i may sound a bit long winded, but to me, i think no matter which nationality u marry, it is still the same. cos the thing that matters is the chemistry between u and ur wife. for me, i married a thai, from bangkok outskirts.
yeah, many bros will be thinking things like, why marry down when u can marry up? but, whe the time comes for u to settle down, u don't really think much.
about the foreigner's walking atm issue, let me share a bit of info abt myself to u. well, when i'm together with my gf(now my wife), i often chalk up debts, and it is my gf(now wife) who support and stand by me thru this period.
and finally, regarding this issue of giving gifts and presents and money for the wedding. lets think back to our culture. didn't our relatives or friends go thru the ceremony with complete set of wedding cookies, oranges, candles etc etc? cos this is our culture. one item also cannot be missing. same will be applied to the thai side. they have kanom, banana and sugarcane and etc etc, that is why some people are not readily accept the idea of giving drowry to the thai side.
well, i'm not ashame to tell u how much i paid for my wife. i bought a total of 6baht gold and 200k baht as sin sod. however, out of the 6 baht gold, 3 baht will be returned to me, 3 baht goes to my wife, 100kbaht goes to our savings will the last 100k baht goes to the misc things in our wedding such as photo shoot, rental of thai traditional dress, cost of hotel when my immediate family goes there etc.
but as i say, there will still be some thai girls who demand gold and money and will not share these with u. but come to think of it, didn't some of the sg girls family also make high demand?