As 2025 dawns we are now a quarter of the way through the Asian Century, in which global power will swing sharply away from a decadent West and towards the dynamic countries of the East – titanic China and India, certainly; ageing but innovative Japan and Korea, possibly; but also to the emerging economies of South-East Asia.
I have just got back from two weeks in Thailand, returning to the country – and to Asia in general – after almost a decade away. Like most Western ‘travellers’ in the region, I was very much on holiday and consuming tourism services with gusto. I speak no Thai and have no special insights. But such is the pace of change that, even from this perch of comfort and ignorance, I was able to observe a country transformed.
Kop kun app
The most obvious change since my last visit is the huge market penetration of smartphones and the app ecosystem that has grown up around them. Much of this is native to South-East Asia, which is self-similar enough for apps to operate across borders and reach a market of half a billion people.
Technology has allowed Thailand to skip certain stages of economic development that Western countries went through. Payments ten years ago were almost entirely in cash, outside hotels. That’s still true for tourists, but people with a Thai bank account now make most payments with a QR code. The credit card companies, with their high fees, have been passed over.
For everything else there’s Grab, a dominant ‘everything app’ which operates across the region and offers services including food and parcel delivery and ride-hailing. And unlike the American apps that dominate the European market, it’s tailored to the local economy.
Early on in the trip, as a night out in Hua Hin was drawing to a close, I observed a friend of a friend – a Bangkok native – use Grab to summon a motorcycle to whisk her home. Once I had stopped envying the rider, I downloaded the app and did the same. The rider texted me to let me know he was on his way, which the app translated in English for me. Within minutes he had arrived and was ferrying me the 2 kilometres to my hotel for just over 1 euro.
This became my default mode of transport. The riders are skilled and prudent, with none of the recklessness one normally associates with motorcyclists in Asia – presumably a result of the app’s rating system. No more walking the streets to find a tuk-tuk, no more haggling in a foreign language, and no temptation to drunkenly ride home oneself.
There are downsides too, of course. As in Europe, one can no longer eat in a neighbourhood restaurant without being interrupted by a parade of sweaty delivery men, slowing down the kitchen and ruining the atmosphere. Overall, though, technology has made travelling in Thailand, and presumably the rest of South-East Asia, easier than ever for the consumer-tourist.
King motorbike’s unsteady rule
Whether as taxi or personal vehicle, the motorcycle is still king of the Thai road. The hot climate, compact cities and narrow roads (which reduce traffic speed and therefore danger to bikers) all make motorcycling a practical option for Thais and tourists alike. Bikes are a big part of why it’s so cheap and pleasant to move around.
What Thais call a ‘motorbike’ is in most cases what Europeans would call a scooter or a moped: cheap, lightweight, with a step-through frame and a small engine. The sports and adventure models that dominate the European biker scene are rare here; most Thais ride for convenience, not thrills.
That suggests that motorbikes could be knocked off their perch if ever they stop being the most practical choice. There is a very real risk of that happening as Thais get richer and more of them have access to cars.
In every society, most people choose to buy a car once they can first afford to do so. Misleading marketing and subsidies aside, cars really are a big life improvement when relatively few people have one. When there’s no traffic a car is more comfortable, faster and safer than a small motorcycle; a marker of wealth and status.
But at some point, a tipping point is reached. Urban life is severely degraded – for everyone, including drivers – once perhaps one-third of a city’s inhabitants own a car. Cars and buses, and to some extent motorcycles, are forever stuck in traffic. Cycling and motorcycling become more dangerous, pushing more people to buy cars and compounding the problem. Walking space is given over to endless car parking. The noise, the pollution, and in Asia the heat caused by cars are oppressive; street life evaporates.
In Thailand today, the difference from a decade ago is stark. Car dependency and congestion have spread from Bangkok to every town I visited. As in Europe, the most popular models are oversized SUVs and pickup trucks, increasing the harms. Main roads are clogged with traffic while back streets, where two tuk-tuks can easily pass, are frequently snarled up by drivers struggling to pilot their land ships past each other.
All is not lost. Late-stage car dependency, where the weight of cars makes it almost impossible to live without one, has not yet been reached in Thailand. If Asian cities can learn from the West’s mistakes, they could conceivably skip this unhappy stage of development and move straight to the post-car urbanism of Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Thai officials have perhaps a decade to take bold action before car dependency becomes entrenched and their job becomes a lot more difficult.
Washed-up white people
Asia may be rising relative to Europe, but there is still a significant wealth gap, and with it a market for exploitative tourism. There are still fat old white men walking hand in hand with pretty young Thai women. Often they seem not to have a language in common. There is still overt sex tourism, too: women and men and people in between calling out to offer their bodies to passers-by for modest sums of money.
But all of this is reduced compared to a decade ago. There aren’t so many gross old men, and their companions aren’t quite so young. The sex workers, then widespread in nightlife districts, are now confined to specific streets. Fewer of the massage parlours are hybrid brothels.
In their place have sprung up hipster coffee shops, coworking spaces, relaxed bars and cafes where one can legally consume weed or mushrooms. All of this has attracted a better class of tourist, from all over Asia as well as the West – signs at tourist sites are in Thai, English and Chinese – and pushed the seediness to the sidelines.
They cater also to the growing Thai middle class, tourists in their own country. Some of them speak good English and hang out with Westerners. A subset of them also date or hook up with foreigners in a way that’s not obviously exploitative. As a foreigner in Thailand, the separation from local society has been reduced.
There are even signs of a reversal of migration patterns. Besides the digital nomads and itinerant English teachers, one can now find Europeans working in bars, restaurants and hostels. Once you give up on the idea of a mortgage and pension, as many young Europeans have, the low cost of living makes working in Thailand a rational choice.
Economics aside, Thailand’s high social trust and culture of respect make life more pleasant in unmeasurable but significant ways. There is no litter or broken glass on the streets; inane slogans about distant wars are not sprayed on every wall. You can leave your motorcycle helmet on the handlebars overnight and it won’t be stolen or vandalised. For a European who must lock up his bicycle just to pop into the bakery, being in Thailand is a weight off the shoulders.
All of this gives Thailand – and presumably other countries in the region – a foundation to eclipse Europe in terms of overall quality of life as the wealth gap continues to narrow. The Asian Century has begun.
Another piece that is a source of information and enjoyment. What I appreciate, among other things, is the way you address the periodic difficult or sensitive topic in a way that is not evasive or euphemistic. Straightforward and candid, with language as an ally. Thanks for that; something to learn from.
Very nice read, thank you. As for cars and post-cars culture, this is deeper and it won’t change soon. Cars are (sadly) more an expression of social status than means of transportation. In fact, the culture of public transit is something distinctly European, in which we are an exception rather than norm. Few other notable exceptions include Japan, Singapore and very few US cities. Again, ghank you for weiting this and happy new year too.