| |
Hermanolobo
|
Or even 1969 or the 1950's.
Now it is concrete and skyscrapers.
I wish I had Dr Who's Tardis and could go back in time and wander around(and the bars) to see what it was like in the past! I nearly went in 1975 when I was in my early twenties. Probably the biggest mistake I ever made? Would have sorted me right out !!!!
|
Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 12:05 pm on Mar. 19, 2003
|
|
Hermanolobo
|
P.S.
BUT is there anywhere in Thailand today that resembles Bangkok of the past. Some back-water city undiscovered by farangs? It would of course have to have klongs. I think sadly it only exists in my imagination?
|
Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 12:07 pm on Mar. 19, 2003
|
|
Hermanolobo
|
Does anybody know of websites with photos of Bangkok in the !950's 60's & 70's ???
|
Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 7:22 am on Mar. 21, 2003
|
|
Robert lomax
|
Hermanolobo
ÝIf there's one thing I can guarantee, it's if you had gone to bangkok in the 50's 60's 70's you would have whished you could have seen it in the 20's 30's 40's.
Ý It's 2003, Bangkok is what it is, just be happy at that. Ý
|
Bangkok Girls : Meet Sexy Bangkok Girls
Posted on: 9:15 am on Mar. 21, 2003
|
|
haam sup
|
I think of it in terms of 'pre-internet' and 'post-internet', or maybe 'pre/post-AOL', because AOL and WEB-TV made the 'net accessible to the otherwise clueless masses.
To me, the shrinking of the world by the easy accessibility of forums like this is a mixed blessing. ÝIn the pre-'net days, Thailand was known to few people outside of GIs and working ex-pats, with the possible exception of a bunch of Germans, whose appetites found Bangkok satisfying a couple of decades before. ÝIt took a LOT of determination to get there, and even more to live there, having to negotiate the pitfalls without dozens of on-line accounts to guide folks.
Now, any yahoo who can afford a phone line, or a library card, can read about all that is infamous about Thailand, and precious little that is charming. ÝA few months of tip-jar proceeds, and Goober can get on a plane, argue with some Issan cab driver over the equivalent of 20 US cents, and land at the Majestic Suites in time to get to Annie's for a quickie before his head explodes. Ý He leaves his inhibitions at home, and acts with impunity because he is, after all, better than these (insert racist characterizations here), who inhabit the country.
And people notice.
No self-respecting BG would have tried to convert a LT (which was understood, not negotiated) to a ST at the same price, before Goober and countless others like him landed and fell for it. ÝPeople more experienced than I can supply more examples.
Behavior that would have been punished severely in the past is now commonplace. ÝDistaste for foreigners is now thinly veiled, and only due to the grace of Thai people are we allowed to move freely throughout the Kingdom.
Misguided attempts to characterize this as a Brit or Aussie or (god forbid!) American phenomenon by the likes of Hermanolobo, et al., miss the point: people who haven't earned their stripes get to be world travelers, without regard to country of origin, or IQ. ÝThe 'net is the great equalizer.
Just like the great privacy debates on this forum, people forget that this is a public place. ÝThe desire to talk to like-minded people about our favorite subject pulls the blinding fog of the illusion of intimacy over us. ÝWe would like to talk amongst ourselves, the way we do in a quiet corner of a good bar. ÝBut CNN/MSNBC/BBC/ABC ALL have their cameras and microphones trained on us. ÝAnd we wonder why we get the "Where IS Annie's..." questions from guys with a grand total of ONE post.
I'm not tilting at windmills here: the Genie is out of the bottle, and the changes can only accelerate. ÝAnd I understand the frustrations of the new guys who HATE the tired old "You should have been here in the XX's", etc. from the old hands, just as I hated it when I first went to Thailand. ÝHow I wanted to be like those guys!
Well, the best way to be like those guys, is to learn from them, and emulate (some of) their behavior: Ýyou don't see old guys turning Songkran into sanctioned assault on non-combatants. ÝYou (mostly) don't see old guys looking for trouble, or disrespecting Thailand or its institutions. ÝYou DO see that a lot of them speak/read/write Thai, and failing that, at least show some interest in Thai culture. ÝIn short, there are those who see Thailand as a playground without rules, and Thais as people deserving little consideration. ÝAnd then there are the rest of us...
The internet makes us equal, but only until we step off the plane. ÝThen, other forces come into play....
haam sup
|
Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 2:05 pm on Mar. 21, 2003
|
|
BigDUSA
|
Goober here,
Can't wait till I get off the plane and head over to the Majestic Suites and on to Annie's. Damm, my head feels like it going to EXPLODE, naw, it's just gas. 
I was stationed in Saigon 30 years ago and the bg were the same as the bg of today. Good, bad and indifferent. The bg back then tried to pull the same scams as the bg of today. Many bg back then had big hearts same as today. The big difference between then and now? I'm 30 years older.
|
Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 3:02 pm on Mar. 21, 2003
|
|
haam sup
|
BigDUSA,
Not surprised you'd take it personally. ÝAt least you're honest, and make no bones about your indifference to Thailand as sovereign country. ÝAnd your age probably limits the damage you can do. ÝBesides, aside from your defensiveness, you seem like a nice guy.
I would disagree with one thing: Viet bargirls and Thais aren't comparable, except through your beer-glasses.
I hope I made it clear that I couldn't give a rat's ass why people come to Thailand, as long as they ACT appropriately - according to Thai standards, not mine. ÝUnfortunately, you have to know SOMETHING about Thai culture to do that - and you ain't gonna learn it at Annie's...some folks have innate good sense, and others will never get it. ÝI'm just pointing out that the 'net doesn't filter very well.
haam sup
|
Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 3:13 pm on Mar. 21, 2003
|
|
BigDUSA
|
haam sup,
I don't take anything personally on this or any other board that I post on. Did you miss the smiley on my post. I just HAPPENED to book the MS and I do like Annie's (one trick pony) and/or beergarden, soi 7 or my new, greatest and latest, Guillever's, soi 5. Since you mentioned two of my favorite places in BKK and I'm booked into the MS next month, I thought I would have a little fun with your post.
I must have missed you 30 years ago during my year in Saigon when I was on a nightly prowl for culture and pussy (think humor here). That's why I'm able to comapre bg from two countries. Matter of fact I can compare bg from S'pore, Cambodia, Bali, NZ, OZ, Germany, Mexico, Turkey, South Africa and a few other's. Guess what, the girls are very simuliar.
|
Thai Girls : Meet Active Thai Girls
Posted on: 3:34 pm on Mar. 21, 2003
|
|
Hermanolobo
|
I would have liked to see it without the skyscrapers.
Just klongs and Temples. And a flight that was not so easy as it is now.
|
Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 3:39 pm on Mar. 21, 2003
|
|
Arcadius
|
Can't speak for 20 years ago, but my first visit to BKK was almost 10 years ago (pre-net), and I just don't see this terrible deterioration.
There was mass sex tourism even then - most of it (as now) directed at Pattaya, but enough overspill in the smoke. There were plenty of farang wandering about Suk and Silom looking like something the cat had brought in. 'Respectable' tourists were (and are) just as likely to be offenders in this regard as fine upstanding degenerates. There were drunk guys in go-gos throwing up in the toilets, or feeling up BGs on the runway, or being generally objectionable. There weren't THAT many people who behaved like this, but then there still aren't.
Patpong, then by far the most important farang venue, has certainly gone downhill. BG attitudes in the main bars there are a lot more mercenary than they used to be, and I suspect a lot of newbie tourists now have bad experiences there. Even so, expats & regulars can still do pretty well (especially in low season), and it's by no means the write-off it's cracked up to be. Both NEP and (especially) Cowboy have improved out of sight imho. Cowboy used to be a complete rat-hole. If you prefer hunting in BBs than GGs, you have FAR more scope in BKK now than you used to have.
I don't think the BGs used to be better looking, and I'm unconvinced that their attitudes have deteriorated that much overall. The starfish and the mercenary little cow are not new phenomena. 'Nice' girls who will give you the full GFE are still not that hard to find. In general, I actually get more out of the BGs now than I used to - though that is probably a function of learning how to handle them better. I'm pretty sure they are more sexually adventurous than they were.
The traffic used to be impossible, now it is merely appalling. The BTS has been God's gift to Bangkok. I'm still as enthralled by the place as ever, and I will NEVER tell anyone how much better it all used to be 10 years ago because I don't think it was.
|
Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 4:50 pm on Mar. 21, 2003
|
|
| |
|
