Originally Posted by
taxexile
Mrs. T's wonderful family live on Suk 22 and it has been our BKK bolthole since 1989 when we are not in either Hua Hin or the UK.
Back then it was primarily a residential area, gated mansions and terraces of shophouses existed side by side with dozens of noodle and curry shops, wet markets and the usual businesses that serve a residential area; doctors, dentists, repair shops, barbers, beauty salons, ma and pa shops selling individual cigarettes, rubber bands, shots of liquor and home made herbal drinks out of those huge glass fronted fridges for 1b. The owners of all these family run and owned businesses lived above the shop and were invariably welcoming and cheerful.
But slowly came the condominiums, followed by the huge hotels, the noisy bar complexes, the happy ending massage joints, the supermarkets, the horrible 7/11 and family mart stores, the terrible traffic jams down the soi with the pollution they bring and hordes of burmese workers living 10 to a room as all semblance of a thriving community where residents knew one another disappeared.
The family businesses couldnt compete with the corporate invasion, sold up and with the massive profits they made on their properties or rents moved out to western style moo baans in the suburbs.
The demographic there now is mostly sweaty bobbleheads, phlegm spewing chinks, fat drunk euros all served by the gimlet eyed sour faced grasping out of town thais that have replaced the once cheerful happy go lucky locals.