I Get Letters
Thu 23 Nov 2006
Yes, I get letters, or more precisely, emails from some of you who visit my travel guides. Sometimes people have some good information to share. Sometimes they just want to offer a complement (always appreciated). But there are those who write to complain. If they’ve found an error on the site, that’s all well and good, and appreciated as well. Then there are those who simply seem to need to whine about something.
Earlier this week, someone using the apparently fake - but rather appropriate - address of birk_192@hotmail.com dropped me a line to complain about having to pay 70 Baht to use the tram to the top of Suthep Temple in Chiang Mai, when Thais only have to pay 20 Baht. I usually don’t bother even answering such silliness, but I was in a bit of a mood when the mail arrived, so I replied. That’s when I found out the return address was fake. I was still in a mood, and it’s been a while since I discussed the whole “dual pricing” issue here, so I thought I’d post my reply here.
Birk_192’s comment was:
The fare to go up to the temple at Doi Suthep is 20 baht for Thais and 70 baht for farangs. Is this the buddist way or have we a temple who are out of tune with the teachings of the lord buddha.
Let’s not dwell on this guy’s lack of spelling and punctuation skills. He obviously has enough problems. In answer to his comments, I would point out a couple of things:
Firstly, the tram was built by the Thai government, which means it was paid for by the Thai taxpayers. Why shouldn’t Thais get to use the tram for a lower price than tourists, who contributed nothing to its construction cost?
Secondly, you only have to pay to use the tram. If the writer of this message had even the faintest clue about Buddhism, he would know that the ‘Buddhist way’ is to use the stairs rather than the tram. The path to enlightenment is difficult, and you must show that you are willing to make the effort.
The Buddhist teachings about money are pretty much the same as the Buddhist teachings about everything else - money is an attachment that we need to give up if we are to escape the never-ending cycle of life and death. I don’t think Buddha had anything to say about dual pricing, but it seems to me that the rate at which you’re “detached” from your money is hardly of any importance.
