On July 26, 2001, I stepped out of Don Meuang (then spelled ‘Don Muang’) airport into the Bangkok heat. It was the first time I had been out of Canada since I was 4 and I was eager to explore, to find places and see things few had found and seen, to blaze new trails and sink into the warm bath of all things new and strange. As soon as I got out onto the congested sidewalk, with the oppressive heat, whistle-blowing security guards, snaking taxi queue, and humid air thick with exhaust, I turned around and walked right back inside, wondering what the hell I had gotten myself into. Not a great start for an intrepid explorer. Forgive me if this turns into a bit of “When I was young…” but this is a quick look back at how Bangkok – and myself – have changed as I pass my tenth anniversary in Thailand.

After a great 8-day trip with Smiling Albino and meeting up with an old friend in Chiang Mai, I got settled into the northern capital and started working on what to do next. I had originally come over with my roommate and best friend of 10 years – it was his idea, actually – with a plan to travel down through Thailand, into Malaysia, through Bali and on to Australia. After that…well, we weren’t sure, but we gave ourselves 4 months to figure it out.

Eight days later, my friend went home. It turned out he was in love with the idea of traveling, rather than traveling itself. Let’s be honest – it looks nice on TV, but traveling is hard. Many of the reasons why are pretty obvious, but if you’re not mentally prepared for it, you can suddenly find yourself feeling very small, very vulnerable, and very lost, which is, I think, what happened with my friend (he is also now married to a girl he started seeing about 6 months before we left, so I guess it worked out okay for him). At any rate, I said “To hell with it” and decided to stay.

The first picture I ever took of the first non-Canadian beach I ever saw.

The first picture I ever took of the first non-Canadian beach I ever saw.

After four months of bumming around Chiang Mai, not learning Thai, avoiding work, and eating at Sizzler every day, I was broke, and exactly the type of tourist that I now hate. I decided to spend my last few days in Bangkok, and by chance was talking to a friend who mentioned he knew a guy who was looking for teachers. I figured I’d give it a go, and borrowed 10,000 baht from my new boss to pay for rent and food until I finished my first month and got paid. Obviously, my first month here wasn’t too exciting.

Ten years later I’m still here, am getting married, and have no plans to return. So what has changed?

My very first apartment on Petchburi Road. In retrospect, I probably could have had cooler movie posters on the wall, but dammit, I loves me a good musical and romantic comedy!

My very first apartment on Petchburi Road. In retrospect, I probably could have had cooler movie posters on the wall, but dammit, I loves me a good musical and romantic comedy!

First of all, Bangkok. It’s still the same haphazard, crazy city, covered with a blanket of barely-controlled chaos, infused with food and saturated with steam, but certain parts of it sure have changed. Most of the steel skeletons of buildings abandoned during the ’97 crash have been torn down or renewed – there were a lot of them when I moved here, but now not so much. The subway opened in 2004 and was a great addition. I remember hearing stories of people coming from far and wide to ride the new train, and many bought extra tokens to keep as souvenirs. Thong Lo and Sukhumvit 11 have seen the most striking change I can think of, as steel towers and thumping clubs have risen steadily every year. When I moved to Thong Lor in 2001 there was no J Avenue, no Ei8ht, and the Witch’s Tavern was one of the few upscale places to eat at. Where Paragon stands now was the beautiful old Siam Intercontinental Hotel; it was eventually torn down to much protest, but those same protesters (including me) now happily and/or begrudgingly shop in the mall that replaced it.

A picture of Paragon, taken about 2003.

A picture of Paragon, taken about 2003.

Communication changed too, with Bangkok (and Thailand) becoming much more wired than they used to be. While I was wasting time in Chiang Mai, I would spend hours in an internet café – at 4b/hr – updating my webpage. This was before ‘blog’ was even a word, mind you, so I had a page on the Homestead domain – homestead.com/Thailand (which is now a German page for old people, as far as I can tell). I would post pictures and write about my adventures (“Saw a movie. Ate at Sizzler. Walked around. Slept.”) After about 6 months in Bangkok I found my first phone – a Nokia 3310 – on the side of the road, and it was a revelation. How did anyone get around in Bangkok before phones? Now I’m reading Engadget and sending Tweets while I listen to podcasts on a train 50 feet underground. Amazing.

Another reminder of how long I've been here - this girl is in High School now.

Another reminder of how long I’ve been here – this girl is in High School now.

But the biggest change has been in myself. When I look back at 2001 Greg I see a laughably naïve kid. Coming from a redneck prairie town in Canada, almost everything I saw here was new to me. Chief among the things that changed in me was my understanding of sexual politics and relationships, two things that, in Bangkok, are miles different from what they are in Canada.

An example – a friend of mine in Canada was once found to be dating two girls at the same time, one of them a good friend to all of us. It was a scandal! He was booted from our group for some time, and his friendship with most of ‘the gang’ never really recovered. Cut to Bangkok, where I once attended the wedding of a friend one week, and had a coffee with him and his girlfriend the following week. It was still strange (and a bit of a skeezy thing to do, if you ask me), but that kind of thing simply would not happen back home. Here…well, that’s just how Bangkok works sometimes, and you either deal with it or you go home.

And these girls, who I taught for three years, are all out of University now.

And these girls, who I taught for three years, are all career women now.

It’s amazing how quickly your views on politics, money, travel, love, and society evolve when you’re living in a different culture. Back home, surrounded by all that’s familiar and comfortable and safe, I daresay that ‘personal growth’ is an almost predefined path with very few options. In ten years in Bangkok I’ve seen more of the world than I ever thought I would, and have made friends from a dozen countries and a dozen cultures. It’s flown by in a flash too – who knew that the old folks knew what they were talking about when they said “The older you get, the faster it goes.”

And speaking of friends from all over the world, that’s another not so hot by-product of living an expat life – making friends. Of all the friends I’ve made over the past decade, only a very small percentage – like 10% or less – are still around.

An early group of friends, who all moved away years ago. Also, this is at the Bull's Head, which is closed now too. Dammit!

An early group of friends, who all moved away years ago. Also, this is at the Bull’s Head, which is closed now too. Dammit!

When I look back on how my life would have ended up had I stayed in Canada, I cringe just a bit. I’m always going to be proud to be Canadian, but I’ll never be sorry I left.