When a friend says “it must be cheap,” I quickly agree that it is cheaper to live in Thailand than Canada. But is it? I can give more than a few examples of products or services in Canada that compare pretty favourably with those in Bangkok.
I was reminded again on the weekend how cheap things can be here. How about six t-shirts for $9 (270 baht). That’s right, in Chinatown West in Toronto there’s a half dozen shops you can stroll by and see coloured sheets with hand-written signs saying 6/$9 or 6/$10 (infinitesimally better quality). All made in China or Vietnam. That includes shipping halfway around the world.
Right near by I can buy a good quality western breakfast for $5.25 (165 bt): eggs, bacon, 100% whole wheat toast, green salad. Okay, coffee extra. Yes, that’s more expensive than a 30-baht Thai noodle soup, but how many places in Bangkok will price a western brekkie at 165 bt? Most start at 200 and go up, up, up. I can get the meal even cheaper, if I want to go to a small diner: $3.99 (125 bt). Have to add GST (VAT) to that though.
Now who’s going to argue with the choice here, but a good quality draft beer in Toronto can be had for $5.25, taxes in, or 160 baht, what you’d pay for a (low quality) beer in a Bangkok go-go bar.
Coffee lover? You can go real cheap on the streets of Bangkok. 15 baht for an ice coffee and condensed milk at a streetside vendor. Truly good stuff, actually. But a medium Starbucks cafe mocha is 110 baht ($3.50) versus about $4 in Toronto.
Water is definitely cheap in the Land of Smiles. 6-15 baht for a 500 ml bottle. Canada? It’s getting into $1.50 (45 bt) range these days.
Let’s look at transit. A long-distance, one-way ticket in Toronto would be 77 baht, which would include any transfer using all three modes: subway, streetcar and bus. The most you can pay on the BTS Skytrain is 40 baht. At least it was back in January.
If you need your western foods, a Burger King Whopper with fries is 150 baht, or $4.50. Don’t know what this is in Toronto but probably $6 or more. If you need your really special western foods, there’s always Villa or TOPS. You pay through the nose and then some.
At the other end of the scale, a BMW 650GS or 800GS runs $10,000 to $12,500 (Canadian). In Thailand? $22,000 (690,000 bt) to $24,700 (770,000 bt). Double the price due to heavy tariffs. A Honda Civic 1.8 L sedan (made in Thailand) costs 750,000 baht or $24,000, but in Canada the Civic starts at $16,000 base coupe and a sedan goes out the door all dressed at under $22,700. Plus taxes though.
None of these Bangkok prices includes the cost of your visa and airfare and hotel. Still, the country has its allures.
