Yup - there was literally nothing. I vaguely remember staying in a crap hotel plonked right in the middle of 'nowhere', not another building around, visiting a school to watch kids perform a dance routine they must have practised a thousand times for people like me, going to a shocking restaurant - I can still remember that clearly. Also, buying fire crackers, and going to a 'shopping mall' which looked like it had recently been looted. E.g - One TV on a shelf, with other random assortments scattered about in no particular order.

And then the next thing I know - boom! Unprecedented growth and commerce. A seriously 'blink and you miss it' kind of place.