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[qualtrough]

Walk in and see a specialist in a hospital without an appointment.

World-class passport office in BKK (Thai wife and kids).

No hassle DL and car title renewal.

You can buy a lot of medicines in pharmacies here that would require a prescription back home. One example, used to need inhalers for asthma, would need a prescription for those in the US. If it expired or I moved I would have to visit a doctor to get that prescription. Here, just walk in an buy it (for about 20% of the price for the same product in the US).

Motorcycles taxis that will run down to the market or stores several blocks away to buy what you want, for 15-20 B total. No need to take the car 5 miles down to the mall, find a parking spot, and then walk to the store inside for something like a lightbulb, motor oil, or a screwdriver.

Extremely reliable and fast EMS (fast mail) service within Thailand.

Free medical service under the Thai SS program that I pay something like 300 B a month for. That includes drugs.

Doctors who don't treat you like a machine, and friendly nurses and staff.

Lots of markets where you can buy a huge variety of fresh food and vegetables.

Lots of transportation alternatives, Skytrain, Subway, Vans, Buses, Taxis, Boats, Motorcycle taxis,  Train.

While you wait service for applicance repair, including computers and printers.

Auto repair shops where you can get your car attended to right away.

Garages don't mind if you bring your own parts for installation! (Try that one back home!)

Shops that will repair items that would be junked back home.

A number of huge IT malls with every possible IT item you could ever want or need.

Huge variety of restaurants to suit every taste and budget.

No need for checks or balancing checkbooks, wide acceptance of cash.

Lots of free to air satellite channels and cheap dishes. My sister want to watch DW TV in DC, but has to pay extra to the cable channel or watch on the Internet, I watch it free.

Can get Al-Jazeera here free, available only in 3-4 places in the US on cable. It is a dam_n good news channel, beats Fox and CNN by a country mile, even on US coverage.

I could go on and on. But let me put it another way. When I first lived here 28 years ago there were lots of things I missed about back home (USA), and it was really good to get back once in a while. Now, after 10 days back home I really start to miss Thailand. When I have had siblings visit they all remark how much more convenient it is to live here compared to back home. YMMV.

[qualtrough]

wamberal, on 2009-02-04 11:32:57, said:

pothai, on 2009-01-23 21:27:16, said:

In England in order to open a bank account, you must first send passport/driving licence(certified copy) and one utility bill. After about a week you get confirmation that you are SUCESSFUL and your atm card will arrive shortly, after another week you receive your atm card and then after another 3-4 days your atm number....in total almost 3 weeks to open a bank account. In Thailand, within 15 minutes you have a passbook, atm card and atm number with a fully functional bank account. If you want to transfer money, hey presto it arrives in another Thai bank instantly, compare this to England where it takes at least 3 business days, so with a weekend and bank holiday over a week to transfer some money.....The Thai banking system is centuries ahead of the archaic U.K. system

  Any country that allows the immediate opening of a bank account, as in your Thai example, is a country which does not seriously combat money laundering and tax and other fraud.

  The Thai banking system, on this example, is centuries behind where it should be.  No doubt in the 19th century you could open a UK bank account on the spot.

Your comment regarding being centuries behind just could not be more wrong. To name just two, SCB and Bangkok Bank are routinely recognized by banking and finance publications and institutions for state of the art business practices and efficient services.

[tangoll]

Seats on the BTS skytrains are more spacious and when seated, the average person's forearms are not glued to the adjacent person's forearms; try doing that in the  Hong Kong MTR subway trains.  But the BTS swinging gates close way too soon if you are not quick enough to go through.  And the gates bang hard.

The real estate title transfer system and title document is a dream compared to Hong Kong's, where one has to engage solicitors/lawyers and the title document for  a 50 sq meter condo can take up over 30 documents requiring a carton or two to carry around.  In Thailand, it's a single yellow document used on both sides.  Transfers can be done in a few hours at the Land Dept office.  Buying/selling condo units in Thailand is like buying/selling a car in Hong Kong.

Marriages and divorces done at the local amphur with just a few signatures.  Not possible in Hong Kong, and most places in the US. (Just what I've read, not what I've experienced in Thailand)

In my condo building in Bangkok, whenever I have a problem in my unit, I can expect someone from the management office to be there within 10 - 30 minutes to attend to the problem.  Try getting that kind of service in Hong Kong or the US.

On a Sunday morning, I can call the Bumrungrad Hospital, and schedule a routine checkup, see specialists like ENT, Ophthamologists, Respiratory, and get everything done by noon that Sunday.  No way will I be able to do that in Hong Kong.

There are more examples, but these are illustrative

But to be more balanced, Hong Kong's identity card system for citizens is second to none in the world.  I can be thru HK immigration in 15 seconds or less when approaching immigration after arrival at HK Int'l airport, whatever the time.  In Bangkok Suv airport, it now takes no more than 15 minutes when arriving at off hours; it used to take 30 - 50 minutes when arriving during daytime hours.

Edited by tangoll, 2009-02-06 05:04:28.

[Gerontion]

Annual per capita CO2 emissions:

USA: 19.8 tonnes
Australia: 17.5 tonnes
UK: 9.2 tonnes
Thailand: 3.8 tonnes

It's still much too high but on what is quite possibly the most important measurement which can be made, Thailand seems to be rather more advanced than the so-called 'developed' nations.

[ClaytonSeymour]

Gerontion, on 2009-02-06 09:10:18, said:

Annual per capita CO2 emissions:

USA: 19.8 tonnes
Australia: 17.5 tonnes
UK: 9.2 tonnes
Thailand: 3.8 tonnes

It's still much too high but on what is quite possibly the most important measurement which can be made, Thailand seems to be rather more advanced than the so-called 'developed' nations.

Some would argue that it shows exactly the opposite.

[idrankwhat]

"You can buy a lot of medicines in pharmacies here that would require a prescription back home".

qualtrough, there is a very good reason you can't buy them at home and that my friend is part of advancement. I can't possibly tell you how many times I have walked into a pharmacy here told them what I wanted and they wanted to substitute it with something that wouldn't work (because they had it but not what I asked for) for example I had a nasty respiratory tract infection and asked for erythromycin which is a macrolide antibiotic that has an antimicrobial spectrum like penicillin, and is often used for people who have an allergy to penicillins, which they neglected to ask me if I had an allergy to penicillins. Overall erythromycin has better coverage of atypical organisms, including mycoplasma and Legionellosis. The "pharmacist" told me amoxicillin was better because it wouldn't damage my "kidneys" I'm sure she meant liver however amoxicillin would not have helped with the type of infection I had it would have made it worse and possible lowered my immune system to the point it couldn't fight the bacteria causing the infection thus resulting in pneumonia and landing me in the hospital, an older person would have probably died.  

Antibiotics are NOT a cure they fight off secondary infections and keep the current infection in check. I may be a shrink but I did go to med school.

The other things you listed well, maybe you're from North Dakota but in New York, New Jersey even most of Pennsylvania life is just as convenient if you live in the city and as far as the benefits you spoke of well, it depends on your education level and who you work for not unlike Thailand.

[Gerontion]

ClaytonSeymour, on 2009-02-06 02:24:02, said:

Gerontion, on 2009-02-06 09:10:18, said:

Annual per capita CO2 emissions:

USA: 19.8 tonnes
Australia: 17.5 tonnes
UK: 9.2 tonnes
Thailand: 3.8 tonnes

It's still much too high but on what is quite possibly the most important measurement which can be made, Thailand seems to be rather more advanced than the so-called 'developed' nations.

Some would argue that it shows exactly the opposite.

Quite possibly they would but if your neighbour shits his bed more regularly and with bigger turds than you do, it seems more than a little peculiar simultaneously to consider him more advanced; I'm at a loss to understand how pumping more CO2 into the atmosphere can be anything other than a Bad Thing. On this scale, America is the head-to-toe shit-encrusted lunatic whereas Thailand has just a little raisin-like clinker hanging unobtrusively from an errant arse-hair. Which is the more advanced?

[ClaytonSeymour]

Gerontion, on 2009-02-06 09:51:23, said:

Quite possibly they would but if your neighbour shits his bed more regularly and with bigger turds than you do, it seems more than a little peculiar simultaneously to consider him more advanced; I'm at a loss to understand how pumping more CO2 into the atmosphere can be anything other than a Bad Thing. On this scale, America is the head-to-toe shit-encrusted lunatic whereas Thailand has just a little raisin-like clinker hanging unobtrusively from an errant arse-hair. Which is the more advanced?

It's quite obvious that the wealthiest, most industrialized & in some cases most densely populated nations are going to have the highest emissions.

[Crushdepth]

Less advanced but more fun?

[idrankwhat]

The USA has the highest emissions because it consumes the most resources as it has the most capital to do so. The emissions would be tippled or quadruped if we actually produced any of the products we consume rather than importing them and consider this the countries that do the majority of manufacturing for the USA, for example China who produce so many products gets the shipping emissions tacked onto their  per capita CO2 emissions. Just something to think about.

[Gerontion]

Quote

It's quite obvious that the wealthiest, most industrialized & in some cases most densely populated nations are going to have the highest emissions.

Those are per capita emissions so population density is something of an irrelevance but, anyway, even if one grants your point, I still don't understand why anyone would think, given what we now know, that there is a positive correlation between greater CO2 emissions and degree of 'advancement'? My point - unstated but clear enough - was that words have multiple meanings, and meanings which change according to the circumstances and times in which they're used. Yes, true, as 'advanced' has been understood through much of the post-War period, a nation's level of wealth and its level of advancement have been more-or-less the same thing but now that the consequences of achieving and maintaining that wealth are becoming clear (that is, climate change and resource depletion are undermining the very conditions which make possible our societies), it seems ludicrous to continue with the foolish (and ultimately self-defeating) belief that the the pursuit of wealth regardless of its consequences can be considered advanced. Unless one is a pea-brained fool who thinks that climate change and resource depletion are all part of the Al Gore-Nike-Anarcho/Deep Green-Government-Noble Price Committee global conspiracy, the limits to growth which the world is now bumping up against trump everything. Being advanced means acknowledging and dealing with these problems; not being advanced means ignoring them and carrying on with business as usual. Thailand may only accidentally have found itself relatively high in this league table and it's hardly purer than the driven snow, but in this regard it is nevertheless a long way ahead of the industrialised nations.

Edited by Gerontion, 2009-02-06 09:36:36.

[ClaytonSeymour]

Gerontion, on 2009-02-06 09:34:19, said:

Quote

It's quite obvious that the wealthiest, most industrialized & in some cases most densely populated nations are going to have the highest emissions.

Those are per capita emissions so population density is something of an irrelevance but, anyway, even if one grants your point, I still don't understand why anyone would think, given what we now know, that there is a positive correlation between greater CO2 emissions and degree of 'advancement'? My point - unstated but clear enough - was that words have multiple meanings, and meanings which change according to the circumstances and times in which they're used. Yes, true, as 'advanced' has been understood through much of the post-War period, a nation's level of wealth and its level of advancement have been more-or-less the same thing but now that the consequences of achieving and maintaining that wealth are becoming clear (that is, climate change and resource depletion are undermining the very conditions which make possible our societies), it seems ludicrous to continue with the foolish (and ultimately self-defeating) belief that the the pursuit of wealth regardless of its consequences can be considered advanced. Unless one is a pea-brained fool who thinks that climate change and resource depletion are all part of the Al Gore-Nike-Anarcho/Deep Green-Government-Noble Price Committee global conspiracy, the limits to growth which the world is now bumping up against trump everything. Being advanced means acknowledging and dealing with these problems; not being advanced means ignoring them and carrying on with business as usual. Thailand may only accidentally have found itself relatively high in the league table and it's hardly purer than the driven snow, but in this regard it is nevertheless a long way ahead of the industrialised nations.

Well well well - the thread has been hijacked by the greens!

What I do know is that global warming (conveniently called climate change now we've had some cooler weather) is here to stay; irrespective of the science. Why? A great excuse for tw_ts like Gordon Brown to tax the hel_l out of us.

Purely from a selfish point of view; I'll take a chance that the planet will last my lifetime & after that? Let the future generations worry about it. It's my prerogative not to.

Edited by ClaytonSeymour, 2009-02-06 09:50:21.

[Gerontion]

^ Oh dear. You've - not entirely unexpectedly - somewhat missed the point there. I have hijacked nothing. On the contrary, by explaining - reasonably and rationally - why I consider Thailand to be, in one respect, more advanced than Britain, I have directly addressed the OP. If you don't agree with me, then either argue or shut up but please don't try to make this something it isn't.

[phutoie2]

Hmmm - New Airport/BTS/Elevated expressway/Rama1X Bridge all wonderful achievements and give the first time visitor to Bangkok a sense that this is a modern country, travel a few miles up country, another story.
Wife's family village - no mains water, no telephone lines or street lighting and no sign of it coming despite Abhisits promises'. Everyone appears to have a mobile telephone and you can have a Honda Click for 5000 Baht deposit and chip away the remainder, yet they are reluctant to buy a gas bottle and cooker and decent pots & pans and still prefer to cook over the open fire outdoors.
The best 20,000 Baht I ever spent was having an outside toilet block built with sit down loo at the MIL's - bliss!!!

[chivo]

movie theatres... touch screen pick-a-seat!

[ClaytonSeymour]

Gerontion, on 2009-02-06 10:02:37, said:

^ Oh dear. You've - not entirely unexpectedly - somewhat missed the point there. I have hijacked nothing. On the contrary, by explaining - reasonably and rationally - why I consider Thailand to be, in one respect, more advanced than Britain, I have directly addressed the OP. If you don't agree with me, then either argue or shut up but please don't try to make this something it isn't.

I don't agree with you. However, let's put my point of view aside for a second; I don't believe the statistics entirely represent the truth. Compare the emissions in Bangkok & London then come back to me - I'll hazard at a guess that Bangkok is way behind. Also, what has Thailand done to come out so low in that table? I suggest nothing - what you see is what you'd expect from a poorer & less advanced nation. I wonder what Somalia's emissions are? Does that make them more advanced than the West? No.

[geeky]

well, what about this one?
they're both more advanced then each other, just in a different way

but the main difference is that Thailand is catching up with the industrialized advancement, while the west don't even know that they're mentally behind!

[Sarah2286]

Spee, on 2009-02-03 21:54:25, said:

selftaopath, on 2009-01-23 09:03:06, said:

Is Thailand, in some ways, more advanced than your Home Country?

I think in very general terms the average Thai diet is healthier than the average American diet. Few if any added chemicals and preservatives. Modest amounts of meat. Heavy on the grain, fruits and vegetables. It's good in terms of nourishment as well as for the digestive tract. Although some might not, I would view this as more advanced.

Please tell me you're joking! The Thai food is wayyyy more unhealthy than in the States. One gets a spoonful of 'mystery meat' a plateful of nutritionally devoid, fat-promoting white rice, and a few veggies - doused in massive amounts of oil (sat fats) MSG, and other 'flavorings'.
I was so happy when I got home 6 weeks ago (The States) and could eat healthy again! I know not a single American who eats as poorly as the Thais - and not a single one as *ahem* large as the Thais, either. Let me tell you, it was hard returning after having gained up to the size of a Thai. it's coming off now, with the healthier diet, tho still, I forgot just how skinny American's typically are. Can't wait to get ack down to their size, tho!

(oh, and while in the hospital in Thailand from food poisoning - they had an article on some common Thai dishes. After reading the facts, you wouldn't touch their meals with a 10 ft. pole! Assuming you care about health and all.)

Jst saying.

[ClaytonSeymour]

Sarah2286, on 2009-02-06 20:13:25, said:

(oh, and while in the hospital in Thailand from food poisoning - they had an article on some common Thai dishes.

Would you like to post the article here? I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd like to see it in its entirety.

[JimsKnight]

Compared to back home the food out in Thailand is nectar.
Fresh food and home grown.  You can't beat it

I will say that outside bangkok things change quite a bit.  But even in the UK you get the 'outside-the-capital-city' effect.

Edited by JimsKnight, 2009-02-07 00:07:19.

[Freddie_fly]

WeeGB, on 2009-02-03 13:24:08, said:

tw25rw, on 2009-01-23 17:21:50, said:

Had loads of gripes with LloydsTSB in the UK. Haven't used them for a while so I expect they have moved into the 20th century now.

So they're still a hundred years behind?   

Back to the topic, I noticed that the UK is now copying Thailand's policy on cigarettes. Pictures designed to put people off cigarettes are now printed on packets, and also they have stopped  cigarettes being put on open display. Both these ideas, I believe originated here. As a lifelong smoker, (from age 11), I think that anything that stops kids starting must be good.

Have to agree with the kasikorn bank complaints, I've been trying to get their k-cyber banking system working for almost a year - absolutely hopeless. Only stay with them 'cos the girl who greets at the door is drop dead gorgeous - but don't tell the missus!

Thailand was 3rd on the smoking pictures behind Canada and Brazil.

regards
Freddie

[sassienie]

Speaking of my home country, that is England, I would say Thailand is not more advanced, but definately more civilised.

[somluck]

Freddie_fly, on 2009-02-07 01:25:25, said:

WeeGB, on 2009-02-03 13:24:08, said:

tw25rw, on 2009-01-23 17:21:50, said:

Had loads of gripes with LloydsTSB in the UK. Haven't used them for a while so I expect they have moved into the 20th century now.

So they're still a hundred years behind?   

Back to the topic, I noticed that the UK is now copying Thailand's policy on cigarettes. Pictures designed to put people off cigarettes are now printed on packets, and also they have stopped  cigarettes being put on open display. Both these ideas, I believe originated here. As a lifelong smoker, (from age 11), I think that anything that stops kids starting must be good.

Have to agree with the kasikorn bank complaints, I've been trying to get their k-cyber banking system working for almost a year - absolutely hopeless. Only stay with them 'cos the girl who greets at the door is drop dead gorgeous - but don't tell the missus!

Thailand was 3rd on the smoking pictures behind Canada and Brazil.

regards
Freddie

Thailand was 4th ....


At least 23 jurisdictions have finalized requirements for picture warnings on cigarette packs.  
The listing below includes the year of implementation, including different years where there have been two or more rounds of picture warnings.

• Canada (2001)
  
• Brazil (2002; 2004; 2009)
  
• Singapore (2004; 2006)
  
• Thailand (2005, 2007)
  
• Venezuela (2005)
  
• Jordan (2005)
  
• Australia (2006; rotation of Sets A, B every 12 months)
  
• Uruguay (2006; 2008, 2009)
  
• Panama (2006)
  
• Belgium (2006)
  
• Chile (2006, 2007, 2008)
  
• Hong Kong (2007)
  
• New Zealand (2008; rotation of Sets A, B every 12 months)
  
• Romania (2008)
  
• United Kingdom (2008)
  
• Egypt (2008)
  
• Brunei (2008)
  
• India (2008)
  
• Taiwan (2009)
  
• Malaysia (2009)
  
• Peru (2009)
  
• Djibouti (2009)
  
• Switzerland (2010, rotation of Sets 1, 2, 3 every 24 months)

Edited by somluck, 2009-02-07 05:53:46.

[CHINWA]

angiud, on 2009-01-23 21:41:33, said:

My bank in Italy needs 3 working days to transfer money to another bank, and paying a some euro commission. Here is in real time, pay half euro.

My bank (KrungThai) is open also saturday and sunday. Forget it in Italy.

The car office (motorizzazione) usually need 2/3 months to issue a driving licence. (80 euro). Here one day (1000 baht)

New passport for thai, 2-3 days. Italy from 20 to 2 months, depending is holday season.

In Thailand people kick out Thaksim and his puppets, but in Italy the italians cannot kick away Berlusconi.

I can continue for pages and pages, but I don't want do complain to much of my home country...

If you apply for a Thai driver's license the cost is 105 Baht good for 1 year and you get it within max. 30 minutes after the tests passed. To renew it for more 5 years it takes  10-15 minutes and  it costs 525 Baht. Excellent service. No other European country offers this. This probably the reason why Thai drivers are so bad.

The Thai passport costs 1030 Baht. The cost includes the EMS expenses to send it to your home address within 3 days. (the postal service/delivery works 7 days a week). This we can't find in Europe.

Politically... almost the same, a disgrace!