Even in rural Isaan, western style foods are just not as cheap as people think.
Here is a roast chicken at Lotus’s.
It cost 129 thb or US $4.
That might be a dollar or 2 cheaper than Costco or Walmart in the USA.
However, in rural Isaan where the daily wage is 300 thb (US $9.34), that is almost one half of a local’s daily earnings.
The other issue is these chickens to me, do not have much meat on them????
Thailand is only cheap if you can eat local thai food, like a native here.
Even buying bulk meat at Lotus’s is becoming more and more expensive.
If you have to have western food here in Isaan or Thailand in general, it is going to cost you more than in the USA.
Western foods are not cheap here and easy to blow your monthly budget on western food items.
It is a good idea to figure out what western foods you cannot live without here and see how much they cost.