Thailand in 1997 ... who remembers?

[David48]

Thailand in 1997 ... who remembers?

I was reading theblethers thread on muggings and a few of the longer term stayers here talk about 1997 being a game changer for Thailand.

One year before I first landed on these shores.

For those who remember ...

How and what did it change for ever ... ?

Has anything returned back to those days?

What was the exchange rate?

A history lesson as you remember it back then ...

.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

We bought or house April 1996 at baht 25 = $1

If we'd have waited until late January or early February 1998 when the baht hit 50-51 = $1, would have saved a whole bunch!!!

Would like it to go back to 40, easier to divide in my head.

Mac

[benalibina]

For many who really want to give a serious response this could be the moment to give up the booze. In a couple of months i can see this thread really catching momentum.

[benalibina]

IMO nothing changed specifically for LOS. Some had luck with the exchange rate crash, some were unfortunate as 1 poster above. Regarding the financials for some of the expats at the time it must have been a life saver or money maker for many.

[samran]

A whole lot less cars on the road. Was nice for a bit.

[NCC1701A]

I was wondering about this as well, what happened to the cost of labor?

[Naam]

before 1997 everything was cheap in Thailand, in 1997 and for a short time in 1998 everything was dàmn cheap in Thailand.

[NCC1701A]

I figured that Mr. Worf... I was wondering if there were any real life examples.

[ttthailand]

Been here since 1995. Prior to the 97 crash everything was cheap and Thais appears really nice. After the crash the baht went to 56 to the dollar at one point. With that it seemed prices started to go up and up and up. Then the dollar lost its power and the baht rested at 40 for years. This was a good rate and everyone was happy it seemed. Hit 29 and then everything seems expensive. Thais having to pay more too and also the material desires start to take effect and now no one happy

[maccaroni man]

I arrived in June of 96 the exchange rate was 22 to 1 US dollar the phrase of the day was "it's the Thai way" and every other car on the road seemed to be a merc. Koh San rd was still bohemian, koh Samui was just got the centara.

[WitawatWatawit]

One of the toughest times of my life. I had a kid in an international school but was employed on a local contract, so I wasn't making big money, and eventually the fees crippled us. I had to take her out of the school for a while. As the economy went into shambles and hundreds of thousands were laid off, my company hit the panic button and cut our salaries and benefits. One of the things that saved us was my Thai landlord halving our rent (get that up you, Thai bashers). But man, did we struggle for the next two years, but even so, we were still not as bad off as the people up in the villages. I heard horror stories from my ex and her friends - suicides, violence from loan sharks, foreclosures, you name it. In 1998, I went out for a drink a total of 5 times, and three of those were paid for by friends from HK who were living in luxury on their BKK trips because of the incredible exchange rate.

But what changed as a result of that? Well, after watching a lot of close colleagues being retrenched, losing their homes and cars and what-have you, I noticed one particular change. And that was the Thai attitude towards their employers. Many Thais retain a kind of loyalty towards their employers and stay with one company (especially if it's big) for very long times or all their lives. Up until '97, I had seldom heard any voices of discord about my company. But afterwards, that loyalty seemed to disappear. (In respect of my company, after one round of mass lay-offs, the chairman turned up one day in a brand new Benz, red plates still on it. Please insert your own expletive here). So I guess Thais have become a lot more cynical (as have I) about their employers. I might be a bit wrong about this, but I think that the whole experience lead to a rise in labour unions. Certainly, worker dissatisfaction seemed to grow after '97.

Trying to assess the mentality of the people from that period and afterwards is pretty hard, as most of the time it was a case of keeping your head down and trying to stay out of the firing line.

[bonobo]

In 1996, I was visiting a school friend. We went to some fancy night club hotspot so my friend could pick up some paperwork from another guy our age. The guy was downright rude to me, sneering and saying things in Thai that I couldn't pick up, but I got the gist of it.

After we left, my friend told me that guy's father had made a mint over the last few years, and the guy liked pushing that into everyone's face.

Fast forward to 1998. I was back, and my friend asked me if I remembered the rude guy. Turns out, that guy's family had been heavily in debt, mortgaging out their business expansion while my friend's family business was debt-free. My friend's father bought out several of that guy's family businesses for pennies on the dollar (satangs on the baht?)

Last I heard, the rude guy is some middle-level manager now for a company while my classmate's family is one of the wealthiest in the country with huge holdings in car parts, mines, hotels, and movies.

[giggles]

UK farangs had cash to burn and buy houses and condos on the cheap ,very cheap ,unlike now when you pay virtually double ++ on property and goods.

its was permanent party time in the bars then,

but they never did get round to changing the bankruptcy laws AFAIK things are still the same .

all the farangs and indians were changing wads of cash to change.

But you had to be lucky to call the top of the market as the rate was changing by the hour like the date numbers on the time machine .

downside was many got badly burnt on off the plan condos and all property sales ,to lose the lot

[JaiLai]

For my at that time Thailand was an exotic adventure, now it seems to be plastic and mainstream.

I believe in 96/97 was just when mobile phones were just coming on the go ( albeit very expensive).

I remember the exchange rate being 70+ never really gave much thought to prices.

[Naam]

I arrived in June of 96 the exchange rate was 22 to 1 US dollar the phrase of the day was "it's the Thai way" and every other car on the road seemed to be a merc. Koh San rd was still bohemian, koh Samui was just got the centara.

take it easy but you were cheated. from 1985 till May 1997 one US-Dollar bought 25 Baht.

most probably you arrived in June 97 when the Baht dropped (for one day only) to 22.

[Naam]

I figured that Mr. Worf... I was wondering if there were any real life examples.

unfortunately i lack specific information about bar fines and working girl charges as i was happily married for 18 years in 1997.

but if you are interested what the 70s in Thailand were like... let me tell you a secret... they were paradise²

[StefanBBK]

Life before 97 was easier. All seemed to be more relaxed, less worried. Things were cheap.

I remember during the crash, I picked up a 700$ dive watch for 300, as the shop was slow adjusting prices.

I thought the 40baht / $ exchange rate worked well for years thereafter. Made exports reasonably cheap.

Life has changed a lot since 97. But no point talking about spilled milk....

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Jasun]

My wife went from a family-owned garment factory in Bangkok with dozens of workers, to hand-sewing hair bands to sell on the street. The crash hurt a lot of people, most never fully recovered.

[David48]

My wife went from a family-owned garment factory in Bangkok with dozens of workers, to hand-sewing hair bands to sell on the street. The crash hurt a lot of people, most never fully recovered.

Sorry to hear that story.

Two sides to every coin I suppose.

[i claudius]

I was not actually living here then ,just coming back and fore on buisness every few months ,i remember paying our hotel bill and thinking what a bargain ,the baht was dropping daily ,people were not so materialistic then , it was a time when my wifes mother gained lots of land from people who could not pay their bills ,good for some ,bad for others , mind you i wouldnt mind that exchange rate now ,one thing a friend of mine and his wife baught a nice house ,very cheap ,in what is now the centre of Pattaya ,for peanuts ,they sold it some years ago and with the proceeds baught a massive house near us , so they live in a near mansion that in fact cost them 1.3 million baht ,some guys get all the luck

[evadgib]

before 1997 everything was cheap in Thailand, in 1997 and for a short time in 1998 everything was dàmn cheap in Thailand.

I briefly recall THB 95 to GBP1.00.

[chrisinth]

before 1997 everything was cheap in Thailand, in 1997 and for a short time in 1998 everything was dàmn cheap in Thailand.

I briefly recall THB 95 to GBP1.00.

I always thought it peaked at 94.2, but could be wrong.

The reason I remember that number was because I transferred a significant amount of money across from UK and got 92.4 baht to the pound. Unfortunately this was in my party days and not planned, if I had been clear-headed it would have been a lot more in the transfer..........

[jmccarty]

Remember a friend of mine purchased a large apartment in Bangkok for US$40k, another guy I know did the same with 2 houses on a large plot of land in Jakarta. I did not have the spare cash at the time as was struggling in Singapore but did work a project for a few months in Sri Racha in 95, stayed in Pattaya at the end of the work day. Could stand on the beach road in front of the TQ with a drink and not get run over.

I don't remember what anything cost back then.

[Mario2008]

What I remmeber are all the high rise bulding projects that stopped being continued build for years. You could see a lot of them being rapped up against wind and rain. And of course some great exchange rates, which made it really cheap to live here.

THe doctor at my local hopsital told me also about a lot of suicides. For the poor it wasn't a nice time.

[Naam]

before 1997 everything was cheap in Thailand, in 1997 and for a short time in 1998 everything was dàmn cheap in Thailand.

I briefly recall THB 95 to GBP1.00.

the peak >90 was jan 26, 1998 - GBP/THB high end dec 1997 was 78.

[Neeranam]

Although here in body in 1997, I remember little.I remember that I was totally unaffected by the financial thing. I still got 4 large Chang for 100 baht and a bottle of Sang Thip(baeng) for 40 baht.

Those everyday mixed with copious amounts of diazepam really affected my memory.

One thing I do remember was that the girls in Pat Pong started asking for $ bills.

[wayned]

When I took early retirement in December 1997 I had already purchased a bar in Samui which was being run by my GF, now my wife of 15 years. In January 1998 I took a chance and transferred a very large sum of money to my account here and got over 55 baht to the dollar. When I finally moved here permanently in late March 1998, the Baht had already fallen to around 40 baht to the dollar. Chaweng was still a backpackers haven with places like "Charlie's Huts" that you could stay for under 100 baht/night. The road through Chaweng Beach was dirt and sometimes a muddy bog. Over the years things changed. The road was paved, sidewalks were put in, McDonalds and Burger King appeared along with Pizza Hut, Pizza Company, three ice cream parlors and two 7-11's. The Islander moved from its old location to the present one, which was initiatally called Bamboo. The baht hovered around 40 to the dollar for a long time but the environment changed from a backpakers' haven to a family environment very quickly, Taxi cabs actually arrived in Chaweng. Prices increased and the cost of doing business rose to an unacceptable level so I sold and moved out in 2004. I now live in a small village in a remote area of Nakhon Sawan Province which is very pleasant, but I still do miss the beach and nightlife of Chaweng sometimes. The baht now has slowly crept up to about 32 to the dollar, but I hope, for Thailands sake, that it never reaches 55 again.

[David48]

wayned ... great post ... as are many of them.

It was a time before I was here.

Has the excitement or the romance or the challenge of living in Thailand changed much over the intervening years?

.

[Ace of Pop]

Ive noticed a huge drop in Tourists,that makes me wonder where TAT get their figures from.. I get the feeling they are calling everyone at Arrivals a Tourist.

[Bluetongue]

Exchange rates go up and down, I came here a lot in the 90s, the lowest I can recall the A$ was about 14 during the recession we (Aus) had to have, so maybe 93 something like that. It was usually parked around 20 but fluctuated on the down side. The multinationals started arriving around that time too in Phuket I think the first 7/11 was about 95, Maccas maybe a bit before. I bought a brand new house and land in Kathu just over the hill from Patong for 500k bht in 95. Lost that one and by 97 I realised that if I wanted a life here I either had to have a good job here or significantly more resources just to live here rather than go back and forth losing houses etc. I've never been very good at winning big power jobs so I went back to my job and climbed the greasy pole.

I put in a few solid years before I came back. What's changed well for thing wages had gone up from 100 to 200 for the basic one. Didn't notice that this made any difference to Thai people. The most amazing difference for me personally was the reach of the mobile phone and its importance and acceptance, it's usability in Thai life. In 97 I can only recall seeing one person with one that looked like a brick. 10 years later even people in the fields have one, every kid is glued to one.

Have the Thai people changed, yes I think overall there is more life stress on many of them now, globalisation, modernisation it'll do it to you everytime. A workplace that is sanook and pays well is probably harder to find. But under the mango tree after a nice family lunch, all dossed out on the day beds there is still time to do tomorrow what could be done today.

For farang the challenge of living here is all about the money, I find the local immigration office much less daunting than I used to find Phuket Immigration back then, I find its easier to get around, get what you want but at least some of that I put down to better language skills.