Sin City in the News

Today's song is actually a commercial Beyonce does for a perfume. This is main stream media in developed countries. Watch it before reading my post today to put my comments in perspective.

Pattaya hit the national news in Thailand after a video surfaced on the internet of an 'Asian' girl giving a BJ to an 'Asian' man in one of the bars on Walking Street. Not that this is unusual but doing it out in the open where it can be shot on video is just plain stupid. The GoPro camera is rapidly altering shooting video on the sly. I have seen many gawkers with the camera attached to their wrist in place of a watch. There is even a nice black model that is even less conspicuous. They point and shoot.

It is interesting that the news referred to the individuals involved as Asians. Rumor has it that is was a Korean man and a 22 year old Thai girl but the Political Correct spin is to save face by referring to both of them as Asians. No doubt the girl was drunk and was offered an inordinate amount of cash to do the deed in the open. Some gawker took advantage of the situation to make a splash on the internet. There are quite a few discrete BJ bars throughout Bangkok and Pattaya. Not sure what the gawker was trying to accomplish, however most bars ban photographs and videos being shot in their bars to prevent this public embarrassment in Thailand.

Unfortunately Walking Street is becoming like Bourbon Street in New Orleans ... a tourist destination for gawkers. The tour buses drop off the gawkers (mainly Asians) and they walk up and down the street expecting to be entertained by the goings on. Of course, selfies and videos are in order to share on their Facebook page back home. Not unlike we northerners who headed south in search of a tan to show off when we returned from our winter vacation.

IMHO, there will be a swift reaction by the authorities to save face by pressing charges in public. Prostitution is actually illegal in Thailand. Who would have thought it?

Thavorn and I were watching a video of Beyonce on tour and Thavorn asked why Beyonce was on stage in her bra and panties. Thavorn was shocked as no Thai girl (bar girl or otherwise) would do such a thing. We live in interesting times.

Many young Thai women are just being exposed to the internet with their the purchase of their first smart phone. They have probably never used a computer and their number one app is Facebook. It is amazing what gets posted to Thai Facebook pages. Very explicit sex. I can't help but think that these same young women feel that this is the norm. Perhaps it is the new norm.

I personally think Beyonce's commercial is worse than the BJ video that has just surfaced. The effect that Beyonce has on young women has a far greater reach. Who is the bigger prostitute ... some young Thai girl making 2000 Baht to send home to help support her children or Beyonce hauling in yet another million for flashing her body in public.

TTYL

Sin City

Pattaya is often referred to as 'Sin City' but it pretty much is similar to Bangkok. This is a great video of 'Walking Street', the main red light district in Pattaya. What makes it interesting is you get to see the gawkers and punters as much as the bar girls. There is everything to see from the Lady Boys (if you can spot them) to the Russian hookers who are threatening to take over Pattaya.

The easiest and cheapest method of getting to Pattaya is to take the bus that runs about every 90 mins from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya. It takes about 90 mins and costs about $5. I usually stay at a cheap hotel that is on the left side of at the end of "Walking Street'. Sorry, can never remember the name ... it is about $50 a night, and has a nice pool for your afternoon swim. They have a website at: http://windyinn-pattaya.com/ . I guess the name is the WindyInn :-) Highly recommended as you can walk to everything!

TTYL

Hump Day

Today's song is 'Wake Me Up' ... just because ...

It is Wednesday and Thavorn and I agree it is good to be back in our apartment ... much easier to entertain Jaidan and keep him happy.

Has it ever occurred to you that the world is getting more stupid? Think about the Darwinian aspect of it. Smart well educated people usually limit themselves to 1 or 2 children while the uneducated masses, with lots of time on their hands procreate readily. In warm climates there is no penalty for being stupid as there is in the colder climates. Back in the 1800's in Canada and much of Northern Europe, if you were not smart enough to prepare for winter then you simply froze to death and the smart prevailed.

Nowadays with the welfare states that these northern harsh climates have evolved into, there is no penalty to be paid for being stupid or lazy. Big government and liberal policies will look after you. It seems that it is even better to have lots of kids because the government will give you more money.

This theory could even explain why the middle class is shrinking and the rich are getting richer.

At some point though, government runs out of money and then you end up with a situation like the Fall of the Roman Empire where you have the masses to entertain and keep fed and fewer resources to do it with.

We don't even have plagues or world wars nowadays to kill off the stupid folks. I think it was Forrest who said that "Stupid is as Stupid Does"

The interesting thing to me about the Forrest Gump movie is that I have seen it many times but never watched it from end to end. One of these days I must set aside enough time to really appreciate the movie.

Nowadays politicians have it easy as they the electorate has been dumbed down and will believe just about anything. 

Whoa now ... not sure where those thoughts came from ... definitely not politically correct ... the PC police may find me out :-)

I try to learn something new everyday ... if I don't, I somehow feel I have cheated myself. My biggest concern is expressed by the wise man whose biggest regret was that he could not always remember what he knows ... been there.

TTYL

Back in Bangkok

Today's song is The Monster ... because Jaidan was a monster on the flight home! (Eminem and Rhianna)

Another Take on 'One Night in Bangkok'

We knew we were in trouble when Jaidan slept the 45 min taxi ride to the airport. He did entertain the stewardess's while the plane was boarding but 15 minutes into the flight he just wanted to be free to roam the plane and when constrained he decided to let the plane know he was not happy. Kind of reminded me of Jordan when he was that age.

We eventually made home and there is no place like home no matter how humble.

It appears the travel era is over for Japanese and South Koreans. I used to see them all the time but while there are still many Japanese punters in Bangkok (they have their own clubs, no farangs allowed) you don't see Japanese and South Korean tourists like you used to.

Instead we have Chines tourists and they appear to travel in couples or the standard, 2 parents, one child family that the state mandates. I find that the Chines I talked to had decent English and really wanted to meet people from outside China. This can only be good for China in the long run.

I met an interesting teacher who teaches in the Caribbean and is new to Bangkok. A kid in a candy shop. I offered to show him around tomorrow (Wednesday) and it will be interesting to see if he shows up or is already out of money. 'No money, no honey' is many bar girls mantra. It is a business after all and punters should never forget that. He has a Canadian teacher friend who is flying in Tuesday to meet up with him. It would be good to talk to a fellow Canadian for a change.

Father's day in Canada has come and gone and my daughter Jaime remembered :-)

TTYL

Monday in Krabi

Today's song is: Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen ... a favorite

Our trip to Don Mueang ended up with a bit of a problem. The taxi driver had jammed my suitcase into the trunk of his car and the trunk refused to open once we arrived at the airport. I always allow time for stuff like this to happen so it was interesting to watch the level of cooperation among airport security and countless taxi drivers (at one count 12 people working on the problem) solve the problem. Luckily, most taxis are Toyota Corollas and this had happened to at least one of them before. Off came the right rear taillight and many skinny little Thai arms tried snaking by my suitcase to get to the manual lock release. This took many arms and about 45 minutes. Nok Air staff noticed the ruckus and pushed us through ticketing while we waited. They were first class and said they would forward the suitcase if it did not make it out of the trunk in time. Luckily and with Thai ingenuity we boarded on time.

My grand plan to fly at 10 am in the hopes that Jaidan would sleep during the 90 minute flight fell through and and over tired Jaidan bounced up and down on Thavorm and I for the whole flight. However, he did fall asleep while we were in the taxi from Krabi airport to Ao Nang Beach.

Our room at the Pakasai Resort had its problems as our aircon started leaking at 10 pm and 3 guys showed up to see it fixed. That woke up Jaidan as well and 1 hour later they left with Jaidan still awake. I complained the next day as the aircon could not be regulated and our room was an ice cube until I switched it off at 1 am.  The resort upgraded our room so it turned out okay.

Here are some pics:

Yours truly working on this blog in Krabi ....

Jaidan and Poppa at Ao Nang Board Walk

Momma taking a pic of her 150 Baht RayBan knockoffs.

Poppa disembarking from the Thai long boat.

Railay Beach

Jaidan enjoying being out of his diaper for a few moments.

Thavorn with her hair up for a change.

Thavorn trying to get Jaidan to look at the camera.

TTYL

Hump Day in Bangkok

Toady's song is by Jefferson Airplane ... White Rabbit ...

I suppose that 'hump day' in Bangkok could be everyday :-) but in North America it is Wednesday, middle of the week. Thavorn and I are a little bored so I booked a trip to Krabi which is one of my favorite places in Thailand. It is the rainy season so prices are low. I have mentioned that rainy season is no big deal, other than it may rain for an hour at some time during the 24 hours. Not too worry as the sun will pop out soon. So take advantage of rainy season when visiting Thailand ...

Our air fares total 4,400 Baht for Thavorn and I and of course Jaidan flies free. So that is $160 CDN return. Try that in North America! We are staying at the Pakasai for $53 Us a night but that includes breakfast which is a full buffet. Again, try that in North America!

http://www.agoda.com/pakasai-resort/hotel/krabi-th.html?asq=4PKQiI2%2bZBFTmLf13EYBG3uuPAiDeqY8TR0nb11St5Lmc6SyTH6QTSgepQP4y0th%2fiP4kKBLBpgbBD6E8YsPzNc%2fb4wvqG3VLsUeedAZOSj4b3t126sYi%2bYRAg6FXkBYgFhK3fQ%2bmty8mVP%2brY99zu3Q9t5jQMXf%2fgFEPiHFyuA%3d&cid=1646620&tag=f62e58d6-fa37-4e6d-b7ef-2cc924616b16

One of the benefits of travelling in Asia is the cheap airfares. They are cheap because there are no unions guaranteeing stewardess's are paid $60K plus pensions or pilots get over $200K plus pensions. Not too worry, the planes pretty well fly themselves :-)

I like to stay at Au Nang Beach in Krabi,

Map of Ao Nang Beach Area of Krabi

Ocean View of Ao Nang Beach

for a variety of reasons. Good range of hotels, Starbucks, McDonalds, etc. There are some great Thai sea food restaurants right on the beach and there is no better place for dining while the sun sets while drinking Strawberry Daiquiris (girly drinks, but i love them in the tropics). Krabi is very popular with Scandinavian Countries so lots of blonde folks. Not too many Russians :-)

The beach is not great for swimming but Railay Beach is a short longboat hop away.

Typical Thai longboat

Railay Beach ... crystal clear and warm turquoise waters

The flight is 90 mins from Bangkok ... so no big deal. Highly recommended!!!

TTYL

Hangover Bangkok

Today's song is I Gotta Feelin ... by the Black Eyed Peas .. pretty well the theme song of many dance bars in Bangkok.

While I am it here is a 3 minute video of a tour called Hangover Bangkok (12 bars in one night) that tries to replicate the movie of the same name.

Personally I would not recommend a tour as it is pretty safe to hit the 4 red light areas by yourself ... Queens Park (Soi 22), Soi Cowboy (Soi 23), Nana, (Soi 4) and Pat Pong (Silom Road). However I would recomend that you leave your hotel with 10,000 Baht and no credit or bank cards, not that you would get ripped off, but to protect yourself from yourself. Bangkok is addicting and it is easy to get carried away. Refrain from buying too many lady drinks and remember, no matter how sexy and alluring the girl is, there is one better and more friendly in the next bar.

Refrain from saying that you are in Bangkok for the week ... instead it is easier to say you live and work in Bangkok as the girls know that you know the ropes and will treat you appropriately. Don't feel bad about not telling the truth as Thais believe it is okay to lie to save face and make life's journey a little bit more pleasant. 

TTYL

Jaidan Feeding

Today's songs are by Lady Gaga ... You've gotta love her attitude.

Poker Face

Just Dance

I have finished my bottle of Johnie Walker's Red Label (lots of monkey programming) so I just bought a bottle of Dewars White Label ... another Scotch Scotch ... Does any other country produce scotch?

It was a quiet Monday. I continue to get up at 6 am, change Jaidan, feed him, and then bath him. He is usually back asleep about 9 ish for an hour.

Jaidan likes to feed himself. I kind of create a buffet for him. I heat up some ham, then cut it up into cm cubed size, cut up some extra sharp cheese, same size, give him a slice of fresh bread, some grape juice and then finish off with a little bit of strawberry yogurt I leave for him after I eat 4/5 ths of it. All this goes onto his tray and he helps himself for 30 mins while I watch Fox and CNN news on TV.

Not bad for a 10 month old boy.

Pics below:

Is there any more in here I can eat?

Yeppers

All gone

Finger licking good

TTYL

Rihana Popular in Bangkok

There is a popular bar on Soi 22 (my street) called Titanium that features an all girl band as well as an ice bar. Ice bars seem to be peculiar to Asia. Anyways, you go upstairs to the third floor and a dude in winter hat sits behind the ice bar. The deal goes down like this .. you place your hand on the ice bar and whoever takes their hand off first buys the round of drinks (vodka of course). This is an easy win for a Canadian as the Thai girls are cold just walking in .. when they put their hand on the ice bar they never last more than 30 seconds. Highly recommended to break the ice with a new Thai lady ...

Rihanna is very popular in the clubs in Bangkok and I really like her music especially when she pairs up with Eminem btw did you know Eminem is in spell check .. you know you have made it when ...

Shakira and Rihanna

Thavorn's favrite song ... mine too

Monster

What's my Name ... Question I always ask bar girl before buying her a drink.

Love the Way You Lie

TTYL

Daily Life Pics

Another Pussycat Dolls Song ...

Time for some pics:

Thavorn doing her Thai girl smart phone thing while Jaidan plays under the seats at Don Muang Airport in Bangkok.

Thavorn in my programming chair.

My friend Sa at her cooking stall in Soi Cowboy. Sa worked for over 20 years at Soi Cowboy and I have known her for 5 of those years.

My noodle soup made for me by Sa at Cowboy.

Band # 1 at Country Road at Soi Cowboy

Our meal at the Sheraton on Saturday ... a Farang meal is a treat.

Typical Thai meal by Thavorn at home.

Thavorn and Jaidan in a happy moment

Jaidan in a not so happy moment

Learning to walk in his new shoes.

Saturday

Today's song is all about girls and fun which sums up Saturday Night in Bangkok, City of Angels.

This video (13 mins) describes 25 things to do on a Saturday in bangkok. A little too much shopping for me ... but then again, many tourists seem to enjoy the shopping.

TTYL

Political Correctness

Kudos to Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock for taking a stand against Political Correctness. I would argue that anyone who champions PC has no sense of humour. PC is always correct, does not like criticism, believes strongly in generational entitlement, and denigrates and attacks institutions.

Today's song is Universal Soldier written by Buffy Saint-Marie, a Canadian .. she tells the story behind the song and then sings it.

However, it was Donovan who made the song famous.

Universal Soldier is an antiwar song with a simplistic argument that war can't happen if soldiers don't fight. That is a very leftist opinion (currently championed by Obama) and every boy in the schoolyard knows that if you don't stand up to the schoolyard bully ... nothing good will come from it ... only more bullying. 

 “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” 
― Edmund Burke

PC is championed on College Campuses and left wing poltical parties. Unfortunately conservationists and climate change experts are firmly entrenched in PC.

However, the left wing media who champion PC are often willing to overlook their brand of PC when main stream religions, institutions and men are lampooned.

It is okay for a woman to criticize male rednecks but not okay for a male to criticize a femme nazi.

My favorite example is the TV commercial that portrays a tool-smart woman belittling her male partner for not being able to operate an electric drill. Men are stupid and women are smart ... that is how the media portrays the genders.

I have become fascinated with US politics as I get good news coverage on it in Bangkok. It will be interesting to see if Hillary wins the 2016 election just because she is female. The PC left managed to elect Obama despite the fact he had no experience in running anything, never mind the most powerful government ib the world. I was in Florida attending a conference when Obama won the election. Most of the black staff at the conference were clustered around the TV monitors and cheered when Obama won. Unfortunately, they are not cheering now as blacks in the US are worse off now then before Obama was elected. However, because the PC leftist media are never wrong they continue to give Obama a free ride as I am sure they will Hillary.

“Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods." ― Edmund Burke

I lost all respect for Hillary when she did not ditch Bill after his affair with Monica. Imagine getting publicly blown in the Oval Office and getting away with it. If you have been following their Clinton Foundation scheming you would know the PC leftist media are still giving Hillary a free ride because the end (getting the first woman elected as President) justifies the means (refusing to criticize).

This is not a rant, just an observation on what I think is happening in America and I am sure Canada is no better.

“Never apologise for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologise for the truth.” 

― Edmund Burke

TTYL

Less We Forget

Woodstock happened in 1969 and yours truly was 18 and was invited by a group of friends to head south for this music happening. It is a major regret in my life that I did not go. What a missed opportunity! It is not the things I have done in my life that I regret ... It is the things I did not do! I am making up for all those things now. One must remember that life is not a dress rehearsal ... you only go around once ... unless you are a Buddhist ... which may explain why they are so laid back .. and live in the present. I did some digging and found some great videos from 69 .. Bryan Adams (a fellow Canadian) had it right in his song ... Summer of 69 :-)

Joni Mitchell ... Iconic Woodstock Song

Jefferson Airplane

Joe Cocker

Janis Joplin

Canned Heat

Jimi Hendrix

The Band - Best Unknown Band

Canned Heat

Crosby Stills and Nash

Santana

Country Joe

The Who

Willie ... Why Not?

After a night out at Country Road, I could not help but play a little Country music. My look-a-like Willie Nelson has performed with many different artists over the years. Here is a potpourris (small sampling) of some of those performances. I think Willie has an eye for pretty girls!

Willie alone ... a favourite

Willie and Cheryl

Willy and a fellow Canadian

Willie and Keith

Willie and Julio

The late Johnny Cash

The late BB King

I hope you enjoyed listening :-)

Monday, Monday

Kind of reminds me of the song by the Momma's and the Poppa's. I don't think I have any of their songs on my favourite's list. However I think Steppenwolf's 'Born to be Wild" is fitting today.

It was 1969 and I was 19 year's old with a 69 Triumph 650 and a gf with the biggest jugs this side of silicon valley. Easy Rider was a hit movie and I rode my bike with Jugs on the back to go see it. Life was good!

Thavorn, Jaidan and I headed out about 4:30 pm to rendezvous for a couple of vodka and orange juices and a chat with the staff who had not seen Jaidan for about 10 days and needed a Jaidan fix. After an hour or so we headed off to Soi Cowboy to sit at Country Road and watch the bar girls start to arrive for their first performance at 7 pm.

Country Road affords a good view of the comings and goings of bar girls as it sits at the BTS (SkyTrain) and MRT (Subway) end of Soi Cowboy. We ordered a couple of Singha's and Jaidan drank down his grape juice to keep up his fluid intake in the heat. After about 15 mins, Thavorn got bored (bar girls not as appealing to her) and headed inside to play pool with the best pool girl (actually 55 years of age) employed at Country Road. Pool is 20 baht (60 cents) a game and usually the loser pays unless you are playing staff. Thavorn lost the first game and the third but ended up winning 4 games to 2. Not bad for my protege who had never played pool before she met me. We now usually split our games against one another.

After an hour, I ventured inside to listen to the band that started up about 6:30. Jaidan, who had fallen asleep woke up and he always likes to listen to the music. Of course most of the band knows him and says hello. Many of the bar staff try to take Jaidan from me, but tonight he wished to stay put with Poppa for some reason. As it turns out, he was coming down with something and we were up all night with his fever. We left Country Road about 8:30 pm and caught a taxi home to put Jaidan in bed by 9 pm.

The best thing about Bangkok is there is always something to do, no matter your appetite or budget. Anyone into middle age, never mind old age, will find it difficult to find a social life in Canada unless you are into the Tim Horto's coffee club in the mornings. I have my choice of well over 50 bars within walking distance where I never feel out of place and always feel welcomed. Life is more than good!

It is much easier raising Jaidan because I do not have to worry about getting up the next morning and going to work. We end up sleeping when he does. Not a bad life.

I programmed a bit this morning and had a couple of glasses of Red Label. Not sure if that makes me an alcoholic but it does amuse me while I program. I put some tunes on and it's party time o the key board.

TTYL,

Jimmy

Sitting on the Corner

Today's song is The House of the Rising Sun. I saw it performed live in concert in Ottawa of all places. I must admit I sympathize with the lyrics.

I am creating a new software project these days and I decided to use a noSQL database combined with local storage so it can be used without an internet connection as well as online. It is always interesting learning new things (or meeting new bar girls) but I am over the learning curve now ... into what I call the monkey work. If I was in a medium size software development company I would now hand it off to a junior programmer but alas, I am all alone except for grasshopper (Brent) the tester and our interface to the customers at large.

I have developed a coping mechanism over the years. If it is remotely interesting monkey work I buy a bottle of red wine and sit down and get it done as quickly as possible, because without doubt ... the user interface will change often before the software is out the door.

If the specs are pretty loose and I am really developing a prototype and the money work is really boring, I resort to drinking cheap scotch whisky. However .. my cupboard was bare so I convinced Thavorn to walk to the 7/11 on the corner. Thavorn agreed as she needed to stock up on vegetables and there is a mini market with at least 30 types of vegetables on display. Thais are pretty well omnivores and eat just about anything that grows or moves. So off she went in search of vegetables and Jaidan and I went to 7/11 in search of cheap scotch.

I spied a bottle of Johnny Walker's Red Label and it was only 900 baht or $30 so I asked for it but was tricked once again by the fact that you can't buy booze between 2 pm and 5 pm and it was 4:35 pm so Jaidan and I retired to the corner to sit and watch the world pass us by for 25 mins.

Motorbikes out number cars by 3:1 and if you don't count taxis, probably 4:1 so there is lots to see from pretty ladies on motor bikes, to Katoey's on motor bikes to families of 5 on a 125 cc motor bike. Of course there is always the people haulers, the half ton pickup trucks with 20 people standing in the truck bed. The police pretty well ignore most traffic violations.

I noticed that the Soi 22 Sauna (tin shack multiple residences) has been torn down and another condo is going up. That means the migrant workers (probably about 1,000) have been moved to another Sauna (named because there is no aircon) somewhere close by, but it will be quieter on Soi 22 now. Migrants are hired because they only get paid $20 a day vs the minimum wage of $30 a day for Thais.

Time for reflection is good and we should all reserve more time for it. Now that I am into my second glass of scotch I am reflecting an amiable glow and feeling more inclined to monkey work! After about 7 glasses, the wanderlust sets in and it is a good thng Thavorn and Jaidan are around to reign me in.

BTW, I program on a Lenova ThinkPad Ultrabook with a waterproof (and Scotch proof) keyboard. Highly recommended when you have monkey work to do.

TTYL

Jaidan and Thavorn Back Home

Today's song is Don't Forget Me ... Chili Peppers

Jaidan and Thavorn are on the bus on their way back from the village to Bangkok, which is about a 4 hour journey. I am anxious to see if Jaidan missed me and to see his reaction when he gets back. Hopefully he gets used to being without me for short periods of time. The next time is 28 days from mid August to mid September when I am back in Canada. It is my guess that Thavorn will head back to the village for at least half that time.

It was interesting to note that Tavorn complained about the heat this time. Most rural Thais do not have aircon but Thavorn is getting used to the 26 degrees we keep in the condo. She has also become very used to taking a hot bath and the cold showers were probably a shock to her back in the village.

Apparently Jaidan has quite a few red ant bites. They hang out in the bedroom we sleep in. I know, because last time they dined on me.

There are some interesting acronyms that float around the bar scene. My favorite is WATM's (walking ATMs) which is how the bar girls often view farangs. I invented my own ... MR's (mobile refrigerators) which I use to describe farang women who visit Thailand ... big, square, and cold :-) Many punters refer to Thai women as LBFM's. I will leave it to you to come up with the meaning

I did get out to a few bars during the week and not much has changed. Crazy House is still crazy (mostly young sharks) and Dollhouse is still going strong. The girls at Dollhouse are older and much easier to talk to. Country Road still has a nice mix of pool, music, and older ladies. Great place to relax. These bars are all at Soi Cowboy.

I bumped into an old friend (Sa) who worked Soi Cowboy for 15 years before retiring. She now runs a food cart during the day at Cowboy, selling noodle soup to the girls working the bars. I bought her a beer and chatted for a while. Her English husband is now living with her in Bangkok on a retirement visa. I was surprised to find that Sa brings in an average of 1,000 Baht a day which is 30,000 Baht a month or 10,000 more than your typical Thai university graduate.

Nana is still popular at all hours and Hillary 4 is still a great place to have an afternoon beer, play some pool, and people watch.

TTYL

Conversations

Today's song is a segue into today's topic

I have had some free time on my hands so I have met some new bar girls and thought I would show what I have learned. Mostly, nothing new. There are three types of bar girls, gogo dancers, coyote dancers, industry workers, etc.

Type 1 is the older (28+) girl who has been repeatedly let down by one or two Thai boyfriends or husbands and either through economic necessity or boredom with an existing minimum wage/maximum hours job wants to try something different. Sometimes the husband or boyfriend has died but most of the time, he has cheated on her, or is lazy and never keeps a job, or is hooked on drugs, or constantly cheats on the girl (butterfly). I must admit I have an affinity for these girls as they are tired of riding a dead horse and are willing to try something new, albeit, a little bit scary for them. The best of the industry IMHO.

Type 2 is the younger bar girl who has been exposed to the internet and understands that a lot of money can be made and their major driving force is greed. These are the sharks of the industry and are not to be trusted. They seem to enjoy the excitement of the bar scene and like to brag about their new Rado watch that some customer just bought for them. They are often very narcistic and often have some loser Thai boyfriend who is living the high life with them and can be seen dropping them off at the bar. Avoid at all costs.

Type 3 is the coyote dancer who almost aways wears the skimpy little shorts and tops and are invariabley 18 - 24. They seldom go with customers and earn their money by the fools that pay 300 baht for the privilege of talking with them for 15 mintes until their next dance is scheduled. They are often university girls that are out earning extra cash. They will go with a younger good looking, athletic farang but be prepared to pay big bucks. Ignore them.

There is arguably a Type 4 - Katoey's but I have yet to have a conversation with but a few and I really do not know what motivates them.

TTYL

Back in the Village

I will warn you that today's song is long ... about 18 mins ... the year is 1967

Or a shorter song

Thavorn decided to take Jaidan to her village to give me a break and also let her extended family see how much he is grown. I will use this week to do a little programming as well as learn some new stuff. I am a big believer in trying to learn something new each and every day.

I also plan on doing some things like playing pool and visiting some bars. This is the first time that Thavorn has had enough trust in Jimmy to leave me alone for 5 days. Most of this distrust comes her experience with Thai males as well as observing the behavior of punters in the bars.

Thavorn knows I like to go to the bars to see old friends and meet new friends that I find interesting. The fact that these friends are bar girls is not all that important as long as I behave myself. behaving myself means going to bed at night by myself and no sexual behavior.

Truth be told, it is hard for me to be bad as so many in the bar industry know Thavorn, Jaidan, and myself that word of my misbehavior  would quickly get back to Thavorn. 'Where is baby?' is the usual greeting I get from most of the Thais that know me ... if only just to see me.

I am a little worried that Jaidan will be cranky back in the village. He is quite attached to his papa (at the hip) and will miss me. He is also more mobile and is quick to explore his environment and put anything and everything into his mouth. As mentioned before, living in the village is like camping out back in Canada.

Hopefully Jaidan will survive and end up back in Bangkok safe and sound.

TTYL