20 Years of Thailand Vacations, And Still Loving It!
I first visited the Kingdom in December, 1993. The goings on at Patpong, Nana and Soi Cowboy from when I first visited until now have all been talked so I won't use my 800-word on that.
A little about me, I'm American living in Hawaii and I have a business on Waikiki Beach, a surf shop. The only reason this is important is that when I fly home from my vacationing in the LOS it's usually just as nice here as where I left. Weather wise, that is. Luckily I've never known the trauma of coming home to bitter cold and gray skies after a week or two of warm days and exciting nights. Perhaps that's why I'm not easily seduced at the thought of considering relocation.
My passports say that I've visited Siam over the years more then 50 times. Beginning in the '90s, usually with a crew of 2 or 3 guys in tow. We were wild, think Hangover. On our first night out in town we'd close either Patpong, Nana or Soi Cowboy. The next day would be spent shaking jet lag and catching up with the massage girls. There's a story to be told there but maybe another time. We loved the north so the next morning, that would be day 3, we'd fly to Chiang Rai, $36 round trip at the time, and start a 3-day golfing vacation and maybe throw in a day trip to Burma. The nights were spent indulging in 2 hours of massages followed by 3 hours bar hopping, mongering. Back then in the day we never would rest. On day 7, a one-hour flight to Bangkok for 4 or 5 nights of whatever. That was our itinerary for years. I mainly remember 1997 when for over a week you could get 50 baht for 1 US dollar! Who remembers that? It eventually settled at around 41 baht per dollar and stayed that way for years.
Fast forward to the last 4 years and I've been soloing it and mainly in Pattaya. It took me 15 years before I ever went south of Bangkok! I'm an expert on the scene up north but never going south sooner was a huge mistake. Now, after 4 years at 3 visits per year, and still having no opinion on the bargirl famine situation. Hell, they're everywhere! I do feel like I know my way around.
I will talk about my first visit south, the one that really sealed the deal for me in Pattaya. I step out of a Bangkok taxi near Mike Malls (check the spelling on the wall if you think that's wrong) and I lay my eyes on what could only be describe as Nana on steroids and I was 10 blocks from Walking Street. Holy shit! Heaven, I'm in heaven! I had discovered over the years the thing that separated me from the rest of the mongers is my need for variety. You know variety, the ones anywhere from 4'10" to 5'2" and 90 to 110 pounds and flexible as slinky. This maze of bars employed my varietal needs en mass. That first evening, the more I walked the better it got. There must have been 3 more Nanas Plazas and I had only been walking for 15 minutes. I later also found many, legit as you want it, massage places $6 for 1 hour. Come on! Food, football and fun – they're all here. Hey, I'm on vacation!
As a young man growing up in America variety wasn't an option. If you were lucky enough to be intimate with a girl she became your girlfriend and monogamy followed. It sure sounded right to me at the time. Now many years later I've learned I really enjoy meeting a new girl almost daily, especially when I'm on vacation. What a rush! I never did anything like that when I was young to what happens to me now on vacations. I came to Thailand and found out what the word vacation really means. Ya gotta love it!
In closing I've got a few submissions left in me to fill in those 20 years of "vacations". I won't number them and I have no time frame but hope this day in the life with no beginning or end and no drama made for pleasant reading. Hoping it will make you want to read my next one. Sorry there was no drama included. But there has been some drama that which may be worth a line or two next time.
