When you arrived in Thailand for the First Time.

[NoshowJones]

22 minutes ago, tifino said:

 

first landing was in Phuket 1981, and survived the first road experience - in a minibus from the Airport to Patong Beach (to the old Phuket Cabanas resort)

 

The 'resort' was a dozen or less 4 man thatched bungalows set along the palm tree line, against the fringe of the sand

 

Eating, was by the means of wandering along the beach, sampling the open air restaurants, that flowed out onto the sand.

Wild hermits crabs were scuttling amonsgt your seated-feet, and were probably escaped convicts from the live seafood display cases at the front door ( ha ha what door? )

 

Your selection of menu: was a massive 48-96 pages School Scribbling Exercise book. (hand written, and had some photos glued within)

Every type of available meat, had an endless variety of additions, and style of cooking method.

We early, in the piece, focused on the Number 4 restaurant, and in the week and a bit there, we ate most meals at that same place,

and didn't even make a scratch on the number of consumed pages out of that book (We tried to have a different meal each sitting)

 

Had my first and only direct conflict with the then motorcycle rentals mafia, which set me back 600 baht for a cracked rear indicator light...

(Cracking of it, is a story for another time)

 

There was back then a deep farmer's dam, right on the corner of where the downhill approach road meets Patong Rd.

In the dam was a water buffalo, and after that the only empty headed water buffaloes were the 2 legged variety, that made the roads, and still do dangerous for all other road users

 

That condoms were never commonly used back then - is a story also for yet another time, and place...

 

Mamasan at the first bar I ever entered, being the Lucky Star Bar, the little round thatched roof one, just a little south of the Phuket Cabanas, give one his first taste of real Thai delicacies

Oh the mamasan - she was I now am quite sure a Katoey, who laughed later when (s)he declared, after the fact, that little then-young me was now a man after doing the deed with her

(oh dear - yet another story to maybe not bring up again at another time, and place...

 

On the Rental bike - I was aghast at how many gold temples there were - more in sight as you sweep the horizon - than there were Memorials in France from WW1.

 

We did the James Bond Island Long Boat trip to the Island.

Not happy that we never found - nor even a fake!! of the James Bond Arch Enemy's Golden Gun...

... No Caverns , nor Rear Escape passage

 

... but oh so many Trinket souvenir tables

 

The Long Boat had the Driver yes, BUT there was also the man up front - who was armed with a shotgun!!!

He was watching for pirates

    (what the heck had we gotten ourselves into here???? )

 

thankfully - it was never going to be the Last time in LOS

 

 

 

[NoshowJones]

Good story Tiffino.

[i claudius]

Arrived in 1989 , and came straight to Pattaya on a mini bus was booked into a small bungalow in N Pattaya , then went for a walk to the bars around soi 1 and couldnt believe how many girls wanted my body 500 baht to stay the night or 200 baht short time , i spent the night with a girl ,she was really nice , but had to leave early to go to work ,there was a "dept store" around where Tuk Com is now ,  i had only come for 12 days , went home and 6 weeks later came back and rented a room spent time with a girl (who believe it or not is still a friend ,but is married and lives in the uk) ,later i went to BKK and went into partnership with another guy ,met my now wife and we went to live in the UK stayed in the buisness for 8 years , then we came back here with our son , it all seems like such a short time ago , doesnt time fly?

[Thaidream]

Landed at Don Muang in the mid 60s from the US . No air conditioning in the airport and no conveyer belts for the luggage. Each arrival had to carry his own luggage from a large trolley parked on the apron.   We had to wait  until someone could find an immigration officer to stamp our passports with a 15 day entry ( no 30 days  allowed and no extensions).

No traffic from the airport to downtown- no air conditioning in any of the taxis.  Stayed at the Reno Hotel Soi 1 (its still there) Paid 100 Baht for an air conditioned room with a refrigerator. 

The minute I hit the city I loved it . No Nana Plaza or Cowboy and Patpong had a few places but all the big night action was on Phetchaburi Road. 

[gwynt]

2 hours ago, joebrown said:

First visit March 2004. Sitting in my window seat I was shocked to see people playing golf under the wing (it seemed) of the airplane as we taxied after landing at Don Muang. The manic driving on the road into Ratchadapisek frightened me. Walking from my hotel to Robinson store in the searing heat and humidity being deafened by the noise of the traffic. I spent a week in Bangkok seeing most of the sights, the most moving of which was Wat Trimit (Golden Buddha). Admit to being a visitor to a couple of 'soapies', one of which was Mona Lisa, I think. I took a bus from Morchit to Lom Sak and I was sat alongside a saffron robed man who inexplicably laughed out loud at the on-board TV. I was amazed by his strange sense of humour because the TV was showing horrific/macabre pictures taken of bodies found after the then recent tsunami!? 3 large bottles of ice-cold Chang could be downed for only 100bht in 2004, which was shockingly good VFM.  LOS, the place to expect the unexpected, as I've found out many times since. I love being  here, and try not to take life too seriously.  

My same thoughts as we taxied from the runway a group of golfers waiting to cross definite double take.

That was 2003 then the delights of Phuket yes it was delightfull then sadly not now?

[Thaidream]

I also remember coming to Pattaya  in the late 60s- there was no expressway- used the old Sukhumvit Road which took 3 hours with no traffic. Pattaya only had 1 or 2 hotels but stayed in a bungalow right on Beach Road. The water was pristine and so clear you could see the sand below it. The beer was cold and the food was incredibly delicious and cheap. I remember purchasing 6 huge prawns for less than 100 Baht which included a large Singha Beer and a big plate of rice. There were hardly any tourists and the people just as friendly as could be. There were a few nighttime places with all the goodies. Both Bangkok and Pattaya- the best times ever.

[Thaidream]

So many of us have been here so long- and remember Thailand when it was a much more laid back place- with much friendlier people and less of a mercenary tilt than one finds today It's not that it was much cheaper then than today as the US Dollar was in the range of 20-25 Baht  per the dollar- it is because the place was much more fun and less stressful than it is today.  I believe Thai people were much friendlier because they had not been exposed to the wide range of tourists that came and ruined the place. Mass tourism has destroyed the pristine nature of Thailand and so called globalization has sealed that fate.  I truly believe the 'good old days' were better for everyone when it comes to Thailand. The average Thai person has become poorer and so have we in comparison to the 60'S

Edited August 4, 2016 by Thaidream

[SoiBiker]

How modern, westernised and clean it was. I'd just visited India, and was expecting it to be pretty similar.

[gandalf12]

Landed in Bangkok from Sri Lanka and found the whole feel of the city great, never left

[Generalchaos]

The Heat and humidity, it was like going into an oven. The next was the elephant in the small soi next to the Amari Boulevard. Guess the nest reality check was waking up on the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai early in the morning just outside of Lamphun and being in the jungle.

 

Guess the most memorable after that is removing a pair of knickers and finding a rather medium sized .......

Edited August 4, 2016 by Generalchaos

[ozyjon]

On 02/08/2016 at 3:19 PM, possum1931 said:

The very first thing that surprised you the very first day you arrived in Thailand, what was it?

 

Geez it's bloody hot.

 

 

 

[mcfish]

On Wednesday, August 03, 2016 at 6:26 AM, sipi said:

My first encounter with Bangkok in 1985 was the air pollution and the noise. I am not sure if it is any better or worse now, but coming from the Australian outback I couldn't get out of there soon enough.

That's understandable the Oz outback is just nasty 

[swissie]

1995. Already at the Don Muang Airport I realized, that I was lied to by my "Buddies" and the Print Media in my home country: NO, NOT ALL THAI LADIES are beautiful. They appeared rather "average", like in the rest of the world. It was only when I started to hit the GO GO'S, that I started to understand where the "all Thai Ladies are beautiful" myth came from.(Again, that was in 1995). Today....?

 

Spent the last 5 years in the Thai-Sticks only to confirm above observation. Some myth's die slowly. Also goes for the myth "all Farangs are rich". 555

 

Cheers.

[RachaRob]

1991 stayed at Khaosarn road at the Buddy Bar and the room was so small and smelly. Now its a hotel.

[HooHaa]

Kings birthday 1996. First morning after flight. Never seen so many people proudly wearing uniforms.

[Ulysses G.]

5 hours ago, Thaidream said:

 I truly believe the 'good old days' were better for everyone when it comes to Thailand.

 

That is a matter of opinion. The sex industry was a lot cheaper and the girls much younger, but  good foreign food was almost non-existent and there are so many more ways to be entertained today. Also, so many places are air-conditioned that it is a lot easier to stay comfortable. I had a lot of fun during the 'good old days', but I would not want to go back to them.

Edited August 4, 2016 by Ulysses G.

[ericthai]

As many have said the heat when you got off the plane and then the smell of Don Mueng airport.  Same with allot of small hotels, they have the stagnant air smell to them.

 

When I flew in I didn't have to be to Rayong for a day or two, spent allot of time in Patpong which was booming back then. Got to the job site a few days later and when walking around found a group of girls cleaning rocks and separating then according to size, tried to find out why never got an answer, which we all know happens allot in Thailand. To this day I still dont know why those girls were doing that all I can think of they were getting small rocks together to make cement.

[agrow]

the billboards they r huge & the smell 555

[dick dasterdly]

Must mention flying into Phuket (second time coming to Thailand).

 

It was (and still is) so staggeringly beautiful.

[neverdie]

I've told the story before but I may as well tell it again, although my memory is sketchy because I was so young.

 

It was some time in the 1940ies and we'd flown into Singapore on a beautiful Lockheed Costellation, I remember this gorgeous hostess with long blond hair and the greenist eyes you ever would have seen. I was fascinated with her boobies, but that's a story for another time.

 

 I recall one morning the plane left Darwin Australia flew for 4 hours before landing right back where we'd taken off from earlier that day, apparently the pilot had returned to Darwin due to heavy winds or something like that.

 

Anyway, we landed into Singapore eventually after days of flying, so it seemed only to find out that Don Meaung Airport was closed due to British military who'd apparently taken control of the airfield. I remember thinking, the bloody British were always good at stuffing things up.  Anyway we were forced to travel through Malaysia using a combination of train, car and horseback and we travelled for days before arriving into Southern Thailand.

 

From there I recall riding a train all the way from Songkhla to Samut Sakhon where the train stopped due to flooded and damaged rail tracks and remember sitting on the wharf down there watching the fishing boats dock and thinking to myself, "Phark it takes a long time to get to Bangkok".

 

We arrived into Bangkok 2 or 3 days later after my mother managed to hire a cart drawn by Buffaloes, it was what was needed to forge our way through the floodwaters to Bangkok.  I remember the Buffaloe and the farmer driving and I recall being fascinated by his wife's boobies.

 

Anyway, these days when travelling from Suvarnabhumi Airport to downtown Bangkok and getting caught in the traffic, I never even give it a second thought. Although I must admit the boobies that ride by on motorcycles still fascinate me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sipi]

53 minutes ago, neverdie said:

I've told the story before but I may as well tell it again, although my memory is sketchy because I was so young.

 

It was some time in the 1940ies and we'd flown into Singapore on a beautiful Lockheed Costellation, I remember this gorgeous hostess with long blond hair and the greenist eyes you ever would have seen. I was fascinated with her boobies, but that's a story for another time.

 

 I recall one morning the plane left Darwin Australia flew for 4 hours before landing right back where we'd taken off from earlier that day, apparently the pilot had returned to Darwin due to heavy winds or something like that.

 

Anyway, we landed into Singapore eventually after days of flying, so it seemed only to find out that Don Meaung Airport was closed due to British military who'd apparently taken control of the airfield. I remember thinking, the bloody British were always good at stuffing things up.  Anyway we were forced to travel through Malaysia using a combination of train, car and horseback and we travelled for days before arriving into Southern Thailand.

 

From there I recall riding a train all the way from Songkhla to Samut Sakhon where the train stopped due to flooded and damaged rail tracks and remember sitting on the wharf down there watching the fishing boats dock and thinking to myself, "Phark it takes a long time to get to Bangkok".

 

We arrived into Bangkok 2 or 3 days later after my mother managed to hire a cart drawn by Buffaloes, it was what was needed to forge our way through the floodwaters to Bangkok.  I remember the Buffaloe and the farmer driving and I recall being fascinated by his wife's boobies.

 

Anyway, these days when travelling from Suvarnabhumi Airport to downtown Bangkok and getting caught in the traffic, I never even give it a second thought. Although I must admit the boobies that ride by on motorcycles still fascinate me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was that the time you sailed back to Darwin on a raft made from bamboo and twine?

[little mary sunshine]

So impressed with "Swampy " airport....three minutes

later away from the airport you feel you need a pressure 

washer and lots of soap!!  Welcome to SE Asia.

[sipi]

I thought DM in it's hayday had a more "Asian" feel.

Remember the packed glass-walled "smoking rooms"? It was like walking into a bushfire.

[LPCustom69]

On 8/2/2016 at 1:01 PM, Ulysses G. said:

The natural beauty and the pleasant nature of most Thais. I fell in love with the place as I was landing in Phuket and the trip to Patong Beach reinforced the feeling. Of course, Phuket was a much more pleasant place 25 years ago.

As was all of Thailand!

[mcfish]

As was all of Thailand!

As was the whole world world.

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[JB300]

On 2 August 2016 at 11:47 PM, StreetCowboy said:

Not the first day, but seeing an elephant walking down the street.

Then, years or months later, seeing an elephant begging round a suburban lower-middle-class neighbourhood.

 Then, years later, seeing an elephant walking down Bangna-Trad; that's a long commute...

Not the 1st day but 1st trip, in a pub & an elephant stuck it's head in the door...

 

None of my mates would believe me until I dragged them outside to see for themselves.

[LawrenceN]

The "coffee shop" at the Grace Hotel.

[JJGreen]

 

Guess the most memorable after that is removing a pair of knickers and finding a rather medium sized .......

cucumber?

Salad night in?

[JJGreen]

hot. humid. could've been yesterday

[StreetCowboy]

On 8/5/2016 at 5:42 PM, JB300 said:

Not the 1st day but 1st trip, in a pub & an elephant stuck it's head in the door...

 

None of my mates would believe me until I dragged them outside to see for themselves.

A bloke walked into a pub with an elephant...

 

Surely someone knows the rest of the joke?