Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Confessions of a Weaker Thai Baht. I couldn't quite decide which to go with, either Confessions of a Dangerous Mind or Confessions of a Bangkok Private Eye when making this thumbnail, but we went ahead and just used both. So for those who are unaware, there is a rather good movie, it actually has George Clooney in it in a supporting role. Drew Barrymore is in it; Sam Rockwell is starring in the film Confessions of a Bangkok Private Eye. It's based on a guy named Chuck Barris who actually founded the Gong Show. There's an underlying book; I actually read the book years ago about him. Interesting guy. Makes a lot of assertions, not quite sure what's real sometimes and what's fiction in that book. The movie is well worth it. It's kind of one of these not often talked about movies which brings me also to the book. The book, Confessions of a Bangkok Private Eye is, if I am not wrong, maybe I didn't get the title right on the Barris movie, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is the movie; Confessions of a Bangkok Private Eye is the book. The book actually I read when I first got here some 17 years ago and it's actually one of the better books I felt regarding matters pertaining to Thailand, understanding issues of the Thai culture if you will. It gives a little bit of an understanding of just how it works here. Some of it was interesting, some of it maybe a little hyperbolic, but overall I liked that book. For new folks I think it's worth a read: Confessions of a Bangkok Private Eye, but we are talking about the Thai Baht. 

It looks to me like we are seeing some confessions of why a weaker baht would be better here in expat Thailand. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Weaker Baht means bigger nights in Pattaya as tourists spend more and party harder. Yeah, and for those who are interested, I get into some of this stuff in our paid news service which I make videos once a week that go out; long-form videos where I talk about a whole, I sort of cover the waterfront of matters pertaining to expat land here in Thailand, issues I see on the horizon, geopolitics, as well as international financial stuff that may be of pertinent relevance to folks especially who are expats out here in Southeast Asia. If you are interested in getting on the email list for that, please feel free to email us [email protected]. Also, while I'm talking my book, my better half and I set up a restaurant here in downtown Bangkok. It's American Diner style food and breakfast anytime. Pancake Palace: links are in the description below. We'll throw some photos up of the food. We've got hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chilli bowls, buffalo wings, again as well as breakfast anytime. If you are interested, stop by; use the links below, we'd love to see you. 

That said, this is kind of one of those I sort of thought about making this purely for the paid news service, but I think it's worth mentioning here on the channel because the whole issue of weaker baht has tremendous ramifications in a sort of broad sense. Quoting directly though: "Economic analysts say that the Baht's recent dip comes from global money shifts and the US dollar bouncing back, but for travellers, it's like a secret upgrade: more drinks, more shows, more nights out for the same budget. Still, some visitors keep one eye open -- peak season hotel rates and rising flight costs could nibble at their currency advantage, so spending wisely is still part of the game." 

The point they are basically getting to and I urge those who are watching this video, go check out that article in pattayamail.com, again titled: Weaker Baht means bigger nights in Pattaya as tourists spend more and party harder. Worth reading, because look a weak baht does, especially in the tourism sector and I think this is good for Thailand, we are looking at about 32 and change I noticed in the last couple of days, dollar to baht exchange rate; you get 32 Baht for a dollar. That's about where we like to see it going into a high season. I think that's good and if anything, I'm hoping that this high season will be fueled a little bit or the numbers might be fueled a little bit by the fact that the exchange rate is such that again it makes it more affordable to go out, have that extra cocktail, or go to that extra club because your Baht, or maybe I should say your Dollar in Baht terms goes a longer way than it otherwise would; the benefits of that are manifest in the fact that again you can have that extra drink, or go to that extra club, or maybe go to that nicer restaurant, whatever. That then has a positive impact on the tourism sector here in Thailand because at the end of the day, they are basically charging in Thai Baht; that's the local currency here. That moves velocity of money through the system and that results in more economic activity and more economic benefit to the tourism sector. So it's really a win-win all around. I'm actually quite optimistic going into this high season especially in light of these issues associated with a weaker Baht. That being said, it remains to be seen how this plays out so I will certainly be keeping people updated on this channel as the situation evolves.