Answering the call of nature at twice the price

[Pattaya One]

Wandering down Soi 16, off Walking Street, I noticed a sign for what must surely be the most expensive place for anyone who is in need of attending the call of nature. The lavatory, toilet, rest room, or, to use the quaint Filipino term, comfort room, demands a 10 baht impost.

It is located inside that white elephant the Europa Club, now up for sale or rent but only to ‘serious buyers’ according to a large sign displayed out front. I imagine the 10 baht from those who use the facilities is about the only income the place currently supplies. Maybe you are attended by a chorus line of under-employed would-be coyote dancers, while your bladder is emptied to the strains of the cannonade section of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.

Cheap(er) and probably more 'rustic' than its nearby counterpart

Not 20 metres further down the soi, heading towards Walking Street, is another brace of ‘comfort’ facilities and here the price is just five baht. It’s hard to believe there could be such a staggering difference (100 percent after all) between two places offering exactly the same ‘facility’ and within pissing distance of each other.

I guess it begs the question, who’s taking the piss here?

©Duncan Stearn

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