Ah the good ol' discriminatory dual pricing scheme.  If you spend any time living overseas you will experience this as the local population gets one set of prices and any foreigners or "farangs" as we are referred to in Thai, are regularly charged quite a lot more for things than locals would.  It starts with Taxis, then it is various good at stores with unmarked items, then it is a street stall where you witness that a Thai person is charged half as much as you are for some noodle soup.  It is especially noticeable at national parks where they try to hide it by way of using the Thai numbers to disguise the fact that foreigners are paying sometimes ten times as much as locals for the same access to the same parks.

<center> https://bangkokjack.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/dual-pricing2.jpg
[src](https://bangkokjack.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/dual-pricing2.jpg)
<sub> You don't need to understand the Thai numerals to realize that 3 digits are more expensive than 2!</sub> </center> 

In places like national parks this behavior has been justified by various people including the government by stating that "Thai people pay Thai taxes that subsidize the park maintenance" and this would be fair enough of a statement if that was actually true.  I get that a tourist doesn't pay any taxes outside of VAT and sales tax etc, but those of us that work here, like myself, pay just as much tax as a Thai person does.  

There were times that friends of mine would go to national parks with Thai members of our school and we would have our tax ID cards with us and try to reason with the people in the kiosks.  Most of the time our requests (which we kept as polite as possible) fell on deaf ears because it is price gouging and everyone knows it is price-gouging.  This sort of behavior would be considered highly illegal in most western countries and I know for a fact that in my country (USA) that national park fees are exactly the same regardless of where you come from.  

If they wanted to charge a bit more for something due to lack of taxation I would understand, but ten times the amount such as what is in the image above, is beyond obscene, it is outright theft.  Combine this with the fact that these parks are rarely actually maintained (garbage all over the place) and you start to get a bit upset when these situations happen.  

<center> ![dualpricinginthailand300x1991 1.jpg](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/jack.russelle/YBzGST2X-dual-pricing-in-thailand-300x199-1201.jpg)
[src](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/dual-pricing-in-thailand-300x199-1.jpg)
<sub> Private businesses engage in this as well </sub> </center> 

There is a friend of mine who IS Thai, but since both of his parents are of Indian descent they actually try to force him and his brother (who is also Thai) to pay the "farang" price.  They are completely fluent in Thai and have Thai passports because they ARE Thai, yet every single time they go and do things like this they have to argue their way in.  This sort of discrimination is just awful.

Anyway, before I get too worked up about this I want to point out the latest example of this that is just terrible and will almost certainly be embraced by the government.

I understand that the government of any country has to look after their own citizens first and I agree with this notion.  I expect that the Thais would have first access to the vaccine once it arrives.  That is the way that it should be.  However, in this [recent article](https://thethaiger.com/news/national/questions-raised-about-when-covid-19-vaccine-will-be-available-to-expats) there is speculation that once the vaccine is available only those who are very poor and Thai will get it for free (well done Thailand) but the rest of the population will have to pay for it, which is also, fair enough.  

Where it stops being ok is when they start talking about how the price for expats is going to be dramatically higher than it will be for Thai people.  I pay taxes here.  I pay a lot MORE taxes than the average Thai person yet their justification will be the same ol story about how I don't pay taxes so therefore have to pay more for this product.  This is complete BS and the people that are enacting this potential standpoint are very aware of what they are doing.  

For one thing, I don't even want the vaccine but if the government mandates that we must have it, I will have two choices:  Take it, or leave.  Unfortunately this is the Thai attitude towards a lot of complaints us expats have.... "if you don't like it, get out" 

<center> ![unnamed.jpg](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/jack.russelle/UZgaywMw-unnamed.jpg)
[src](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/Gd2GfHKZc3b0DCnACN8cUVWdOOHvjdInOqyyM5KDWry1vA1z_vqOXriza1ZeMeV3xgnhaSzSuiOa5xVrNGgHvdbkj3-HijBlZvbegQyTSSVpdkkGNmHal8nBrQ2rOKB6wq_b88AUaPXZC7hAX72pOyofp-R81LLPTxA)</center> 

It remains to be seen if the government will actually implement this but I get a little bit upset any time I hear about stuff like this.  I am an invited, employed, taxed, and productive member of Thai society, yet many times I am treated like an unwelcome invader who is to be fleeced at every opportunity.  

I suppose it is all a tradeoff and I may have no choice but to roll with the punches.