They Make It Easy And Then They Break Your Heart

Visiting Thailand was something I had wanted to do since I was a young man in the American Military during the Vietnam War. Most of my friends had passed through LOS during the War and they all had great stories to tell, but you know how it goes, you get out of the Service, get a job, get married, buy a house, have a couple of kids, and the next thing you know 30 years have past.

After getting a divorce several years ago, a good friend asked me over and over to make the trip with him to LOS. At this point I think he has made the journey 26 times and is, by the way, in BKK as I write this narrative. I finally agreed to make the trip about a year ago and now wish I would have agreed sooner, but as that cinematic character Moustache use to say, "But that is another story."

The trip to Thailand was made via Singapore. Beautiful place, Singapore, and well worth seeing. The plane was late leaving SIN due to engine trouble, a Thai Air 747, and was late arriving in BKK due to the weather. Put this all together with the fact that, for whatever reason, I couldn't sleep in Singapore, and I arrived at the hotel in Bangkok exhausted, mad, and ready to kill something (just an expression, smile.) My friend had been there for a day or two before I arrived and was walking through the lobby as I was checking in. I just wanted to take a shower and sleep, but he insisted we go out on the town. I finally acceded and asked that he give me enough time to shower and change my clothes. About the time I had just put on a shirt and was pulling on a pair of trousers, there was a knock on my door. I opened the door to find my friend standing there with a Thai girl on each arm, a big grin on his face, and he said, "Welcome to Thailand."

The first go-go bar we went to was The Mandarin, in Nana Plaza, and I thought I had "died and gone to heaven." Talk about sensory overload! I've been "around the block" once or twice, but I had never seen so many beautiful women in one place running around wearing little or nothing at all. So many women and we guys can only re-cycle the "equipment" so many times. Smile.

I could tell that the girl my friend had picked for me really didn't care for me, but that was OK as I didn't find her that attractive. A pretty girl, but just not the type I find attractive. At the second or third bar, Hollywood Two, I think, I was introduced to a waitress who was a friend of my friend and the two ladies who were with us. "Cute as a bug," (an old American(?) expression) didn't even begin to describe this girl. My friend could, apparently, tell that I liked what I was looking at and asked me, "You like that?" I say, "Yes, absolutely." He said, "Pay her bar fine and bring her along." I should interject here that my friend had fully briefed me on the pitfalls of dealing with Thai bar girls and before the trip I had read everything I could find on the subject on the Internet and found what turned out to be the best and most accurate source of information, right here on this web site (Thank You, Mr. Stickman!). The group, now 5 of us, ended up at the Angel-Witch (best bar in Nana in my opinion). As I've since found out, we were watching the very first days of the dance routines, i.e., shows, that have made the Angel-Witch so successful. Love that petite lady that does the "tradition folk dance" and will definitely have to bar fine her one day. I was exhausted and as great as the entertainment was, I couldn't keep my eyes open and was nodding off. I finally told them I was going for some fresh air, stuffed some money in the cup, and walked out to Soi 4 and over to Sukhumvit Road and caught a cab back to the hotel.

The next morning my friend introduced me to a tailor and I was fitted for a couple of suits. We then went over to the Eden Club as soon as it was open. Great experience. Everyone should do it at least once in their lifetime. Haven't been back, but maybe the next trip. In the very early evening I bar fined a girl I had seen during the previous evening's "Welcome Tour," and took her back to the hotel for a short time. Once she was gone I went back to Hollywood Two and hired the cute girl to take me on a tour of BKK the next day.

She showed up early the next morning and we did all the major sights, the Grand Place, River Tour, Golden Buddha, etc., etc., etc. I could tell from the way she was looking at me that she really didn't like me, you could see it in her eyes, but she seemed nice enough. We went back to the hotel, I paid her for her time and she left. I figured that was the last I would see of her. It was extremely hot late that afternoon, too hot to do much else, so I
thought I would rest a bit before calling my friend and see what he had in mind, if anything, for that evening. A couple of hours later my phone rings and it is my friend saying there is someone in his room I know and would I come down? I got there to find my "tour guide," my friend, and one of the girls from two evenings before, sitting around and drinking Tequila.

It turned out that the other girl was a good friend of my friend, and my "tour guide," was her best friend. We sat around and talked for a while and it was decided we would all go out to dinner. I gave my "tour guide" some money to pay her bar fine and all of sudden her attitude changed and she stood up on her toes and kissed me. We had a great time and by the end of the evening we were sitting at a bar high table in the dark corner of a club. Everyone else in the room is watching the stage, that is, looking in the opposite direction from where we are seated. I'm half sitting on a bar stool with my feet on the floor when my "tour guide" snuggles up to me and starts playing "tonsil hockey" with me. She then turned a round, put her cute little butt up against my groin and started doing the bump and grind to the beat of the music and every few seconds turned her head around and gave me one of those 500 Watt smiles. It was straight back to the hotel after that. Smile.

She left the next morning, and as I was leaving in a couple of days later (a short trip) I didn't see her again before leaving town. She gave me some of my best memories of the first trip, so before making the second trip I contacted her by e-mail to see if she would be interested in "seeing me" again. She said, yes, she would like that.

This trip, the second, after settling in at the hotel and getting some rest I went to see her at her bar. I should say that she has never, ever, asked me for anything, not a single baht. So keeping that in mind, when I went to her bar she gave me the big welcome, I bought her a drink, and we talked for a while. There was another lady I wanted to see before I decided which one I wanted to take back to the hotel, so I told this first girl, the cute tour guide, that I had just arrived and was tired from the trip, that I was going back to the hotel and rest and I might be back later depending on how I felt. I then jumped into to cab to go see another girl I had met on the first trip. While this first girl, the tour guide, was CUTE, as cute as they come, this second girl was BEAUTIFUL. Put the first girl's personality in the second girl's body and you would have the perfect woman. HA. This second girl had moved from the Ava Pub to another bar and during the period between my visits and had changed from being beautiful and sweet, to beautiful and mercenary.

I walked in, sat down and she didn't see me at first so I watched her for a while from across the room. She was more beautiful than I remembered. You could tell she was getting that feeling someone was watching her and she started looking around the room and finally saw me smiling at her. She jumped up and came running across the room, jumped into my arms and kissed me, etc., etc. All very heart warming, but I knew it was part of the game. Bought her a drink and we talked for a short while when all of sudden she put her hand out, palm up, and said she needed money. I didn't say anything for a moment, but then put 1000 Baht in her hand, told her I would see her the next day and left. I went straight back to the first girl, bar fined her and took her home (the hotel). She stayed that night, but not the next. The 3rd day my old buddy had arrived from the States and he, his friend described above, and my cute tour guide came to my room to talk and have drink.

We went out to dinner, hit a few clubs, and my cute tour guide spent the night. By the next evening I was in the local hospital with acute food poisoning. I refused to spend the night and they sent me back to the hotel with a bag full of antibiotics, pain killers, etc., etc., etc. I was so sick I didn't want an audience, but my cute tour guide heard I was sick and came to my room and wouldn't leave. Didn't matter what I said, she wasn't leaving. I was in bed getting sicker until the drugs started kicking in and running (when I left the hospital) a 102.8 degree temperature. I started to get the chills and when my teeth started to chatter, my Cute Tour Guide stripped down to the buff and jumped into bed and tried to hug me and keep me warm. Must have looked like a Chimpanzee trying to hug a Polar Bear, but her heart was in the right place.

For a few days I could care less what was going on in the world and she took care of everything up to and including taking money out of her own pocket to pay for ANYthing that was need during this time. I later made sure she was reimbursed. It was from this experience that I learned I could trust her up to a point. I would turn my back on this girl before I would trust many of the people I work with here in the States. When I was feeling better she made sure all of my "other" needs were more than adequately taken care of, so to speak. Smile.

She stayed with me for the rest of the trip and even though I know about all the bar girl games and that it was just a job to them, I was grateful that she was there and was sad to have to leave. No one has ever treated me better. No one. My birthday rolled around a couple of months later and it coincided with a long holiday weekend here in the States. I found out I had a few more days of vacation left on the books, so I combined that with the long weekend, called the airlines, got a great price on a round trip ticket, at the last minute, and 36 hours after hatching this plan I was on a plane heading to BKK. I arrived on my birthday, sent my cute tour guide a text message after arriving at the hotel (she knew I was coming) and she was knocking on my door before I could get out of the shower. We went out for dinner to celebrate, but she didn't believe it was my birthday until I showed her my passport. We have had some good times together, but she really went out of her way that night to show me a good time in every possible way. She was like glue for the trip, which was ok with me, but I did try to get rid of her for a couple of hours each afternoon, just so I could walk around town and spend some time alone, but she was always back around 5 or 6 PM.

You are probably, by now, if not before, wondering what is the purpose of all this, right? Well, here we come to the part where she doesn't break my heart, but made me about as mad as I've been. So here we go. It is my last night in town. I'm leaving the next afternoon. We go to dinner and we take another female Thai friend, solely a platonic friend, along. The platonic friend had never been to one of "these" bars, so we took her to the Mandarin and I bought a couple of drinks for her, my cute tour guide and a drink or two for a couple of the girls that work there. Some people don't like the Mandarin, but since it is the very first bar I visited on my first night in BKK, I always find myself going back there for a least one drink on each trip. We then went to the Angel-Witch and finally ended up where the cute tour guide worked as a waitress. Two of her friends gave me the big welcome and wanted me to pay their bar fines. What the hell, it was my last night, so I paid their bar fines. We have a beer or two and my tour guide was dancing around in front of me trying to keep my attention. I think she saw the way I was looking at that girl who does the "folk dance" at the Angel-Witch.

Some older guy (am I'm old-smile) came into the club and went and sat at the end of the bar. The "best" friend went over there and talked to the guy and then ran over to take my tour guide back with her to talk with this man. They both are talking to the guy and there is a lot of "animated" conversion going on. I keep an eye on it and she, my tour guide, comes back to me. The best friend continued talking to the guy. She comes back real excited and takes my "tour guide" back with her to talk to the man, a second time. Then a couple of other girls try to position themselves to block my view, but I can see, but can't heard the talk, laughs, etc., etc. Keep in mind she has been like glue with me since day one, minute one, and it has been hard to get away from her for even a couple of hours. Also, keep in mind we just had a big dinner and I have paid the bar fines for her and her two friends. So she comes back and starts a "cock and bull" story how she and her "best" friend want to get something to eat and do "something" and she will meet me back at the hotel at 2 AM.

Just how STUPID does she think I am? I just couldn't believe it!!! But, I guess, I should have….I was pissed, instantly and said something about I'm paying the bill, we do what I want to do. She repeated something about food (we had just had A BIG dinner, remember) and when I said something, she blurted out, "I want to work." I was so pissed I took the chips directly to the cashier, by the door, paid the bill and walked out. She came chasing after me when she realized I was leaving. I don't remember what I said to her, but I totally lost it. I fucking hate being taken for a sucker like that. I lost a lot of "face." I lost all the "face" I had, if I had any at all, right then and there. I was marching down the Sukhumvit Road ready to kill anything that got in my way and told a few people to get the fuck out of my way. REAL ugly American. Grin.

It dawned on me that I was out all the money for the dinner and drinks, but that didn't bother me. What is done is done, but I realized I had paid 3 bar fines and wasn't going to get anything in return, so I turned around, marched straight to the bar, went up to her and said, you own me 1,800 Baht for 3 bar fines. She tried to talk, but I wasn't having it. Just give me the fucking money and get the fuck out of my life. She followed me outside and tried talk to me as she was digging in her purse and wanted to move down the way and I just told her to give me the fucking money. That she was a liar and a cheat and give me the money and get out of my life. The Thai have great memories and there are probably people around Nana Plaza, who I don't know, but who will remember me, when they see me, as the guy who totally exploded and all lost all face one night in May. The platonic friend chased after me trying to get me to calm down and she finally caught up with me by the time I had "marched" about 4 or 5 blocks. We went for a cold drink and it took the better part of an hour to cool down. I left the friend at the restaurant and walked around until 5 AM before going back to my hotel. I really like her, my cute tour guide, but she will be a bar girl until the day she dies. As I have read, "you can't take the bar out of the girl."

That is it. If you don't quite follow, the old guy must have offered her and her "best" friend a great deal of money for the two of them to have sex with him. She was lying to me about the getting something to eat, so she could go screw this guy, get the money (my money would be stopping the next afternoon) and then come back to hotel and my bed, as if nothing un-usual had happened. One must admire her work ethic. Smile. She didn't break my heart, but it did hurt, does still hurt a little when I think about it. More than anything she wounded my pride, my ego. She didn't show me any respect as her friend, her "boyfriend," as a person, or, if nothing else, a paying customer. Still makes me mad on one hand, but I look at her picture, and know, for whatever her motives, she treated me better than any woman has ever treated me in my life. That is the "hook." We soft-hearted Farang are so use to being jerked around by western women and having to cater to them, what when these Thai women treat us so nicely, we think, we want to think, we hope and and dream, they really do like us, but they are no different then American women; it just boils down to money.

Stickman says:

Did you get the money back in the end? You could have even gone back to her bar and asked there for it which would have resulted in her losing a lot of face.

One has to remember that these girls are prostitutes and the games that they play are what you expect from a prostitute.