Let us assume for a moment that there exists a certain type of foreigner in Thailand. I have never personally met any, of course. But let us imagine him. He has spent years living in an environment where virtually every problem can be solved quickly, efficiently, and with very little administrative overhead other than possessing a functioning ATM card. As a result, something interesting starts to happen. He begins evaluating all forms of romantic opportunity using the same cost benefit analysis. Not just financial cost. Everything. Time cost. Energy cost. Stress cost. Future complication cost. Suppose a much younger woman shows some reasonable interest in him. In most countries this would be viewed as a positive development. But our hypothetical gentleman immediately starts running calculations against the one hour service option. How many text messages will this require? How many awkward conversations? How many possible boring dinners? How many mixed signals? How many unexpected emotional collapses? How difficult will the exit strategy be when things eventually go pear shaped? The strange thing is that the need for physical attraction itself almost becomes secondary. The main deciding factor becomes hassle. That said, the calculation is not always the same. A particularly aesthetic option can make a surprising amount of hassle seem perfectly acceptable, whereas a less visually intriguing one may not survive the initial risk assessment. At some point a man can find himself rejecting perfectly reasonable bedroom sports invitations simply because he cannot be arsed to fill out the paperwork. Not real paperwork, obviously. You know what I mean... Perhaps Thailand has not ruined dating though. Perhaps it has simply spoiled a certain category of men by exposing them to a level of convenience that normal dating struggles to compete with. I have no idea. Just a theory...
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