WinterGael

My friends and family are Thai, and my opinions come from them. And I've had very good talks with highly educated Thais who set me straight on just how few people truly benefit form tourism and also have made me understand that tourism has many downsides for the average Thai.

Well, right off the start I have to comment on where tourists go. From my experience, you want to be around Westerners, go to the bars and party roads. You want to be around non Westerners, go to wats and cultural venues. Even at high tourist times, when my wife and I go to a wat, oft times I am the only Westerner there, even at some of the most famous ways. That said, I am in 100% agreement with maintaining at a minimum the present rules governing the sale of alcohol. They are already more lenient than in my home country, so why should Thailand want tourists to act differently here than they would at home? I find the concept that Thailand must sell its soul for the pleasure of tourist dollars (which really do not affect the majority) to be deeply disturbing. And so do Thais. Over the past few years, due to COVID, my friends and family have been enjoying the beaches and recreational attractions around Thailand. For almost all of them, it is a first. This surprised me, but then they tell me that before there were too many tourists and they did not feel comfortable going with all the "farangs" there. I know many really dislike places like Pataya and Phuket where it seems being Thai is being second class.

So you are promoting the idea that Thailand become the prostitute of Southeast Asia? I think the Thai government is doing enough of that. I wouldn't want that in my home country, sure would not want it here. Need to promote honest business, not further corruption.

TAT walks a fineline on this one. On one side they want tourists because, simply put, they need those tourist baht (a strong sign the Thai economy and economic lead in SEA is on the decline), and on the other side, they have to deal with a population that numerous times have made it known that they do not approve of mass tourism from anywhere. I once talked to along yerm expat from Pattaya who told me Thai tourism works like this. The Thais involved in it want you to come for a couple of weeks, spend as much as you can, then get the hell out. And that's pretty much what Thai friends in the industry have told me, too (with the caveat, we not mean you). But that said, will extending visas really earn that much more? From family and friends who travel here, outside of hotels and restaurants, I'm not convinced. I've had friends come for 10 days and spend 40,000 baht after hotel and food. I've had others come for 60 days and spend 50,000 after hotel and food. How much one spends is a factor of how uch you can afford (seems like people come to Thailand for the cheapo holiday) and not so much how long you want to stay.

Not sure where your coming from on this one. After having read disks on a truck, give me drums everyday. And it's not like the rear breaks do the majority of the stopping. Drove around for a month with no rear breaks without ever a stopping issue. And as for engine power vs breaking ability, the one thing I hate about Thai trucks and cars is how underpowered they are compared to what I'm used to back home, same car, same model. Your argument should be thank god they aren't as powerful as North American trucks.

In Thailand it's not so mind boggling. Thailand has some of the worst roads I've ever driven on. As a former road builder, I honestly don't think they know how to build them or maintain their roads. I've driven perfectly straight roads, doing 10/15 kph under posted speed and almost lost it because of a pothole the size of a dog that you couldn't see because of the dip in the road. 6 months later, and the pothole was still there... along with chewed up grass to the side.

Yes... Reading this, I'm asking myself was the survey of farangs or Thais. Since the lifting of the mask mandate I've been from Tayong to Ubon and have yet to see any real sign if masks being g dropped outside of farangs. In my village park, neigh outs had relaxed their mask usage, but in the past week it's back to 99% usage. So I've put mine back on, too. It's how I get along with the neighbours and why I'm liked in the village.