Today's song is: If It Makes You Happy .. Sheryl Crow
I went for my morning run and and 7 laps into it when I felt the familiar twinge of a cramp in my left calf muscle. Hoping it would disappear I ran on another 25 steps and then had to walk. From past experience, this was going to take 4 days off my running schedule. Boo hiss.
On a better note, one of Thavorn's friends dropped by to say hello and when I walked out of the house to see who it was she exclaimed, 'Jimmy skinny now!'. It is nice to know that the hard work has paid off, but I am not yet at my university football playing weight of 189 pounds. I was never ale to break 190 back then but have no trouble doing it now, however dipping under 190 is proving elusive, but I will make it.
Shortly before one of Thavorn's lady boy friends dropped by to say hello as well. She/he works down in Pattaya. First chubby lady boy I have met.
Much to my dismay Jaidan if chowing back on fried chicken feet and has already devoured 2 of them. There is no doubt that he is half Thai.
Thavorn and I went to the local market that sets up on the Buddhist temple grounds and bought about 5 kilos of pork. The Thai lady assured us the pic had been butchered just that morning, and indeed, the meat was still warm to the touch, but that may have just been the afternoon sun. The next time I go I will take some pics and post them.
We also obtained some red grapes and the freshest 'Red Delicious' apples that I have obtained in Asia. They rivaled the freshest one I can get in Canada. I wondered where the old Thai man obtained them. They certainly are not that fresh in the supermarkets of Bangkok.
I am reading some more of Robin Hobbs Fantasy novels (ships series). Thanks to my daughter Jaime for sending me the e-copies as I could not find anything in Bangkok bookstores before I left for teh village. When it comes to browsing the bars or browsing the book stores I am afraid that the bars won out :-)
Jaidan and I toured the village on the motorbike yesterday and noticed there are many, many more girls in the village than usual. Many of the working girls would have returned to the village for Mother's day which was Thursday, and the Queens birthday which was Friday, giving them a 4 day weekend and a break from the bars. If you were in the bars over this weekend you would have noticed far fewer girls and mostly just the young ones without children of their own.
I am getting eaten alive by the mosquitoes ans noseeums (not sure what they call them here in Thailand, but we Canadians call them that).
On a more serious note, Thailand has been rocked by 11 explosions with at least 4 people dead and many injured. Most of these were in the south around Phuket but one major one was in Hua Hin, 2 hours from Bangkok. About 10 farangs were injured. Rumor has it that the Muslim rebels in Southern Thailand are behind the bombings and are trying to embarrass the government and hurt tourism.
No doubt, countries will be suggesting tourists not go to Thailand but consider the odds. There were 30 million visitors to Thailand in 2015 and maybe 50 farang deaths. Those are pretty good odds and if you adopt the herd mentality you can feel safe in Thailand. Probably a better chance of dying in a traffic accident. However, karma and destiny being what they are, when you time is up ...
It still amazes me how accepting Thai parents and boyfriends are of their daughters and girlfriends working in the bar industry. It has taken me years to come to grips with how duty to family trumps duty to self. Life in a fun bar is also probably a lot more exciting than village life to a young girl. I know what I find more entertaining :-) There are quite a few books written on the topic with 'Private Dancer' being the most common read. I find most of these books dwell on the failures rather than success stories. At some moment in time and space I will attempt to cover (write a book) the successes, spending more time on the motivations and rewards behind the successes. I have built up quite a few relationships that I can tap into for personal interviews. It would be a good read.
Today's song is: One Night in Bangkok .. Abba and Murray .. listen to the lyrics .. so true!
Lots of time for reflection on my 10 days in Bangkok. My number on reflection is: If you an't have fun in Bangkok then there is something wrong with you. My second reflection is: You really can get carried away with the too much fun. I would guess it is similar to the rush you get on drugs. My third reflection is: If you can control yourself then Bangkok is living the dream :-)
Meanwhile, back in the village, life is pretty much the same, so I anticipate getting back into my morning run and some chair exercises early in the morning before it gets too hot. I think I will have to buy a gym membership once I am back in Bangkok on September 1st. It was very difficult to get back into shape, but once in shape, it is much easier to stay in shape then repeat all the work to get back there.
Thavorn and I have our birthdays coming up in September, me on the 23rd and Thavorn on the 24th. We are also both year of the tiger so it was karma we meet. We will celebrate at the Marriott Beach Club resort in Phuket, which reminds me I have to purchase the air tickets soon.
In October, I have my wing-man Shaun flying into Bangkok for some clubbing. Then, far in the future, business partner with wife will visit in February of next year. My only wish at this moment is that more of my friends from Canada would come visit me in Thailand. They are so conventional I doubt that will happen. I can't understand why they are not willing to take a walk on the wild side before departing this life.
BTW, if any readers of this blog would like a guide around Bangkok, I would be happy to oblige :-)
Today's song is: Up Where We Belong .. Joe Cocker .. authored by Buffy
I was awake early at 5:30 am, showered and decided to head off about 6:30 to the North Eastern Bus Terminal in Bangkok. I usually take a taxi there but this time, because I was early, I decided to take the BTS to the Mo Chit terminus and then try a taxi or motorcycle taxi to get to the bus terminal which I thought was fairly close, and is as the crow flies, but unfortunately I am not a crow.
There was a motorcycle taxi driver floating around and he seemed eager to solicit my ride, which should have been a warning sign to me. I accepted the ride but neglected to ask his price which I would normally do in this type of situation. The good news is I got to the terminal fast, but the bad news is he wanted 300 baht when it should have been about 100 baht. I decided it was not worth the effort, especially as I knew better, and should have cleared the price first.
I also arrived just in time to catch the 7:40 bus to Wichian Buri which put me in about 11:30 and Thavorn was waiting at the drop off area to drive me to the village on her motorbike.
So I am back in the village much to the delight of Jaidan and the many red ants that live around the house. For some reason, the little buggers love chomping back on farang flesh.
The first item of the day, was to unpack my 34 inch curved Samsung monitor and I am back in productivity heaven. I can't believe how dependent I have become on it. Highly recommended.
Thavorn is frying up some pork for me and I will add some rice and a bit of hot sauce. This is pretty standard fare for me in the village. She added some bbq'ed asparagus .. yummy as my Russian friends were wont to say.
Yesterday's post mentioned how the younger bar girls are much more business savvy than the previous generation and after a little bit of thought I realized we have the internet and smart phones to thank for that. More power o the young ladies but boo hiss to the Japanese that are so willing to pay any price. If they only knew what the Thai girls thought of them .. 333's
Today's song is: Honky Tonk Women .. Cheryl and Mick
I have spent the last week exploring the Bangkok bars under belly. I chat with bar girls I know as well as new ones. What I have seen is some changes.
Young bar girls have entered the industry and they are different than before as they are their from choice, not because they have babies to support. They are not all that interested in the Cinderella story of finding a Farang to look after them. What they are interested in is a short term liaison for 2 hours at the rate of $3000 baht. They figure their youth and good looks demand that amount and most punters, especially the Japanese are willing to pay it. Many work part-time, only on the weekends.
Considering that university grads haul in less than 30,000 baht a month, these bar girls earn 90,000 baht a month for a couple of hours work. It is not hard to understand the attraction for young girls. Remember, their religion does not condemn them for indulging in the oldest profession.
Older bar girls (greater than 30 years of age) still live the dream of finding a farang to support them but I also ran into a fair number who have had failed farang relationships for many, many reasons are have moved to short term encounters to avoid the resulting relationships than seem to happen when they pull an all-nighter with breakfast. However, the fee for short term is usually less (2,000 baht) and these ladies are found in beer bars rather than gogo or coyote bars.
The difference between gogo girls and coyote girls is 2 fold. Gogo girls will be on stage dancing in various degrees of clothing from nothing to bottoms only. Coyote girls tend to be a bit younger, better dancers, and are always wearing tops and bottoms. Gogo girls usually cost you 500-700 for a bar fine whereas coyote girls are anywhere for 1,000 to 3000 for the bar fine. Lady drinks for coyote girls are usually around 250 baht for a drink whereas gogo girls are 150 baht. In my humble opinion you are crazy to pony up for a coyote girl with one exception who will remain nameless :-)
The audience has changed dramatically over the past 2 years. Nowadays, it is Japanese who tend to be taciturn and not much fun. The girls refer to them as 333's. 3 inches, 3 minutes, and 3,000 baht. They consider them easy money but not too entertaining in the sack. At this time of year there are many, many Arabs, living out their dreams as well. The girls say both Japanese and Arabs smell but I am not sure of what. Could be smoke, body odour, or a combination of both. Thai girls are also not particularly keen on Indians or blacks for a variety of reasons I will not get into. The basic reason is Thai are a bit racist in nature.
I checked out the Beer Garden on Soi 7/1 and it is a huge meat market with about 100-200 working girls waiting around for punters to sit down and negotiate a price for short term is seems to be about 1,500 baht. The Beer Garden seems to attract a lower socio-economic punter and the ladies are all over 35 and most are showing their age. They are free lancers, some full-time and some part-time.
The street walkers are still going for 1,000 baht a pop and the bj girls are supplying oral relief for 800-1,000 baht. Lady boys are lady boys and they have a specific clientele that I do not come in contact with. The Japanese guys seem to patronize those bars more than anyone else.
So those are my observations form the past week. Some of these girls and ladies are my friends and I am happy to have them as friends. Boring they are not!
There has been an interesting change in my readership over the past month.
Russia has moved into 2nd place with France still number 1. Baffles my mind ...
If you search the net for information on how Thai women - Farang men relationships evolve you will no doubt find a lot of information stating very few relationships end up happily ever after. If you factor in a Thai bar girl then the success stories are fewer still. 'Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places' may play a part, but I believe that may be overcome with a little due diligence and some knowledge of the economics of the bar industry.
The first things farangs have to understand is Thai women view us a quite different from Thai men. Sometimes this view is positive and sometimes it is simply curious. The odd time, we are viewed with a bit of contempt. If perhaps you encounter a bar girl who does not immediately warm up to you I suggest you move on quickly.
The second thing you have to understand is that Thai women view farangs as walking ATM's. They think all farangs are hi-so which is definitely not the case with many of the punters who visit the bars looking for fun. Bar girls will dismiss you if they view you as a cheap Charlie. However, do not feel you have to buy every bar girl a drink who asks you too. You can politely decline and they will move on.
The third thing you have to understand is that the bar is the source of their income and they are there to earn as much money as possible. That means they would rather do two short terms in a night rather than one long term. Having said that, if you are fun, and are willing to entertain the lady then getting her out of the bar for the night to enjoy a little music and dancing and breakfast in the morning is something to be considered. This is what is referred to as the GFE (girl friend experience) which was once common in Bangkok but is more rare as of late.
The fourth thing to consider is that given a choice, the lady would prefer to enjoy the encounter so she would prefer a good looking, fit, man to an ugly fat man. Duh, who would have thought so :-)
Ugly, fat, old guys, who don't smile get refused often or pay a premium price (and don't even consider long term). Thai women don't have any hangups about sex and actually seem to enjoy sex :-)
The fourth thing to consider is that older bar girls are usually fed up with Thai guys and are actively looking to find a farang partner for life. Younger Thai girls working in bars will often have a Thai boyfriend who drops them off at work and lives off their earnings. Sooner or later these younger girls realize they are are being used by their Thai boyfriends and dump them. I characterize a young Thai girl as anyone under about 28 years of age.
The fifth thing to understand is 'The Times They are a Changing'. Most of the bar girls have a grade 10 education because it costs money to go to grade 11 and 12. However, the internet is a great educator and Thai bar girls usually have the latest Samsung or iPhone and spend a lot of time on the net, most of it on Facebook (unfortunately). Bar girls know how much they are worth in the market place and are not willing to sell themselves short.
The sixth thing to understand is that the girl's loyalty is first and foremost to her family. When you choose the girl you inherit the family. Your best hope is an only child whose parents have already died :-) If you hit it off with the girl and she really likes you then she will ask, 'You look after me?' What this really means if you are willing to provide for me, my children, my parents, and maybe siblings then I will look after you and make you happy for the rest of your life. Thai women can be incredibly loyal if you get the right one. The amount required to look after her will be at least the current amount she is earning in the bar. The good news is the amount required is usually less than what it would take to keep a spouse happy back in your home country.
The seventh thing to understand is that most of these girls will have at least one, more likely 2, and often 3 kids parked back in the village with her mother. Most of the time, the father is absent or dead already. This is the main reason they are working the bar. They send most of the money home to look after their kids and as a type of pension for the Grandmother. You will be inheriting this responsibility.
So, if you are ready to take the plunge, the rewards is a loving partner, who seldom says no to anything you ask (up to you) and is lots of fun and easy on the eyes. What's not to like? Oops, I almost forgot .. you really do not want to piss her off :-)
I have mentioned before that Bangkok is definitely not boring. I will document my last 24 hours. I started off at Rumors bar and ran into David, an oil exploration and off shore drill rig guy from Louisiana who is based off Israel at this moment. He has had the last month off and was visiting his Thai ex and another 2 Thai girls he supports from time to time. He is quite the character and refreshingly non PC but even I would characterize him as a red neck in the best Billy Bob tradition. Here is a pic (sun glasses with his brother).
David was in the midst of negotiating a short term liaison with the 20 year old Thai girl below who goes by the name Patti (as in Patti Paige, she explained) and the resulting negotiating went on for about 15 minutes, entertaining customers and bar staff alike. Eventually David was exposed as a cheap Charlie and off he went in search of a less expensive liaison.
Tacky showed up and the four of us walked down Soi 22 in search of some good Thai food. We stopped off at a new restaurant and the food was excellent and the bill for the four us came to 600 baht or about $20. That includes a whole fish and 5 additional dishes to complement the fish.
After eating we headed off to the Marriott at Empire Place where we will be staying for the next 7 nights. When we got there Thavorn booked her plastic surgery for the afternoon the next day. Many Thai girls want to 'Do nose'. The Asian nose has no bridge bone to speak of. The nose procedure involves inserting a silicone bridge that simulates the farang bone bridge and also lifts the nose tip, narrowing the nostrils somewhat. Thai plastic surgeons have this procedure down to an art and the Lelux Plastic Surgery Hospital seems to be #1 in the business. The security guards laughed when we ordered a taxi for the hospital and joked, 'You do nose?' and the taxi driver knew how to get to there. Enough said :-)
When we arrived, there was no doubt that this was a good business to be in. Here are some pics.
Billboard advertising the hospital
Grand circular driveway
Front foyer
More front foyer
Waiting area 1 .. Jaidan was excellent during the wait
Nice chandeliers
Grounds outside
Look closely and see the doctor's cars .. Ferrari, Rolls?
Waiting area #2
Decorating touches
We ended up being about 10th in line for a nose job and ended up waiting 6 hours. They do everything from boob jobs to butt augmentation. Tacky even chatted with a lady who just had her vagina tightened up.
I am typing this the morning after and Thavorn is still swollen and looks a bit like a female Klingon at this moment but I am sure she will be happy with her new profile once the swelling subsides.
I will have before and after pics down the road in about a week or two.
In case you are wondering, nose jobs were on sale for 19,900 Baht, about $800 CDN.
