Paradise Now 1990

In 1990 I got on the Bangkok train and caught a midnight cargo barge from Surathani to Koh Samui. The rising moon reflected a shining path to the warm horizon and dolphins sang a swimming song in our wake. At dawn the ferry docked on the palm-covered island. I rented a motorcycle and rode through coastal coconut plantations to a coral beach south of Chaweng. My simple bungalow was sheltered by the shade trees. There was no electricity during the day and a slight sea breeze wafted across the shore at sunset. The beer was cold. Food was a delight. We swam in the sea by moonlight and washed off the salt with buckets of monsoon rain. Sleep was to the music of gentle waves caressing the sand.

Photo of the W resort on Koh Samui.

Thirty-five years ago there was no need for a fucking swimming pool. The sea was as cleasr as gin, but things change, except in our memories.

Pattaya's Glorious Batman Ruins

Batman disco off Sukhumvit was the one of Pattaya's hottest in the 90s. Spotlights casting batman logos arced across the night sky. The young clientele crowded the four floors. Police staged a raid on the dance club and closed the premises for drugs and under-age drinking. While the owner fought the closure in court, a mysterious fire gutted the interior to the delight of his rivals. Batman has remained shut for over a decade. It dominates the neighborhood. Few people enter the derelict building. Where Batman has fled, only pii or ghosts walk the night.