I wouldn't say that US$40 a week allows one to "live like a king", even in Thailand, and even in the provinces. In developing countries like Thailand, labor is relatively cheap, and locally-sourced foodstuffs which are mainly produced through farmers' labor are cheap, but world-market commodities and manufactured goods generally cost the same or, counterintuitively, more than in developed markets. Housing, too, costs about what it would cost in the United States for equivalent quality. The difference is in developing countries there are many, many more wretched shanties to choose from if one has less money.

An income of US$25-40,000 per year, which is fairly pedestrian in the United States, does allow one to live a reasonably prosperous burgher lifestyle in Thailand. Do we think Donny Long can put together US$25,000 a year?