Always A Back Up
I've been to Thailand a fair few times now, since 2003, in amongst that time, there was a 19 month absence, but once I got talking about it one night last year to a friend, a trip was back on and I’m responsible for someone else getting the bug! We're now preparing to go back there again next February. I've been to Thailand with friends but also, when they're not allowed (missus calling the shots!) I’m prepared to go there alone. I am 29, been involved in my fair share of relationships but very few of them serious. I am too fussy when it comes to women and get bored quickly.
This submission focuses on a Thai girl that I met in March 2004. I will give her a fake name, I think it’s only fair, so I’ll refer to her as 'Lek'. I will have to name an alternative gogo bar as her place of work too. You might be reading this and thinking that there are thousands of bar girls in Pattaya, so should it matter too much? Well quite frankly yes! There's Lek’s privacy and if I told you her 'real' name and 'real' place of work, for those of you who'd visited that gogo bar in 2004, you would know straight away who I’m on about!
I met Lek out one night, whilst touring the gogos and beer bars of Walking Street. It was one of those nights where there wasn't anyone really catching my eye. I’d been to 4 or 5 gogo bars and decided I’d pay a visit to Planet Rock. Strode on in, took my stall, ordered my Singha and was immediately joined by a girl, yeah she was sexy enough but not for me. My eyes were scouting the stage for that all important overnight partner! It didn't take long for me to find her! The curvy body, the cheeky smile, shoulder length hair, and shorter than average. This girl was gorgeous in every single way and she could definitely dance too. Think Jessica Alba in 'Sin City'. The girl sat beside me and asked me whether there was anyone I liked on stage. I said yes, that girl there, number XX. I want to buy her a drink; I’d already motioned to the beauty on stage that I’d like to get her a drink. Within a minute, she was sat next to me and we were chatting. She told me her name was Lek and that she was 19. For someone of that age, I was very impressed at how well she could speak English. After paying Lek’s barfine and taking her back to my hotel, I was even more impressed by her bedroom activities!
Over the next 4 nights Lek stayed with me. I learned that she had had a Swiss boyfriend, but he had recently ended things with her. I take most things that Thai girls have to say with a pinch of salt and this was no different. But one night when she was checking her emails, she showed me what he'd sent to her and sure enough it was an email confirming what she told me.
I knew that Lek probably had loads of farang phone numbers in her phonebook though and this guy was one of many. If you remember back in 2004, camera phones were just emerging and Lek had a top of the range Nokia camera phone. She had her own condo, with a huge TV too, so it was obvious that there were a few guys sending her money. She was 'stand out' stunning though and I could see why so many would fall for her. When it was time for me to go home, me and Lek traded numbers and kept in touch. I said that I’d return in 6 months time to see her. She also gave me her email address, so we could chat via MSN. I never fell in love with her but was very fond of her and I definitely wanted to see her again. I never sent her any money and never asked her to give up work. I knew that I’d return in 6 months time and spend time with her again.
Over the next few months we would chat online and send SMS to one another. When I returned to Pattaya in September 2004, Lek knew when I was coming, but when I went to Planet Rock to see her, she wasn't there. I asked another girl where she was and she said that Lek was sick – which meant that another lucky dude had already paid her barfine. It turns out that she was in Bangkok with another farang, so that night I spent with another girl. Lek was back in Pattaya the following night and while it was nice to see her it was very evident how the nightlife of Pattaya had changed her somewhat. Nonetheless, we spent a great night together, but that was all I decided it was going to be. I didn't want to get too attached and wanted to have more single man’s fun in paradise!
Upon my return back to the UK (October 2004) I would still be in contact every so often with Lek, mostly via email, until after many months later, contact fizzled out completely. One sunny afternoon in August 2005 I was sorting out a few things when I noticed a photo of Lek. It brought back many happy memories. What the hell I thought, I’m going to email her to see how she is and what she’s up to. I found her Hotmail address, but no longer had her phone number. I had since changed my number due to a changing of network. A couple of days later I received a reply. Lek had met an American guy and had gotten married. They were living together in South Pattaya. She went on to say that they were having a lot of problems and she didn't know whether she was really happy. I replied but didn't hear from her again. I presumed that her husband (if he had any sense) had the password to the account or closed it completely, so that was that. I did send another email a few weeks later and once again no reply. So Lek was just a happy memory.
I returned to Thailand alone in April 2005 and again in November 2006 with a friend and once more alone in April of this year. Since Lek, I’ve had lots of adventures and met lots of people, many happy memories, but still occasionally wonder how Lek’s life turned out.
Fast forward 2 years and 3 months from when I’d last heard from Lek, to Thursday November 29, 2007. I had an email from Nang, a girl I met in April. It was one of those emails from MSN, where it says, Nang has opened up a Hotmail account and added you as a contact. Do you wish to accept Nang? I thought it was strange because Nang already had a Hotmail account. We rarely interacted but I thought sod it, might as well add her and left it at that. Last night, I come online, checked my emails, quick glance at the Facebook account and signed into MSN. Nang was online (the new account), status set as away. I thought she must be asleep, as it was 3 AM in Thailand. Not long after I’d signed in, Nang said hello. I said hello back and asked her how she was. She said she was fine and then asked me to guess who it was. I was like duh, I know who I’m talking to, the display name read 'Nang' so I typed 'Nang'. I thought that she probably wanted me to remember her real name. I didn't have a clue. She then said to me, 'Don't you love me anymore?' What the hell?? She said it’s me…..Lek. WHAT?? Noooo, it can't be. But yes, it most definitely was. This was a complete bolt out of the blue. I asked her why she'd changed her name and she said she just felt like a change. I asked her about her marriage, she said that she was still married. A few problems to begin with but now she was very happy. She showed me a photo of her husband, an American guy in his early thirties. I asked her where he was and she told me that he had just left to return to the USA for a month. Lek was still gorgeous but had aged a lot. I told her that I was returning to Thailand in February to which she replied that she would like to see me, but if husband knew there would be 'yek yek' as she wrote. I still couldn't believe who I was talking to, after all this time. Lek must have kept mine and I’m sure many other farang addresses stored away and the first opportunity she got when her husband returned to his homeland, she opened a new Hotmail account. Lek sent me a few photos of herself, and we had a pretty long chat. Midway through she suddenly went offline, when she came back, she explained that it was her husband calling her. From what I saw Lek’s husband looked a young, handsome guy and could give her all what she wanted, as he had a high profile job, but when a good chance came along to resurrect old customer contacts arose, Lek took it. Lek kept reminding me throughout our conversation that whenever I wanted to get in touch, to email her at the new address. As I finish this submission, I’ve just finished another conversation with Lek, a girl that I thought I would never hear from ever again.
There are 2 morals from this story. The first one being, no matter how much of a luxurious lifestyle Lek has now got, after over 2 years, she never forgot me or got rid of my contact details. The second and more alarming moral, especially for those of you who are married to a former bar girl. However happy you may think she is, the improved lifestyle and love & care you've given her, she has always got a back up option that you don't know about. Whether I decide to hook up with Lek in February remains to be seen. I’m not sure it would be a great idea but I’ll let you know if I do! For any husbands who've left their former bargirl wives in Thailand whilst they're away on business, this won't make such good reading but it will definitely give them something to ponder. Thai girls most definitely get lonely…FACT!
Stickman's thoughts:
Nice story. For sure, a few guys in Pattaya will start to get worried!
