Thai Traditional Numbers - Double Prices

Thailand has a set of traditional numbers quite different in appearance from numbers used in the western world. Thailand also has a tradition of double prices, one price for Thais and another price for foreigners.

The Thai system of numbers, once used almost exclusively, has gradually been replaced by the use of the Arabic numerals but are now making a comeback. Once seen only in government documents and similar official forms, Thai traditional numbers are now appearing everywhere, and can frequently be seen on Hotel billboards, entrance to National Parks, Museums, Zoos and even Temples. This is good news – or is it. Whilst it is always sad to see a countries culture disappear and attempts to revive customs and traditions are usually welcomed, the cynic might suggest that the widespread use of Thai numbers is solely for the purpose of hiding from foreigners the fact that they are being charged double prices and sometimes even more.

Double pricing is one of the most controversial subjects for foreigners in Thailand, and indeed, many people just ignore the places where they have to pay more than their Thai counterparts.

An example of this is that today, many tour companies exclude National Parks from their tours because of the high costs. ( A foreigner may have to pay ฿400 whereas a Thai will pay just 40 or 80 Baht.) However, the ever enterprising Thai business people have become aware of this and are fighting back. It has almost reached the point that if you see Thai numerals on an entrance price list you can be fairly certain the price for foreigners will be higher. Culture or subterfuge, we leave you to decide but to help you make that choice we have included a chart below showing the Traditional Thai Numbers and their corresponding values.

Thai Traditional Numbers