Thailand's Best Decade

Today's song is: Wind of Change by the Scorpions ... 1990's hit ... 2007 Old fart edition live

The lifers I meet in Bangkok lament the end of the 90's as the golden age in Thailand for farangs. The bar scene was in high gear, the Baht was low, the girls were beautiful and naive, and hungry for a better life. It was also the end of the Cold War and Vietnam vets had put together some of the best bars in South East Asia.

So what has changed. Mostly the internet has opened up the world for Thais. We are also into a second generation of bar girls who are tech savvy and can tell a hi-so farang from a lo-so farnag to some degree. It is harder for a punter to pull the wool over a bar girls eyes nowadays. It used to be that every farang was viewed as rich guy and many lies were told on both sides of the bar.

I have even noticed a change over the past 5 years. Thailand has 0% unemployment. That means everyone who wants to work can and there is now choice. The internet also enables Thai girls to connect with men online so they don't have to work in a bar to meet a farang. The only thing holding them back is the lack of English. They don't use computers much but most Thais have a smart phone and a data plan. At least the women do ... don't see many smart phones with the lo-so male crowd.

I have mentioned before that coyote dancers are a relatively new phenomena where they make their living getting neophyte tourists to buy them expensive drinks while they dance on stage in skimpy shorts and tea shirts. When they are not doing that they are usually seen shooting selfies of themselves or booking nose or boob jobs with the money they earn. Narcissism run a muck.

Thai people remain friendly but they have lost their innocence which is unfortunate. However, I can still elicit that innocence when I meet a new bar girl. I usually ask them what village they are from, how many babies they have, what age, and we start sharing pictures. They know I understand them and are more than willing to spend some time practicing their English instead of saying 'You buy me drink?' or 'You go with me?' My usual answers are yes, I buy you drink and no, my girlfriend boxing me if I go with you! That usually brings a laugh and Thais like to laugh.

TTYL