I happened to come across this hilarious political cartoon the other day - it pokes fun at the GOP team of McCain “the Caveman” and his running mate Palin “the Deer in the Headlights”. Check it out and have a good laugh!

You maybe wondering, what does this cartoon have to do with ecotourism, nature tours and travel to Thailand, Costa Rica, the Caribbean and other tropical locales? Hmm, let me think…it has absolutely nothing to do with TRAVEL!!!!!

Traditionally, Thailand like most Asian countries is nation of tea drinkers. All that changed innocently enough when in July 1998, Starbucks opened up their first store in Bangkok. Since that time, the floodgates have opened as Starbucks has mushroomed to over 120 stores in Thailand, with over 60 stores in Bangkok alone. In Asia, Starbucks has over 1500 stores – I guess you could say that Starbucks is attempting to achieve global domination of the coffee trade, and in a way they are succeeding. Starbucks proliferation in Asia countries represents globalization and the spread of western culture. Let’s face it – Starbucks is symbolic of the excesses of Western culture.

While most of the poorer classes in Thailand still drink their teas, in Bangkok and other large urban centers, the younger crowd (college students and the like) and professional people have become avid coffee drinkers, and Starbucks is their place of choice. For professional people, having an expensive cup of coffee at Starbucks enhances their status or sense or self worth, and for the younger folk, to be seen at Starbucks is to be “hip”. The “Starbucks Index”, a new term that I created, is pretty high in Thailand with over 120 stores and a large cup of regular coffee costing about 55 baht (approximately 1.60USD), about the same price in the San Francisco Bay Area. For many of the common working people in Bangkok (and the rest of Thailand), the cost of a tall Cappuccino or Latte (about 90 baht or more) is almost equal to a days wage, definitely not very cost effective. Furthermore, you can buy a whole meal, albeit from a streetside vendor for less than 40 baht. Let’s face it, for most of the people on Thailand, Starbucks is way too expensive.

Ok, I know you are probably wondering, what are the alternatives for a good cup of joe in Bangkok? Well, Starbucks strongest competitor – Black Canyon Coffee, a coffee retailer based in Thailand, also has numerous outlets in Bangkok and Thailand , and a cup of coffee (and their mixed coffee drinks) is on the average 10-20% less. Most people prefer Starbucks to Black Canyon because their stores are larger, plusher and have more comfortable seating arrangements in addition to being more accessible. More important is the aforementioned Status factor. In my opinion, their coffee is better tasting than Starbucks and hilltribe coffee, grown in the mountains of northern Thailand is tastier yet. The only reason I patronize Starbucks in Thailand is for the comfortable seating arrangements and more importantly, a lot of pretty ladies congregate there. And I am tea drinker at heart!

On my upcoming trip to Thailand in November, one of my homework assignments is to double check on the prices of all coffee drinks at Starbucks including their array of fancy designer drinks- frappuchino, green tea chai etc. I just want to get the facts straight. I will report back!