Ending the class in Thailand provided a sharp contrast to our stay in Cambodia. It was instructive to see the mutually reinforcing link between globalization and development that was manifested as we traveled from Vietnam to Cambodia to Thailand. Thailand is quite obviously the most developed of the three countries we visited and also the one where the effects of globalization are most apparent. With Bangkok's gleaming high rises, shopping malls, and western franchises ( it was the only country where Starbucks had found its way) it felt like a typical fast moving metropolis. As a middle-income country, the quality of the infrastructure, especially roads, highways and bridges, was in sharp contrast to Cambodia and even
Vietnam. Yet it also maintained the look and feel of a developing country with open air markets, street vendors, tuk tuks and traditional structures.
On the other hand, both Vietnam and Cambodia show the most signs of rapid development and change and will likely undergo a much more dramatic transformation of their economies and societies in the next few years. Our guides in Hanoi and Bangkok both commented on the high price of real estate and cost of living in those cities, where it seems that the median household can only afford a tiny studio or one room apartment. In fact our guide in Bangkok dreams of going back to Chiangmai , a beautiful rural area in northern Thailand where he grew up and he hopes to eventually become a farmer.
It was interesting to see how the students integrated their experiences andanalyses all that they have absorbed from their travels as they construct their final projects. We had one last class meeting in the Detroit airport we had a final discussion on these topics and then it was time to get on the final leg of our 26 hour journey back home.
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