The Lost Boy

Living in Thailand and missing home? Take an online trip down memory lane

Once I left Bangkok, the need to use MySpace to organise my life diminished. I find myself only logging on to check messages. I noticed that every now and then I get an email saying, “I’ve added you as a friend on Facebook”. A lot of my friends seem to be getting on it, so when I had a few spare moments I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Oh my. If you’re living in Thailand and missing home, it’s a real nostalgia trip. The few spare moments turned into a few hours. I was amazed with what I found. When you’re out working in Thailand you sometimes forget that the people you went to school with grew up, or that the people you were at uni with went on to do amazing things.

The first thing I found was a community of people I was in halls with at Sheffield Uni. There were tons of people who I haven’t seen for years. Some of them are married, some making heaps of cash in top jobs, some doing other peculiar things. Those faces brought back some real memories.

Then I came across other random friends who I’d forgotten to stay in touch with. It was like a reunion of my life. I even found this embarrassing picture from my days of more “serious” clubbing. Did I really dress like this?

I think that was taken four years ago at Godskitchen Global Gathering. I actually used to make my own clothes out of fridge magnets sometimes. Luckily I’m not wearing any UV face paint in this picture. The shame of it! Those days are well behind me now; Thailand's nightlife will never see that Lost Boy.

The best thing about FB, and something that really got to me living in Thailand, was finding people I went to primary school with and haven’t seen for about 15 years. It was amazing to see everyone all grown up.

You never forget those friends you had when you were 10 years old. There was even a class photo taken, I’d guess, in 1993. Can you guess which one I am?

I’m not hard to find, as I was the only boy in the class with bright blonde hair. I got in a lot of trouble for what some teachers and parents saw as a smile that ruined the photo. When that picture was taken I still thought that Thailand was the place where ties come from.

Anyway, here is my FB link for those already hooked up. MySpace is more popular in Thailand than FB, but MySpace is such a glitchy, poorly developed utility that there is a real need for FB. I don't think the fad has quite caught with those living in Thailand, but for expats it's a great resource.

Techno' tags: Thailand, Bangkok, Facebook, MySpace