How much money do I need for Thailand/Laos?

kazz143

sarNie Juvenile
Okay as I am going to Thailand/ Laos soon, i'm taking $5000. $3000 to spend in laos for 3.5 weeks and $2000 in Thailand for 11 days? Is that plenty or do I need more, I just feel i might need more because its during new year and theres gonna be heaps to do and buy.
 

PhoneO_5

sarNie Oldmaid
dang. $3000 in Laos. Just be careful & bargain lots. You'll also notice the difference in prices between each province you go to. Vientiene, pho is $1, but south of there, everything is half the price. If you plan on buying souvenirs, buy from the southern provinces. I think you'll need more cash for Thailand. Everything is worth more there.
 

Maya_Fantasy

sarNie Oldmaid
Costs of living is very high over there; The price is just about the same or in some case higher than over here, so you have to calculate in almost everything and everyone, because they'll expect you to pay for them and on every where you go, and eat out etc. Plus, your relatives would ask for handout ... $10 here, $20 there ... you can spend $300 with a blink of an eyes or per day, easily. So if you careful and watch your spending when you first arrived, and only splurge on close to the end of your trip, then $5000. will do if you don't plan on buying/shopping stuffs. Good luck, enjoy and have a fun trip. :thumbsup:
 

aikoden

♥DREAMER♥
Staff member
That amount of money should be sufficient. I hope you have a safe journey over there. Right now Thailand is still damaged by the flood :(
 

kazz143

sarNie Juvenile
Oh shit u guys are scaring me....$5000 is not enough?....i have heaps of relatives there thats y im scare too that it may need be enough and because its new year too i'll be spending alot more. And yea i know its flooded there atm but hopefully by the time we go the floods will be gone.
 

kazz143

sarNie Juvenile
Oh shit u guys are scaring me....$5000 is not enough?....i have heaps of relatives there thats y im scare too that it may need be enough and because its new year too i'll be spending alot more. And yea i know its flooded there atm but hopefully by the time we go the floods will be gone.
 

minankumo

sarNie Adult
@ kazz143 be careful while u there because there r places in Thailand where people will steal ur purse or wallet without u notice. Also some of the market might try to cheat off ur money (will lied to u about the price and make it higher).
 

mongstaness

sarNie Adult
you do know that is facing floods over there right now right?? but i would recommend you to take more money for thailand. laos is a lot cheaper.
 

vanggirlie

sarNie Egg
Most of your money is going to be going to your relative cuz they are not shy at begging or hinting for money from you. Don't do too much shopping till the end of the trip (or buy a little bit at time only) cuz you need to make sure you have enough for relatives; that is if you are the kind of person who can't say NO to relatives. Thailand is a little more expensive. Let your relatives in that country (laos or thailand) do the bargaining cuz the shop owners will raise the price cuz they know you from US unless you can bargain good then you can do your own bargaining. You can always find an item at another shop so if it's too expensive don't buy it unless you get it for the price you want. Don't give money to beggars in Laos cuz you can get fined for it if the police officers want to enforce it. Plus the beggars will all zero in on you and do it non stop which they do to peeps from US. Lol sorry I'm being harsh and calling them beggars.

With relatives over there just watch how much you spend cuz you can easily spend $100 to $200 per day. Hold your money, don't let other people (i.e. relatives) hold your money cuz next thing you know you've spent all your money. It's not like they gonna ask to hold your money but if you are thinking ok I'm exchanging $100 for the day and I'll let my aunt go exchange and she can hold onto it while we shop... next thing you know you need to exchange another $100. Not because they stole it but because you are not watching how much you spend. learn to convert money and see how much it cost if it was american dollars. some things cost as much as if you bought it in america.

Once again I want to emphasize that your relatives will not be shy in asking or hinting at you giving them money. It's just a way of life for them there.

One more thing, the traditional clothes (hmong, thai, and lao) there in laos and Thailand are as expensive as in the US. Also if you shop in nice looking shops things are more expensive so sometimes you can probably get it for less at a shop that doesn't look as nice.
 

mmm0403

sarNie Juvenile
I agree with what vanggirlie said. I couldn't believe Hmong people in Thailand selling Hmong clothes for 7000-9000 baht. Who would want to buy if they cost that much? I rather buy in the US than buying there and have to carry and bring home with me.
 

kazz143

sarNie Juvenile
Seriously u guys are scaring me...i thought $5000 was going to be enough. But thats all i will have since I'm going soon cause i didnt start saving earlier. stupid me! And really they sell hmong clothes for that much? thats like $300. You could get 3 already.
 

mmm0403

sarNie Juvenile
Seriously u guys are scaring me...i thought $5000 was going to be enough. But thats all i will have since I'm going soon cause i didnt start saving earlier. stupid me! And really they sell hmong clothes for that much? thats like $300. You could get 3 already.
My friend asked a Hmong guy, the photographer, and he told us that the owner was probably selling for 7000-9000 baht. That's why we were shocked and just didn't pay attention to even look, but we rent the clothes for only 100 baht per custom to take pictures though.
 

mmm0403

sarNie Juvenile
I think I probably spent $3000 for my whole trip (flights + hotels + personal expenses). I only stayed in cheap hotels and ate cheap food. During my last week in Bangkok, I only ate food from those 7Seven stores. Hahahaha... I didn't bother to buy much clothes because they cost almost the same here, but they sure have a lot of varieties to sell. It would be really fun to go shopping with some girl friends.
 

kazz143

sarNie Juvenile
I think I probably spent $3000 for my whole trip (flights + hotels + personal expenses). I only stayed in cheap hotels and ate cheap food. During my last week in Bangkok, I only ate food from those 7Seven stores. Hahahaha... I didn't bother to buy much clothes because they cost almost the same here, but they sure have a lot of varieties to sell. It would be really fun to go shopping with some girl friends.
wow really u make me feel better...lol but how long did u stya for? but i dnt think i can eat food from 7-11 stores cause i need to eat good and normal food like rice and meat otherwise i feel bloated and i dnt want to feel like that if i'm overseas
 

mmm0403

sarNie Juvenile
wow really u make me feel better...lol but how long did u stya for? but i dnt think i can eat food from 7-11 stores cause i need to eat good and normal food like rice and meat otherwise i feel bloated and i dnt want to feel like that if i'm overseas
14 days. 8 days in Bankgkok and the rest in Chiangmai. About $2.50 for each of those frozen food in containers. The cashier always unfrozen them for me. They tasted quite good. I always bought the ones with rice and fried chopped pork.That's why I had no reason to go eat in restaurants. Or spending about $15-20 per lunch or dinner when I ate in restaurants, same as here in US.
 

fun

Expired Sarnie
Oh shit u guys are scaring me....$5000 is not enough?....i have heaps of relatives there thats y im scare too that it may need be enough and because its new year too i'll be spending alot more. And yea i know its flooded there atm but hopefully by the time we go the floods will be gone.
My dad spent $9,500 in Thailand (flight, hotel, expenses, site seeing- yeah they hired a tour guide). He spent most of the money on relatives and this one bitch-probably a 2-5 years older than me that I dislike even though I have never met her before. I know it is my dad's fault too but it would have been nice if she rejected him, but that whore didn't!!!

My dad is those nice people that hardly says no when asked for money even though we are poor as heck... well he says no to me a lot when I was younger lol but that is a whole different story.

I would have a 2-3 grand more on hands. You just need to budget your money well. 5 grand will suffice, but you might have to spend a bit more even though the floods be gone when you arrive, the recovery takes time. Pricing may be high especially produces.
 

kazz143

sarNie Juvenile
Thanx everyone for their advice...and oh yea i never really thought about that...prices will be high after the floods....omg need more money....lol
 
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