Why Is Thailand So Backward?

[ROFL]

I think the big bang in Thailand will come soon.

I thnk the big boom will come when the banks start repossesing peoples cell phones for not paying their credit card bills.

[DhammaBum]

<snip>

They own PRICELESS property, from which they collect ENORMOUS rent. Rights of way - now used for telephone cables, power cables, cable TV cables - and also collecting rent on properties such as all the land under Central World Plaza, and Chatuchak Market - to name just two out of 2,000 valuble properties.

<snip>

Steve

Indo-Siam

Thought that whole tract of land enclosed by Rama I, Ratchadamri, Petchaburi and Phayathai was owned by the Crown Property Bureau, with the income generated going to Princess Sirindhorn? At least that is what the Thai's believe

[Plus]

There's a very relevant article in today's BP

"When His Majesty the King talked about his New Theory farming model in his 1994 birthday address, the authorities responded quickly with fanfare. Demonstration plots miraculously sprang up nationwide, with the ponds in uniform size and shape. Next was a nationwide contest for farmers who followed the King's land use formula."

I saw this New Theory exhibitions and liked it, it's the basis of my earlier post about vegetables and gardens and fish ponds, and contentment.

Another quote from BP:

"The following year, the King explained in detail the meaning of sethakit por piang [self sufficiency].

No, it did not mean living in isolation, he said. Neither did it involve the rural sector only. The words por piang, he explained, meant having enough and knowing when to stop and be content, without constantly trying to exploit others to increase one's gains.

It meant moderation, contentment and non-exploitation, said the King. In other words, sethakit por piang was not an economic model, it was a state of mind, which applied to everyone, every country, rich or poor."

Why can't Thais live in this state of mind [anymore]. I see it as a failure of religion - it failed to stop greed.

One more thought about Malaysia - muslims there are free from two biggest Thai vices - drinking and gambling. Where is religion again?

[Jai Dee]

Nice to drop back in here and see the same charachters involved in Flaming wars ... (including one that flames by calling on the moderators!)

Final Public Warning: any more flaming or derogatory comments will result in this thread being closed and offenders warned and/or suspended.

Play nicely please.

[DhammaBum]

You wouldnt be American then as they have full control of the arrogance market. And Thai culture is a developed culture not a borrowed such as Americas and Australias (where I am from). There are flaws in all cultures but it is not realistic to say you can understand a culture without really understanding the intricies that are in those cultures. Your full post was very hostile and almose racist. Not needed at all.

Thai culture did not develop in isolation. Much of it is based on Hindu culture via various routes, and modified over time to become Thai, much like the cultures in the Americas and Australia.

[bannork]

There's a very relevant article in today's BP

"When His Majesty the King talked about his New Theory farming model in his 1994 birthday address, the authorities responded quickly with fanfare. Demonstration plots miraculously sprang up nationwide, with the ponds in uniform size and shape. Next was a nationwide contest for farmers who followed the King's land use formula."

I saw this New Theory exhibitions and liked it, it's the basis of my earlier post about vegetables and gardens and fish ponds, and contentment.

Another quote from BP:

"The following year, the King explained in detail the meaning of sethakit por piang [self sufficiency].

No, it did not mean living in isolation, he said. Neither did it involve the rural sector only. The words por piang, he explained, meant having enough and knowing when to stop and be content, without constantly trying to exploit others to increase one's gains.

It meant moderation, contentment and non-exploitation, said the King. In other words, sethakit por piang was not an economic model, it was a state of mind, which applied to everyone, every country, rich or poor."

Why can't Thais live in this state of mind [anymore]. I see it as a failure of religion - it failed to stop greed.

One more thought about Malaysia - muslims there are free from two biggest Thai vices - drinking and gambling. Where is religion again?

But many muslims come over to Had Yai to live it up at the weekends. for years TAT were not allowed to advertise on Malayian TV, the authorities feared further exoduses at the weekends.

Religion divides Malaysia, very few Malay Chinese marry muslims what with having to convert.

On another note, Mahatir was bitterly attacking Abdullah today, apparently the succession had been agreed if Abdullah left Mahatir's pet grandoise projects alone, but he didn't.

Mahatir also acknowledged recently that the policy favouring Malays had failed to raise their profile and role economically.

I don't think religion itself has failed in Thailand, rather the practice of it has been corrupted so much over the years, people scrambling to donate the most to temples, monks competing to build the biggest Buddha images, etc.

As the famous monk from Suan Mok, whose centenary was recently celebrated, though he's dead now, said: don't cling to possessions or self because it's all temporary and transient.

But how many of us can live like that?

It reminds me of Christ's urging to turn the other cheek, not always easy!

[DhammaBum]

Interesting thread,seems to go from one extreme to the other,some interesting & well informed replies & the other less informed & playground stuff.

I think the big bang in Thailand will come soon,this will come when the present king dies,which IMHO will be a very sad day.When this event happens I can see some huge changes for the country,lets hope its for the better.

The future for Thailand for me is unclear,China will take a lot of the current industry from Thailand (and lots of other countries) so Thailand needs to diversify & specialise,this can not be done with out education & I mean for the masses.The next Bill Gates might be in Isaan but this is not going to happen if the Thai elite continue to squander the money away,through graft,corruption etc which is then filtered of to Swiss bank accounts & into Mercedes,rolex watches.This money has to go back into schools & hospitals,this is not going to happen if the Thai masses dont change.

There are many manufacturers that are hedging their bets and either continuing operations here in Thailand while building facilities in China, or some who are already in China, building and/or transferring operations to Thailand. The day to day cost of doing business in China is going up - in worker retention, lack of a proper infrastructure (in some cities, there are brown and/or black outs, even for factories), logistics, etc. It would seem that until China can meet the most basic of instrastructure needs, Thailand doesn't have much to fear. That said, there are many other issues affecting Thailand. many already posted here.

[anuaaron]

Nobody ever says that the USA is becoming Japanized because they buy more Japanese cars than they do American cars.

I think the world is flatter than that and "blaming" the west every time a country takes a technological or commercial leap forward is "passe".

If you give a computer to a kid in Africa that was made in Korea is that kid being corrupted by the WEST?

I dont think one can call it "the industrial and consumer goaled path of western countries" anymore.

Its a human condition, not a regional one.

cheers

I see where you are coming from, but the blatant use of foreign debt and conditional aid to force other countries to follow the path of the western cultural norm, by the western countries or organisation backed by those same countries, does mean that the industrial and consumer goaled path is from western countries. Other nations have had no other path to choose. Tag along with our economic blackmail or get frozen out of the system.

And the computer is being made in Korea by a trans national corportaion, acting under free trade barriers pushed by the west, to the detriment of both Korea and Africa, who are still trying to pay back foreign aid....yes they are being corrupted by the west.

Edited June 8, 2006 by anuaaron

[anuaaron]

Thai culture did not develop in isolation. Much of it is based on Hindu culture via various routes, and modified over time to become Thai, much like the cultures in the Americas and Australia.

No it did not develop in isolation but it developed over a extensive period and has had many shifts and twists including dominance over a large region where it was cultural considered as advanced as India. I am comparing that to the relative short period of foreign culture arriving on anothers shores and then inventing itself. My argument comes down to time and independence I guess.

[jdinasia]

There's a very relevant article in today's BP

"When His Majesty the King talked about his New Theory farming model in his 1994 birthday address, the authorities responded quickly with fanfare. Demonstration plots miraculously sprang up nationwide, with the ponds in uniform size and shape. Next was a nationwide contest for farmers who followed the King's land use formula."

I saw this New Theory exhibitions and liked it, it's the basis of my earlier post about vegetables and gardens and fish ponds, and contentment.

Another quote from BP:

"The following year, the King explained in detail the meaning of sethakit por piang [self sufficiency].

No, it did not mean living in isolation, he said. Neither did it involve the rural sector only. The words por piang, he explained, meant having enough and knowing when to stop and be content, without constantly trying to exploit others to increase one's gains.

It meant moderation, contentment and non-exploitation, said the King. In other words, sethakit por piang was not an economic model, it was a state of mind, which applied to everyone, every country, rich or poor."

Why can't Thais live in this state of mind [anymore]. I see it as a failure of religion - it failed to stop greed.

One more thought about Malaysia - muslims there are free from two biggest Thai vices - drinking and gambling. Where is religion again?

The whole CEO model and bad loans etc from TRT seem to be 100% against what HM said in those speeches...

<<note to JaiDee ... thanks for calming the kids down >>

[Postie]

Hurrah!

We're back on track.

DHAMMABUM...Ancient philosophy of harmonious living.

ANUAARON...

All pushing the same thread.

The peoples' corporate philosophy underpins a TRANSIENT STABILITY.

Child cries. The father (""West"") Shouts at child. When drunk..hits child, walks away.

The Mother)""Thailand"") comforts child.

Why. Because she has carried it for so long, experienced their birth struggles. Understands they are part of the same existance.

A Thai general brokerred a peace deal in the madness of East Timor some years back.

Why?

Because Thailand has never adopted the ""Western"" trait of killing one's neighbour.

May we forever be on the OUTSIDE of this culture...

Cos sure as hel_l. Few Farang understand the subtleties of it's fabric.

If any place welcomed a "SHIP OF FOOLS". This forum included...It's Somtomland!

Thailand. I salute your cool heart .

Sit beneath your Bodhi tree and smile your quiet smile.

Observe the monkies that dare to pull your hair.

One day, they may calm themselves and share your shade.

[Ulysses G.]

Hurrah!

We're back on track.

DHAMMABUM...Ancient philosophy of harmonious living.

ANUAARON...

All pushing the same thread.

The peoples' corporate philosophy underpins a TRANSIENT STABILITY.

Child cries. The father (""West"") Shouts at child. When drunk..hits child, walks away.

The Mother)""Thailand"") comforts child.

Why. Because she has carried it for so long, experienced their birth struggles. Understands they are part of the same existance.

A Thai general brokerred a peace deal in the madness of East Timor some years back.

Why?

Because Thailand has never adopted the ""Western"" trait of killing one's neighbour.

May we forever be on the OUTSIDE of this culture...

Cos sure as hel_l. Few Farang understand the subtleties of it's fabric.

If any place welcomed a "SHIP OF FOOLS". This forum included...It's Somtomland!

Thailand. I salute your cool heart .

Sit beneath your Bodhi tree and smile your quiet smile.

Observe the monkies that dare to pull your hair.

One day, they may calm themselves and share your shade.

Stream of consciousness posts.

Is the ghost of Jack Kerouac communicating with us through the spirit of "Postie"?

[LaoPo]

Hurrah!

We're back on track.

DHAMMABUM...Ancient philosophy of harmonious living.

ANUAARON...

All pushing the same thread.

The peoples' corporate philosophy underpins a TRANSIENT STABILITY.

Child cries. The father (""West"") Shouts at child. When drunk..hits child, walks away.

The Mother)""Thailand"") comforts child.

Why. Because she has carried it for so long, experienced their birth struggles. Understands they are part of the same existance.

A Thai general brokerred a peace deal in the madness of East Timor some years back.

Why?

Because Thailand has never adopted the ""Western"" trait of killing one's neighbour.

May we forever be on the OUTSIDE of this culture...

Cos sure as hel_l. Few Farang understand the subtleties of it's fabric.

If any place welcomed a "SHIP OF FOOLS". This forum included...It's Somtomland!

Thailand. I salute your cool heart .

Sit beneath your Bodhi tree and smile your quiet smile.

Observe the monkies that dare to pull your hair.

One day, they may calm themselves and share your shade.

Did you smoke a White Widow?

LaoPo

[Postie]

Observe.

[Postie]

Understand.

[cdnvic]

Stop posting gibberish

cv

[Plus]

But many muslims come over to Had Yai to live it up at the weekends.

Do you think they come for booze of slot machines? Do they drink themselves into stupor and call sick on Monday? Do they get themselves in debt and struggle to repay it for years. Some Thais are still paying for their LAST world cup bets. Besides not that many come - out of 12 millions. Generally in this thread I don't want to talk about Malaysia's problems, I want to focus on the solutions.

I don't think religion itself has failed in Thailand, rather the practice of it has been corrupted so much over the years.

Whichever way you put it, but too many people visit temples only to ask for a lucky lottery number. Time well spent.

[ROFL]

Sit beneath your Bodhi tree and smile your quiet smile.

Observe the monkies that dare to pull your hair.

One day, they may calm themselves and share your shade.

Where were you when a mob of Thais chased down and murdered an insane man for breaking a statue.

Where were you when 100's were killed in the protests, the many coup's, etc.

You're living in a fantasy world.

Since Ive been here Ive seen one Farang fight and half a dozen or more Thais going at it like a pack of mad dogs.

Know your bliss, but dont be blind.

[elkangorito]

Hurrah!

We're back on track.

DHAMMABUM...Ancient philosophy of harmonious living.

ANUAARON...

All pushing the same thread.

The peoples' corporate philosophy underpins a TRANSIENT STABILITY.

Child cries. The father (""West"") Shouts at child. When drunk..hits child, walks away.

The Mother)""Thailand"") comforts child.

Why. Because she has carried it for so long, experienced their birth struggles. Understands they are part of the same existance.

A Thai general brokerred a peace deal in the madness of East Timor some years back.

Why?

Because Thailand has never adopted the ""Western"" trait of killing one's neighbour.

May we forever be on the OUTSIDE of this culture...

Cos sure as hel_l. Few Farang understand the subtleties of it's fabric.

If any place welcomed a "SHIP OF FOOLS". This forum included...It's Somtomland!

Thailand. I salute your cool heart .

Sit beneath your Bodhi tree and smile your quiet smile.

Observe the monkies that dare to pull your hair.

One day, they may calm themselves and share your shade.

Ahhhhhh! Some sense at last.

The only 'backward' thing about Thailand is the fact that it is being led into the 'Western World' by the misguided belief that 'money is wealth'.

An old American Indian saying... "When white man has polluted the last river, eaten the last fish & chopped down the last tree, he may then realise that he can't eat money'.

Don't worry Thailand, the greedy money pigs will soon learn the truth about 'ego'.

[thankuverybig]

yes,i have some karen/burmese freinds earning 90 baht a day who have hardly been out of karen state in burma,which obviously has its troubles, & theyre the nicest people you could meet.

if you stuck them in bangkok for ten years i'd worry that it would corrupt them.

theyre happier than most & understand the world & people better than most.

sure you could take all the latest technology into there village & i wouldnt argue that it may do them good.

whether theyd be better off spiritually though,i doubt it.

maybe the thread should be changed to,why is thailand getting so fckd up.

[ROFL]

Don't worry Thailand, the greedy money pigs will soon learn the truth about 'ego'.

You might want to pop off an email to the DALI LAMA and tell him to stop staying in the Ritz Hotels when he travels.

[ovenman]

Hurrah!

We're back on track.

...and so on...

Had you started your post with a namaste and ended with an om shanti, I might have concluded that the infamous Dr. Jai Maharaj had landed upon the shores of ThaiVisa.com. And that is not a good thing...

[elkangorito]

Don't worry Thailand, the greedy money pigs will soon learn the truth about 'ego'.

You might want to pop off an email to the DALI LAMA and tell him to stop staying in the Ritz Hotels when he travels.

You might just want to 'pop off'...& I hope you're eating a $100 note sandwich while you're at it.

[Simbo]

yes,i have some karen/burmese freinds earning 90 baht a day who have hardly been out of karen state in burma,which obviously has its troubles, & theyre the nicest people you could meet.

if you stuck them in bangkok for ten years i'd worry that it would corrupt them.

theyre happier than most & understand the world & people better than most.

sure you could take all the latest technology into there village & i wouldnt argue that it may do them good.

whether theyd be better off spiritually though,i doubt it.

maybe the thread should be changed to,why is thailand getting so fckd up.

Ignorance is bliss ?

[ROFL]

Don't worry Thailand, the greedy money pigs will soon learn the truth about 'ego'.

You might want to pop off an email to the DALI LAMA and tell him to stop staying in the Ritz Hotels when he travels.

You might just want to 'pop off'...& I hope you're eating a $100 note sandwich while you're at it.

Lol, you cant handle the reality can you lad.

Hahaha, the Dali Lama stays in the Ritz while you sleep in the shitz.

[ColPyat]

Lol, you cant handle the reality can you lad.

Hahaha, the Dali Lama stays in the Ritz while you sleep in the shitz.

It's the *Dalai* Lama, by the way.

*Dali* wasn't a Lama, he was a painter.

[ROFL]

Lol, you cant handle the reality can you lad.

Hahaha, the Dali Lama stays in the Ritz while you sleep in the shitz.

It's the *Dalai* Lama, by the way.

*Dali* wasn't a Lama, he was a painter.

Yawn. Doesnt change a ###### thing, the holy one still stays in the Ritz whilst the beatnick followers sleep in VW Campers.

[thaibebop]

Lol, you cant handle the reality can you lad.

Hahaha, the Dali Lama stays in the Ritz while you sleep in the shitz.

It's the *Dalai* Lama, by the way.

*Dali* wasn't a Lama, he was a painter.

Yawn. Doesnt change a ###### thing,Sure it does. It shows how little you know and why people should dismiss your posts.

[Martin]

Getting back to the topic, Thailand could have been a lot more 'forward' if the rural areas had been more assertive.

But Sukhothai, then Ayuthaya, then Thonburi, and finally Bangkok was the 'magnet' that drew the ability, the influence and the power.

So, when cheap shipping came along and Thailand could start profitable industrial enterprises, there was nothing to counteract the economic attraction of siting it all down where it is.

If we compare the way that industry developed in the USA and the UK and in Continental Europe, we see that strong provincial centres of population formed in the purely-agricultural days and then they added their particular enterprises of 'heavy' industry and all the supportive services.

There was strong provincial rivalry ("What Manchester thinks today, London thinks tomorrow", and so forth).

So, over the generations, provincial voters kept a close eye on what their representatives in the system of representative-democracy, were doing in Parliament.

And those provincial voters were as 'clued' as the capital-city ones, because there were enough attractive jobs in the provincial cities to keep a good proportion of the most able youngsters 'at home'.

It is difficult to see how Thailand can now develop such provincial-capital balanced unity. Yet another Constitution ain't gonna do it.

[sriracha john]

Lol, you cant handle the reality can you lad.

Hahaha, the Dali Lama stays in the Ritz while you sleep in the shitz.

It's the *Dalai* Lama, by the way.

*Dali* wasn't a Lama, he was a painter.

Yawn. Doesnt change a ###### thing,

Sure it does. It shows how little you know and why people should dismiss your posts.

If knowledge is reflected by spelling abilities and whether to dismiss a post or not hinges on that same criteria... thaivisa wouldn't be worth reading much.