Thailand

[jm21-2]

What a brutal flight... 9.5 hours to Japan then another 6 or so to Thailand. Thai customs was about the slowest thing I've ever experienced as well. Didn't sleep at all on the planes and finally got to my hotel at around 1am Thailand time after 20ish hours in transit. Soemhow only got about 5 hours of sleep and just checking e-mail and sending one final one off to the girl I'm going to meet. Her flight doesn't get in late today so will just wander around some of the tourist sites for today. Would like to get into see a thai kickboxing match before she gets in but we'll see.

I'm staying at the TK Palace...service is excellent, amenities are decent, my room is medium quality and a bit dated at best. $58 or so after taxes for two people with a superior grade room and twin beds.

[bcc_1_2]

Yea we guys have it easy who just fly to Central America or Colombia. This is why we make the trips though.... I'll be interested in your first impressions of her.

[jm21-2]

OK, so have a bit of time since I got up pretty early and she (let's call her "WM") is still sound asleep.

I spent the first day I was here visiting various temples and historical sites. Didn't bring the tourist map along with me so I'm probably going to screw up some of the Thai names if I go into too much detail. The best was the reclining buddha (wat po?). Truly amazing scale and there are a lot of other places to go in the temple complex.

The thing that both plagued and intrigued me a lot the first day was this network of individuals who are there to both assist and sucker in tourists. It seems around every corner there's a guy waiting to come up and strike a conversation with you in a very friendly manner, start talking about this and that, then tell you you should really check out X, Y, and Z, and oh, here let me get this tuk tuk to assist you (the tuk tuk having been waiting there for some time. I have come up with the term "tuk tuk pimp" to describe these individuals. Then the tuk tuk drivers get free gas coupons if they drop you off at some specific stores, so expect to be randomly dropped off at jewelry stores and tailors. Overall the system works OK for the tourist but due to how it starts out with a very friendly person jsut making conversation it seems very deceitful and really didn't sit well with me. I mentioned it to WM when she arrived and she told me I was paranoid that there was some big system for suckering in tourists, but after a day here she ended up agreeing with me.

Anyways, her flight got in late at night and I went ot meet her at the airport. I had told her to meet at the "meet up" location at the airport and she didn't realize there was a place specifically designated to meet up with people so she was waiiting near the exchange. I was thinking her plane crashed and burned or something and had forgotten to put her number into my phone but eventually she got tired of waiting, called me, and we eventually found each other. She was all freaked out (and still is to a large extent) because she only brought 9,000 baht and her atm card doesn't work here in Thailand. I'll help her take care of transferring some money to o ne of my accoutns and withdrawing it this morning...

Our first night was kind of funny. She was pretty tired and had bought a bottle of wine at the duty free shop (I mad efun of her for buying a cheap California wine only to realize wine is F'ing expensive (!!!) here and apparently in Taiwan and got a mouthful from her on that one...we went to a supermarket and she insisted I pick out a good wine but when I saw the prices I was like 'holy [snip]!"...but luckily it was at a time when no liquor could be sold so I escaped buying a $5 bottle of wine for $20-30...)....anyways, we talked for a few hours, had a good time, etc...

Spent most of the next day (yesterday) at 2 ofd the three big shopping malls here collecting some gifts for my family, her co-workers, her mom, and buying some odds and ends we needed. Reserved some train tickets for Hua Hin then came back and had a long thai massage (my first time...FREAKING PAINFUL!).

As a side note, I've always heard the food in Thailand is absolutely amazing, but so far 2 of the 2 dinners I've had here have been horrible. I ended up in a tourist restaurant for the first one (was kind of short on time and wanted a waterview place because there were supposedly going to be a lot of fireworks in China Town for new years....which there weren't, at least at that time...) and had a relatively expensive and unedible dinner. Bass was cut into chunks with all the bones still in it and I damn near killed myself...the mediocre flavor wasn't enough to encourageme to finish it off. Second night we went to a Thai restaurant and it was greasy and pretty crappy. She tossed her meal and I only finished a part of mine. She did get a kick from making fun of the western sugar daddies with their young Thai coutnerparts sitting at a table not even talking with each other.

Impressions of WM: She's fairly cute  but not going to win any beauty paegants and doesn't care to. I was worried she might be a little cold in person because she always seemed so logical/reasonable when talking wiht her over the phone but she turned out to be really warm, giving, and affectionate. She absolutely refuses to let me pay for anything for her which is pretty nice. We got along extremely well in just about every way.

As far as romance goes...she's even harder to read in person, especially with some affectionate touching involved. When we were getting the Thai massage one of the girls made a comment in Mandarin which I think was about how we seemed like lovebirds and WM responded to it but I was having my legs grappled by a masseuse with strong fingers and didn't really get the whole thing.

Anyways...I have very little doubt as to our compatibility...she is not a beauty queen but looks have never really been that important to me. Well maybe we'll get the romance question resolved today...morning in Bangkok then take the train to Hua Hin in the afternoon.

Sorry, trying to do a lot before she wakes up so no spell checking...

[bcc_1_2]

Costa Rica can be one huge tourist trap if you let it as well. I just ignore them. Vendors, crap pimps, etc I'd not respond to them. They normally get the idea pretty fast... this isn't my first time here and I know how it works... so F off.

Worried about romance and physical stuff on the first day? I wouldn't.... just roll with it... you just met her.

[Bob_S]

oh, here let me get this tuk tuk to assist you (the tuk tuk having been waiting there for some time. I have come up with the term "tuk tuk pimp" to describe these individuals.

If they were up front about it to begin with, I think the official term would be "tout", but when they're surreptitious like that, playing it like a confidence game, "pimp" does seem appropriate.

Otherwise, it seems like it's going well.

You know, something about the "not beauty queens" type: the more friendly and affectionate they are, the prettier they seem to become.  Whereas the hot hot babalicious ones: the colder, unaffectionate, and high maintenance they become, the uglier they look.   

[Ray]

You know, something about the "not beauty queens" type: the more friendly and affectionate they are, the prettier they seem to become.  Whereas the hot hot babalicious ones: the colder, unaffectionate, and high maintenance they become, the uglier they look.   

Bob, I couldn't have said it better myself!

Note to JackSprat: Listen carefully to your Uncle Bob! He speaks with much wisdom... 

Ray

[jm21-2]

I totally agree with Bob: a 10 quickly becomes a 5 if she has a bitchy attitude, but a 6 can easily become a 9 with a warm smile and sunny disposition.

Anyways, she's having a massage and I needed to check on my e-mail and have some extra time so...

Hua Hin: I kept reading this was a place locals went for tourism so was expecting a relatively quiet town with few foreigners. Got the total opposite of that. Very noisy party town with bars as maybe 70-80% of the buildings and probably 80% of the people we saw were europeans (eastern and western). Stayed there two days then decided to skip Champhun (SP?) especially considering we had planned to go by train and the trains here in Thailand seem to majorly suck.

We just sort of naturally found ourselves with our arms around each other while walking on the beachj in Hua Hin and things went from there so I guess Hua Hin was good for that . The beaches were beautiful, the water clear, pretty amazing. I really wanted to kiteboard but they wouldn't let me rent the gear without some sort of licesnse and the classes were expensive and long.

So instead of bumping around the coast by hot-as-hades and slow-as-hell train, a 9 hour aircon bus ride to Phuket. I guess 9 hours sitting next to each othe rona  bus can be good or bad for a relationship, but was very good for us. We spent about 7 of the hours cuddling with time flying buy, and then we had a long talk about our relationship over the last couple years. She had apparently liked me a lot from early on but never really said anything about it because there always seemed to be another girl I liked. I had jsut thought she seemed like a friend. Eventually she got fed up and stopped talking with me for a long time but then thought she would mesage me to see what was going on and it aroused the old feelings. so she wanted to meet me to finally put everythhing to rest one way or the other. She was kind of hoping there would be no chemistry or I would do something stupid like go see a prostitute so she could write me off but that didn't happen so......I guess I've made her life more complicated.

Phuket: First day in was a little frustrating due to several annoying tourist agents who didn't do jack and the fract that a lot of the hotels were boooked full for chinese new years. . We met some English guy on the street and WM, who is damned agressive about asking for help, hit him up for directions to a hotel and we ended up in a very chepa but not so great hotel for the night. Oh well, a place to sleep. We got up in the morning and found another hotel that was nicer, then went around and saw the various things there were to see around phuket town and close by. Another don't trust the tuk tuk note: do NOT buy any sort of boat or tour packages at the harbor! The tuk tuk drivers get a commission and the price is insane compared to what it should be. We got ripped off (again...grrr) and are both pretty pissed at that one. We found a shop shortly afterward that advertised the price ofor the tour we got as almost half of what we paid. The markup here is an insane rip-the-tourist off level and very frustrating when you're used to the relative honesty of the US. The beaches in Phuket town suck. Lots of garbage, the water is muddy/silty, and the sand is pretty coarse. So far the best experience was probably sipping the juice from green coconuts at the restaurant overlooking the town.

Anyways, we're getting along extremely well and she really seems like a keeper. We got into a bit of an argument over how to deal with her money problems because we are both very stubborn anbd wanted to fix it our own way but it blew over quickly.

We go to a couple of the islands tomorrow then thinking we might rent some motorbieks and drive around the isaldn.

This computer is acting weird and very slow, so no spell check or anything again.

[Dave H]

I totally agree with Bob: a 10 quickly becomes a 5 if she has a bitchy attitude, but a 6 can easily become a 9 with a warm smile and sunny disposition.

Hey Jm21-2,

I agree too...that is the absolute truth! I have seen it so many times over the years!

I am enjoying your Thailand trip report and learing about the "TTTP's" (Thailand tuk tuk pimps).  I always figured that they took guys to girlie bars, not tourist attractions too. 

I am impressed by the fact that this lady get's over arguments quickly and doesn't hold a grudge. That is a keeper in my book!  I figured that she was trying set you up with the "OK to visit hookers" bit. Good thing that you didn't fall for it!

I might get to Thailand in a year or two. It is a good thing that I am married...or I might accidently get hooked up with a katoy!

Dave

[robert angel]

Hey Jm21-2,


These are interesting posts about about Thailand, as well as how things with your lady friend are progressing. Seems most of the things I read about trips to Thailand deal mostly with Bangkok, Pattaya and the bar - girl scene, It's nice to see a different perspective. Sometimes things don't go as planned on 'vacations' and can actually make them more memorable in the long run. Sounds like you two are having a nice time and thanks for the updates!

[Ray]

So jm,

Any trips to Taiwan in the planning stages to meet mama?

You can’t go wrong with an engineer! 

Ray

[Dave H]

Hey jm,

I hope you are holding on for the tuk tuk wheelies. Don't ever accept a ride from a French guy driving a tuk tuk!. 

Dave



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yThJrm9_ILw&feature=related

[Bob_S]

Note to JackSprat: Listen carefully to your Uncle Bob! He speaks with much wisdom... 

Ya know, when it comes to Jack, I get the feeling that this advice is just in one ear and out the other.

You and I and a few other guys here live in California, and some live in Florida.  We are not lacking in hot babe eye candy around us.  We go down to the supermarket and pass by several model-quality babes.  So what?  That's not what draws us to Asia.  The women there commonly have a deeper zen quality and generosity of spirit than we can find around here.  And I think jm is really starting to experience that firsthand.  Maybe he'll stick with WM, maybe not.  But if not, I'll bet he's so spoiled by his experiences with her that he'd never contemplate going back to any western woman again. 

[Dave H]

Hey Bob,

That's the truth...all of the above! I had all the eye candy I could handle right outside my door (Latinas in thongs washing their cars or sweeping their porches) or at the pool.

Dave

[Ray]

Ya know, when it comes to Jack, I get the feeling that this advice is just in one ear and out the other.

I agree. Those guys who are fixated on tits & ass usually always get burnt.

Oh well... 

[robert angel]

The 'dumb blonde'-the 'bimbo' mentality, all those descriptions--'cliches' if you will, really do apply to a LOT of gorgeous women, especially women who've gotten by in life on their looks. It takes a long time usually to find the right balance of brains, fortitude and beauty.

The real trick is bringing someone from a third world nation and not having all that gradually go out the window. All too often, they're used to not being unusually beautiful where they were raised, then they get here in the USA and things change.

I'm sure it's not as drastic a difference in south Florida, Hawaii or parts of California, but in most places in the USA, it's really easy for an immature and/or unhappy woman to get a suddenly inflated opinion of themselves, really feeling like they're now a bona fide 'hottie' and have their morals, among other things--stray from where they orginally were. A lot depends on their 'friends'--the company they keep, as well.

So far, so good on my home front and I'm glad to say that even with my ex and her being here going on 30 years, the only real aversive thing that she acquired in the USA was a real rampant materialistic streak. Other bad things, such as from being an orphan and enduring an abusive childhood--things that ended up like being delayed stress syndrome for military people, and contributed to our marriage's end (not that I was perfect) she brought with her.

[jm21-2]

Sitting in Narita airport right now...getting to know this area of the airport pretty well now. Using up my last 200 yen so this might not be much of a post.

So our trip out to Phi Phi and a couple other islands was pretty great. She loved snorkeling and Maya Bay was pretty amazing to pull into. Even though we got ripped off it was defintiely worthwhile.

My idea of renting some motorbikes and wandering around the island did not work out well at all though. First, I had never ridden a motorbike before and jumping into it all in Thai traffic probably was unsafe. Second, Thai roads in Phuket can be confusing as [snip]! So we ended up spending a good part of the day lost, culminating with her getting separated from me. She had left her cell phone with me despite me asking her to take it many times and by the time she made it back to the hotel I was about to call the police and she was not exactly a happy camper. We got back into a decent mood after a bit though and decided to screw the bikes. To make it even more of a PITA though I realized a bit too late that I had left my backback (with $600 and our cameras inside) at some fruit stand out in the middle of nowhere. Luckily we found the stand and the old guy hadn't touched the bag. Phew. I had also scraped up my bike a little but thankfully didn't get charged...

So anyways, went to Patong beach the next day just to hang out and it was beautiful. She checked out some bags at the shops, I got some fake ray-bans, we went swimming, had a romantic dinner on the beach...pretty good. Only sore spot was I had asked how much a lobster was from the waiter and we both thought he said B450 but turned out to be B1,400 which was a bit of a shock. It was over-cooked and not worth it at all.

For the last day we got another snorkeling trip in during the morning. We both had a great time with that. I got sunburned really bad though and by yesterday my shoulder was covered in blisters and extremely painful.

A flight from Tokyo to Seattle had some damage to the plane so my flight yesterday morning was screwed up. Ended up having to stay at the airport hotel overnight and catching a different flight this morning. Not so bad and they gave us all $300. The food at the hotel was absolutely horrible though. Anyways, I saw her off, and she called a few mibnutes after getting home to check in on me and see if I ever got the new flight info (didn't have it at the time). Very sweet.

So in summary for me, Thailand is a pretty nice, very hot country. The only thing I didn't like was it seemed like everyone was out to rip off tourists. It wore on me very quickly. At first WM thought I was being paranoid but after a day or two it really wore on her too. I'm not sure I'd come back again due to this. Definitely a lot of western-thai couples but the vast majority were some really old guys with young hotties. At one time it's kind of funny, but at the same time definitely makes a young guy feel kinda dumb for not chasing some hot-bodied 18yo.

As far as WM goes, things went very well. For whatever reason she's extremely into me and not for any sort of passport or money or anything. Through the whole trip she kept a tab on everything financial and if anything it was a little frustrating because she wouldn't let me treat her to anything and she kept track of even small stuff like taxi fares. I am definitely not the PDA type of guy but we were all over each other towards the end of the trip and people kept asking us if we were married. When she said no we weren't to one guy he said something like "well, probably soon then!" and she jsut fell apart into giggles . She has a great smile and extremely cute when she's trying to act modest despite not really wanting to.

Anyways, it's hard to fight the urge to go after the 18yo hotties, but man time flew by with her and I feel like I can trust her 100%. She is extremely giving and the whole trip just wanted me to have the best time possible. We had some issues but we got over everything in minutes. The only rela problem we had is that she things I'm some sort of butterfly and will leave her soon after getting back so she was a little cautious.

So, probably a trip to Taiwan in the future but not sure when right now. I need to do taxes, just bought a house...got a lot on my plate...but hoping sometime in June maybe. I want to coordinate it with a Taiwanese holiday so she has some time off work but the only one I see is labor day on May 1 which might be a little early for me. The mid-autumn festival isn't until September which is a long ways off.


out of time

[Ray]

"well, probably soon then!" and she just fell apart into giggles

Well, when are you going to propose and make it official?

Or did you already? 

Ray

[Bob_S]

Well, when are you going to propose and make it official?

That's what I'm thinkin'.

JM, sounds like you got a keeper.  She's careful with money, you think she's cute (most of the time?), she doesn't stay angry, gets over things quickly, you can trust her 100%.  Dude, time for the next step.  Let her know you're serious (if you are).  Ask her when is a good time to come visit her and meet her parents.  While not an official proposal, in East Asian cultures, meeting the parents is pretty much the same thing.  (And while Taiwan is not part of the Visa Waiver program, it might be possible for her to come visit you and meet your family.)

[jm21-2]

No, I am not ready to propose and she would probably have thought I was a nut. We did talk about me coming to Taiwan and meeting her family though. Just a matter of when.

She definitely seems to be a keeper. About the only complaint I can come up with is that her boobs could be bigger . Her personality is spot on and we seem to really compliment each other.

Didn't mean to disparage her looks earlier. She's quite cute and definitely above average in looks, with a really amazing smile. And whenever I tease her she turns devastatingly cute .

I had written a longer post earlier but the site seems to be having some problems and I couldn't post.

[robert angel]

Jm21-1,

Sounds like she defies gravity in more ways than one and you may have found something better than you've realized.

Good luck!

[michaelb]

. Her personality is spot on and we seem to really compliment each other.

Didn't mean to disparage her looks earlier. She's quite cute and definitely above average in looks, with a really amazing smile.

Proving at lease the second part of my theory that a 10 with a bad attitude quickly becomes a 4 and a 6 who really cares about you and has a good attitude soon turns into a 9.

[Ray]

About the only complaint I can come up with is that her boobs could be bigger

And they could be smaller too... 

[Jeff S]

You know what they say: 9 out of 10 men prefer women with bigger boobs. The 10th prefers the other 9 guys.

[Swisskid]

"She definitely seems to be a keeper. About the only complaint I can come up with is that her boobs could be bigger "


You know what they say, "More than a handful is a waste." 

[robert angel]

"She definitely seems to be a keeper. About the only complaint I can come up with is that her boobs could be bigger "


To each their own, but personally, I think big boobs are highly over rated and a good pair of nipples under rated..