Alex Garland’s cult novel The Beach, 20 years on
I read The Beach during a summer off from University after finding it on a relative&#x27;s bookcase. I&#x27;d just seen the movie and I remember thinking how much better the book was than the movie (which I&#x27;d enjoyed, but that always seems the way). I spent the best part of a year backpacking about a year after that in the very early 00s - so still remembered the book well.<p>When I got to the Koh San Road (in particular) after about 6 months in Asia, I remember thinking how much it had changed from Richard&#x27;s experiences in the book, and how much the other places I&#x27;d been to (Laos, Cambodia etc) probably felt more like the book.<p>I went to the Koh San Road a couple of years ago and really couldn&#x27;t believe how much it had changed. The islands as well. In the early 00s, I was amazed at how connected Asia (Thailand in particular) was compared to the UK - I had a small web business, I could email pretty much every day (obviously phones weren&#x27;t connected back then), there were Internet cafes _everywhere_. But now it was like a late 90s Ibiza - the chilled &#x27;watch a pirated movie in the evening with a beer&#x2F;smoothie&#x27; vibe had totally been replaced with music, booze and nitrous oxide balloons. 24 hour party.<p>I think even now the book would be a great read - particularly if you&#x27;d never holidayed in Asia. But times have changed, and Niven&#x27;s comparisons at the end of the article are pretty apt. It&#x27;ll be interesting to see how the further future looks back at stuff like this. Everything moves so quickly and periods like this are just so _fleeting_. Fitzgerald and Hemingway - it sort of seems like you can place them anywhere in a period of like a hundred years. But books like The Beach - you&#x27;re thinking, &quot;right, this is after Gameboy, but before mobile phones and Google...&quot; Anyone younger than me read it and have thoughts? If you&#x27;ve been the Thailand or not?<p>I&#x27;m getting old. :-\