First Impressions of Thailand

ON THE ROAD IN THAILAND — It’s the roads, stupid. You drive for mile after mile, for hour after hour on first class roads all across southern Thailand. And there are four lane, six lane arterials through most of the towns you drive through.

And another thing. There don’t seem to be any traditional villages. Everyone is living in the towns, or in western-style isolated farm complexes.

It’s a surprise. You know that Thailand has recovered from the Asian Contagion of 1997-98. But the appearance of solid prosperity, the burgeoning businesses, the ubiquitous Toyota HiLux trucks and 4x4s, it means something.

And another thing. In India and China there is a class of transportation below what we see in the United States. Leaving aside the occasional ox-cart, which you don’t see in southern Thailand, there is also no sign of the motorcycle-based tricycle cargo vehicle. It’s pickup trucks everywhere, parked in front of businesses big and small. Maybe the truck is a old Nissan. But just as likely it is a shiny new Toyots HiLux 3.0D, with fancy roofrack and roo bars (OK so they don’t have kangaroos in Thailand, but you get what I mean.)

Here is something else. Outside your average southern Thailand city is a row of plant nurseries, looking just like what you would see in the United States.

Here is my take. You are getting pretty close to the top of the league when your city is supporting a bunch of businesses in the nursery lark.

By the way, anybody around here recently walked along the Bridge over the River Kwai (pronounced Kwer) whistling “Colonel Bogey?”

I thought not.