In which I explore another of Thailand's nifty qualities, though unfortunately through the dull eyes of an economist... (Sorry for the wonkery - you've been warned!)

One of the finer joys of living in this delightful corner of Southeast Asia is the sparkling range of options opened up by the rock-bottom cost of living. I'll talk about these in a sec, but first you'll have to either slog or scroll through some amateur financial analysis. Though comparable in wealth to Costa Rica, and a hefty notch up the GDP ladder from Botswana, I've found that Thailand is dramatically cheaper than either of them - especially dear extortionate Bots. It would take a better (and better-paid) economist than I to fully suss out the reasons for this, but my theory is something along these lines.

Botswana has such dramatic income inequality that the country is cleanly bisected into two parallel economies, predictably assigned to the haves and the have-nots (Costa Rica, much less so). The middle class is virtually non-existent: either you share a standpipe with a hundred other people, or you have a swimming pool all to yourself. Those on the bottom rungs don't starve or lack for education - a major improvement from many of Botswana's African neighbours - but they eat a diet of dirt-cheap maize meal and beef stew, and live in phenomenally modest housing. The other 15%, by contrast, live unsurprisingly comfortable lives, with precisely the price tag you'd expect. As a result, a slightly-paid intern like myself ended up paying five hundred dollars a month to share a single-level house with 4 other people, since the alternative was to pay $15 for an unlit room in an airless shack. There was no middle ground.

But here in Thailand I live at least as comfortably as I did in Botswana, for a fraction of the price. My apartment costs less than half of what it did in Bots, and I eat out constantly for a quarter of the price I paid in Africa - even at the roadside food stalls. I suppose that Thailand, vast income disparities notwithstanding, has enough of a middle class to sustain modestly priced accomodation, restaurants, and services. A proper full-spectrum economy exists, with survivable lifestyles available to everyone from the just-a-notch-above-rock-bottom poor to the unimaginably wealthy. The numberless hordes of Western budget backpackers further motivate Thailand's fiercely competitive entrepreneurs to provide modest-yet-appealing amenities.

But (and here's the thought that launched this heretofore dull post in the first place) the really interesting thing isn't living well enough for dirt cheap - it's discovering how far money can go when one is willing to splurge a little. Case in point: I could get a haircut for a dollar or two here, and probably go home no more miserable about the result than I usually am after a haircut (which, for the record, is moderately so). But at the franchised (and ludicrously overstaffed) hair joint at the corner of my street, I paid a locally exorbitant fee just to see how far my money can go - and received the most ludicrously luxurious haircut experience imaginable.

If I recall correctly (I may have blacked out somewhat) I received 3 absurdly meticulous rounds of shampooing, followed by a 20-minute scalp massage. The haircut itself took place in the world's most comfortable barber's chair, while an attendant constantly provided my choice of an immense variety of complimentary beverages and a broad selection of German-language magazines (well, hey, nothing's perfect). Afterwards, another round of shampooing and brain massage completed the hour-or-so long experience. The price tag for this little slice of haircut heaven? A sky-high seven dollars.

And this situation crops up nearly everywhere else in Thailand. Those willing to pay something closer to Western prices find unimaginable luxury. Example number two: the movie theatres here are modern and well-equipped, on a par with those at home. A standard evening ticket costs 90 baht - about $2.50 Canadian. Yet the lucky cinephile willing to pay a Canadian-style price - in this case, 14 dollars - enjoys the "Emperor Class" experience - a private viewing room with luxury recliners, an immaculate personal washroom, and hyper-attentive table service. Of course, I have yet to justify such an expense, but I'm sure as hell going to try it before I leave.

The bottom line - you can live comfortably in Thailand for peanuts, or you can live like a wayward Saudi Prince for a few dollars more. Either way, it's hard to go wrong here - and illuminates yet another reason why so many western visitors to Thailand find it hard to leave again.