The bill just came through the post. A little cheaper this time. It was about 1000 baht cheaper at 3199 baht. Some of that would have a lot to do with the homestay guest who has now gone home. He didn’t go out too much and so had the air turned on day and night. I think we will have to rethink the homestay idea.

The bill at the school townhouse was a lot more than mine. What happens there is that the school gives the teachers free accommodation. However, each room has a meter that measures just the use of the air-conditioning units. If they decided to turn on the electric fans then it wouldn’t cost them anything. However, if they used the air then they would get a bill at the end of the month. This may sound harsh but it does work out alright in the long run.

Most Westerners don’t understand how the air-conditioning works. They think it is OK to keep it turned on all the time and that it doesn’t cost much money. We had guests staying at the school before and most of them not only left the air on all day but they often left the door open too. If they were paying for it then the school owners couldn’t get angry they were wasting electricity. We did a few tests at the school townhouse and we worked out that it cost an average of 50 baht a night to use the air-conditioning. Now they have to decide whether it is worth paying that amount each night.

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