A beery good bargain

Unlike Thai capital Bangkok, nearby royalty-endorsed seaside resort Hua Hin eschews the capital’s sometimes aggressive play for tourist dollars. The usual holidayer here is the well-heeled Thai national making a point of his class by choosing the same summer address as the king. This means a tuk-tuk hailed at one of the designated stands leads to little or no haggling/overcharging. Which alone would have redeemed tuk-tuks, though a single ride in Bangkok had put the fear of frazzle in me. But then, endearing it further, appeared this avatar scrunched out of my favourite Singha beer can, pull-tab for headlight, parked whimsically in front of a streetside stall. At Hua Hin’s modest but must-visit night market, the jeans-and jacketed young driver of sales’ über-polite negotiation could hardly be termed ‘haggling’. ‘250 baht’, the young woman politely tapped out on her calculator and slid it over. ‘200’, I pressed sheepishly. Sold, with a smile! Perhaps I could have played a harder nut to crack. But for the positive reinforcement of politeness alone, “Cheers!” sez.