The Baht's been fairly stable for years now, ranging from 39-42 or so. However, it's pretty sickly compared to what it was back in '96 when it was around 20 to 1. THOSE were the days to be teaching in Thailand, I believe. I could be wrong, though. Maybe in those days teachers got paid 10,000 Baht a month tops. I don't know, myself. Thailand was a distant land I knew nothing about in 1996.

During X-mas mass in 2001, Vatican Square looked like a K-Mart lot does today back in the states. I was there and saw it with my own eyes. Everyone was staying away because they were afraid of Binny. This past year it was back to being jam-packed. Americans staying off airlines today can be attributed to higher ticket prices (caused by higher oil prices) and new security hassles (caused by right-wing politicos in D.C.).

Anyway, my hypothesis is that Thailand is a 'has been' place for teachers and decent paychecks since the Baht's meltdown in '97.