What can you do now in Thailand that you couldn't do twenty years ago?

[tinom]

25 years ago I had to order my Nescafé with 3 spoons (of dehydrated acid coffee) and often received an "american style", tasteless brown water with 3 tea spoons laying in the sub plate...

Now you can get a really tasty Italian Style Espresso!

20 years ago, you could speak much more freely on Thaivisa which had to wait for internet to get out of the CERN.

The american politically correct language was not yet invented even in their own country!!! (Maybe americans ruling thaivisa still had a bit of their native english blood which could enjoy the English style morbid humor)...

[anotheruser]

25 years ago I had to order my Nescafé with 3 spoons (of dehydrated acid coffee) and often received an "american style", tasteless brown water with 3 tea spoons laying in the sub plate...

Now you can get a really tasty Italian Style Espresso!

20 years ago, you could speak much more freely on Thaivisa which had to wait for internet to get out of the CERN.

The american politically correct language was not yet invented even in their own country!!! (Maybe americans ruling thaivisa still had a bit of their native english blood which could enjoy the English style morbid humor)...

CERN?

[BudRight]

I'd go back to the Thailand of the 20 years ago in a heartbeat, spare me the generation of narcissism

and self indulgences of today, the slaves and depended of the digital media that without it people will

kill themselves with out FB, instagram and alike, the air was cleaner prices cheaper, people much nicer

and don't get me started on the ladies and the nightlife.....

Another crippled has-been.

[1FinickyOne]

spend time raising my eleven year old niece - and my dogs... I can speak much better... and fall asleep in the afternoon during my foot massage, whether I want to or not...

[catman20]

Some corrections on above. You could buy a big bike and go to Villa market 20 years ago.

I'll add: drive anywhere without getting stuck for hours on end. The roads are much better now.

but lots more traffic

[catman20]

get a girl off the internet and get a Thai girl that is not over weight

[catman20]

listen to a English speaking radio station

[Skeptic7]

Easily telephone anyone anywhere in Thailand or the world.

And for free or nearly nothing...

[Skeptic7]

get a girl off the internet and get a Thai girl that is not over weight

20 years ago "overweight" was virtually nonexistent. Didn't need the Internet. Just had to go outside...anywhere...and slim, smiling, happy hotties were finding you! Fish in a barrel back then...diamond mining these days.

[louse1953]

Actually have a conversation with my present gf without arguing daily about her cell phone obsession.

I grew tired of it currently. Now l just ignore her when she's on it...which is every waking minute.

If you left,she wouldn't notice.

[ozyjon]

What can you do now in Thailand that you couldn't do twenty years ago?

Walk in fear

[Lammbock]

Take a lot's of selfies...

[i claudius]

Go to bed at 10pm , 20 years ago i could go out then ,now i am just to tired .if i go to a bar its in the afternoon for a drink and a chat and thats it , home by 6pm for my tea . you never think it will happen ,but it does

[B1TcoinLife]

Good roads, GPS and Agoda.

A pleasure driving around in Thailand now.

A pleasure if you don't get killed lol

[phuketrichard]

Getting a blowjob at a business specifically operating for only that purpose.

they had those back in the 70's-80's

[sandgroper2]

Say im 70

[Ulysses G.]

Get a decent selection of Western food outside of Bangkok.

[gk10002000]

Not much more now that I care about. But I do agree with:

Internet

Travel about the same albeit the skytrain is fantastic in Bangkok

Get less peace and quiet. Every darn piece of grass and local terrain is paved over or being built on

Get fewer cleaner beaches

[sandgroper2]

What can you do now in Thailand that you couldn't do twenty years ago?

Whine-----Whine---Whine....on Thai Visa and any other blog, about how bad the Thais are...how surprised you were to find out your bride who is just a tad younger --58 years, no longer seems in awe of you.......how very very dangerous the whole country is. How your superior intellect just isn't appreciated enough here....I could go on infinitum ---but that might be construed as whining about the whiners............

.

I think the Australians had the right expression when I lived there----(& you really couldn't get a better county for families-)

"You always know when a plane is full of POMS---- The engine has been switched off but you can still hear the whining "

Isn't it POHM--Prisoner of Her/His Majesty? Or are you speaking Cockney and dropped the "H"?

Such ignorance. The convicts to Oz never were called poms, never had POM printed on the backs of their prison uniform, infact, no prison uniform.

[mesterm]

On 7/24/2016 at 2:06 PM, HLover said:

Get shot for allegedly insulting a neighbor.

Oh how far we've come.

[thaibeachlovers]

As one that was here 20 years ago, there is less that I can do now than I could then. Another thread perhaps?

[trainman34014]

Get an English Cumberland Sausage !

[thaibeachlovers]

On 24 กรกฎาคม 2559 at 8:59 AM, ezzra said:

I'd go back to the Thailand of the 20 years ago in a heartbeat, spare me the generation of narcissism

and self indulgences of today, the slaves and depended of the digital media that without it people will

kill themselves with out FB, instagram and alike, the air was cleaner prices cheaper, people much nicer

and don't get me started on the ladies and the nightlife.....

And, the Thais SMILED back then, unlike now when it's just a facade. The expression Land of smiles was reality then, not like now when it's just a slogan.

[anotheruser]

Depends upon whose reality you live in I suppose.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 26 กรกฎาคม 2559 at 7:49 PM, HannahD said:

Easily telephone anyone anywhere in Thailand or the world.

Pity they don't have calling cards like other countries. No way I'm paying 10 baht a minute just to say hello to mummy.

[anotheruser]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Pity they don't have calling cards like other countries. No way I'm paying 10 baht a minute just to say hello to mummy.

lol you can't be serious. Yoi know how to access the internet and yet can't call your mother with out calling cards? Unbelievable. This helps me understand a lot about you.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 27 กรกฎาคม 2559 at 0:34 AM, tinom said:

25 years ago I had to order my Nescafé with 3 spoons (of dehydrated acid coffee) and often received an "american style", tasteless brown water with 3 tea spoons laying in the sub plate...

Now you can get a really tasty Italian Style Espresso!

20 years ago, you could speak much more freely on Thaivisa which had to wait for internet to get out of the CERN.

The american politically correct language was not yet invented even in their own country!!! (Maybe americans ruling thaivisa still had a bit of their native english blood which could enjoy the English style morbid humor)...

Did TV even exist 20 years ago?  I don't know when the internet became commonly available, but pretty sure there weren't any internet cafes in Thailand in 1996. I'm old, so I could be wrong .

[thaibeachlovers]

12 minutes ago, anotheruser said:

lol you can't be serious. Yoi know how to access the internet and yet can't call your mother with out calling cards? Unbelievable. This helps me understand a lot about you.

Thank the deity for the ignore function.

[t8769]

There's a lot to be said for the old days.
No internet, no phones - we had a lot of time to relax and talk - it was very social.
How many young people do you see staring into a plastic screen 5" from their faces.
Things moved very slowly and there was so much time to read books and enjoy.

Bangkok pollution was unbelievable and no BTS.

But I don't know if I could go back there.
I'm too used to modern comforts and instant communication.
Now I can sit in a Bangkok hotel room and work, or message friends to meet up.
Sometimes I wonder how we got anything done before smart phones!

 

 

 

 

[dick dasterdly]

17 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

And, the Thais SMILED back then, unlike now when it's just a facade. The expression Land of smiles was reality then, not like now when it's just a slogan.

Long discussion on this point.  How much was 'the smile' due to the cultural imperative to smile?  How much was due to living in simpler era?  How much was due to having not having met multitudes of obnoxious foreigners?

 

Thais may not be as 'smiley' nowadays, but they will still return a genuine smile - wheras back home its so unnatural to smile at strangers that they just think you're a bit odd and avoid you - and they'd be right .

 

One of the things I miss from 20 odd years ago are the friendly policemen.  We were relatively new then and so a curiosity rather than a money-earner.