Do you wish the best for Thailand?

[abidismaili]

Thailand is a very nice country. With in general very nice people. Many who not have much money. That relative poverty is of course one of the reasons why we can have sex with hot looking Thai boys from go go bars etc, who back at home would be unreachable for most of us due to our age. We can have them in Thailand because it is an easy source of income for them. They wouldn't do it if they could earn a descent salary with a 'normal' job.

 

And of course you wish them all the best and you wish Thailand a prospering economy.

 

But sometimes I have thoughts I am not proud off. Like for example when I read  that the Thai economy is not doing well.  I can't help that the bad side in me pops up now and then (and I am not proud of it; I hate myself for thinking it). Thoughts like:  "good news for me their economy is in decline, it means that there will also be in the near future hot guys being available for relatively cheap prizes. Let's hope Thailand doesn't become a well developed rich country during my lifetime."

 

More of you have sometimes thoughts like this? Or am I the only one with 'evil' thoughts you rather wish you had not? It is a dilemma. Because if it becomes as rich as a Western country, it will be over with the fun for most of us.

[vinapu]

there's plenty of poor people in rich countries and so it will be if Thailand will become rich  -  don't think too much, it causes headache only

[Gaybutton]

I disagree with the idea that Thailand is particularly bad off economically.  It may not be the world's richest country, populated by the world's richest people, but relatively speaking I think Thailand is doing just fine.  I see plenty of nice homes, cars, shopping, entertainment, etc. 

 

What I don't see is people reduced to sleeping under bridges in makeshift cardboard shelters, getting their only meals at homeless shelters or scavenging dumpsters and carrying "will work for food" signs.  But I sure see plenty of that where I come from in the USA.

[vinapu]

 

What I don't see is people reduced to sleeping under bridges in makeshift cardboard shelters, getting their only meals at homeless shelters or scavenging dumpsters and carrying "will work for food" signs.  But I sure see plenty of that where I come from in the USA.

shockingly perhaps for some looking at America through Hollywood pictures you are soooo right. Lots of people are left behind in the USA and they are very visible

[abidismaili]

shockingly perhaps for some looking at America through Hollywood pictures you are soooo right. Lots of people are left behind in the USA and they are very visible

 

The USA is in some areas a third world country. Lots of poverty, but also badly maintained public infrastructure. When I am there it is very frequent to see highways with holes in them. Like the state government has no money to properly maintain them. In Western Europe you do not see this. When it comes to the public sphere (parks, roads, residential areas) Western Europa is far more richer and better maintained than the USA. 

[abidismaili]

there's plenty of poor people in rich countries and so it will be if Thailand will become rich  -  don't think too much, it causes headache only

 

But in my country (Netherlands) there are of course also poor people. But try to find a hot 20 year old twink who is willing to have short time with you for 20 EUR is as good as impossible.  Also no go go bars etc.

So if Thailand becomes as rich as the West, it is over with the fun.

[kokopelli]

Yes, I wish the best for Thailand but with the type of government and corruption I don't see anything changing for the better.

[vinapu]

But in my country (Netherlands) there are of course also poor people. But try to find a hot 20 year old twink who is willing to have short time with you for 20 EUR is as good as impossible.  Also no go go bars etc.

So if Thailand becomes as rich as the West, it is over with the fun.

by the time it happens I will be eaten by the worms so not overly concerned and I wish Thailand the best for  a future.

 

I don't know Dutch prices but famous red light district in Amsterdam exists for nothing so ma be prices are higher but trade is  doing well I guess.

 

 ( I don't even  mention twinks and short time - not my area of expertise thank God )

[Gaybutton]

So if Thailand becomes as rich as the West, it is over with the fun.

 

Somehow, I don't foresee that happening any time soon.  Even if it does, I don't assume the fun will be over at all.  Suppose every one of the Thai boys become completely disinterested in us aging farang.  There are plenty of Cambodian and Lao boys, and soon probably plenty of Burmese boys too, to take over for them - unless, of course, those countries become rich too.

 

I don't think the go go bars would have any trouble finding Thai boys even under those circumstances.  Think about it - they work only 5 or 6 hours, spend their time with their friends, diddle around with farang customers once in a while, get free drinks when they have a customer, and make money doing it. 

 

"Hookers have the perfect job.  You got it, you sell it, and you still got it."

-  Rodney Dangerfield

[worldatlarge]

I wish the best to Thailand but those 2 stories (not related to sex workers) are troubling;

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/8f64fb25931242a985bc30e3f5a9a0b2/ap-global-supermarkets-selling-shrimp-peeled-slaves

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jul/20/thai-fishing-industry-implicated-enslavement-deaths-rohingya

[vinapu]

 

 

"Hookers have the perfect job.  You got it, you sell it, and you still got it."

-  Rodney Dangerfield

my father used to say on the subject : 'work like any other but at least there's no dust"

[ChristianPFC]

What I don't see is people reduced to sleeping under bridges in makeshift cardboard shelters, getting their only meals at homeless shelters or scavenging dumpsters and carrying "will work for food" signs.  But I sure see plenty of that where I come from in the USA.

 

Gaybutton, you should go out more! When I walk around, I often see homeless people with nothing more than they have on their body. Or after sunset, people scavenging piles of waste for recyclables (adults, not in tourist areas, whereas in Siem Reap even children right in Pub Street).

 

However when it comes to slums in Bangkok, it's not as bad as it looks at first. They all have running water and electricity.

[firecat69]

shockingly perhaps for some looking at America through Hollywood pictures you are soooo right. Lots of people are left behind in the USA and they are very visible

I don't disagree and since I lived 6 years in Montreal, it is no different there. Some countries are better at hiding it. Brazil, if you never visited a Favela you might think they have no poor people but even there they have television and electricity.

 

I do agree Europe is far better at taking care of the Bottom because they get fair taxes from the rich. As long as Republicans run things in the USA the wealthy will never pay their fair share. And unfortunately there always seems to be a split instead of a dominant party.

[firecat69]

Oh and let's not forget Canada has only a minuscule  problem of illegal immigrants entering the country..  No flood of illegal USA citizens trying to cross into Canada .

 

A large % of the poor in the US are immigrants who crossed the Mexico Border illegally and then of course some ethnic groups that have had a hard time pulling themselves out of poverty because of discrimination.

 

But a lot harder to eradicate these problems when you are a nation of 300 million instead of 35 million.

[Dalewood]

My guess is that in Thailand most people have rural relatives they can stay with if everything goes off the rails for them. You can also build a shabby house in Thailand and at least be dry in the rain. There are whole towns in the US where you can not build a modest home on a small lot--aka Snob Zoning.

[pong]

As Christian I mainly spend my time in BKK and there are lots+loads of homeless en destitute poor people here. Last week there was free food due to the after 2 yrs death of the main Buddist monk at Wat Bovorn and there were 1000s of people turning up. There was even more food-evenings they gave it away to anyone. The joke (rice porridge) was OK. Also it seems at least some few 100 of people only live of the stuff tourists just thrown away-incl cartons, cans, plastic bottles etc. Christ lives near Klong Toey slums and must see the same.

Have recently been to Cambodia and there it is noticeable that there are many more really poor people. Strangely wages are maybe half of TH but prices of most things (even the local noodlesoup or rice) double.

About any place here has signs telling they have vacancies for staff, many buses only run infreqeunt as they cannot find staff, etc. About all the low-grade work is done by Burmese or Cambodians with a few Laotians.

[t0oL1]

But in my country (Netherlands) there are of course also poor people. But try to find a hot 20 year old twink who is willing to have short time with you for 20 EUR is as good as impossible.  Also no go go bars etc.

So if Thailand becomes as rich as the West, it is over with the fun.

I just wish 'jumpstampen" would have caught on in Thailand.

I loved watching videos of hot Dutch boys jumping hardstyle

to cool beats. I will always respect The Netherlands for giving us that

(and hot Dutch boys).

[Alexx]

I wish Thailand well, but I'm not too hopeful for the years ahead, neither the big picture nor what I get to see personally looks very promising at this point. Other countries have been catching up quickly, while Thailand has seen it fit to waste insane amounts of energy on infighting and trivialities.

 

Without even commenting on things like politics and corruption, the education system alone - which is a complete and utter mess from primary school all the way up to the country's top universities - will ensure that Thailand won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

[abidismaili]

 - will ensure that Thailand won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

 

And that is good for us who go for one reason only to Thailand. It is in our interest it doesn't become to prosperous anytime soon.

[kokopelli]

And that is good for us who go for one reason only to Thailand. It is in our interest it doesn't become to prosperous anytime soon.

Not really. Things could turn ugly here as in Syria if no change for the better. 

[Guest whall]

Yeah could get quite unstable. Be careful what you wish for.

[Guest]

Thailand is a lot better off than countries like Myanmar or Bangladesh financially. Culturally it benefits from being a Buddhist country and mostly free from the kind of miserable Taliban influences to be found in many other countries.

I hope it works out here, with or without my modest annual contribution to the economy.

[Guest abang1961]

Let us wait for mid-2017 .. whether the military will hand over to the civilians?

In the meantime, I hope for "world peace" for all countries....not more war and terrorist attacks...

More emphasis and acceptance of one another's customs, beliefs and more ...

[Alexx]

Thailand is a lot better off than countries like Myanmar or Bangladesh financially.

Okay, if THAT is your yardstick... But that alone says a lot, considering that a decade ago there was serious talk about Thailand catching up with the likes of Malaysia, Singapore and (beyond ASEAN) South Korea... Now most ASEAN countries outpace Thailand, so relatively speaking, Thailand is falling back among her neighbors, although most of them are still poorer as of now.

 

Also, when someone points out that Thailand is a Buddhist country, that really makes me cringe nowadays. It's a catchy mantra, but it's at odds with real world problems such as a sky-high murder rate. Sure, a Buddhist background in culture and social norms is still very visible, but looking at the state of Buddhism as practiced in contemporary Thailand, just how much of the spirit is really left? On par with real Taliban, a Thai Buddhist monk recently suggested to burn down one mosque for each Buddhist killed by Muslim insurgents.

[firecat69]

Sky high murder rate.  Ridiculous!!!   Much lower then many Asian countries. Much lower then most of South America. Much lower then most of Islands that people visit for vacations in the Caribbean. We won't even talk about Arab countries etc.

 

I like my chances in Thailand !!

 

And not much higher then gun happy USA