Stickman Readers' Submissions March 18th, 2008

My Story – Part 1

Before I begin this tale, I would just like to point out that I do not pretend to know more about Thailand than anyone who might be reading this. It is simply my story. I’ve only been reading Stick's site since 2007, about 1 week before my
trip in August so had literally no idea about anything Thai before I left, I had no idea what to expect. Since my return home however I’ve probably read every word on Stick's website. Although I’ve only visited Thailand once,
I’ve read lots of things on Thailand and believe I have amassed huge sums of knowledge on the subject. Even If I haven’t experienced everything yet, you can learn a hell of a lot just by reading. If it weren’t true then what
is the purpose of websites like this…

He Clinic Bangkok

I have a 5 week trip planned back to Thailand at the end of March 2008 (a few weeks from now). I hope to get these few submissions of my first trip finished by the time I leave, and then hopefully a lot more once I return.

I’ve been thinking about writing a submission here for a good few months, suppose now is as good a time as any.

A little background –

CBD bangkok

The following submission is just bits and bobs of everything that actually happened on my trip. I find it hard to remember lots of parts because I went partying every single night (except one when I was a little under the weather).

I’m 25 years old, decent job, no worries & not bad looking (I don’t seem to have trouble findings girls). I’m not sure exactly how or why my first ever trip alone was to Thailand. I never knew much about the place,
never heard of the beauty of Thailand & never knew anything about the bar girl scene. Again, why did I choose Thailand? The answer is… there was no reason, I just woke up one day, span a globe and decided I needed a holiday. Just got lucky
I suppose…

BKK – touch down

Damn that was a long flight…glad I paid the extra £50 and flew direct.

wonderland clinic

I arrived in Bangkok having paid for my first 3 nights in some hotel. Lucky again, but I did not know it at the time. So, I picked up my bags and headed for the exit of the airport. On my way I was approached by a middle aged Thai man, about
28 year old, 5’4 and roughly about 110 lbs…

“Hey, where you go?”

“The Key Bangkok hotel – Sukhumvit”.

“Yea I know place, 800 baht”

I just wanted to get to the hotel and chill out, “Yes, ok, 800 baht, let's go.”

Like many first time visitors, I’d just been ripped off, and to top it all off I had a big smile on my face like he’d just done me a huge favour. When I look back on this now I laugh… I remember thinking what a nice guy he
was, always a big smile on his face. Little did I realise the reason for that smile, now I know he was probably thinking… – “Stupid farang”

He guides me to the exit of the airport and the second I step outside the doors, BANG!! I felt this huge wave of heat spread over my entire body. Man it’s hot. He walked towards a levelled car park area and I remember thinking “god,
where is he taking me”. The car park was dark and dingy and there was a surprisingly small number of cars parked. I thought “here we go”, I’m about to get robbed and I’ve only been here 10 minutes. Well, he never
robbed me and I jumped into the back of the taxi – off we go. The driver made the usual chit chat “How are you, where you come from, how long you stay Thailand, is this your first visit”.. etc. He then asked If I liked BOOM
BOOM, being a newbie I didn’t have much clue of what the little man was banging on about.

“What is BOOM BOOM”?

He made a few body movements – I then understood what he meant.

“Yes I like boom boom, why?”

He then reached under his seat and pulled out what seemed to be a CD disc. He put it into what I thought was a CD player and out popped this little screen.

“Ahhh, DVD player” I said. “Nice”

“Yes, for you after long flight, relax”

The movie came on and yes, you guessed it…hardcore porn!

I felt a little uneasy about it at first but decided to “let go” and enjoy the movie.

About 20 minutes later we started getting into the heart on Bangkok. It reminded me a bit of London, the crazy roads, huge buildings etc… I’ve always been a city lad so enjoyed the sights.

“Hey, you want drink, beer?”

“Err, sure” I said.

He then stopped at a small 7 Eleven and said.. “You can buy, I wait for you.”

I thought to myself, hold on a minute, you want me to go into that shop and leave you here along with all my belongings in the boot of your car??

“No” I said…

He smiled, I think he knew what I was thinking and said… “Don’t worry, I wait you”. Something about it seemed so genuine so I picked up my bag (the small one with all my money in) and walked into the shop. I was thinking
what I would do if he disappeared with my luggage. I figured it wasn’t really important as I didn’t have much stuff in my suitcase and I still had all my money. I entered the 7 Eleven and saw some beer in the fridge but when I tried
to open it the door was locked. Seems they don’t sell beer in the day time. I bought a can of Coke and left the 7 Eleven hoping I wouldn’t come back to an empty road. I didn’t, he was there, again with a big smile on his face.
I told him they had locked the fridge and I couldn’t get beer. He then walked into the shop and 2 seconds later walked out with 4 beers. I never even gave him the money to pay for it. (He must have been in a good mood after just ripping
off another stupid farang, namely me.

So there I was… half way around the world on my own adventure, driving to my hotel, beer in hand & porn on the mini screen DVD player. I remember thinking that my friends back home would never believe me… suckers!!!

Stickman's thoughts:

That's a really nice start.

The porn DVD incident gave me reason to reflect on how I have changed since I have lived in Thailand. If someone had told me that back in my homeland before I had moved here I might not have been shocked, but I would have been kind of surprised. But having lived in Thailand for some time now, such things don't even make me so much as blink. The other funny ting about it is that the Thais want us to take them and their country as a place to visit for culture and temples etc. but this sort of carry on re-enforces the message that many are here for other reasons.

nana plaza