And one last Thai twist before I call it a day. We should not forget the stigma and body shaming many women experience long before any bar enters the picture. Too dark, too fat, wrong shape, too poor, not pretty enough. Then along comes a fat ugly expat who, according to local mythology, must be rich, tells her she is beautiful and treats her like a princess. But every culture has some version of the same story, poor girl meets rich man, Cinderella, rescue, status and romance all mixed together. Thailand is not unique, it just has its own version of the old Pretty Woman syndrome. Richard Gere and Julia Roberts did quite well selling us that story. 😄