Travel photos that show how Thailand has changed in 30 years

[buksida]

Interesting article though mostly focused on farang tourism which of course has been in decline for the past few years. No mention of the surge of domestic tourism and SUV 'weekend warriors'. Hua Hin gets a mention also...

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20 Photos That Show How Different Backpacking Through Thailand Was Just 30 Years Ago
Thailand is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world – especially among young backpackers. In today’s day and age, traveling has become incomparably easier than it was 30 years ago. Apps, budget flights and tour packages all assist tourists so they do not have to worry about much.

But 30 years ago, only the most adventurous individuals set out to visit Thailand. The country then was not so easy to navigate and traveling in general was not something that everyone could do or afford. But on the other hand, those vagabonds saw a country before it became saturated with tourism and full of curated experiences that lack authenticity. Check the photos below to see what traveling in Thailand was like in 1990.


https://www.thetravel.com/thailand-back ... years-ago/

[Stargeezer]

Thanks for the pictures, and I did manage to get to Phi Phi Island before the Tsunami and it was
a lot less developed. I also remember Kata Beach Phuket when there was a neat place called
Friendship Bungalow, which got torn down. Good memories though. I still like to come to Hua Hin tho and
may go to Phuket for a week this year if the rains stay away.
Geezer

[PeteC]

Take the dating of those photos with a grain of salt. The below says Phi-Phi 1987 on the left. I was there in 1987 and there was a thriving and good size village with shops and a few two story structures on that thin bit in the middle. The right side photos may be correct as post-tsunami as the center of the thin strip is less built up than it was before the tsunami.

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[buksida]

I took this one of the Burmese bridge in Sangkhlaburi in the late 1990s ...

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This is what that bridge looks like today ...

[Coldmike]

Take the dating of those photos with a grain of salt. The below says Phi-Phi 1987 on the left. I was there in 1987 and there was a thriving and good size village with shops and a few two story structures on that thin bit in the middle. The right side photos may be correct as post-tsunami as the center of the thin strip is less built up than it was before the tsunami.



phi-phi-1987-vs-today-beach.jpg

I was in Phi Phi in 1988 or 89 and don’t remember any village or shops. They may have been there, but I only remember a ‘resort’ of a group of bamboo huts on stilts with very few amenities. It was perfect, romantic and very close to my vision of paradise. It may have had something to do with my companion (now my wife). I was back there a few years after the tsunami and was very disappointed. Paradise lost, but my teenage kids loved it all. Including the strip of shops, bars, and restaurants.