To The Old Hands ..

[mca]

The only change that bothers me a little is the massive increase in the number of cars on the road and the associated traffic jams. In town every journey has doubled in time.

I don't know which town you live in, but in Bangkok I think the traffic situation has actually improved since 1980. We were pretty much at gridlock before the first expressway, ring roads, more bridges, urban railways etc were built. The traffic situation in all provincial capitals just seems to be getting worse though.

Khon Kaen. Though I must admit the tollways in BKK are a boon whenever I visit. I nearly cry when it comes to my exit and I have to leave to rejoin the throng!

[lovelomsak]

The only change that bothers me a little is the massive increase in the number of cars on the road and the associated traffic jams. In town every journey has doubled in time.

I don't know which town you live in, but in Bangkok I think the traffic situation has actually improved since 1980. We were pretty much at gridlock before the first expressway, ring roads, more bridges, urban railways etc were built. The traffic situation in all provincial capitals just seems to be getting worse though.

Khon Kaen. Though I must admit the tollways in BKK are a boon whenever I visit. I nearly cry when it comes to my exit and I have to leave to rejoin the throng!

One thing I noticed about traffic is that now they stay in lanes more in bkk. Before lanes meant nothing drivers went wherever they felt. Driving was chaos. Now when i go Bkk i see some sort of order in the traffic.

[GarryP]

A bungalow on Chawaeng beach 30Baht/night. Single light bulb and the generator turned off at 10pm. No running water in the bungalows. Magic Mushroom Milkshakes to wash down the ganja cookies, both items clearly listed in the menus.

Kao Sarn Road was not the back packing center of Bangkok. Most gravitated towards Soi Si Bampen and Ngam Dupli, The Malaysia Hotel and the Blue Fox.

Bus tickets were 1.5 Baht if I recall correctly.

Nowhere near as convenient as now, but much more interesting or so it seemed. Ah them were the days me lad, 5 Baht a bowl of noodles so big you couldn't eat them all and Amarit beer for next to nothing. A four star hotel was one with a small clear skylight, five stars got you a bigger one.

Edited August 29, 2011 by GarryP

[farang000999]

i bet all of those prices cost more in gold back then than they do now. here is a tip for the next twenty years: avoid fiat money!

as for changes? 10 million more cafes but zero of them are worth a lick.

[lovelomsak]

A bungalow on Chawaeng beach 30Baht/night. Single light bulb and the generator turned off at 10pm. No running water in the bungalows. Magic Mushroom Milkshakes to wash down the ganja cookies, both items clearly listed in the menus.

Kao Sarn Road was not the back packing center of Bangkok. Most gravitated towards Soi Si Bampen and Ngam Dupli, The Malaysia Hotel and the Blue Fox.

Bus tickets were 1.5 Baht if I recall correctly.

Nowhere near as convenient as now, but much more interesting or so it seemed. Ah them were the days me lad, 5 Baht a bowl of noodles so big you couldn't eat them all and Amarit beer for next to nothing. A four star hotel was one with a small clear skylight, five stars got you a bigger one.

Nice to hear mention of the Malaysia Hotel. They used to have a sign out side that said something like " You will never sleep alone again".

Went to the Malaysia hotel sing song entertainment one night. Well the girl was up singing the rats where running up and down the drapes behind her and on the stage. I felt something furry hit my leg and I looked under the table to see rats all over the floor must have been a hundred running under the chairs and tables around peoples feet. I come from an area of the world that is known for being rat free so was quite the site for me. My first night in Thailand was spent in Ngam Dupli. You brought back lots of memories.I had a 50 baht room.

Edited August 29, 2011 by lovelomsak

[lovelomsak]

i bet all of those prices cost more in gold back then than they do now. here is a tip for the next twenty years: avoid fiat money!

as for changes? 10 million more cafes but zero of them are worth a lick.

Gold was only 4000 baht also,not over 21,000 or more like now. I never saw anyone buy anything with gold so cannot comment.

[GreenSnapper]

Nice to hear mention of the Malaysia Hotel. They used to have a sign out side that said something like " You will never sleep alone again".

This area was the backpacker area before Khao San started around 1981(?)

Have been to Ngam Dupli recently and I believe it is still far better there than in KSR now. Some low scale hotels do exist and the famous Malaysia is now catering to gays.

During the redshirt fights last year, Ngam Dupli was quite a dangerous area, though.

[Moonrakers]

Been here just over 10 yrs and the only significant change for me is the exchange rate.

[sbk]

A bungalow on Chawaeng beach 30Baht/night. Single light bulb and the generator turned off at 10pm. No running water in the bungalows. Magic Mushroom Milkshakes to wash down the ganja cookies, both items clearly listed in the menus.

Kao Sarn Road was not the back packing center of Bangkok. Most gravitated towards Soi Si Bampen and Ngam Dupli, The Malaysia Hotel and the Blue Fox.

Bus tickets were 1.5 Baht if I recall correctly.

Nowhere near as convenient as now, but much more interesting or so it seemed. Ah them were the days me lad, 5 Baht a bowl of noodles so big you couldn't eat them all and Amarit beer for next to nothing. A four star hotel was one with a small clear skylight, five stars got you a bigger one.

No electric, no running water, no phones, no doctors and no banks, its not so much fun when it isn't a holiday but its your life.

[lazygourmet]

Nice to hear mention of the Malaysia Hotel. They used to have a sign out side that said something like " You will never sleep alone again".

This area was the backpacker area before Khao San started around 1981(?)

Have been to Ngam Dupli recently and I believe it is still far better there than in KSR now. Some low scale hotels do exist and the famous Malaysia is now catering to gays.

During the redshirt fights last year, Ngam Dupli was quite a dangerous area, though.

You are 100% right... Back to mid-80's, Ngam Dupli -for travelers- was the place to be.... and especially the 24/7 coffee shop at the lobby of the Malaysia hotel.

That place became a gay meeting point by the end of the 90's, personally: nothing against that matter... Times are changing!

Wong's place survived, even after the death of Khun Wong -his brother is taking care of the biz-... But nowadays, it's as fashionable as the "Pudding shop" in Istanbul.

[Chivas]

Not sure if being here 20 years qualifies me as being an old timer, but to answer the question, I still love it here and would live no where else.

I first came to Thailand working for Jack Nicklaus and lived in Pattaya for 11 years. After the kid came along I still enjoyed living there, but did not feel it was a suitable place to raise my child, so we packed up and moved to Chiang Mai and have been there ever since.

Yeah, traffic has gotten worse, it's allot more populated now and it seems that there are allot more <deleted> around, but I just stay away from all that as much as possible and try to keep to myself.

As far as the Thai's go, I never had a problem with them and still don't. They seem to be as hospitable and accommodating to me as they were the first day I arrived. I know you read threads on here about all the bad things that go on, how people are scammed, robbed and all the bad road mishaps, road rage and so on, but Jezzz, it was always a hit and miss when going out on your bike or in your car for a ride. There's just allot more people out there now (Forieners) and so your bound to hear more whining from people who think everything Thailand should be as in their own country.

I live up on the side of Doi Suthep in Hangdong, Chiang Mai and that is where I will most likely take my last breath. There must be allot of other old timers here that feel the same as I do towards this wonderful country we now call home.

Don't let all the negative post in this site be of much concern as some people just like to bitch and see their own words in print. I believe most of the old timers would rather keep our mouths shut, and let the newbies loose all the sleep over the not so important things. One day they also will become old timers and will have gone though a change in attitude, at least one would hope. If not, then their in for a long hard road....

I'm sure you'll qualify with 20 years under your belt! (The 11 years in Pattaya might add 30 though!!)

The traffic has got worse, agreed, not so much for the amount of foreigners coming here but IMHO the amount of motorcycle drivers etc who have become able to get cars/pickups or whatever on very easy credit terms. The 'locals' are still some of the nicest people you will ever meet (outside the tourist areas) and I'm sure a lot of 'visitors' could learn 'hellova' lot here and take their 'learnings' home with them.

A question for you though ... 20 years ago did you see the same amount of farangs/foreigners/westerners as you see now?

You didn't see very many YOUNG foreigners would be the right statement I feel.

Sure there must have been backpackers about but on my first trip nearly 20 years ago I saw no one younger than myself at that time being 31 ??

Virtually all Germans would have been my experience and nobody spoke English to me once in 12 days apart from guy I came with.

[Ulysses G.]

[i was pretty sure i saw them so I checked and they have been around a long time since 1925.

There is no way that thousand baht bills were in circulation when I first came here and no one ever talked about them, so they had not been in circulation very recently. When they came out that I know of

(maybe in 1992), everyone acted like they were something new.

Maybe they were something like a $500 bill in the U.S. - they exist, but you never actually see them.

Edited August 29, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[lovelomsak]

A bungalow on Chawaeng beach 30Baht/night. Single light bulb and the generator turned off at 10pm. No running water in the bungalows. Magic Mushroom Milkshakes to wash down the ganja cookies, both items clearly listed in the menus.

Kao Sarn Road was not the back packing center of Bangkok. Most gravitated towards Soi Si Bampen and Ngam Dupli, The Malaysia Hotel and the Blue Fox.

Bus tickets were 1.5 Baht if I recall correctly.

Nowhere near as convenient as now, but much more interesting or so it seemed. Ah them were the days me lad, 5 Baht a bowl of noodles so big you couldn't eat them all and Amarit beer for next to nothing. A four star hotel was one with a small clear skylight, five stars got you a bigger one.

No electric, no running water, no phones, no doctors and no banks, its not so much fun when it isn't a holiday but its your life.

True but it was adventure. I have friends sail around the world nonstop singlehanded for adventure also. No doctors,no phones,nothing but real adventure. Royalty has come to our club to sit and dine with them to applaud their adventurous spirit and award them. Some of us like to be challenged. We donot all wish to live in a fully protected environment.

But you are certainly right about not your average holiday site. But back then Thailand wasnot really on the tourist circuit. Also if others hadnot gone forward and broke the path Thailand may still not have been noticed for tourists.

[sbk]

I guess it was an adventure for the first 6 months or so but after a couple of years it was just alot of hard work. But like I said, great if you are a tourist and looking back with rose colored glasses, not so fantastic living it day in and day out for years.

[Tywais]

There is no way that thousand baht bills were in circulation when I first came here and no one ever talked about them, so they had not been in circulation very recently.

This is 1939.

Printed but not issued in 1949 due to worries about inflation:

4th series - not sure of timeline.

2nd series, 1928.

1st series, 1902

14th series, 1992.

Source - Siambanknote

Another source - atsnotes

[Ulysses G.]

So there was no thousand baht bill between 1939 and 1992.

[GreenSnapper]

Interesting thread, you always learn something new.

From what I remember, it's quite probable that the 1000B notes we have today started around 1992.

[zzaa09]

Yes, the good old days.

Some still enjoy this atmosphere, as much of rural Thailand has changed little in generations.

The comparative of city mouse and country kin is not useful.

[lovelomsak]

So there was no thousand baht bill between 1939 and 1992.

If you take the time to check post 45 and the atsnotes thread it tells of the 1000 baht note from 1985 to 1992. Enough said.

Edited August 29, 2011 by lovelomsak

[sbk]

I never saw one, we paid the builders for our house with notes from the bank: all 500s and 100s in 1989.

Just checked with DH and he never saw a thousand baht note during that period either. In those days, nobody trusted a check and everyone wanted cash and the only banks were on Samui so he would go to Samui with his dad, get hundreds of thousands of baht in notes and bring it back to transfer at the Land office. And he never saw one 1,000 Baht note. So, either they were printed and not in circulation or they never made it to the banks in Samui nor apparently, Chiang Mai since UG never saw them either.

[lovelomsak]

I never saw one, we paid the builders for our house with notes from the bank: all 500s and 100s in 1989.

Just checked with DH and he never saw a thousand baht note during that period either. In those days, nobody trusted a check and everyone wanted cash and the only banks were on Samui so he would go to Samui with his dad, get hundreds of thousands of baht in notes and bring it back to transfer at the Land office. And he never saw one 1,000 Baht note. So, either they were printed and not in circulation or they never made it to the banks in Samui nor apparently, Chiang Mai since UG never saw them either.

I believe you that there were none on Koh Samui years ago. If someone would have brought them they probably would have had to go to the bank to change them also, much like my original comment ,where I stated it was impossible to cash in restaurants or markets.. But they were in Thailand.I fully support the fact that the economy at the time had little use for them in everyday life. I am well aware that back then even a 500 baht note was big note. But to say they werenot there because some people didnot see them is like saying Canada doesnot have Niagara Falls because you went there and didnot see it and neither did my friends.

Why would a bank on Samui back then keep them no one could use them regularly, would have been foolish to bring to such a place in those days. People were dealing in much smaller denominations, and in cash as you said.Probably if you had paid for your house in thousands the guy would have looked at you and thought why do they pay with these it just gives me headaches, I have to go to the bank to exchange.

[Ulysses G.]

They were not in Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket or Hat Yai. They must have hoarded them all in Nakhan Nowhere and no one else ever got to see one.

Edited August 29, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[sbk]

Did you read the bit about land purchases? My FIL purchased land worth a million baht in cash (it was all cash in those days) and had to get notes from the bank in Samui, bring them to the land office to give to the seller, who then went back to Samui to deposit. Why wouldn't the bank give someone 1000 baht notes in that instance?

[zzaa09]

They were not in Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket or Hat Yai. They must have hoarded them all in Nakhan Nowhere and no one else ever got to see one.

Cashless and self-sufficient sub-societies in those days [not too long ago]....

No need for thousand baht notes, less other denomonations.

[lovelomsak]

They were not in Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket or Hat Yai. They must have hoarded them all in Nakhan Nowhere and no one else ever got to see one.

Believe what you want I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill because you see it that way so that is the way it is. Simple we will leave it at that This thread isnot about proving to someone that 1000 baht notes were in circulation 20 years ago. I only wished to clarify, well some seem to wish to pursue arguement. Believe what you want but your credibility in the future is a little weak as far as I am concerned when I will read your posts. And they were in Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Mai as far as I can remember.The other areas I cannot vouch for.

[Tywais]

Simple we will leave it at that This thread isnot about proving to someone that 1000 baht notes were in circulation 20 years ago.

Indeed, let's leave it at that as the two sites I mentioned plus the Bank Of Thailand site can be browsed in detail if one wishes.

Back on topic ...

//edit - Ok, I just deleted an off topic post. I will re-emphasize 'back on topic' please.

[Darrel]

The entire planet was nicer and more fun 30 years ago. Nowhere has improved in that time, nowhere at all.

Back then "news" arrived a couple of days late on a plane from Europe, or on shortwave radio. Phone calls had to be booked. No one had the faintest idea what was going on next door let alone in the next country.

These days if someone farts in Phuket it's on CNN in about 7 seconds flat, and families have covered the globe with their insidious banality.

I find the the world is a very dull place now and I'm so glad I was around to see it when it was still a bit of a laugh.

[Flatouthruthefog]

I too donot know if my 20years qualifies me for oldtimer. I read a bit about Thailand and had a British friend who had lived in Chiang Mai in the early 1950's tell me about Thailand. He had worked in the teak logging and wrote a book on it so had a lot to tell me.So when I arrived I felt lots of changes had already happened.

I got 18 baht to the dollar then. There were villages without a single truck or car. Toyota,Honda,Nissan etc were very few, Diahatsu was the big seller with lots full of them in Chiang Mai.I cannot remember seeing a 4 door pickup back then. Thais were curiuosly friendly just wanting to get to know a foreigner. Koh Samui a person could rent a beach hut for 80 to 100 baht.

Everything was mom and pop shops. Far less commercial and modern. Just about impossible to get change for 1000 baht note in a restaurant or small market. 500 baht notes could even be a problem,to use.

To me back then seemed to be Thai but now it is becoming just another Asian country developing and losing its own culture. The want or need for material wealth has changed it a lot.

I'd love to know the title of that book and the name of the author, if possible?

And ('scuse me), Nissans were Datsuns way back then......

Thanks!

[Beetlejuice]

The entire planet was nicer and more fun 30 years ago. Nowhere has improved in that time, nowhere at all.

Back then "news" arrived a couple of days late on a plane from Europe, or on shortwave radio. Phone calls had to be booked. No one had the faintest idea what was going on next door let alone in the next country.

These days if someone farts in Phuket it's on CNN in about 7 seconds flat, and families have covered the globe with their insidious banality.

I find the the world is a very dull place now and I'm so glad I was around to see it when it was still a bit of a laugh.

True.

People have forgotten how to have fun over the years and hardly anyone laughs anymore.

I think it`s down to the fact that people these days are under more pressure, everything has more to do with business rather than pleasure and due the Internet, many feel that there is no need to interact and socialise much when it can all be done sitting at home from a small box and a keyboard.

Business owners of the social entertainments industries have become greedy and what we took for granted years ago are now occasional luxuries.

There used to be more on offer for less, now it`s less and pay more.

[sbk]

Kids these days eh?

"Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers."