I do a fair share of rambling in the same neighborhoods… perhaps that is why our paths crossed near The Golden Mount. And I may have said this before… but this was absolutely your finest work for us history geeks. Thank you 🙏🏼
Good on you Pat. Wonderfully entertaining as usual. A rich tapestry of the good, not so good and all that is, uniquely Thai. So glad Hua Lamphong survived. It oozed so much character and felt alive with the journey of so many, locals and tourists. Some wonderfully unique architecture and history, as well as your ability to weave a magical narrative. Grateful for your efforts. Thank you. 🤗🙏
The sad about Santika is that the Police who were getting their kickback avoided all responsibility and the directors that went to jail weren't aware the final night was going to be as big as it was. Certain people got greedy and got away with it
Thank you once again for your visits to parts of Bangkok/Krung Thep & Beyond that most of us DON'T know much about, Pat! It really IS fascinating as hell to see and hear all of this and--as always--it makes me most anxious to be on a plane bound back to Thailand again! 🙂
Your documentaries skillfully curate the history, culture and architecture of BKK. A joy to watch. You are a guardian of history in an ever-changing city, where the concept of preserving the past is often sidelined in favour of 'development'. As ever, thank you, Pat.
Pat, I cannot get enough of your very, very well made videos. I’ll be in Bangkok the first week in February. I’m writing a book, more about the sociological and cultural phenomenon that is Thailand. Any chance of meeting up? Lunch? Tour? I’ll be more than happy to compensate you for your wealth of knowledge and expertise. Many, many thanks in advance.
As a retired Firefighter from Canada who loves living in Thailand I will say there is something to be said for living in a country that has stricter building and fire codes like my home country. Expensive and lengthy yes, however you can't put a price on a human life.
Yes, but lets not get all too high & mighty and forget that the path to these Western regulations were also pathed with many horrific disaster stories in our own home countries, even up until the 80/90's. Thailand will get there eventually.
@@TheThailightZone True, many had to die before regulations and codes were enacted. Now, in America, many hate the codes and inspections that keep them from frying. Complacency is a dangerous luxury.
I remember Santika's story, which was a very terrible night for the nation, losing so many lives . This is the thing about greedy owners not thinking about the safety of others. Great vlog Pat as always and thanks for sharing with us.
Keep watching your content Pat, really interesting. Great stuff. Would love to go on one of your walking tours in late February, once I am back in Bangkok.
For some strange reason i get a feeling i've seen a lot of this before......lol Great vid as always, i see i briefly lurk in the background at Hua Lampong! And we were lucky the tin roof in that Soi by Nana shoe factory had no leaks the way the rain came down........
Oh Wowe!!!! I stayed in the Thai Song Greet back in back in 1973. Downstairs was a Chinese cafe/noodle shop. Upstairs led to a foyer where some girls waited with rooms off it. Great place for those who couldn't afford the Malaysia hotel.
Having just discovered your channel, I have been binge-watching over New Years. Fascinating and really well-told. As many have commented, the footage, both the vintage and your new footage, is great. I have been traveling to Bangkok frequently in my 20 plus years living in Tokyo. Hope to find a way to spend more time in Bangkok. Thank you so much for your videos. Better than what you can see in many tv documentaries.
Thanks for covering Siam Inter Hotel. Been there a couple of times as a kid. Loved how different it was to everything else in the city. Not much remembering the lobby details. May have to rewatch Emmanuel to refresh the memory. 😊
Another great video about Bangkok History. Such a tragedy really sad it’s not the first-time things go badly wrong with fireworks in a club or pub. It happend also in the Netherlands on new year’s night in 2001 where 14 people died through the fire very sad. Nice piece of history of the DC3 plane outside the city of Bangkok very interesting. Really sad the destroy the Siam Intercontinental Hotel why did they not build Siam Paragon somewhere else instead of destroy an unique historic hotel. Good they have the railway Museum. Songwat road seems nice for take photos. Thx again Pat for this very interesting video
I tried following in your footsteps but i had to surrender....i think 1960s Bangkok would have been my Safari City . the new Bankok wore me down very quickly...thanks for tbe hard Work. Thanks for the Memories
Thank you, Pat! The video, photos and storytellying are of supreme quality and more imortantly true love for Bangkok which this captivating city definitely deserves! The soundtract is also a delight.
Pat...I am waiting for Someone to do a Video on the Vanishing UK old Men...seems all ihe single old Men and not so old Men with skin job hair cuts are moving to Asia...are there any left in Europe? Mad Rush out of Western Countries of the Retirees. Many young People are struggling in the big Cities to deal with Inflation...even in Asia...putting off marriage and getting second Jobs...but not much focus on the sad realities but many Videos on " retire early on 1200 a month in Asia"!!! It sells well on you Tube...big mega Cities are All feeling the pinch of overpopulation and inflation...did Bangkok once have a rule...build no Structure higher than the Temples??
Any type of fireworks lit up.indoors can turn out tragic. I lived in Bkk when this happened. I was dating a Thai lady whose friend died that night. Safety measures are NOT a thing/concern in Thailand. You can see this just in the way Thais drive and how safety is bypassed for convenience and Tea $$. So much for Buddhism in Thailand.
I remember the Santika fire, we hade spent new year at Central World Plaza (or maybe it already was CentralWorld in 2009) and the traffic was horrendous on the way up to Onnut , we didn´t know why until the day after.
Great video Pat. I kept skipping back to bits to hear again :). If I ever get to go on a walking tour with you, my pick would be these older parts of Bangkok. I absolutely love traditional Thai architecture.
Another great video ,really interesting to find out stuff about my now favourite city in the world,will be back in 12 days for my xmas holiday ,cant wait
With regard to the Santika fire, I am not sure which was worse, the tragedy itself or the lack of accountability. The Khaek building and Windsor houses show how Bangkok can reinvent itself without destroying its old heritage, you just had to tempt me with those Bloody Cable's though.
Thanks Pat, another excellent vid, felt a bit Deja Vu for me 😀. Thanks for the excellent walking tour, the best thing I've done in 3 visits to BKK. I recommend Pat's walking tours to anyone who visits the Capitol.
Very nice video. I liked to get some background information about the disaster in Sukhumvit Soi 63. And the railway museum is worth a visit for rail fans. Especially the pictures about safety on railways and trains.....they are hmmm....dirext..5555. I did not know that place with the old plane, thanks for showing. And special thanks for the cats!
Come here from OTR about a month ago. Been binging on your videos. No one does it like you Pat! One request, I'm confused about the sois, is that Thai for street? and why some streets have two numbers. Any chance maybe you can do a short or even a video on that subject? Thank you sir for keeping us entertained!
As a kid l asked my dad what hippies looked like and he pointed to the tv where that music video was on, so it's stuck with me, plus the lyrics talk about the old hippie trail😎
I must be your dad's generation.Nice to see the Thai Song Greet hotel again.When I first came to Thailand in 1976 staid at the Sri Hualumpong Hotel but often ate at the Tyson Greet where I met my wife.Long story there.We are still together. Time seemed much slower then. Without so much air conditioning felt almost stupified by the heat. Everything seemed in slow motion as you spent time drinking coffee and eating whatever was palatable,mostly tomato omelets. A few years ago pre COVID intended to spend a reminiscing night in the Sri Hualumpong; booked in, left my bag in the room and set off for Sukhumvit.Got back too late, the doors were locked so spent most of the night with other stranded folks on the floor of the area outside the Station,under that grand arch.At about 4am.I think,they opened the gates to the station and I could enjoy the seats.I recovered my bags from the hotel when it opened and had a shower and returned to my home in the suburbs. A night to remember. The other hotel in this area I spent many nights in was the Santhipap Hotel on the other side of Khlong Phasem canal. Later times stayed at the Malaysia Hotel and the Atlanta Hotel before Banglamphu and KaoSan Road became backpacker central. Thanks for your videos and especially the photo of the Thai Song Greet.
It's Friday afternoon after work, and I'm sitting down with coffee, after having dinner - and looking forward to my usual Saturday/Sunday off. Then it's always interesting to see one of your videos, Pat 👌
At the end, standing on the bridge and behind you is a farang in a green shirt, at the railing. It is surely Jeff Bezos, who was wanting to have a word! Seriously appreciate seeing old parts of Bangkok that date back to my time there (early 70s to late 80s). You've a nice knack for digging up things that should be remembered, and interesting historical details. I did not know that club was made of sandalwood, or that it has been kept in that wat all this time. Always big on Thai history when I lived there - it was so interesting. There is a remote possibility I rode on the DC3 back in the early 70s. Thanks for all your efforts. You're becoming a national resource.
I didn't notice Jeff was standing right there! Thanks for pointing that out. I always try and get some little details in so that l give a complete picture!
True story, I was due to go to Santika, the night of the fire, with 2 ladies I knew. However, they took too long getting ready and we couldn't make it by midnight. So, we went to some other places along lower sukhumvit. However, I will never forget the endless sirens of emergency vehicles that went on and on. I realised something must be terribly wrong....little did I know. How typical that no one rotted in jail for this.
Excellent and very interesting video as I happen to be in Bangkok right now. I was just down at Siam Paragon the other day - had no idea there was an Intercontinental there before. My first visit to Bangkok was in 2009 so just after the Santika disaster and just before Central World was burned to the ground during the riots of the following 2 years. Last time I stayed in Bangkok about a year ago I stayed within a couple of blocks of the now demolished apartment block where The Serpent did his nasty work on unsuspecting backpackers in the 70's. Have you done a video on that yet?
I first read about this nightclub in this Singapore horror collection series of books can’t remember what issue. There’s a story telling about how the ghost of the victim of the Santika in the book. Id think the name of the club was ever mentioned and ‘where it is exactly’ in huge Bangkok city until you made this video. Now I know where it is so my imagination is complete now thanks to you Pat 😂. As usual you really take us to places in Bangkok that not many of us seldom traveller will know about while there.
There are various ghost stories about supposed ghost sightings there and to be honest, it's wishful thimking. The supernatrual superstition in overdrive. That's why l didn't mention it. If there were ghosts at every location where someone died, we'd be overrun with them👻👻👻👻
Great content as always Pat. Random question - where does Bearing originate from in BTS Bearing, all other BTS stations seem to have a thai name or landmark. Any ideas??
It's the name of the street/soi nearby, and at the other end of it is the MRT station Sri Bearing. Obviously has a meaning but I don't know it yet as I haven't been that way to do any filming or research.
I'm retired here now and it would be my dream to renovate an old home. I had a 100 year old bungalow in California that I sold for a profit so I could pretty easily finance a renovation. I also have a background in house construction so I wonder if I could find a partner for one of those Windsor type homes? Thanks, Thailand Paul
When l was a kid l asked my dad what hippies looked like and he pointed to the tv while the video was on. It's stayed with me ever since....a classic of course! 🥳
I didnt know that they did away with the Intercon. Stayed there many times. Always welcoming us with a basket of fruit adorned with exotic flowers in the room, beautiful garden like setting. Sad…
Just today another construction crane fell and killed two workers. Somethings never change in Thailand. The owners got off easy, and of course nothing happened to the police who looked the other way.
excuse my temerity . suggestion. I would enjoy a look at the cross river ferries in bangkok and what's what on the thonburi side etc eg sathorn to Pepsi peir wat po to wat arun etc. I know the park at Pepsi pier has great urban sculptures for example. cheers pat.
Thanks for sharing this great video, one thing I like about Bangkok Thailand is the lack of graffiti plastered all over buildings,so good to see the people have respect not to deface everything with gastaly Tag's.hope we do see more of these posts.
Sidebar🙂. Why are thai staircases so steep, if one for some reason want to explore the higher floors of a building, a shop or an establishment? Plain scary?
Are you familiar with the guide book, SMITHIE AND SMITHY, a guidebook to Thailand? I used that book in the 1980s and 1990s when I visited as a tourist prior to moving here later.
must be a strong emotion when u just party there and two month later the place burns maybe on a day u wanted to visit again but something else came up....well u never know when your turn come
We never liked going on weekend nights because it was too crowded and you had to queue for everything, drinks, toilets. So l definitely would not have gone on that fateful night.
Great video, once again! Keep up the good work! I really enjoy each and everyone of your videos. God bless you. There's just no city in the world quite like Bangkok.
I have fabulous memories of getting a bus to Pattaya to visit my then girlfriend after arriving from the airport and then a bus from Ekkamai…..so exciting! …..this was back in 2004/5…….I’ve now been married to the same wonderful girl 19 years….feels like yesterday
Fantastic, thanks Pat. Glad you have included the Shoe Shop 22:46 in one of your videos. Love seeing these old buildings around Bangkok. Please keep covering them. Thanks again.
Very cool to see the Intercontinental again. I was living in Bangkok from 2000 to 2001 and remember the hotel very well. Always sad to see it replaced by Paragon.
