One of the Thais’ prides is that Thailand is the only country in South East Asia that has never been colonized by another country. One of the main reasons for that was the development of a good diplomatic relationship with the Europeans countries since 1851 by the king Mongkut or Rama IV (Rama stands for a royal title). It doesn’t mean, however, that the Western countries did not influence them. From the education of the royal family (many of them studied in England, Switzerland or United Stated since the middle of the 19th century) to the building of railways, purchase of Western products as a mean os status, use of Thai labor by western companies and etc.
The current king of Thailand, Rama IX, took the throne in 1946, being the world's longest and living reigning. His image can be seen/found everywhere throughout the country, amid Buddhist amulets, before every film at cinemas and at 8am or 6pm when TV stations and radio broadcast the national or royal anthem (when is audible or visible, everybody stops what they are doing to stand up and listen to it)
Rama IX has a huge charisma and is idolized by the nation. It's a very good example of how to create a long-term idol.
Besides its official political system (constitutional monarchy) the king enjoys a respectable non-official political power and he is untouchable in his royal position. If you say or write something against the royalty and make it public, you may get free food and free shared accommodation for seven years (behind bars)
Follow some general topics about Thailand and the places that I have been so far.
- Bangkok
Beautiful and exquisite Buddhism temples are scattered throughout the city with an impressive richness of details and are really well maintained (I didn’t see any trace of pollution on it)
Entertainment
- All sort of fighting events such as chicken fighting, fish fighting, bull fighting and of course, Thai fighting are the big time for Thai people. Many of them gamble on a fighter, making the game/fight more exciting. It lasts roughly for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Some places in Bangkok offer the ultimate high tech night clubbing experience, featuring the latest releases in terms of sound and light systems. These places usually gather the top of the social pyramid of Thailand (which is quite a minority)
- Thai massage is found in many places. I got one at Wat Pho and I must say that's really professional and relaxing. One hour of massage costs 250 baht or 5 dollars
Business & "Business"
- 7 Eleven must be the strongest franchise in Thailand. Just in Bangkok, you can find 72 branches, and in some places, 2 branches in the same block. AMPM tries to do some inroads in this market, but it has a long way to go to become a real competitor.
- The energetic drink, Red Bull, enjoys respectable brand awareness, comparable to Coke's. It’s easy to find people wearing T-Shirts with its logo stamped.
- Next time you want to do "heavy" shopping, forget New York or Miami and head to Bangkok. Electronics and clothing are really cheap. One of the most popular places in Bangkok to shop is the Weekend Market with a wide variety of products and shows of chicken fighting and fish fighting. Thai people really flock to this place, making the movement from one stall to another, a daunting job. Popular shopping malls are crowded and have the best deals, while the high-end shopping malls have more sellers than customers (and of course, are more expensive)
- Pirate industry: a myriad of products (e.g. gems, clothing and media) are fake or don’t pay any royalties at all. CD players with built in MPEG (e.g. MP3) decoder are widely deployed, spurring the pirate media industry even more. For example: it's possible to buy one CD in MP3 format with the entire album collection of famous bands like Metallica or Pink Floyd, or even watch the latest movie releases (e.g. The 6th Day, Pay it Forward, Charlie Angels and so on) while having lunch or dinner (specially in Phi Phi island)
- Stalls that sell all kind of products occupy many sidewalks in Bangkok. From colorful glasses to fried insects (that I haven’t tried...yet :) ). Sometimes it's really difficult to walk on the sidewalks, making the streets a "better" and faster alternative.
- Touting people are the biggest "disinformation provider". Regardless of whether you are going to a temple or to a toilet, for them, all directions lead to a store (and to their commission) or worst, to an attempt to rip your money through scams. In tourist spots, they are ubiquitous. You realize pretty soon that the best thing to do is to ignore them to avoid that annoyance.
- Prices in many islands are standard. From inet connection to pancakes or scuba diving. That's for sure the best way to avoid war price. If a someone make a "special offer", there's a big chance of having a friendly gathering with all of yours competition's colleagues to make sure that you are 100% clear about the meaning of the word standard.
- Commission is a huge industry in Thailand, employing loads of people, but in the other hand that inflates the prices a lot. Just check out the "non official" price list of the ferry from Krabi to Phi Phi island. (1 US = 43 baht)
=200 baht: if you buy from one of the millions travel agencies scattered everywhere without bargaining.
=180 baht: if you bargain at a travel agency.
=150 baht: if you buy directly from the ferry's office and bargain a little.
=120 baht: if you have a good bargaining skill and use it at the ferry's office
=100 baht: if you look like a Thai and speak Thai as a native
= 75 baht: probably the break-even price
Having in mind that commission is merely the monetary correlate of deficient distribution, I believe that in 5 years from now, with the development/deployment of communication technologies, payment methods and digital signatures, the "facilitators"/travel agencies will have to be more creative to get their money. (Europe, SEA and Oceania share the same wireless protocol, so... booking service via mobile can be a reality soon)
- Phi Phi island
- Tao Island
- Other Topics:
One of the images that are widely broadcasted by the international media is the sex industry. Some tourists come here just for this purpose (fortunately, this kind of tourist is an exception among backpackers). In some districts of Bangkok, pedophiles, whores and homosexuals are easily seen, since they're tolerated by the Thai society. However, the majority of the Thais have a descent way of getting their income.
Women and men to get a better "rate" among Thais, must be white... very white (just like plain yogurt or sheet of paper... some of them literally "bleach" their faces with whitening products... probably endorsed by Michael Jackson) with "Westernized" eyes. Sometimes is even hard to tell if they are actually from Asia. Thai soap operas and the entertainment industry as a whole love them. Following the examples of the Mexican and the Brazilian soap operas, they go for the "exotic stereotype" for the main roles, letting the "cleaning crew roles" for the typical stereotype.
Tourists:
---Thailand is very popular among English and Swedish people. Roughly 55% to 60% of the tourists (backpackers) are from these countries.
---Bearing in mind that tourism is a huge income stream to Thailand, they run a tourism campaign every year called Amazing Thailand with services and conveniences targeting the package tourist. Comparing to other countries in South East Asia, they are very successful.
Health:
-Bangkok is bloody hot and humid. If you don't want to become a raisin, drinking mineral water is highly recommended. Water was my main concern about health in Thailand. In the beginning I was brushing my teeth with mineral water, but it seems that I can skip this procedure, since most os the tourists rely on the tap water (to brush the teeth only)
-Most of the sanitary vases work in the manual mode. There's no secret about it. You just have to follow these easy steps:
1-fill one bucket with water (you can find it beside the sanitary vase)
2-throw the content of the bucket in the sanitary vase
3-if necessary, repeat the operations 1 and 2
