You can live very cheap in Thailand but you need to know the ropes, where to go, where to eat, where to shop, and some lingo. I can also get by on $AUD1K a month, in fact I can get by pretty good on that figure but no way in the world could a tourist do it. Staying in hotels would eat up that much alone, even cheapo joints. I've seen budget travelers order a plate of plain white rice only, then use the free condiments to spice it up. Not much of a holiday if you're eating like that and sleeping in a flea-pit.