Where Is The Thailand I Grew So Much To LOVE?

Hi Stickman and fellow Thailanders! I have just returned from my recent trip to Thailand and found myself a little upset about my latest ventures…

I first went to Thailand in September 2004 and fell in love with the hustle and bustle of Bangkok and its beautiful women, the craziness of Pattaya and again its beautiful women, the golden, paradise beaches of Koh Samui and Phuket and again,
not forgetting, the beautiful Thai women.

After this I was addicted and sharp headed straight back out in February 2005, returning again late 2005 and 2007. All were amazing fun-filled, proper lad’s holidays. The holidays you can only have in Thailand and I have never experienced
in any other country which I have travelled in.

I hadn’t been to the crazy fun-filled land again since this New Year 2011 / 2012 as I have had work commitments back in the U.K.

This New Year I managed to get two weeks off and I (24), my business partner (25) and a Thailand newcomer (17) headed off expecting all the fun I had experienced. I told my friends about my previous experiences, so they expected paradise
beaches, lots of beers, crazy bars and shows and the most important of all gorgeous, hot, passionate and sexy Thai girls.

Unfortunately I was somewhat disappointed with the ‘NEW’ Thailand.

• BANGKOK

I found there to be a lot more ladyboys than ever before and they were more butch and evil looking than a group of Whitley Bay doormen fighting with a bunch of Irish brickys. (What’s worse is where you find butch looking ladyboys you
find a whole bunch of randy Arabs)

• PATTAYA

Pattaya looked the same as I had remembered when I first arrived by taxi at 4pm one afternoon. I couldn’t wait to get out and grab a Singha in some of my old haunts. After a quick shower we all hired mopeds and headed straight for
Soi 7, where on my first ever trip back in 2004 I got physically picked up by a herd of gorgeous Thai girls and carried into one of the fun-filled boozers.

This time was different though. There were a few girls standing with the usual chants of ‘Hello, sexy man WELCOME’ and boards with Happy Hour 50 baht, but I was stunned at just how little fitties there were. Some of the bars
never even had any girls in at all and just looked run down ghost bars! PATTAYA SMALL BEER BARS HAVE DIED!

On the odd occasion I did manage to find a girl, the experience was very different to the ones I have found before. It was like a business transaction from the word go. ‘How much you give ME’, ‘YOU BUY ME DRINK NOW’!
It never used to be like this!

Where is all the, ‘love you long time’ and ‘I want to be with you’ shit gone? I never used to hear, ‘how much you give me’ or any of this shit until the morning after.

It used to be fun, exciting and a great laugh. We never used to believe the, ‘love you long time’ patter and we didn’t give a shit about ‘I want to be with you’ but it was nice to hear and better than a
miserable tired looking thing shouting how much you give me!

Saying that, there is still some of the fun and antics left that Pattaya has always offered. The gogo bars and shows are a must see. Not so much sexy but hilariously funny. The greatest soi in the whole of Thailand is also here, the world
famous Soi 6. Again this is a must see by all! You can get some pretty fit young Thai girls here and you always have fun! Saying that it’s a scary place after 10pm – be aware of them ladyboys!

• KOH SAMUI / PHUKET

I found had the same bar girl problems as Pattaya – a lack of fit girls and again stuck up, miserable ones, but also Phuket and Koh Samui have turned into massive family tourist destinations with large groups of families with small children
and even granny and granddad tagging along!

This is great for Thailand and its people but for the hardcore beer bar crawlers and lads holidays we're screwed. No-one wants a load of families staring as we're dancing about (and the rest) with beautiful girls having fun!

Still, Thailand is attractive as a place to ‘pull’ girls and mess around. The young lad that we took has fallen in love with the Thai way of life even after his close encounter with a ladyboy.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still an amazing country and well worth a look. It’s just not what I remembered and it’s expensive now! £2,200 spending EACH in just two weeks! £1,000 spending for one month in
2007!

On the up side, Bangkok airport no longer make you pay 500 baht before you leave! <It's added in to the cost of your ticket! – Stick>

On the down side, the 500 baht I saved to pay this, is now sitting above my fire place until next time! (If there is a next time)

So my question to all of you fellow beer bar crawlers is…where should we head too next? Is Cambodia the ‘NEW’ old Thailand?

Thanks

Minty

Stickman's thoughts:

Yep, things are changing and yep, prices are very much on the move. I can relate to all that you say although you probably noticed the changes more with gaps between your visits than someone who resides in the country.