Thailand is often reffered to as a developing country rather than a developep country. You might ask yourseld whats the difference and the answer to this is the access to financial credit markets, which means money for investment.

I kam currently in BKK in a lovely suite I might add. As I look over the cityscape of BKK you would think you had entered to set of Bladerunner or some other futuristic film. Sky trains, underground railways, sky scrappers oin their hundreds, neon lights were just missing the flying cars.

For a Expat Brit, let me tell you, Bangkok is extremely impressive. Love Bkk or hate it, no one can deny Bkk is developed and as a capital city by infence the country is actually developed.

By the way th underground might be small but its clean and cheap.

A country which does not even have a footpath which is not broken and where you can walk, cannot be considered developed.

Nope.....not going with that argument. You could put up a case for BKK being developed but BKK does not represent all Thailand.

Its not Singapore or Hong Kong or even KL.....but I prefer Bangkok.

No to developed....developing still....in many ways a great country but not in the Western sense thank goodness.

Yeah having spots of high development isn't the acid test.

You're right. I'm tired of hearing that Thailand is poor or undeveloped. I think income levels here are almost as high as in the west for most people despite what the numbers say. I see nice cars driving everywhere and nobody seems to be "broke".

Even a country like Cambodia has lots of monied people around. I'm not sure there is or ever was such a thing as "poor" country.

When MPs go to jail for killing someone with an uzi it will be a move towards being a mentally developed country.

Well looking at this objectively, recently CHILE was promoted to the classification of advanced country. Sorry, Thailand really isn't even close to this promotion in the eyes of the world.

Nope.....not going with that argument. You could put up a case for BKK being developed but BKK does not represent all Thailand.

Does Glasgow represent all Scotland?

Edited August 20, 201213 yr by hellodolly

Thailand now is 100 years apart from Singapore. Or more...

Both countries were at a similar development level 50 years ago.

Well looking at this objectively, recently CHILE was promoted to the classification of advanced country. Sorry, Thailand really isn't even close to this promotion in the eyes of the world.

You being the eyes.

Actually the whole thing is just a joke. Maybe in Europe they have some developed countries but not in the Americas. Have you ever been to some of the little towns in the mountains or the reservations in North America.

Who wants to be in a developed country where the streets are unsafe. In Thailand you can wander down all most all streets at any hour of the night with out having to fear some one is going to hurt you or rob you. Notice I said most not all.

Is part of being a developed country to have streets that are not safe to walk on at night?

No, it wasn't me.

FORERO: Increasingly, the world is noticing. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently invited Chile to join. Dubbed the Club of Rich Nations, the OECD includes the U.S., Japan and European powers.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121701830

Nope.....not going with that argument. You could put up a case for BKK being developed but BKK does not represent all Thailand.

Does Glasgow represent all Scotland?

Irrelevant since all of Scotland is developed. I do recommend a nosegay should you visit Glasgow however, there is a gypsy outside Queen St station selling them for a tanner.

The truth is, Thailand prefer to be the 'undeveloped' third world country in the 'eyes' of the world. They could not care what the rest of the world view them as. As long as the Richs & Elite Thais could continue to take advantage of this so called 'labelling' to advance their own personal business's interests. They prefer it to stay this way. So that the poor remains poor, while they get richer & richer while portraying a low key profile to the world..

Dun be fooled guys.. The Thais are not stupid. In fact they are way lot smarter than what we think we are compared to them..

Countless smart, savvy, intelligent, experienced businessman have been fooled & cheated by the Thais all the time..

Yes Autan!

I agree with you the facade is brilliant,and if you haven't lived here too long you could easily go away with the false impression that the image lives up to the reality,which is far from the truth,such as hospital treatment,and.....................

The OP has been fooled by the comfort of his 'lovely Bangkok suite', he also defines 'Developed Nation' as one having access to 'financial credit markets, which means money for investment'.

Even when the financial definitions of 'Developed' the OP's definition falls way short of the actual criteria and when we throw Human Development into the pot, Thailand slides rapidly down the slope back towards the tin-pot regime end of the scale.

Its at that end of the scale where luxury exists, for the very few who can afford it, while the vast majority of the population are living on the threshold of poverty.

Or to use another analogy, if Thailand where a developed nation, the goods and services the OP uses, that lovely suite, would climb the price ladder towards the price he might pay if he ever stayed in such a place back in the developed economy of his home country.

If the OP said 'Thailand is cheap for those with cash', I'd be inclined to agree.

The truth is, Thailand prefer to be the 'undeveloped' third world country in the 'eyes' of the world. They could not care what the rest of the world view them as. As long as the Richs & Elite Thais could continue to take advantage of this so called 'labelling' to advance their own personal business's interests. They prefer it to stay this way. So that the poor remains poor, while they get richer & richer while portraying a low key profile to the world..

Dun be fooled guys.. The Thais are not stupid. In fact they are way lot smarter than what we think we are compared to them..

Countless smart, savvy, intelligent, experienced businessman have been fooled & cheated by the Thais all the time..

Smarter where there is a buck to made for sure!

I agree central Bangkok is quite developed. Where we live (Phrom Phong / Asoke) the only obvious clues that this is still a developing country are the dodgy pavements, street vendors and high security (walls, CCTV, guards, etc) protecting every property.

However, central Bangkok is not representative of all Thailand. We spend a lot of time at the in-laws place in Isaan, which is very different to Bangkok. As I leave the airport I always feel like I have just stepped out of a time machine.

Many people in rural Thailand still live in wooden huts, the back sois are often dirt tracks, people (sometimes whole families) ride around on motorbikes without helmets, and the standard of public schools and hospitals is frankly shocking.

Sent from iPhone; please forgive any typos or violations of forum rules

Dun be fooled guys.. The Thais are not stupid. In fact they are way lot smarter than what we think we are compared to them..

Reading some of the care in the community-type posts across TVF I reckon you could replace "Thais" with "cardboard box" in the above sentence.

Countless smart, savvy, intelligent, experienced businessman have been fooled & cheated by the Thais all the time..

Being devoid of a moral compass is not a symbol of intelligence.

Irrelevant since all of Scotland is developed.

I fully agree. Any country that has the foresight and sheer ingenuity to take a humble black pudding and then batter and deep fry it has reached the pinnacle of development. There's simply nowhere left to go.

You're right. I'm tired of hearing that Thailand is poor or undeveloped. I think income levels here are almost as high as in the west for most people despite what the numbers say. I see nice cars driving everywhere and nobody seems to be "broke".

Even a country like Cambodia has lots of monied people around. I'm not sure there is or ever was such a thing as "poor" country.

250 Baht a day, yep they really do enjoy the high life

Yah I agree, I remember seeing two prgrams in the US a "developed country" in 1 you have locals attacking a car which had homosexual slogans on it - top gear, in the other you have locals trying to kill people for kissing in an mma cage - bruno - sacha bazron cohen, I believe both activities would be better received in Thailand than in the US.

You're right. I'm tired of hearing that Thailand is poor or undeveloped. I think income levels here are almost as high as in the west for most people despite what the numbers say. I see nice cars driving everywhere and nobody seems to be "broke".

Even a country like Cambodia has lots of monied people around. I'm not sure there is or ever was such a thing as "poor" country.

Not sure how you came to this conclusion that income in Thailand is comparable to Western nations. There are of course concentrations of high income earners, but the average Thai certainly does not qualify. The minimum wage across all provinces in Thailand is soon to be 300 baht a day, even this increase is being resisted by many employers. University graduates will be receiving 15,000 baht a month. Average monthly Income per household in 2011 was 23,544 baht; source http://web.nso.go.th/

Time to "develop" some new nomenclature based on some more meaningful attributes. If any country needs to be in a "developing country" category it is the US. And I hold all the others supposed developed countries in equally high regard. To call a country developed is an easy way to overlook all the ways that it is glaringly not developed. Every country should be a developing country or should simply be called stagnant or in even worse situations a failing state.

Developed or not, its a frikn great place for a holiday;)

I honestly think threads like this are meant to be trolls. Say something positive about Thailand, but go a little too far in the eyes of most, which then give the opportunity for the Thai bashers to swoop in

Regardless yes Thailand is getting pretty close to it. However they never will want to be actually recognized as such in the eyes of the world. They are happy being ignored, because they want to continue to exploit their perceived destitution as a way to continue to slap unfair trade restrictions on foreign countries. The taxes they put on imports and restrictions of foreign businesses would not be tolerated from a 'developed' country, so Thais are not in any way eager to change their classifications any time soon. They will milk it for as long as they can.

Edited August 21, 201213 yr by DP25

You're right. I'm tired of hearing that Thailand is poor or undeveloped. I think income levels here are almost as high as in the west for most people despite what the numbers say. I see nice cars driving everywhere and nobody seems to be "broke".

Even a country like Cambodia has lots of monied people around. I'm not sure there is or ever was such a thing as "poor" country.

Not sure how you came to this conclusion that income in Thailand is comparable to Western nations. There are of course concentrations of high income earners, but the average Thai certainly does not qualify. The minimum wage across all provinces in Thailand is soon to be 300 baht a day, even this increase is being resisted by many employers. University graduates will be receiving 15,000 baht a month. Average monthly Income per household in 2011 was 23,544 baht; source http://web.nso.go.th/

The wage in Thailand is low but still livable.

I know a few college grads in the US making under 20k per year. Try living on that in LA, NY or Chicago.

You're right. I'm tired of hearing that Thailand is poor or undeveloped. I think income levels here are almost as high as in the west for most people despite what the numbers say. I see nice cars driving everywhere and nobody seems to be "broke".

Even a country like Cambodia has lots of monied people around. I'm not sure there is or ever was such a thing as "poor" country.

Not sure how you came to this conclusion that income in Thailand is comparable to Western nations. There are of course concentrations of high income earners, but the average Thai certainly does not qualify. The minimum wage across all provinces in Thailand is soon to be 300 baht a day, even this increase is being resisted by many employers. University graduates will be receiving 15,000 baht a month. Average monthly Income per household in 2011 was 23,544 baht; source http://web.nso.go.th/

The wage in Thailand is low but still livable.

I know a few college grads in the US making under 20k per year. Try living on that in LA, NY or Chicago.

That's true. Being poor is very difficult in much of the US because of the costs. Medical costs alone are a disaster for the poor in the US, even basic medical problems costs a fortune. In many big cities someone on minimum wage couldn't afford housing unless you live in a ghetto where you can't even walk down the street without risking your safety. I'd rather be making 300 baht a day at a Bangkok 7-11 than working at McD's in a ghetto. And that's if you can even find a job, places like LA have literally tens of thousands of homeless people living on the streets. At least in here if you are poor you can live in a 1000 baht a month room rather than sleeping on the street in the ghetto with your stuff in a shopping cart.

You're right. I'm tired of hearing that Thailand is poor or undeveloped. I think income levels here are almost as high as in the west for most people despite what the numbers say. I see nice cars driving everywhere and nobody seems to be "broke".

Even a country like Cambodia has lots of monied people around. I'm not sure there is or ever was such a thing as "poor" country.

Not sure how you came to this conclusion that income in Thailand is comparable to Western nations. There are of course concentrations of high income earners, but the average Thai certainly does not qualify. The minimum wage across all provinces in Thailand is soon to be 300 baht a day, even this increase is being resisted by many employers. University graduates will be receiving 15,000 baht a month. Average monthly Income per household in 2011 was 23,544 baht; source http://web.nso.go.th/

The wage in Thailand is low but still livable.

I know a few college grads in the US making under 20k per year. Try living on that in LA, NY or Chicago.

Yes, wages are livable for Thai's, but I was responding to the comment "income levels here are almost as high as in the west for most people"