The ride to the hotel was a long one. During the trip, some of my classmates began pointing out places we passed which resembled some part of Manila, and I nod in agreement. We found the skyways and the sky train so much like EDSA, even Quezon City and Pasig to some. Ken, our guide, said that Thailand is a lot like Manila, with the traffic jams, and the same kind of crimes. He gave us a briefing on some information which will be useful in Thailand such as bargaining, not riding the taxi or their traditional mode of transport, the tuk-tuk in front of the hotel while he points out the names of several infrastructures we pass. He says that there is a lot of construction in Bangkok as more and more people are arriving daily. According to the Philippine Embassy representative, Bobby, there are around 3,000 tourists arriving daily in Thailand.

After settling in at the hotel, we paid a courtesy call to the Philippine Embassy where we were greeted by our Ambassador and Ms. Grace Banez. Our ambassador, whose name I already forgot, said that he's been in Thailand for five years now and that he does not want to get transferred to another country because life in Thailand is so easy - it has the conveniences of developed countries while the people maintains a simple way of living. He mentions that population growth in Thailand was one of the lowest in the world. When asked what kinds of policies he thinks are best copied n the Philippines to copy this seemingly prosperous country, he says that most of the members of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), our NEDA's counterpart, were educated in the Philippines and probably got their idea of development from our country. While they converse inside, I went outside to look around, and this was when I understood what the Ambassador was talking about. Outside of the walls of the Embassy was a big city, with the hassle and bustle of the big city, but still with fresh air and trees and plants growing in the streets. So many questions filled my mind and a certain envy towards Thais permeates my soul. I was thinking of the poor people back home, the dirty streets of Manila, and the intolerable heat of the city. Here I was in a country so much like the Philippines, and yet so unlike our country. My curiosity was awakened as I saw an elephant traveling in the sidewalk, and I vowed to myself, “I will find out how Bangkok, if not the whole Thailand got up from the slump of the Asian Financial Crisis”.

The next day, Ken toured us around the city and its temples to “give us good luck”. He says that this is almost like a custom for foreigners. He says that it is necessary for us to visit temples and pay our respect to their gods so that nothing bad will happen to us during our stay. After this, we went to the office of the Strategy and Evaluation department of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). This was when I found out a policy protecting the natural resources of Bangkok is already in effect. Garbage was collected at night and periodic cleanup of the main river, the Chao Praya and its tributaries were necessary so as to maintain the already depleted natural resource of the city. The CIA fact book on Thailand shows that Bangkok's water table is too low to support the 4.7 day population of the city. Aside from the many buildings, we see a lot of cars causing the building of skyways to alleviate this problem to no avail as the numbers of cars grow every year. BMA's figures show about 4 million cars in Bangkok during day time. In the 2007 budget appropriations of BMA, apart from the general administration expenses (comprised of salaries of employees, office supplies, etc.), public cleaning and orderliness got 17.81% of the 39 billion budget; with civil works and traffic system getting the next 16.19%. Public health and education has the lowest allocation at 11.69% and 10.84%, respectively. By these figures alone we see that the BMA was focusing on environmental protection (through cleanup drives and employment of local police officers who implements the environmental laws through fines) and the introduction of alternative ways of transport. The reason for this becomes apparent when the Office of the NESDB introduced to us the concept of the “sufficiency economy”.

This system is derived from the Buddhist belief of the Middle Way. The Philosophy of Sufficiency “means moderation, reasonableness, and the need of self-immunity for sufficient protection from impact arising from internal and external changes” (NESBD, 2007, Sufficiency Economy: Implication and Applications, p. 7). In order to attain a progressive economy, society, environment and culture in a balanced, stable and sustainable way, his majesty King Bhumibol believes that there is a need to improve the knowledge condition (to a prudent and appropriate knowledge) and the integrity consideration (a community of honesty, diligence, wisdom, sharing and perseverance). King Bhumibol states that the first stage in the development of the country is the construction of infrastructure and the provision of basic necessities such as food. Once these infrastructures are in place, then development can already proceed to the next stage.

To us who are visitors of this country, the sufficiency economy is an ideal system. It allows Thais to participate in the decision making because before each policy is drafted it needs to conform to this philosophy but also, the people should be consulted. The sufficiency community requires that communities cooperate with each other through the sharing of efforts and exchange of ideas. It allows communities flexibility in using their resources to attain benefits and happiness that coincides with their geo-social circumstances. This promotes self-immunity from internal and external shocks in the economy because communities have better control over their resources. These are all the principles of development that has been gaining ground over the years. Recognition of human development and Indigenous Peoples were supposedly meant to help us in the creation of the kind of the development that does not contradict the needs of the locals, but the implementation in our country has remained so ineffective that even the IPs themselves have already changed in character to suit the current economy of market competition and free trade. Our comparative as a country has been forgotten and we have opened courses that fit job needs abroad instead of creating a plan that will strengthen our economy internally.

Thailand's main problem has consisted of an unskilled workforce and the proliferation of HIV/AIDS and illicit drugs. The King believes that there is a need to restore the society's moral fiber and this can only be done by not wanting to much, and living within one's means. As to the spread of HIV/AIDS and dangerous drugs, NESDB notes that there is no significant improvement in this statistics. Some people say that this problem is due to widespread prostitution, what with tourism accounting for 6% of the country's GDP. NESDB says that this is their next priority but for the meantime, environmental protection is necessary due to a larger number of people coming to Thailand which could cause the depletion of the already limited natural resources. The BMA says that they are already addressing the problem of an unskilled workforce by providing free and subsidized education to those in need.

Being one of the three fastest growing economies in Asia, the successes of Thailand after the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis deserves merit. In the Philippines, the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy provides a good guideline as to how we can conduct development. We need to note however, like every other country, Thailand has its flaws. HIV/AIDS and illegal drugs are just some of the problems we share with this country.

I believe human development should always be in the forefront of decision making. Our economy, despite the improvement in the exchange rate, is not having any effect on the people living not only in the metropolis but also in the rural areas. Our policy makers should at the very least try to study and understand the steps taken by Thailand to maintain their economy. How did Thailand implement its policies that coincide with the sufficiency economy? Is Buddhism the main advantage of the Thais? What are the main causes of the improvement in Thai economy? What changes can be done so that this philosophy of sufficiency economy will be applicable to our country? These are just some of the questions I still have hanging in my mind as I approach the end of this paper. I hope someone else will be able to help me in answering these questions for the possible improvement not only for the sake of answering them but also for us to try and apply them on our country to try and improve our economy.