Thailand And Hua Hin....

Went to Thailand for Chinese New Year holidays. Thailand is always a nice place to visit. But its gotten significantly more expensive. Rising prices in the currency in Baht is being exacerbated by the strengthening in the currency against the dollar. Therefore, I think that Taiwan has become a better travel travel value for families but not for Chinese New Year since everything will be closed there and it will be cold like it is in Hong Kong.

My chats with local business people are not painting a pretty picture for travel oriented enterprises in Thailand. According to these sources, business is down 15-25% year-over-year. Several reasons were offered by these people. Higher prices in Thailand, focus on attracting travelers to Phuket by the government as compared to other destinations and better values for European tourists such as travel to the US were all profered as reasons for the decline.

Also, after spending several days in Hua Hin, where the weather was just spectacular, it is apparent that Thailand is a destination for elderly tourists from Europe. These leather skinned sun worshipping tourists probably averaged 60 years-old in age. And one other observation/question about European tourists: Why don't they ever smile nor talk in restaurants?