Summary
Blanca Ojanguren, a 22-year-old Spanish tourist, was fatally attacked by an elephant at the Koh Yao Elephant Care sanctuary in Thailand while bathing the animal.
She was struck by its tusk, resulting in fatal injuries.
This tragedy highlights the risks of popular recreational activities involving elephants in Thailand.
It follows a recent fatal attack by a wild elephant on a Thai woman and adds to the 39 elephant-related deaths reported in 2024.
You do not need to be rich to visit Thailand. Not saying that you particularly can afford it, but doing so is really a question of $2000 all included.
Globally speaking, yes you do.
A vacation to Thailand is prohibitively expensive for the vast majority of people.
According to some basic research, it looks like Thailand is actually in the top 10 for least expensive country to travel to.
If the claim is that vacationing anywhere is too expensive, then the argument is a little pedantic. That sounds like the perspective of someone who just saw a YouTube video comparing income by country, and now thinks they fully understand global poverty differences.
If the claim is that it really is too expensive to travel to Thailand specifically, it is simply incorrect. Thailand is one of absolute cheapest countries to travel to “globally.” Anyone in any country with enough money (and freedom of movement) for a vacation can travel to Thailand. Contrary to popular belief, this is based on comparative income, not global income. This means a lot of people can actually afford to travel to Thailand if they chose to. And, again, the person in question flew from Taiwan. Very cheap travel. (As a side note, this may be shocking, but some people take vacations when they cannot afford to.)
On average, a person in the USA who is homeless earns less than 50,000 per year. While, yes, 50k is a lot of money “globally,” someone earning that much money in the USA may not be able to afford a home in their own country. That’s why these kinds of comparisons are not helpful. You might as well call anyone who has ever lived or died “oxygen rich” because, universally speaking, dead or alive they have good oxygen levels compared to entire planets with no oxygen. It’s a useless statement.
One final thought is paid vacation days. The USA is at the bottom globally of mandatory paid vacation days. Countries that may surprise you will actually pay you your salary while you travel for vacation, and you better believe they do travel.
So, globally speaking, no you don’t.
https://en.tempo.co/read/1914697/top-10-cheapest-countries-to-visit-adventure-with-less-expense
https://www.kiplinger.com/personal-finance/spending/cheapest-countries-to-travel-to
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/mapped-which-countries-get-the-most-paid-vacation-days/
https://www.wvlt.tv/2024/06/10/more-than-third-travelers-plan-go-into-debt-fund-summer-vacation-study-finds/
The fact remains that a vacation to Thailand is prohibitively expensive for the vast majority of people.
You just don’t want to acknowledge how you live in a world of privilege at the expense of those who don’t.
It’s okay, I see it all the time and I don’t expect any more of you at this point.
Clearly you didn’t even read anything i wrote. I’ll still give you the courtesy of a thought out reply, knowing you won’t do the same, though i am wondering if I’m talking to a bot
You’re not providing any facts or information, just stating an uninformed opinion. It’s a very disingenuous take, and is not useful in any way shape or form. It’s actually somewhat dangerous, and also belittles people of other cultures. I don’t know why you think you’re trying to act like a white knight for people you consider to be foreigners, but they’re actually better off than you think they are. I’m guessing you must think you’re better than everyone else. I am curious which YouTube video you saw that made you think you know so much about global disposable income levels per capita, though at this point i think you’re just making things up as you go.
I’ve provided you with actual information and your response is no everyone else is wrong. Clearly you prefer taking bad faith arguments with strangers for fun. I hope you find out one day why this is the wrong way to behave
You also have no idea where i live, what i do, who i am, where I’ve been. I promise you that all your assumptions are wrong.
As i wrote this out i realized that i am probably talking to a bot
Prohibitively expensive especially for a 22 year old.
I could put a round trip to Thailand on any one of multiple credit cards NOW, but at 22? Yeah, no.
Once you’re there, US dollars go a long way, but GETTING there is the trick. Round trip right now from here is $1,100.