Out there somewhere

It's day 11  and i'm in Thailand. 

Today, the group and I woke up at 4am to drive to Mae Sot, one of the thai-burmese border for our exposure visit trip. It took us 8 and half hours by van to get to our destination. And to my surprise, Mae Sot is no less than a town. There is a Tesco, supermarkets, car shops, furniture shops and everything you can imagine it to have. To be honest, more than what rawang has.

So here i am, learning about the issues of Burmese migrants here, Not refugees, Migrants as well as assessing the situation they are in here. It was a shocker what services the NGOs are equiped with. NGO in Kuala Lumpur has lots to learn bout Thailand. 

If you ask any tourist, they would definitely proclaim Malaysia to be the more advance one compared to Thailand. But i guess we are grossly mistaken. This place where I am, is equivalent to what Kelantan or Perlis is. However, in terms of infrastructure, mentality and facilities, i have to swear that Thailand is more advanced. Bet you never thought that was possible right?

The roads are nicely lit, though half the time i travelled on the trunk road, there were streetlamps, proper 2 lane roads on each side, and petrol stations everywhere. I asked the people i met along the way during my stay here, and to my surprise, not just in Bangkok, but regular Thais are earning well, pay lesser taxes than we do, and have more access to great infrastructure without having to pay for killer tolls outside of Bangkok. Now this is one government who is definitely pro-people first, before being pro-money. I have to applaud their efforts. 

Now i am not saying that the Thai government is flawless, because that would just be a lie. However, put aside all the flaws that Thailand and Malaysia may have, and Malaysia will lose hands down. 

For example, i visited a clinic today for Thai migrants. In thailand, there are refugees and migrants, both from Burma. Refugees live in camps, and migrants, cross over the border for medical services and better jobs. The thai government is quite tolerable towards the migrants. Although there are bribery's going on here and there, the sums asked for a reasonable and more humane compared to the way WE are dealing with the problem. 

We could take a lesson or two from our neighbour. 

Tomorrow i will be exploring more of Mae Sot. I cant wait. But gosh i wish there would be rainfall. The weather here is literally "to die in". Garrrrrr

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