Money

Everyone talks about how cheap Thailand is, and from my experience that just isn't true. It's all relative, and many things cost as much here as they do in the states. I'm making about half what I was making in Korea, and it is more expensive to live here. I do not know how this is possible, but it is very much the case. The dollar should be worth more here, and it is not. It is surprising to me that the Thai people can afford to live at this rate, but in many instances I do not believe they are paying what I've been paying. After settling into my town, it's possible that my rates will drop as well. 

Cambodia is even more expensive than Thailand! It was absolutely shocking how much things cost there. It's all about perspective, and before traveling like this when I would hear in countries like Cambodia about how people live off of a dollar a day, I always thought something along the lines of "how sad for them." Not so. It just means that they are able to get all of their needs met everyday for under a dollar. So in many ways, they are better off because less money is worth more to them. However, we paid at least a dollar a person for every meal we ate in Cambodia, sometimes three or four. I know it seems cheap to read it like this, but it's not. The value of the food and labor is simply not that much. It was really unbelievable to see what was happening. It was incredibly different than I expected, and the value of the dollar was so low to them. So low. Things like coke cost even more there when you directly compare them, dollar to dollar, which is not a fair comparison. They pay more for gasoline there as well. It did not add up. In this case I also believe that foreigners pay more for things than locals. They take US dollars in Cambodia, but do not give change. So, everything is a dollar minimum. As a result, your dollars add up and they go very, very fast. These people are making over $50 a day easily at these stands, which is probably more than many people in the country make in a month.