A Good Mate has Fallen for an Escort!!
Discussion
ash73 said:
I was quite shocked by how Thais perceive Westerners, but it's understandable if the only people they encounter are the wretched characters in the book.
There were a few eye openers that's for sure.I'd always wondered what possessed these girls to all go down the prostitution route. Obviously the money is the main reason, but I still couldn't work out why they all choose this instead of a different, less degrading career and accept the lower wage in return for maintaining some dignity.
Then you realise the damage was done years before they got to make the decision - it's something the are subjected to way before they start working the bars at 16/17 years old.
Part of the story tells how the girl used to get abused by her dad, and then her brother, and in the end her brother was letting his mates screw her for 20 bhat (50p) a go. At that point her future has been determined before she had even thought about it. In the end she negotiated with him and agreed they could split the money from his mates 50/50, so 25p per f***. She saw it as a good move, as it was going to happen to her whether she liked it or not so she might as well earn some money from it.......and that's where it all begins, at probably 12/13 years old.
The Ferret said:
ash73 said:
I was quite shocked by how Thais perceive Westerners, but it's understandable if the only people they encounter are the wretched characters in the book.
There were a few eye openers that's for sure.I'd always wondered what possessed these girls to all go down the prostitution route. Obviously the money is the main reason, but I still couldn't work out why they all choose this instead of a different, less degrading career and accept the lower wage in return for maintaining some dignity.
Then you realise the damage was done years before they got to make the decision - it's something the are subjected to way before they start working the bars at 16/17 years old.
Part of the story tells how the girl used to get abused by her dad, and then her brother, and in the end her brother was letting his mates screw her for 20 bhat (50p) a go. At that point her future has been determined before she had even thought about it. In the end she negotiated with him and agreed they could split the money from his mates 50/50, so 25p per f***. She saw it as a good move, as it was going to happen to her whether she liked it or not so she might as well earn some money from it.......and that's where it all begins, at probably 12/13 years old.
wisbech said:
bongtom said:
Living in SE Asia I’ve lost count of the amount of times expats say their Thai/Viet/Cambo wife only worked at the bar for 2 weeks/5 days/2 hours before they rescued them.
Talk to the wife and you can clearly see they are ex bargirls. Once they get to 30 they are too old.
I met my wife in a bar.
My wife once went to a gathering organised by Indonesian embassy for expats. She came back asking why the English only married bargirls/ working girls... the answer is pretty obvious - that’s who you meet (outside work). We met when I was looking for a new office (she was in real estate) but we normally tell people we met in a bar...Talk to the wife and you can clearly see they are ex bargirls. Once they get to 30 they are too old.
I met my wife in a bar.
I'd say thats a massive sweeping generalisation. Maybe truer years ago?
The only guys I have been introduced to here where that might be the case have been older, fat, red faced Australians.
I was out to lunch with two good male friends yesterday. One's wife is a teacher at a prestigious 'green school' here, just back from a trip taking kids hiking across an island somewhere. Speaks six languages, qualified dive instructor etc.
The other, his wife has a graphic design business.
Meeting another guy tomorrow - his wife owns a small restaurant and plays golf to some ridiculously high standard.
Two of wife's female friends over last night - one has an antiques export business, not sure what the other one does.
I do have one good friend that works in a very lively bar here - her complaint, on the odd occasion we manage to catch up for dinner, is not meeting men because she is to busy working. Pleased to say she has rekindled a relationship with guy she knew years ago and thats now going well.
I sometimes get the feeling on these kind of threads - this was supposed to be about escorts - that there are still people in UK that view British people not marrying British people as a bit odd and there must be some financial reason for it, especially for the woman.
I guess if you still live 10 miles from where you were born and the only time you go abroad is two weeks to Spain or Florida a year, your world view is probably quite old fashioned. That's why I'm of the firm opinion that the value of your vote in the Brexit referendum should have been on a sliding scale depending on how many other countries you have worked and lived in.
A mate of mine has had comments about his wife (she's Polish). He's a teacher and had a guy ask if he'd married his cleaner...she's a partner in a law firm.
I've had one kind of fishing comment about my wife when we were doing a trip to UK...asking if I was worried about losing my house if I got divorced. Making the incorrect assumption that I must have bought the house...because I'm the white guy.
Also, the Thailand thing (only been once myself) I'm guessing if you go to some holiday bar type area, that's not how the whole country works. So yes you might meet bar girls out to meet a foreigner, but tarring the whole country with the same brush? There will be doctors, teachers, researchers, bus drivers, marketing people, website designers, shop managers etc etc... same as every other country.
I did a great trip to Vietnam a few years ago with a female friend and we met a bunch of people who were working for a big brand in HCMC - really good crowd and I think my mate is still in touch with a few of them on Facebook. I could easily have got a few numbers and a date or two out of it - just the same as in the UK.
Edited by jdw100 on Friday 16th November 01:36
Edited by jdw100 on Friday 16th November 01:39
Yep - I was there (Indonesia) during krismon to replace a chinese manager who was no longer safe due the pogroms. Almost all embassies told people to evacuate, so the remaining expats tended to be single, and the type that liked things wild. I was in East Java - had car windows smashed once in a riot, and tyres slashed in another riot, had to negotiate with the gang boss of Surabaya over gold smuggling after he sent soldiers to intimidate our staff (I was with an airline). Fun days!
Was then in Jakarta for a few years a few years later and yes, much more normal.
Was then in Jakarta for a few years a few years later and yes, much more normal.
wisbech said:
My wife went to university in the West. When we met, she was actually dating a (married) politician - she told me some time later that she needed to tell him that it was ‘the real thing’ with me, otherwise I would have been on the wrong end of a nasty beating...
Sorry but nasty beating from who ? 
yanyan said:
ash73 said:
g3org3y said:
The Ferret said:
ash73 said:
Started reading this last night and couldn't put it down - finished at 7am and thought s
t it's time to get up for work! Never read a book cover to cover in one sitting before.
I'll admit, I gave it a look yesterday at work on my lunch. Finished at 2 am this morning and to say I'm not a book person would be putting it mildly. That shows how gripping it was. Other than kids books, I've never read a book from start to finish in one hit, and never wanted to.t it's time to get up for work! Never read a book cover to cover in one sitting before.No idea why I felt I couldn't go to bed without finishing it, I've never been to BKK, it's never appealed to me in the slightest, but I know a lot that have and once I started reading it I simply could not stop, huge thumbs up to the author. It's not got me wondering whether I should look at some of his other titles.
And a massive thanks to 2Btoo who posted the link - it wrecked my plans for the entire evening, but was 100% worth it.
Must admit, there were a couple of occasions (ok, more than a couple) where I wanted to grab the protagonist Pete and give him a damn good shaking. Get your head together man!
I started off feeling sorry for Pete and then realised he was just as despicable as every other lowlife character in the book; not a single redeeming feature in any of them! The ending was particularly apt.
I don't know the answer to this question though... Pete said upon catching a whiff of Joy's smell / perfume or whatever - that he had smelled it before, but he couldn't remember where / when - I'm guessing that was never picked up on again; was it?
They are all available as ebooks as well as paper/hardback.
I read it too, was a good read. I've never actually been to Thailand, but I've been to Singapore which is pretty tame in comparison.
I think there's quite a big difference between meeting a girl in a bar as opposed to "bar girls"
Also, in countries where tourism doesn't exist and girls are throwing themselves at working expats, it also includes girls with full time jobs and students.
I think there's quite a big difference between meeting a girl in a bar as opposed to "bar girls"
Also, in countries where tourism doesn't exist and girls are throwing themselves at working expats, it also includes girls with full time jobs and students.
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