Tbear's Newbie Trip (Part 5, epilogue)

[anonymouse]

"Before I left, she thought that she had me

beat with a pair of aces underneath her fuzzy sweater, but now I have the

number to a travel agent who can slip me 4 queens (and sometimes three

queens and a king) underneath the table, that will beat her pair every

time. Every girl's ass in the states seems a little larger, and

body hair on a girl makes me want to puke."

priceless!

[Ranger]

Tbear,

Excellent reports! Fun to relive things from a newbie's perspective again. Your next trip will be even better as will the trip after that. I loved the poker analogy, 3 Queens and a King-LOL. So, do you have your return visit planned yet? Have you started planning your retirement in Thailand yet?

Ranger

[Guest]

Another good read. Thanks for sharing TBEAR. Sounds like Thailand is now in your blood. It has that effect.

[Guest]

Tbear,

Great report, I will be making the trip to the LOS mid September. I found your posting very informative. Hopefully will save me from making some of the same errors.

Thanks,

LeoTex

[thai3]

Halifax do a web account that pays 5.5% for minimum of a pound, www.halifax.co.uk/websaver ,more my level of saving! Those women on the egg site are really odd looking, the pig is the best looker there-peter

quote:

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Originally posted by

I'll try and route out their addresses

Chiow

[/QB]

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[Guest]

T: I'd like to be the first member of the Board to nominate you for "Report of the Year."

Anyone else agree?

To Khun Sanuk: Is there any way this report (all 5 parts), and other "classics," could be archived for future reference and use by new members? Just a recommendation. I'd hate to see this report and other great ones lost in the digital dustpile.

t'wannabe

[zanemay]

Hello TBear,

Well...here I am...the baht police. And you're busted! (I believe you have read my post "Newbies Pay Too Much" in the general section? - what follows makes more sense if you have/do.) (And since you are Afro American, would nubian-bie be okay?)

Before I do my baht police thing, l want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the reports. You have a good style! I especially liked the increasingly slurred renditions of Hotel California!

I must say there was one thing I couldn't believe: "She tells me that she really loves him, but he doesn't love her. She then asks me about the true meaning of love...This is the most surreal moment of the entire trip. I mean how can I, basically a guy in search of a BJ 15,000 miles away from home, tell her, a bargirl in Pattaya, about the true meaning of love? Talk about the blind leading the blind!" TBear, I know some pretty articulate Thai ladies and they don't have the English to communicate such a concept. Exactly what did she say: "Uh hansum man, what twoo meaning lub, ka?" Stop it, man! You made that up! And bgs don't go about pondering the "true meaning" of anything, do they?

I liked your interactions with the girls. You are a very jai dee guy, which I'm sure the they told you. (Of course there is the thing about the money raining from you, so they might be BSing.) The only thing I was waiting for was a bit of an emotional attachment to one or more. "The hansum man walks hand-in-hand into the sunset with the pretty, long-haired lady." Nothing permanent for God's sake, just a little love affair.

And I was seriously quite interested in the experiences of a black man in LOS. I keep up on black issues in the US. (My own personal "black issue" is snoozing away next to me as I write. "When are you going to stop playing with that computer and go to sleep?" issues frequently.) When in LOS I try to observe how the black guys are doing because I'm aware of the racism there. The black guys seem to get along fine to me. And I have asked my BKK and Pattaya gfs about going with blacks - and of course a lot of those are from Africa and they hang out in the same general area of BKK as do the Arabs - which kind of mixes things up. Some interesting comments positive and negative from the girls. You seem to have been treated well.

I also tried to ask if they called blacks "farangs" and I got "yes" "no" "maybe." Did they refer to you as farang when they talked about you to each other?

So...that said...here come the Baht Police...

You were something of a Baht Police nightmare. First you start out with the feeling back at home that you have too much money lying about. And life is kind of unsatisfying. Then you set aside a pile of cash that would suffice for a trip to New York or Europe. You are loaded for bear (a metaphor that will be lost on many, but is well know in the Pacific NW), a disaster waiting to happen. Not for you, for us struggling old guys on limited incomes who think maybe we can make it in LOS because it has been so cheap in recent years. Then well-healed newbies go to LOS and throw baht all over everything and everyone, leading to the perception that we, especially the "rich" Americans the girls love so much, have more money than...well, you know. Typical over ripe-newbie. As I said, LOS has plans to harvest such. You say you would like to retire to LOS. If so then you too will someday cringe at things like the following:

1. "Since the decision was too much to make after 16 hours on a plane, I barfined them both. It was 350 baht each, and I offered them 1500 baht each for shortime. I settled up the bill and we were off to my room."

2. "We drank some more and basically closed the bar down. I think my bill came to 4500 baht. I offered 2000 baht to college girl for LT."

3. "I give her 2000 Baht (To all the Baht police out there, I later realized that I TOTALLY overpaid this girl, I basically gave her 3500 for one LT, which was not my intention. I just forgot that I had paid her for a ST earlier)"

4. "She did ask me "when you take lady from other bar, how much you give she", which really meant "how much are you going to pay me". I guess it's a fair question, but one I don't like to hear and usually a deal breaker for me. I told her that I pay 1000B always and she seemed OK with that. I gave her my phone number and she is supposed to call me at 4 pm today if she wants to see me, so we'll see I guess."

5. "I was always a little wary that I was spending too much money on her and her friends. "

Congratulations on the progress! That first quote illustrates classic newbie behavior, doesn't it? I just want what I want. I don't want to argue or have any unpleasantness. I'm a little disoriented, but I got lots of money so everything will be okay. But that's 3,700 baht not counting the lady drinks I bet they hit you up for! And you got ST!! And don't tell me that's good value in the US because it's irrelevant!

And the second quote almost caused me to throw my laptop across the room! Jasus, Mary and Joseph! Do you know I spent 10,000 baht for 30 days accommodation on Soi 11? And you dropped 6,500 baht for a evening in a bar and a lady. Yes, yes, I know you were within your budget, but Thailand is cheap, man!

And paragraph three! Stop! Stop! You're killing me, Midas! Can you imagine having so much money you forgot you already overpaid and then you overpaid again! Notice that no one said, "That's okay. You already paid me, remember?" Money only travels one way in LOS.

At last! Paragraphs four and five. Now we're talking! No longer 100% nubian-bie.

******

There are those out there who do not agree with some of what I say here and will rush to your defense since you are obviously such a good-natured guy. I also know many will agree with me. They are on limited budgets, too. One thing to keep in mind: It wasn't that long ago that the exchange rate was about 25 baht/USD. The dollar has been very high for awhile, but that could change and the whole equation could become a lot more difficult.

Sanuk dee,

Zane

[zanemay]

Apologies to Ranger and Tbear for my copy/paste error. I copied both of your recent posts into one temporary word processing document and lost track of where I pulled the quote.

Ranger,

I personally don't know expats who throw money like that, but I'm sure you are correct. I started a serious career of travel about five years ago and my thrifty approach stems from the fact that in order to continue as I am I have to conserve the cash. It's a challenge, which just makes it more interesting. I am just past one year of having quit working (no collecting retirement yet) and I am still getting a feel for how it will go. It seems workable off of my rental income, but just barely. LOS offers the opportunity to live really well very cheaply once you figure it out.

But unlike you, I didn't pay extravagant prices on my first trip. One reason I'm sure is that I never want ST and the first girl I met was more of girl friend than anything else. We talked around the sex part for awhile but when she told me she sometimes went with farang I asked her "how much?" She said she sometimes gets 1,500 sometimes 1,000. I told her I wanted to see her many times so 1,000 was the best I would do. Money was never mentioned after that except for her saying "Khap khun, ka." whenever I gave her money. She was great in every way for me and I suppose that set the tone for my future sanuking.

I also enjoy bargaining and am not the least embarassed about it. When I do it with a sense of humor most Thais enjoy it too. It's just another part of the fun.

Sanuk dee,

Zane

[Steve]

To Ranger,

The very rich, got rich by knowing the value of money and not squandering it (unless it was inherited). I think the girls know guys like the one you described are the exception and just see him as a dumb farang and milk him for what they can get. I would too in their shoes. But will concede it does make it bad for the rest of us.

Zane May, this was covered in another topic about racism but I did experience difficulties in Bangkok being Black. My buddy I travel with (mate to you Brits, Aussies and Kiwis) is 1/2 Black and Latin but looks middle eastern to some. We had trouble checking into Grace Hotel and Nana Hotel until it was clear we were American. The lady at Grace told us plainly she does not service Africans "..too much trouble, bad, cause trouble" she said. They have been known to skip out on hotels, trash the place, under pay or refuse to pay BGs, will not buy drinks in bars, sometimes refuse to take customary shower before 'boom boom', and along with Indians have a rep of carrying an odor. I don't mean to offend anyone, I'm clearly stating what's been told to me by BGs, mamasans, etc. Once most bars know I'm American its usually pretty cool but there is some reservation with some of the girls. Regrettably, I think the attitude toward Blacks in Bangkok is partly justified because its based on personal experience and not from preconditioned attitude or what they've heard. It saddens me because it makes it hard for me in BKK and that's why I go to other spots instead of BKK for sanuking. The bars in BKK are fine with me once my American accent comes out. If I am walk around with a white Farang that I've struck up a conversation with and decided to go to a few bars to check out the local talent, then I'm usually accepted right away since Africans are never with white farangs so they surmise that I must be a Brit or American.

Pattaya is totally different animal altogether. First of all there are very few Blacks. No Africans that I can see. Blacks are there mainly when the US military is town. They call me Chocolat, hence my screen name on this post. Also, I speak 'nitnoy' Thai and that goes a long way. They are usually very shocked. I have not heard 'farang' but have heard 'hello hansom Blackmun' and 'i love you chocolat' The term farang is not used in front of farangs from my experience anyway. A lot of these girls have heard the stories about Blacks and want to find out. I've had girls actually reach under my shorts to feel it and then giggle (hopefully not for lack of size!--joke) and tell their friends in Thai what they felt. After I visit a bar after going ST or LT, the word gets back and a few of them come over with her and this is funny but they ask her if they can reach under my shorts instead of asking me!

 

Now, TBear, great post. Still want to know the frat you're in. I'm a Que.

The one thing I got from my trip to LOS is a change of attitude. I think Tbear experienced that too. I do alright. I have no problem in getting dates. But its putting up with the BS. After vising Thailand, I have an indifferent attitude when I deal with women here. I can walk away from BS and not stick around till she finally gives me some. They sense that too. I'm friendly as always and still a gentleman but I will be the one early on, sometimes on the first date to say 'I dont' think its gonna work out romantically between us.' They are shocked! That would not have happened before. I can take it or leave it, thanks to my trip to LOS. Those women I say that too actually call me incessently because they want to know why a guy would turn them down BEFORE he gets any sex from them and on the first date.

[ July 20, 2001: Message edited by: chocolat steve ]

[Ranger]

Sorry Zane,

Pagagraph 4 was a quote from my trip report, not Tbear's, so you are giving him to much credit. I do think Tbear learned as his trip went along and he'll be a lot smarter with his Baht on the next trip. I think every newbie goes through this learning process, I know that I did.

If I told you how much I spent on my first trip, you'd freak. I barfined the first girl I met and gave her 2000B for ST even though I knew better. I barfined 4-5 girls some nights and took them to disco's and really threw money around. I thought I might not make it back here for quite some time and decided to live it up. My second trip, I was much more level headed and now that I live here, I would sooner be poked in the eye with a sharp stick than pay a girl more than 1000B!

The newbies will always over do things and overpay. My beef would be with the well-heeled frequent visitors or ex-pats that insist on over paying because they can or it makes them feel like big shots. I know some guys that have more money than they could ever spend, but they don't overpay for things, including the girls and will argue with the Baht bus driver over being overcharged 5B. I think they are the exception from what I have seen and heard, both from other ex-pats and the girls.

Maybe you should start a new thread

"Rich ex-pats pay too much"

Ranger

[ July 20, 2001: Message edited by: Ranger ]