Alberto has scanned some 30,000 of his Photobank images, mostly on Thailand, and has an additional 20,000 on film. What are his plans for this unique collection? “Good question,” he replies. “If there’s a bulk buyer, I’d sell the whole lot.” Like many of his contemporaries, Alberto likes to reflect on Bangkok in the 70s and remembers the good times. “Everything was so cheap. Back then, you could rent a house for 3,500 baht a month. Today, that same house would cost 35,000 baht – or more. “You could even get cheaper accommodation like the Starlight Hotel on Sukhumvit 22. It cost just one dollar a night – and Luca and I shared a room! “Patpong was fun back then, and the marketing was very smart. Bars charged so little for lady drinks, and customers would buy lots of them. Now they charge 150 baht or even more for a lady drink, so it’s not fun anymore.” Alberto doesn’t frequent the more upmarket nightlife haunts either after a nasty incident involving a well-known Thai model. “She got me to dance with her to make her boyfriend jealous. It was a set-up. And it worked – he punched me and then as I left he pulled a gun on me. I’ve never been back.” Luca’s death from cancer was traumatic. “It was terrible losing my very close friend after all those years. He was a big smoker – the last thing he’d do at night was smoke, and he’d wake up the next morning to continue smoking.” Alberto has two sons, Stefano (23) and Lorenzo (16) from a past marriage. He visits Italy whenever he feels homesick “about once a year” but plans to stay in Thailand for the long-term. Most weekends are spent at the Varuna Yacht Club in Pattaya, where Alberto has been a member and regular sailor for many years. These days, he only takes photos for friends and keeps busy otherwise with his website www.photobangkok.com
TheBigChilli
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