First of all...it was the early 80's.Thailand may well have changed...for the better...since then.Basically,it was hot,dusty,poor and very "Asian" (meaning foreign).I'm not certain but I think it was my first experience with Asia (Japan,Hong Kong,Singapore,etc came much later).Actually,I now recall that it was just after my *very* first experience with Asia,India...which I hated (I was on a special Pan Am "Around the World" fare).It was my first exposure to Third World poverty and I was absolutely shocked,stunned and deeply unsettled by it.
So I guess my dislike for Thailand might have been a residual of my frightening stay in India.
My first friend who was in Thailand was there during the Vietnam unpleasantness (Harold Conover, if you’re out there please check in). He absolutely adored the place, loved the people, loved the food, learned the language, etc.
He introduced me to Thai food, and taught me a little Thai, making me something of a rarity, someone who speaks some Thai (with a good accent), but has never been to Thailand...
Perhaps in the 13 months he was there, he was able to see past the economic poverty? He also didn’t have any earlier experiences to sour him on travel and discordant cultures, and came to it as a clean slate.
Now that I think about it mostly the Americans I know who who were there spent more that a few days or weeks, whether on deployment, or studying, or setting up or running a factory.