Old Timers

[Pierrot]

I came here for the first time in 1984. Bangkok, and more generally speaking Thailand, was a different place at that time. And a very different place from what other people enjoyed in the 70's and earlier

Would people be interested to discuss what was life in Thailand for expat/backpacker 10, 20, 30 years ago, talk about old places, old friends ? or am I just an old nostalgic fool ?

[JohnGotti]

youre a fool.

[loong]

I came to Thailand for the first time less than 10 years ago.

I, for one would be interested to hear stories from the "pioneers"

If there are people who can post their experiences form 20 or 30 years ago, I will read it. It would make a nice change.

Obviously Johngotti, won't be interested, but that's up to him.

[anothertorres]

pictures of the old days would be even better...

[Tywais]

There is a pretty good topic on it started 3 years ago > What was Thailand like years ago if you need a nostalgia fix.

[flying]

pictures of the old days would be even better...

I would love to see that too

[LeungKen]

pictures of the old days would be even better...

Your wish is my command.

More Here :-

http://www.thaicultureblogs.com/index.php/...-1950-s-bangkok

[tso310]

There is a long thread on TD (am I allowed to mention them) specifically for old photos. Well worth a look.

Edited May 9, 2009 by tso310

[Boater]

is that BKK? , the streets are clean and look orginized!

[sanook2me]

youre a fool.

big Tony Soprano hasn't hidden his writing style then

[sanook2me]

Whats as interesting on the old thread are the names of the posters..

Ulysses G. hasn't changed his avatar

lots of posters who don't post anymore wonder what happened them in real life?

Man Bkk looked great in the 70s 80s 90s

I made it in the late 90s and things have changed alot for me.

Too many farangs now ;-( no novelty factor in Bkk...

[Pierrot]

There is a pretty good topic on it started 3 years ago > What was Thailand like years ago if you need a nostalgia fix.

I take it you're not really familiar with what a forum is about. It’s about talking with people, sharing experiences, not watching old pictures.

Now thank you for the thread. Unfortunately nobody post there since August last year. It’s a bit of a shame. My idea was a forum (meeting point) where people, not so interested in current events, can meet and talk of the old time.

Anyway, it was just an idea. Now back to the sinsod question …

[LeungKen]

There is a pretty good topic on it started 3 years ago > What was Thailand like years ago if you need a nostalgia fix.

I take it you're not really familiar with what a forum is about. It's about talking with people, sharing experiences, not watching old pictures.

Now thank you for the thread. Unfortunately nobody post there since August last year. It's a bit of a shame. My idea was a forum (meeting point) where people, not so interested in current events, can meet and talk of the old time.

Anyway, it was just an idea. Now back to the sinsod question …

OOOPS Sorry.

Would you like me to remove the photos I posted Pierrot ?

Edited May 9, 2009 by LeungKen

[Birdman]

Whats as interesting on the old thread are the names of the posters..

Ulysses G. hasn't changed his avatar

lots of posters who don't post anymore wonder what happened them in real life?

Man Bkk looked great in the 70s 80s 90s

I made it in the late 90s and things have changed alot for me.

Too many farangs now ;-( no novelty factor in Bkk...

80s:

Traffic jams were enormous. 1 hour from Sukh.Soi 15 to Sukh.Soi 1 was standard during rush hour. Asoke to be avoided under all costs. 4 hours from the airport to Pratu Nam nothing unusual. Driving from Phaya Thai to Phra Kanong at 18:00h was a constant wait surrounded by a sea of cars for hours. No Sky train or Metro.

I changed from car to bike because of that. But air pollution was at it's worst, too.

[eek]

Good thread idea. WiII be nice to see photos.

The "What was Thailand like years ago" thread its ok too, has some interesting observations. However,some posts seem to just focus on ThiaiIands night Iife. How much they paid for a bar-fine etc. Im sure interesting to many, and granted its a part of ThaiIands history, but just seems a tad pathetic that quite so many memories of a country are centered around that (or, at Ieast, thats the aspect they choose to focus on and share detaiIs on). But, I guess for some peopIe that IS their ThaiIand?

(and yeh, i know iII get fIamed. Fire away.)

[Pierrot]

There is a pretty good topic on it started 3 years ago > What was Thailand like years ago if you need a nostalgia fix.

I take it you're not really familiar with what a forum is about. It's about talking with people, sharing experiences, not watching old pictures.

Now thank you for the thread. Unfortunately nobody post there since August last year. It's a bit of a shame. My idea was a forum (meeting point) where people, not so interested in current events, can meet and talk of the old time.

Anyway, it was just an idea. Now back to the sinsod question …

OOOPS Sorry.

Would you like me to remove the photos I posted Pierrot ?

No. Actually thank you for the pictures.

But pictures are only part of the story. What I was looking for was a meeting point for people who were there when the pictures were taken and are willing to talk about what was life then

Edited May 9, 2009 by Pierrot

[p_brownstone]

I came here in 1971 – I was 25 years old.

I was working with a European Trading Company here …….. on a salary of GBP 2,980.- per month, the GBP : Thai Baht Exchange Rate was fixed by the Company at 1 : 50, so my monthly salary was Baht 12,416.25 – amazing how some things stck in your mind!

My job entailed a lot of upcountry travel to quite remote areas of Thailand, in many villages the local population had quite literally never seen a Farang in person and several times I would be sitting in the local Noodle Shop eating my 2 Baht lunch and the local school would empty; I would find myself surrounded by curious children - the more adventurous of whom would come up and examine the hairs on my arms, even look into my eyes and ask their friends “how can he see with those blue eyes?!”. Once the teacher knew I could speak Thai I was often invited into the classroom to give the children an impromtu geography cum history lesson about England and the West in general.

I remember one occasion when I had to visit a farm and the farmer was away ploughing somewhere so I had a few hours to wait before he came home. I spent the time playing with a couple of his young children and made a pull-along toy out of bits and pieces from various spare parts I had in my car and some things I picked up in the farmers junk; about 6 months later I had to go back to the same farm and I was amazed to see how treasured that simple toy was – it was still being played with. A sharp contrast to toys bought for Western children which are usually broken within weeks of purchase and thought nothing of.

Patrick

[loong]

I was working with a European Trading Company here …….. on a salary of GBP 2,980.- per month, the GBP : Thai Baht Exchange Rate was fixed by the Company at 1 : 50, so my monthly salary was Baht 12,416.25 – amazing how some things stck in your mind!

Somethings may stick in your mind - but not the maths

Sorry, joking. That must be a typo with your Salary? nearly 3,000 pounds per month? That was quite a chunk then and at 1:50 would be nearly 150, 000 Baht/month.

[RAZZELL]

I was working with a European Trading Company here …….. on a salary of GBP 2,980.- per month, the GBP : Thai Baht Exchange Rate was fixed by the Company at 1 : 50, so my monthly salary was Baht 12,416.25 – amazing how some things stck in your mind!

Somethings may stick in your mind - but not the maths

Sorry, joking. That must be a typo with your Salary? nearly 3,000 pounds per month? That was quite a chunk then and at 1:50 would be nearly 150, 000 Baht/month.

£3,000 a month in 1971???? mmm you could buy a decent house for £9k.

I think you confused it with year... or £298 a month

But Patrick, the rest of your post sounded wonderful, I'd love to hear some more memories about Thailand

RAZZ

Edited May 9, 2009 by RAZZELL

[Birdman]

I was working with a European Trading Company here …….. on a salary of GBP 2,980.- per month, the GBP : Thai Baht Exchange Rate was fixed by the Company at 1 : 50, so my monthly salary was Baht 12,416.25 – amazing how some things stck in your mind!

Somethings may stick in your mind - but not the maths

Sorry, joking. That must be a typo with your Salary? nearly 3,000 pounds per month? That was quite a chunk then and at 1:50 would be nearly 150, 000 Baht/month.

...rather: monthly salary was Baht 12,416.25 = appr.250 GBP/month or appr.3.000GBP/year.

Anyway the job seemed to be unusual for a Farang. Also speaking the language fluently then was exceptional.

[p_brownstone]

I was working with a European Trading Company here …….. on a salary of GBP 2,980.- per month, the GBP : Thai Baht Exchange Rate was fixed by the Company at 1 : 50, so my monthly salary was Baht 12,416.25 – amazing how some things stck in your mind!

Somethings may stick in your mind - but not the maths

Sorry, joking. That must be a typo with your Salary? nearly 3,000 pounds per month? That was quite a chunk then and at 1:50 would be nearly 150, 000 Baht/month.

...rather: monthly salary was Baht 12,416.25 = appr.250 GBP/month or appr.3.000GBP/year.

Anyway the job seemed to be unusual for a Farang. Also speaking the language fluently then was exceptional.

First of all - sorry for the Typo, it was GBP 2,980 per year, not per month!

Secondly, at that time speaking good Thai - at least for Farang working in Companies here - was definitely not uncommon. In my Company and others it was a definite requirement that one gained fluency as quickly as possible, promotion and salary increases were partly influenced by one's ability in the Thai language, spoken and written.

Patrick

[sbk]

Anyway. mathematics aside.

I find it funny when someone assumes Bangkok was better in the past. I came in the 80's as well and the pollution and traffic were so bad that Bangkok was almost unnavigable and unlivable.

My husband went to University in Bangkok, lived with his brother, and had to take the bus to school for 3 hours one way every day. So, 6 hours on the bus every day. And the school wasn't that far (Ramkamhaeng, he was living near The Mall BangKapi) He got up and left the house at 4 am.

Koh Phangan, of course, was an entirely different story but probably one most people wouldn't be interested in hearing about Small island, no amenities, no mod cons, just local people living their normal lives.

[RAZZELL]

Anyway. mathematics aside.

I find it funny when someone assumes Bangkok was better in the past. I came in the 80's as well and the pollution and traffic were so bad that Bangkok was almost unnavigable and unlivable.

My husband went to University in Bangkok, lived with his brother, and had to take the bus to school for 3 hours one way every day. So, 6 hours on the bus every day. And the school wasn't that far (Ramkamhaeng, he was living near The Mall BangKapi) He got up and left the house at 4 am.

Koh Phangan, of course, was an entirely different story but probably one most people wouldn't be interested in hearing about Small island, no amenities, no mod cons, just local people living their normal lives.

Come on..tell...how did love blossom?

RAZZ

[abdulrahman]

is that BKK? , the streets are clean and look orginized!

The Golden Era not soo Golden anyway? But nice pictures!And,yes,you could walk on the walkway.

[Neeranam]

My husband went to University in Bangkok, lived with his brother, and had to take the bus to school for 3 hours one way every day. So, 6 hours on the bus every day. And the school wasn't that far (Ramkamhaeng, he was living near The Mall BangKapi) He got up and left the house at 4 am.

Klong Saen Saeb was there in the 80s. I used live near The Mall Bangkapi and travel to The Mall Ramkamhaeng - if I walked it would take me 30 minutes - by canal about 10 min. Are you sure it wasn't Bangkae?

However, when I worked near the Oriental Hotel, the journey would take 4 hours sometimes, pre BTS. It would usually take an hour to get up Silom Road.

[JetsetBkk]

is that BKK? , the streets are clean and look orginized!

Not many electric cables or advertising signs, although the first picture has about 5 signs near the tops of the buildings - all very similar sized and similar design signs that look as if they may have been put up by the same company.

[Edit: Should be 3 pictures - sometimes I see only two.]

Edited May 9, 2009 by JetsetBkk

[sbk]

My husband went to University in Bangkok, lived with his brother, and had to take the bus to school for 3 hours one way every day. So, 6 hours on the bus every day. And the school wasn't that far (Ramkamhaeng, he was living near The Mall BangKapi) He got up and left the house at 4 am.

Klong Saen Saeb was there in the 80s. I used live near The Mall Bangkapi and travel to The Mall Ramkamhaeng - if I walked it would take me 30 minutes - by canal about 10 min. Are you sure it wasn't Bangkae?

However, when I worked near the Oriental Hotel, the journey would take 4 hours sometimes, pre BTS. It would usually take an hour to get up Silom Road.

It could be, I know his brother moved. Just assumed it was the current house which is near the Mall Bangkapi.

I remember once, we visited his brother about ten years ago and it took us a half an hour to get out of the side soi and onto the main street. Waiting at the red light. It would change, but nothing moved. If we hadn't planned on going to the train station I would have gotten out and walked!!!

[Pierrot]

Anyway. mathematics aside.

I find it funny when someone assumes Bangkok was better in the past. I came in the 80's as well and the pollution and traffic were so bad that Bangkok was almost unnavigable and unlivable.

My husband went to University in Bangkok, lived with his brother, and had to take the bus to school for 3 hours one way every day. So, 6 hours on the bus every day. And the school wasn't that far (Ramkamhaeng, he was living near The Mall BangKapi) He got up and left the house at 4 am.

Koh Phangan, of course, was an entirely different story but probably one most people wouldn't be interested in hearing about Small island, no amenities, no mod cons, just local people living their normal lives.

I went to Koh Phangan around 5 years before your time. We went there because Samui was too crowded . When I was there, we were no more than 20 foreigners on the island. Life was great because it was so peaceful If I wanted a full moon party, Ibiza is closer to my home country.

But my best memories are from Koh Samet. The place was very quiet too during the week. Then on Friday night, they were boat full of Bangkok students who came on the island for the week end. It was BBQ, music, ... until Sunday 5:00 pm when they were all gone and we had the island for us until the next week end. And there was this Thai family living on the beach. People said they own the island, the lady was from a very rich Bangkok family (we didn't know the word "hiso" at that time ) but she was kind of an outcast, a hippie, and chose to live on the island. The husband was a bit hopeless, actually completely hopeless. He used to disappear in the early morning, he had bong hidden in the forest, and the highlight of the day used to be when he come back home late in the afternoon and he was chased around by his wife .

Also this guesthouse in Bangkok, KSR, they had a monkey on the roof, the daughter of the owner was torn between an English and a French boyfriend, I still don't know who she chose.

[Birdman]

Cycle rickshaws were banned in Bangkok in the mid 1960s as "not fitting the modern image of the city being promoted by the government".

[JetsetBkk]

Cycle rickshaws were banned in Bangkok in the mid 1960s as "not fitting the modern image of the city being promoted by the government".

That's terrible. I hope the picture was taken a lot earlier than the mid '60s - I would hate to think of all those hard-working people having their lives disrupted by an uncaring government. Wouldn't happen these days, would it.