Bwahahaha. You heard about it, already? It's pretty new I hear.
The drug thing goes the same in any country... and it's made out to be much worse on paper than the actual situation on the ground(except a full moon party).
as for the airfare, it's about the same from anywhere in the world to thailand. about 200 USD more from the east coast. but... this is not a N. American meetup... it's an international. Australians, europeans, and kids form the western half of the US can book a flight in advance for about 600 USD, slightly less for the aussies and europeans.
The Aussies wouldn't be able to afford N.America or Eurpoe at 1200 - 1300 USD a ticket. The cost of things on the ground in Amsterdamn is about 10 times as much as Thailand. A room can be had for 3 USD, a meal for 1 USD, and travel around the country is very cheap too.
I'd imagine most people would rather stay an extra week than pay ten times as much for a room....of similar quality.
oh, and chill on the legal matters. the standard "fine" for someone who is very, very stupid... and wrecks a motorbike with a load...... is about 100 USD. Much cheaper than what you'd pay a lawyer in the US. Quicker too

Oh, Thaksin, the PM who started the whole War on Drugs ver. Thai was thrown out in a military coup. apparently he was stepping on thier toes
