Comments on: Hardened Old Bangkok Scribes Share Hot Bangkok Night

By: Philip Rowell

Philip Rowell — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:35:29 +0000

I think this speaks more about the writer than the subjects. The photographer she writes about is one of the world’s best, filing brilliant photography from all over the world. Painting him as some kind of washed-up Asian hand is simply laughable. And a female correspondent from a small town newspaper in the world’s most politically correct (and mind-numbingly boring) country is practically going to have her story about Bangkok written before she even lands at Suvarnabhumi. It’s just an exercise in prejudice confirmation for her. This one can be dismissed without too much angst, methinks.

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:39:12 +0000

Indeed … they are a pretty cheerless bunch, although maybe it doesn’t hit me as much because they’re still young enough to “grow out” of the addiction to Nana. The older guys, well … I think it’s a bit too late for them.

By: BangkokDan

BangkokDan — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:05:41 +0000

Greg, not that convinced that the newer, younger crowd is less depressing. BangkokDan

By: fouse, gary c

fouse, gary c — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:47:07 +0000

To me, it brings back memories of the 1970s, when the American presence was starting to draw down and the Euros came flooding in-principally Germans. Who can forget the Condor flights from Frankfurt to Bangkok, loaded with German men? The Germans laughingly called those flights “Bumsbombers,” and the return flights to Germany were called the “Trippe Clippers.”

The German guys were prevalent around Soi Nana and the Grace Hotel, which was the biggest meat market in town then. Around 1980, the Arabs starting flooding in. The last time I was at the Grace (on a DEA surveillance, of course) the coffee shop looked like a clan convention, all those Saudis in their white robes going up and down the elevators with their Thai “dates.”

Soi Cowboy was starting up in the late 70s, a poor man’s Pat Pong then. But Pat Pong was King.

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk

By: Greg

Greg — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:14:25 +0000

I find it depressing reading articles like this … just paints a very shallow picture of the place, despite the fact that I’m sure the writer didn’t make any of it up. She needs to write part II and hang with a younger crowd, me thinks.