Does It Really Work?

[sayjann]

in 2002 an old schoolfriend(i will call him J)of mine visited me for a week on phuket after trekking in the himalayas.

he was enchanted by pattaya and phuket and returned again and on his third trip persuaded another friend of ours(i will call him P)to go with him.

 

P was soon back and fell in love with a lady,and with his redundancy cash returned and helped buy a bar in pattaya with her running it.

but he returned to the UK and i heard from his brother that it had gone tits up with her still in thailand and him still in the uk.

i don't know many facts of that relationship,but to me it would be the last thing i would ever do.

 

J met a lady and bought her to the uk and threw his partner of over 20 years out of the house and moved the thai in.

he is now selling up all his interests in the uk and moving to thailand with his lady.

i have no idea if he has any business plans or just plans to grow old.

 

i only get sketchy reports every couple of months about the 2 of them so i don't know how reliable they are but as they come from family members i tend to believe them.

i have'nt J since 2008 and i saw P last year for about 5 minutes and never got round to hearing the truth.

 

there are many members on this board who have married bg's/gtg's and i know some have had good marriages and others not so good.

after only 10 years visiting thailand i would'nt marry and bring a thai to the uk,it's great for a fun-filled holiday but.............

 

i'm off to phuket soon and have a bit of cash and am thinking of approaching a good friend about maybe getting involved in one of his various busineses.

i could easily stay in thailand for a while and have a job,i know the pay would be crap and i would have to say goodbye to the bar scene because of wages.

but i would be happy with a lady and seeing if it would work if i stayed in thailand.

 

what are your thoughts?

[Vintage_Kwai]

what are your thoughts?

1. If you only have a little cash, just come for the holiday. It is difficult to get a proper work permit in Thailand these days, and the pay isn't all that great unless you come on a package deal. It's easier to earn more outside and come for your two weeks in the sun.

 

2. Regarding your friends, not much of a difference between the circus and the carnival. They've obviously made their choices, and are not going to listen to advice, so the train crash is going to happen anyway.

 

3. You being happy with a (Thai?)lady. Yes, it can happen. However, choose carefully and outside of the bar scene if possible.

 

4. Don't approach 'good' friends with the intention of investing in his 'businesses'. Better to throw it in the direction of the ladies. See point 1.

 

5. You indicate a desire to stay. Do some homework, learn how to speak (and read and write if possible) before you come here. It will make a very big difference.

 

6. Read Stickmanbangkok.

[Hugh_Hoy]

My thoughts? You've definitely lost the plot !

 

HH

[Flashermac]

There was a Nanaplaza BM who had been part-owner of a restaurant in Pattaya. He told me the restaurant was just starting to be profitable, when his partner decided he wanted to sell and go home. He couldn't afford to buy out the partner, so he had to agree to sell. He was lucky in that he got back all the money he had invested, but at the end of 5 years he was right back where he had been at the beginning.

 

Partners can cause problems.

[Coss]

My 2 bahts worth, a Thai girl, good or not, makes a wonderful wife, despite the fact I'm divorcing mine, and probably going to get a Lao girl, this has nothing to to with ethnicity.

 

My Thai wife is getting divorced for reasons that would be appropriate to any woman any where.

 

I've seen good, Thai bar girl and good girl marriages.

 

But, my concern is the "westernization" of the lady.

 

IMHO they turn into western women if you domicile them in western land, if you keep them in Thailand they may retain that Thai-ness which is the attractive part of being a woman.

 

YMMV

 

Coss

[The_Munchmaster]

...IMHO they turn into western women if you domicile them in western land, if you keep them in Thailand they may retain that Thai-ness which is the attractive part of being a woman.

 

Sounds like Sayjaan just wants a relatively simple (income would dictate that) life in somewhere like Phuket with some female company.

 

He was clear that he wouldn't take a Thai lady to the UK but not clear as to whether he would think about marrying one in LOS or if he just wanted a "companion".

[Dexi]

Good thinking in not wanting to bring a TG back to the UK .I tried it once - never again.... Marriage in LOS....why bother as long as both parties are happy living in sin As for finances,this has been discussed at length before but for a simple life-style 30 k Bt/month should be ok ( thats what I`m planning on ).

[sayjann]

Sounds like Sayjaan just wants a relatively simple (income would dictate that) life in somewhere like Phuket with some female company.

 

He was clear that he wouldn't take a Thai lady to the UK but not clear as to whether he would think about marrying one in LOS or if he just wanted a "companion".

 

the post is'nt really about me.

i would'nt really think of investing in a business just having a bit of work with someone i hope i could trust.

maybe put out feelers while i'm there and test thw waters.

i'm not even sure if i would want to re-locate to thailand,a lot of things to think about.

i would have to drop out of the bar-scene quite a lot and that would be a challenge.

maybe just plod along for a while and see what happens.

might pnly last a month but who knows?.

find someone to spend time with when i want but not marriage.

 

no,this subject was more about my friends.

my friend P invested heavily in a bar with a girl and then returned to the uk,leaving her to run the place.

i gather it went tits up but i know no details,i don't even know if they are still in touch?.

i know from the talk here that that is a dangerous thing to do and i would never consider that.

 

my other friend J would be very comfortably well off when he sells up and moves to thailand.

but i know nothing about his girl or what she is like,she could be relly playing him along and then all manner of things could happen.

but as i say i know no info on what he plans to do when he gets there.

it could be a great decision or total disaster.

 

a neighbour of mine got a girl pregnant while on a visit(so she says) and he returned to the uk,

she had the baby and they keep in touch the computer/webcam etc,but he sends a fortune in cash every month to her.

he thinks they are still together and she's outside the bar scene now but who knows?,maybe he is gullible to believe everything she says.

 

we are all of the same age roughly but i had more knowledge of the way things work out there then they did.

my friends quickly fell for the charms of the counrty and girls and quickly made their decisions,rightly or wrongly.

i had a lot more knowledge of the way things work due to boards like this/ex-pat friends and like to think i would be more prepared in my decisions,but who knows?

 

i will go on my next visitand just see what happens and just find out as much info as i can.

and of course many thoughts about things from people like you.

[Flashermac]

If you are going to run a business here, you have to run it - you and nobody else. You have to be there all the time to keep an eye on things. Don't trust anyone else to do it.

 

The shining example for me was when a Canuck from Vancouver opened a gogo bar on Patpong and called it The Pink Pig. (He said he got the idea from the old movie "Porky's".) The guy had worked for years in the Middle East and decided he wanted to relax and do something easy ... running a bar! Never mind that he had never run any kind of a business anywhere, it just looked so easy. He put every satang he had into the bar - fixed it up quite nicely and paid his dancers well. He had an excellent collection of young (some no doubt too young) nude dancers, and the place was packed every night. But the cash register would contain only a few thousand baht at the end of an evening.

 

The owner of Rififi (before Mickey) said to me, "That poor bastard, his staff is robbing him blind. He should know how much was sold from the empty cases, but he just doesn't get it." The bar closed within six months and the Canuck lost millions of baht. He had to go back to the ME and started all over again.

 

Do it right, or don't do it at all.

 

'Nuff said.

[sayjann]

If you are going to run a business here, you have to run it - you and nobody else. You have to be there all the time to keep an eye on things. Don't trust anyone else to do it.

 

The shining example for me was when a Canuck from Vancouver opened a gogo bar on Patpong and called it The Pink Pig. (He said he got the idea from the old movie "Porky's".) The guy had worked for years in the Middle East and decided he wanted to relax and do something easy ... running a bar! Never mind that he had never run any kind of a business anywhere, it just looked so easy. He put every satang he had into the bar - fixed it up quite nicely and paid his dancers well. He had an excellent collection of young (some no doubt too young) nude dancers, and the place was packed every night. But the cash register would contain only a few thousand baht at the end of an evening.

 

The owner of Rififi (before Mickey) said to me, "That poor bastard, his staff is robbing him blind. He should know how much was sold from the empty cases, but he just doesn't get it." The bar closed within six months and the Canuck lost millions of baht. He had to go back to the ME and started all over again.

 

Do it right, or don't do it at all.

 

'Nuff said.

 

like i say i would have no interest in running a business............

i have no idea of what it involves and how much time it takes.

a little cash input into an existing one would do if it paid back each month enough for me to be comfortable and able to survive,but would only think about it if it was someone i trusted or someone of their recomendation who is considered 'safe'.

i would be quite happy to just work for someone else on a liveable wage and take 1 step at a time and see what happens.

i would have to lose much of what i have here in the uk.

i have everything i want/need and much of that would have to be sacrificed as own transport/comfortably living conditions at first.

 

and also all the legal/visa/permit and i presume cash issues would probably baffle me.

but by talking to friends who have done well over the past 20 odd years i can learn much more about how things work.

but at the moment it's only a very tiny thought at the very far recesses of my mind and no serious thoughts about anything at all.

i'm in my 50's now and not a lot of options in the uk,maybe nice to see out my days gracefully?.

 

there's always the gay area of patong to consider...........