Don't be worried that the place has lost its soul though. Dig beneath the thin veneer of progress and you'll see the place has retained the raucous, gritty charm that made it famous: the sprawling neon signs that light up the street at night are still here, as are pushy tuk-tuk drivers, street vendors peddling everything from fried insects to croaking ornamental frogs, and drunken revellers, lost in the neon glare, staggering its length late into the night. And lets not forget the common and yet still compelling sight of bewildered new arrivals hunting frantically for a place to rest before sundown, or of strutting Thai beauties prowling the streets in search of a new 'tee-rak' (loved one).