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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hi Greg, nice article and cool story of your own personal development. Reminded me when I moved to Asia 8 years ago. Although it wasn't the first time I was here, I was also excited, hungry, curious and soaked it all in. Loved Thailand and stayed 8 months in Phuket but finally found my place here in Bali, Indonesia. Philippines is also always in my heart and I gotta be there at least once a year for a couple of weeks. Still visiting also the other surrounding countries for weeks on end.
The widening of ones horizon is what I experienced very similar to your description, up to the point that it makes it almost impossible to go back to my home country for more than a few days. There is nobody with whom one can talk and who can understand that there really is a different world out there.
Yes, the change of value are seriously mind-blowing over time, if I remember how back in Germany everything had to be nice, neat and organized – and here I don't care about ants or geckos in my kitchen, the engineer who wanted to repair my Aircon and only showed up 3 days later, or if I'm served food I didn't order.
Life is too beautiful to worry about those things – as long you can focus on the important stuff, like dating a bunch of girls all at the same time. LOL!
Hi Greg,
I arrived in Thailand 1 month before you. I stayed for 3 years in Lopburi where I was working for a Japanese electronics company and lived in a horrid dorm on-site at the factory for the first year. I then moved to work in Samutprakan for a Taiwanese electronics company and stayed there for a further 7 years.
10 years and 1 day after I first arrived (28th June 2011) I left and moved back to the UK to work in F1. Had an amazing time while I was there but felt it was time to get back to the real world and buy a house and sort out the pension and other financial stuff before it was too late.
For 10 years, although I loved Thailand, it never felt like home to me. I knew that I would want to bring the kids back at some point and get them educated in a good, free system rather than paying 300-400K a year to have my kids get an average education at an international school.
I wish you all the best with your life there and your up coming wedding.
Al
Wow…10 years in Thailand….Congrats….I'm from a third world country and when we go to first world countries like Canada, US or UK etc….Its a breeze, smooth ride compared to when folks from first world countries try to live in a third world country.
I think comparatively …You have actually experienced 50 years of life in Thailand, than a Thai guy would experience if he goes to Canada. The intensity, The chaos, The unpredictability of everything, The relationships etc etc…is far more intense in Thailand than in Canada.
Bangkok and Thailand is the best place to experience every level of emotions, no wonder, Bangkok was voted the best city in the world and also now features in pop movies too.
Congrats again..
Great read as always.
Two things:
(1) (“Saw a movie. Ate at Sizzler. Walked around. Slept.”). That killed me.
(2) Re: sexual politics, just think of Bangkok as a Thai reboot of Goodfellas — "Saturday night was for wives, but Friday night at the Copa was always for the girlfriends."
My favorite posy so far, Greg! 🙂
Thanks for the comments everyone (even though I hate Squarespace's comment abilities, I can't reply to each individual comment). Anyway, good to hear I'm not the only one who's had my horizons broadened or doesn't mind a gecko or two in the kitchen. Here's to ten more years!
Great post, Greg! But, we really do need to work on your choice of movies. Moulin Rouge? Really?
Thanks Josh! Good point about the posters…though in my defense, I had all three original Star Wars posters on the opposite wall. 😀
Great post Greg. I have just passed my 5 years here and can relate to so many of things you have written about. Still can't believe your friend bailed after 8 days : D
Hi Greg! Just found your site via Catherine's Women Learning Thai site. Love it! I first moved to Bangkok in 2001 as well, so I've seen and been through all the same things you documented. However, after giving birth to my baby, my husband, son and I all moved back to the States in 2005. We visited again in 2008 and it was remarkable how much had changed in three years. Yet another three years later I can only imagine that BKK has changed even moreso. We plan to move back next year for a few years of Thai immersion for our son, but his later school years needs to be done in the US (that opinion is open to debate, though!)
Anyway, thanks for this fantastic post. BTW, did you used to write as a reviewer for MovieSeer.com? You look familiar and with all your movie posts on this blog, I'm kinda putting 2 and 2 together. If that was you, I enjoyed your reviews very much. I used MovieSeer all the time to find theaters playing movies with English subtitles.
Hi Amy, thanks for the comment! Interesting in the changes that you can see in a city (and yourself!) in such a short time. Hope your move back goes well – Bangkok's still as exciting and crazy as ever.
And yep, I wrote for Movieseer for 5 years, funny that you recognize me. It was a good gig – didn't pay much but I mostly just did it because I'm a geek and liked writing about movies anyway. Stay in touch, let's grab a Singha when you're back in town!