The Streets of Thailand

Post by **Jim** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 2:55 pm

as usual, many thanks to wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobhraj%2C_Charles

seems a nice boy

Post by **DawnHRD** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 7:03 pm

Thanks for the info, all & for the pm, deepee. What an "interesting" man

Post by **Nomad** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 8:50 am

A very cunning and glib man. Posed as a doctor working for doctors without borders when I ran into him in a Bkk backpacker area in the 70s. He could not answer medical questions concerning addictions, so I was suspect of him. Handsome and athletic, he had a charisma that seemed to bring a group of admirers around him. Appeared to be very wealthy, well spoken, educated and charming. I managed to avoid him and his offer of parties at his nearby apartment as he was not 100% genuine and lacked something.

Post by **deepee** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:08 am

Hey there Nomad,
are we talking soi num duplee ,the "Blue Fox" cafe area?

Post by **Nomad** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 1:12 am

Hi Deepee,

Yes, that's the area. The Malaysia Hotel was newly built and was Mr. Charles's hangout, particularly the swimming pool and garden. He had an apartment nearby. Did you run into this guy as well? Lots of fun in the Blue Fox as there was a 1 a.m. curfew in effect due to martial law at that time and it was close to my apartment. I have not been around there for years but I understand there are different type of predators in that area now.

Post by **Guess** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 4:51 pm

deepee wrote:Guess,
Hooning around on motorbikes was just as prevalent 30 years ago as it is today.

Very interesting reply. I don't know too much about Thailand prior to 1999 except what I had heard second hand and that differed from person to person and place to place.

My original post was based on observations made during my four years in Hua Hin.

I can believe that law and order viewed over a longer time period must have improved, it is just that recently we have had things happen in Hua Hin that we did not have four years ago. We have Chinese new year and and Songkran to come. Let's see what happens then.

A lot of the problems in Thailand go back to the same cause and that is that laws are just not enforced. Everybody knows that 7/11 wil not sell alcohol or tobacco to minors so they just go along the road to the old lady in her grubby store and buy what they want there. Absolutely no checking is done. on these retailers. The same applied with the fireworks. They are only supposed to be sold to adults.

Anyway great post from you on the history followed by Pete who has had long term connections with the region.

I have a few friends and family who were here in the seventies but have relayed different experiences.

Post by **deepee** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 9:56 pm

The Malaysia was probably the hipp(i)est of all the hotels at that time in BKK .Always full. I think it was around 80 Bht for a double,150 Bht for 4 or more- still only 2 beds but.
The Fox was just up the soi and not too far away to make the dash back to the hotel during those curfews.(another ,another coup was expected any day)
How long it took that dash usually depended on how long you had spent in the Fox that night.
I wasn' t too sure if it was those great peppered buffalo steaks or Dang the very pretty waitress that kept me heading back there day after day.
I was back and fourth from Thailand buying silver jewellery. Doing so well out of it that I could manage 2 or 3 trips to Thailand a year . It was a good life to have.
The Malaysia seemed to just be getting too busy so I settled on a really nice guest house near the Indian Temple near Bang Lak markets down by the river.It was run by a really friendly family and made me feel part of it as only Thais can do.
Some- one decided to chuck a noi-na ( grenade) into a nearby movie theatre one afternoon and I realised keeping out of Bkk was probably a good idea .
It was time for another visa run ( ever heard of these?) Caught a train south to Penang , it was packed full with many folks trying to get out of what might be more disturbances and others wanting to avoid scrutiny of the increasing I.D. checks.
On that trip I met a very charming gent- Sobraj ?? ,he swept through our carriage with a group of others.He was speaking French, English then some Thai.
He managed to dissapear as quickly as he came, but now had taken off with my all important personal contacts and info booklet.
I had just shown him a possible destination address in it and he just waltzed off with it !

Post by **PeteC** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 10:10 pm

Me thinks you're starting on a book? Keep it up. The Malaysia was an R&R hotel back in the day but I never visited. Being an in-country troop, we never really got R&R per say and when we did have time off, we went up country or to the hotels along Petchaburi. The Malaysia still exists today but a different type customer.

Who here can remember 'buffalo steaks' or these days even nua kwai (jerky made from real buffalo). It hardly exists anymore unless you are WAY far away from Bangkok. Pete

Post by **Nomad** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 2:26 pm

Yes...the Blue Fox...I was sitting in there one night with my girlfriend Tim who insisted that we come there for a few drinks with a few people including one Australian guy who worked in Saudi oilfields. Is that you, Deepee? If it is you will remember this night. Anyway this man had dumped his ladyfriend and taken on a new girl friend. His former sweetie was known to be well connected. A brick came flying through the window. Everyone jumped up and ran outside to see what was going on. My girl grabbed me and our friends and did not allow anyone to move. We sat for a few minutes and nothing more happened. Just some weird night, right? Later, in my apartment she told me what had happened. Tim had been tipped off to the plot. This aussie guy was supposed to run outside when the brick came through the window with all the other people but of course Tim stopped him. His ex gf had hired a guy to meet him at the Blue Fox door with an M16!! I never told him.

Post by **deepee** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 8:02 pm

Na , not me Nomad, thankfully.
Anyway my" te ruk"(of 30 years+) would never let anyone do that kind of thing to me-she's a real straight shooter and talker and is quite capable of doing her own dirty work herself, consequently we don't own any fire arms.

Post by **Rider** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 8:55 pm

Wow that sounds like some real wild west stories going on back then. Now in Thailand it seems a lot more settled and dare I say it, more boring that the seventies and eighties.
They say that was the 'golden age' of living in Thailand. Ahh to have a time machine and travel to back then...

Post by **HHTel** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 5:15 pm

Once again another horrific 'accident' on Petchkasem Road. This time a tour bus, 2 cars and a bike got mangled. Not sure of the casualties but for everyone's sake I hope they were light.
Don't know what happened but there were cars facing in the wrong direction etc. The cause that comes to mind is driving far too fast and about 3 metres from the vehicle in front. Even coming up to the accident, there were cars driving at stupid speeds then having to break heavily as they approached.
Me and my family use that road a lot and I dread that one day a family member will be involved in an accident not of their doing but by the stupidity of the local drivers. WHEN oh WHEN are the police going to get off their butts and do something about this road. Cars drive at 80, 90, 100 and faster with no more than a few metres gap. The speed limit is 60 by the way until you get to Salesian school. In the town it's 50.
WHY oh WHY are people so STUPID when they already know from Thai statistics what the biggest cause of accidents is? Is it a prerequisite when joining the police force that you mus 'First remove your brain'?

The enforcement of major traffic laws is not difficult and a sustained effort would reduce accidents and deaths dramatically. Although the police would also need to obey the traffic laws and set the example. Probably never happen!

Post by **HHTel** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 10:38 pm

Not of interest eh?

Post by **redzonerocker** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 7:52 am

i read this post earlier & was looking forward to posting a reply about the streets of thailand & the comparisons to the western world.
the post seems to have drifted completely off topic via the path of serial killers, the thai wild west & an accident in pethaskasem rd!?

all wonderful additions in their own right but a little off the beat & track !

Post by **DawnHRD** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 1:40 pm

redzonerocker wrote:i read this post earlier & was looking forward to posting a reply about the streets of thailand & the comparisons to the western world.
the post seems to have drifted completely off topic via the path of serial killers, the thai wild west & an accident in pethaskasem rd!?
all wonderful additions in their own right but a little off the beat & track !

Add your post & bring it full circle, then.

Threads do meander off course regularly, unless you have a particularly zealous OP who keeps bringing it back. Nothing to stop members from making a post to bring it back to the original point, though.

Now,

! What was the topic???

Hua Hin Forum

The Streets of Thailand

streets

Re: streets