What Was Thailand Like Years Ago

[Tippaporn]

Being a relative newcomer to Thailand (2001) I was curious as to what life was like here back in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and how it has changed. I'm sure there are aspects which have improved and others which haven't.

What was the redlight district on Sukhumvit like? Have processes such as visas, WPs and starting a business improved? Has the Thai attitude towards farang changed at all? How was it different before computers and mobile phones? Was it easier or more difficult to find work or stay in country? What was it like in the sticks? Were there as many farang here? What were prices for Chang, massage, general living? Did western money still stretch as far?

Were the women more beautiful?

Since quite a few TV members stretch back a few years, or eons, I thought there would be some very interesting stories to be told and heard.

[TRIPxCORE]

If you want to get a visual of what BKK was like, say, 50 years or so ago, go visit Vientiane in Laos and that might give you a pretty good idea.

[Tippaporn]

Went there on a border run in 2004 and, yes, I had heard that Vientaine was a throwback. And, yes again, it most certainly was.

My wifey and I had taken up in a hotel for 4 days and 3 nights across the street from the principal airport in Laos (a true joke by any standards). We actually spent only two full days, arriving very late evening our first day and leaving late morning on our last day after picking up my new visa at the Thai embassy. We shopped at a few local markets, which were identical to the markets in Thailand but cheaper. The wifey bought some nice ornate traditional wrap skirts at bargain prices (even by her standards). I bought some clothes as the wifey likes to travel light, meaning that she packs the bare minimum on trips, if that.

Not knowing where else to go we took a tuk tuk ride. It was another georgous day in SE Asia until about 15 minutes into our ride. A storm rolled in out of nowhere (as they usually do) heralded by some awesome looking Jesus clouds and we got caught in an absolute torrential downpour. I was taking pictures up until the rain become so heavy that it was blowing in on us. The tuk tuk driver was great - very accommodating. He stopped in the midst of the deluge to roll down some plastic in an attempt to give us some added protection. Brave soul! But it was to little avail; nothing would keep out that torrent of rain. The wifey and I were pretty well drenched. But we had an absolute riot throughout the experience and laughed our asses off along with the driver.

We finally decided to seek some shelter in a restaurant. Knowing how little income the driver makes and considering his heroic efforts to keep us dry I invited him to eat and drink with us. We ate a good Laotian home style meal (which is the wifey's favorite cuisine) and sopped up a good quantity of Beerlao. Since we had heard that the nightlife was dead I paid the driver a generous 1,000 Baht to call it a day and take us out to a local nightclub later in the evening.

After dark the wifey and I went to a beautiful restaurant for dinner to the tune of 98,000 Laotian kip. The exchange rate was 11,000 kip to the dollar making Laotian currency seem like play money. We consumed maybe three-quarters of an enormous and very tasty feast of a variety of fish and rice and meats and rice and soup and rice and some more rice. The wifey's favorite pastime is eating and she likes to order more than twice what we could ever hope to eat. But hey, at roughly 360 baht, which included beer, I let her pig out to her heart's content.

Later that night our dedicated driver came to escort us to his favorite disco haunt. It was a hole in the wall by any standards but the wifey and I are humble enough. The sound system was atrociously loud and distorted. I didn't need too many drinks to collect enough courage before I was up dancing on the stage with a few of the local girls. You could imagine the stares I got as I'm sure this was maybe the first ever that a "farang" stepped foot into their little run down establishment.

We left before we got too polluted and headed back to the hotel in the wee hours. The wifey wasn't quite ready to call it a night just yet once she noticed that the hotel had an adjoining club. The place had a lounge atmosphere with comfortable couch seating replete with coffee tables and a live band. They had eats, too, and the wifey couldn't resist stuffing her face once more (invariably, we could eat a six course meal, gourging ourselves to the gills, and two hours later she will be nibbling on something or other again). The band was actually quite good, featuring a female vocalist with an astounding voice. To this day I still remember her singing and I swore at the time that if she had the proper connections she could have been an instant recording star.

Well, I'm not sure what time we finally hit the sack and the rest of the night is a story that is best left to my private memories, ha, ha!

I know this isn't quite related to the OP but just wanted to get the ball rolling . . .

[Florin]

10 years ago getting decent bread was a serious issue, there weren't many places where you could get a french baguette or anything other than horrible tasteless toast bread.

Also, in my opinion, traffic was worse, I was stuck on Asoke or close to the Victory Monument for 2 hours on several separate occasions...that hasn't happened in recent years.

Everyone had those crappy PCT phones (and unfortunately some still do)

There were MANY more tuk-tuks in traffic, recent years has pretty much seen their extinction in most areas of the city.

There were multiplexes, but also many shitty movie theaters (like the one in Pantip Plaza...saw rats scurrying around inside one time ), which have been closed down in the last 5 years or so.

I was here when shit struck in '97, but to their credit, I don't recall any kind of very sharp increase in prices which the devaluation of the baht would have brought on...maybe it's just fuzzy memory, but a can of Coke has always been 13 baht, even though a dollar could buy you 50 instead of 25 baht at the time. Their currency has generally been pretty good, in the 80s it was 20 baht to the dollar, so not much inflation until '97.

[Mighty Mouse]

My first trip to LOS was part of a package tour that also took in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines.

That was 1978 and it was my first trip outside of Australia.

In Australia I had lived through the free sex days of the seventies where an average looking guy only needed to snap his fingers to have a one night stand with the girl of his choice. In those days my fingers snapped quite a lot.

Bangkok was the second leg for our tour group and we were booked into the Indra Regent Hotel for four nights.

An older Australian acquaintance on mine was a part owner of the Kings Group of go-go bars on Patpong and he took me under his wing and showed me around.

There was no need to snap any fingers, swarms of girls were all over me. I thought that all of my Christmases had come at once. I was a kid in a candy shop.

Over the years, Patpong hasn't changed much, except for prices, but I do feel that most of the women there are now much harder than they were in the late 70's.

The development of Bangkok over the years is nothing short of amazing. The transport system, shopping centres, high rise hotels, business etc. has more than kept up with the times, in many respects it has exceeded it.

The following year I returned to Thailand but went to Pattaya and Phuket for the first time.

For me Pattaya was so much more relaxing as it had developed from a small fishing village and was being built around the beach scene.

Short pants, singlets and thongs were the dress of the day, as they are today.

Open beer bars took my fancy as I could actually have a quiet conversation with the girls rather than having to shout to be heard in the Bangkok go-go bars.

Bar fines were 100 baht and a girl for the night cost between 300 and 500 baht.

The AIDS scare did not exist in those days but other STD's were floating around.

Girls are girls, they are just as pretty today as they were twenty years ago. (More tattoos today though)

I often wonder where some of the girls from earlier years went to. Every now and then I see some of them walking around Pattaya with their kids in tow.

Pattaya's night scene centred around Walking Street (as it is now known) with mostly beer bars, the Marine Bar being the main beer bar. Marine disco was number one and a few go-go bars were operating. Outer areas were still developing and the bar scene was expanding. (and it seems still is)

Etty had just opened The Buffalo Bar on Third Road but it was considered too far away from the main action.

Take a look at Third Road today and the Buffalo Bar is right in the middle of that action.

The former Royal Garden Hotel was probably the main Pattaya Hotel but other high rise hotels were starting to spring up everywhere. Now the Royal Garden Shopping Arcade occupies the site.

Over the years, accommodation has improved in quality but room prices generally are still relatively cheap.

Most of the Indian tailors have now moved out of Walking Street (probably because or rising rents) and the number of beer bars has increased.

The big improvement is food outlets. So many restaurants now from which to have a meal.

When I first visited Phuket, there was only one high rise hotel with others in the process of being built. We stayed in beach bungalows. I virtually had the whole of Patong Beach to myself.

A small scattering of beer bars were available to quench the thirst (sexual thirst too) but I had to walk through the jungle to get to the next beer bar.

Today it, in my opinion, has been spoilt be over development.

Pattaya will always be my choice of ideal holiday destination. It still retains much of its primitive feel, but modern development will eventually overtake it.

[Padkapow Guy]

Does anybody have any old pic's from the 70's or 80's.

please post.

PKG

[LaoPo]

Being a relative newcomer to Thailand (2001) I was curious as to what life was like here back in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and how it has changed.

I think that's an odd question.

You're talking about 50 years of diffenrece........that's about 2 1/2 generations

WHAT changed in your own country? I'm sure a lot has changed there as well........

I suggest to 'Google' a bit and look for history-books about Thailand in the years you are mentioning. I'm sure you find a lot of books HOW the life was in those years, including photos.

LaoPo

[Padkapow Guy]

Being a relative newcomer to Thailand (2001) I was curious as to what life was like here back in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and how it has changed.

I think that's an odd question.

You're talking about 50 years of diffenrece........that's about 2 1/2 generations

WHAT changed in your own country? I'm sure a lot has changed there as well........

I suggest to 'Google' a bit and look for history-books about Thailand in the years you are mentioning. I'm sure you find a lot of books HOW the life was in those years, including photos.

LaoPo

If you google everything, how are you going to build up your posts and make friends on the forum?

It's not as much fun to google.

PKG

[cdnvic]

Being a relative newcomer to Thailand (2001) I was curious as to what life was like here back in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and how it has changed.

I think that's an odd question.

You're talking about 50 years of diffenrece........that's about 2 1/2 generations

WHAT changed in your own country? I'm sure a lot has changed there as well........

I suggest to 'Google' a bit and look for history-books about Thailand in the years you are mentioning. I'm sure you find a lot of books HOW the life was in those years, including photos.

LaoPo

In theory you could do a web search to answer most questions here. Fortunately we have a forum full of people who are willing to ask and answer questions. So now if you were to do a web search on the same thing you'd likely be pointed to Thaivisa much of the time. If it bothers you that people do this, just ignore it, but if people were not having these conversations, and sharing info there would be much less content for you to "google".

Tippaporn I really enjoyed that post about Laos

cv

Btw.... There's Yahoo, MSN, Altavista, Webcrawler, Hotbot, etc, etc...... why do people always give a free plug to Google?

Broaden your options.

cv

(sorry for going OT)

[Tippaporn]

Being a relative newcomer to Thailand (2001) I was curious as to what life was like here back in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and how it has changed.

I think that's an odd question.

You're talking about 50 years of diffenrece........that's about 2 1/2 generations

WHAT changed in your own country? I'm sure a lot has changed there as well........

I suggest to 'Google' a bit and look for history-books about Thailand in the years you are mentioning. I'm sure you find a lot of books HOW the life was in those years, including photos.

LaoPo

I can see what you're getting at, LaoPo, but my aim in this thread is to get personal accountings. I mean, geez, read Florin's and Mighty Mouse's accounts - now there's tremendous flavour that you're not apt to get Googling. That's priceless!

BTW, guys, great accounts so far. And it's fascinating reading, which I believe will be just as fascinating for others and should certainly revive some dear memories from many other members, making it enjoyable for them, too. Much appreciated to hear, guys and mates.

I'm no spring chicken myself anymore, Laopo, so going back even as far as the sixties would be something I could easily relate to. An acquaintance of mine has been in Thailand pretty much steady on since the mid-sixties and I always enjoyed hearing his stories.

Padkapow Guy, excellent suggestion about posting some bygone era photos. Would be great for all to see.

Looking forward to some more!

Edited January 9, 2006 by Tippaporn

[LaoPo]

Wow, sorry if I stepped on some long toes here about the OP's questions. I know it's nice to talk about the old days 'back in Thailand'; I have quite a few stories myself to tell and share, but I'm not always in the mood you know...

Anyway, Tippaporn, YES, I do have some 'era-photos' but have to dig em up, scan, and than post them, but it will take some time.

OK, to share some experiences with you:

1. Over the years, Patpong hasn't changed much (1978: and quote of Mighty Mouse) I disagree, since it was more quiet, more atmosphere, more REAL FUN and there was no market as there is now; I think it's horrible now

2. Phuket/Patong Beach: I agree here with Mighty Mouse since there was indeed 1 'high-rise Hotel: The Patong Beach Hotel, (almost empty in February...) and YES, it WAS paradise back than; my friend and myself stayed 1 night there and moved to the Patong Beach Bungalows, RIGHT on the beach; we both had 1 bungalow; 1 palmtree in front and the motorbike parked to it.....now, that was real paradise!

However I realize since December 26, 2004, that we would never ever could have escaped a Tsunami on that particular spot on Patong Beach we were blessed it didn't happen back than.

2A. we took a longtail boattrip to the beach around the corner of Patong; that following night there was an incredible storm and the same longtailboat was completele washed ashore and destroyed (I have pics)

2B. I can even remember a few guys on Patong beach, building a SUBMARINE (!!!!) made of CONCRETE; this one was destroyed also (pics also!).

3. Pattaya.........well, what can I say; my first experience was at the (in)famous MARINE BAR; a big place with many, kind of square-build, bars with lots of girls; I was with another friend of mine who 'found' the most beautiful girl....he had to go to the toilet and told me: "DON'T you dare to 'take the girl away from me".....of course I didn't The day after we had to go to BKK for business; he called me the next mondaymorning that he had a problem with his little 'friend'

I found him a clinic at (I will NEVER forget): Ploenchit Road 'Ha-peh-peh (not sure if I write this properly) 588.....and he had to take a lot of medicines.... and NO alcohol anymore...

I'm tired now and go to bed; maybe I will write some more stories if you like..........

have fun with you topic!

LaoPo

[cdnvic]

Camerata posted some of these Patpong photos last year. I think they were from the early 80s.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?au..._album&album=26

cv

[Tippaporn]

Wow, sorry if I stepped on some long toes here about the OP's questions. I know it's nice to talk about the old days 'back in Thailand'; I have quite a few stories myself to tell and share, but I'm not always in the mood you know...

Anyway, Tippaporn, YES, I do have some 'era-photos' but have to dig em up, scan, and than post them, but it will take some time.

OK, to share some experiences with you:

<snip> I can even remember a few guys on Patong beach, building a SUBMARINE (!!!!) made of CONCRETE; this one was destroyed also (pics also!). <snip>

have fun with you topic!

LaoPo

Much appreciated, too, Laopo. Great stories, BTW. A concrete submarine????? And it was destroyed?? Was it manned?? Yes, definitely dig out those pics (a part of me forgets that we didn't have digital cameras those days, oh well).

Don't worry about the the long toes. No offense taken here. Mai pen rai and jai yen yen.

Thanks, and I hope it's fun for you, too.

[Tippaporn]

Camerata posted some of these Patpong photos last year. I think they were from the early 80s.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?au..._album&album=26

cv

Thanks, cv, . . . and Camerata. Proves the women were still beautiful!! A little throwback on the short hair style, or is it the graininess of the photo?

What's the story, Camerata?? Care to tell?

Edit: BTW, Vic, I could, and would like to post the pictures that go along with my Laos border run post. Problem is . . . don't know how. HELP!

Edited January 9, 2006 by Tippaporn

[LaoPo]

Wow, sorry if I stepped on some long toes here about the OP's questions. I know it's nice to talk about the old days 'back in Thailand'; I have quite a few stories myself to tell and share, but I'm not always in the mood you know...

Anyway, Tippaporn, YES, I do have some 'era-photos' but have to dig em up, scan, and than post them, but it will take some time.

OK, to share some experiences with you:

<snip> I can even remember a few guys on Patong beach, building a SUBMARINE (!!!!) made of CONCRETE; this one was destroyed also (pics also!). <snip>

have fun with you topic!

LaoPo

Much appreciated, too, Laopo. Great stories, BTW. A concrete submarine????? And it was destroyed?? Was it manned?? Yes, definitely dig out those pics (a part of me forgets that we didn't have digital cameras those days, oh well).

Don't worry about the the long toes. No offense taken here. Mai pen rai and jai yen yen.

Thanks, and I hope it's fun for you, too.

Yes, it was build in CONCRETE, but not finished yet but a lot of porthole-windows, so to speak; quite impressive though. I don't think it ever really dived. A year later it disappeared and nobody knew what happened.

Will try to find the pics in the next few days and post them, ok?

LaoPo

[Ulysses G.]

Yes the girls have always been beautiful in Thailand, but now they know how to dress and put on make-up correctly. When I first came here they all dressed like they were in the 1950s with weird ballroom dresses and white clown faces.

MUCH better now!

[cdnvic]

Edit: BTW, Vic, I could, and would like to post the pictures that go along with my Laos border run post. Problem is . . . don't know how. HELP!

Go to "My Controls" (top of the page)

On the left will be a section called "Invision Gallery" click on "your album"

From there just follow the instructions and your album is setup. You can then upload your photos from your comp easily.

After that just link from the post to your gallery.

cv

[Khutan]

Well 10 years ago, there was no BTS, if you want to go back as far as the 1960's Bangkok did have an electric Tram System. Supposedly you can still see some of the tracks. It was finally closed in 1968.

Closing times of bars was incidental, mostly when there weren't enough customers to stay open.

The traffic certainly was worse, and a "Rainy Friday" was often too much to bear.

I think it was a little bit more friendly, and there were more smiles.

[wamberal]

The first times I visited Bangkok was in the late seventies, when I was living in Hong Kong. Then I came here to work for three years, from 1984 to nearly the end of 1986. As a bachelor.

Of course Bangkok has changed enormously. The biggest single change is the skyline. Twenty years ago there were probably three or four buildings over 15 storeys in height.

The place was suffering a bit from over-building in the hotel industry when I lived here. Prices were ridiculously cheap. All the hotels had a beautiful lunch buffet, with music, and everything that you could ever want to eat for 100 bt.

Places like Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen were just country towns.

I used to drive from my apartment in Silom to Chaeng Wattana in about 20 or 30 minutes each day.

There was a wonderful cafe in an old shop-house on Silom called the "Saigon Bakery", where several old Bangkok identities held court. (The cafe moved inside the new building on the site, but I do not know if it is still there.)

My fave bar was a spot on the corner of Soi 19 called the "Country and Western Bar". The owner was a really decent guy who looked after the girls well, and was totally honest. The girls dressed up in proper dresses, and the bar fine was nothing, if you were a regular and had a couple of drinks first. Quite a few of the girls ended up marrying farang, and I attended one wedding that was held in the bar itself.

One day as I was driving to work, I noticed that there were soldiers standing alongside the airport expressway. When I arrived at the office, all the staff were huddled around radios. One of my colleagues came over and told me that a coup was taking place. I then realised that that was why there had been only music on the radio that morning. Later that day the Australian Embassy rang to advise me to go home and to stay home until the all clear was given.

Royal Thai (as it then was) used to serve Moet et Chandon in economy class on Asian routes.

I used to watch five video movies a week, because there was nothing of interest on tv.

[Insight]

Quality thread guys! I love reading your accounts of how things were.

I also moved here in 2001, just before the big Social Order silliness. The majority of changes I've seen going on here seem for the best, but none of them have TRT behind them - something the country would do well to get rid of.

[Axel]

How far can I go back, without dislosing my age?

First time, 1 hour in transit March 1, 1971 on the way to my first job in Japan.

73' stayed twice for a few days. Got a "rent-a-car" somewhere down at Erawan, where now the Hyatt hotel is. Went to Pattaya, a small fishing village, we heard about. 3 hotels or so. The car had a break down and two youg guys helped to go to the next village to find spares and somebody to repair. Took the boys to Bangkok, turned out they were by foot on the way to the big city to find jobs. Guess, they had a great start.

The road to Pattaya always impressed me, 2 lanes and lots of bridges, built like a hump, you went up and did not know what to find on the other side. For sure there was a car in the middle of the road, you could see it only once on top of the 'bridge'.

Had once a bottle of wine in a Pattaya-Hotel, must have been VERY expensive, two waiters carried it to make sure it does not brake.

My first impression, arriving at night time and looking out of the plane's window "It's so flat".

Later having lunch on top of the Dusit Thani (was invited) the view was fantastic from SO HIGH UP.

Went down to Oriental hotel, I had heard about. Remaining impression, the other side of the river was empty and somebody told me, not allowed for buildings.

From 76 onwards, came on business, had to find an address in Sukhumvit and the taxi drove through rice paddies around the area where now Robinson is, near Asoke.

Ariving at Don Muang was always a problem. No taxi but lots of touts. Started from that time to rent cars or limosines.

Actually, at that time never thought I would end up living in LoS.

[Tippaporn]

Much thanks, Vic. All done.

Pictorial of my border run is here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?s=...album&album=310

Hope this works - my first time posting from an album.

[mbkudu]

Ten years ago language schools in Bangkok paid English teachers 250-300 Baht per hour. Today language schools pay teachers 250-300 Baht per hour.

Edited January 9, 2006 by mbkudu

[Tippaporn]

<snip>

Remaining impression, the other side of the river was empty and somebody told me, not allowed for buildings.

From 76 onwards, came on business, had to find an address in Sukhumvit and the taxi drove through rice paddies around the area where now Robinson is, near Asoke.

<snip>

Again, awesome posts. I left the two accounts in the quote that stick out the most to me. I've seen big cities change, living in Chicago for most of my life. But over the decades it's been the outskirts, the burbs, that have gone from farm fields to housing developments. The past 30-40 years has seen astounding changes. The city, on the other hand, had been established long ago, though individual neigborhoods would have facelifts through redevelopment, while others would deteriorate.

It's hard to imagine that a scant 30 years you would find rice paddies near Asoke and the west side of the river vacant. As Mighty Mouse mentioned, "The development of Bangkok over the years is nothing short of amazing. The transport system, shopping centres, high rise hotels, business etc. has more than kept up with the times, in many respects it has exceeded it." I guess it certainly was!

My, my, what will the next 30 years bring?

[Nordlys]

The road to Pattaya always impressed me, 2 lanes and lots of bridges, built like a hump, you went up and did not know what to find on the other side. For sure there was a car in the middle of the road, you could see it only once on top of the 'bridge'.

Yes, and there was a road construction going on Bangna Trad Rd. that seemed to have lasted for ten years. In around 72 - 73, I've seen B52s landing and taking off from Utapao airport on its way to bombing mission to Vietnam when our family was heading to Rayong driving on Suk. Rd. If I remember correctly I believe I saw bomb laden trucks that I think were delivering bombs to Utapao air base. Bombs were visible from outside as they were in crate. I'm not sure if this is possible but believe that's what I saw and was told by my father that's what it is.

Later having lunch on top of the Dusit Thani (was invited) the view was fantastic from SO HIGH UP.

As a child I used to go up there every now and then to see the panoramic view of Bangkok from its toilet. Back then it was the second tallest building in Thailand after Chokchai building in Sukhumvit.

From 76 onwards, came on business, had to find an address in Sukhumvit and the taxi drove through rice paddies around the area where now Robinson is, near Asoke.

Really?? I've been living in Bangkok since '66 (born in 66 to be precise) but I don't remember ever seeing rice paddy in central Bangkok. Western side of Soi Asoke where tuk taew are now looked pretty much the same in early 80's as it is now, as far as I can remember. As a child I was a student at Japanese school in Bangkok which was then located at where Duty Free Shopper is now next to BTS Ploenchit station. Where Plaza Athenee Hotel now next to old Japanese school (and opposite US ambassador's residence) was a plain vacant field for a long time till around 1980.

Edited January 9, 2006 by Nordlys

[Tywais]

I spent a year here in 1968/1969 compliments of the US government. First 6 months was at Utapao RTAFB near Sattihip and I lived in a small village near Rayong (even though it was frowned on to live off-base). Later I rented a 2-story house in Pattaya for 5000B/month. At that time Pattaya was indeed a paradise. There was only one hotel, pretty much every thing else was two stories or less. The bar scene was mostly bamboo type huts and seriously laid back attitudes.

The beach was white and the water as pure blue/green as a post card scene. Remarkably clean water and beach. Tourists were pretty scarce then, mostly R&R military came here. I remember one time when I was at one of these bamboo bars and found a girl I was interested in (named Cat). However there was an Army dude in from Vietnam for R&R and he was also interested in her and on a major drinking binge. He started talking "at" me and seemed to not like my appearance. My hair was a bit on the long side, but still military (at least for the USAF) and he didn't believe that I was in the military and demanded to see my ID card. Not wanting to make this more of an issue then it was already becoming, I did show it to him. He just stared at it for what seemed forever.

He then proceded to expouse about his tours of Vietnam and that I wasn't a 'real' soldier. The girl saw it was getting out of hand and came over and asked me to dance. As we were dancing the 'vet' was glaring at me and a friend of mine said it might be a good idea to exit. So, when the 'vet' was occupied with his drink, the girl and I made a hasty exit back to my place. It could have ended up pretty nasty, basically me being used to mop the floor (he was big).

Later was sent to Don Muang air base in Bangkok for temporary duty. Bangkok was great, traffic was sparse, people with less of a rat race mentality, pollution nearly non-existant. My memories of Patpong is not that clear because it was not so much "in your face" as it is now. Spent a fair amount of my bar hopping on Petchburi road and encountered my first massage parlor (you know what kind). Being young and inexperienced it was rather embarrasing sitting in the lobby and seeing all these remarkably beautiful women behind a glass window with numbers on them. So many to choose from, so little time.

Later went to a club with a dance floor (seemed clubs were quite popular then) and took a seat. Girls were on the floor dancing with themselves and occasionally with a 'customer'. I have now pretty much gotten the knack of how things worked. Saw a girl on the floor with hair down to her knees and knock out beautiful. I sat there for ages trying to get up the nerve to ask her to sit with me. Finally, asked one of the servers to come over and asked if he could get number 39 (I still have her badge stored away back home) to sit with me. So what does he do, he takes his flashlight out and starts flashing her with it. Felt like crawling into a hole - so embarrassed.

Remember, I was young and naiive at the time but growing up fast. She sat with me and after a little while she put an ice cube in her mouth and proceeded to kiss me transferring the cube to me. Good enough for me and proceeded to arrange the bar payment (about 500 baht for the bar and her for all night). Ended up spending the next several months with her - one of the best times ever. She took me to her home a couple of times and introduced me to her baby. She was rather non-chalant when we came in and walked past here parents into her bedroom. What struck me was how truly poor she was and her family. The 'home' was basically a shack and getting to it required walking on planks over a klong waterway.

So, you wanted to know what it was like 'back then'? The mechanics were pretty much the same, the pressures and pushy attitudes nearly non-existant, the enviornment outstanding, the problems the girls had the same and the girls stunningly beautiful (through the eyes of this young and naiive farang).

[cdnvic]

The road to Pattaya always impressed me, 2 lanes and lots of bridges, built like a hump, you went up and did not know what to find on the other side. For sure there was a car in the middle of the road, you could see it only once on top of the 'bridge'.

Considering the unfinished freeways in BKK I'm always afraid there's gonna be nothing on the other side but a 50ft drop.

cv

[camerata]

What I remember most about the 70s was the curfew in Bangkok. It was at midnight after the October 1976 coup, and then later was changed to 1am. If you were caught on the street before 5am you'd spend a night in jail. Patpong was the main bar area. The Mississippi Queen (with identical twins Joy and June dancing) and Mike's Place were the leading bars, as I recall. The girls could really dance in those days, but Patpong was always pretty commercial.

Along Sukhumvit, the place to go was the Grace Hotel Coffee Shop, which was mostly German tourists at the time. It had taken over (as the most popular late-night spot) from the Thai Yonuk Coffee Shop on Ploenchit, which had been popular in the GI years. The Arabs hadn't moved in yet. The Grace was open all night. On Buddhist holidays, when alcohol wasn't allowed, the Grace would serve beer out of teapots as this apparently fooled any police who happened to come by.

At the time, the Thermae was a bit dismal compared to the Grace but it came into its own in the late 70s. At 12.55am every night there was a great roar as a great wave of tuk-tuks left the Grace and Thermae and screamed up Sukhumvit Road taking farang to their hotels and girls to their bungalows in Soi 22. Nobody wanted to get stuck in a coffee shop with the deadbeats until 5am. Sukhumvit was 2-way at the time.

Other nightlife areas were Klong Toey (the Mosquito Coffee Shop, the Venus Club, etc), which was on the decline, and Petchaburi Road, which was mostly gaudy nightclubs left over from the Vietnam era and since frequented mostly by Thais. Soi Cowboy was just a couple of bars. The Red Diamond was run by a Swede called Rolf (who was later involved in a free-Internet venture that CAT blocked) and Cowboy's Bar featured Cowboy himself walking around wearing six-shooters. He taught his girls to dance himself and they could really dance. Ah, yes, and there was Mukdha's bar with Mukdha herself doing "the candle show" now and again. The girls in general tended to be younger then and couldn't speak any English. Some couldn't even speak much Thai. All had to have a health card stamped once a week to say they were free of VD.

There was a row of four bars on the south side of Sukhumvit at the entrance of Soi 16, The Rose, The Rosemary I & II, and the El Toro (all later moved to Nana Plaza). Nearby was the Nipa Hut (I think) Mexican restaurant, which had a dwarf with a Viva Zapata moustache and a sombrero sitting outside. Further along was Mitch 'n Nam's Soulfood Restaurant, from the Vietnam War era. On the corner of Soi 19 was the Cock and Bull run by the legendary Peter, the only place you could see decent movies (from Peter's huge private collection of video tapes). In the 70s, Thailand had a huge tax on foreign movies so the only films you could see at the cinema were French B-movies starring Alain Delon.

You couldn't buy foreign music cassettes in Thailand then. You bought them on the visa run to Penang or had Rex Records on Petchaburi Road record the songs you wanted from vinyl record to tape. A tourist visa was for one month. To get an extension you took some BG down to Immigration and said you were going to marry her. They gave you a 21-day extension followed by 10-day extensions up to a maximum of 3 months.

At some point the government introduced the much-reviled Tax Clearance Certificate requirement (later abolished by Anan Panyarachun), so any foreigner in Thailand more than 90 days for any reason had to go to the Tax Dept on Rajadamnoen, declare income, pay any tax due, and get the certificate before leaving the Kingdom. If you were working but hadn't paid tax and didn't have documentation, they were likely to simply assess you and force you to pay tax on what they thought was appropriate income. To get the certificate, you needed to have an official "guarantor," and these guarantors could be found hanging around outside the building. They charged 200 baht and walked you through the process. The place was bedlam with no queues and no air-con. It could take hours to get out. There was a huge sign inside the main hall saying, "All foreigners working in Thailand must have a work permit!" but no one ever hassled you about it. They just wanted the tax money.

I remember transport as being a hassle, but cheap. A taxi would take you from Sukhumvit to Thonburi for 30 baht, but often pissing and moaning all the way about the price agreed on. Buses were hot and crowded, with people hanging out of the doors. Open song-theows were cooler but they drove like maniacs and tried to overcharge or didn't give you your change.

Floods were common in the rainy season, with Bangkokians wading thigh-deep in water during the worst ones. I have a picture of myself with a boat on Sukhumvit Road in the flood of 85. I think we have Bangkok governor Chamlong Srimuang to thank for the end of the really bad flooding in the city.

Overall, I'd say in the 70s Bangkok still seemed exotic and Oriental. It had its own identity. It's more convenient now but it's lost its charm. But no one shouts "YOU! YOU!" at you anymore.

Edited January 9, 2006 by camerata

[astral]

In the early 80's.

There were 25 baht to a US$

Petrol cost 8 baht a litre.

Fried rice was 10 baht for a good plate full.

Chang did not exist, Singha or Kloster was 30 baht a bottle in the bars

a coke was 5 baht a bottle.

Traffic in Bagkok was already h*ll, despite the "new" expressway from Bang Na.

The night life was wild, not like the watered down version today.

The new dual carriageway to Pattaya was being built and it took 3 hours to make the journey.

Jomtien beach was about 1km long, beyond that was all private land.

In 1985 Silom Road was knee deep in flood water for 5 days.

My house rent, just off Silom was 10K a month.

There was no cable or satellite TV, just a video rental shop on Suriwongse Road that

had lots of English films and TV series for rental.

There were odd American TV progammes with the English sound track on a Radio channel, but they

often forgot to switch the language back after the ads.

I wish I had come to LOS much earlier!!!

Edited January 9, 2006 by astral

[Tippaporn]

Well, what can I say other than I'm absolutely enthralled reading these posts and I hope others enjoy them as much as I do. To be honest, it's all been much, much more than I had hoped for when I thought about doing this thread.

Pictures would be nice, albeit I realize most likely hard to come by, but the imagination works well. I tried searching the Internet for pics of Bangkok in the 60's, 70's or 80's but came up empty. I would have liked to have found something so as to supply some sort of visual addendum. But, be sure, I'm not at all disappointed.

I just hope all you posters realize the value of what you're relating. These stories are truly priceless.

Many thanks and please accept a very sincere wai from me.