The Pro's and Con's of Thailand

Thailand is essentially a modern country now... arriving here from it's most backward neighbor really put it in focus for me, confirming suspicions I have had... it may be an ancient culture, but they are hell bent to get past that on all but holidays... that characterizes my thoughts almost more so than any other set of ideas. We sometimes forget we have other options in South east Asia because Thailand at first makes it's self so familiar and inviting, and easy to get stuck in... you do have other choices, and as much as the predictability of Modern Thailand can be reassuring, I've had about enough of it...

Pro's

The people are largely intuitive.. they pick up on things big and little, and they work to please you in ways that can be quite complex...
They are reasonably well educated and perceptive...
While there are problems with the veneration of the king, it does add a charm and a thoughtfulness to the Thai.
Good public transportation, although the whole country looks the same about anywhere the public transportation goes.. to get into the nature of Thailand, you do have to rent a bike or a car, but both are also easy to do if a town has nay tourism at all. The trains are a nice combo of old and new, with some bureaucratic tendencies, but they do clickety clack along satisfyingly..
The food tastes great... don't ask about nutrition!

Con's

The Ignorance game with people who deal with tourists
Many of the people you deal with as a tourist will be willfully unperceptive, and un-intuitive and almost take pride in it... they are like happy rats rolling in money. at first it's one of the exciting things about Siam, the meth addled Tuk Tuk driver roaring around and hassling you, but over time it get's old.
Bad Environmental Policies
When it comes into conflict with Consumerism, there is not one iota of respect for the environment in Thailand.
Architecture
Thailand has perhaps the worst urban architecture on earth, from bad boom days in the 50's, 60's and 70's
The streets also tend to be cement prisons of sorts since any exposure of grass invites bugs, erosion problems and such, so that the towns tend to not have parks or greenery, and despite the people being cheery, feel slummy, especially at night..
Visa Runs  
At first it was a cute challenge, even though I had a ticket out, was visiting a thai national who is a good friend. It forced me to explore the region.. now it screams to me one thing.. the powers that be don't know what they want... they want you to come, stay in a resort and spend a lot of money, but they don't really want you to stay for long even thought they have turned their country into the world's tourhouse and whorehouse... work it out among yourselves, but quit making all the tourists suffer.. it's amateur, like so much of Thai Governance.. if they are trying to ensure that you stay a bit but not too long, it feels like a policy built in greed and not genuine hospitality. There are many countries like Mexico that offer 6 month visas and none of the hassle. It seems Xenophobic, and implies a duplicitosness.