Going to the Movies in Thailand

Ever wonder if going to the movies is the same everywhere? Well, here’s what it’s like in Chiang Mai, Thailand:

First, you go to one of these several counters to purchase tickets. For the matinee is costs 130 Baht each (about $4.30 US).

When at the counter, you select your movie (we chose Ted, which we found was not such a great choice) and…and here’s the difference, you select your seats as it is all assigned seating. The blue here represent all the available seats:

Having about an hour to kill before the movie started, we enjoyed some of the video games. Mindy did a great job at the basketball, getting almost every basket and ending with a score of 404! This cost 10 Baht (30 cents).

 We also played ping pong for 20 minutes for 10 Baht (30 cents):

And no movie would be complete without the popcorn of which there are two kinds, salty or sweet. We bought one of each for 70 Baht ($2.10 US).

The beginning of the movies here are the same as most places in the world, with many trailers and many commercials. One difference, though, is that patrons are asked to raise while they play the Thai national anthem. During the anthem, they show patriotic pictures of the King and Queen on the screen.

Other similarities include putting the temperatures to sub-arctic levels, so bring a jacket! 🙂

Stay tuned for more Thai adventures!
Mindy and Ligeia :):)