✅KHLONG TAN | Lesser Known Bangkok | Pros & Cons Of Living With Locals | How I Moved Here In 2003

A grand tour of this lesser known part of Bangkok. Interesting times I had here 20yrs ago. People talk about Bangkok's cheap cost of living, but nobody on KZbin knows the reality, so I've tried to give you an idea based on my own experience in an area I had no idea about when I first moved there 21yrs ago. Khlong Tan is in between Ekkamai and Ramkhamhaeng towards the east of the city, and I lived on Petchaburi Road which was fairly noisy but you get used to these things. I took a walk around my old neighbourhood to see what's changed. Enjoy!
WALKING TOUR INFO: Email: [e-mail] Line ID: pat.mck
www.facebook.c...
PLEASE SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL!
www.buymeacoff...
Paypal: [e-mail]
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/bang...
MOVING TO BANGKOK & WANT INFO ON EVERYTHING? Contact me for a Zoom consultation.
WANNA TEACH ENGLISH? Do a TEFL Course & Get a Job: www.essentialt...
MY PHOTO COLLECTIONS from video shoots: www.flickr.com...
Filmed, produced, edited and researched by me.
Email: [e-mail]
LINE ID: pat.mck
Instagram: bangkok_pat

[@ajarnneil]

Hi Pat, I just found your channel, great content, good to see you on here. I'm Neil who used to run an internet cafe next to Kanjana apartments with Saly, thanks for your mention just after 3 minutes in this video. We went on to run a guest house and bar for 5 years on Koh Chang. We got divorced in 2010 and I returned to live in the UK in 2011. Saly is still on Koh Chang running a guesthouse. In 2003 there were a number of Africans living in that area too, just across the road on Ekkamai soi 30 I think it was, and there was an African internet cafe a few doors down from my former internet cafe. Running that internet cafe was a very interesting chapter of my life and a good introduction into not only Thai culture, but also African culture. Since returning to live in the UK, I have worked with a number of people in the Afro-Caribbean community, including reggae artists and DJs, making websites and helping them online or with their business. I made my first trip to Africa in 2022, staying in Morocco where I was well looked after by Morrocan people - kzbin.info/www/bejne/f6bIZ3-JqZifsKs Nice to see you mentioned about the elephants in this video Pat. I have warm memories of feeding an elephant every week whilst running that internet cafe, a Thai family would often walk past with an elephant on their way to one of the tourist areas. I can vividly remember sitting around a table with a group of people drinking, smoking and chatting outside that internet cafe one evening, when all of a sudden an elephants trunk appeared and I look around to see a smiling elephant. I love elephants, we used to go swimming with them on Koh Chang. I published a book about my travelling days in 2017 called "The Travellers Guide To The Holograhpic Universe" its available on Amazon or a copy can be ordered from a major book store. Last month I had surgery to remove a very old injury and since my physical health is much better now, I'm embarking on a new venture as an energy healer, www.quantumhealer.uk Thanks again for bringing up some good memories Pat. I remember we shared some good moments and interesting conversations back in 2003. Keep up the good work !

[@BangkokPat]

Hi Neil, so glad you found the video, which I was hoping! Those days around Khlong Tan were a learning experience for me, just the simple things about adapting to Bangkok! And now I've seen your email, I'll continue from there....

[@user-kz9rp3pq2z]

Brilliant vlog Pat. You really captured that feeling of being young, fairly skint and slightly clueless, but so happy to be there, in a new city.

[@BangkokPat]

Cheers, you describe me very well!!

[@bigwaidave4865]

For some of us older retirees, if you plan well and love living in a city, there is no more vibrant and exciting place to live in my opinion in the entire world. Bangkok has everything top shopping malls top restaurants food from every corner of the globe, great mass transit system and medical facilities . most of all friendly outstanding people and culture. I would not live anywhere else. Is it getting expensive? Absolutely but what world class city that has everything Bangkok has to offer isn’t getting expensive.👍

[@jimshelley8831]

Better than living in London , a city I lived in for 40 years.

[@ma3stro681]

Bangers is fun to visit, but living in the country is far better …

[@Neednoy2]

​@@steveh222Name big cities that aren't like that.

[@Lord-DJ]

I have lived here for 7 years now and hail originally from London. The thing which I really cannot get used to is the continuous noise everywhere when walking although I have double glazed my house to UK standards so I live very well and cheaply (£500 PCM for a 3 bed detached, 2 bathroom, shared pool etc) in a Bangkok suburb so cannot really complain. I am an ex-British headteacher and now teach here in an International School, I would never return to GB as the students here work three times harder than the average ‘Brit’ back home plus, despite a lower salary, the stress levels in the work environment are almost non-existent. I recommend you move here; its great, no scum bags harassing you on the street, no normalisation of thievery and the people on the trains literally remind me of how is was on the District Line in the 70s, albeit without the bowler hats, before England changed to the Third World.

[@BangkokPat]

I learned to accept the noise to a certain extent, obviously it gets a bit ridiculous but it's fine where l live. The uneccesary noise is what can be really annoying though. The UK started going 3rd world after Blair got in

[@ArneRaunonen]

Anyway it is good to live in the Third World if you are a wealthy farang.

[@setha360]

Sadly the US big cities are also 3rd world now also

[@c.k.2]

Agree, the noice can drive you nuts! Wait until a Thai neighbour gets a rooster as a pet next to you… 🐓

[@JoolsUK]

I got the same vibe travelling Thailand for 3 weeks. A vibrant can do place with low costs and generally well behaved people. Certainly not dominated by Teens and 'Karens' and self entitled people. A nation as one, with its flaws out in the open. So glad to hear I wasn't far wrong from an ex-pat.

[@jackdurner2067]

Made me think about when I left my home country many years ago to live in Japan. Never intended to stay so long, but still here. Been here so long, I’m a tourist in my native country.

[@AZM70710]

I think , you made en exellent decision.

[@inindian]

Same for me. Forty years in Kansai.🙂

[@adayortwo]

One of your most interesting videos. I remember being in BKK in that era, 2B bus rides, no google maps, internet cafes an absolute necessity . No nostalgia, but as you said "life wasn't too bad after all".

[@BangkokPat]

I suppose it wasn't bad because we didn't know any better!! Cheers 😻

[@ilkkasilvennoinen32]

Without google maps, would be level 99 pro :)

[@codent]

@@BangkokPat the Pet Shop Boys nickname is absolutely genius!

[@adayortwo]

@@BangkokPat not knowing any better was a big factor for sure... Looking back, "almost clueless" sometimes. Much easier to explore cities like Bangkok nowadays, and that's a good thing.

[@dangor751]

Brilliant as always ! Thank you Pat ! Keep going !!!

[@stephenellender5018]

Lived in Klong Tan in 1988-1989 at Best House apartment - seen in this video but not identified - no Ekkami flyover in those days as Ekkami intersection was a T-junction as the Ram Inta Expressway had not been built and Rama 9 road did not open until the beginning of 1989.Foodland was there and next to it was quite a famous entertainment complex called Music Villa.. The Nasa Vagas apartments weren't built at this time but on the other side of Rankamhang road was the very the popular Nasa Disco from which these apartments got their name.

[@andrew.l.5493]

Funny. The Nasa Vegas was the first hotel I stayed in when I first arrived in Bangkok. I too sat by the railway line and drank cold beer.

[@BangkokPat]

Not much else to do back then, best part of Nasa Vegas is the railway track

[@CaryDean]

I like all of your videos but I especially appreciate the ones (like this one) where you share about your personal experiences. Good on ya.

[@Buggsy61]

Said it before Pat but you put these videos together so well. You must spend hours editing etc, looking for perfection, and bordering on OCD but the final result is top class. Cheers

[@BangkokPat]

Cheers!! It's not OCD, I just want it to look right! It's not that difficult. Just that editing is not really looked at as a view puller on YT so the algorithyms!!

[@pannachawangkul585]

You are a living history book, Pat, and not boring at all. Just when I think you have gone to every nooks and crannies of BKK, you surprise us with something else😮. Well done.😊

[@BangkokPat]

Glad you enjoyed it and as you know I love exploring!!

[@mrwongus]

Great shots, great edits, no shaky footage, music and audio balanced, and best of all you are a great storyteller. The content was informative and no fake hype. I moved to Bkk in April 2023 and I am enjoying it everyday. If you are up for some lunch and some conversation let me know. Cheers!

[@b4bmm]

The almost year round heavy smog pollution is a big bummer for Bangkok.

[@jak3b]

Another great video Pat!. Everytime I was leaving Thailand, I always regretted not spending more time in Bangkok. There was something about the place I couldnt articulate, The light, the noise, the smog, the energy, The people, There is no where else like it, it put a deep hook in me from the first 5 minutes I was there. I get that feeling from your videos loud and clear!. Keep up the great work!.

[@BangkokPat]

Great description, it's a city worth looking at a little closer for sure.😎

[@BrianBaileyedtech]

I have been to Bangkok 7 times since 2009 and this is the first time I have stayed for a month and gotten an apartment. It's just a studio but it has a balcony with a nice city view (I am in Lat Phrao about a 5 minute walk from Phwarma station on the Yellow Line), wifi, air-conditioning, a TV with many international channels, fridge, hot water shower, security and motorbike parking with building entry via key fob and very friendly building staff. There are two 7-11's just around each corner and a Lotus Express directly adjacent. I think it is the cheapest one month airbnb in Bangkok at $210 usd plus electric/water! It's clean, basic and I think, a terrific bargain. I have spent that much to stay in hotels for just three days. I think this place is even cheaper than a hostel but it's my own apartment and it's quiet at night. I was thinking of extending my stay but it's sold out next month so obviously I am not gthe only person who thought it was an unbelievable bargain.

[@BangkokPat]

They should employ you for marketing!!!

[@BrianBaileyedtech]

Haha, appreciate it - it really is a bargain!@@BangkokPat

[@daviddenham1511]

I’ve been 85+ times……hmmm

[@PeterC245]

I’m living in Rural Thailand, married to a Thai for 20 years , I watch many u tubers on Thailand and Cambodia Just got onto your channel , I’m impressed Peter

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks Peter, glad you found the channel!

[@ross1972]

Brilliant video really honest, nostalgic and explains your love for Bangkok. Its actually quite heroic to move to a new country and a new city to build a life for yourself. They dont make movies about it, but at least there is youtube right?

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks Ross, that's probably why l started the channel! The adventures we now have fond memories of, which at the time were quite testing!

[@jimmyboysmovies1972]

Pat your face when the train pulled to the station your face lit up 😊😊 interesting vlog ahh remember when internet cafes were a must near where you stayed how times have changed. The pet shops boys you cracked me up . Great vlog Pat

[@BangkokPat]

I knew the train was coming.... I wanted to keep the shot of me looking at it....

[@gopher1471]

Always an interesting slice of Thai life, well researched and a pleasure to watch. The variety of your offerings really does you credit and long may this continue. Cheers, stay safe and all the best :)

[@BangkokPat]

Cheers😎😻

[@davidshannon3942]

9:15 what a little gem of graffiti (Art). Thank you Pat. I've only watched a few of your video's on this channel so far, but this one really captured me. The story and history, your eye for urban glitter and grunge in equal measure, had me spellbound. How many people will now want to stay at the Nana Vegas and drink beer and watch the trains? Probably more than just me.

[@marksoler7338]

It's almost like you've created "smell-a-vision"! The gritty details come through on all levels!

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks Mark!

[@MoreKit]

I have to admit that the mood of your video is very accurate and matched my mood when I lived there almost 20 years ago. Thanks for making this video! 🙂👍🏻

[@BangkokPat]

Thank you and very nice to hear that, hope your time there was interesting!!

[@audiob2027]

DK TODAY! Been there so many times for material back in the day. Fond Memories. TY K.Pat.

[@Followmytravels]

It's between a movie and documentary yet provides a lot of information. Well done and congratulations.

[@pimpapillo]

After 20 years of living between Silom and Sukhumvit I moved to Pattanakarn road 3 years ago (so further down Phetchaburi around 3 km). I like living in this local neighborhood and it is also quite convenient having cheaper restaurants and many grocery stores. I visit "Birdland" quiete often because I have a couple of doves (and 4 cats).

[@BobbyDazzler888]

Just 4?

[@BangkokPat]

Great to hear you're a fan of the feline species.

[@realstylecleaning8318]

I moved to Phatthanakan 20 just over a year ago from OnNut. Love it here. I'm apparently the second ferang to move into my street in 20 years. I visit Phromg Phong once a week to play sport, and each time i cant wait to leave that area and get back home.

[@renatomilani1988]

BEST CHANELL ABOUT DOC HISTORY OF BKK - CONGRATS PAT

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks a lot Renato, and hope you're well! Feliz Natal!!

[@donnaleecriss8692]

Great vlog. Real...truthful...modern up to date views

[@DLVRYDRYVR]

Thanks for sharing 🙏

[@PopkDodge]

I like your content got immersed with the rawness and saying how it is.

[@johnkilmerstone]

It is fascinating to hear about your history of living and working in Bangkok. I've lived a parallel life in Japan. However, I've been traveling to Thailand since 1987, so I feel great nostalgia for hearing stories and seeing footage of places I have known or been to in Bangkok. It really reminds me of some extraordinary times I've enjoyed over the years. Cheers

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks John. Hope Japan was equally as adventurous!

[@davidbkk171]

Did you ever get to Ministry of Sound?

[@BangkokPat]

Yes once, and that clubbing format clearly didn't work in a Thai environment.

[@johnstewart7741]

One of the best down to earth blogs Iv seen about thailand/BK

[@BangkokPat]

Cheers John, no illusions on this video, everyone got here sonehow, many would never tell you the real reason why or how much they arrived with!!

[@juiceqc7716]

Hey mate. Stumbled across your videos this evening as I research my first trip to Thailand in Dec./Jan. I really like them. I enjoy the reflection on the past and how you avoid all the hype. Not sure what you are doing now but I am sensing that it has all worked out well for you.

[@davidchow4459]

Good video Pat.👍 All I can say everything in Bangkok is getting more and more expensive, not a paradise for a single person or retirees anymore.

[@vgshwk]

More Thais have moved to Bangkok not as many rice fields as there used to be

[@tanchye1720]

Nice. This is not that typical ‘tourist’ video we used to see in the media. You reveal many of the niches of Bangkok and it’s ordinary people that not many tourists know. Your personal experience living in Bk is an ‘eye opener’ to many. I am from Singapore and visited BK and especially Issan regularly for 30+ yrs now. Sponsoring my Thai godson thru’ his in education and he had just graduated from Rangsit University recently. Best wishes in your endeavours in Thailand. 🙏

[@BangkokPat]

Thanks! Too many videos out there aimed at typical tourists, crowded market so l made my own niche!!

[@Neednoy2]

Wow. Rangsit u is a prominent private university thus quite expensive. You're very kind to your godson.

[@foodlandML]

Glad U could make use of my flyer pic, Pat ;) @10.16 Gonna send U an email later.

[@bigboxwebdesign7120]

Pat, get your old haircut back, you will look younger, jing jing.

[@Namlange70]

Absolutely enjoy it. Thanks Pat.

[@MB-hx9sz]

You really got an outstanding vibe in this one! great shots, loved the roughness you show in them. Nicely done!

[@Nohoihoewa]

I lived on ekkamai Soi 30 back in 2009 and saw my building in this video cheers 😊

[@steverosse]

If I may be permitted to speak, that was great. Personal, revealing, honest. Maybe a little bit outside your comfort zone. Kudos.

[@BangkokPat]

You're never satisfied are you Steve, l was very comfortable filming that. Nice weather, canal, trains, cats, it was almost perfect.

[@steverosse]

@@BangkokPat Nobody is ever satisfied, Pat. If human beings could be satisfied we'd still be living in trees. But what about my compliment indicated I was unsatisfied? It was pure praise.

[@Kata2554]

This must be your most personal video yet. And as such it has become an engrossing miniature masterpiece about ones life's hopes and struggles, about moods and emotions and about the impermanence of it all. With images in which these memories seem to still reverberate and with a choice of music that opens up the space for them in the first place. A video that has struck so many chords with me as if a grand piano's sustain pedal had been pressed throughout. Amazing.

[@BangkokPat]

Thank you so much for the kind words, it was a time that I think will stay in my mind as a big leap I took with very minimal preparation and finances.

[@thaigolfguy]

Been there done that, lived on Pridi 50 (Prakanong 71) for about 4 years before I smarttened, good memories however. So half Thai Pat? Is there more to the earlier life we should know?

[@BangkokPat]

That earlier life could be revealed bit by bit in videos like this. This video only went up to the end of 2003.....

[@IANRIDING-m9u]

Pat again..nice upload boss.....can i ask who your footy team is?..you sound like a gooner

[@BangkokPat]

NUFC but grew up not far from Arsenal football ground

[@coventgarden1925]

Wifey registering with Rama hospital (apparently that's something we gotta do)):- Occupattion: retired housewife

[@TheDane824]

Happy New Year Pat. Long time subscriber and 'like' all the videos I watch. Any chance of meeting up while I am in Bangkok? Perhaps for a tour of the city?

[@Goodman849]

English only. No job. Limited skill set. But got 600+k in the bank. What are my chances in Bangkok. Never been to Thailand only Philippines for reference. Know nothing about the visa s there

[@nosense280]

Brilliant life story Pat! Wish I had the balls to move to Bangkok and leave my hometown!

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

Tokyo... remnants of a tiring typhoon came down, in mist gusts of a warm and sleepy rain... the air smelled of hot tracks, & bamboo Late evening, filling, with the strange voices of the distant cafe's like a great purple cup of light their words, slowly echoing down that first nameless narrow alleyway another turn dissipating, here and there flickering small, round circles of pale white lamps meandered lighting, the broken surface of the old, moss-covered street... a strange rippling lake, where, small granite stepping-stones glistened like droplets of a yet unknown, life exiting down the narrow side-stairs from the private-railway station, shunted by a two carriage auxiliary train, the neighborhood of "the rice-giving bridge" was a mash of small factories, temples, and traditional miniscule rattan-paper shacks, just large enough to sleep, used to utilize every inch of the remaining space... it was in these Soi-like streets where I first rented a "foreigner room" in a multi-room boarding house, an old quarter, surrounded by alleys rarely more than a few dozen inches wide, it seemed, the place was the meaning itself of total and chaotic disorder, a jumble of ways nearly impossible to memories or understand, it was a working district filled with every kind of shop and street-food within a short reach... and yet, a district dominated by the serenity of it it's temples, ancient stone images that rose out of green stone lakes in a timeless & overarching awe... a piece of history, between the metal of two great railway lines.

[@arthurdunga345]

good that one pat

[@schwartzenheimer1]

one more thing: when I lived in Din Daeng, the Nasa Vegas got a lot of press attention, when some love-lorn Scandinavian precipitated a gravity-assist from a high floor, to the tracks below. Kids: if you have any screws loose, living in Thailand will definitely make it worse...know why you are going before you leave, and guard your heart. Here there be dragons.

[@GordAnderson-q5k]

totally charming vlog .. with a lot of the bangkok I recall from years ago ! I imagine if you walk 200m away from a main road or station, down a random soi, you'll discover something interesting - you really captured that.

[@mtm4a]

I enjoyed this video so much, Pat. As I have mentioned to you on previous videos, you produce such professional documentaries of the scene around Bangkok, no matter the topic. I love your choice of relaxing incidental music providing a real feel-good factor, combined with your superb cinematography, your relaxed 'pieces to camera' and the genuine visualisation of your thoughts. One example of your skill is at 4:04 - your slow 'zoom out' while you walked towards the camera, and the zoom halting at precisely the right moment! I am a layman, but can I presume this was a post-production effect? I loved your story of the flattened coins at 18:53 - and I am also curious as to whether your local friends Sally and Neil (mentioned at 3:31 ) have been in touch! I myself also found the content of this video quite nostalgic... I first visited Bangkok in 1989 and have returned to Thailand many times since. At that time, of course, there was no BTS towering above the streets, and I certainly remember the road traffic even in those days! But all memories are good! I am a retired Brit and I live in Spain these days. Because of financial issues, I have hankered after looking at Thailand from the point of view of relocating there, and indeed I paid a three-week visit there with a friend in March this year, visiting Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin and Phuket. Needless to say, I was taken aback by the prices everywhere, not just in everyday items, but in rental accommodation. I realise that everything is a balance - nice area to live but expensive, against acceptable prices but in not-so-nice areas. In a way I was shocked, but perhaps I shouldn't have been. I know the world is changing rapidly, and I realise I am not the only person who would love to live in a beautiful place at a reasonable cost. But I think those days are disappearing rapidly, unless we were able to take the plunge a few years ago, as you did. Anyway, all the best to you, Pat, and I look forward to more of your brilliant presentations!

[@JourneyinThailand]

Watch out for the hanging electrical wires through the alley ways and the soi's. And at the same time making sure you don't twist your ankles on the broken and uneven pavements. 😅 lol But that's what Makes Bangkok so Good 😅 Ramkhemheng area is pretty cool. The night market by Rajamangala stadium is nice. Not to far from the Nasa Vegas. Good video Pat 🙏. Brings back memories of my good and once innocent times in Bangkok.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

I stayed in the Nasa Vegas hotel in 2014. A room in the front corner where you could see the Airport Link station. I could hear diesels thrrashing away but couldn't see them because of the qirport line! Even then, the SRT linre station wqs right in front of the hotel as a vid on my channel shows. But as we know from our last trip out, it has swappwd sides.......

[@BangkokPat]

Nasa hotel weren't too keen on the riff raff getting off trains in front of the hotel, maybe it cramped their style...

[@_Alfa.Bravo_]

4:02 ... Pad 25 years ago with the same smile. Looks like taken in London. I need the adress of your hairsaloon there

[@BangkokPat]

That was on the skytrain!!

[@harrypalmer1]

Thanks for the tour of Khlong Tan Pat. Yes, not an area I will consider moving to. I think I had one night at the Vegas hotel, at the start of a trip. I tend to go to Huai Khwang for a couple of nights now, before heading to Hua Hin. I might take the train there next time, as travel times are improving.

[@wrightst8]

Really interesting mate. It's good to see your history as part of the city. I think you made the right choice, as opposed to first moving to a touristy area. Also you know a train man when is eyes light up as the 15.53 train pulls in. Cheers Pat!

[@BangkokPat]

My surprise was more that the train was actually on time!

[@mtm4a]

Yes, you can see Pat's eyes lighting up at 14:06 - such excellent timing in his commentary! Michael Portillo watch out!! 😀

[@tdtdtd1826]

The area is really dilapidated, with no supermarkets except a small foodland and 7 elevens. The big park hosted many homeless and drugs junkies.thats a sad area and most of the entertainment buildings ( massages parlours to be honest ) are now closed for lack of customers and I am not surprised if the owners are Chinese mafiosos

[@bernie2592]

Great video as always ... but how many Khlong Tan exist in BKK? I was thinking I live in Khlong Tan.

[@BangkokPat]

Probably a few, as there must have been many clogged canals around the city named that way! (Khlong Tan = clogged canal)

[@bernie2592]

So far a minimum of 3 Khlong Tan, Khlong Toei Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana your Khlong Tan (probably ignoring Khet&Kwaeng admin) @@BangkokPat

[@leefamilytx]

hi Pat, your visual story telling and excellent content is world class. Thanks for sharing your Khlong Tan chapter in life! A long time fan in Texas!

[@mamabear5488]

As usual great video🎉 Thank you❤

[@liro_mngbt]

Fantastic work with the soundtrack, Pat. Hits all the right spots that evokes nostalgia 👏 thanks for the personal history.

[@N8teyrve]

If you worked as a freelance English teacher and DJ how did that work with a visa? No channels ever discuss visas.

[@BangkokPat]

Not sure about the others but I have Thai citizenship through my parent so I don't need visas. Others won't talk about work visas probably because they might not have one (!)

[@zdl1965]

Taking the ARL, I always wondered what that ugly industrial building just before Ramkamhaeng station was - and you've solved that mystery, the South block of the Nasa Vegas / Nesa BKK hotel! Its absolutely hideous!

[@BangkokPat]

I doubt it's ever won any architecture awards 🐱😳

[@gangsom]

Great video Funny enough NASA vegas was the first hotel I stayed in Bangkok. It wasn't too bad not sure what it's like these days though.

[@auwz66]

My costs are £3k a month (for 2). Thats £1500 condo (incl utils, cleaning products, water, wifi etc) and £1500 food/drink/transport/going out/insurance etc. I eat a mix of western/thai and cook at home. BKK, IMHO, is about 20-25% cheaper than a UK city (excl London). The cost of goods and services etc isnt cheap. My hair cut is 400thb. Yes I can get it for half that... but might not be great. As with everything here you can do stuff way cheaper if you want. But I dont see the point in that tbh. Condo is a good example. I am in Phrom Phong and have 60m2. I could be in On Nut in 30m for 1/3 the price. But is it worth it? Its a personal thing I guess. Either way dont expect to come here for the cheap life. Its not cheap. Things like Insurance are costs people always forget about. Its also super easy to spend £200 a month on Grab.... you have to really watch out for that as it can easily add up!!!! A very average bottle of wine is £20 where as in the UK it would be half that. Its the small things that get you! A bottle of wine here, some blueberries there or a nice steak. The new tax rules are going to make it even worse. My time here is limited!!!

[@BangkokPat]

The new tax rules are abhorrent and will backfire. Wouldn't surprise me if they make the Chinese exempt.

[@senianns9522]

Hi Pat, I loved Bangkok as a younger person . Came for fun in 1982 and it was really an experience. Now I live by the coast and enjoy the relative quiet and prevailing clean air winds! Only venture to Bangkok when I have to, as I don't enjoy the 'madness'. Good vlog thanks!

[@BangkokPat]

Thank you 😻

[@setha360]

Bangkok we always used the Train , or bus, the river boats is awesome for evening tour to see temples at night,

[@neonomad1939]

Even though i spend most of my early days in the north, Bangkok holds a special place in my heart. Your videos truly take us down memory lane.

[@_Alfa.Bravo_]

Were your "pet shop boys" still there in BIRDLAND?

[@BangkokPat]

I didn't check but they were 'Always on my mind' as l walked around there last week

[@Budismo7917]

Faith club memories did saddam husein was there drinking too and party😂 Anyway looks like a good experienced living in 4000baht to feel the other side of bangkok without foreigners and see how thai girls behave in this town.

[@MrUled]

This video to me is the dark, grim underbelly of Bangkok. Depressing actually. There are some nice local neighbourhoods, this isn't one of them

[@BangkokPat]

That was one of the ideas of the video, it can't be all fancy places and gloss! Thank you😎

[@joehalligan2305]

👍👍🇮🇪🇹🇭

[@jurimay6579]

🙏❤️🥰

[@chalermchaiwattanawongpitu7196]

Hi!😊😊😊😊

[@kevincunningham9589]

So interesting, thank you Pat.

[@DavidGray-o7f]

Now that I'm retired and living here myself instead of watching your videos from afar and wishing, I want to thank you Pat. Thanks for the care and thoughtfulness you put into each (most) of your videos, it has been an enjoyable education for me. Also appreciate the comments about certain restaurants or bars you like or don't. Heaven help anyone with pretentions that you may run into. I also find many of your viewers comments interesting, not the usual punter here, some have actually been to school.. As one Leeds born gezzer to another, cheers mate, ta ra see ye.

[@kittenastrophy5951]

I even don't know what "Meri" is translated in Thai ! Everyone just remembers this is the name of a female protagonist of a Thai folklore (but most of the characters named in Sanskrit !?).

[@BangkokPat]

Not even sure myself, they security guy just pointed up and said ''Butterfly'' when I asked him, so I assumed that was it, as you could always see the lit up butterfly at night in the old days

[@pannachawangkul585]

For coffee and ice cream.😊

[@BangkokPat]

Thank you so much as always! Very nice of you to support the chennel!

[@PatrickBunbury-y6m]

Hiya Pat, You are too self-deprecating when you describe your age related abilities at sport. I warrant you would be picked in the 11 in a match; as you can scramble up and over the bridge stairs.

[@BangkokPat]

I'll try anything but draw the line at skateboarding. Leave it to Adam (keis one)

[@Paul-dv4dr]

Hey Pat can you upload your old/original Bkk mixes, if you've still got them? Could set them to footage of monitor lizards in the park as I think you did once before? : great style m8.

[@BangkokPat]

All those CDs expired years ago, sadly😢

[@shaqisumari304]

Bangkok is a rich city and like Singapore very clean

[@garynicholson2567]

Lived in ngamwongwarn road area in 2003 for 3 years Taught at ECC Went to Thailand with £500 in my pocket. Ended staying over 10 years Love the channel.

[@BangkokPat]

Cheers Gary 😻😎

[@Xlornick]

Bangkok is amazing! The Pet Shop Boys would never play at Birdland in NYC.

[@BangkokPat]

I watched the Pet Shop Boys at Impact arena in 2002

[@James-j2k1w]

Where are you Pat...? Merry Christmas 🧑‍🎄.....

[@rumo510]

Bro that's so weird to see this. I was just living in that area for a few months on the south side of the canal. I loved it. Easy access to airport rail, BTS green line, MRT Blue. I've lived in Lat Phrao, Huay Khwang, Tha Phra, Watthana, and Bang Na, but Khlong Tan is my favorite. I'm back in Huay Khwang, and I love it (food is more affordable), but I hope to move back to Bang Kapi/Khlong Tan area!

[@BangkokPat]

Great to hear that, these places are the unsung neighbourhoods of Bangkok for farangs. Just off the main drag and functional, and still typically local.

[@rudolfdesadeleer7995]

you looked like Alex in Wonderland when you walked the yellow brick line

[@hermes8258]

Thanks for doing videos for non-millionaires. I really like the content and tone of your videos. You provide some facts and include images that give the flavour. Plus, the way you frame images is very appealing Nasa Vegas (the hotel tower not the apartment tower) is my home base every visit to Bangkok. I don't really like the place but it is convenient location for my purposes (close to Rail Link and my storage locker). THB690 or 790 per night now depending on the room. There is always one to three things wrong with every room. I like taking the Saeng Sep canal boats despite the stench and the SRT train is a bargain. I do note that the SRT to Kanchanaburi does cost more for Farang than Thais, the only example I know of where there is dual pricing in civic rail transportation.

[@BangkokPat]

You gotta be honest, man. Everything can't always be awesome and amazing here and I don't like pretending, plus there are more people living here who are definitely non-millionaires than you think, putting up a facade of having disposable wealth is very common! Nasa wasn't the greatest but looking back, I learned a few harsh lessons about real life here in my short time as resident. The lobby bar was a secret place where they served beer 24/7 and even years after I left I would go there for a few late ones because it was always serving!

[@roberttudor455]

4:21 white skin, and a pulse 🤣🤣🤣

[@geoffreyrose1620]

When I meet my Thai wife she was working on Phetchaburi Rd at a Public School

[@zeusconquers]

solid video. probably the most informative here.

[@RABernard]

Very enjoyable. Yes it is the same excitement looking back just over 2 years on arrival. Some excellent advice and a lovely story.

[@youwatchme0808]

i love that hotel! Nasa Vegas. u did awake some memories, thank u

[@RolandPer]

Great to see you at the meet up on Saturday 😊. I'm the one from Singapore

[@James-j2k1w]

"which I never did partake in.". I'm recycling it...👍. Great vid Pat.. 🙏

[@PauloGaetathe_original]

Thank you for this great and well researched video, full of interesting insights about the not so distant past of Bangkok. The city of Angels is always evolving...

[@BangkokPat]

Glad you enjoyed it Paulo, cheers 😻

[@manfrednh8888]

Isn't that Khlong Tan Nuea? Khlong Tan is on Khlong Toei side of Sukhumvit Road.

[@BangkokPat]

Look at the signs. It says Khlong Tan.

[@rpgbb]

My playground base back in the 2000s was Grand Hi-Tech Tower 🛝 Great food on Ekkamai Soi 20 and 23. Never lived in Thailand though, never dared to take the leap into the darkness and as I have been based in more convenient although dull places in Asia, I never saw the need. But having visited Thailand more than 400 times and counting, it almost feels like I have lived there. Totally trip down on memory lane for many of us. Thanks for sharing! 🙏🏼

[@BangkokPat]

Cheers. Hi Tech is looking a bit worn out & ragged nowadays but still survives in that spot down in the corner of Soi 23.

[@rpgbb]

⁠​⁠@@BangkokPat It was always decadent and worn out, that was the attraction 😅 Right, the food area was in Soi 30, lots of Issam places. I don’t know what’s the situation there. Last time I was there was in 2015, lots of changes since then. Like Sukkunvit soi 38 is gone now! Really sad For me, Bangkok has become like HK, Singapore, Tokyo. Really boring actually. I call it the Starbucksation of the Planet ☕️😖 The temple on Soi 23 must still be there… Oh Youth… Where did you go? 😢

[@rayn3038]

After about 10 days in Bangkok...i see why so many Retirees choose Pattaya that Area...Bangkok is daunting and i tbink in Pattaya...you cover less distance...to find what a Foreigner needs and IN General...the Businesses are very well geared to communicate and supply ...create and fill the vacumn....in a relatively less congested Area....so many Expatriates evacuating their Homelands...you wonder where the West is Going...to the Dogs?

[@BangkokPat]

The west has been going to the dogs for a few years now, and many are looking towards a place where they can refresh, Thailand fits the bill.