Luxury: Living Small

Thai people are always going somewhere on the bus, whether back home to a village in Isan, or on to the big city. The standard of travel has become the "VIP Bus," a huge double-decker complete with cabin attendants, huge soft seats that recline, and clean toilets. Plus blankets, pillows, and box lunches. And movies. The fare on the all-night coach from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (about eleven hours) is less than $30 American. Most Thais can't afford a plane, so they make ecomony travel as comfortable as possible. Luxury, living small.