Remember the olden days in Thailand?

[pomchop]

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

No.

In the good old days I got 90 days visa exempt and unlimited entries.

 

The beaches were not destroyed by concrete. Hut for 300 baht a night. Bliss

Bar girls tended to customers and not their phones.

Bar fine was 200 baht ( Bkk ) and 1000 long time.

Took 4 hours to Pattaya on the bus and really was fun ( and sin ) city. Baht bus from the North Rd bus station was 20 baht to the door. Baht buses on the city run 10 baht. Still had shady trees and seating on the Beach Rd walkway. Hotel 500 a night with breakfast.

20 baht on the round the island songtheaw on Samui.

 

The BEST things about the old days in Thailand

No PCs

No internet

No mobile phones ( nobody calling mummy every day )

Beaches before they were ruined by flashpackers

Phi Phi was actually a decent place to visit

Pattaya was fun

Thaksin wasn't a politician.

 

and the baht bus fare on city runs is still 10 baht a few decades later and no doubt many farangs are still whining about what a rip off it is.

[Gottfrid]

13 hours ago, swissie said:

Recent Visitors/long term Expats may not know this. There was a time in Thailand where a "long-term" visa consisted of a monthly "border-run" to Cambodia. To be repeated endlessly, having fun on the monthly run, a change of pace. That was the "long-term-visa" for everybody.

Nah, If you don´t go back longer than 1979, they actually offered 1 year visa already. I assume you don´t go back longer than 1987, as you are talking about 30 day monthly runs, as that kind of visa/permission to stay was not available before that time.
 

13 hours ago, swissie said:

 

The only persons that asked you "where you come from and how long you stay" where the bar-ladies. Immigration was not interested in such trivial things.

Nah, Immigration looked at your passport. The nationality was available on the first page, so they did not need to ask you. 
 

13 hours ago, swissie said:

One could have rented a car with a drivers licence of eastern Timbuktu.

With todays over population and mass tourism, that would only lead to more accidents.
 

13 hours ago, swissie said:

Everyone welcome with some kind of stamp on some strange paper. That was a long time ago.

Boy, those were the days, when the only worrie a Farang had, was to miss the monthly mini-bus to the Cambodian border. Days gone by.

 

Actually, I did only get a stamp in my passport. Everybody else gave me a wai.

 

Regarding missing the bus, you didn´t need to worry too much about that either. In many cases they waved the fine for only a day or a couple of them. Otherwise I think it was still 200 a day and no problem at all.

[harryviking]

13 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I can remember turning up at a Bangkok Bank branch in Chiang Mai, armed only with my passport and 10,000 baht in cash.

 

Took about 20 minutes of signing forms, and I was good to go.

 

I can also remember renting a scooter without having to produce any form of driving licence.

Thank God those days are gone...😆

[Lacessit]

1 minute ago, harryviking said:

Thank God those days are gone...😆

You like the nanny state, and BOHICA?

 

Each to his own.

[marin]

13 hours ago, Bill97 said:

The olden days were when Cambodia was not open for visitors and the visa run was to Malaysia. 
 

Cambodia runners are newbees.

Could not be more true. For staying long term a triple entry non O from Penang was easy. 3 trips to Pedang Basar or Sadao, the 4th back to Penang to renew the visa. Always a nice gang of people on the train. The dining car served nice hot freshly prepared food and all the beer or Thai whiskey you could want. 

[Purdey]

Hotels? In my day you'd be lucky to find a grass hut with no running water.

[worgeordie]

When you had to do a tax clearance ,before you could get a departure OK,

but the tax due was never more than 500 baht , and the tax lady was more

interested in what  you could bring back from overseas for her, knickers,bras,

and perfume ,I never did do that ...but maybe others did

 

regards worgeordie

[spidermike007]

Spent some on Phuket a few years back. Was first there in 1976. No resorts. A few bungalows on the beaches. Beachfront land was 1,000 baht a rai. They could not give it away. Thailand was a very different world back then. Very quaint. Quite poor. Very 3rd world. 

 

Went back in 1986. Phuket and Samui. Had developed alot. Still very nice. Again in 1993. Far more development. Still amazing. Azure seas. Spectacular women everywhere. Great food. 

 

Did not return until around 2008. It was degraded, for the most part. But, still decent. The nightlife and the selection of women was still outstanding. 

 

Again back to Phuket last year. No need to ever return. The charm is lost. The over development is stunning. The prices were crazy. I still enjoy visiting Samui, as it's a beautiful Island and as long as you're on the beaches or up in the mountains it's quite lovely. But only for a visit, used to live there, but thrilled to death that I left. 

 

The bottom line is that the entire world has changed so dramatically, even in just the last five years, so we adapt or we die. Or we live our lives in the state of misery. 

 

 

 

[spidermike007]

It is unrecognizable from what it was on my first trip here nearly 50 years ago, but such is life. 

[spidermike007]

The world has changed, everything has changed, we have changed along with it, we simply have to adapt. 

 

As different as things are, I still love it here. 

[spidermike007]

Spent some on Phuket a few years back. Was first there in 1976. No resorts. A few bungalows on the beaches. Beachfront land was 1,000 baht a rai. They could not give it away. Thailand was a very different world back then. Very quaint. Quite poor. Very 3rd world. 

 

Went back in 1986. Phuket and Samui. Had developed alot. Still very nice. Again in 1993. Far more development. Still amazing. Azure seas. Spectacular women everywhere. Great food. 

 

Did not return until around 2008. It was degraded, for the most part. But, still decent. The nightlife and the selection of women was still outstanding. 

 

Again back to Phuket last year. No need to ever return. The charm is lost. The over development is stunning. The prices were crazy. I still enjoy visiting Samui, as it's a beautiful Island and as long as you're on the beaches or up in the mountains it's quite lovely. But only for a visit, used to live there, but thrilled to death that I left. 

 

The bottom line is that the entire world has changed so dramatically, even in just the last five years, so we adapt or we die. Or we live our lives in the state of misery. 

 

 

 

[BritManToo]

I prefer life as it is today.

Lots more to do now than ever before.

More books, movies, TV shows, games, better access to western food.

Not forgetting the pensions that pay for everything with no need to work.

[StayinThailand2much]

15 hours ago, swissie said:

Boy, those were the days, when the only worrie a Farang had, was to miss the monthly mini-bus to the Cambodian border. Days gone by.

 

And now they have four times the number of tourists, who, on average, stay 1/4 of the holiday duration compared to 20 years ago... 😆

[Burma Bill]

14 hours ago, Bill97 said:

The olden days were when Cambodia was not open for visitors and the visa run was to Malaysia. 
 

Cambodia runners are newbees.

 

Also to Vientianne in Laos, via Nong Khai.

 

In those days, to avoid the long queues at the Thai Embassy, you could employ the services of a Laos agent, several of whom were parked with their white vans opposite the Embassy. For 1,000 baht he completed all the paperwork. You left your passport with him and retired to a pre-arranged hotel. The next day around 11am, he would present your passport at hotel reception with the new visa - EASY! I had no qualms about leaving my passport as it was a very lucrative business for the Laotians which they did not want to upset.

[brfsa2]

In the  90s I used to go to Koh Samet and Koh Samui often as a teen, with friends from uni, etc. so fun! good weed everywhere and cheaper than beer, nothing like it is today full of crazy cheap drugs.

we rented really nice bungalows with aircon for like 400-600B/night, sometimes camped in the beach too and had parties.

then I revisited in 2015 and it was already 1500-2000B/night, the same places I used to stay for 400B/night.

 

That was one of the best times of my life in Thailand. Now a days also good, no debt,
😄

[thaipo7]

First time here was Aug 1970, courtesy of the US Air Force at Takhli and then to Korat.  Two years.  Got discharged in 1972, went home and got on TWA and back to Thailand, got married and stayed another year with no income. Sep 1973, borrowed from Dad to bring me and wife home.  6 months in 1978.  Then a few more time until 2005, with wife making trips between our trips.  Now every year between 2009 and now.

[Surasak]

18 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

What if they lose it?

You didn't pay until the passport was returned.

[Harrisfan]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I prefer life as it is today.

Lots more to do now than ever before.

More books, movies, TV shows, games, better access to western food.

Not forgetting the pensions that pay for everything with no need to work.

Better to live in the present. The past is gone anyway. Western food is way better now. Beer range way better.

[MalcolmB]

19 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I can also remember renting a scooter without having to produce any form of driving licence.

They were the days.

 

I rented one last week like that.

[MalcolmB]

4 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

The prices were crazy.

Phuket isn’t for the poor or budget travelers.

It is for those who want to live it up.

Life is short.

You can’t take it with you.

[thecyclist]

19 hours ago, Bill97 said:

The olden days were when Cambodia was not open for visitors and the visa run was to Malaysia. 
 

Cambodia runners are newbees.

That's exactly right. In the eighties the visa exemption was only 15 days, so very few long term farangs would do regular border runs. It was down to the Consulate in Penang for a double entry non-immigrant visa, which required no paperwork whatsoever. 

[spidermike007]

2 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

Phuket isn’t for the poor or budget travelers.

It is for those who want to live it up.

Life is short.

You can’t take it with you.

No matter how much money I had and no matter how much money I was willing to blow on five star resorts, I would not want to be surrounded by all those unpleasant Russians.

 

We all pick our spots in this life, mine is not there!

[RT555]

Used to drop my Passport off at a travel agency on Silom...and pick it up 5 days later with a new stamp....went on endlessly. That was pre 2000.

[davb]

15 hours ago, RSD1 said:

Every month or two, another post like this one gets added to the pile talking about "the good old days" in Thailand. But, yes, the late 80s through the late 90s were a great time and Thailand still had a level of fun spontaneity that has since faded over the last 25 years. Back then, Bangkok was filled with amazing, affordable street food, temples everywhere were peaceful and uncrowded, historical sites upcountry were still fun to visit, and the islands retained a natural, untouched feel. The country was less commercialized and Westernized in general. Accommodations were incredibly affordable, and there was far less bureaucracy and formality in getting things done. Visa rules were much more flexible, and overall, there were fewer restrictions. The locals were more tolerant of foreigners, happier, and less transactional. There was also a stronger presence of local culture, vibrant nightlife, and an easy-going atmosphere. With no social media and no Chinese and Indian mass tourism, the place didn't feel oversold or commercialized the way it does now.

I wish I could have visited back then. My Thai wife talks about how the street food was better when she was kid and how so much of it now is just a very sugary sauce on low-quality meat or rice.

 

It's frustrating how society seems to be regressing.

[hotandsticky]

Just now, davb said:

I wish I could have visited back then. My Thai wife talks about how the street food was better when she was kid and how so much of it now is just a very sugary sauce on low-quality meat or rice.

 

It's frustrating how society seems to be regressing.

 

 

Interesting. this is my 20th year in Thailand and I have found the opposite. 

 

Much street was awful back then, especially in rural areas, and I have seen a gradual improvement in quality.

[hotandsticky]

8 hours ago, pomchop said:

and the baht bus fare on city runs is still 10 baht a few decades later and no doubt many farangs are still whining about what a rip off it is.

 

 

I did when it went up to 20 Baht

[dcalaska]

Heck yes, I remember when a large LEO was 640 ML and cost 40 B or less.

[JamesPhuket10]

23 hours ago, swissie said:

Recent Visitors/long term Expats may not know this. There was a time in Thailand where a "long-term" visa consisted of a monthly "border-run" to Cambodia. To be repeated endlessly, having fun on the monthly run, a change of pace. That was the "long-term-visa" for everybody.

 

The only persons that asked you "where you come from and how long you stay" where the bar-ladies. Immigration was not interested in such trivial things. One could have rented a car with a drivers licence of eastern Timbuktu. The word "feminism" was known, but interpreted as "a female must look as female as possible". Hotel clerks mostly unfamiliar with the western ABC.  Everyone welcome with some kind of stamp on some strange paper. That was a long time ago.

And today? A strict visa concept. Farangs having to pay taxes. Tel-Phone SIM Cards readable by "authorities". Hurdles to even open a bank account? While at the same time "property -rights" for Farangs have not been "liberalised". For example.

Boy, those were the days, when the only worrie a Farang had, was to miss the monthly mini-bus to the Cambodian border. Days gone by.

 

 

A lot of this has nothing at all to do with changes to Thailand, it has to do with people getting old and not being able to do what they used to do when they were young, I hear it all the time.

 

I remember my dad saying it fifty years ago and he probably could remember his dad saying it. 

 

Doing visa runs was boring.

 

Now an hour at the immigration office once a year applying for a one-year visa extension and at the same time a multi-entry permit is the way to do it so I can go in and out of the country anytime I like. 

 

90-day reports are done online within five minutes with an email receipt received, same with the TM30, it can be done online.

 

Cheap sim cards with unlimited data for 300 baht a month, which means unlimited local or international calls via LINE or WhatsApp etc, and mobile email.

 

Local and international banking is via smartphone apps, and money is sent from the UK to Thailand in seconds via the Wise app.

 

I can sit in any place in Thaialnd and do my 'work' from my computer while being connected online. 

 

I too miss the old days, not because things have changed but because I have changed by being older just like the rest of us.

 

No more being able to bonk seven times a day like the old days. 🤣

 

[JamesPhuket10]

4 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

No matter how much money I had and no matter how much money I was willing to blow on five star resorts, I would not want to be surrounded by all those unpleasant Russians.

 

We all pick our spots in this life, mine is not there!

 

I have never met an unpleasant Russian in Phuket, I was in Makro a week ago looking at Australian beef, and a massive Russian speaking perfect English laughed and joked with me about why there were so many Australian joints of beef on sale, "Have all the Australians" gone on holiday he laughed.

 

I asked him if he knew which were the best joints and so he took me to them, he and his wife were friendly.

 

I think one Russian family is living in my gated complex of 350 houses in Phuket, there are a few other farangs but the rest are Thai.

 

When shopping in Makro or Tesco etc 95% of the customers are Thai, the rest farangs, I do not see the millions of Russians the people living upcountry go on about, it is all false.

 

But there is one place I have seen them in a crowd, in Central Shopping there is one floor which contains many exclusive expensive shops, Louis Vuitton, etc where handbags and other items cost 2000 dollars each, the doormen for each shop only lets in two or three customers at a time, most of the people in the queue were speaking Russian.

 

The Russians I have seen in Phuket are well dressed, smart looking, and have Russian wives and kids, I have not seen a single one with a bar girl, they are here to escape the war, and I don't blame them.

 

The few of them who are here choose Phuket for the international scene, they woud not want to live in a village in the middle of nowhere. 

 

So when I go upcountry sometimes and the farangs tell me Phuket is overrun with them and that is why they do not live there I laugh to myself and think the reason you are not there is because you can not afford to be there more like. 😃

 

Plus Phuket is "Reassuringly Expensive", (as the old British advertiment said) which is great.

 

 

 

[Dan747]

Multiple one year "Non-O Visa" for $200-"GONE!!"