you don't need $500.00 USA in Thailand,you on need a few dollars
Thai Baht 1 THB in
American Dollar THB
0.0310513 32.2048
THE EXCHANGE RATE IS 32 TO 1 WITH TREMENDOUS BUYING POWER GIVEN TO THE U.S. DOLLAR
http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html
IF YOU EVER TRAVELED when the U.S. dollar was strong you know you got the best of everything for Little U.S. money but now the Euro is strong and the US dollar is down.
the most expensive thing about Thailand is getting there but once there you can live in 5 star accommodations for 1 or 0 star prices