[!!Aaroncheg]

in the case of dentists, I would also say we have the option of asking first, before opening our mouth. or ask for recommendations from others. unless it's an emergency of course.

[DownloadMan]

Well it seems to be a design flaw in nature the way we are built.

Why do you lose something as important as teeth?? Ya got to eat all your life, so why not lose something that you don't use in later life,,like ya nuts.??

[!!Aaroncheg]

Trangam, I would say it's pretty much the same.
just to give figures, my school is actually not an international one, it runs a Thai curriculum and classes are both English and Thai. the vast majority of kids are Thais or half-Thais from well-off families who run small businesses. the fee is 30,000 to 40,000 baht per semester.
at the real posh international schools, most kids are foreigners, they are taught farang curricula in English, and fees are 100,000 up. as I heard, the most prestigious one has a 250,000 registration fee plus the same sum per semester.
and a simple Thai working at 7-eleven or an office would need four years to earn that money.

[DownloadMan]

Sorry for that, But I don't really think it is the 2 price policy that is the same as having listed prices for Thai and Farang, which is done in all countrys as far as I know.
I do know it is done in the USA when you go to a national park or things like that, if you live in the state it is one price and if you live in an out of state location it is more and if a foreigner it is more still.
The same goes for insured going into a hospital, insured pays top dollar, cash pays less and then some ins. co. pay even less just because they refuse to pay the high price.
Once one of my wives had to spend a few days in a hosp. They wanted me to pay $5600.00,,they billed my ins. co. which was my labor unions ins $7400.00,, the union told them no, and told me it was paid and to pay them nothing, the union paid $2500.00.
I have had a couple of teeth pulled here, 300 baht each. Also have had some dentures made, and for a full plate was between 3000 and 5000,,same for a partial. Damn cheap, but we never go around tourist areas so I am never charged more that the locals pay.

But you can not blame the average business man, just like everywhere else,,What ever the traffic will bear.,, and like you said,,even with the higher price, you saved money and they know what those things cost in the states. So with her 2 extractions you saved here over $200.00 above what it would have cost in the states..And if those teeth were impacted it would have cost you about $1500.00 each.

[!!Aaroncheg]

I agree with you. discrimination will always be inherent to some situations and difficult issues, but there are straight-forward, simple situations when governments or businesses should not create such huge, unjustified gaps. just because discrimination exists, it doesn't give people the right to blow it out of proportion.
and of course I am aware that my situation could be much, much worse. that might be the reason why I am ready to accept minor rip-offs and I leave tips when I'm satisfied, but when I feel badly cheated, I can get really angry.

[Knillagrarp]

There is always the free dentist, Just tie a string to your tooth, attach the other end of the string to a door handle, and slam the door shut, extracting the tooth in the process. Writing from experience again Paul? I doubt you have ever done this, as you would know that it rarely works and could cause damage to the bone and excessive bleeding. But, hey, feel free to give advice to behave like one of the Three Stooges.

I had a chipped tooth repaired at the small local hospital in Sahatsakhan with a cosmetic bonding for 500 baht ($12.50 U.S.). Try getting the same thing in the States for that price. When I return for the entire month of December 2007, I am going to get it drilled down and have a post and crown instead of the bonding. I was quoted 10,000 baht for the top-shelf procedure (I didn't want gold for a front tooth). That's about 1/3 the price I would pay most places in the States. Ten dollars for an extraction is nothing compared to what you would pay in the U.S.

When I start loosing my teeth I am going to get dental implants instead of dentures. There are several good hospitals in LOS that cater to farang for those procedures. Sure, the prices are more than in a rural hospital, but they are still lower than what one would pay in the West.

[DownloadMan]

No, I don't think this is about Thailand and the tourist revenue.
It is about someone charging a farang more for services than he would charge a Thai.
The govt has already signed a fair pricing bill that bans dual pricing.

But still for national parks and such govt things that are supported by Thai Taxes then someone foreign should pay more because he does not pay for their upkeep.

[LomodiorCon]

I wonder if Thailand will let go of the tourist revenue, because that is an essential? If this argument wins it will only lead to an increase in the Thai prices.

[boltondd]

By the way, it does happen in other countries. Just got back from Disneyworld where Floridians get a better price than the rest of us mortals on the planet.

[DownloadMan]

I do not think that you are correct in your assumptions.
Maybe a guy makes more an hour than a Thai does in a day, well and good as his country's pricing is such that it takes so much to live and if he happens to save a few bucks and goes on vacation then he usually goes where his buck will have more bang.
But just saying he doesn't and goes where his earnings are far less per day than where he went,, does that mean that they should lower their pricing because he makes less an hour than the national standard is where he went on Vacation.. NO, he should go where he will get more for his money..
You only pay the going rate where ever you go, and thats fair, it is not fair to charge a foreigner more just because he is a foreigner unless where he wants to go is supported by tax paid by citizens of that country or state and if you do not pay to support it then you should be charged more,,not just because you might make more money a day where you came from than is the standard wage where you are.
But never for goods and services. IMHO

[Caursedus]

There is always the free dentist, Just tie a string to your tooth, attach the other end of the string to a door handle, and slam the door shut, extracting the tooth in the process.

[Caursedus]

That is very expensive for a filling, even for Australian standards. My mother had an emergency filling late Christmas eve in Australia, with out an appointment, just before the dentist was to close, he charged a bit more because of short notice, but it was still half your Thai price. I think it best to get a quote for the cost of a check up, get two opinions from two different dentists, and if both dentist say to fill the same tooth, go around and get some quotes to fill the tooth.
The reason I say to do this, when I have been to dentists for a check up in Australia, every dentist wants to fill a different tooth, I usually go to 3 dentists my self, before I get a filling as I find that usually have different opinions, and I don't want to get a filling, if I don't need one.

[!!Aaroncheg]

I think it's been pointed out in several similar threads that the dual price structure sometimes hits quite badly those of us farangs who earn our salaries here in Thailand - even though we do earn more than Thais with similar qualifications and working in similar positions.
if I earned five times this much in a Western country, probably I wouldn't worry about the 400-baht national park entry so much, and I would be gone in 3 or 4 weeks anyway, back to a place where everything is more expensive. but we are here and trying to make a living, make it sustainable, save for air tickets back to Europe (that alone devours 4 weeks of salary in my case), save up some money for the future as well as our Thai salaries don't count towards any saving scheme at all, and many of us give quite a lot to charities as well. so, it does matter if we are ripped off or feel ripped off by taxi drivers, vendors or dentists, or national parks for that matter. 400 baht is way too much. that can cover accommodation, food and all living expenses for a day for an expat, or two days for a Thai. it does not comfort me that something would have been much more expensive in Europe because I only go to Europe as a visitor now, and I am horrified at the prices. my life there would never be sustainable (financially) living on a European salary and paying European prices. but even that does not justify overpaying here.
btw, I should go to the dentist too.... I'll need recommendations from colleagues.

[DownloadMan]

My wife went to my dentist today when I went in for a fitting of my new dentures and she had a wisdom tooth pulled and it cost 400 baht and has to have another pulled in 2 weeks.. That is at Petcharat hospital,,the best we have here..

[BgpOoGI2]

The sign at the ticket booth at Dream World lists the various types of tickets you can buy and the prices, all in Thai with the prices in Thai numerals. Then at the bottom, in large bold letters it says something like "TICKET 450 ß." Of course, I could read the Thai prices and I think the highest price for the best ticket you can buy was 360 ß or thereabouts.

Yes, the dual price is ubiquitous in Thailand. But I really don't mind (too much!). I figure as a westerner, I am extremely blessed financially compared to the Thai people, so why should I gripe about paying a bit more than they do? Even at their farang prices, it's still a good deal compared to the U.S.

DogoDon

[DownloadMan]

VC< I had insurance and was thinking of implants once and the dentist I was going to talked against it,,he said that implants are very high maint., give some trouble and really not worth it.
But maybe you have really checked into it, if not I surely would, I have a full upper and no way could you ever give me my real teeth back, now lowers I hear are a little problem.

dental prices here are about the same as medical prices,,about average 10% of US prices,,sometimes less.

[replrobin]

Sure, I understand why this is done, but when I think about it - it still p***es me off.

My fiance had to have her wisdom teeth removed. I figured, why not get this done in Thailand as doing this in the States later on down the road would be expensive as hell. When I visited the dentist last month, I got a filling in my tooth. They charged me around 6,000B. I have no idea how much I would have paid in the States because my parents always had insurance. I would like to say she did a really horrible job because my tooth is still sensitive and I can barely chew on that tooth and when I eat icecream it's even worse. She had told me "it would be sensitive for a week". Yeah, it's a month later, and it still hurts! ARRRRGGGGGGGHHH

Anyway, she told me my fiance's four wisdom teeth would cost 5,000B each to get removed. I figured 20,000B TOTAL is definitely NOT a bad price as this would cost a few grand in the States without insurance. My fiance finally decided to go today and get one of her teeth removed. Know how much it cost? 850B. I bet if I were standing next to her, they would have charged the full 5,000B.

Just thinking about that really does piss me off. Just because I'm white and American doesn't mean I'm rich.

I remember one time me and her family visited these temples in the middle of nowhere. It cost her family 20B each, and I had to pay 500B. That's just ridiculous to me.

Sorry for the rant, y'all. I had to get this off my chest.

[LomodiorCon]

surely, it seems logical that people living and working in Thailand should be paying the same price as Thai. Especially those working in local establishments.

However, this brings me to the point of expats. In my country expats can be earning 4-5 times more than a local at the same job in one company. There are special schools, restaurants etc which only they and Non Resident locals and the very rich can afford. I always considered this as a circumstance....

How is it in Thailand?

[Vzkdgdqx]

Yes, the dual price is ubiquitous in Thailand. But I really don't mind (too much!). I figure as a westerner, I am extremely blessed financially compared to the Thai people, so why should I gripe about paying a bit more than they do? Even at their farang prices, it's still a good deal compared to the U.S.
DogoDon

I agree.

The dentist story is indeed harsh though and I sympathize with the OP, as there are other incidents that proved that Thailand sometimes takes dual pricing to a nasty level.

Then again ... I lost hope that someone on this forum would actually realize that one USD equals ~36 baht/ one EURO equals 46 baht. I don't see how that is fair to any Thai person who travels abroad. By the way, have you checked your income and have you compared it to the income of Thai people who have the same education background/degrees and a comparable job position?

I wonder why some tourists get so overwrought when they have to pay 400 baht entry for a national park ... I earn this much for standing one hour infront of my campus handing out flyers and yes, upon entering the park I felt bad that I paid the Thai price (there's always a way to donate more though), because I thought that my income (and I'm just a student who works part-time .. but part-time in Europe means full-time pay for Thai standards!) allows me to donate considerably more to preserve this beautiful place!

However, I find dual pricing in other aspects ... as in the health sector ... wrong.

Sorry if I have offended anyone, just an opinion after all Have a nice day.

[BritneySpearsFun@@@]

The conclusion of the story, dentist earns more than doctor.
If doesn't want the hard earned money goes into dentist's pocket. ur teeth more often.