One of my favorite things about Thailand is Baht Gold: 23-point-something carat gold that is a fun and exciting combination of bling and bonds. You buy necklaces (or bracelets) in Baht units, from 0.5 up to 5, 10, or even 20 baht. Currently, 1 baht of gold is about 10,500 baht... or $260.So... and here is the fun part: If you have a spare $100 or $500 or $5000 sitting around, you go to the gold store and buy some jewelry... with literally thousands of designs to choose from. Let's say you spend $1,000 on a 4-baht necklace. You take home your gold and enjoy it just like everything else you own.
You wear your necklace for 2 or 3 years, and then take it to the gold shop and they buy it back from you for $1,200... or whatever the price of gold is. If you have an emergency, you can turn your necklace into the cash equivalent about as easily as you can turn an empty soda can into a nickel.
Oh... and if you think that it might be a bad investment, last April, that 4 baht necklace would have cost you $800. Today, just 10 months later, that same necklace is selling for $1,100. That's a 25% return on investment for 1 year. It's expected to do the same in 2006.
So, guess what I'm buying with part of my hefty tax return this year?
p.s. Walking into a gogo bar wearing a 10-baht necklace has about the same effect on the girls as if you walked into the bar with a Ferrari strapped to your back.
13 comments:
"p.s. Walking into a gogo bar wearing a 10-baht necklace has about the same effect on the girls as if you walked into the bar with a Ferrari strapped to your back."
---- How fast does it get you robbed?
Cheeky
Actually... I'm planning on buying a 20-baht necklace.
Funnily enough, having a necklace like that stolen is about as likely as having a Ferrari stolen: People don't steal Ferraris because once you have a stolen Ferrari, there isn't a whole lot you can do with it... unless you are way up in the car theft profession.
It's the same with a 20-baht necklace. I checked the other day, and there are currently only three 20-baht necklaces for sale in Pattaya. I don't know how many there are in Bangkok, but probably about as many as there are Ferraris.
If someone steals a 20-baht necklace, what are they going to do with it? Take it to a gold store and sell it? Every gold store in Thailand would be informed by police that a 20-baht necklace has been stolen, and an exact description of it. Most gold stores don't have nearly enough cash on hand to buy a 20-baht necklace anyway, and the ones that do know better than to buy a 250,000 baht necklace from a guy who is lucky to see 2,500 baht a month.
Knock on wood of course.
(And don't think I haven't thought about that and won't be exceptionally aware of who is around me and where I am at all times when I am wearing it.)
did you say you were an 'Engrish tracher" ?
Walk around the bars wearing a 20 baht chain and see what happens.
Every gold store would be informed ? how via spam email?
Stick to your cats.
Heheh... No. I'm not an Engrish Tracher. I couldn't afford a $5,000 necklace if I was. Additionally, if I couldn't afford to lose a $5,000 necklace I wouldn't be willing to walk around with one around my neck. Fortunately, the $5,000 is about one-quarter of my tax refund this year, so I (and my cats) are fine with my investment jewelry.
You obviously don't know how gold stores work in Thailand: There are 4 or 5 main families who own all the big gold stores, and all the little ones (as I said) don't deal with 20-baht chains.
Oh... and not that it would help at the onset if I were to be robbed, but the house I am staying in is owned by one of the top police generals in Thailand. (Actually owned by his wife.) I've never had to call in a favor, but finding out who robbed me would probably get me on the phone to him.
Right , and you have been in Thailand how long?
Novice
Coming up on 3 years now. Why?
3 years , figure you would have had enough of the bargirl scene and pseudo need to try and impress anyone with a superficial gold chain.
But then maybe not :-(
Heheh. I moved to Thailand because it is so much about appearances. It's fun. All Thai people think about are how they look, how they come off to other Thai people. It's great to be able to walk into a bar and not be mistaken for a tourist, a backpacker, or an OEP surviving on 30,000 baht per month. Thailand is all about the uniform of success. If ya got it, flaunt it. Tacky but fun (if ya got it).
p.s. It's not about "trying to impress". I have a 5-baht chain now. I keep it under my shirt, with about 1 inch of it barely peeking out from my collar. It's funny to sit at a stage in a gogo bar and watch the girls in front of me talk in each others' ear and then point to the little bit of gold they can see around my neck. Hell: I'm short, fat, bald, and ugly... but all the girls stop by to say hello because of a stupid chintzy piece of gold. Acusing me of trying to impress girls with gold is like acusing me of trying to impress fish with a worm.
Jil If I sent you some money could you purchase a baht chain and send it to me?
Richard... while I appreciate that you would trust me enough to do that for you, if you want some baht gold just to wear around, you can buy it online or on E-bay and have it shipped to you. You'll pay slightly higher prices, but it's a slightly more sensible way to do online shopping.
if you are receiving a $20,000 tax refund, perhaps you should fire your accountant for letting your withhold so much?
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