mark45y

I was about 51 when I met a lady named "A" on Soi Cowboy. She was nineteen. I enticed her into coming to live with me. A few years later we were married. She became pregnant almost immediately and we had a son. A few years later we broke up and she want back to working in Bangkok. She asked for, and got, a divorce. But the son is a fine boy, still has my name, now nine years old and doing well. He still lives with his sister and grandma; I see him almost every month.

Our marriage had nothing to do with getting a visa. Indeed, when the immigration police revealed that I had to have an untouchable 300,000 baht in the bank I told them "I don't have it, and if I did I would give it to her and she would buy rice fields." You could argue that the reason I never saved 300,000 baht was because whatever came in went to her.

Our marriage did not last, but, proud of our son, I can not call it a "failure".

Later I had a son with another lady, named "C". She and I never married. I give whatever child support I can afford to both of them.

Which is better off; "A" the divorcee or "C" the never-married?

Nothing lasts forever.

Children need more than pocket money and a man that drops in once a month!

It's people like you why this joke wasn't that funny, because it's a law that would do a lot of good to stop people like you doing things like that.

I can't tell you what I think of you and people like you, because I would be instantly banned.

I will just say that you make me want to vomit.

Unfortunately, a ridiculous law like that would not stop seedy middle aged men like Canfield from having unprotected sex with young Asian prostitutes. The fact that he might deign to visit the progeny of these ill fated liaisons occasionally, doesn't detract much from the fact that they are "look krueng" growing up without a father and without the affluence and international education that "look krueng" are expected to have in modern Thai society. The kids will just be looked at in the same way as the "look krueng" left behind with their prostitute mothers by American GIs in the 60s and 70s.

The thousands of Aussies stationed in Thailand during Vietnam were impotent? You should really amend your post to read Aussies and Americans. And to be fair a lot of Americans married Thai women during the war. There were 50,000 stationed in Thailand for 10 years.

As mentioned earlier, television plays a huge role in the early development of a child's mind. I can recall programs I watched in the mid 1960's, programs which excited me about space travel (Star Trek, Lost In Space), Batman, Superman showed me how good always triumphs over evil (without graphic violence). There were many more.

Try as hard as I can, I cannot recall ever seeing the domestic violence, class domination and abject misery used as main themes for programs which are aired every hour of the day in Thailand. The humour is either slapstick or demeaning to the victim. None of this is having a good or beneficial effect on kids. I often see Thai kids, no older than 5 or 6 playing and I notice how violent they are. I see the same thing on the most popular soaps.

Kids emulate adults so it is a never ending cycle; the only way to break it is to introduce English language programs. Unfortunately most of the modern US or UK offerings seem to be heading in the opposite direction - nudity, violence and foul language are the latest vogue from what I see.

So I question why Thailand should actually bother with English; it makes more sense for them to embrace everything Chinese. Perhaps they have a fear of being swallowed up entirely (many believe it is inevitable, anyway) and recognise English as an investment in the future of their nation. However, English is not a big priority in China - instead western nations are rushing to educate their kids in Mandarin. They see the future where Thailand is waking up too late to English...

You have never watched a group of Thai kids trying to learn Chinese. Chinese is about 4 times as difficult in alphabet and vocabulary to learn.

Paint the submarines yellow and put speakers on them and have them buzz around broadcasting old Beetles tunes.

The submarines could do the coastal towns and the Army could be outfitted with uniforms and instruments and march into the interior doing Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.

These actions would involve the military in English lessons and everyone would be happy.

I am too old to drink as it is bad for my health. I can't dance as frequently as I could so I don't dance as much. The Thais ate all the fish in the adjoining oceans so I can't fish. I am tired of teaching people to speak English. Since I am not in a tourist area the ladies conversation is a bit different, “where you work, you have car, how big you house, you have family, is wife out of town?” but it still gets tiring.

I like the CIA stories and buried treasure stories the best, crazy bar girls second and rescues in Burma third. My favorite though is when a Western woman comes in and lectures me on morality. I really like those.

A tip to the knowledgeable, if you really want to hear some good ones, put on a doctors tunic and wear a stethoscope around your neck in the bar. If you are really courageous try in a beer bar.

About 20+ years ago, I lived in the Patpong area and the building I lived in housed a lot of the sex workers. Most were young females, but there were plenty of male sex workers. The ladies always had a sad tale to tell, the males were less likely to do so. I never met a male who was forced or coerced into the trade and the turn over was quite high. A few of them seemed to think it was Ok work and seemed to overall enjoy it. Males were more likely to make sure that the experience was somewhat mutually satisfactory.

The business was a stepping stone for other opportunities. It was often short-term and once they had enough money they went on to other things. I occasionally have contact with a few, who now lead reasonably respectable lives.

There was/is a group who 20 years later are still around the trade. They have long ago passed their use-by date. They hustle and pimp and maybe work as a mamasan. They are quite jaded and pretty untrustworthy and sad, lonely characters. They seem to have long ago lost the ability to relate to people and I would guess are on the wrong side of legal activities.

A very astute post. The entire dynamic of the relationship is different. Physical drives play a large part in relationships. In some relationships the consumer has some bargaining power.

I probably should not get more detailed than that.

I reckon this thread will go on so long that it comes to the government's attention, they review the more recent postings, and decide "Yes, yes, let's do it...."

Stupidity may be its own reward, but never know where it will end up...

SC

I thought that was the idea.

I was in a little village outside of Phitchit a few years ago and it was traditional. Chiang Mai I was able to sneak from my apartment to the back of Central mall where the trucks unload and inside that way and watched the festivities out front. I made a mistake of trying to walk down a side street and a nice looking little girl with a big smile smeared me with powder and dumped water on me. I ran back to my apartment for the rest of the day.

I played for a couple of years till I got pink eye and that was no fun. Viral pink eye there is no cure so you have to wait for a couple of weeks for it to run its course. I think the eye doctor gave me steroids or something like that to help it along but told me it would be there for a couple of weeks regardless of what she did.

INTERESTING......It seems that its not really the local thais that has a issue about older farang guys marrying younger Thai girls or having younger thai bfs but rather the farang community themselves. Thais on the whole could not care less as long its not some educated and decent family whose daughter is involved. Otherwise no one cares a hoots and the same goes for the rest of the Asian Foreigners here. They simply do not care . Yes , there is occassionally the giggles and jokes but thats all. Its the farang community among themselves who have an issue with their own kind. Just look at some of the replies on this thread.

LOL!

Thai people are more tolerent by nature, and often won't be as aggressive when sharing their opinions. But if you think normal, decent Thai people don't think that relationships between old men and bar girls are distasteful and abnormal, then you are very much mistaken.

You said, the same goes for the rest of the Asian foreigners' What are you basing this on? Have you discussed this with lots of Koreans lately?

I have worked in Thailand for the Thai government and military and private institutions. I have done so for many years. One thing I find in common with all the people I have worked for and bus drivers and barbers and bosses, they all try and fix me up with a young woman. In one case even twins. The Koreans I have known have not tried to fix me up with anyone. My daughter went to college in Japan and no one there tried to fix me up with anyone. China, I have only worked in Taipei and I did get a few offers there.

The professional people I have known in Thailand have been more likely to fix me up with a woman in her late 20's with a child or two. The laboring classes have gone a bit younger.

I would say the average age the local amateur matchmakers come up with is about 30 years younger than I.

The Thai men that I know mostly have a young mia noi but that relationship is kept separate from the family life. Although known it is discreet. In other words the eldest son certainly knows Pop has an 18 year old squeeze but they really don't talk about it.

I have seen some variances to this and one man I know is quite open about it as they all work together in his business but mostly it is on the hush.

In general I would say it is more accepted in Thailand to have a younger wife or significant other than in the West. This is especially prevalent in rural areas where entertainment is more family oriented and less age differences are apparent on festive occasions. When I go to a concert or club it is not unusual to see a 40 year age spread in people attending.

I know a lot of people who post on Thai Visa live in Bangkok where there is more separation of age groups in recreation and it may be difficult to understand that out in the sticks persons from three generations like the same kind of music and social activities.

In the Big Smoke I may feel odd going to RCA but in Nakon Nowhere everybody dances to the same kind of country music.

Your post can be altered to read as follows;

What the US bashers on this forum seem to forget is that what we have is an established history of a regime that has funded terrorism around the world, that started wars with Chad, and egypt and tried to topple several arab governments. The government has had an established history of crushing dissent and of torturing its own people.

I suspect Gerry that the US can be accused of much the same thing, like for instance:

Supplying and encouraging the Talaban when Russia was in Afganastan, now the weapons they supplied then are being used against them.

Supplying helping and encouraging Sadam when he was trying to take over Iran, check out who fired the last shots in that war and what they were fired at.

These are only 2 instances and your country are certainly no saints when it comes to starting wars and having people killed.

Then if you want to talk of torture we could look into Gitmo.

The rest of your post is only trying to twist things around, like there would have been no need for anyone to be evecuated from Libya if the rebels had not attacked the Govt.

Do you really think the French, Italians and others would be there if they didnt have the US with its missiles and bombs to hide behind?

And while you are at it tell us how many missiles and bombs other countries have fired into Libya to save the people.

As for those who support the US I always thought the N A in NATO meant North Atlantic but it now seems it means North Africa.

The only thing it has to do with North Atlantic countries is OIL.

I dont see countries that dont bow down to the US, like Russia for instance supporting this travesty.

Not bowing would have been a veto.

I know MUCH more Farang Fathers that DON'T look after the Wife's Kids form previous relationships etc, than those that do..

In many cases, the Kid up in the Village with Grandma isn't even really spoken about, no Pictures or anythign like that either heaven forbid, the Kid just appears to be dismissed a lot of the time from both the Fraang & the " Wife's " psyche.

Of course $$ has to get back to the Kid, but no parenting or emotional stuff gets back there from it's Birth Mother & it's now " Step Father ".

All of the Women in teh situations i mention above are of course Ex Bar Girls.

I do wonder about the mentality behind Men that willingly look after another Man's Children & why they would do that especially when they don't have their own Kids with their Wife, when they simply do not have to & when there are numerous other " Ladies " out there that don't have Kids that they could start their own Families with.

Fair play to them, but the need their bumps felt in my opinion..

I have a Guy opposite me, he's mid 60's, he's got a " Wife ", nice House, Car etc yet there are 2 x Thai Daughters from her previous Marraige, both 100% Thai, one is 7 Years Old & the other is 3 Years Old..

I have enquired as to how all of that, the initial meeting of the 2 people, the Marraige, the Car, the House, the perfect Family Environment all happened so quickly, but my question got dimissed pretty quickly by my Daughter's Mother whom i asked, & that was that..

I asked because i couldn't work out & still can't work out, why a 60 somethign Year old Man would take on 2 x young Daughters that weren't his, when he has grown up Children & even Grand Children, that are older than them ??

I can tell you why I did. The girl showed up one day, no place to go, no money and a black eye and bruises. You do what you have to do.

It's incredibly disappointing this is a stupid April Fool's prank, because it is something that should be implemented.

Taken in a humorous way practical jokes are funny. Add the caveat "because it is something that should be implemented" and it becomes cruel prank to men who may be in love or wanting to marry a women a few years their junior.

I knew that the Thai politicians are stupid but that they are so stupid I never imagined........

I always imagined they were this stupid. Their ignorance and stupidity is on display every day in this backward country. First, to all the Thia numb nuts in Parliament, if you are really concerned about the retirement amount, just raise it for men who marry Thai nationals you idiots! It's a pitence to us anyway! The fact is, it just bugs the heck out of you that your women prefer farang of any age over your little shrink-wrapped package! You want to remain free to treat your women like crap and have them do all the work you are all to lazy or stupid (likely both) to do so you have time to play with little boys and ladyboys in your local brothels, drink your days away and gamble away what little baht you do have from whatever scam you were running . As far as the little fatherless bastards that might be created by an old farang who keels over before it's grown, I suspect the geezer will have provided for the wife and child much better than any Thai man is capable of doing. Also here is a heads up for you brain dead little MP droids, just because you all believe 400,000 or 800,000 is alot of money, to most farang of retirement age it is absolutely nothing, and I seriously doubt any farang ever married a Thai girl of any age with this thought in mind. So I guess it will still be perfectly ok for these impotent little lilliputions to cheat on their wives with these young girls or marry them themselves and abuse them. Thailand is a country on the decline in a big way and this will be another huge step towards its demise. Other than your women, you have little else to offer us and you will learn this lesson the hard way.

Sorry, but for higher class Thais there is generally a great stigma attached to being in a relationship with a farang. Several girls that used to work for me admitted that their father had forbidden cross-cultural marriage, no doubt excluding Chinese, Korean etc

BTW do you think the average middle class / high class Thai women would be seen dead with you? NO NO NO! But don't worry there's still a fine array of rice-pickers on display who might actually prefer you over the alcoholic, gambling wasters you stereotyped so beautifully. Lucky you!

Try sailing. Not all of us have to work for a living. You would be surprised. Go look in your closet. Do you have three tuxedos there? No. Didn't think so. PS if they had to work for a living they were not higher class, they were working girls.

For an alternative view on language learning, allow me to recommend. Dr. J. Marvin Brown's From the Outside In: The Secret to Automatic Language Growth. This is the paper that shattered the foundations of what I once believed to be the "proper" way to teach and learn languages.

Disclaimer: Read this paper at your own risk. It could cause you to doubt nearly everything you do in the classroom. Worse--it could cause you to question whether there should even be a "classroom". Or a "teacher"...

I read the whole thing. The guy taught at AUA. I went to school at AUA and they use absolutely none of the techniques he writes about. The article is like a big shaggy dog story that could have been told in one page. At first I was interested but after reading the whole thing I think he is a nut.

Don't speak Thai. Don't think about speaking Thai. Don't speak Thai. Listen only and tag along with people having life experiences. Servants who don't speak English speak better English than Bar girls who speak English all day long. When a girl fell off her bicycle and her skirt went up above her head and she said in Chinese, "Don't look at me." This was his breakthrough moment in linguistics. His prescription for teaching Thai to grade school kids would be to have two English speaking people do a play in the front of the class for three terms not having the kids speak any English. Ya RIGHT.

Somebody else read this thing and tell me I am not crazy.

I lived with a Thai lady for three years. She had a 14 year old daughter who lived with a taxi driver in Bangkok. He beat her up and she moved in with us for a couple of years till she got a job as a dancer and moved out on her own. After dancing for a year she met a Thai guy, got pregnant and had one child. They are doing great. He has a good job and she is very happy staying home and taking care of the baby.

I don't wish to appear naive here. But 14yr old daughter living with a taxi driver. Really?

jb1

She also worked as a maid during the day in a hotel when she lived with the taxi driver. Mom didn't like the guy. I didn't know the guy. On visits my job was to keep mom from beating up daughter. The taxi guy was 19 or 20. She was a quiet girl around me most of the time.

I didn't find it that odd seeing she went to school till M-3. 14 or 15 most girls stop school.

I lived with a Thai lady for three years. She had a 14 year old daughter who lived with a taxi driver in Bangkok. He beat her up and she moved in with us for a couple of years till she got a job as a dancer and moved out on her own. After dancing for a year she met a Thai guy, got pregnant and had one child. They are doing great. He has a good job and she is very happy staying home and taking care of the baby.

28 pages of idiots that don't know the date JEEZZZZ

It is like yelling FIRE in a theater. A lot of people only hear the words and don't bother to look around and see if the place is on fire.

When you hit such a sensitive nerve only the most objective can step back and analytically observe what is going on.

I carry a Tinker and have for 20 years. Don't know what I would do without it.

^^

Those Burmese workers are generally on work permits. Thailand runs what is called a migrant labour programme which allows people from Burma, Laos and Cambodia to work in Thailand on renewable 2 year work permits. It gives them access to social services. It is well known and pretty well regulated.

As for the small shops, noodle vendors etc. I suspect you'll find that a majority of them are registered as Sole Traders. Easy to register, allows you to write off 80 to 90% of your revenue as costs with no evidence. The rest is taxed at your marginal income. Tax return is barely longer than one page.

Yes, plenty outside the system. But, the boffins at the MOF and MOC have statisical tools to estimate those errors. If you seriously studied economics, you'll know there are econometric tools for this.

Few serious economists study the Thai economy nor dwell on it daily, too small. But they do study the Chinese economy and report on it daily.

They use measurements like electricity usage instead of GDP figures because it is accurate.

If you have a small Thai business you also know how the Thai IRS measures income. It is just silly.

Nothing here is accurate. It costs 160 baht to register a small store and noodle shop and 120 baht a year in taxes. I did it a couple of months ago.

The gray or black market economies are not added into the GDP numbers.

The average Thai family with vegetable patch and chickens, shopping at local markets and eating at local restaurants and buying gas in quart whiskey bottles, tell me what % of their expenditures are on the books?

[The grey economy is so large as to make any economic statistics invalid. The unchecked illegal immigration is such a large number so as to make census data unreliable. The illegal bars and quasi bars are so many so as to make license totals invalid.

How do you know this?

Have you looked at how economic statistics are compiled if they include amounts for what you call the “grey economy”?

Unchecked illegal immigration? How do you know how many illegal immigrants there are? How do you even know if you see a Burmese or Cambodian working if they are illegal or not?

How do you know if a bar is an “illegal bars and quasi bars”? Do you go a look at to see if the bar has their license every time you go into one? Do you even know anything about licensing and permitting for bars or any business in Thailand?

Your agenda is patently obvious and your denials are disingenuous and just pathetic.,

TH

I studied economics in college and know quite a bit about gray market economies. I would have not mentioned it if I did not know something about it.

It is one of the reasons Thailand has such a resilient economy. The off the books banking business here is fascinating. China has a giant gray market and that is one reason why no one believes Chinese economic data. It has a big black market too but I have not even mentioned the black market. How much ya ba was sold in Thailand last year? How many cartons of smuggled cigarettes? How many designer knock offs in clothes and electronics?

Illegal immigration is a fact of life in the Thai construction industry and many others. Debate this till the cows come home but you know I am correct.

Illegal bars? That's my business. I know all about it.

You have a chip on your shoulder that is getting in the way of your eyesight.

I imagine you live in Thailand but you must wear blinders. I assume you are married to a Thai woman but she must not talk to you.

That little corner shop that sells gasoline, vegetables and serves Ya Dong by the shot is not legal and you know it's not legal. When your wife invests in a share group for interest bearing loans you know that is off the books. Ya Dong and Lao Khow are not legal. They are bootlegged booze. How much is sold daily in Thailand. It is off the books and not taxed. This can't be a surprise to you if you live in Thailand.

When you see the Burmese people living next to the construction site in shacks you know they are not legal.

Just multiply what you see by a couple of million because it is the same in almost every Thai town.

In Pattaya it would take me about an hour to drive you around and point out 100 illegal bars to you. They are everywhere. If you live in Pattaya let me know and I will tell you where to go.

I am not trying to con you nor am I lying to you. Take off your blinders and look around your own town for a minute. Do you think that lady that does laundry pays taxes? Or the noodle shop on wheels? Or the ice cream vendor? Or the weekend flea market and the weekly markets all over Thailand. All of that is off the books.

Like I said, don't believe me. Take a walk around your town for a week and estimate how many things are sold with no records kept.

In the US, UK and Australia when you sell something and when you buy something you have to keep records and pay taxes. Most purchases are made with check or credit card. A record exists of almost all transactions. I can live in Thailand 100% cash. My phone, my rent, my utilities everything is cash. I transferred a million baht from one bank branch to another. You know what the bank did? They withdrew a million baht and gave it to me to count and then I gave it back to the guy and he counted it again and deposited it in my account. They couldn't even make a paper transaction from one branch of the same bank to another of the same bank it had to be cash.

angry mob of isaan girl burning government building .....

Think of how they will feel when they find out it all started as a joke!

April fools

hahaha

No, not April fools ... the same laws were recently passed in both Cambodia and Laos, thus Thailand just follows this new S.E. Asian racial concept.

Old farangs over 50 that marry young Thai girls also have children, the children are Eurasian (half-casts) and Thailand does not regard this as a positive development within its society, hence the new law.

So they make all those half cast people TV actors because Thai people don't like them?

Again a proof, farangs in Thailand are only TOLERATED when they leave a lot of money there. Best: simple dump it at the airport and depart again. Even better: transfer is and stay away.

I am so happy I sold my condo in time, and switched all my business away to Sri Lanka and Southern China

This thread is proof of something alright...

It is proof of certain levels of IQ.

It is like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

It is starting to make the rounds of the Thai female websites now. Some are a bit upset. I would imagine the major news outlets soon.

Given the amount of simpletons, still replying to this in a serious manner, it is no wonder so many of you couldn't find a wife your own age in your own country in the first place.

It was a good joke, but the fact of the matter is, it would be a fantastic law.

I think you will find that most of the simpletons

Had a wife but couldn't keep her;

He went to Pattaya and found another.

And in Thailand he kept her very very well.

I'm amazed that so many long-time sexpats here don't understand the following hard truths:

Just having to tolerate the presence of fat old bald sex-obsessed men chasing their young lovelies **is** a considerable burden, not only for the beautiful princesses we rent but for Thai society in general. As long as we we continue to pour substantial sums of our currency from outside the country into their coffers every month, it's (barely) worth putting up with us. As soon as our money runs out, we're no longer wanted - and IMO fair enough.

As the country grows in economic prosperity, the sums the pretty young girls can wheedle from their sugar daddies will continue to grow - not just farang, but all the candidates, including the now larger pool of non-poor (and non fat old bald sex-obsessed) Thais. So be prepared to at least pay your companion what a shop clerk or unskilled factory worker would get back home, and give her family and the government their fair commission, or else get the heck outta here.

And they have every right to run their business how they like - remember we're just the customer, and in this part of the world the only proper attitude is one of gratitude that they let us enter the shop at all!

</end rant>

According to French and Portuguese sailing logs they have been doing the same thing since the 1500's. I don't see much changing. Given the state of hygiene on old sailing ships I imagine things have improved quite a bit.