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Stickman's Weekly Column › May 23rd, 2004

Driven Back Into The Ghetto

Sukhumvit Road is very much the farang ghetto of Bangkok. While farangs can be found in almost every neighbourhood of the city, it is Sukhumvit Road that is synonymous with Farangdom and any farang anywhere along Sukhumvit will not get a second glance.

I could never bring myself to live in Sukhumvit though I lived in an area which could be described as fringe Sukhumvit, an area where a lot of farangs come for a nosey, and a fair few live.

After five years in the big, bad city in a

Even as someone who speaks very good Thai and who has a laid back attitude to life decided never to let the little things in life bother me,

Friends Are Even More Important Here

butterflies bangkok

When things are going well in Thailand, it can really feel like heaven. Warm weather, good food

But when things go bad it can get really bad, much worse than you would imagine. and when things do go bad, how

It is not just matters of a legal matter where you may need your friends' assistance. What about if you have a run in with other foreigners? Or problems with a Thai woman? Even relationship problems can get some guys down.

For another week

mandarin

O

Does everything in Thailand come back to money?

Where is this pic?

.
A.
Last week's pic was taken atop the Golden Mount, also known as Wat Saket. This week's pic is in many readers' idea of paradise, somewhere outside Bangkok. The first reader to correctly state where this week's pic is wins a 500 baht credit at Tony's Bar in Soi Cowboy. Please note that the credit MUST be claimed within two weeks. So, to claim that prize, you must be in Bangkok at some time in the next two weeks.

FROM STICKMAN'S BAG OF EMAIL:

Are we all a bunch of degenerates?

Ladyboys sure are a curious breed and they are certainly not to my personal liking but I believe it is important to respect every individual's right to choose the path in life that suits them. Before you condemn ladyboys as a freak show or a genetic malfunction, consider the fact that most of the people from your home town would consider you to be a genetic malfunction because you go to the red light districts of Asia to pay for sex with multiple Asian partners from poor backgrounds who are in many cases forced by the family to go to work in the prostitution industry. Ladyboys definitely are dodgy and you don’t want to get on the wrong side of them, but most of the readers of the Stickman site are in no position to preach moral values and claim that ladyboys are any more corrupt or immoral than the rest of us. When I hear a sex tourist or sexpat bagging ladyboys I can’t help but feel I am listening to the world's biggest hypocrite. You may reply to this by saying that hypocrite or not, ladyboys are still moral degenerates but the fact is we are all degenerates in one way or another. What the hell does it mean to be normal? And I find most people who consider themselves to be normal are utterly boring individuals. Who the hell wants to be normal anyway?

The modern Asian woman!

During the first part of this year I have met and spoken with a young and attractive Chinese lady from Shanghai. She's currently studying marketing at the University in my town. Each time that we bump into each other, we try to have a brief chat or if time permits, perhaps a longer chat about everyday life. A couple of weeks ago, I saw her once again and was able to chat for sometime. During our conversation, I asked her if her boyfriend was studying with her in the UK or if he was back in China. She told me that he was in China and had a few days earlier been to visit her mother and to say hello to her family. Driving home after work later that week, I saw her walking down the road hand in hand with a tall Chinese guy. Wow he's arrived already! The next time I saw her we just said, "Hi" and she told me she was moving to another apartment. I wished her well. This week, I saw her again and had the opportunity for a long chat. I asked if both her and her boyfriend liked the new apartment. She looked totally blank and so I said that I had seen them walking down the road hand in hand. "The tall guy?", she said. She then blushed with embarrassment and tried to look all coy. I just looked at her, smiled and raised my eyebrows. I know of one other Chinese lady and a Korean lady at the Uni, who have been having secret liaisons with Pakistani guys, behind the backs of their Asian boyfriends!

S


Not sure if you had a chance to visit O'Brians but its now looking up. Special promotion of 89 Baht for a main dish with two side dishes for free. Main dishes are such as pork chop, spaghetti or fish. Side dishes are mash potatoes, corn, sauté vegetables, peas, rice and 5 or 6 other dishes. Stop by and give your comments. Thanks. Have 100% steak hamburger as well.

Before coming to Thailand for the first time, one of my concerns was safety. This fear was quickly allayed both by friends who had already visited and by the guidebooks which all mentioned that should one have any problems at all, there is a special division of the police force called the Tourist police whose very role is to assist foreign tourists who may experience problems. However in the past couple of weeks I have heard nothing but complaints about Thailand' supposedly tourist friendly police. The first story concerned someone who had left cash in a hotel deposit box and when they went to retrieve the cash, part of it was stolen. The situation was exacerbated y the fact that there was a signature for someone entering the safety deposit box ad this was clearly not the signature of the person whose belongings were inside the so called safety deposit box. The touristy police were called and when they arrived and had had the situation explained to them, they threatened the person who had lodged their belongings there and told them to go, leave Thailand! The second story was from someone who got beaten up, had a bottle smashed on his head and ended up in hospital. His calls to the tourist police kept meeting with the phone being hung-up…! Have you had reason to contact the tourist police? If yes, did they meet your expectations?

the Udon couple
> should look at www.udonmap.com, one of the most
> impressive Thai sites and done by a lady I

Mrs. Stick's Corner

Each week, Mrs. Stick answers your questions about Thai / farang relationships and general issues that baffle the average Westerner in Thailand. Mrs. Stick likes to think of herself as an open-minded Thai lady so go ahead, ask anything because you won't shock her. Please send questions for her, via me, at the usual email address. Two questions will be chosen each week and answered in the following week's column. The responses are hers and NOT mine although I may attempt to correct her English from time to time. Please note that I may not necessarily agree with what
she says. Unfortunately, she doesn't have time to reply to your inquiries via email. Questions for her should be limited to 100 words. Mr. Stick may answer the odd question in place of Mrs. Stick of he thinks he can do a
better job.

Question 1: My Thai wife is very opened minded as well and when in Thailand, we sometimes bar hop and enjoy watching the girls work the guys and vice versa. Although we enjoy this together, she definitely is not comfortable with me going to the bars alone. This is partially due to an earlier failed marriage but primarily due to my past being similar to Stick. Does the "research" not bother you that Stick has to do for his column? Would a typical middle class Thai family, as you seem to be from, approve of his website (my in-laws do not read it)?

Mrs. Stick says:

Question 2: Abortion question?

Mrs. Stick says: I

Question 3: H

Mrs. Stick says: T

I

Your Bangkok commentator,

Stick

Thanks go out to Dave The Rave