At the mention of Peace Corps, many people in the U.S. think of mud huts, no electricity, no running water and being out in the bush. Nothing could be further from my Peace Corps reality. I live in a cement row house, with electricity and running water pretty much constantly in a rural community. But that doesn’t mean that Thailand, and more specifically my village, is not in a state of development.
I’ve written before about the infrastructure that came to my village when the dirt road through the rice fields was paved. I appreciated this development because it meant that I didn’t have to choose between biking on a muddy, dirt road or past a pack of dogs that has chased me in the past.
But now I’m nearing the end of my Peace Corps service, which I’m certain has the universal effect of reflection upon the volunteer’s time spent in their respective country, I’m realizing just how much visible economic development has happened in just the two short years that I have been here.
Bueng Palai as a Development Case Study
First it was that small, back road being paved.
Then the main road that goes from the main highway (a generous label) back to the villages was resurfaced for the first time ever, repairing enormous potholes a meter wide.
“Restaurants,” or rather tables outside of the houses of people who would sell you cooked food, began popping up more around the village. Then an actual restaurant showed up on the other side of the highway.
The bus stop went from being a folding table, with all the tickets neatly laid out on top of it and a handwritten poster with the bus schedule to an actual ticket booth with a nice, neat board made with number stickers.
My neighbor, who was previously selling cheap cosmetics and plastic woven baskets has expanded into selling clothing as well.
The shelves of the small store that I buy water from have gone from being sparsely stocked to usually full.
More people have smartphones now than when I came.
Coin operated washing machines were just installed at the end of my row house.
Statistics of Development in Thailand
This is what economic growth looks like. And what I’ve seen only serves to back up the numbers that are being reported.
Over the past 15 years, monthly wages have more than doubled: from a record low of 6,344 THB (about $164) to 13,581 THB (about $416). And while the Thai economy is technically in a recession (negative growth for the last two economic quarters), most of that can be attributed to the loss of tourism dollars because of the coup and other economic policies enacted by the junta.
Cars are still being manufactured and bought by Thais. Investments and upgrades are being planned and implemented. And smartphones are proliferating.
If the economic landscape has changed this much just in the short time that I’ve lived here, I can’t imagine what the next 15 years will bring. I just hope that social development can keep pace.