Me, too. Roadside vendors in the sticks, especially, are very very pleasant. Be it hammocks, khao lam, klua, makham, or new windscreen wiper blades, all very polite and what I was used to when I holidayed here (predominantly Phuket with my wife) annually 16 years ago. From 2010 to 2014 my wife and I noticed the changes in attitude towards tourists in Phuket. There was a marked increase in Cyrillic lettering on businesses during that time and the iconic Little Mermaid restaurant (and the extremely dodgy one-star guesthouse adjoining it) in Karon was sold after 30-odd years of same ownership as they said the tourist demographic had changed for the worse. Since 2016, during my six-monthly drives to Pattaya, and annual flights to Phuket to catch up with friends, the "sparkle" isn't there. It all seems to be a drudge; even the faces of tourists seem unwelcoming, looking as if they wished were somewhere else. Maybe it's a cultural thing for some Eastern European countries' peoples. But there's no laughing in pubs. And, of course, people don't have actual "fun" in the moment anymore - it's all on their phone. Oh! and farang-run bars in Khon Kaen and Udon Thani? The hostility comes from the foreigners in the place as if you've invaded their house and tried it on with their teenaged daughter in front of them. So when travelling up north, I go to Thai-run bars so the angry-faced 65 year-old white guy at the front of the pub can glare at someone else.
