Bangkok the capital of Thailand was so laid-back with about 2 million people. Nothing like what Bangkok is today, there was the only tallest office building near my home which was only 22 stories tall.— now the UOB bank tore it down and replaced it with a skyscraper.
Growing up in Bangkok those days is like a punishment for the kids today. Must be like a curse for anyone, one would have died of boredom, and won’t last a month unless having routine stuff to do.
But it was a fun place for me as a kid where every home has 4–7 kids along with 3 to 4 dogs. We played football on any empty land we found until it flattened to look like a football field.
My home had 3–4 dogs too, also racing pigeons, ducks, fighting fishes, guinea pigs & bunnies. Besides that, we had fruit trees, you name it, coconut, mango, banana, and rambutan. Thai rose apple and many more trees. We loved to swim in a big canal behind, full of eels and cobras when mom wasn’t home but my 3 siblings including my only sister, have survived.
My dad had a company car, a Ford car with ledges along with the bodywork (which reminded me of a gun battle in the Chicago shooting spree) I saw my dad’s hand-cranking it with a metal bar to get it started in the morning.
Venice of the East and the flood.
Bangkok Jams? Never heard of it, There were as many canals as the roads, both ran parallel from end to end. When the flood came…no one was able to differentiate the road from a canal. I saw cars driving into the canals- Yes, Bangkok got the name—‘ Venice of the East,’ the city where living with a flood is the way of life.
Rajadamnern Boulevard has not changed so has Yaowaraj Road- “ Chinatown” has not changed a bit, only with more and bigger shop signs and billboards.
Sin City of the old days.
When J.K. Kennedy was assassinated, as a child I knew very little about that but my dad was so excited as he knew what would happen next.
President L.B. Johnson came to Thailand in ‘66, followed by the US attacking Vietnam from Thailand’s air bases ever since. The effect of the Vietnam war was felt when 50,000 GIs were all over Bangkok, waiting to be sent to Saigon — the battlefield. Some GIs returned to Bangkok and toured the city before going home, while others arrived in a bag.
Massage parlors and sleazy bars mushroomed all over where I lived as more and more GIs came and went to Saigon. Bangkok gained a new name instantly — ‘Sin City of Asia.’
Americanized Bangkok & Soi Cowboy.
After the GIs’ era, Bangkok was a great place for American tourists. Why only Americans? Actually, I didn’t know —Thais only thought all “Farang” were Americans. Bangkok was as affordable as always be, like a bottle of Pepsi Cola was 1 Baht. The first Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1970 was a kind of bringing American touch to town along with Britain’s Wimpy.
A renowned Soi Cowboy was born when T.G. Edwards, a black American’s Vietnam war veteran with a cowboy hat opened a girlie bar there… Soi Cowboy has changed the way people look at nightlife in Bangkok which I don’t need to explain.
Street foods.
That never happened anywhere except in Chinatown. Only women carrying a wooden yoke to transport their goods as well as foods on their shoulders come in and out of all houses like nobody’s business if the gate was left open. There was a rare occurrence for street foods. Most eateries were along the shophouses or at the 24-hours open-air eating places.
Kid’s privilege.
My Elementary school had a thatched roof and was within walking distance. My mom got a trishaw to pick me up from school—the feeling was great. My school was a girl’s school, so my buddy and I were the privileged kids— the only two boys in the school. The kind of kid’s privilege in those days ( In fact, no big problem as my mom and the school’s headmistress was a high school classmate)
My secondary school also had a thatched roof. Kids in those days were all from the same area which is Sukhumvit area. There was no distinction between rich and not so rich kids making it fun.
Not all of my class could make it to college. College’s life sucked. Attendance wasn’t a part of grading criteria. Many didn’t attend the lectures. After graduation —I knew nuts. ( Blame it on American system)
English language
I knew English from the Bangkok Post my dad subscribed. I only played crossword and read comic strips—Born loser and Blondie. (Dagwood & Blondie never aged - although my dad was dead.) I bought MAD magazines from a secondhand bookshop and got hooked ever since— that was how I knew Don Martin & Dave Berg, and Al Jaffee and learned the nonsense from them.
Movies
The first movie filmed in Bangkok was “Marlon Brando’s Ugly American” The Thai censorship board was so protective and disallowed Siam or Thailand to be known to the world of celluloid (movies)—So Thailand’s name hasn’t been mentioned in the movie. “The man with the golden gun” and “Deer Hunter” these 2 movies opened up Bangkok and Thailand to the world.
TV is the only home entertainment.
Cable TV was like a French or German word. The boxy 16-inch TV was awesome enough. Was it the good old days to me? Yes, it was, as The TV program was all American. I remembered a young cowboy in “Rawhide” —-it was Clint Eastwood. “Our gang” was my favorite, rest assured that my home was a full - house with the neighbors’ kids each week, when “Our gang” was on TV show.
Who doesn’t remember "Alfalfa"!
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