Earlier in the week the online version of Newsweek released their list of the World’s Best 100 countries and Thailand ranked #58 overall on this list. The ranking was based on data from 2009 and is based on the following five criteria (ranking within criteria shown in parenthesis):

Education (#57) – Determined using combined universal score on TIMSS and/ or PISA tests or by doing a regression of literacy rate (CIA World Factbook) and average years of schooling against the universal score for those countries that don’t administer these tests. The score is meant to measure educational achievement and differentiate between developing countries.

Health (#66) – Based on healthy life expectancy and meant to capture the efficiency of the health care system. It takes into account years that are lived in less than full health due to disease or injury.

Quality of Life (#55) – Measured by five different criteria. Inequality as measured by gender, extreme poverty defined as the percent of the population living on less than $2 a day, standard of living which is determined by private consumption, physical environment determined by homicides per 100,000 population as well as air and water pollution levels and economic security which is measured through the countries unemployment rate.

Economic Dynamism (#39) – Also measured by five different criteria. Productive growth which is the growth in GDP expressed as an incremental US$ growth per person over the past 10 years and extrapolated forward for the next 10 years, diversification which measures the percentage of GDP that comes from services and manufacturing, innovation which measures the amount of capital invested in R&D throughout the manufacturing, university and government as well as the availability of scientists and intellectual property, business vitality which measures the ease of doing business in each country including the time required to start a new business and the number of bankruptcy filings and finally stock market capitalization which measures the equity market capitalization as a percentage of GDP.

Political Environment (#74) – Measured by three different criteria. Freedom house rating which is based on a variety of things and is meant to assess the perceived level of democratic freedom in a country, global peace index’s political participation rating which measures voter turnout and citizens participation in the political process and political risk service’s political stability rating which is a measure of the risk to individuals, businesses and the government due to political decisions and actions.

As you can see this survey and determination is based solely on the conditions for the countries citizens, not tourists and expats. Even so, I think it sheds some light on what life in Thailand is like for those of us visiting or living there permanently, even though we are simply guests.

Even though Thailand ranked #58 overall I found that digging a bit deeper into the numbers painted a slightly different picture. For example, when sorting for just the low income countries (defined as Gross National income per capita under $3946) we find Thailand ranked #4 out of 38 countries. Ukraine, Jordan and Albania are the top three, however you find many Asian countries including China and India ranking lower than Thailand.

When looking at the ASEAN countries Thailand ranks 3rd, only Singapore and Malaysia (both former British colonies) rank higher than Thailand. When including all of East Asia and the Pacific Rim Thailand drops to #7 out of 11, but all of the countries above them are considered to be “developed” nations (Australia, New Zealand, Japan, S. Korea, Singapore and Malaysia). What this indicates to me is that Thailand is likely much closer to developed nation status than many other countries in SE Asia. Of course only time will tell and considering the current political climate in Thailand this could be delayed or derailed for some time, but overall it gives me hope for better conditions for the majority of Thai people in the near future.

While no list like this can be perfect I think it is a fairly good representation of the quality of life around the world. Even more interesting to me will be follow up surveys, assuming Newsweek chooses to repeat this on a yearly basis. I am very curious to see how the rankings change for each country as the world economy changes. After looking at the rankings how do you feel Thailand should stack up against other countries? What about future rankings, do you think Thailand is gaining in each area or do you think they are falling behind?

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It seems as if the rumors of filming The Hangover 2 in Thailand have turned out to be true. That’s right people, what happens in Thailand stay in Thailand and starting this fall the cast of The hangover 2 will be arriving in the Land of Smiles for another smash comedy romp. Yes I said “Smash comedy romp” so remember that you heard it here first! The initial confirmation of the Thailand destination comes from Comingsoon.net

In case you missed the original (and how could you have possibly missed the top grossing R rated comedy of 2009?), it focuses on the adventures and misadventures of 3 guys at a Las Vegas bachelor party. The Hangover had no huge A list stars, but served to help catapult Bradley Cooper to fame as well as getting huge recognition for Zach Galifianakis (my favorite) who plays the grooms socially awkward brother. And honestly with a name like ‘Galifianakis’ he belongs in Thailand home of the tongue twisting names. It has also made Asian comedian Ken Jeong quite famous after his role as the bad ass guy who jumps out of the trunk of a car naked and proceeds to beat the crap out of the three hungover party guys.

Even though director Todd Phillips has denied rumors of Thailand as a possible location since last March, it now looks as if this was just a bit of misdirection on his part. Shooting is supposed to start in November and the film is due to be released on May 26, 2011, just in time to open the summer comedy season.

Now all we need to know is the plot and where in Thailand the raucous gang will end up. Partying on Sukhumvit in Nana Plaza? Possibly kidnapped and taken to Pattaya or Samui by the Russian mafia? Or off to Patong Beach on Phuket for some Soi Bangla fun with the ladyboys? It all remains to be seen, but you can be sure that the combination of these three guys, the awesome backdrop of Thailand and the smiling help of the Thai people themselves will help make this another “have to see” movie when it’s released.

One can hope it will also put Thailand back into the forefront of travelers’ imaginations and boost tourism revenue for the Kingdom next year. Personally I’m looking forward to seeing not just the comic antics of this group, but also the stunning scenery that I’m certain will feature as part of the film’s appeal. And if they include another cute baby that would be cool :>)

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Below is the short story released by the National News Bureau of Thailand yesterday regarding the attempt to bring Americans back to Thailand. Since mid 2008 American tourism to Thailand has dropped by over half and this seems to be TAT’s response to the lack of American tourists in Thailand.

TAT Introducing Thai Tourism to Top American Media Purveyors

BANGKOK, 30 OCTOBER 2009 (National News Bureau of Thailand) – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has recently invited editors from leading magazines and newspapers in the United States to explore Thailand’s tourism products and services under the campaign “Bring the Cream of the Crop Media to Thailand.”

The trip lasted from 19-28 October with Deputy TAT Governor Juttaporn Rerngron-asa welcoming the guests at the Jim Thompson House in Bangkok. The American media group was taken on a tour of Jim Thompson’s house and various tourist destinations in Thailand including Chiang Mai, Phuket and Bangkok.

The TAT hopes the trip will help popularize tourist destinations in the country and encourage foreign tourists to return to Thailand. The campaign was created by the TAT office in New York City.

Will this attempt to lure Americans back to The Land of Smiles be successful? It is certainly necessary. While tourism figures are no longer published for the Kingdom of Thailand, by looking at the drop off in the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2008 (http://www.tourism.go.th/2009/th/statistic/tourism.php) we can pretty much figure what the current state of tourism is in Thailand.

Assuming that the media groups who attended the campaign make an effort to bring Thailand to the forefront of affluent Americans attention as a premier long haul destination then I think we will see a resurgence of interest in Thailand among Americans.

After all, it will take several months to a year for the stories and articles to be published and if the economy cooperates by improving during that time there is no reason that this cannot be a huge success. Add a concerted advertising campaign on the part of TAT and I would think that late 2010 and 2011 could see a huge spike in American tourists coming to Thailand.

What is in question in my mind is if they can actually pull it off. Thailand has been trying for years to market itself to a more affluent and upscale tourist and while there has been some success I think that the bulk of the Western tourists coming to Thailand are not in the 6 figure income bracket.

Do you think that Thailand can become successful in marketing it’s tourism industry as catering more to upscale tastes and needs?

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One very noticeable facet of Thai society is the uniforms worn by every Thai student, both girls and boys, from the youngest right through university students. Of course for us guys the Thai schoolgirl uniforms can be seen as very attractive, however it seems as if old school Thai elders don’t agree. The following article was run yesterday in The Nation, Thailand’s largest business daily newspaper.

BANGKOK: — Chulalongkorn University (CU) is campaigning for students to comply with its dress code, while Thammasat University (TU) wants to the government to launch a “Social Cabinet” to tackle the issue of students wearing uniforms inappropriately.

At the project launch yesterday, CU rector Pirom Kamolratanakul said wearing a Chula student uniform, the only one to be granted by the monarchy, is a privilege.

TU deputy rector for student affairs Parinya Thewana-ruemitkul said the president for Network of Deputy Rectors for Student Affairs supervised the student uniform code at each university. He added that Thammasat was less strict about the uniform than some other universities, but insisted students wear “appropriate clothes” to classes.

Celebrities’ influence

Blaming the influence of fashions worn by movie and TV stars, he urged that a Social Cabinet comprising the efforts of several ministries should be set up to help universities solve the problem. The Culture Ministry could ask celebrities to wear clothes appropriate to the time of day and occasion as well as promote good values, he added.

Deputy Education Minister Chaiwuti Bannawat agreed that students need good discipline and praised universities’ successful efforts in improving the standard of their students’ dress.

– The Nation 2009-08-19

Ban Short Skirts?

Thai culture is grounded in conformity and part of that is the Thai school uniforms. No student should stand out from any other student. Do you think it is sufficient to simply monitor the student uniform code to maintain what is considered “appropriate” dress, or should the Thai school uniforms be scrapped altogether? In the 21st century is this type of standard a help or a hindrance to Thai society? Or maybe you think it makes no difference whatsoever to the actual education of the students. And what about enlisting the aid of celebrities, do you think this will help? Personally I think that oftentimes the celebrities dress may be determined by their PR people. In most cases celebrities are simply giving the people what they want to see.

Sound off below and let me know what you think about the standard Thai school dress code and the direction it seems to be taking.

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David Carradine, the noted star of the television series “Kung Fu” and the movie “Kill Bill” was found dead in Bangkok early Thursday morning.

Mr. Carradine, 72, was in Bangkok shooting his latest movie “Stretch” when his death occurred. Thai police are calling the death a suicide, however investigations are still ongoing. It seems that Mr. Carradine was found by a maid in room 352 of the Park Nai Lert Hotel on Wireless Road at approximentally 10am Thursday morning. He was described as half naked and was in the wardrobe with rope around his neck and body.

Police have said that he was dead for less than 12 hours and there was no sign of forced entry to the room or any sign of assault or fighting in the room.

His personal manager, Chuck Binder, told BBC that the news was “shocking”, adding: “He was full of life, always wanting to work… a great person.”

The star was best known for his role as the half Chinese Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s TV series Kung Fu. This role earned Carradine both Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. He also starred in Martin Scorsese’s “Boxcar Bertha” in 1972, portrayed folksinger Woody Guthrie in “Bound for Glory” in 1976, acted in Ingmar Bergman’s “The Serpent’s Egg” in 1977 and co-starred with half brothers Keith Carradine and Robert Carradine in the 1980 western “The Long Riders”.

Carradine was part of an acting dynasty which included his father, John Carradine, and brothers Bruce, Keith and Robert.

Carradine was an accomplished composer, musician, musical performer and songwriter. According to his official website, he was also a sculptor and a painter.

He is survived by his wife, Annie Bierman, and three children including actresses Calista and Kansas.

Persoanlly I remember watching the “Kung Fu”, series as a child and David Carradine was nothing short of wonderful in the role. It was that show that first gave me my interest in Asian cultures and it remains an iconic role that lives in the memory of many Americans from my generation. David Carradine will be missed by many.

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When you consider the events of the past few months, the worldwide financial crisis, possible worldwide recession/depression and the closing of Suvarnabhumi Airport by the PAD protesters from November 25^th through December 5^th, do you still think the Thailand is a good vacation destination?

Golf and I have booked our trip to the Kingdom for April 2009 and nothing short of a civil war would make us change those plans. Of course we have close ties to Thailand and many reasons to return, but what about the casual tourist or first time visitor, do you think that recent events around the world and in Thailand will put people off of visiting? Add to that the drop of some currencies against the Thai baht and what was once a cheap destination for Australians and British tourists is now considerably more expensive.

Depending on what reports you listen to the hotel occupancy rates for December in all of the usual tourist hotspots were dismal. Chiang Mai, Phuket, Samui and many of the other islands have had reports of occupancy rates as low as 20% throughout December, which is the beginning of the high season in Thailand and is usually characterized by rising numbers of tourists. True, some of the hotels are reporting that they are getting back to normal this week for Christmas and New Year bookings, but it’s possible that these are people who booked several months ago. It appears that new bookings for January through April are extremely low.

If you were planning on traveling to SE Asia in the next 6 months will you still make Thailand your destination or will you go somewhere else? And if you’re choosing not to go to Thailand what has influenced your decision the most; the political instability, the poor economy or the exchange rate? If you are still planning on heading to Thailand in the next 6 months why are you keeping it as your destination considering the above mentioned negative factors?

Personally I will keep traveling to Thailand for the culture, the people, the food, the weather and the sanook atmosphere. I’d love to hear what others are thinking about travel to the Land of Smiles in the coming year, please comment below and let me know what you’re thinking.

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I can’t believe that the Thai government would condone such illegal tactics, but this report from the Thai language newspaper Krungthep Turaij seems to indicate just that. I hope that I never come under the watchful eye of the ICT and this is just one more reason that I try to steer away from subjects that might be considered controversial by Thai standards.

I will agree that the websites they are targeting that are disrespectful to Buddhism are in poor taste, however I can’t agree with the hacking of ANY sites or the censorship of free speech and the internet. Considering the state of Thailand’s neighbor you would think that they would be more sensitive to censorship.

The Information and Communications Technology Ministry is to ‘hack and crack’ foreign websites deemed offensive to Thailand’s revered institutions.

A March 15 report in Krungthep Turakij newspaper quoted a source at the ICT that the ministry could pursue legal proceedings only with websites registered in Thailand, and is now planning a ‘hack and crack’ programme to hack offensive websites hosted abroad and delete their contents, because the legal process would take too long.

“This approach may be somewhat illegal, but sometimes it might be worth it, if [the websites] are really unacceptable,” the source said.

One website registered abroad has been found to advertise merchandise including calendars, dolls, bags, hats, glasses, watches, trousers and underwear, all with a logo of the Buddha meditating on a lotus, with the face of a dog. It was reported to have upset many Buddhists.

On March 14, ICT Minister Mun Patanotai said that he had called a meeting of investigators from the Department of Special Investigation, and Crime Suppression Division, and the ‘ICT cops’. ICT Minister’s Secretary Sarawuth Petchpanomporn was assigned to coordinate the collection of evidence and ask the courts to block websites and prosecute owners who, if inside the country, are subject to fines and imprisonment under the 2007 Computer Crime Act.

If the offense is committed abroad, the Minister admitted that there were difficulties. However, the Ministry has so far asked for cooperation from the authorities in each country or website administrators themselves, who have cooperated in solving the problems or delete offensive material, particularly concerning Thailand’s ‘supreme institution’.

“The ministry has 30 so-called ICT cops, so it is difficult to keep a thorough watch. We still have to rely on net surfers or webmasters to help, to solve the problem or notify the ministry of any irregularities,” Man said.

Acting Director Booncherd Kittitharangkul of the Office of National Buddhism’s Technology Centre said that on hearing the news he felt uneasy, and believed that it upset all Buddhists across the country.

The Technology Centre has found that the website has its server in California, USA, and the centre has twice asked the ICT Ministry in writing to shut down the website, but it is still online. The centre has also asked the Foreign Ministry’s Information Department to address the problem through diplomatic means.

“If within one month the problem is still not solved, I will ask for cooperation from ‘internet cop’ Pol Col Yanapol Yangyuen, Commander of Office of Technology and Information Cases under the Department of Special Investigation, to shut it down,” said Booncherd. He added that his centre has cooperated with relevant agencies in shutting down 5 similar websites which made commercial use of Buddhist symbols.

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