An Explanation

Many of my friends, relatives and acquaintances read my blog. Thanks……but none of them left any comment L …. instead, mailed me directly…..but thanks again ….two mails needs a lil more attention/explanation……. And I am giving it here and not as individual mail…..it can be useful to others too

First one was a disagreement about me telling Bangkok is not the ultimate shopping place

Second was a question ‘then who rules the kingdom, the king? The Army? Or a democratic parliament?

Well, the second one first….thats a good start

Yup, I mentioned Prime Minister, Thailand, King, Kingdom, Coup etc….but I don’t know much about Thailand’s history and I never was interested till I got befriended with a Thai person…..I read something that time….and brushed up a lil after visiting Thailand. …..The End……….So, what I can tell is,

The King is not the ruler since 1932. then may be there was some democracy period….but whatever it is, there was an elected government lead by Thaksin Shinawatra and he got overthrew by a (bloodless) military coup. Some politicians believe that the King also is part of the conspiracy. Unlike Pakistan, the Army chief did not become the dictator but ruling was done by junta. It happened last year, 19 September 2006 . The present ruling body is neither military nor any democratic body but a governing body appointed by the junta, including the Prime Minister. So, you know how it will look like. From what I read from the local news papers, the Prime Minister is not ruling the country like a dictator. There also came a comment that he, these days, talks ‘like a monk’, but other politicians are not happy and they want some’ immediate action’ …..…..I know only that much, as of now.

Shopping paradise. I was looking from an Indian perspective. Of course cloths are cheap here. What I still feel is if you are a brand freak, there is not ‘much’ to save, that too when we buy items with proper bill. I personally visited a brand showroom to convince myself (he sells brands like Arrow) and bought a St. Andrews T-shirt (never heard about such a brand) for Bt.375, that is about INR 495. There wasn’t any bargain but just a festival discount. Almost similar quality T-shirts are available in Bangalore for same price or at a lesser price. Whatever I bought at bargain prices are not up to this T-shirt’s quality. Not only that, many of them shrunk after wash. Also I remember another story. There is another person (my wife’s colleague) who bought some less expensive/unbranded T-shirts and when she gave it to her husband who is in the textile industry and that too a quality expert, he asked ‘what is this?

For one Thai ‘buck’ an Indian need to pay 1.33 ‘bucks’ so, 100 Thai bucks are 133 Indian bucks. But if you are a USD/Pound tourist, things are entirely different.

Before visiting Thailand, I had the impression that we get everything (mainly cloth and Electronic items) at ‘rock bottom price’ (some sites and people told me). But my personal experience was bit different, may be because of high expectation.

I wanted to say only that much and my blog is about my personal experience (no offence meant to anybody) and I did not arrive into a blind a conclusion…..I am still open….new experience, new opinion….

I am NOT at all telling that Thailand is expensive; you can buy lots of things at reasonable price if you know where to go and do a bargain. And this includes cloths, electronic items, leather items, computer and its accessories….more you buy more you gain.