Declared interest… I’m a Rooster fan. No way I can begin to equal his time spent here and his knowledge of a Thai language and culture.
The only sense in which I might steal a march
on him is that my first visit to Thailand was in late 1970 as a stage on the hippie trail from
UK to Oz. I knew zero about Thailand ( as I had about Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India).but I think my destiny to end up in Thailand was sealed the first time I sat on a semi-circular couch with a MamaSan offering me the choice of half a dozen adoring, touchy feely girls. I
stayed at the Atlanta at a
low point in its history when there was an inch of water through the foyer, met an American guy and ended up being whisked of by a couple of girls to their “village” Pattaya !
I’ve returned at various times over the last
20 years, so
have seen the evolution of Sin City, most latterly in 2015 for a
month post retirement. Now happily married in
Isan , I consider myself lucky to have witnessed the rise and fall ( I fear) of a Thailand institution.
Ray Ban