erkkiri

For the first point, I will have to disagree with you. I'm not saying that the police in the West wouldn't target foreigners but it is banned and if and when they do, there is public outcry and the officers in questions are called to respond for their actions. Unless, of course, we are talking about different topics and you have something else in mind.

For the quality part, I'm not saying that Thai products are bad by default. However, if you give me the choice between a high-tech product developed and manufactured in Thailand vs. Germany with similar international accreditations, I will choose the German one. Same goes with infrastructure, food etc. I somehow tend to trust Swedish bridge builder more than a Thai one, since who's to say K. Bridgebuilder didn't get some kick backs from the concrete supplier in exchange for shoddy materials? Or that the cans that your soup is packed in wouldn't contain more than accepted levels of lead and cadmium just because this and that official has a "friend" whose factory makes really good cans.

I am not basing these examples on anything that I actually have heard of and that is not what I am implying, but knowing that the society places more value on face saving and short term gains than long term customer satisfaction causes me to trust them less. Hence, the corruption is harmful to the quality (real or perceived) and it hurts the economy.

I find it funny that so many people have mentioned corruption as a reason to move away from Thailand.

15-20 years ago, it was one of the main attractions for people moving here, people p1ssed off with the rules and regulations their own home countries based their societies around.

I can't figure out if it is a short term memory thing or a righteous change in thinking.

If you can't be good, be good at it.....................

Can't be for me, since I've only been here for a little over two years...

The Thai society is as filled with rules and regulations and somehow it appears they apply more to farang than to Thais. Luckily (sarc) farang have a convenient way of getting around those rules simply by throwing money to the appropriate police/Customs/immigration officer.

In a larger context, corruption is a major problem for the development and future of Thailand. Exporting agricultural products is all fine and dandy, but if Thailand wants to develop its economy and export industry, it needs to start producing high-quality end products, not commodities. Just because you get a certificate claiming quality doesn't make it so if said certificates can be easily bought. As long as the country has a reputation of being corrupt, no one will believe your assertions that your products are safe or durable. For all you know, the item could be made out of dog hair and nuclear waste, if there's is no truly independent governmental or private body to verify your claims.

I'm in Thailand as an expat, moved by my company. We (I and my husband) moved here two years ago and although we both had visited the country several times before, the reality was far worse than what neither of us expected. Initially, we were contemplating of staying in Thailand indefinitely, but that has since changed. I was not prepared to the rampant corruption, xenophobia and racism. Understanding that we will always be treated as less-than, has made me regret ever moving here.

I know there are tons of farang who couldn't be happier here and I wish them all the best, I honestly do. We will soon be packing our belongings and moving away and I can't wait for that to happen.

Give it a few years and few cases of whisky and your attitude will change

Believe me when I tell you that I drink by the bucket...

please, please, please tell me you are not American. This would be a very sad post if you are.

Thailand for me is not unlike any other country I have lived and worked in. As I have posted here on this forum many times.....I wake up. go to work, pay the bills, kiss my wife and children, and enjoy working on our farm. So it could have been a number of other countries but just so happens it is Thailand.

As for the above post, sorry for your experience but it is much the same or even worse in many other countries I have lived and worked in. I can honestly say that living here in Thailand it is almost refreshing to experience all of the above items you have mentioned and everybody knowing it is happening. In some other countries you know it is happening but the governments try to conceal or whitewash it.

Rest assured, I am not American. Assuming I was, though, why would the post be sadder?

To each his own and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's just that I have found little of interest in Thailand for myself. The Kingdom is not my first international post, but it is the worst (for me!). Having said that, I'm glad that you have found your own spot in the world here.

No country is corruption free - no doubt about that. However, I view shady political deals and pork barrel spending differently than having to bribe government officials or paying on-the-spot fines to police officers just to get through the day.

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