Cost of life in Thailand

The Klong Toey wet market in Bangkok

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:15:00 GMT

The few posts made in this blog on the cost of life in Bangkok considered that you do all your shopping in a big department store. In my case, this is usually in Carrefour on Rama 4 or in Lotus, just in front of Carrefour. I find it convenient, like most people I guess, since you'll find everything under one roof.

But talking about finding everything you need under one "roof", if what you require is fresh vegetables, fruits, fishes, seafood, i.e. food, nothing beats the Klong Toey wet market, just a stone throw away from Carrefour, on Rama 4.

This is a huge wet market and you'll find everything you need for preparing your lunch, and also quite a few things you'll probably prefer to not eat...

Prices are very often displayed and speaking Thai is not absolutely necessary for you to be able to shop there, just learn how to count up to one hundred since most items will cost you less than that.

We'll start with the vegetables, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, garlic, carrots, cabbage, brocoli, local vegetables...

This is Thailand, so you'll find many stands selling a wide variety of chili pepper

The fruits, bananas, mangoes, lime at baht 1 each.

The meat, alive and dead

And the seafood and fishes

And in case you do not believe that the food is fresh on this market, here is a short clip taken there a few weeks back, with the fishes pictured above and the next stand where big frogs were being slaughtered

You'll find more photos in the Photo gallery

And if you like markets, here are three of them we recommend, in Mukdahan. Click on the picture to go to the corresponding page

Indochina market

Wet market

Night market

Price and quality of local beers in Thailand

admin@farangrakthai.com — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:21:00 GMT

I recently wrote (complained?) about the increase taxation on alcoholic beverages in Thailand that resulted in a substantial increase in the price of beer. The post is here : Price of beer up steeply in Thailand

But what local beers will you actually find in Thailand? And what is their price and taste (disclaimer: the taste comments are about my taste only)

The order is by taste, the one I like first. And well, unfortunately in reverse order of price.

1. Singha beer

Now baht 31 for a 33 cl can and baht 56 for a 66cl bottle. Alcohol content has been reduced from 6 to 5% not that long ago. It made it better, for me at least. I think the only Thai beer that can really be called a beer. By my European standards.

2. Chang beer

The one with the 2 elephants on the bottle. The stongest one with 6.4% alcohol and one of the cheapest one with baht 21 for a 33 cl can. Not my taste but a favourite among many expats in Thailand.

3. Cheers beer

This is a relatively new comer on the Thai market. Alcohol content is 5.6% and this is the second cheapest at baht 24 for a can. Taste is too sweet and fruity for me.

4 Leo beer

The worst one, by far, for me. And not the cheapest at baht 26 for a 33 cl can. Alcohol content is 5.5% . I drank it only twice. There probably won't be a third time.

And you have all the foreign beers brewed in Thailand, Asahi from Japan, Tiger from Singapore, Heineken from Holland. With my favourite being Asahi from Japan.

Cheese in Thailand

admin@farangrakthai.com — Tue, 26 May 2009 12:39:00 GMT

Do you like cheese?

You probably do if you're from continental Europe, especially the French.

But well, the Thais do not really like cheese. Or said differently, Thais never tasted cheese when they were young and hence, are not used to the taste. And the smell. So they do not buy it and no cheese is produced in Thailand.

And for cheese lovers, the only choice is the imported ones.

And imported means not really cheap. Photo taken in Carrefour Bangkok 2 days ago.

But did I say it is expensive...?

Baht 498 is more than Euro 10

So, if you can't live without cheese and come to Thailand, bring some with you...

Price of beer and alcoholic beverages up steeply in Thailand

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sun, 24 May 2009 04:41:00 GMT

The Thai government, as any other government in the world, needs mre revenues in this time of crisis. More revenues to feed the US$ 41 stimulus package they just approved.

And one way to get more revenues is to raise the taxes on alcoholic beverages and this is exactly what they did 2 weeks ago.

For beer, excise tax went from baht 55 to baht 60 per litre, from baht 110 to baht 120 for white liquor, and from baht 280 to baht 300 for blended liquor.

So how much more are you going to pay?

Let's take the example of the beer. Beer is usually sold in 66 cl bottles in Thailand, so an increase of baht 5 per liter means you're going to pay baht 3.5 more per liter, right? Wrong...

A bottle of Heineken in a supemarket was sold before the hike at baht 59. Today, it is baht 66, i.e. an increase of baht 7, double than the one coming from the rise in excise tax. Supermarket mathematics, I guess...

Not sure how much it increased in the pubs, they probably have different mathematical formulas also.

As for the stronger alcoholic beverages, I'm not sure how they calculated the new prices but considering they're far more expensive in the first place, the impact is little.

Here are today prices, picture taken in Carrefour Rama 4 in Bangkok, white alcohol (supposed to have increased by baht 10)

The price did not seem to have changed much but I'm not sure, I never buy any.

Thai bugs

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 05:16:00 GMT

Food is cheap and good in Thailand. There is something for everybody and a wide variety of flavors and cooking ways. The Thais in general prefer to eat products from the sea, i.e. seafood and fishes. Some pork and chicken but little beef. And in the north and north-east, they like to eat what westerners and Bangkok Thais seldom eat, the Thai bugs. It is more a snack than a main meal and they are usually fried. And not that cheap by Thai standards.

I was recently on the night market in Chiang Mai and tasted a bit of the speciality from that part of Thailand, the bamboo worms. Not too bad actually...

But there if you prefer something with legs, it is available also

And here are the prices

Update on prices in Carrefour Rama4 in Bangkok

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 07:01:00 GMT

I did not update the prices for quite some time but there is a reason for that, prices do not change fast in Thailand. Most of the people in the country still live a pretty simple life and are not really affected by the financial economic crisis. What is a financial economic crisis, by the way, when you do not have money?

I updated the price in the French blog: Foodstuff prices and I posted new pictures showing that prices did not change much since last year. But here is one picture taken in the Carrefour Rama4 today that I did not post in the French blog, I kept it for this one. I'm sure the Brits and the Aussies care more about the price of beer than the French do...

How cheap are clothes in Thailand?

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 05:27:00 GMT

Thailand is the place in South East Asia for cheap clothes, even if not as cheap as it used to be, the competition from China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia is heating up...

But well, it still remains pretty cheap by my European standards and a lot of choices, as far as summer clothes are concerned, that is. Governor Palin would have a hard time finding clothes that suit Alaska climate here. But anyway, I do not really think she is into cheap clothes...

So, here are a few pictures I took this morning in a Tesco Lotus in Bangkok. Probably not the cheapest place, I know of a few ones that are cheaper, but how much cheaper can it be? We're talking of most clothese going from 69 baht to 299 baht, i.e. with an exchange rate of about 34 baht/US$, 2 US$ to 8 US$.

And the quality is well, worth the price...

A few pictures taken today in a Tesco Lotus in Bangkok.

For women.

And for boys

A few pictures taken in Carrefour Rama 4 today

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 06:09:00 GMT

I actually want to show that there is no revolution in Thailand. The shops still have everything available and are still packed with customers. Pictures have been taken with the phone, so do not expect too much quality...

Let's start with the rice.

The fish section with the fish fillets

And some more salmon

The fishes

The fruits, mangoes, pineapples, bananas, ...

Some vegetables

And the French baguette

Foodstuff prices in Carrefour Bangkok end of August 2008

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:45:00 GMT

Thailand is experiencing sky high inflation this year. Not the onley country in the world but one that is probably affected more considering the average income of the Thai people is still only a few hundred US$ (barely more than two actually). It has come down a bit lately but anyway, the today prices are still far higher than yesterday prices...

I'm therefore going to give you an updated price list of what you buy everyday in Thailand, updated this morning in the Carrefour supermarket located on Rama 4 in Bangkok (the one you can see the exact location if you click on the small yellow guy on the Farangrakthai pages, if you zoom on him, that is).

Carrefour is not the place having the lowest prices in Thailand, the lowest prices for vegetables and fish are on the wet markets. But they have more choices and hygienic standards the wet market don't have. And they are cheaper than what you can find in your neighborhood pop and mum store. I'll give you in the near future the prices you'll have on the wet markets.

So here we go for a price list about foodstuff. And if you need the prices in US$, divide by 34, in euros, by 50, more or less today rate.

We'll start with fruits, Thailand having lot of them

Fruits

As far as local fruits are concerned, you'll find pineapple for baht 19/piece and 20 small bananas for 15 baht. Papayas sell for 25/kg, guava 29 and watermelon 20, the mangoes have different prices depending on origin and quality, prices vary from 29 to 49/kg. The durian, king of fruits for many Asians, sell for baht 39/kg but if you want only the meat, you'll pay 219/kg. There are small local oranges for baht 29/kg and rambutan for 27.

And if local fruits are not enough and you want to buy imported ones, one apple is 13 baht and a kiwi is 12. And grapes go for baht 82/kg if they are Chinese and baht 200/kg if they're not.

Drinks

Thailand is a hot country, especially Bangkok, and you need to drink a lot, so here is the drink list.

First, what people drink most, expats and tourists alike, beer. Lot of brands are available in Thailand but mostly the lager type with among tourists and expats, 2 main ones, the local Singha and the dutch Heineken. One bottle of 66 cl of Singha will cost you 49 baht and one of Heineken, 59 baht. Othe local beers are cheaper and other forign beers have a price between Singha and Heineken.

The local water Minéré produced by Nestlé is 15 baht for 1.5 l bottle. The pepsi and the coke are at the same price, 33 baht for a 2 liters bottle. The local scotch whisky 100 Pipers is at 259 baht for 500 ml and the big ones, Chivas Regal and Johnnie Walker are at 1,190 baht for a one liter bottle of 12 years old whisky.

There is also a wide variety of fruit juices. The ones made with local fruits are generally cheaper, with pineaplle juice at 52 baht and guava juice at 50 baht for one liter. Most of the other ones are made from concentrate and price is around 69 baht for the Tipco brand. Some fresher juices available in the fridges go from 80 to 90 baht.

Meat, fishes, vegetables,...

Thai people, when they eat meat, eat mainly chicken and pork, very little beef, hence there is not much beef available in the shops and it is more expensive. For one kilo, pork loin is at 160 baht, chicken legs at 69 baht and chicken fillet at 115 baht. For the beef, prices vary between 200 and 600 baht depending on the quality but as said before, with little availability.

Lot of fishes available with prices around 100 baht, a sea perch is 119 baht. The only expensive fish is the imported Norvegian salmon with the fillet going for 419 baht/kg. White prawns are at 149 baht/kg.

A lot of vegetables but a lot of them are local, no English name, so I'll just give a few examples of known vegetables. Carrots are 24 baht, cabbage 22 and potatoes 39 baht/kg. A salad, whatever the type, is 19 baht and the tomatoes are at 119 baht. The record is for the green peppers at 200 baht/kg.

There has been a lot of talk about the rice lately since it is the main food of a majority of people on this earth and the increase of price was threatening to semd quite a few into starvation. Thailand being the biggest exporter of rice in the world is of course no exception, with the rice costing about twice what it was costing one year ago. The jasmine quality, considered as the best, sells now for 185 baht for a 5 kg bag.

A few other items are the oil, all the local ones sell for 49 baht/liter and the imported one, olive oil, sells for 254 baht for half a liter. Industriel bread is at 25 baht for 1/2 kg and you'll have a French baguette for 27 baht. Thais do not eat cheese or dairy products in general, so cheese is imported and expensive. You want a French camebert? It will be 486 baht.

Let's end with flowers. Thailand is the world biggest producer or cut orchids and it shows, you will be able to buy a small bouquet for 15 baht.

I'll update this list and I'll include other products, but it will be for another day...