Why Thailand over other Mekong countries?

[subterminalvelocity]

Thank you for all your replies, they are very helpful.

Would you say internet connections are faster and more stable in Thailand as compared to Cambodia or Vietnam?

From what I've read I think South Korea has the most advanced service in the region.

Yes, South Korea (2) after Estonia (1) in the world

[buythisdashcam]

Sounds like the perfect comment of someone who pretend that another place is better because he cannot live full time in Thailand...

I might be wrong, but your post is also more than wrong on every topic.

Better infrastructure, much better hospitals, transportation links to the rest of the world, more cosmopolitan, more things to do, not too "third world". Despite the change in government, it seems that other governments (Lao, Vietnam, Myanmar) are more xenophobic and place more limitations on where foreigners can go, what they can do and even seek to regulate things differently compared to locals where you don't have this in Thailand (different colored licence plates for vehicles in Laos compared to locals). Lack of transparency when things go wrong in those countries - more transparency in Thailand.

What a heap of steaming bullsheet. I have lived in Vietnam for 10 years and there is absolutely no limitations on where I go and what I do. I expect your remarks about "cosmopolitan" and "more things to do" = sit at beer bars and chat to the girlies and eat in food halls? "Better infrastructure" like traffic jams, rail link breakdowns, inadequate airports. Same applies to your stupid remarks about "transportation" (read road deaths). "links to the rest of the world" - what do you think these people outside Thailand do to communicate - send up smoke signals. Xenophobic you say? A crass comment at best! Thailand has it's own xenophobia in abundance and it is certainly no less than neighbouring countries. Vietnam is half the cost of living compared to Thailand and a much safer place to live and that's a good start. The people do not constantly carry around a chip on their shoulder like those (read males) in the land of smiles. I enjoy being around the Thai people but I find the Vietnamese more friendly and sociable and cultured. I spent 70% of my time in Vietnam and 30% in Thailand for business reasons and I am able to compare, unlike you I suspect. I can't begin to contemplate what a boring cosmopolitan life you must lead.

[anotheruser]

For me its just the women, and it is as simple as that. For me anyway, Thai women are the hottest on the planet.

And Im not just talking about the ones I might get naked with, just going out, a cute waitress here, a stunner at the mall there....just happens a lot more in Thailand, the ratio of hot ones seems to be far higher than back home in Australia thats for damn sure

Khmer and vietnames girls ok, but dont compare to Thais

Shallow, but whatever.

With Everything else, meh, its just for the most part, same shit, different country

Nothing wrong with being as shallow as the women you admire.

[NeverSure]

Who are these people who think that Thai women are the hottest on the planet?

[jomcondo]

Who are these people who think that Thai women are the hottest on the planet?

I was wondering that too, makes you wonder if they have been anywhere else.

[ozyjon]

Less persistent beggars, less pot holes, less fake food and water to kill you

better smelling people (outside of Nana) in Thailand

[55Jay]

I spend most of the year working in Vietnam. The people I think are friendlier than the Thais and I have made quite a few friends. I really enjoy going back to Thailand though, the food in my opinion is way better and the traffic less chaotic outside the city areas. The constant traffic noise in Vietnam does my head in so nice to arrive back in quiet Bangkok. Vietnam has yet to develop customer service skills, partly to do with the culture I think as Thais have a 'service mind' instilled into them. Some things better, some things worse, but I wold prefer to retire in Thailand.

Thailand is "amazing" wrt drivers not blowing their car horns. At first I thought, wow, these people are really calm, must be that Buddhist jai yen thing. Came to understand it's avoiding confrontation with the other guy, who might lose his wig and blow your head off with a 9mm pistol.

[elgenon]

I enjoyed visiting Burma. Wonderful, lovely people. Why call it by the name the generals changed it to? The Lady calls it Burma. They speak Burmese.

[DrTuner]

Used to be the only non-commie/non-dictator/non-muslim country around here. Not anymore, my interests are shifting towards Vietnam and Myanmar.

[mesterm]

I enjoyed visiting Burma. Wonderful, lovely people. Why call it by the name the generals changed it to? The Lady calls it Burma. They speak Burmese.

Because Myanmar is not only made up of Burmese.

[12DrinkMore]

Interesting comment from an English-speaking taxi driver in Hanoi. Amid the cacophony of horns, I said I didn't hear them often in Thailand. He said that's because in Vietnam, it simply means watch out, I'm coming. In Thailand, it means f##k you.

I have observed the drivers in Vietnam.

The horn means,

"Either get out of my way, or die".

It is the utter arrogance of a <deleted> behind a wheel. And they don't give a sh7t when they are careering towards a group of schoolkids on bicycles, or thundering through a small village at any time.

The opinion of a taxi driver is worth f3ck all. They are the noisiest and most arrogant to55ers of them all.

[Tomtomtom69]

Better infrastructure, much better hospitals, transportation links to the rest of the world, more cosmopolitan, more things to do, not too "third world". Despite the change in government, it seems that other governments (Lao, Vietnam, Myanmar) are more xenophobic and place more limitations on where foreigners can go, what they can do and even seek to regulate things differently compared to locals where you don't have this in Thailand (different colored licence plates for vehicles in Laos compared to locals). Lack of transparency when things go wrong in those countries - more transparency in Thailand.

What a heap of steaming bullsheet. I have lived in Vietnam for 10 years and there is absolutely no limitations on where I go and what I do. I expect your remarks about "cosmopolitan" and "more things to do" = sit at beer bars and chat to the girlies and eat in food halls? "Better infrastructure" like traffic jams, rail link breakdowns, inadequate airports. Same applies to your stupid remarks about "transportation" (read road deaths). "links to the rest of the world" - what do you think these people outside Thailand do to communicate - send up smoke signals. Xenophobic you say? A crass comment at best! Thailand has it's own xenophobia in abundance and it is certainly no less than neighbouring countries. Vietnam is half the cost of living compared to Thailand and a much safer place to live and that's a good start. The people do not constantly carry around a chip on their shoulder like those (read males) in the land of smiles. I enjoy being around the Thai people but I find the Vietnamese more friendly and sociable and cultured. I spent 70% of my time in Vietnam and 30% in Thailand for business reasons and I am able to compare, unlike you I suspect. I can't begin to contemplate what a boring cosmopolitan life you must lead.

Wow you must be angry. Take a chill pill dude.

Anyway, anyone who has ever read any of my posts comparing Thailand with neighboring countries knows very well that I have a vast knowledge of each and every neighboring country and that includes Vietnam, a country I've been to more than 20 times and I lived in for almost a year. I also continue to go there on business on occasion.

Since you're so adamant that Vietnam is nothing like what I've described let me start making some comparisons:

In Vietnam, foreigners can't bring in their own vehicles (unless registered in Laos or Cambodia but even then on occasion if a westerner is driving they can refuse entry as happened to me once in 2012 bringing in a Lao car). This despite me being in possession of a Vietnamese driver's licence and strangely, they didn't even allow my Vietnamese friend accompanying me to put his name on the paperwork and drive it in!

There is also nowhere to rent a self-drive car.

In Vietnam, it is generally illegal for a foreign man to share the same hotel room or live in the same apartment/house with an unmarried local Vietnamese woman. In Thailand - who cares, do what you want. The Thai government doesn't give a crap about your personal affairs or who you are sleeping with.

Vietnamese roads are absolutely horrendous - apart from a lousy 50km of expressway near Ho Chi Minh and a little up in Hanoi, they don't even know what a 4-lane road is. Even the main highway between Saigon and Hanoi is just 2 lanes! What a f****** joke. If it were Thailand, they would have had at least 4 lanes all the way, possibly 6-8 within the last 100-200km from both cities like 15-20 years ago.

Xenophobic. Well let me see here. Even though the three southernmost provinces in Thailand are very dangerous and most western governments (as well as Japan, China etc.) advise their citizens steer clear of it due to insurgent violence, foreigners aren't prevented from going there.

In Vietnam, while foreigners are allowed to go to most places, the government bans them from "sensitive" border areas all along the Cambodian/Lao and especially the northern borders with China. For many years we weren't allowed to visit parts of the central Highlands because the xenophobic, petrified communists were so absolutely terrified we might try to restart a war that (at the time) had finished 30 years earlier.

And they weren't doing it for our "safety" either, which is a common excuse that totalitarian governments like to give when something is only marginally dangerous.

Thai men have absolutely 0% chips on their shoulders regarding foreign/western males. That is just your fantasy. Half of all Thai men are gay anyway, a large percentage of the rest couldn't give a crap about the ugly dark skinned Thai females that most westerners chose to date - they aren't their type. For the small numbers of westerners who go out with hi-so or just white skinned ethnic Chinese Thai females, well most Thai men just accept that and don't care.

By comparison, try going out with a Vietnamese woman and their jealous men will start shouting racial epithet's towards you and other things like "whore" to your date in Vietnamese while you walk down the streets. It must be a big problem because this very sentence appears in Lonely Planet's guidebook to Vietnam.

Now, hope you have had a ba ba ba and calmed down already.

Thailand has it's problems, but Vietnam is hardly the utopia you claim it is.

Edited April 2, 2016 by Tomtomtom69

[Tomtomtom69]

Better infrastructure, much better hospitals, transportation links to the rest of the world, more cosmopolitan, more things to do, not too "third world". Despite the change in government, it seems that other governments (Lao, Vietnam, Myanmar) are more xenophobic and place more limitations on where foreigners can go, what they can do and even seek to regulate things differently compared to locals where you don't have this in Thailand (different colored licence plates for vehicles in Laos compared to locals). Lack of transparency when things go wrong in those countries - more transparency in Thailand.

(Lao, Vietnam, Myanmar) are more xenophobic and place more limitations on where foreigners can go, what they can do and even seek to regulate things differently compared to locals where you don't have this in Thailand (different colored licence plates for vehicles in Laos compared to locals). Lack of transparency when things go wrong in those countries - more transparency in Thailand.

i never read so much crap in my life

less xenophobic and transparency in thailand what a load of...

Thailand isn't perfect but yes, it's less xenophobic and more transparent compared to Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. Even Cambodia.

What examples do I have? Well, in Vietnam, the government is paranoid about tourists/westerners travelling in "sensitive" border regions, most of which are not sensitive at all, especially up near the region where China, Laos and Vietnam meet - all foreigners are banned from there although my Vietnamese friend tells me so too are non-local Vietnamese in the areas closest to the border.

Yes, there is more transparency when things go wrong in Thailand. Stories hit the news media, the government usually does something about it, in Vietnam, the government can just produce a media blackout and no one will know.

One little Hmong attack on a bus in Saisomboon province in Laos and the paranoid commies there don't want foreigners in that area (they never really wanted them to begin with, since for them the war that ended more than 40 years ago is still ongoing and all westerners are "vestiges" of that war and to be treated with suspicion). By comparison, although most governments warn their citizens to steer clear of southern Thailand's restive provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, neither the Thai government nor the local security forces prevent foreigners from travelling there, despite being far, far more dangerous and unpredictable than anything that has happened in Laos recently.

Ditto for Myanmar - absolutely paranoid that something might happen to foreigners so they are banned from most of Kachin State and much of Shan State. Up until August 28, 2013, foreigners could not enter or exit Myanmar overland except with a special permit that was rather difficult and expensive to obtain and/or if going through a Phuket based tour operator to visit the islands north of Kawthoung. Another exception was limited travel within a short radius of the border, but even their own visas weren't accepted! You had to buy a local pass and then return back through the same border while your passport was confiscated by the border guards!

[geisha]

Most of the places " banned" for foreigners in Laos/ Vietnam/Myanmar is because they don't want tourists to be blown to bits! tSo why doesn't the Thai government should ban visiting the south, or near the north/ Myanmar border where fighting is still going on ?

Every country has its " please avoid this area" places.

[laolover88]

Had a couple of Gin Slings while thinking about this, don't'cha know?!

I think it comes back to two things.

If the OP would tell us what is being looked for, then we might make some mores sense .

I have lived and worked for 20 years in SE Asia and would agree with many other posters' experience.

I like the sea; but in so many places tourism has pretty much wrecked the villages and beaches I enjoyed. When I first went to Patong it was like St. Tropez but with sandy roads and corrugated iron bars and the sea was clean.

I like Bali and Lombok. What was once, with Bali, I guess a great experience-only have to read and look at the lives of Covarubbias, Gorer,, McPhee, Spies and others. has probably become totally touristique unless you are interested in Balinese history and culture. So would not live there now. I liked Boracay and Palawan and Mindanao; but the infrastructure is fragile and Mindanao and Palawan became dangerous. Indonesia and Malaysia I ruled out on "Islamic" grounds! Singapore is just a big city and there are better like Vancouver. If you want adventure and "authenticity" and SE Asian culture then Laos and Myanmar are the obvious places to go.

The other thing, of course is that you cannot really speak about a country. The diversity even of Thailand is enormous from the hills of the north to the plantations of the south. Hanoi is not Ho Chi Minh.

In Thailand you can pretty much choose whether to insulate yourself and live like a westerner or go to the rice fields and 'go native" or even both!

I now live on the banks of the Mekong. It is not the sea but a fabulous stretch of water. It has an airport, high speed broadband, 30 minutes to Laos and 3 hours to the sea at Danang. What is depressing about Thailand, if that is what you want, is the philistinism. Vietnam and Singapore have vibrant cultures. Outside of Bangkok and Chiang Mai it is hard to find a book or an Art Gallery! In fact the obsession with food and money is beginning to drive me mad!!

[joeyg]

I'm living in Thailand, Naklua, Chonburi for about a year. Samut Prakan for about a year previous. Been traveling here since my tour of duty in Vietnam in 71/72 I was stationed briefly in U-Tapao, Sattahip, Udon and Korat. Was married to a Thai 1999 to 2007.

I retired from San Diego. I truly beautiful place if you like skiing in the morning and surfing in the afternoon plus the best year round weather in the USA. However I could have retired anywhere, I chose Thailand.

To say it's different than "the old days" is a gross understatement. I have friends that travel to all the other countries mentioned often. The only one that's got my interest is Burma. I want to go soon.

I do feel very at home in Thailand. Wether it's up in the boondocks in Yasothan or here at home in Naklua. Naklua, for me, is quite different than Pattaya "proper." It's cooler and cleaner. Being "out on the point" near the beach there's always a beautiful breeze.

From what I hear, I not moved to visit Cambo or Nam. Been through China several times hated it. The PI as military it was fun at 20 think I'll pass now. Have friends that live in Bali, no thanks.

Just got back from 2 months in India. It's my favorite country, to leave.

Anyway glad to "be here now."

[bkkgooner]

Thailand use to be sublime, but now, not as much anymore. If you are just into hanging out and mind numbing

comfort, then Thailand is for you.

Can you expand on mind numbing comfort? Is comfort not a good thing?

[bkkgooner]

What is depressing about Thailand, if that is what you want, is the philistinism. Vietnam and Singapore have vibrant cultures. Outside of Bangkok and Chiang Mai it is hard to find a book or an Art Gallery! In fact the obsession with food and money is beginning to drive me mad!!

Ah cmon are you trying to tell me rural Vietnam has a thriving cultural scene??

Singapore is about the size of a snickers bar and wealthy as you can get, not exactly a fair comparison to Issan.

[mcfish]

Strange but in the tourist area of zone 1 Saigon it was nearly impossible to get a cold beer. Everywhere was bordering on just a few degrees below room temp. Is electricity overly expensive or what?

Edited April 2, 2016 by mcfish

[yellowboat]

Thailand use to be sublime, but now, not as much anymore. If you are just into hanging out and mind numbing

comfort, then Thailand is for you.

Can you expand on mind numbing comfort? Is comfort not a good thing?

Thailand has become an intellectual desert and a playground for nihilists , driving out entrepreneurs and those who would like to make Thailand a better, more interesting place. If you have zero ambition and live a near vegetative, it is a fine place to live.

[mcfish]

Thailand use to be sublime, but now, not as much anymore. If you are just into hanging out and mind numbing

comfort, then Thailand is for you.

Can you expand on mind numbing comfort? Is comfort not a good thing?

Thailand has become an intellectual desert and a playground for nihilists , driving out entrepreneurs and those who would like to make Thailand a better, more interesting place. If you have zero ambition and live a near vegetative, it is a fine place to live.

Developing and third world countries are hardly intellectual havens. Regarding Nihilists well I prefer mind numbing comfort..same same but different

[macca46]

Ok just for a change what about Thailand v the Philippines any one have good or bad thoughts on this I have lived in Thailand for three years but I am considering a change good or bad I do not care

[macca46]

Ok just for a change what about Thailand v the Philippines any one have good or bad thoughts on this I have lived in Thailand for three years but I am considering a change good or bad I do not care

[joeyg]

Thailand use to be sublime, but now, not as much anymore. If you are just into hanging out and mind numbing

comfort, then Thailand is for you.

Can you expand on mind numbing comfort? Is comfort not a good thing?

Thailand has become an intellectual desert and a playground for nihilists , driving out entrepreneurs and those who would like to make Thailand a better, more interesting place. If you have zero ambition and live a near vegetative, it is a fine place to live.

I love it. Maybe because I'm vegetarian. I'm always vegging out... LOL

[joeyg]

Ok just for a change what about Thailand v the Philippines any one have good or bad thoughts on this I have lived in Thailand for three years but I am considering a change good or bad I do not care

I hear good food is hard to come by and it's kind of dangerous in the PI. thailand there's tons of good food and feels safer than LA to me...

[55Jay]

Ok just for a change what about Thailand v the Philippines any one have good or bad thoughts on this I have lived in Thailand for three years but I am considering a change good or bad I do not care

I spent a few years in and out of PI in the late 80's. Only 1 trip since then in 2004. Others have far more updated experience.

But... in general, after my first few trips to Thailand, I "felt" it had its shit together more than PI. It was generally cleaner and I didn't notice daily power and water outages like I had in PI. I like Filipino food but IMO, then and now, Thai is much better. This was before prevalence of internet/cell phones, so no comment on that. The "ladies", at least at that time, seemed more fun here in a way..... Maybe the language barrier saved me from hearing all their problems, which I found a lot of the PI girls would lay on you pretty fast. "My problem".

I felt a bit more at ease here security wise, lacking language skills contribute of course, but was always more "on guard" and aware in PI.

The one + was English lang in PI, and even though I'm not religious, a somewhat familiar backdrop of Catholicism - hypocrisy and all.

When I think about the PI now, it doesn't call to me. But I totally understand wanting a change of scenery. I'm married now so the Thai wife would loose her ever-loving mind if I took off on a PI adventure. LOL.

Good luck and have fun if you do head over that way.

Edited April 3, 2016 by 55Jay

[laolover88]

What is depressing about Thailand, if that is what you want, is the philistinism. Vietnam and Singapore have vibrant cultures. Outside of Bangkok and Chiang Mai it is hard to find a book or an Art Gallery! In fact the obsession with food and money is beginning to drive me mad!!

Ah cmon are you trying to tell me rural Vietnam has a thriving cultural scene??

Singapore is about the size of a snickers bar and wealthy as you can get, not exactly a fair comparison to Issan.

Depends on the company you keep!! Lao culture is of course excessively "vibrant" if that's what you like! Who said anything about "Rural Vietnam" let alone other rural locations. Without going too far afield probably more fun in Seoul. But who wants to live there?

[anotheruser]

Not too many books or art galleries in most of Laos either.

[mesterm]

In fact the obsession with food and money is beginning to drive me mad!!

Tell me about it.

[Tomtomtom69]

Most of the places " banned" for foreigners in Laos/ Vietnam/Myanmar is because they don't want tourists to be blown to bits! tSo why doesn't the Thai government should ban visiting the south, or near the north/ Myanmar border where fighting is still going on ?

Every country has its " please avoid this area" places.

There is barely any fighting in the Myanmar border areas near Thailand anymore and all the border areas of Thailand near Myanmar are completely safe and have been for many years. There have been some land mines laid (reportedly by both Myanmar government soldiers AND in particular, ethnic minority insurgents such as the Karen armies like the DKBA/KNU) over the years with some possibly having made their way to the Thai side but we're talking about national park areas and not anywhere near the main roads where foreigners or locals are likely to find themselves. By your ridiculous reasoning half of northern Thailand would then be off-limits despite the fact we're talking about conflicts that actually take place on Burmese soil and have never had any effect on the Thai side, apart from an influx of refugees.

You may be right about "please avoid this/these area(s)" but Myanmar for example is more paranoid than most. It is NOT more dangerous there than in other countries but the government there makes it more difficult for foreigners to visit the areas it feels are unsafe. For example, it is generally quite straightforward to visit the north-eastern States of India parts of which have had separatist violence for many years - getting a permit, where it's still needed is a fairly simple process. By comparison, Myanmar normally waits months or even years before it declares a previously unsafe area as safe for tourists and to obtain a permit for a restricted area takes weeks, at the very least and there is no easy way of securing one before arriving in the country, except through a small number of reliable travel agencies which normally also want you to use their services as well otherwise they won't obtain a permit for you.