"The Italy of Asia"

An interesting comparison from James Fahn's book A Land On Fire:

If you've never been to Thailand but happen to be familiar with Europe, think of it as "the Italy of Asia." There are some startling similarities between the two countries, superficial and profound. Like the Italians, Thais are famous for their beauty and elegance, for their delicious cuisine and their insatiable appetite for fun and passion, for the splendor of their ancient traditions and the depth of their corruption, the continual changing of their governments and their disparities in income and power, their religious devotion and reckless debauchery, their grace and glitz, style and squalor, and, of course, their cities' ceaseless traffic jams.