How Thailand Night Life Was In The 70's

I was in Ubon Air Base in 1971 when I was 19 years old.

There were lots of places to get beer around the base, and I think it cost 50 cents for a beer.

Back then, you could bring your own bottle of liquor and only had to pay for the mixers.

It was a really inexpensive night out.

Things were quite different 50 years ago compared to today, as you can probably guess.

I’m retired here now, by the way.

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How Things Were In Thailand Back Then..

Some of the big differences might surprise your audience.

Firstly, there weren’t any bar fines.

All the women in the clubs were independent workers.

Secondly, there were no special “ladies drinks.” If your friend wanted a drink, you’d either buy her a beer or she’d share your bottle.

Since there weren’t any hotels near the base back then, if you wanted company for the night, you’d go to her place.

Sometimes she lived alone, and sometimes she had a friend with her.

Fixed Priced Bar Fine and Short Time

There weren’t any haggles over the price; it was a fixed hundred baht, which was about five US dollars back then.

It was the same deal for a soapy massage, and there were no extra charges for anything. It might be hard to believe, I know.

Well, there was this nice girl named Wan, and we’d hang out sometimes.

The night before I was set to fly back to the States, she asked if she could borrow twenty dollars. She promised to meet me at the airport the next day to give it back.

Lending A Thai Girl Money… She Did Not Pay It Back

I gave her the twenty dollars and was excited to see her at the airport the next day to say goodbye. But, as expected, she didn’t show up. I didn’t make a fuss about it, just chalked it up as a lesson learned.

When I got back to the USA, I decided to take a break and headed to the sunny beaches of Florida. My favorite aunt brought me to the horse races.

I didn’t know a thing about those four-legged creatures or how to bet on them. My aunt told me to simply pick a number or two and hope for the best.

When I went to the betting window, it suddenly dawned on me that Wan’s number at the bar was 54.

So, I placed a $20 bet on both numbers five and four. As crazy as it sounds, the horses finished in that exact order, and I was overjoyed to win $250.