Wistful

It has been some time since I went back to the Banglamphu area. It was the place I first stayed decades ago when I came to Thailand. Things change.

Back in the day, Khao San was lined with mostly shop house guest houses renting rooms for less than a pound a night. There were a few higher up the market such as the Chart (now a run down looking dingy place to eat and drink, the Marco Polo, which has long since gone and the hotel. Now Khao San is lined with mid-range “hostels” and “guest houses” that look like something from a theme park dedicated to “travellers”, but with every mod-con you would want and of course at a price to match it. Things change.

Back in the day, there was no internet. You had to make international calls from a phone in a shop or post office or send letters. Now there is little need even from the ubiquitously offered wifi. Everyone has a data plan on the array of phones and tablets they carry. I wonder if somehow the romance of travelling has been lost, but I am probably just a relic from an age gone by. And things change.

Back in the day, the alleys running parallel to Khao San Road itself held the most run down and sketchiest of hang-outs, guest houses and characters both local and foreign. Now they are in a market beyond what the original Khao San was itself, or are vast building sites awaiting the next five or six storey building. Things change.

Back in the day, the small local school near Tanao on Khao San Road was surrounded by market stalls selling pirate brand name gear or tape cassettes and within meters of bars. Now the school is surrounded by market stalls selling pirate brand name gear, DVD dance mixes and within meters of bars. Things change but not everything.

Back in the day, there was a beautiful old wooden house on Khao San. Now I find myself sitting in the garden of the house with my wife drinking a single bottle of beer watching the guests of what is now a guest house come and go. Things change.

Back in the day,…