pattaya127 Posted June 27, 2004 Report Share Posted June 27, 2004 you can imagine what terrible poverty is and it lives in places other than Thai. -------------------------- ( i may have over-racted on a personal basis. PM me if we need to clear things between the 2 of us) Back on topic: This is really what i meant. to be poor may not mean to be in constant need or reduced to despicable conditions, and i introduced the word misery to define a dire state of things. This said, tropical climates can be as bad as extreme cold to human beings, depending on how they can care for themselves. Thailand has made big strides in 20 years, i would not compare it to more desolate 3rd world countries in Africa, but also Burma, and most likely, Vietnam and Cambodia, just nearby. War "helps" a lot too in keeping people in misery, or hopeless conditions. Thailand is not exactly faring that bad, far from it. I think there is less and less structural poverty, but more conjectural (like bad crop, indebtment, aids stricken family) or in between (lack of education, then fatalistic attitude that some just reject and many not) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
check_bin_krap Posted June 27, 2004 Report Share Posted June 27, 2004 "Thailand has made big strides in 20 years, i would not compare it to more desolate 3rd world countries in Africa, but also Burma, and most likely, Vietnam and Cambodia, just nearby. " ......................................................... When it comes to the table I posted the link to, I was surprised. Viet Nam has a higher average life expectancy than Thailand. I think it comes from the Soviet aid before, if we measure it from when the Soviets left it would be different. Its kinda hard though, I would be dead when those numbers come up! Still, impressive when you consider all the injuries from war etc... Health care in Viet Nam is superior to whats in Thailand - that counts. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted June 27, 2004 Report Share Posted June 27, 2004 and compare my lifestyle and it's stresses with theirs. --------------------------------------------- I could not help smiling at this. Not that you are wrong: My first trip to SEA did make me realize how uncumbered with materialism our lives are in the west, and how it all seemed essential but actually is not. So, I learnt my lesson, and 16 years after, i now see thais gripped in the claws of their heavy westernization, hungry for cash and things, subject to more stress, more cancer, more heart attacks (anyone remembers the line back then that heart and stress related diseases were almost inexistant in thai society?) and somehow, I feel like the position is now reversed. As far as i am concerned, it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted June 27, 2004 Report Share Posted June 27, 2004 Viet Nam has a higher average life expectancy than Thailand --------------------------- Not sure about health care in Vietnam. Can you bring more details on how it is supplied and spread in Vietnam? They also have made strides, but the life expectancy is more likely due to the fact that 2/3 of the population is under 20 or slightly older (can't recall), and 1/3 children or early teens. I mean, the country is literally blooming with new life, literally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted June 27, 2004 Report Share Posted June 27, 2004 I remember a small Andean town up near Lake Titicaca (forget name) and it was cold, bleak and people looked quite miserable, it looked much more depressing than anything I've seen in LOS. Next day flew to a Amazon jungle town (Peuto Maldonado)...much more like LOS, smiles etc...abundent fruit on sale....climate helps....look how miserable Brits are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
check_bin_krap Posted June 27, 2004 Report Share Posted June 27, 2004 "Not sure about health care in Vietnam. Can you bring more details on how it is supplied and spread in Vietnam? They also have made strides, but the life expectancy is more likely due to the fact that 2/3 of the population is under 20 or slightly older (can't recall), and 1/3 children or early teens. I mean, the country is literally blooming with new life, literally." ............................................................................ Sorry, don't have any facts when it comes to health care P127 - its just my personal impression having spent time outside city life both places. Don't forget that one of things communism did do well, was health care and education! I don't know how the figures of life expectancy are made out either. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
check_bin_krap Posted June 27, 2004 Report Share Posted June 27, 2004 "They also have made strides, but the life expectancy is more likely due to the fact that 2/3 of the population is under 20 or slightly older (can't recall), and 1/3 children or early teens. I mean, the country is literally blooming with new life, literally." ............................................................ No way it can come from that, thats the same in many countries which has been in war. Its opposite, poor war ravaged countries come very low on the list. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
think_too_mut Posted June 27, 2004 Report Share Posted June 27, 2004 >16 years after, i now see thais gripped in the claws of their heavy westernization, hungry for cash and things, subject to more stress, more cancer, more heart attacks That's a different dimension when looking at poverty in Thai. World class skyscrapers in BKK, some of them are really monumental buildings...world class office workers...traffic jams caused by the flood of new cars...and then - Isaan. How the hell could KFC, PizzaHut and others make their inroads into the country of one of world's most famous food? The media - Thai TV before all - they made children upcountry crave things I would not eat myself - hot dogs, pizza, dunkin donuts, Mac... Poverty in Thai is nothing that would prompt UN to send much of humanitarian aid. It's not that kind of want that kills masses. For different reasons it does but drugs, alcohol, motorbikes available to anyone...it's not it. Absolute poverty would dream to live in Thai. I would end this rant with - the degree of absence of western goods and services may make Thais look poor. That appears to be their view, too. With that, we Westerners are within our own domain of knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
check_bin_krap Posted June 27, 2004 Report Share Posted June 27, 2004 To explain a bit more P127, on the differences when it comes to education Viet Nam vs. Thailand. My wife's parents were poor factory workers, before they got pensioned. They have 3 kids. My wife and her bro has higher education, wife UNI and bro is in the process of completing a higher ecomonic education through military. Among my wife's cousins - you find a couple of teachers - 1 doctor. I don't know all though. Thats not the norm when it comes to poor factory worker in Thailand? Thats the difference - education and opportunities are not limited to middle/upper class. I sound like Fly here... I miss him! Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmine Posted June 27, 2004 Report Share Posted June 27, 2004 [color:"red"] Thats not the norm when it comes to poor factory worker in Thailand? Thats the difference - education and opportunities are not limited to middle/upper class. [/color] I do have tendency to agree here that Vietnam education system seems to extend opportunities to all economic levels. However, in many places in Thailand, the opportunities of education is there even though many kids (more than what I want to see) must commute further to get it which put them back to money issue again. The main thing that I want to point out that it is my belief that more Vietnamese grassroots people make education as a prority in life, than the Thais grass roots For example, how many Thai families cannot wait for their girls to finish required schooling so they can be sent to work in factories, or bars or wherever so they can send money home? I almost dare say that the sacrifice Vietnamese families for their kids is not like most Thai families. Grant it many Thai families like mine who would do anything to send their kids to schools, but, sadly, far too many more just wait for their kids to be out to earn money for them. I admire the Thais who send money home and sacrifice for their families, especially parents, the Isaan girls are famous for such deed. Mind you, there will be other people saying that these people are desparate, no means to send their kids to school. However, there are a few which parents sacrifice everything just to send them to school, women or men poor or not. Actually, there is an article of a Thai magazine, Sakulthai of this week on an Isaan guy from Khonkean who is doing a PhD in Agriculture, he is a farmer's son who just wanted to go school, worked as a laboror, driving took-took, staying in temples with monks, always asking for grants. Working at Universities, running errands for better-off classmates and so on. His parents sacrifice by not putting pressure on him to send money home, which he says helps, no other support from the parents just a release of responsibilities to send money home. Many Vietnames families mambers here work and put money in one pool. The send the first child to school, then second and 3rd and so on. I have seen a couple of Thai families do it here too. My family expected me to take care of my younger brother on his education. Sorry I got a little carried away writing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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