On Wednesday 29th October we started on the return journey to Jomtien via Bangkok. We planned to take a detour through "Sai Thong" national park, staying there for the night before taking minor roads through the hills and cutting across to Lop Buri and hence into Bangkok. Towards the middle of the afternoon the sky began to turn rather grey; by about four pm it was becoming increasingly difficult to take temporary shelter during the short but rather severe rainstorms. It also turned out that the Sai Thong area was devoid of any resort hotels, the only accommodation being located within the park itself. This accommodation (photo right) is generally aimed at visiting groups of Thai nationals who are looking to share the cost in self catering dormitories.
The pair of us rode up to the gate house, rather damp and disheveled, at about eight in the evening. The old gentleman on duty explained that we could pay the 100 Baht entrance fee in the morning. Proceeding to reception we were offered a whole building for 900 Baht. This is twice what one would expect to pay for a single room, but under the circumstances I felt that the price was fair (after all, there was nothing else around and they could have charged anything they wished!). The park rangers (both female) were pleasant and helpful - we were the only visitors - handing out brochures in both English and Thai as well as giving us a brief description of the area. The restaurant took our order and agreed to wait while we freshened up. Alcohol was not allowed to be served in the park (central government slowly making the world a better place - sorry!) but we were allowed to purchase a couple of beers down the road to be enjoyed as an aperitif!
An early morning found us checking out and back on the road again. This time the front gate was manned by a younger man. On "clocking" the "falang" he immediately turned to Gung demanding 200 Baht instead of the 100 Baht we had been told the previous evening. This dual pricing for entrance into national parks, attractions and the like is common in Thailand, not only unfair but often backfiring against the Thais. Many foreign visitors tend to be more generous than Thai people when it comes to spending, tipping etc. (after all, they are on holiday) but, more often than not, if they think that they are being cheated they will turn tail and leave. I suppose that this idea originated due to the perception that foreigners are better off (financially) than the Thai - often true, but it would still be rather grating to be charged a factor of ten more than a certain football club trading prime minister who might be in the same queue!
[Please note: "falang" is a term widely used by Thai nationals, as well as some "falang" themselves! Often thought to be little more than a colloquial term for a Caucasian, probably derived from the word "Frangset" in reference to the French who had so much influence in the surrounding countries of Indo-china (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos), it is in fact a derogatory way of referring to someone and far from polite. For example, the phrase "kon dhang pratet" (person from a foreign country) would be much more courteous.]
However, one way around this dual pricing is to have a Thai driving license. Fortunately I obtained one last March and on production of this the original entrance, or in this case exit, fee was agreed upon. He looked none too happy - never mind! I hope to return at some point as the park itself is supposed to be quite spectacular.
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