Depressing?

[Goshawk]

Kate McGeown? She must be getting close to her sell by date surely?

But anyway, lets face it folks, given the choice between writing a piece on the sex workers of Bangkok and the working conditions of the trawlermen of Hull (including the rough old slappers they have to endure) there's no real choice is there. Besides which she doesn't have to actually go out on the streets interviewing pro's, it's all been done before, a few minutes on Google, cut and paste and file the report. Then it's off out on the p1ss, easy money.

I had the misfortune to grow up in Hull in the late 60s and there was a saying 'as rough as a Hessle road fishwife'. Peroxide hair with black roots showing, cigarette dangling from lips, wearing slippers in the cold east wind streets, dragging a snotty-nosed, crying nipper around, they would talk to their fellow fishwives in an abbreviated form of foul English.

Now that was depressing, things must have improved since then.

Ahh... the lovely wiff of the humber. Can't beat it !!

Hessle Road... one time used to be the northern equivelant of sukhumvit

is the 'Earl De Grey' still there...?

[qwertz]

Kate McGeown? She must be getting close to her sell by date surely?

But anyway, lets face it folks, given the choice between writing a piece on the sex workers of Bangkok and the working conditions of the trawlermen of Hull (including the rough old slappers they have to endure) there's no real choice is there. Besides which she doesn't have to actually go out on the streets interviewing pro's, it's all been done before, a few minutes on Google, cut and paste and file the report. Then it's off out on the p1ss, easy money.

I had the misfortune to grow up in Hull in the late 60s and there was a saying 'as rough as a Hessle road fishwife'. Peroxide hair with black roots showing, cigarette dangling from lips, wearing slippers in the cold east wind streets, dragging a snotty-nosed, crying nipper around, they would talk to their fellow fishwives in an abbreviated form of foul English.

Now that was depressing, things must have improved since then.

Ahh... the lovely wiff of the humber. Can't beat it !!

Hessle Road... one time used to be the northern equivelant of sukhumvit

is the 'Earl De Grey' still there...?

'ey up lad! There's nowt wrong with 'ull that a few Thai totties wouldn't put right.

[mickmac]

I thought that the "Earl de Gray" was further into town, just round the corner and down a bit from the Whittington and Cat? I should imagine that Rainers is still on the go.

[mrbojangles]

Kate reads ThaiVisa someimes; maybe she'll appreciate our comments.

Well if she reads this forum, i wish she would post a reply here, explaining her reason as to why she felt the piece was needed.

As many more have said, sex workers around the globe ain't nothing new. Maybe it would have saved us UK licence payers alot of money, if she'd have stayed in the UK and did the report on the sex workers in Soho, instead !!

[Goshawk]

I thought that the "Earl de Gray" was further into town, just round the corner and down a bit from the Whittington and Cat? I should imagine that Rainers is still on the go.

sorry, yeah it is..

it used to be a notorious venue years gone by.. was boarded up for yonks, heard it was to re-open...

[Dupont]

I'd wager just re-hash of an old story, doubt the writer has even been to thailand.

Most of em, wether or not they have ever been here, read from the same PC hymn sheet, and sterotype and generalise in ways that would appal them if committed by a white man for instance. All men here are sex tourists and the hacks like to include emmotive children references, only because they cannot tell a 30 year old Thai woman from a 16 year old one, as they are too detached from Thailand and don't have any Thai friends to draw on for reference.

When they use child references in this way it's because they cannot stand the fact that after 30 years of brainwashing from the education system, men still prefer slim, pretty, smiling women, and don't give a hoot whether she is intelegent, the boss of IBM, BP etc, and that the majority of women here are happy with financial security and a family. Absolutely kills em to think that some couples Thai/falang do not live in abject depravity and alcoholic abuse, actually have a normal family life, fun and happiness.

There used to be mass outcrys about the portrayal of women and blacks on TV and film, and you only have to watch any Hollywood film nowadays to notice the Politically Correct casting that goes on. They don't extend this outrage to white people, men and as for rich white men....

So, a bored BBC hack has learned that sex sells, and written a third rate story about an ex bar girl. Its a sign that journalists rarely leave the red light districts when over here and that the journalist courses on offer in the west are as third rate and irrelevant as the dross they churn out.

[Acquiesce]

I'd wager just re-hash of an old story, doubt the writer has even been to thailand.

Kate has lived in Thailand for a long time, she is quite well known within the expat community in Bangkok, she is also fluent in the spoken and writen Thai language.

[qwertz]

I'd wager just re-hash of an old story, doubt the writer has even been to thailand.

Kate has lived in Thailand for a long time, she is quite well known within the expat community in Bangkok, she is also fluent in the spoken and writen Thai language.

Almost perfect, if you overlook the biased reportage.

[qualtrough]

I'd wager just re-hash of an old story, doubt the writer has even been to thailand.

Kate has lived in Thailand for a long time, she is quite well known within the expat community in Bangkok, she is also fluent in the spoken and writen Thai language.

Almost perfect, if you overlook the biased reportage.

Why is it biased to write about a girl in Thailand who regrets getting into prostitution? The BBC covers all kinds of stories, including stories about prostitution in Thailand, the UK, and all over the world. What, they should just print happy stories? Seems like the journalist touched a real sore spot here! Bit too close to home for some I guess...

[Acquiesce]

What exactly is it about the article that people are objecting about?

I would love some answers to the above question, civilized answers and not flames.

[ColPyat]

What exactly is it about the article that people are objecting about?

I would love some answers to the above question, civilized answers and not flames.

I don't like the simplistic repetitions of stereotypes along the onesided "exploitation" argumentation. It leads nowhere. I don't like the advertisement space given to a fundamentalist christian NGO.

[Casanundra]

What exactly is it about the article that people are objecting about?

I would love some answers to the above question, civilized answers and not flames.

For me, the issue is not about the fact that the article was written in the first place but more about how everyone outside of Thailand seems to focus on a very teeny weeny small part of Thai life and it's that which makes these kind of articles a joke.

Yes prostitution exists but in the big scheme of things it makes up such a small percentage of life in Thailand that unless you know where to look and actually go to 'specific' places that cater for such things then you would hardly know that this sort of thing exists here. It's not as if it's thrown in your face at every corner on the way to work each day now is it.

Edited February 24, 2007 by Casanundra

[qwertz]

I'd wager just re-hash of an old story, doubt the writer has even been to thailand.

Kate has lived in Thailand for a long time, she is quite well known within the expat community in Bangkok, she is also fluent in the spoken and writen Thai language.

Almost perfect, if you overlook the biased reportage.

Why is it biased to write about a girl in Thailand who regrets getting into prostitution? The BBC covers all kinds of stories, including stories about prostitution in Thailand, the UK, and all over the world. What, they should just print happy stories? Seems like the journalist touched a real sore spot here! Bit too close to home for some I guess...

Okay, QT, would you prefer "hackneyed" to "biased"? As Acquiesce pointed out, the lady is quite well versed. Is it not a waste of talent to use her for such a well worn assignment? Any bungling junior hack could have done it as well. Here in Germany, I guarantee you would yawn as widely as I if you saw the same tired old footage about barbaric, decadent Thailand dragged yet again from some dusty central archive. Incidentally, I saw voiced over excerpts from the same dirge and fell asleep in grand style. This is not news, it's plaster for the cracks in transmissions. The few positive images I see on the box here come from the channels plugging "dream" holidays. Sleazy night life, pollution, exploitation? - No sir! Everything's rosy if you book with Sunnytours! Believe it! It's television, it must be true!

HACKNEYED - ALL OF IT!

[Ulysses G.]

Yes prostitution exists but in the big scheme of things it makes up such a small percentage of life in Thailand that unless you know where to look and actually go to 'specific' places that cater for such things then you would hardly know that this sort of thing exists here.

It's not as if it's thrown in your face at every corner on the way to work each day now is it.

I'm on your side on this issue, but are you for real?

Edited February 25, 2007 by Ulysses G.

[kmart]

What exactly is it about the article that people are objecting about?

I would love some answers to the above question, civilized answers and not flames.

I don't like the simplistic repetitions of stereotypes along the onesided "exploitation" argumentation. It leads nowhere. I don't like the advertisement space given to a fundamentalist christian NGO.

Me too. Its trite, stereotypical, lazy reporting. It the BBC wanted a story of exploitation, prostitution, or child sex; they could save a lot of travel expense by taking a black cab from Shepherds Bush to Kings Cross or Hampstead Heath, etc., etc.

[Bonaparte]

What exactly is it about the article that people are objecting about?

I would love some answers to the above question, civilized answers and not flames.

For me, the issue is not about the fact that the article was written in the first place but more about how everyone outside of Thailand seems to focus on a very teeny weeny small part of Thai life and it's that which makes these kind of articles a joke.

Yes prostitution exists but in the big scheme of things it makes up such a small percentage of life in Thailand that unless you know where to look and actually go to 'specific' places that cater for such things then you would hardly know that this sort of thing exists here. It's not as if it's thrown in your face at every corner on the way to work each day now is it.

Where do you live? Not in your face, specific places, god you go to any city or large town and you will see it, go to a small village and you will get a girl brought to you within 1 hour.

Cannot understand the objection's, its the norm here in Thailand, I have approached girls in Tesco and Big C for a rendevouz, its all about price.

[Bonaparte]

From footer on BBC new web site

06:54 GMT.

The most read story in Australasia is: Life as a Thai sex worker

Sigh.........

Regards

I read the piece after it was pointed out to me this morning.

Same old tripe that is trotted out every so often - why do they not do a profile on a Singaporean sex worker in Geylang where its legal?

Could also try Batam, Cambodia or numerous other places but no - the image perpetuates by lazy journalism looking for an easy story.

Yep, lots of Thai Prossie's in Geylang Singapore also, but then there are Thai hookers in the majority of rich Country's.

Edited February 25, 2007 by Bonaparte

[Maizefarmer]

What exactly is it about the article that people are objecting about?

I would love some answers to the above question, civilized answers and not flames.

For me, the issue is not about the fact that the article was written in the first place but more about how everyone outside of Thailand seems to focus on a very teeny weeny small part of Thai life and it's that which makes these kind of articles a joke.

Yes prostitution exists but in the big scheme of things it makes up such a small percentage of life in Thailand that unless you know where to look and actually go to 'specific' places that cater for such things then you would hardly know that this sort of thing exists here. It's not as if it's thrown in your face at every corner on the way to work each day now is it.

Thank you - yes, indeed in the overall scheme of things it is actually a small part of the overall scheme of things in Thailand.

It is also a sad part of Thai society - filled by & large with young girls, who get little enjoyment out of it but who find themselves in it by choice and by circumstance.

But it's open & blatant practise is also a gauge by which Thai society's values can be measured, not only in terms of it's attitude towards, and tolerance of prostitution, but also in it's attitude towards providing oppurtunity and help for the majority of girls who have turned to prostitution as an escape from rural poverty (prostitutions' most influential recruiting sergent).

And, despite it been a small part of Thai society (which indeed it is), it is oddly the part of Thai society that foreigners (and the media) have the most familiarity with. Says something doesn't it .......

MF

Edited February 25, 2007 by Maizefarmer

[ColPyat]

And, despite it been a small part of Thai society (which indeed it is),

MF

Sorry, but i think i would contest that.

It is a large part of a particular sector of society here, so large that entire villages and districts live and survive mainly by the migration of their females into the different centers of prostitution, be that the comparatively small sector for westerners, or the much larger sectors for Thais and other Asians.

The only thing is that those sectors and Mu Bans, their problems and way of life are generally completely neclected by all that do not need to live there, or have to face that not so nice part of Thai life.

Edited February 25, 2007 by ColPyat

[Maizefarmer]

Colpyat

How would you measure it:

- number of females on the game versus the number of females in Thailand of working age? (less than 1% - a government figure/research conducted by Chula Uni Faculty of Social Science in 2002).

- number of entire villages or communities dependant on prostitution versus number that aren't - I havent a clue, but with the above in mind it cant be anything large.

How else could one measure it?

Rather, any idea of it's relative role/size, is more a relfection of the attention given to it by media reporting and society's exposure to it (because it so blatantly open) than it is of any supporting statistic - which indicates the oppisite. Yes, there are villages whose income is almost entirely from young lasses on the game, just as there are some villages (in fact more) which derive most of their income from poppy cultivation or consumer goods smuggling, or counterfeit consumer goods manufacturing - but in the overall context of whatever the measurement is (i.e. villages or communties), against all Thai villages and communtities - it is small.

MF

[Fred Sanford]

While I totally agree that BBC and the mass media networks love to hype this garbage and massively exaggerate the child sex aspect of the industry, the fact is that the sex industry is embedded in the culture unlike most other nations and this is why Thailand (and Cambo) is chosen for these hype stories. I always laugh at those who say that Thailand "is no different than any other nation". Now that's as much a load of crap as the hype peddled in these stories.

[Maizefarmer]

While I totally agree that BBC and the mass media networks love to hype this garbage and massively exaggerate the child sex aspect of the industry, the fact is that the sex industry is embedded in the culture unlike most other nations and this is why Thailand (and Cambo) is chosen for these hype stories. I always laugh at those who say that Thailand "is no different than any other nation". Now that's as much a load of crap as the hype peddled in these stories.

Fair comment - its tolerated much more so than in many other societies (Asian & Western) but "embedded in the culture" is a very broad sweeping statement - what do you mean that?

MF

[ColPyat]

Colpyat

How would you measure it:

- number of females on the game versus the number of females in Thailand of working age? (less than 1% - a government figure/research conducted by Chula Uni Faculty of Social Science in 2002).

- number of entire villages or communities dependant on prostitution versus number that aren't - I havent a clue, but with the above in mind it cant be anything large.

How else could one measure it?

Rather, any idea of it's relative role/size, is more a relfection of the attention given to it by media reporting and society's exposure to it (because it so blatantly open) than it is of any supporting statistic - which indicates the oppisite. Yes, there are villages whose income is almost entirely from young lasses on the game, just as there are some villages (in fact more) which derive most of their income from poppy cultivation or consumer goods smuggling, or counterfeit consumer goods manufacturing - but in the overall context of whatever the measurement is (i.e. villages or communties), against all Thai villages and communtities - it is small.

MF

Personally, i would very much doubt the figure of 1%. It also does not take in context the amount of additional people, such as family members, who financially depend on the income of that figure, and have to be somehow included in such statistics.

It is almost impossible to put a figure, or even a definition on what actually means "on the game" here in Thailand. For a starter, it is mostly an underground business which is not exactly forthcoming with facts in may areas.

Than there are so many grey zones that do break the traditional definitions of prostitution but work along the exact same mechanics. Such as the increasing trend of "mia farang" which also the Thai government acknowledges by trying to acces that economical volume, the "professional" mia noi which will never be on any radar, but will slip from one purely monetary based relationship to the next, the internet prostitution, the part time prostitution, the village based prostitution. Then you have hidden prostitution such as the singers and dancers in Thai cafes and the concert troupes, and serving girls in many nightlife venues. Have they been included in the government sponsored research?

For the lack of reliable figures this debate will always stay along anecdotal evidence. Based on the villages i know in depth, two in the north, one in isaarn, and one near Bangkok, i can only say that in all prostitution including its grey areas do play a massive role in the economy, the least though in the village near Bangkok where there are more opportunities for the local females available to make independently sufficient income.

Edited February 25, 2007 by ColPyat

[Thai-Spy]

Colpyat

How would you measure it:

- number of females on the game versus the number of females in Thailand of working age? (less than 1% - a government figure/research conducted by Chula Uni Faculty of Social Science in 2002).

- number of entire villages or communities dependant on prostitution versus number that aren't - I havent a clue, but with the above in mind it cant be anything large.

How else could one measure it?

Rather, any idea of it's relative role/size, is more a relfection of the attention given to it by media reporting and society's exposure to it (because it so blatantly open) than it is of any supporting statistic - which indicates the oppisite. Yes, there are villages whose income is almost entirely from young lasses on the game, just as there are some villages (in fact more) which derive most of their income from poppy cultivation or consumer goods smuggling, or counterfeit consumer goods manufacturing - but in the overall context of whatever the measurement is (i.e. villages or communties), against all Thai villages and communtities - it is small.

MF

Personally, i would very much doubt the figure of 1%. It also does not take in context the amount of additional people, such as family members, who financially depend on the income of that figure, and have to be somehow included in such statistics.

It is almost impossible to put a figure, or even a definition on what actually means "on the game" here in Thailand. For a starter, it is mostly an underground business which is not exactly forthcoming with facts in may areas.

Than there are so many grey zones that do break the traditional definitions of prostitution but work along the exact same mechanics. Such as the increasing trend of "mia farang" which also the Thai government acknowledges by trying to acces that economical volume, the "professional" mia noi which will never be on any radar, but will slip from one purely monetary based relationship to the next, the internet prostitution, the part time prostitution, the village based prostitution. Then you have hidden prostitution such as the singers and dancers in Thai cafes and the concert troupes, and serving girls in many nightlife venues. Have they been included in the government sponsored research?

For the lack of reliable figures this debate will always stay along anecdotal evidence. Based on the villages i know in depth, two in the north, one in isaarn, and one near Bangkok, i can only say that in all prostitution including its grey areas do play a massive role in the economy, the least though in the village near Bangkok where there are more opportunities for the local females available to make independently sufficient income.

Taken from the CIA factbook (https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/th.html)

Age structure:

15-64 years: 70% (male 22,331,312/female 22,880,588)

Assuming the age distribution is uniform would give you a potential pool of "prostitutes" aged 15-34 of 2/5*23,000,000 or 9.2 million. The actual distribution skews younger, so add a fudge factor and call it 10 million.

1% or 100,000 might just account for all those working in licensed premises -- bars, karaokes and massage parlours -- but even then it's probably too low by a factor of 2 or even 3. It's certainly too low when you include freelancers, brothels and the like, and probably low by a full order of magnitude when you add mia nois and all other forms of compensated companionship.

[jaiyenyen]

An article in one of the English dailies a couple of years ago devoted two pages to an article on a middle aged guy who'd found his dream girl in LOS. It was so f***kin patronising, how this plain, balding, sad little man was being taken by a battle hardened BG. If it had been me I'd have sued them. I was so p***ed off I wrote to the editor and asked if the rag was so hard up they could only afford to send their most junior hack to Bolton on the train for the interview instead of sending a professional to Thailand for a week to learn the facts. The so-called journalist wrote me to say "I am very sorry if my article did not meet your approval, but as a journalist I only wrote the facts as they were presented to me". BTW, the poor guy had got to know the girl through a marriage agency, not in a bar. This was not mentioned in the article but the guy wrote me after the editor passed on my letter to him as requested. He also said that the hack had written in miles of fantasy about beer bar life in Pattaya. He'd never even visited Pattaya. How sad that this kind of crap sells. I hope they sacked the little git as I suggested.

Hi,

I remember it well.That article appeared in the Daily Mail about two days after i split with my now ex-wife.It was shown to all my friends by a family friend. As i had left my wife to be with a Thai woman(almost my age, non BG) You can imagine the fall-out.

Now those friends are ex-friends, and i move to Thailand next month to start a new life.

The point i am making, is that once people read a piece like that, and the one that started this thread off, they are not really interested in following it up to see if it is true or not. It is the initial article that sticks in the mind.

[Maizefarmer]

aaah, I see you have introduced a term that had nothing to do with the original statement made by Casanundra - "massive role in the economy". That moves the goal posts quite significantly, because before we know the argument will be moved from prostitutes, to bar/alcohol sales, to room rental, to food sold and a whole host of supporting infrastructure, and before we know it we'll be looking at a sizable section of the whole tourist economy ...!!

Lets get back to basics of this. I agreed with Casanundra that prostitutes were a far smaller section of society than was often thought - and I gave the one figure that I recalled, namely that it less than 1% of the girls of working age in Thailand worked as prostitutes.

Now, I am not sure what it includes and what it doesn't include - I would have thought it would have taken into consideration places of entertainment that front of prostitution, but not "mai noi's" - who are not considered in the same light as professional prositutes, as they maintain a somewhat different type of relatonship - which tends to be with a single supporting patron over a medium to long term, as opposed to constantly looking for different clients. But fine, I agree the argument could be extended to include them, so lets include them as well.

Yes I would agree with you, there will be error in any study of this kind, such is the nature of the subject, but researchers take that into consideration in academic surveys, and will give what they believe to be fair error percentage either way (which in this case I don't know what it is - I would) need to go away and find out that).

But as I said - from what you have written and identified ("2 villages in the North, 1 in Isaan and 1 near Bangkok") - to feel then that to say it "plays a massive role in the economy", is to move the goal posts from the original topic, and is a somewhat broad statement in it's self. Can you qauntify the income in these 4 villages generated from prostitution, over any othe income, and, any idea how many villages are there like this overall (compared to all the villages/communtites in Thailand)?

I don't think is a fair argument, but fair enough - if you feel it is, by all means go and do some reasearch at one of the Uni libraries or on-line, (or whatever you feel is the best source - Google!), and come back with some figures for just how how large prostitution is in terms of number of girls who practise it versus number of girls in Thailand.

I would want to keep "minor wives" out of the equation only because I would suspect in any survey they would be seen in a slightly different light to the prostitute who works in the bar, karoake bar, or simialr place of entertainment - but if you can get a figure for them, by all means include it.

It is easy to form an opinion or idea from what one experiances, but thats just my point - it's my belief that in this case, the "experiance" most have is more often than not gives a misleading impression.

There has been a ton of research in Thailand by government departments and Uni's to quantify prostitution in terms of in terms of number of prostitutes - and the evidance is that the number is small when you looked at overall in terms of the number of females in Thailand (but certainly larger than many other countries). What prostitutes earn themselves is also small if looked at from a national economic point of view. It is a very different stroy though if you look at the subject from a support and infrastructure perspective e.g. the meals sold in resturants, the waiting staff to serve those couples, the hotel staff to clean rooms, the bus tickets sold to move the girls from up North down South, the drinks sold in bars ect ect .... yes, that figure is certainly significant ata antional economic level.

But because someone works in a hotel cleaning rooms stayed in by "couples", or works as a waitress in a resturant serving couples, is not to say that their income is derived from supporting prostitution. No, you did not say it was, but when you said "massive role in the economy" in very broad terms, I do see this the goal posts been moved to include all this.

So back to the original stament Casanundra made, and which I agree with: prostitution in Thailand is in the overall scheme of things, a very small part of Thai society. It appears much bigger than it is, because it is so open and so tolerated. And what prostitutes themselves earn is also a very small part of the overall picture (all be it the economics of everything that goes with it like, bars, resturants, entertainment, room rental ect ect .... is a large slice of the tourist cake).

MF

Edited February 25, 2007 by Maizefarmer

[OlRedEyes]

Everything in Thailand is shot down in flames on this board these days, from the pavements to satellite ownership. However, prostitution is staunchly defended.

Ok, I'm painting with a very broad brush here, but still.

[Maizefarmer]

The media knows very well what sells and what doesn't sell, and are specialists at writing stories with carefully choosen words to sustain sales volume - often with a bias that can be misleading.

MF

An article in one of the English dailies a couple of years ago devoted two pages to an article on a middle aged guy who'd found his dream girl in LOS. It was so f***kin patronising, how this plain, balding, sad little man was being taken by a battle hardened BG. If it had been me I'd have sued them. I was so p***ed off I wrote to the editor and asked if the rag was so hard up they could only afford to send their most junior hack to Bolton on the train for the interview instead of sending a professional to Thailand for a week to learn the facts. The so-called journalist wrote me to say "I am very sorry if my article did not meet your approval, but as a journalist I only wrote the facts as they were presented to me". BTW, the poor guy had got to know the girl through a marriage agency, not in a bar. This was not mentioned in the article but the guy wrote me after the editor passed on my letter to him as requested. He also said that the hack had written in miles of fantasy about beer bar life in Pattaya. He'd never even visited Pattaya. How sad that this kind of crap sells. I hope they sacked the little git as I suggested.

Hi,

I remember it well.That article appeared in the Daily Mail about two days after i split with my now ex-wife.It was shown to all my friends by a family friend. As i had left my wife to be with a Thai woman(almost my age, non BG) You can imagine the fall-out.

Now those friends are ex-friends, and i move to Thailand next month to start a new life.

The point i am making, is that once people read a piece like that, and the one that started this thread off, they are not really interested in following it up to see if it is true or not. It is the initial article that sticks in the mind.

[Maizefarmer]

Loma Linda University (an Adventist Uni in California) - estimates 800,000 children (20,000 are boys) below the age of 16 are forced to work as prostitutes in Thailand - which really does throw a 1% figure out the window - and thats just children.

Yes, granted - figures are very disputable.

MF

[qwertz]

The media knows very well what sells and what doesn't sell, and are specialists at writing stories with carefully choosen words to sustain sales volume - often with a bias that can be misleading.

MF

An article in one of the English dailies a couple of years ago devoted two pages to an article on a middle aged guy who'd found his dream girl in LOS. It was so f***kin patronising, how this plain, balding, sad little man was being taken by a battle hardened BG. If it had been me I'd have sued them. I was so p***ed off I wrote to the editor and asked if the rag was so hard up they could only afford to send their most junior hack to Bolton on the train for the interview instead of sending a professional to Thailand for a week to learn the facts. The so-called journalist wrote me to say "I am very sorry if my article did not meet your approval, but as a journalist I only wrote the facts as they were presented to me". BTW, the poor guy had got to know the girl through a marriage agency, not in a bar. This was not mentioned in the article but the guy wrote me after the editor passed on my letter to him as requested. He also said that the hack had written in miles of fantasy about beer bar life in Pattaya. He'd never even visited Pattaya. How sad that this kind of crap sells. I hope they sacked the little git as I suggested.

Hi,

I remember it well.That article appeared in the Daily Mail about two days after i split with my now ex-wife.It was shown to all my friends by a family friend. As i had left my wife to be with a Thai woman(almost my age, non BG) You can imagine the fall-out.

Now those friends are ex-friends, and i move to Thailand next month to start a new life.

The point i am making, is that once people read a piece like that, and the one that started this thread off, they are not really interested in following it up to see if it is true or not. It is the initial article that sticks in the mind.

Quite right. I was was so incensed because I had married and lived in LOS before my wife there died and I returned to England. I had, still have, only fond memories of the place and the people and this uninformed mush sent me into a rage. I still can't believe that a rag can sell so much copy by painting all Thais as monsters and all middle aged men as gullible suckers.

P.S. Good luck, jaiyenyen. I hope you'll be as happy as I was there.

Edited February 25, 2007 by qwertz