What Was Thailand Like Years Ago

[sabaijai]

One of the production assistants for the film was the infamous photographer 'Shrimp' (Patrick Gauvain) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077416/fullcredits

I read through the list of actors with interest and it motivated me to dive through a stack of old photographs of the people I have met over the years in Thailand.

I have always believed that the subject of the photograph below, is the girl who played the part of the "bar girl" in the movie.

Are you able to confirm?

I shot this photo in Pattaya in 1985.

That's her. At the time, she was a gogo dancer at Mike's Place in Patpong. She plays the bar girl who goes upstairs from the Mississippi Queen with Christopher Walken, the one with the screaming baby. After the film came out and made a big splash (best movie Oscar 1978) she disappeared from Mike's Place. According to imdb.com her name is Nongnuj Timruang. Did you know her or did someone in Pattaya tell you she was in the film?

I ran into Paul D'Amato, the actor who plays the Green Beret sitting in the Pennsylvania bar during the long wedding scene, at a bar in Berkeley around four years later. He had just finished acting in he Heaven's Gate, the film that snuffed Michael Cimino's career.

[camerata]

As for holding hands that has always been done - but used to be same sex more often than couples.

Guys used to hold hands all the time but in Bangkok they don't at all now. I think this is the influence of Western culture via TV. Maybe young guys don't think it's cool to hold hands these days. Considering how uptight Westerners are - and Brits in particular - about guys touching each other, it's a shame this aspect of Thai/Asian culture has disappeared. Anyone who did the Hippie Trail in the 60s or 70s would have seen guys holding hands from Istanbul to Delhi.

[sabaijai]

Any you old-timers recall a guy named Tony Kiin - 1/2 Burmese, 1/2 Italian who had several places in Soi Cowboy. Last one I remember was one just down the soi from Loretta's - very well decked out. He used to take the junkiest bars and turn them around - had a few in Patpong 2 as well.

Heard he was 'offed' by the Thai Mafia around '81/'82?

I remember Tony. A very charismatic-looking guy. He looked like Hollywood's idea of an Asian resistance leader in WW2. No idea what happened to him. Some bar owners in the early years were linked to (drug) money laundering. Mississippi Queen was one.

Another character from the bar scene was Frank, manager of the Superstar. He was Burmese, but looked like an Arab. On some nights he used to get up on the dance stage dressed in full Islamic hijab, switch on the strobe light and dance like a demented robot. It was hilarious but not very PC. The last I heard he was involved in the early development of the RCA entertainment area on Rama 9.

Frank now has Noriega's on Silom Soi 4. I think he also ran The Warbler, a live music bar down Sukhumvit Soi 4 a few years ago, though that might have been someone else.

[buadhai]

When I flew from Rangoon in 1977 on TA....

Sounds like you and I were on about the same "hippy trail" back then. Where all did you go?

[camerata]

Sounds like you and I were on about the same "hippy trail" back then. Where all did you go?

I did the Hippie Trail in 1971, the standard route hitching through Europe and then bus from Istanbul. War broke out a week after I crossed from Pakistan into India. I only went as far as Kathmandu. I got sick in India and eventually took a ship from Bombay to Kuwait, returning to Europe via Iraq, Syria, Southern Turkey and a boat from Izmir to the Greek islands.

The trip to Burma was just for one week in 1977, the limit of the visa at the time. I loved the place and the people but there were just too many restrictions on foreigners. I only saw Rangoon and Mandalay. Didn't get to Pagan.

[Nordlys]

It was shot in a Catholic school decorated to look like a hospital, somewhere off Charoen Krung, probably not far from the GPO but not behind it. I was an extra there too but didn't end up on film.

I only know of Catholic school in the Rosary church premises (Wat Kalawa) and Assumption school on Charoen Krung Rd. around CPO. And neither of them look like the building/backyard from the army hospital scene. Neither school now has the lawn in the film where the coffins were stacked up. Any idea which school it was?

I was also around for the US embassy evacuation scene, which was shot at yet another Christian school off Phetburi. They spent a week filming what was essentially no more than 5 min on film.

Could this be St. Dominic school on south Petchaburi Rd. near Asoke intersection?

Any clue where they shot the russian roulett scene in the gambling den and the khlong to the gambling den Mike (De Niro) took the boat to get to?

I met DeNiro briefly that week. Michael Cimino, the director, asked me to come to Sai Yok for the Russian roulette scenes but I declined because I would've had to quit my job, thus losing my work permit.

How lucky of you to have met them. I wouldn't think twice about joining them on location even if my work permit was to expire.

[sabaijai]

I only know of Catholic school in the Rosary church premises (Wat Kalawa) and Assumption school on Charoen Krung Rd. around CPO. And neither of them look like the building/backyard from the army hospital scene. Neither school now has the lawn in the film where the coffins were stacked up. Any idea which school it was?

For the life of me, I can't remember the name. In fact it might not have been a Catholic school, come to think of it, but a college, maybe ABAC?

I was also around for the US embassy evacuation scene, which was shot at yet another Christian school off Phetburi. They spent a week filming what was essentially no more than 5 min on film.

Could this be St. Dominic school on south Petchaburi Rd. near Asoke intersection?

Any clue where they shot the russian roulett scene in the gambling den and the khlong to the gambling den Mike (De Niro) took the boat to get to?

Yes! That was the school. I remember that one much more clearly because I was on hire for five straight days there. I have pics of myself and the other extras at that school sitting around in GI fatigues drinking beer, getting makeup, etc. I don't know where the gambling den scene was shot, I was not around for that one at all.

I met DeNiro briefly that week. Michael Cimino, the director, asked me to come to Sai Yok for the Russian roulette scenes but I declined because I would've had to quit my job, thus losing my work permit.

How lucky of you to have met them. I wouldn't think twice about joining them on location even if my work permit was to expire.

I regretted it afterwards. At the time they wanted another six-week commitment. Ironically I quit the job I was working at and lost my work permit a month later, in Nov of that year. Had I gone to Sai Yok, I might have been cast as one of the guys in the river with rats running over their heads.

[camerata]

One of the production assistants for the film was the infamous photographer 'Shrimp' (Patrick Gauvain)

For those who don't know the story, Mekhong Whisky (and then Saeng Som) produced a sensational calendar of topless Thai models which they gave to their customers at New Year. These calendars were much sought-after collector's items. Not one to pass up a good idea, Shrimp produced his own naughty calendar featuring dusky Isarn BGs and sold it around the Sukhumvit and Silom areas. The authorities eventually took a dim view of this and he was forced to leave the country while the whisky manufacturers ceased production of their own sexy calendars.

Shrimp based himself in Hong Kong for a few years and then moved back to Thailand. He was doing fine when I last saw him about 8 years ago.

[sabaijai]

Sounds like you and I were on about the same "hippy trail" back then. Where all did you go?

I did the Hippie Trail in 1971, the standard route hitching through Europe and then bus from Istanbul. War broke out a week after I crossed from Pakistan into India. I only went as far as Kathmandu. I got sick in India and eventually took a ship from Bombay to Kuwait, returning to Europe via Iraq, Syria, Southern Turkey and a boat from Izmir to the Greek islands.

The trip to Burma was just for one week in 1977, the limit of the visa at the time. I loved the place and the people but there were just too many restrictions on foreigners. I only saw Rangoon and Mandalay. Didn't get to Pagan.

Impressive, camerata. Did you ever read the novel The Asiatics? Something about the way you summed up your trip made me think of the book instantly. Brilliant read, highly recommended if you haven't already read it.

This thread is turning out to be quite a nostalgia trip.

Dug Mike's photos of Samui in 77. My first trip to Samui was in 81. There were only a few bungalows on Chaweng then. I also visited Ko Phi Phi Don in 81, only one set of huts in Ao Ton Sai, none anywhere else on the island.

I visited Phuket a couple of times in 77. I remember only one set of bungalows on Karon, one set on Nai Han. I didn't go to Patong, heard it was too developed! I hiked from Kata to Nai Han one day, nothing but coconut plantations and fishing huts the whole way, also giant monitor lizards.

I also spent many a weekend on Ko Si Chang, near Si Racha, in the late 70s. The waters were really clean then, now it's become a virtual shipyard for nearby Maptaphut.

[Mighty Mouse]

Did you know her or did someone in Pattaya tell you she was in the film?

I didn't know her personally...unfortunately

I photographed her at a 'wet tee shirt' dancing competition. I can't remember if she was representing a bar in Bangkok or Pattaya, but somebody told me her story and it was mentioned that she was in the movie.

I believe that the movie did a great injustice to her natural beauty. The movie camera did not capture her well. I realise her scene was violent but I thought her great looks were wasted.

[sabaijai]

One of the production assistants for the film was the infamous photographer 'Shrimp' (Patrick Gauvain)

For those who don't know the story, Mekhong Whisky (and then Saeng Som) produced a sensational calendar of topless Thai models which they gave to their customers at New Year. These calendars were much sought-after collector's items. Not one to pass up a good idea, Shrimp produced his own naughty calendar featuring dusky Isarn BGs and sold it around the Sukhumvit and Silom areas. The authorities eventually took a dim view of this and he was forced to leave the country while the whisky manufacturers ceased production of their own sexy calendars.

Shrimp based himself in Hong Kong for a few years and then moved back to Thailand. He was doing fine when I last saw him about 8 years ago.

I took a photo of Shrimp directing Thai extras during the filming of the Deer Hunter. He got on well with Vilmos Sigmund, the cinematorgrapher. I didn't meet Shrimp again till four years ago at the FCCT in Bangkok, for a book launch (not his). He has a website at shrimpworld.com (warning: contains nudity, albeit tasteful).

[buadhai]

I'm trying to get together a web page on my 1977 RTW trip which included a month in Thailand. So far, only the Thailand photos and a trip map are up. Here's the URL:

Around the World - 1977

I spent nearly a year on the road at that time. I was older (28) than most of my fellows on that overland route. But, I fell in love with Asia at that time and ended up spending my entire adult life in the Asia/Pacific region and ended up retiring here last year.

[camerata]

Impressive, camerata. Did you ever read the novel The Asiatics? Something about the way you summed up your trip made me think of the book instantly. Brilliant read, highly recommended if you haven't already read it.

I haven't read it but it sounds good. One of the Amazon comments says about the main character, "Everywhere he meets with adventure and exotic characters who lament the end of Asia as they know it (this in 1931!)."

I think this is how we all feel about Asia - that it was better before and had more memorable characters. From the day in 1966 when I first saw long-haired guys in kaftans lugging backpacks to the bus station in my home town, I wanted to go. But I was too young! At least I can say I went as soon as I could, in the pre-guidebook days, and with only $200 to last me 9 months. In 1971, the path was already well-trodden and you relied totally on fellow travellers and notice boards for information.

But Asia was different then. As a farang you could go anywhere and be treated well. Even though some of the deadbeat travellers were incredibly arrogant and superior towards the locals and disrespectful of their cultures, you still felt safe. I was detained and searched entering India from Nepal because the idiot I was travelling with had 5 kilos of Mustang hash in the false bottom of a briefcase he was carrying (picture it - a freak with blond hair half way down his back wearing brand new cowboy boots and with a brand new leather briefcase!), but I wasn't arrested and the police even returned the $60 of undeclared cash I had hidden in my shoe. A similar thing happened in Bahrain.

Most of my problems were because I didn't have enough money. Like everyone else, I had to do dodgy things to get money on the road, including giving blood in Kuwait City, and carried a bogus student card. The Hippy Trail was a rite of passage. What can kids do that is anything like that these days? Friends encouraged me to write about the trip later, but I didn't feel my experiences were anything out of the ordinary. In a way, I wish I'd had the money to continue the trip to Thailand and down to Australia, but then my life might have gone in an entirely different direction.

BTW, one of the weirdest and most fascinating accounts I've read of an expat in Asia is Hermit of Peking: The Hidden Life of Sir Edmund Backhouse by H. R. Trevor-Roper.

Edited January 13, 2006 by camerata

[Swelters]

Swelters, take a look at the picture entitled: "The daily tram - August 31, 2004

Bangkok tram route #4, circa 1964-65" at the tram site: http://www.2bangkok.com/2bangkok/Tram/dailytram.shtml

Actually that jeep is a US military jeep model circa 64 or so. My old jeep was maybe 1952. When it would start to fail they'd just strip it down and rebuild with few if any factory parts.

For Isan fans who want to know the 1950s up around Mahasarakam there is a good book by a Brit called "The Far Country" about his teaching experiences there, he was in the Brit version of the Peace Corps., I forget the name.

I just returned from Isan today which shook loose some amazing things I'll post one of these days.

One comment that deserves comment is the reference here to the now ancient myth that American GIs brought sex and drugs to devout Thailand. Sorry, gents, but it was all here in the prewar sixties in almost exactly the same form as present.

In the villages you could pick marijuana by any roadside for free. It was interesting to see how and when the villagers would choose their intoxicant du jour. Nam kaow (which used to mean rice beer), ganja, and "mekong" which is the same pleasant rum-like stuff you see everywhere now were the usual choices. I don't remember lao kaow but I suppose it was there. too.

Since marijuana seemed so exciting in those days I once asked one of the locals why he didn't smoke that instead paying to drink alcohol.

"I don't like."

"Why?"

"Make me feel very small."

[qualtrough]

Referring to the previous comment about the myth of the GIs bringing prostitution, drugs, etc. -- This recurring issue came up a long time ago in the Bangkok Post (early 80s?). Some clever person wrote a letter to the paper with 4 or 5 quotes remarking on local morals (or lack thereof) and prostitution, etc. in Thailand. He then noted that the most recent quote was from the 1920s, and the others went back to the time of the arrival of the first Europeans in Siam. Wish I had that letter, it was a real beaut. Pretty much shut that argument right down.

[Nignoy]

Swelters, take a look at the picture entitled: "The daily tram - August 31, 2004

Bangkok tram route #4, circa 1964-65" at the tram site: http://www.2bangkok.com/2bangkok/Tram/dailytram.shtml

Actually that jeep is a US military jeep model circa 64 or so. My old jeep was maybe 1952. When it would start to fail they'd just strip it down and rebuild with few if any factory parts.

For Isan fans who want to know the 1950s up around Mahasarakam there is a good book by a Brit called "The Far Country" about his teaching experiences there, he was in the Brit version of the Peace Corps., I forget the name.

I just returned from Isan today which shook loose some amazing things I'll post one of these days.

One comment that deserves comment is the reference here to the now ancient myth that American GIs brought sex and drugs to devout Thailand. Sorry, gents, but it was all here in the prewar sixties in almost exactly the same form as present.

In the villages you could pick marijuana by any roadside for free. It was interesting to see how and when the villagers would choose their intoxicant du jour. Nam kaow (which used to mean rice beer), ganja, and "mekong" which is the same pleasant rum-like stuff you see everywhere now were the usual choices. I don't remember lao kaow but I suppose it was there. too.

Since marijuana seemed so exciting in those days I once asked one of the locals why he didn't smoke that instead paying to drink alcohol.

"I don't like."

"Why?"

"Make me feel very small."

Of course drugs were readily available in the north east,but as far as STD,s were concerned, as the 60,s progressed and the US troop buildup in thailand gained strength, so did the chain of VD clinics grow in thailand, it got really bad in the Ubon area , even reached us out in the sticks, got so bad the first british vd clinic was opened in thailand in 1963,so if the diseases were there the influx of foreign troops no matter where they came from helped to spread it about.got to put the next comment in to keep my australian readers happy australians and kiwis were exempt from social diseases because of their love for Sheep Nignoy

[gburns57au]

Swelters, take a look at the picture entitled: "The daily tram - August 31, 2004

Bangkok tram route #4, circa 1964-65" at the tram site: http://www.2bangkok.com/2bangkok/Tram/dailytram.shtml

Actually that jeep is a US military jeep model circa 64 or so. My old jeep was maybe 1952. When it would start to fail they'd just strip it down and rebuild with few if any factory parts.

For Isan fans who want to know the 1950s up around Mahasarakam there is a good book by a Brit called "The Far Country" about his teaching experiences there, he was in the Brit version of the Peace Corps., I forget the name.

I just returned from Isan today which shook loose some amazing things I'll post one of these days.

One comment that deserves comment is the reference here to the now ancient myth that American GIs brought sex and drugs to devout Thailand. Sorry, gents, but it was all here in the prewar sixties in almost exactly the same form as present.

In the villages you could pick marijuana by any roadside for free. It was interesting to see how and when the villagers would choose their intoxicant du jour. Nam kaow (which used to mean rice beer), ganja, and "mekong" which is the same pleasant rum-like stuff you see everywhere now were the usual choices. I don't remember lao kaow but I suppose it was there. too.

Since marijuana seemed so exciting in those days I once asked one of the locals why he didn't smoke that instead paying to drink alcohol.

"I don't like."

"Why?"

"Make me feel very small."

Of course drugs were readily available in the north east,but as far as STD,s were concerned, as the 60,s progressed and the US troop buildup in thailand gained strength, so did the chain of VD clinics grow in thailand, it got really bad in the Ubon area , even reached us out in the sticks, got so bad the first british vd clinic was opened in thailand in 1963,so if the diseases were there the influx of foreign troops no matter where they came from helped to spread it about.got to put the next comment in to keep my australian readers happy australians and kiwis were exempt from social diseases because of their love for Sheep Nignoy

Yeah right....

Back in the early 70's I was at the army hospital in Sydney being treated for an injury and this one morning there was a queue of infantry guys just back from Thailand and they were all pissing in the bottle....yep you guessed it....they all had the clap.

[Gumballl]

Nine years ago...

I can remember going to a bar and being offered a cool-towel to wipe the sweat off my face.

I can remember 50 baht beers (stupid me, I used to drink Singha and Carlsberg)... Chang is now my beer. Oh why did I waste my money on that vile beer back then?????

I can remember Tuk-Tuk drivers working for 20-40 Baht, and taking a passenger directly where they wanted to go. Not the stop-over at the jewelry shop as is done today.

I can remember taking the bus up/down Sukhumvit, only watching with impatience as the SkyTrain (err, BTS) was contructed.

I can remember my innocence... now I am corrupted with thoughts of "easy" Thai women.

Paradise gone?... perhaps. But Thailand will always be my "home".

Edited January 13, 2006 by Gumballl

[strabel23]

I skipped through this topic fairly quickly and I don't think anyone has said anything about Koh Samui

Did you see my photos of Koh Samui from 1977 on this page:

Thailand 1977

There's one of Chaweng beach with nothing but a pile of oyster shells on it.

I just checked out your photos. Great stuff. I think I prefer though the Chawaeng beach of the 90's.

[buadhai]

I skipped through this topic fairly quickly and I don't think anyone has said anything about Koh Samui

Did you see my photos of Koh Samui from 1977 on this page:

Thailand 1977

There's one of Chaweng beach with nothing but a pile of oyster shells on it.

I just checked out your photos. Great stuff. I think I prefer though the Chawaeng beach of the 90's.

Well, to each....

But, it would be nice if there were a few more Chaweng's of the 70's still around.

[Nordlys]

If you know the part where Walken's character grabs the shoulder of a GI in front of the Mississippi Queen - thinking it's Mike, the DeNiro character - the GI in the foreground buying fried bananas (though the vendor isn't in the frame) is me.

I took a close look at the scene on DVD last night but couldn't spot which one is you... There are so many extras and I didn't see anybody buying fried bananas... or for that matter a stoll selling fried bananas...

Had I gone to Sai Yok, I might have been cast as one of the guys in the river with rats running over their heads.

Or one of those guys with the brain blown off.

[wiki256]

getting better...

[sabaijai]

If you know the part where Walken's character grabs the shoulder of a GI in front of the Mississippi Queen - thinking it's Mike, the DeNiro character - the GI in the foreground buying fried bananas (though the vendor isn't in the frame) is me.

I took a close look at the scene on DVD last night but couldn't spot which one is you... There are so many extras and I didn't see anybody buying fried bananas... or for that matter a stoll selling fried bananas...

Had I gone to Sai Yok, I might have been cast as one of the guys in the river with rats running over their heads.

Or one of those guys with the brain blown off.

You can't see the vendor or the bananas, it's during a medium-to-closeup shot, just as Walken's character strolls up behind an American green beret and grabs his shoulder and spins him around. Just as he arrives on his mark (the tape on the sidewalk you also can't see ) you should see me in the foreground of the frame, slightly soft focus. I'm in uniform with one of those GI-issue baseball caps, wearing glasses, see from the abdomen up.

In the embassy evacuation, I'm in the 2nd guard to the right of the gate, standing atop a jeep with an M16, whacking Thai extras off the fence. Shrimp directed the Thai extras in that scene.

[blabbel]

"whacking Thai extras off the fence"

Hey, hey, quite a 'super'mod we have here, how does this blend with Buddhist principles?

[Swelters]

Wasn't the casting director Beth something-or-other? She's a friend of mine, with lotsa good stories. Reason I don't know her last name is she's remarried.

[sabaijai]

"whacking Thai extras off the fence"

Hey, hey, quite a 'super'mod we have here, how does this blend with Buddhist principles?

It's called acting ...

Wasn't the casting director Beth something-or-other? She's a friend of mine, with lotsa good stories. Reason I don't know her last name is she's remarried.

I would never have remembered her name but now that you mention it, I'm pretty her name was Beth. She was blonde and fairly young (back then anyway). imdb.com lists a Beth Donohue as 'casting assistant', that must be her. I answered an ad in the Bangkok Post, and met her at a casting office in the President Hotel.

I heard a rumour a few years later that someone involved in the casting for DH was killed in an auto accident somewhere in Thailand, always wondered if it was true, and who it might have been.

[Bryan in Isaan]

......

One comment that deserves comment is the reference here to the now ancient myth that American GIs brought sex and drugs to devout Thailand. Sorry, gents, but it was all here in the prewar sixties in almost exactly the same form as present.

In the villages you could pick marijuana by any roadside for free. It was interesting to see how and when the villagers would choose their intoxicant du jour. Nam kaow (which used to mean rice beer), ganja, and "mekong" which is the same pleasant rum-like stuff you see everywhere now were the usual choices. I don't remember lao kaow but I suppose it was there. too.

Since marijuana seemed so exciting in those days I once asked one of the locals why he didn't smoke that instead paying to drink alcohol.

"I don't like."

"Why?"

"Make me feel very small."

My wife has lots of interesting stories from the early 60's where she grew up in a small village in the Isaan. One is about a GI who came looking around for some pot. You're right, it was everywhere. There was a little girl who sold a large plant to him, probably for a few cents. Another time, my wife had some older releatives who kept their bong in a farm shelter. For a joke, she rubbed charcoal around the mouth of the bong and had a good laugh later when they used it.

The Viet Cong were very active in NE Thailand. They killed monks, teachers and puyaibans (sound familiar?), blew up bridges and destroyed villages who would not submit to them.

She tells of jungles everywhere, with large trees, tigers (or some kind of large cat), wild elephants, large lizards which lived in trees and a king cobra which her father fought with and lost one eye. And the soil was fertile. That was before the irrigation canals. Now it is all flat rice fields, the soil is lousy and there is no wild game larger than the field rats.

She tells how people from the village were more honest, innocent and content. Very few women went away to the go-go bars in the big city. I don't think TV has helped much in this area.

Later she got scholarships and ended up attending high school in Bangkok. She also has some stories of the 1973 student uprising, and getting blood on her uniform.

Things have changed a lot, both in Bangkok and in the villages. Being a newby - and a wimp, I do appreciate the good highways, airports, department stores in the major Isaan cities and internet access.

Bryan

Edited January 16, 2006 by Bryan in Isaan

[sabaijai]

The Viet Cong were very active in NE Thailand. They killed monks, teachers and puyaibans (sound familiar?), blew up bridges and destroyed villages who would not submit to them.

I don't think there were any VC in NE Thailand then (or ever). A few Vietnamese cadres (also Lao and Chinese) perhaps, but she's probably referring to Thai communists, specifically the People's Liberation Army of Thailand, whose ranks grew to around 10,000 armed insurgents during their late 70s peak.

[Nignoy]

The Viet Cong were very active in NE Thailand. They killed monks, teachers and puyaibans (sound familiar?), blew up bridges and destroyed villages who would not submit to them.

I don't think there were any VC in NE Thailand then (or ever). A few Vietnamese cadres (also Lao and Chinese) perhaps, but she's probably referring to Thai communists, specifically the People's Liberation Army of Thailand, whose ranks grew to around 10,000 armed insurgents during their late 70s peak.

There were no vietcong in ne thailand in the early 60,s but there were lots of Viet minh indoctrinated pathet laos and their sympathisers operating all along the little muddy from Chaiburi down to south of ubon, the mukdaharn area was a favourite place for them to cross , hence the US sneaky pete outfit at Phu Mhu which later became a radar and radio listening post, this is all documented in Britains Small wars, Nignoy

[Tippaporn]

The Viet Cong were very active in NE Thailand. They killed monks, teachers and puyaibans (sound familiar?), blew up bridges and destroyed villages who would not submit to them.

I don't think there were any VC in NE Thailand then (or ever). A few Vietnamese cadres (also Lao and Chinese) perhaps, but she's probably referring to Thai communists, specifically the People's Liberation Army of Thailand, whose ranks grew to around 10,000 armed insurgents during their late 70s peak.

There were no vietcong in ne thailand in the early 60,s but there were lots of Viet minh indoctrinated pathet laos and their sympathisers operating all along the little muddy from Chaiburi down to south of ubon, the mukdaharn area was a favourite place for them to cross , hence the US sneaky pete outfit at Phu Mhu which later became a radar and radio listening post, this is all documented in Britains Small wars, Nignoy

I have a friend whom I've lost contact with who was with the U.S. Special Forces and trained specifically to come to Thailand back in '65. I'm sure he'd have lots to tell. Do you, Nignoy, or anyone else know of what operations were being conducted in Thailand at that time by the Special Forces?