"You can live like a king."

[Siam Sam 964]

I have just been reading the bogan thread and it has got me thinking. How many times have you heard this statement in relation to Thailand? I used to hear all the stories when I was younger that you could live in Thailand for £20 a day and "live like a king" yet I quickly realised after my first trip five years ago that there isn't any truth to this. Has there ever been any truth to this statement? All my research suggests that's a no.

 

I suppose it could be true depending on ones interpretation of what it means to "live like a king." I'm sure the backpackers can get by on £20 a day and for the more discerning ones that are there for months on end they can get by on even less. Hardly living like a king.

 

I always say the same to people now who ask me about Thailand if they have never been there as their first comments usually concern how cheap it is in Thailand or the p4p industry. I tell them that living in Thailand like a king for next to nothing is a myth, especially if you want to have a good time and you like a drink and want a different girl everyday. It all depends on what you go there for. I tell them it's easy to spend in the region of £100 a day and many seem to be bemused by this. Of course Thailand is very cheap for some things, accommodation and food the most notable. However if you like beer and pussy it is going to cost you.

 

I was talking to my mates wife the other week and I told her about my forthcoming trip. She asked me what I was going to spend there as she had been there backpacking before and I saw her jaw drop when I told her I expected to spend about 3k. She thought I was taking the piss as she had not even spent half of that in three months when she went.

[ServiceMan78 0]

IMHO i think the whole "live like a king" is based on everyone's personal preference. personally, i like to live good so spending about 2k-3k while i visit (or more) compared to the dumb prices i spend here in the states, i clearly do "live like a king"

[maahuanao 20]

I was talking to my mates wife the other week and I told her about my forthcoming trip. She asked me what I was going to spend there as she had been there backpacking before and I saw her jaw drop when I told her I expected to spend about 3k. She thought I was taking the piss as she had not even spent half of that in three months when she went.

 

I always reckon on spending at least £500 per week as a single bloke

Edited January 12, 2010 by maahuanao

[THE_DRUID 21]

I have just been reading the bogan thread and it has got me thinking. How many times have you heard this statement in relation to Thailand? I used to hear all the stories when I was younger that you could live in Thailand for £20 a day and "live like a king" yet I quickly realised after my first trip five years ago that there isn't any truth to this. Has there ever been any truth to this statement? All my research suggests that's a no.

 

I suppose it could be true depending on ones interpretation of what it means to "live like a king." I'm sure the backpackers can get by on £20 a day and for the more discerning ones that are there for months on end they can get by on even less. Hardly living like a king.

 

I always say the same to people now who ask me about Thailand if they have never been there as their first comments usually concern how cheap it is in Thailand or the p4p industry. I tell them that living in Thailand like a king for next to nothing is a myth, especially if you want to have a good time and you like a drink and want a different girl everyday. It all depends on what you go there for. I tell them it's easy to spend in the region of £100 a day and many seem to be bemused by this. Of course Thailand is very cheap for some things, accommodation and food the most notable. However if you like beer and pussy it is going to cost you.

 

Yeah if you break down the £100 a day then i'd say £25 of it would go on the Hotel and Food and £75 would go on TG's and Beer.When the ex rate was in the 70's to the pound,10K Baht would easily last me 2 days and that was going on a rampage,now with the Pound down to 50/53 Baht it's a different story.

I was talking to my mates wife the other week and I told her about my forthcoming trip. She asked me what I was going to spend there as she had been there backpacking before and I saw her jaw drop when I told her I expected to spend about 3k. She thought I was taking the piss as she had not even spent half of that in three months when she went.

 

Just take Mongering out of the equation and the fact is a Farang bird is always going to spend less than a bloke.She must know most of us are in holiday mode not backpacking mode and she must have noticed single guys have a blow out in a big way when their in Los.

[stonethrower 17]

I remember reading that I could live on £20 a day and was stupid enough to believe it, had to send home for money. I made a promise to myself and never made that mistake again.

[jamie392305 764]

I remember reading that I could live on £20 a day and was stupid enough to believe it, had to send home for money. I made a promise to myself and never made that mistake again.

 

 

I myself fell for that one on my first trip back in Nov '07'. Ex RATE WAS 70BHT TO £, still needed to western union £400 for last few days.

 

I always allow £30 for hotel, £20 for meals and £75 to £100 for beer and BG's. total per day £125 - £150

 

Thats the more realistic cost for a good trip

[GlynRhedyn 32]

Excelent topic and some good replies. I reckon a cheap Charlie can still live on £20 a day excluding hotel and TG but is that a life of a King?

Glyn.

[GlynRhedyn 32]

DP.

Edited January 12, 2010 by GlynRhedyn

[biggles 509]

Of course the female backpacker could live cheap, the male backpackers were buying her beers!!

when I first came the los about14 years ago I did the backpacker thing and lived on the cheap. Then after a few years I discovered p4p and what a difference it makes to your budget. I am not a big drinker and I rent a place permanently there but I usually get through $75 a day. Certainly dont live like a king.

[buriramboy 0]

It all depends on your lifestyle, if you live in Pattaya and want to be a barfly and monger all the time, you are looking at needing in the region of 80-100k baht a month to sustain it, however if you realise there is more to life than bars, and having a ho everynight ain't your thing, you will struggle to spend 30-40k baht a month and can still have a great life. Thailand caters for every lifestyle and for every budget, as always one mans paradise is another mans hell, some love Pattaya, some hate it and never set foot in the place, some love village life probably struggling to spend 15-20k baht a month, others dread the thought of even visiting the village for a day, me personally i love Bangkok had the best 3 1/2 years of my life there and probably spent in the region 150k baht a month when lived there, yet a lot of people hate Bangkok, but can you live on £20/ 1000 baht a day?? Easily in a village, comfortably in Pattaya if don't monger and sit in bars all day, doable but more of a struggle in Bangkok.

[wbennetts 1]

Usually spend between $160 - $200 (aus) a day which is everything, hotel, food booze and girl etc. Everything you want and need to have a great holiday and "live like a king ". Go to a massage parlour/brothel over here and it costs about $250 per hour. I know where the money is better spent.

[Owen` 2]

There are many threads on search about this. They cover the subject extensively.

[lovedog100 1,372]

Twenty years ago I spent a month traveling all over Thailand and mongering. I spent $1,000 USD, not counting my flight here and back. I stayed another month traveling Asia, part of that time back in Thailand, and spent another $800 USD I wasn't backpacking either. Always stayed in an air-con hotel, traveled first class by rail, flew economy, and took VIP buses. I believe the most expensive lady I took was $8 USD on Patpong. I limited my time in BKK, I spent to much there, and didn't come to Pattaya. I visited a friend at the time, staying in Chang Mai, and living well on $600 a month. That was when I decided that I would retire here. I think that things have changed. LOL, Considerably. My best deal was a hotel in Jakarta, air-con for 50 cents a night. It was really a dollar, but a gorgeous Columbian girl came in right after me wanting a room, and it was the only room left. It was a big room with two beds so the owner said "Why don't you share it" It took me all of a nanosecond to say sure, that's OK with me. A crappy hotel in Singapore was the most expensive, I forget the price, but I remember it was two or three times the price of a nicer hotel in Thailand.

[baht_miser 9]

The whole "Living like a King" thing is a very common exaggeration used by many to encourage others to go somewhere. Usually the lifestyle of those saying this is closer to a backpacker. I had a friend who always said this to try to persuade me to go. I found out from someone who did go that part of his budget included sharing cheap rooms with two beds and eating at street vendors.

 

I eventually did make it to Thailand on my own and lived at a much better yet affordable standard. The bottom line is: Thailand is a remarkable value. You can live well for very little, or get by for next to nothing. Still, going to Thailand is a great thing.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

I found out from someone who did go that part of his budget included sharing cheap rooms with two beds and eating at street vendors.

 

I'm not into sharing the cheap rooms scenario, but eating at street vendors is how 99% of the population get by.

[bratpack 91]

Excelent topic and some good replies. I reckon a cheap Charlie can still live on £20 a day excluding hotel and TG but is that a life of a King?

Glyn.

 

 

HEY MATE

 

dont knock cheap charlies,one day you might become one.The 2 week millionaire syndrome is nothing new,you guys think you are rich and are the only ones in the world living like that.What about the families spending 100 quid a day on a 5 star hotel.Makes me laugh when you lot talk about all this money you throw.oops i mean spend on women and drinks,then spending all day in bed and going back still pale as a ghost.

Enjoy the freezing weather in wales and think of me on my 2,000 baht a day living life very well thankyou,retired at 49 and trying to remember what its like to be frozen,and bored out of your mind working 14 hours a day.

Keep Pattaya alive millionaire holiday makers,keep the girls happy with loads of money and us expats will cheer,chokdee you when the girls are buying us drinks

 

ps

i still have 10,000,000 baht to fall back on and another 800 quid a month when i get retirement age with pension and serps

Edited January 13, 2010 by bratpack

[baht_miser 9]

I'm not into sharing the cheap rooms scenario, but eating at street vendors is how 99% of the population get by.

I didn't mean to knock street vendors, some of them can be quite good.

[Stinky 12]

You can live very comfortably for 40-60k baht per month. This is providing you live the life of a Thai middle class person. I did this for 4 years in Thailand. I had a car, two kids, a wife, motorcycle, paid utilities, school for the kids, etc etc etc. Granted it was deffo not in Pattaya or Bangkok.

 

YES YOU CAN LIVE QUITE WELL, per Thai standards of living. You want to live the life of your homeland in Thailand, and it's going to cost you around the same amount of money.

[bratpack 91]

OOPS

 

I told a lie then as its only 8,000,000.jesus that exchange rate has done me for 2million

[MeGoDanceNow 4,281]

The thing is that, though many THINGS are as expensive as at home or even more so -- English-language newspapers and magazines are expensive, beer is not particularly cheap, etc etc -- PEOPLE are cheap in LOS. Cheap labor makes a lot of things really convenient.

 

Back home, if you were sitting in a bar and wanted a pack of smokes, could you pay the waitress £1 to go out and buy it for you? Cleaning services, repairs, massage and of course boom-boom are all cheap, and that's where "living like a king" kicks in. Dunno if £20 a day would do it, though.

[pfotoguy 3]

I live quite well on $1500 US a month. I've seen how the King lives an none of us are going to live like that.

 

But I'm quite happy with my life style and couldn't live the same on that in the States

[bratpack 91]

I think the term,LIVING LIKE A KING,is just a saying,dont take it too literaly.Living in Thailand compared to uk IS like heaven,without having big money.I am trying to think what else i could spend my money on,except more women and more drinking,not for me but up to you.My house is 2 bed/2 bath and comfy,and my house in uk was huge compared to this,but Suburbia is not for me any more.

[wonder6281 0]

I send my lady 30000 baht per month. She has 2 daughters, her sister and her daughter and her mother all living there. That is 6 women under the one roof. So when I come to stay I am the only male, so guess I'm the only one qualified to be the King!

[bratpack 91]

I send my lady 30000 baht per month. She has 2 daughters, her sister and her daughter and her mother all living there. That is 6 women under the one roof. So when I come to stay I am the only male, so guess I'm the only one qualified to be the King!

 

 

Nice one mate but i didnt save my money to squander on in laws and not even living with your wife and 2 kids,very strange but you make it work so good on you

[BigDUSA 71]

You can live very comfortably for 40-60k baht per month. This is providing you live the life of a Thai middle class person. I did this for 4 years in Thailand. I had a car, two kids, a wife, motorcycle, paid utilities, school for the kids, etc etc etc. Granted it was deffo not in Pattaya or Bangkok.

 

YES YOU CAN LIVE QUITE WELL, per Thai standards of living. You want to live the life of your homeland in Thailand, and it's going to cost you around the same amount of money.

 

Few years ago I lived in Pattaya for a month and spent 30K. This included room, live in woman, food and beer. Yes it could be done but it was tight. I've been told by a fair number of expat's that live away from Pattaya, prices are way cheaper. I would agree with Stinky that for 40-60K Baht per month, one could live very comfortably in Thailand.