You know i've been thinking about this. Now i'm a Thailand noob. I'm there at the moment and i'm 3 weeks into a 1 month stay. I am left with 2 over-riding thoughts of the place.

Firstly, where the hell is all the millions (billions?) of USD-worth of tourism money going?? I've travelled around a fair bit and the roads are dreadful, there's a serious lack of drinkable tap water and no foul water treatment to speak of. Internet services are flaky at best. Power supply is just as bad. There're piles of rubbish all over the place and all the Thais seem to do is lie around asking tourists if they want to hire a jetski or a motorbike...The beaches of Samui/Pha Ngan/Tao are slowly getting covered in rubbish. Do they realise WHY there are tourists visiting their country? It's certainly not to roll around in ****! (well, maybe it is for some people :p)

Secondly, the mentality from the government down to the man on the street seems to be that long term fiscal success lies on scamming a tourist for an extra 100Baht. They don't seem to understand the concept of return custom or reputation. Now i know i'm tarring many people with a single brush here, and there are many Thais out there who can't do enough for you, are really friendly and genuinely care about the service they provide, but in my short experience they seem to be in the minority. Most see you as a meal ticket. A walking ATM.

Tourism has pumped an enourmous amount of money into Thailand and has the potential to pump in a huge amount more but that will not happen if Thailand steps up or even continues its parasitic view of tourists. It's incredibley dumb, not to mention more than a little short-sighted.

There does not seem to be any regulation with regards to services offered. On my first day in Koh Samui i came in to contact with the Thai philosophy of "NO REFUNDS!". It only cost me 300 Baht so a good lesson learned there. But you couldn't do it in any developed country. Also my bag got rifled through on the bus there (whilst in the luggage compartment of a coach). Nothing worth nicking in there of course but annoying nonetheless. NOT a good start to a holiday in a new country.

I don't know if i'm being unreasonable. I came here after a month in Japan where they literally cannot do enough for each and every customer. If you walk into any shop you are treated like a King or Queen. If you have any complaint they are overly keen to make things right. Maybe i was spoiled there but i really don't think much of Thailand at the moment. Can't wait to head into Laos and Vietnam! And i'll defenately be heading back to Japan asap!! (getting the idea Thailand??)