So the other day at the east side of Koh Chang, near the Cambodian border, there was a park, a waterfall. Why not stop by to take a look? Uggh. Dual pricing. For Thai (written only in Thai) it was 40 Baht (32 Baht=US$1) but in English it was 200 baht for “Foreigners”. If this was my first time in Thailand i might have gone in to see a Thailand waterfall and probably wouldn’t have known about the dual pricing. Even if i did i might have gone in anyway.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1979687/tat-vows-to-eliminate-dual-pricing-mulls-expat-id-card
However (comma) i started boycotting the dual pricing places over 25 years ago. On top of that i have seen many Thailand waterfalls. So I didn’t go in. Now the Thai government is going to try to find ways to have a single price and still maintain the places of interest in a way foreigners will still find “in good shape”. It will be a challenge but a welcome one for many people who who object to the dual pricing system.
I personally don’t see the dual system as a form of “personal” discrimination as many foreigners feel. Foreigners tend to have more money to spend, if they are tourists, and are willing to spend it. And Thai people make much less money so my impression was more of “ability to pay” discrimination which I don’t really find objectionable. And i would not boycott places with dual pricing if I hadn’t seen “this wonderful thing I want to see”. So, you can see my duality as well. Anyway the change is welcome. I just hope the government has the money to maintain the places.