I guess.
Maybe prices on shopping goods dropped but I also don’t know. Does anybody know about those issues?

I hope everyone realizes at this point that Thailand is clearly NOT a Democracy, nor has it really ever been. It is a mob rules society and a military dictatorship. The court, which was mostly made up of judges appointed during the military coup last year, has thrown out a Democratically elected government that swept into power with a whopping 70 percent of the vote, as if it was throwing away tissue paper. Toppling a democratically elected government is just not as serious an act here as it is in the rest of the world. The evidence of vote buying was flimsy at best, and the proceedings were held in a manner in which can be described as suspicious at the very least. The Thai court system is now just an arm of the military. Their rulings almost always go in favor of the anti-government forces that exist here. They convicted Thaksin on a land deal with what many considered to be very little evidence, they forced a sitting prime minister to resign his office for something as ridiculous as appearing on a cooking show, they freed the two leaders of the PAD on bail after it was certain they would continue to reak havoc, they refused to revoke their bail after they besieged two airports and created near anarchy in the streets, and now they have toppled a democratically elected government that won by the widest margin in the history of elections here over scattered allegations of vote buying which there was never any real evidence to prove.
Until Thailand learns to respect the rule of law and the will of its voters, it will continue to have these problems and make itself the laughing stock of the rest of the world.

I could not disagree more. In my experience, Thais operating small and medium sized tourist businesses have a very poor understanding of the law of supply and demand. Prices change according to the calendar at the start of “high season”. Prices need to “go up every year”.

I have actually heard Thais justify an exhorbitant price on the basis that there are very few tourists and they need to recoup their losses. The is in part sanctioned by the government endorsed policy (check the two level entry fee to national parks) to overcharge “farangs” (foreigners) simply because they are “richer”.

It is further compounded by the appaling standard of education that completetly fails to instill an undertsanding of exchange rates. It is a widely held belief amonst even supposedly well-educated Thais that, baased on the exchange rate, Englishmen are 55 times richer that Thais, American 35 times and so on.

If the lack of a bargin doesn’t make you think twice, then just remember that you will be subject to a vastly increased “hit rate” of offers of tuk tuks, massage, porno DVDs ete etc.

Dan you live in Thailand and know that all of the above is true which means you probabaly won’t publish this!

I totally agree with Dan, now is the best time to visit Thailand as we are eager to show the world that Thailand is still and will always be the Land of Smiles and all tourists will be warmly welcome as usual !

I agree with much of your comments and descriptions Mr. Rivers, I have been coming to Thailand for many years and I have married a Thai national and have a home in the small city of Roi Et. The people of Thailand are kind, wonderful, and do not deserve all the strife that has been going on. So if you have never come here and are reading this please come to Thailand you will never forget the wonderful experiences you will enjoy in this land of smiles. That being said the challenges that have been bestowed upon them by the previous government is diffecult indeed, but the PAD has damaged the image of this wonderful country. From the blockade of the government house and the airports to the idea that democracy can only be for the well educated and elite. Over my years in Thailand I have learned the language and have come totally enamored with the cuture of this beautiful place. The citizens of Roi Et, of Chai Rai, and of Ubon all deserve the right to vote for the candidates of their choice. Sure they are rice farmers by and large and the country is majority agrarian but they have strong familes, have hopes and dreams for their kids and have the right to vote. The idea that PAD believe the elite should control those with less education and less status than themselves is arrogant. How many PAD have gone to a rice farm and worked 14 hours a day outside in Thai heat and come home not to their TV and their air conditioning but to a small home filled with family and great food, looking to their newspaper and friends to tell them what is going on in their community. The small villages and small citys in this country make up the backbone for the country and its strengh and PAD should cherish this fact instead of arrogantly dismissing these people. Work within the system to change ideas and change practices, start by driving educational standards up so the next generation can read and participate better. Don’t look to keep them down, they are a great and wonderful resource and part of your culture. Democracy is not for the well educated, it is for anyone that is passionate enough to get involved and participate and if PAD is not careful they will become isolated and see their numbers dwindle more because the rural poor, hard working Thai, will come marching down Sukuhumvit Road reminding them who they are and the value that they bring to Thai society and culture.

Thank you
Christopher H. Short

I’ve read how the PAD wants a new “election” that eliminates one vote per person and institutes a way for various elites to “elect” the next PM. Is that kind of legislation possible over the coming months? Would the courts allow it? If so, how would the majority Thai population react after getting boxed out of democracy by the PAD?

Isn’t there a threat that Thailand will enter a civil war?

A lot of innocent people were hurt by the arrogant demonstration that were organized by irrational leaders. Victory that they claimed also include a very very long unemployment line, deeper deeper recession and unchanged political land scape. I am very sad that a lot of people I know have been helping out trapped foreign tourists but next months they will be bankrupted or out of work but they did it any way hoping to help the survival of Thailand , their beloved country, by the teaching of their beloved King. Please come to Thailand and Thais will prove that we are actually the best host to any foreign guests.

Thank you so much, Mr. Dan Rivers. It certainly is the best time to visit Thailand for, at least, a short while. I agree with your insight that now is merely a break time between rounds.

I think another reason PAD hurrily stopped protesting is that 5th of December is approaching…

PAD are not too smart. They acted as if they are unsophisticated and may be because the leaders are not too smart. Their action alienated the people and crippled the economy. They are the elite Thais, what do they care. The poors are the ones suffering.
Nong Ying

Yes, it is a great time to visit Thailand. Not only now because of the bargains, but anytime. I moved to Phuket from Las Vegas last month and other than the airport fiasco, everything is normal. Whenever there are political problems here, the media shows the problem but it’s always isolated and the country functions as normal. Thailand is still the land of smiles and a great place to visit-come see for yourself, now or later.

As a Thai who’ve been through many protest and some coups there’s one fact that always happened is the tourist and the foreigner will always be safer much more in their place. Especially British , other Europeans and Americans which they have half district size luxery embassy.

One think i resume is the protesters really regret for closing the Airport even they are not announced that.. It made them lost the support from many people and i don’t think they will do it again.

Anyways let’s give it a try for those who’ve always visit Thailand for vacation to go to other places then. They will experience the different for sure.

Last word i want to say is.. come if you think it’s worth to come. Don’t come like he said you’re coming to help people here. That’s a shame to say so.

Dear Mr Rivers,
My family and I were planning a trip early Jan. 2009, we’ve put our holidays on hold during the “incidents”, do you think it’s safe to reschedule it now?

Thanks for you updates,

BR

Benjamin

I agree with you. A lot of cheap deals can be found around Thailand now. If you’re thinking of coming to Thailand, it is now time to come. Thais still smile to you when you come, I promise.

Thank you Dan .

I am a Thai living near Suvarnabhumi airport. Everything is quite back to normal condition. Many international flight have been operated as usual.

My singaporean freind will come over BKK and will visit Chiang Mai, instead of cancelling his trip, I ask him to homestay at my house for learning a Thai culture. And My friend said he always want s to come back for holidays. it’s cheaper than you think, and most of all, you will get the value worth your money in Thailand.

Pls come back to visit us. It’s not bad as you think.
We apologize for such inconvenience caused, but sure Thailand will always impress you.

Ken

I disagree with the article author about this being a good time to visit Thailand. There are so many other places in the world that are stable and worthy of a visit. Why risk getting stranded in a country without a stable government? I was stuck in Bangkok for the past week and I must say it was a disaster. Think about the money you will lose if you are not able to go back home at the end of your vacation. Think about how worried you will be on your trip if there is an event keeping you from returning home to see your family or go to your job, and think about your safety before trying to save a few bucks to travel when you can get a good deal on a hotel. I know many nice Thai people. I hope their country gets their act together and becomes stable in the future, but if your reason to visit Thailand is for a vacation, it is not the time to go. Now is a bad time to visit Thailand.

I don’t think its safe to go there for the time being because the PAD are very selfish people trying to achieve their ends without regards for the Thai people’s livelihood and the poor.

Believe me, there is sure to be another ‘final push’ when the new PM is announced.

The courts brought down the PM as a face saving measure for the PAD to get off the airport.

But i agree with you about them not possibly doing another blockade at the airport because Thai Airways will definitely sue them for the previous blockade which cost them billions of bahts.

This is absurd. As one of the 350,000 stranded foreigners, I can attest that this is not the time to be in Thailand. People are going to extraordinary lengths to get home — waiting for days in a military airport, travelling on bus to Malaysia and Cambodia, criss-crossing Asia to find a way out, and absorbing huge financial costs to get out. Even if the airport reopens in the near future, it will take a while for people to clear out. Also, the political situation has not stabilized yet. I certainly do not believe that people should write off Thailand as a vacation spot, but they should wait and see how things play out politically and wait a while for transportation problems to work themselves out before booking anything.

Khun Dan, we appreciate your positive comment. At this time, we are indeed need the friends who understand us. I am, as the Thai citizen would like to apologize for what have happened in the past few days to the visitors who intend to come and spend their time with us.

Please give us a chance, there are all walk of lives who earn their living on the tourism industry. We need your support. Khob Khun Kha agian and it truly comes from our hearts.

I hope that those who organized the airport blockage does not go unpunished. That incident caused inconvenience, worry and trauma for the hundreds of thousands of tourists and their family overseas.

Their utter disregard and lack of empathy for the many tourists who are part of the economic lifeblood of their country is very shameful. For that alone I will be thinking twice before going to Thailand.

Dan, you are absolutely right on this!
I have a few friends in Thai tourism business, and they said that many of their customers have cancelled their bookings.

These two months are actually a “high season”. The southern beaches are at their best with no rain. Everything is usually double in prices. Now, if those people were actually cancelled the trips to Thailand for December and January, it means that those are up for grabs! I bet that the hotels are really in need of filling up the rooms again, and they will most likely lower their prices.

Prior to the airport blockage 737 hurts most of them still in hospitals and 8 dies two funerals are going on as of right now. All were done by government and their supporters, so little inconvenience is no comparable to what PAD suffered. Unless it came straight from shameless, narrowly minded, heartless person likes the current Thai government. Yes Thailand is still “Land of Smile” and and we intended to keep it that way, if You have to think twice try staying home.

If “getting great good deal” is one of your top reasons to visit Thailand, yes it is time to get around town now. You could be more surprised to get “stay one for another one free” promotion when you check in at any 4-5 starts hotels. Amazing, isn’t it. After the airports resume to its normal operation, people here will be so much eager to welcome foreign tourists. However, for those who are concerned about Thai current political situation, you’ll sure see a temporaly standoff between PAD and pro-govenment groups at least until after the Christmas. So, let’s come and enjoy Thais cultures and beautiful places.

Thanks for your post and your experience. I was afraid to go because we herad a lot of story, here in France.
I feel more safety since I saw your article.

To Susan who wrote December 4th, 2008 335 GMT

“Isn’t there a threat that Thailand will enter a civil war?”

Highly unlikely. I’ve lived here in central Bangkok for well over 14 years — I’m a Westerner — and even during this crisis, and even during the coup a couple of years ago, I never ONCE had the slightest problem. Heck, I live only about 4 blocks from where a couple of small bombs went off on different days (one had nothing to do with the political protests but was a landlord-tenant dispute matter, or so folks have said), and in my little alley we were all blissfully unaware of it until we saw the news. And that unawareness includes my Thai neighbors, which means practically everyone in the neighborhood.

Civil war, in the sense you mean, is very un-Thai.

I’m with Dan: come on in; the water’s fine.

Whether you go to Thailand in the near future really should depend on your comfort with risk. If you are the type of person who has a lot of flexibilty in your vacation schedule (e.g., ability to deal with unexpected delays) and you are looking for bargains, this may be a good time to go to Thailand. If uncertainty or delays will end up ruining your vacation — if you will not be able to relax and enjoy your vacation if the unexpected ends up altering your vacation plans — then you should give a pass to Thailand and choose a more stable location. There are many great spots, and it is not worth risking a ruined vacation, just for some bargains. Most people do not have the time and resources to deal with the types of problems that have occurred recently and may occur in Thailand in the near future. For those that do, the bargains may be worth the risks.

Theres the ‘bright’ and ‘dark’ side of Thailand, depend on your preferred vacation goal. For adult travelers, this is the best time for ‘bargains’. Obvilously…..

This is not going away. This mob rule problem. They are not broke, the have just rec’d 200 million baht from 8 of the top Thai Companies {25 mill per corporation} and it is said that that arrangement was made under the aegis of the Queen… something further to ponder…and question…and investigate…if you dare…

I’ll try it again let’s see if CNN is able to post other views.

I couldn’t disagree with you more about “….now, more than ever, is a great time to bag a bargain holiday!”. This article sound like a total fluff piece. I’ve been traveling SE Asia for over 15 years now. In fact I even went to Thailand after the terrible tsunami in 2004. It’s a good logic to think that the hotels , shops, ect that cater to tourists would be cheaper. But in fact it was the opposite instead of dropping prices to get more people to come they actually raised prices to make up for lost revenue.
The same thing is happening now YOU WILL NOT GET ANY DEALS the prices of hotels are the same if not more then they were before the airport closings.

I challenge you Dan to show us the deals , show us these great bargains. I have friends in Bangkok and Phucket now and they’re telling me there are NO deals to be had.

To Whom It May Concern:

PAD people are not without guilt but they are no terrorists. What happened in Bangkok Airport was nothing at all like NY 9/11 or London 7/7. Yet some people put all the blame on PAD and gave them no credit at all for all their sacrifice. Not even one bad word about the thick-skinned, wicked and corrupt government! Shame on you!!

And if some tourists don’t want to come to Thailand, fine. Stay away. True friends are those that come around in times of trouble. Thailand is not on sale anyway. We’re not street hookers. If you want cheap bargain, go find it in your own neighborhood.

Dan Rivers, someone must to bribe you to write this article. I was stranded there, it cost me extra $700 dollars to purchase new airfair and hotel in Hongkong. Trying to come back to work in US.

Yes, it was my bad luck. I will go back when there will be no more Monarchy. when majority of people can have their voices heard.

Right now, Thailand seems to go toward Communist I say.

OK. Here we are two weeks on and as I predicted the staff at the hotel in Cha Am that I went to book for a friend simply pointed to the “high season rate”. When asked if they could discount they said no. When asked if the hotel had many guests they lied that it was nearly full. This story will be repeated all over Thailand.

For example, a friend in Phuket says the same thing happened when he tried to book a small guest house in Patong for a friend. Actually, he said that the big hotels are in fact discounting to the point where they are only a few hundred baht more than a modest guest house.

Bear in mind that the same story will be rpeated at every bar, restaraunt, spa, beach umbrella and jet ski. I just cannot see how a trip to Thailand will yield the expected “bargin”.

What Thailand needs is more education not more tourists!