Why Do Thais Know So Little About The Geography Of China And India?

[Jimjim]

No geography class.

[bonobo]

I can list over 40 countries of Europe - just did it, and I know I left some out. I only learned Slovenia from a friend recently. I am American, did not go to private schools until age 18. Most Americans know all 50 states, but not provinces of Canda or the 33 states of Mexico (I can name almost all). The capital of Burkina Faso rhymes with woogadoogoo. I think Timbuktu is in Mali or Malawi.

Actually, Mexico has 31 states and the D.F, but I am chastened to admit I could only list 23 of them. I will quickly remedy that. Including Andorra, San Marino, the Vatican, and the like, Europe has 47 countries and independant states. Coincidently, I went to Slovenia this summer after a trade show in Germany. I rather liked it. And no, I have not been to Burkina Faso yet.

Timbuktu is in Mali. It is home to University of Sankore, probably the oldest university in the world. I have seen Timbuktu several times on television, and it is on my list of places to visit. It may be a shadow of its former glory, but the hsitory alone warrants a visit.

[JohnBanPrang]

Did you all forget Bhutan?

The most Buddhist country in the world.

Who knows?

Get the best of what you got, and so do most Thai.

[bonobo]

Then read some of the previous threds.

To me it sounds like some people see Thais like stupid

AND how many people from Bhukina Faso know where you come from?

Knowledge is good.

But who is the judge to tell what knowledge is best?

Please help me.

I wouldn't begin to try and decide what knowledge is "best." For a fisherman off the coast of Africa, a thorough knowledge of piscan behaviour as well a local weather patterns would seem pretty important in helping that fisherman feed his family. Knowing what sort of government exists in Mongolia would not have as important an immediate impact to him. For a businessman in China, however, understanding the Mongolian government might make him or her more successful in supplying products to that country.

However, perhaps that fisherman has a curiousity about exotic lands, and perhaps that businessman is fascinated by marine biology. Then learning about Mongolia or about African fish would be valued simply for the sake of knowledge.

Relative "importance" of knowledge depends on the person in question. But regardless, knowledge is "good," and ignorance is "bad," in my humble opinion. And whether the people living in Burkina Faso know much about my own nation or not, I still want to know all I can about them, how they live, what they think.

I doubt that people really think Thais are stupid. I would assert that anyone thinking that falls pretty far over on the stupid scale his or herself. Rather, in trying to understand Thai culture, it is curious that these things, which are deemed important in other cultures, are not deemed so important here. It has nothing to do with right or wrong, smart or stupid.

What about reading about the Lord Buddha?

If guests

living in Thailand try and read the "Four Noble Truths" and

the "Noble Eightfold Path" .Easy reading as it is translated into many languages.

Maybe it can you an idear of what is important to many Thai and Buddhists.

And it is not geography or who the Beattles where.

With this post, it is ironic that you posted earlier that you don't care about Bhutan. Bhutan is one of the most thoroughly Buddhist countries in the world, and it has numerous monasteries and convents and significant state support of Buddhist organizations. I will be travelling to Bhutan this spring with two Thai friends to discover the differences between Bhutan Buddhism and that of Tibet (and hence, the differences between that of Bhutan and Thailand.)

I do agree with the heart of your post. It seems to me that anyone living here should make the time to learn about Buddhism as that is such an important part of the culture here.

[JohnBanPrang]

No geography class.

Spot on.

[bonobo]

Did you all forget Bhutan?

The most Buddhist country in the world.

Who knows?

Get the best of what you got, and so do most Thai.

Beat me to the post. So contrary to your orignal post, I guess you do care about Bhutan?

[JohnBanPrang]

Then read some of the previous threds.

To me it sounds like some people see Thais like stupid

AND how many people from Bhukina Faso know where you come from?

Knowledge is good.

But who is the judge to tell what knowledge is best?

Please help me.

I wouldn't begin to try and decide what knowledge is "best." For a fisherman off the coast of Africa, a thorough knowledge of piscan behaviour as well a local weather patterns would seem pretty important in helping that fisherman feed his family. Knowing what sort of government exists in Mongolia would not have as important an immediate impact to him. For a businessman in China, however, understanding the Mongolian government might make him or her more successful in supplying products to that country.

However, perhaps that fisherman has a curiousity about exotic lands, and perhaps that businessman is fascinated by marine biology. Then learning about Mongolia or about African fish would be valued simply for the sake of knowledge.

Relative "importance" of knowledge depends on the person in question. But regardless, knowledge is "good," and ignorance is "bad," in my humble opinion. And whether the people living in Burkina Faso know much about my own nation or not, I still want to know all I can about them, how they live, what they think.

I doubt that people really think Thais are stupid. I would assert that anyone thinking that falls pretty far over on the stupid scale his or herself. Rather, in trying to understand Thai culture, it is curious that these things, which are deemed important in other cultures, are not deemed so important here. It has nothing to do with right or wrong, smart or stupid.

What about reading about the Lord Buddha?

If guests

living in Thailand try and read the "Four Noble Truths" and

the "Noble Eightfold Path" .Easy reading as it is translated into many languages.

Maybe it can you an idear of what is important to many Thai and Buddhists.

And it is not geography or who the Beattles where.

With this post, it is ironic that you posted earlier that you don't care about Bhutan. Bhutan is one of the most thoroughly Buddhist countries in the world, and it has numerous monasteries and convents and significant state support of Buddhist organizations. I will be travelling to Bhutan this spring with two Thai friends to discover the differences between Bhutan Buddhism and that of Tibet (and hence, the differences between that of Bhutan and Thailand.)

I do agree with the heart of your post. It seems to me that anyone living here should make the time to learn about Buddhism as that is such an important part of the culture here.

Maybe our threads came at the same time.

Love Bhutan,most Buddhist country in the world.

That you are with Thai is very good.

But will it make a Thai or Farang more smart to have this knowledge.

May loo????

[uhuh]

Why do Thais know so little about the geography of China and India, if these countries exerted a strong influence on Thai culture? What percentage of Thai people know a lot about the geography of other countries?

Where do you live? How many Thais do you know? How long have you been here?

... to judge that Thais know just a little of things, places outside our country...

Just 4 years ago, I was asked if my country has television... or we ride elephant to school...

I was asked in Guildford, UK....

how can i say... nothing... I only smiled...

MidoriApple,

I am not Thai bashing by any means. My best friends are Thai, and the fact that I live here should attest to the high regard I hold the country and its people.

But I have observed that Thais, as a whole, are not very conversant with not only world geaography, but Thai geopgraphy as well. Most of my friends are in the upper social echelons, well-educated and world travelers. My friends have what I would consider a basic grasp of world geography with regards to locations, but not with demographics, history, or politics. But even their knowledge of Thai geography is weak. None of my friends, for example, know the population of Bangkok, nor do they know how far it is to Chiang Mai, Udon Thani, or anywhere else beyond a 100 km ring around Bangkok. My other, Thai-educated friends are much weaker in geography.

I have discussed this with my friends, and we have tried to figure it out. One thing makes some sense. When you ask someone from Udon how far away is Bangkok, the answer is always "8 hours." Well, most Thais in Udon have to take the bus to Bangkok, so it really doesn't matter how many km it is, it is the amount of time it takes to get there which has relevancy. As far as populations and such, Thais just don't seem to attach the same importance to numbers as do Americans, Germans, Brits, and many other cultures. So the size of populations just isn't interesting or relevant other than simply "large" or "small."

But undoubtedly, there are many things that most Thais know or understand that people from other countries do not. I don't have a good example from Thailand right now, but one example often used is how the Inuit look down upon the Russians, Canadians, Danish, and Americans for not undertstanding the simple differences in snow. While much of Frank Boas' initial claims as to the huge number of Inuit words for snow has been since discreditd as an urban myth, there never-the-less are about 15 Inuit words for various types of snow. Hence, it is not hard to conjecture that the average Inuit has a much greater understanding of snow than a typical American or Russian.

Yes, I have had people in the US and Europe think Taiwan when I say Thailand. And I have had people ask me if they speak Chinese in Thailand. But overall, to do think the average European, North American, or Japanese has a better grasp of geography than does the average Thai. And people from some countries, such as the Philippines and Mexico, seem to have even a better grasp than the average American or European.

Inuit (as spoken in Western Greenland) has only one (or 2) words for snow, the rest are agglutinations (Inuit is an agglutinating language) which correspond to English noun phrases consisting of noun + adjective.

[JohnBanPrang]

Did you all forget Bhutan?

The most Buddhist country in the world.

Who knows?

Get the best of what you got, and so do most Thai.

Beat me to the post. So contrary to your orignal post, I guess you do care about Bhutan?

I care about Bhutan.

But where it is,will that make diference.

But don't tell me Thai people think about that.

They love their own coutry.So do I.

[AKC]

But one thing I think that Thais are better than Westerners is that they acknowlegde something they don't know, lack of information and try not to criticize or impose their ideas on others whereas the Westerners do it ( even though they don't understand anything at all )

[Moonrakers]

Come to think of it I don't remember much being taught about country locations in geography school, from what I recall geography lessons at school consisted mainly of things such as geology, rock formation, weather patterns, erosion, volcanoes and the tectonic plates ect. Although I think that I learned a bit about geographical locations in History.

Despite not knowing everything I can still hold my own in a pub quiz for example, and I think that most of what I do know is from reading, the news, the internet ect and no doubt I have gleaned a fair amount of knowledge from magazines whilst sat about in waiting rooms. I can't remember the last time that I saw a Thai reading a book, yet if you take a walk along a beach you will see plenty of farang sunbathing whilst deep into a good novel. I even remember once an ex Thai g/f critcising me for wasting my time reading a novel because it wasn't a text book.

The media could also play a large part in it, in the UK the BBC are well known for their educational programmes, this along with stations such as National Geographic and the history channel I have picked up all sorts of facts that I will likely never have use for.

[PeaceBlondie]

errata: no wonder I never could name all 33 states. And I meant Angel Falls, not Victoria Falls.Besides, I forget the name of the rain plateau at the top. But I have been to the highest mountain of Venezuela. Enough to be on a pub quiz team. The trivia is just trivial. But there is more to world awareness than trivia. Unless one never expects to leave the province, or meet a foreigner.

[Stephen Cleary]

The OP person who originally posted this question, Annalem, has also been posting more or less the very same question on a variety of Thailand related forums. And like here, she hasn't been bothered to reply. Here's an example

Do Thais Know a Lot about the Geography of.......

Edited September 15, 2008 by Stephen Cleary

[bingobongo]

becasue the thai education system is crap and thais only care about their immediate needs, heaven forbid they think about tomorrow

Edited September 15, 2008 by bingobongo

[Moonrakers]

The OP person who originally posted this question, Annalem, has also been posting more or less the very same question on a variety of Thailand related forums. And like here, she hasn't been bothered to reply. Here's an example

Do Thais Know a Lot about the Geography of.......

Good detective work.

Perhaps the OP would care to tell us why he/she is so concerned about this.

I fear that we have just given one almighty serving, on a platter to a troll.

[a2396]

The education system is somewhat lacking and Thailand is the centre of the universe so no need to know............anything

Exactly. Don't need to know nuthin', except what's at the shopping mall, as that's where a good percentage of the students are every afternoon.

[a2396]

the bigger the country, the grater the ignorance....

how many of you know slovenia?

It's in Czechoslovenia.

You're thinking of Slovakia, now a seperate country. Slovenia was part of the former Yugoslavia, the first to break away & declare independence.

[a2396]

Then read some of the previous threds.

To me it sounds like some people see Thais like stupid

AND how many people from Bhukina Faso know where you come from?

Knowledge is good.

But who is the judge to tell what knowledge is best?

Please help me.

I wouldn't begin to try and decide what knowledge is "best." For a fisherman off the coast of Africa, a thorough knowledge of piscan behaviour as well a local weather patterns would seem pretty important in helping that fisherman feed his family. Knowing what sort of government exists in Mongolia would not have as important an immediate impact to him. For a businessman in China, however, understanding the Mongolian government might make him or her more successful in supplying products to that country.

However, perhaps that fisherman has a curiousity about exotic lands, and perhaps that businessman is fascinated by marine biology. Then learning about Mongolia or about African fish would be valued simply for the sake of knowledge.

Relative "importance" of knowledge depends on the person in question. But regardless, knowledge is "good," and ignorance is "bad," in my humble opinion. And whether the people living in Burkina Faso know much about my own nation or not, I still want to know all I can about them, how they live, what they think.

I doubt that people really think Thais are stupid. I would assert that anyone thinking that falls pretty far over on the stupid scale his or herself. Rather, in trying to understand Thai culture, it is curious that these things, which are deemed important in other cultures, are not deemed so important here. It has nothing to do with right or wrong, smart or stupid.

What about reading about the Lord Buddha?

If guests

living in Thailand try and read the "Four Noble Truths" and

the "Noble Eightfold Path" .Easy reading as it is translated into many languages.

Maybe it can you an idear of what is important to many Thai and Buddhists.

And it is not geography or who the Beattles where.

With this post, it is ironic that you posted earlier that you don't care about Bhutan. Bhutan is one of the most thoroughly Buddhist countries in the world, and it has numerous monasteries and convents and significant state support of Buddhist organizations. I will be travelling to Bhutan this spring with two Thai friends to discover the differences between Bhutan Buddhism and that of Tibet (and hence, the differences between that of Bhutan and Thailand.)

I do agree with the heart of your post. It seems to me that anyone living here should make the time to learn about Buddhism as that is such an important part of the culture here.

That will be the day.

[tw25rw]

the bigger the country, the grater the ignorance....

how many of you know slovenia?

It's in Czechoslovenia.

You're thinking of Slovakia, now a seperate country. Slovenia was part of the former Yugoslavia, the first to break away & declare independence.

Blimey, I got a bite!

[Tinkelbell]

I used to teach in a private language school at the weekends here in Bangkok. Most of the kids were from fairly wealthy families and many went to private schools. Whenever we did anything related to world geography I would be able to spin the globe, stop it and then ask a kid to find Thailand. There were several occasions when the kid would have to give up after 2-3 minutes. I'm sorry but you can dress that up whoever you like about not needing to know about the outside world but being unable to find your own country on the world map is just pathetic.

I have to say the comment above compelled me to respond.

Since I was educated in one of top private girl school in BKK from 1st grade through hign school (totally 12 years as a boarding student). I had to say Geography was one of the difficult subjects. Before the final exam, the teacher would give us an assignment to study a few countries. Then at the time of the exam, we were required to DRAW the map of ONE of the countries, and made some few dots ( or a make) to locate the capital, the important city or the port town etc.

Although I was not ended up being a famouse world map maker, but being exposed to many countries in my younger age, I became attach to learn more about other places outside my country. My sense of adventure brought me to dozens of locations that I had earlier fancied about.

Well, as you can see....it 's a different experience in Thailand between you and some Thais like me, unfortunately.

[PeaceBlondie]

I used to teach in a private language school at the weekends here in Bangkok. Most of the kids were from fairly wealthy families and many went to private schools. Whenever we did anything related to world geography I would be able to spin the globe, stop it and then ask a kid to find Thailand. There were several occasions when the kid would have to give up after 2-3 minutes. I'm sorry but you can dress that up whoever you like about not needing to know about the outside world but being unable to find your own country on the world map is just pathetic.

I have to say the comment above compelled me to respond.

Since I was educated in one of top private girl school in BKK from 1st grade through hign school (totally 12 years as a boarding student). I had to say Geography was one of the difficult subjects. Before the final exam, the teacher would give us an assignment to study a few countries. Then at the time of the exam, we were required to DRAW the map of ONE of the countries, and made some few dots ( or a make) to locate the capital, the important city or the port town etc.

Although I was not ended up being a famouse world map maker, but being exposed to many countries in my younger age, I became attach to learn more about other places outside my country. My sense of adventure brought me to dozens of locations that I had earlier fancied about.

Well, as you can see....it 's a different experience in Thailand between you and some Thais like me, unfortunately.

Thanks for that post, Tinkerbell. It is unfortunate, indeed, that nowadays even some of the better families in Bangkok cannot provide an adequate education, compared to what you got. For most Thais, even now, the educational system is indeed crap.

But trivial points about foreign countries may not matter greatly to the general public who never travels outside Thailand and seldom needs to have in-depth discussions with important foreigners. Even my partner does not need to know how long it took my Grandmother to take the train from New York to Chicago in 1948, or where I lived in Latin America - where the schools were worse.

[bonobo]

But one thing I think that Thais are better than Westerners is that they acknowlegde something they don't know, lack of information and try not to criticize or impose their ideas on others whereas the Westerners do it ( even though they don't understand anything at all )

I agree with part of what you say. Thais do seem to readily acknowledge when they don't know an answer where some Westerners might try to BS their way through.

But Thais do criticize and impose their ideas. I just got an earful not 20 minutes ago from my assistant here at work on why I was wrong about politics and how I need to change. The Thais may not be as assertive as Chinese or some other nationalities. but that is not to say Thais are milktoasts who never assert themselves.

[bonobo]

Did you all forget Bhutan?

The most Buddhist country in the world.

Who knows?

Get the best of what you got, and so do most Thai.

Beat me to the post. So contrary to your orignal post, I guess you do care about Bhutan?

I care about Bhutan.

But where it is,will that make diference.

But don't tell me Thai people think about that.

They love their own coutry.So do I.

I hesitated in posting back as I really am not 100% sure on what you are trying to say. But I do have a couple points on this and a previous post of yours.

Why is it important that I travel to Bhutan with Thais? Am I unable to enjoy the country and understand their take on Buddhism without a Thai to guide me?

I am going with my Thai friends as the wife is very into the spiritual aspects of Buddhism. I would rather travel tihe friends, and yes, her expertise will be welcomed, but I may have broader understanding of the variances in Buddhism than her husband (who is also a Thai).

I don't understand your point about not caring where Bhutan is located. If you care about a country or are interested in a country, isn't the location a valid piece of information? People in a mountainous country will develop differently than people on the coast, than people in the desert, than people in the rainforest. People in an Asian country will be influenced different in their development than people in a South American country.

All aspects of the country should be of interest. Location, population, food, weather, politics, relations with neighboring states, ecology, history--all of thse are valid points of interest and curiousity. I don't see how you can dismiss any of them, such as location, as unimportant. And I think it is a broad statment to make that " ...Thai people (don't) think about that."

As far as your last line, if you are inferring that Thai people don't care about other counties because they love Thailand, well, that is pretty unbelievable. Why would loving one own's country preclude an interest an learning about any other country?

[PeaceBlondie]

But one thing I think that Thais are better than Westerners is that they acknowlegde something they don't know, lack of information and try not to criticize or impose their ideas on others whereas the Westerners do it ( even though they don't understand anything at all )

I agree with part of what you say. Thais do seem to readily acknowledge when they don't know an answer where some Westerners might try to BS their way through.

But Thais do criticize and impose their ideas. I just got an earful not 20 minutes ago from my assistant here at work on why I was wrong about politics and how I need to change. The Thais may not be as assertive as Chinese or some other nationalities. but that is not to say Thais are milktoasts who never assert themselves.

If we are not getting off topic, I have found that many Thais, including university grads and teachers, hate to admit they do not know. I have often asked questions pertinent to a conversation, and gotten evasive answers or no answer. They did not hesitate to ask me the current baht/euro exchange rate, or the population of Canada. But do they know the population of their changwat?

To backtrack slightly on my opinion, there are limits to mai bpen rai and mai kojai. Maybe the Thais need to understand that a 150cc sportsbike is a teensy-weensy machine, and that the baht is inconsequential on the world currency exchanges. And maybe only some crazed footie fans in Manchester care who owns a local team. I assumed for years that the hamburger turners in Houston were Chinese, when they were Thai.

[JohnBanPrang]

Did you all forget Bhutan?

The most Buddhist country in the world.

Who knows?

Get the best of what you got, and so do most Thai.

Beat me to the post. So contrary to your orignal post, I guess you do care about Bhutan?

I care about Bhutan.

But where it is,will that make diference.

But don't tell me Thai people think about that.

They love their own coutry.So do I.

I hesitated in posting back as I really am not 100% sure on what you are trying to say. But I do have a couple points on this and a previous post of yours.

Why is it important that I travel to Bhutan with Thais? Am I unable to enjoy the country and understand their take on Buddhism without a Thai to guide me?

I am going with my Thai friends as the wife is very into the spiritual aspects of Buddhism. I would rather travel tihe friends, and yes, her expertise will be welcomed, but I may have broader understanding of the variances in Buddhism than her husband (who is also a Thai).

I don't understand your point about not caring where Bhutan is located. If you care about a country or are interested in a country, isn't the location a valid piece of information? People in a mountainous country will develop differently than people on the coast, than people in the desert, than people in the rainforest. People in an Asian country will be influenced different in their development than people in a South American country.

All aspects of the country should be of interest. Location, population, food, weather, politics, relations with neighboring states, ecology, history--all of thse are valid points of interest and curiousity. I don't see how you can dismiss any of them, such as location, as unimportant. And I think it is a broad statment to make that " ...Thai people (don't) think about that."

As far as your last line, if you are inferring that Thai people don't care about other counties because they love Thailand, well, that is pretty unbelievable. Why would loving one own's country preclude an interest an learning about any other country?

What about Suriname.

Love it too.

Paramaribo is a great city.

Will it change your life if you know where it is? or don't know where it is?

[sleir]

Your answers are just mindless ramble JohnBanPrang, wish you'd take the time to actually read the good and balanced arguments of bonobo instead of just replying some nonsense !

[JohnBanPrang]

Thank you sleir.

Bonobo has some very good arguments.

But this thread was about why Thais know so little about geography.

I'm not trying to emply that most Thais are not curious or are not interested in other countries or cultures.

But I personaly think that most Thais don't put the same emphasis in it as most westerners.

And a lot of people around the world don't know where this or that country is.

But in my personal opinion a lot of people think that's what makes you smarter.

That was the point I was trying to make before. Refering to countries many don't know.

Part of beeing knowledgable is to be humble.

I hope that this is a better answer than just nonsense.

[Tinkelbell]

I used to teach in a private language school at the weekends here in Bangkok. Most of the kids were from fairly wealthy families and many went to private schools. Whenever we did anything related to world geography I would be able to spin the globe, stop it and then ask a kid to find Thailand. There were several occasions when the kid would have to give up after 2-3 minutes. I'm sorry but you can dress that up whoever you like about not needing to know about the outside world but being unable to find your own country on the world map is just pathetic.

I have to say the comment above compelled me to respond.

Since I was educated in one of top private girl school in BKK from 1st grade through hign school (totally 12 years as a boarding student). I had to say Geography was one of the difficult subjects. Before the final exam, the teacher would give us an assignment to study a few countries. Then at the time of the exam, we were required to DRAW the map of ONE of the countries, and made some few dots ( or a make) to locate the capital, the important city or the port town etc.

Although I was not ended up being a famouse world map maker, but being exposed to many countries in my younger age, I became attach to learn more about other places outside my country. My sense of adventure brought me to dozens of locations that I had earlier fancied about.

Well, as you can see....it 's a different experience in Thailand between you and some Thais like me, unfortunately.

Thanks for that post, Tinkerbell. It is unfortunate, indeed, that nowadays even some of the better families in Bangkok cannot provide an adequate education, compared to what you got. For most Thais, even now, the educational system is indeed crap.

But trivial points about foreign countries may not matter greatly to the general public who never travels outside Thailand and seldom needs to have in-depth discussions with important foreigners. Even my partner does not need to know how long it took my Grandmother to take the train from New York to Chicago in 1948, or where I lived in Latin America - where the schools were worse.

Comments from 'PeaceBlondie' always make sense to me. Not necessary agree all the topics all the times but on the part that it strikes me as this person really knows the stuffs he/she talking about Thais.

Unfortunately indeed, the Thai education system is going down the drain along with most things that had made Thailand became one of the top tourist destinations a few decades ago. It's been changing so much and so fast, loosing its own charm that once make Thailand stood out from other SE countries. That's why every trip back home is becoming less and less desire.

I have had first hand experiences dealing with Thais, so I agree that not all Thais are well equiped with knowledges around them, let alone knowing the world. Two of my former classmates from Thammasart are teaching at TU and Ramkamhang, hate to say that dealing ( like talking, discussing, commenting etc) with them are quite limited dues to not much interest or desire to know the other side of the subjects. They can become talkative or talking none stop on food subject ( new invented dishes and it is "IN" now ) and about hi-so friends lifestyle ( it's more like a gossip to me).

[PeaceBlondie]

Thanks, Tinkerbell. I just commented in the other topic, about how this generation of poor Thais got more than twice what their poor parents received. Education has come a long way from feudalism in 40 years here. Yet we are still in the Dark Ages, and a Thai Renaissance is not the light at the end of the tunnel. Working class peasants have no time to learn world geography. Even TU and RK staff have little concern for world events. Pass the som tam.

[Wrong Turn]

Whenever I read threads like this it strikes me that it says more about the posters than those they are pouring scorn on. Perhaps it's a reflection on the type of Thais your mixing with . .

Mrs B and other Thai's I know have a very good grasp of the world, but then again I didnt find them in Nana Plaza bars.

On the subject of geographic ignorance, I see it's being reported that the likely future Vice President of the USA only got her first passport six months ago, curiously for a claimed visit to Alaskan troops in Iraq which it appears was never actually undertaken.

Spot-on.

It depends on who we are associated with, and again, this lack of world knowledge and lack of knowledge about geography extends to many nations and areas of the world, including the west. I seen a lack of geographical awareness in Ireland, for example.

It was the people that I was meeting. 6.1+ billion people on this planet. Most will never stray far from their homes. Many folks focus on the local things in their life.

Fair enough.