In my defense (and you know it's a losing prospect if that's my opening line) I didn't even haggle.
"What's your Thai price?" I asked.
"50 Baht."
"Okay."
It was an unremarkable little market/bazaar tucked behind a 7-11 in an alley too small to support American garbage cans. But the lady seemed nice enough and had a good enough selection of movies, so I picked out a handful at what I thought was a decent price.
I once haggled with a bootlegger. Not something you do twice: no matter what transpires verbally or financially, you will not win.
So I didn't haggle. I didn't argue. I just asked for the English language stack and picked out a small handful of movies.
Black Swan doesn't play.
Inception is a Thai soap opera.
The animated Studio Ghibli show is a Pokemon disc, entirely in Thai.
Green Hornet is a Studio Ghibli flick, entirely in Japanese.
And Tron is "KILLER DINOSHARK!!"
Next time, just buy the damn movie.
"What's your Thai price?" I asked.
"50 Baht."
"Okay."
It was an unremarkable little market/bazaar tucked behind a 7-11 in an alley too small to support American garbage cans. But the lady seemed nice enough and had a good enough selection of movies, so I picked out a handful at what I thought was a decent price.
I once haggled with a bootlegger. Not something you do twice: no matter what transpires verbally or financially, you will not win.
So I didn't haggle. I didn't argue. I just asked for the English language stack and picked out a small handful of movies.
Black Swan doesn't play.
Inception is a Thai soap opera.
The animated Studio Ghibli show is a Pokemon disc, entirely in Thai.
Green Hornet is a Studio Ghibli flick, entirely in Japanese.
And Tron is "KILLER DINOSHARK!!"
Next time, just buy the damn movie.
Bootleggers Guide (0-5 asterisks)
ReplyDeleteTaiwan (****) Fairly good selection; most VCDS come from handheld cameras. In market quickly. Must sometimes dodge police to find stalls (before police do)
Saudi Arabia (**~***) Movie stalls inconsistently placed: some down dark backstreets, others in front of Safeway. Thin selection. Bootlegged, often screeners for members of the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the folks who vote for the Oscars). Half of the purchases will not play.
More countries?