Hat Yai and Gasoline

[Nicke]

When I were in Hat Yai I talked with some people and they all told me the business is bad at the moment, the violence in south is causing big trouble for them and less Malaysians and Singaporians are coming. Thai massage used to be 220 baht for 2 hours but now they had an increase to 240 baht/2 hours. (Still cheap compared to Phuket price levels) The hotel where I usually stay also charged more.

Gasoline (petroleum) is now very expensive in Thailand compared to the past, the government is no longer subvention the gas price and we have seen an increase lately up to 22 baht. When I did my border run the taxi driver followed me into Malaysia for the first time because he wanted to buy gas on the Malaysian side. The price in Malaysia is about 14 baht/liter. In the past I just walked across the border and then back into Thailand few minutes later.