Thanks Craig.Your opinion is valid of course for you. However I applied 3 times befire I finally and for Canada a Cdn visa and PRC. First time it was by myself, second time with a totally useless Thai agent, third time success with a brilliant Cdn agent. So in my case it worked wonders to have an honest, knowledgeable hard working professional help me.
Try the UK for national parks and forests. All charge. Where I am on Vancouver all the parks charge parking fees. It us not racism. It is a discount gor locals and residents. Again very normal for locals to get a discount.
Many countries charge these fees. They help to maintain the trails, pickup garbage, etc. I have travelled a fair bit and so many places charge entry and trail use in parks. There is no way my rice farming Thai family could afford 100 baht just to walk on a trail. That is enough to feed someone for a day or buy enough food from the market for MA and PA's dinner.
Yes. It took us two years, 3 applications and close to 10 thousand dollars for my Thai wife to get a Permanent Residentvisa for Canada. Last year we went to England-another 1,500 bucks for a visa. Same this year when we went to France. And even though she is a legal Permanent Resident in Canada, to go to the US, even on a cruise ship it is another visa, a few hundred dollars and a two year wait to get an interview. Yes, comparatively, Thailand is a piece of cake and very open.