Does your wife/gf get mad when you mention Thailand as a third world country?

[Thai at Heart]

Thais, once they have visited other more advanced places realise how screwed up Thailand is.

Problem is, unlike us, they feel ashamed at being completely powerless to do anything about it. So would rather not hear about it.

I would be exactly the same. Could you imagine going to north Korea and trying to explain why the country is screwed up? It's the same here to a lesser degree.

[OldChinaHam]

Thailand is not a 3rd world country.

That designation for developing countries went out of vogue many years ago.

The standard of living here in Thailand is high.

People, in general, are happy.

If they love their country, that is a good thing.

I am beginning to love their country, too.

[snake24]

Thais, once they have visited other more advanced places realise how screwed up Thailand is.

Problem is, unlike us, they feel ashamed at being completely powerless to do anything about it. So would rather not hear about it.

I would be exactly the same. Could you imagine going to north Korea and trying to explain why the country is screwed up? It's the same here to a lesser degree.

Well to be fair to the thais try and bring up neighbouring countries next to thailand like cambodia, lao, burma and see how much worse off they arre compared to thailand.

Unless you bring in singapore which is a small country so doesn't have much influence anyway.

Here's the problem. Thailand is actually better off compared to the likes of laos, cambodia, vietnam, burma.

How do you get a country to improve when it's better off than it's immediate neightbours.

I suggest a special machine to teleport thailand between say USA and Canada. Now then you can see the great contrast.

[klubex99]

Thailand's not a third world country.

These are third world countries, check it : http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/third_world.htm

Thailand is third world, yet they managed to shake off being registered as a third world country in an official capacity a few years back.

The vast majority of the population are living in abject poverty. They don't have enough to eat and Thailand is still receiving UN assistance and is still registered and receiving help from The World Food Program. Meaning Thailand is still unable (or unwilling) to feed its people.

They still receive donations from places like Japan and S Korea who donate infrastructure.

Tens of millions still have no running water, mains electricity or flushing toilets in their homes.

You need to get out of your condo more, and go up to Isaan and away from the main roads where a lot still live just like the Burmese.

[Thai at Heart]

Thais, once they have visited other more advanced places realise how screwed up Thailand is.

Problem is, unlike us, they feel ashamed at being completely powerless to do anything about it. So would rather not hear about it.

I would be exactly the same. Could you imagine going to north Korea and trying to explain why the country is screwed up? It's the same here to a lesser degree.

Well to be fair to the thais try and bring up neighbouring countries next to thailand like cambodia, lao, burma and see how much worse off they arre compared to thailand.

Unless you bring in singapore which is a small country so doesn't have much influence anyway.

Here's the problem. Thailand is actually better off compared to the likes of laos, cambodia, vietnam, burma.

How do you get a country to improve when it's better off than it's immediate neightbours.

I suggest a special machine to teleport thailand between say USA and Canada. Now then you can see the great contrast.

I lived in Greece for a while. They were over the moon for being wealthier than Turkey.

Look how far that got them. Thailand is basically a minnow. Wealthier than neighbouring communist or despotic states. Whoopeeeee.

[IsaanUSA]

thailand as a country in the region of south east asia isn't too bad. The best country would be singapore in terms of GDP and development. Thailand might be second or maybe malaysia i don't know. Thailand is better than cambodia, laos, vietnam and of course burma. Indonesia and the philippines are much worse than thailand. Go live in manila and you would wish you were in bangkok.

Have you been to Vietnam in the past several months? It is catching up to Thailand at a rapid pace! Last time I was there I was completely shocked how far they had advanced in the 3 years since I was there before. Saigon's subway is supposed to open by the end of this decade.

Thailand is also evolving, but at a much slower pace. There's nothing wrong with that, but I think most people on this forum wish it would happen much faster.

[Dancealot]

I wouldn't be amused if someone called my home a 3rd world country for 2 reasons.

1 I would feel insulted;

2 The statement is too confronting and too direct. I(your GF) feel pressed to confront this idea being forced upon her..

[klubex99]

thailand as a country in the region of south east asia isn't too bad. The best country would be singapore in terms of GDP and development. Thailand might be second or maybe malaysia i don't know. Thailand is better than cambodia, laos, vietnam and of course burma. Indonesia and the philippines are much worse than thailand. Go live in manila and you would wish you were in bangkok.

Have you been to Vietnam in the past several months? It is catching up to Thailand at a rapid pace! Last time I was there I was completely shocked how far they had advanced in the 3 years since I was there before. Saigon's subway is supposed to open by the end of this decade.

Thailand is also evolving, but at a much slower pace. There's nothing wrong with that, but I think most people on this forum wish it would happen much faster.

+1 HCMC is becoming very beautiful in a lot of areas.

It has a much better restaurant and bar scene than in BKK by a mile. Socially, they are much more westernized that Thais who are desperately clinging on to their identity and sense of 'Thainess'. Possibly because they think it is more appealing to tourists. But the Viets are going to fly past Thailand very soon. Infrastructure is very good there, and if Vietnam had better beaches than the ones it has, it would have already left Thailand behind in its wake.

A lot of the development in the urban areas of Thailand are only there because of a huge expat influence. The Viets are doing it for themselves and by themselves. Also the quality of food standards is much higher in Vietnam than in Thailand.

Before anyone say it (Why don't you go live in Vietnam then?). I am constantly asking the missus if we can So much more opportunities there for westerners and it is welcomed, and encouraged. Not like Thailand where they make everything difficult for a westerner to do anything without having to have Thais own almost everything and then have zero rights to the rest of it.

By the way, Cambodia had 3G almost 3 years before Thailand did, and Laos and Cambodia had 4G just as Thailand was getting 3G.

Edited August 30, 2013 by klubex99

[TheSpade]

+1 HCMC is becoming very beautiful in a lot of areas.

I never thought I'd hear Saigon be called beautiful.

There's never a city I've hated more than HCMC.

And I like big, busy, cities.

Bangkok and Sao Paulo for example are 2 of my favourites.

[snake24]

thailand as a country in the region of south east asia isn't too bad. The best country would be singapore in terms of GDP and development. Thailand might be second or maybe malaysia i don't know. Thailand is better than cambodia, laos, vietnam and of course burma. Indonesia and the philippines are much worse than thailand. Go live in manila and you would wish you were in bangkok.

Have you been to Vietnam in the past several months? It is catching up to Thailand at a rapid pace! Last time I was there I was completely shocked how far they had advanced in the 3 years since I was there before. Saigon's subway is supposed to open by the end of this decade.

Thailand is also evolving, but at a much slower pace. There's nothing wrong with that, but I think most people on this forum wish it would happen much faster.

No i have not i am basing it off the country's reputation. I mean the hype has all been on china for example and some ppl still think china is in the shitter.

No offence to vietnam at all but when you are lower down in the development index you improve faster. It's just a fact of life. We could apply this to lifting weights. A 90lb weakling is able to bench 90, then 120, 130 lbs so it's like what 130% of his bodyweight. An intermediate lifter at 200lb can bench his own weight but probably has problems when it's 230lbs which is a lower percentage compared to the novice lifter but would you consider the novice lifter stronger?

You see it's just simply a part of nature to improve faster when you are right at the bottom.

A novice stock broker is going earn 200% of his usual earnings. A novice lifter can lift 150% of his bodyweight and a poorer country can earn much more in gbp compared to a richer one.

What happesn when the novice lifter becomes an expert lifter? Good luck improving your lifts by 150% likewise good luck for vietnam to see the type of current growith it is seeing after reaching thai standards/

[snake24]

+1 HCMC is becoming very beautiful in a lot of areas.

I never thought I'd hear Saigon be called beautiful.

There's never a city I've hated more than HCMC.

And I like big, busy, cities.

Bangkok and Sao Paulo for example are 2 of my favourites.

Any influence from the vietnam war?

[JLCrab]

One of the joys of having a wife or TGF who does not speak English. Dveloping country? No problem -- when do we go shopping?

Edited August 30, 2013 by JLCrab

[snake24]

Another thing I want to bring up is about the oriental vs brown skinned ppl. Honestly it isn't surprising at all that Vietnam is so advanced now also can u stretch your dollar even further over there? I know the dong currency is very small but hopefully it isn't in proportion to the prices like a bowl of noodles costs 50k dong.

Well good luck seeing Manila actually improve.

[kevvy]

3rd world ??? There is only 1 world. Thailand !

All is in the eye of the beholder ! it shows us all have much traveling you have done .

Edited August 31, 2013 by kevvy

[GreenSnapper]

Thailand's not a third world country.

These are third world countries, check it : http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/third_world.htm

Countries who cannot build a simple foot path even in the capital, are third world.

Simple as that.

And I wouldn't have a wife/GF who gets mad when I mention something. Simple as that.

[soomak]

thailand as a country in the region of south east asia isn't too bad. The best country would be singapore in terms of GDP and development. Thailand might be second or maybe malaysia i don't know. Thailand is better than cambodia, laos, vietnam and of course burma. Indonesia and the philippines are much worse than thailand. Go live in manila and you would wish you were in bangkok. Although papua new guinea isn't a part of south east asia proper they are very near since half the island is under indonesian rule and man that place if like hell on earth. You get murdered for wandering into the wrong areas.

Therefore if you want to compare thailand in context with the region of south east asia it is actually considered right up there and malaysia and singapore used to be british colonies.

Another thing i need to add is that thailand has a larger percentage of east asian/oriental type of ppl although smaller than singapore and malaysia and no those oriental thais aren't thai chinese but rather their ancestors were minorties that originated from china and one interesting observation that you can make from this is that countries with more of these oriental type of ppl are more successful than countries with the brown skinned austroloids in indonesia, philippines, malaysia who are in turn better than the negroid types from papua new guinea. Doesn't sound PC at all but it's true just observe vietnam and the philippines that used to be a spanish and american colony and they can speak english and all that but still fares much worse than a country that fought a superpower.

In terms of GDP per capita and Human Development Index, Malaysia is ranked higher than Thailand.

Haven't actually been there as I can't get a visa, so I can't say from first hand experience.

As for the Philippines, you are right that they are much poorer and less developed. However the people in my experience are better educated, more productive and hard working, and many of them speak good English. I predict a bright future for the Philippines, although it would take 20-25 years for them to become a nice place to live.

Edited August 31, 2013 by soomak

[JAS21]

My wife just told me its heading that way with the mob thats running the country now ...a few years ago she voted for them ...has now seen the light she says

[i claudius]

Thailand is the hub of third world country's

[Thai at Heart]

The problem is that there is very little positive news to say about how the country is being run.

There are normally at least a few snippets of good. It's probably fair comment to say that the country is going to s**t. It can't be denied easily and I would get rather depressed if someone said that about my home country.

But, reality is, what is good about what's going on right now? Very little.

[StreetCowboy]

The problem is that there is very little positive news to say about how the country is being run.

There are normally at least a few snippets of good. It's probably fair comment to say that the country is going to s**t. It can't be denied easily and I would get rather depressed if someone said that about my home country.

But, reality is, what is good about what's going on right now? Very little.

There's a lot of investment going into Bangkok. People are rapidly becoming more prosperous. While that might not be good news for you or me, I am sure that the people concerned are pleased.

[Thai at Heart]

The problem is that there is very little positive news to say about how the country is being run.

There are normally at least a few snippets of good. It's probably fair comment to say that the country is going to s**t. It can't be denied easily and I would get rather depressed if someone said that about my home country.

But, reality is, what is good about what's going on right now? Very little.

There's a lot of investment going into Bangkok. People are rapidly becoming more prosperous. While that might not be good news for you or me, I am sure that the people concerned are pleased.

People building condos. Well. That is a double edged sword since many remember 1997 quite vividly. Are most Thais really becoming more prosperous?

Inflation is out stripping increases in earning for most.

Edited August 31, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[StreetCowboy]

The problem is that there is very little positive news to say about how the country is being run.

There are normally at least a few snippets of good. It's probably fair comment to say that the country is going to s**t. It can't be denied easily and I would get rather depressed if someone said that about my home country.

But, reality is, what is good about what's going on right now? Very little.

There's a lot of investment going into Bangkok. People are rapidly becoming more prosperous. While that might not be good news for you or me, I am sure that the people concerned are pleased.

People building condos. Well. That is a double edged sword since many remember 1997 quite vividly. Are most Thais really becoming more prosperous?

Inflation is out stripping increases in earning for most.

I'm basing my impression of prosperity on how busy the upmarket shops are, and the shift in retailers, not on any quantitative money numbers

SC

[wolf5370]

The problem is that there is very little positive news to say about how the country is being run.

There are normally at least a few snippets of good. It's probably fair comment to say that the country is going to s**t. It can't be denied easily and I would get rather depressed if someone said that about my home country.

But, reality is, what is good about what's going on right now? Very little.

There's a lot of investment going into Bangkok. People are rapidly becoming more prosperous. While that might not be good news for you or me, I am sure that the people concerned are pleased.

People building condos. Well. That is a double edged sword since many remember 1997 quite vividly. Are most Thais really becoming more prosperous?

Inflation is out stripping increases in earning for most.

I'm basing my impression of prosperity on how busy the upmarket shops are, and the shift in retailers, not on any quantitative money numbers

SC

Just wait until Jan 1st 2015.

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and replies have been removed as well as a post containing profanity.

[chrisinth]

What is a second world country?.....................

[StreetCowboy]

What is a second world country?.....................

Somewhere from the communist bloc, back in the 70s and 80s.

The terms first world, second world, third world are now anachronistic, but there are many of our members living in the past - reliving their youth through youtube, maintaining their prejudices established in the 60s and 70s, dreaming of a distant (and in some cases missed) misspent youth with loose women and motorcycles...

The current terminology is "Developing Nation" for those countries that are rapidly moving up the value chain. I'm not sure of the correct term for the countries whose economy remains rooted to subsistence agriculture and resource exploitation.

I don't really see the point of denigrating a country; there may be some benefit in suggesting oportunities for improvement (I'd like to demolish the Scottish parliament and put its members to work cleaning graffiti off the streets) or identifying reasons for living in one country rather than another (I'd like to move the clan to the Old Country for the freedom and safety that they would enjoy) but I would not say that one country was lower than another for those reasons; I'd not say Thailand was "Third World" or "Championship" compared to Premier League countries.

SC

[FritsSikkink]

This has happened to me many times, but today is just the latest case...

I was at Chiang Mai city hall with my girlfriend today and there is literally like 100 dogs just walking around so I say "this is how you know Thailand is a third world country"... and she got super pissed... Told me to go back to America, completely overreacted....

Maybe if you didn't act like mr America who knows best, you wouldn't have those issues.

[StreetCowboy]

This has happened to me many times, but today is just the latest case...

I was at Chiang Mai city hall with my girlfriend today and there is literally like 100 dogs just walking around so I say "this is how you know Thailand is a third world country"... and she got super pissed... Told me to go back to America, completely overreacted....

Maybe if you didn't act like mr America who knows best, you wouldn't have those issues.

It was probably coincidence that she told him to go back to America at that moment, and not related to the immediate conversation. Perhaps she;s trying to tell him something. Sometimes, people mean what they say - baffling though that may seem, to those of us from more direct and outspoken cultures

SC

[wolf5370]

I always say to my Mrs Thailand will never be first world if they can't keep their power on and stable in major cities at least. Usually when fuming after a power cut has powered down my computer for the third time that day!

[HeijoshinCool]

Nope. In fact, my GF can be even tougher on things here than me, often saying she is embarrassed by, well, you know .....

Yesterday we are at a neighbor's house. They were putting chain link fence all around their porch, which has a concrete floor.

I noticed the bottom rail was getting set right on the concrete and offered that if they kept it up a centimeter or two, it would be easier to sweep the porch.

Wife says, oh no, then snakes can get in!