It's 'Deja Vu' all over again!

by Leonard H. Le Blanc III

 

 

This year marks 45 years since I first came to Thailand. There have been a few changes over the decades. But remarkably there have been more than a few things that haven’t changed at all. Some random thoughts.

 

I instantly fell in love with the country as soon as I got off the plane. I was mesmerised with the people, the lush scenery, the exotic scents, the warm weather and warmer hospitality, the gilded temples, the ancient history, the charming customs, and the delicious food. I knew this was place where I wanted to spend the rest of my life. I have been in over 70 countries since I arrived here. I have not changed my opinion.  Bangkok has been my permanent base of operations since 1991 when not doing U.S. government contracts in the hottest of hot spots including Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kuwait, Nigeria and Houston.

 

The exchange rate then was steady one U.S. dollar to 20 Baht. Gold was USD$35.00 per ounce. A handmade, finely crafted, personally fitted Italian pair of leather dress shoes were USD$20. A whole closet full the top quality European styled designer suits were a few hundred dollars. I had a steak dinner one evening back then at the Chokchai Steak House. At the time the restaurant was in the Chokchai Building – the tallest skyscraper in Thailand at 26 stories. It had a spectacular view on the 23rd floor. You could look out and only see a few dim houselights to the southern and western horizons and nothing else of note. Most of the scenery was just trees.  

 

The place to shop back then was the newly opened the Siam Center. But I noted with dismay over the years that there was a growing gap between the lowest step of the entrance on the street and the pavement. All due to subsidence caused by underground water pumping. So they periodically kept adding wooden steps each time to close the growing gap. Behind the Siam Center was the elegant, shaded Intercontinental Hotel.  The lobby was the perfect place to have some tea while teams of handsome pilots and glamours stewardesses from Pan-Am, SAS, British Airways, Lufthansa and other international airlines that housed their crews there on layovers waltzed through the lobby area.

 

Full Story: https://expatlifeinthailand.com/travel-and-leisure/art-and-culture/its-deja-vu-all-over-again/

 

-- © Copyright Expat Life in Thailand 2020-09-15

 

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nostalgia ????

There was a time that I was more excited about returning to Thailand than returning home...those are fond memories now...reality is Thailand is not as wonderful as it once was...

20 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

There was a time that I was more excited about returning to Thailand than returning home...those are fond memories now...reality is Thailand is not as wonderful as it once was...

Nowhere is once it becomes your normal ????

14 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

There was a time that I was more excited about returning to Thailand than returning home...those are fond memories now...reality is Thailand is not as wonderful as it once was...

Maybe when/if Thailand gets rid of the soldiers "government" and there is a vaccine for the virus, and international travel gets near normal, Thailand should be a lot better, but there will always be the dreadful road statistics which will never change.

19 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

and there is a vaccine for the virus,

you still after you prove you are vaccinated with xyz, you will not need the 100.000 usd + 14 day prison, sorry, hotel quarantine ?

Nicely-written article, but did I miss the deja-vu bit?

 

Nostalgia certainly isn't what it used to be!

 

 

19 hours ago, Mavideol said:

nostalgia ????

nah, dementia..

It's all in the mind I believe, e.g. someone, something p-sses you off and Thailand is all of a sudden not the flavor, it was a mistake, or was it.

 

For me it's the smoke season that is always around, nothing's changed, slowly learning to accept it as it approaches, yuk.

 

Just this morning after dropping the kids to school, 25 kilometre country run with no traffic, I said to the wife on the way back as we were passing rice fields surrounded with all the trees, look at that, we are in heaven.

 

Hope to be here till I pop my clogs, albeit it with the hope that burning will be something of the past, I did say hope, because without hope, we have no hope ????

 

On 9/15/2020 at 3:07 PM, Puchaiyank said:

There was a time that I was more excited about returning to Thailand than returning home...those are fond memories now...reality is Thailand is not as wonderful as it once was...

Which country is?

Edited September 17, 20205 yr by Letseng