A lot of guys have asked me what the difference is between the good girls in Thailand and the “entertainment providers.” I think I covered this pretty thoroughly in a previous column. Lately I am being asked more and more about the class differences in the gals. What is the difference between a low class Isaan farmer’s daughter, a middle class gal who graduated University and is working in an office in Bangkok, and a high class gal prancing around the Siam Paragon shopping center?
Previously I suggested that I break them up using my 10/80/10 rule. This simply means that 10% of the gals are so poor that they are forced by their families to do whatever it takes to bring in money. No problem here, the gals from this group make excellent bargirls. Another 10% are so rich that they are living a life of leisure and privilege. Lastly, 80% fall somewhere in between these 2 extremes, and this is where you guys will find the best gals. Gals who want a good man, don’t work in the bar scene, but aren’t so spoiled that they expect you to give them the sun, moon and stars! Well Khun Lee is here to entertain you with a story from my ventures into the “rich gal” arena. Yes, even I can be accused of questionable judgment at times.
Her name was Jintaree, and she was the daughter of the woman who owned my apartment building. Her parents were filthy rich, owned more than 80 buildings in Bangkok and many other companies as well. Jintaree graduated from Chulalongkorn University (a top one in Bangkok) and was 24 years old, tall, slim, white skin and a face that was too beautiful for words. We met at a book signing in Silom and it was quite amusing when I told her where I lived and she responded that her family owned my building! Well, rules are made to be broken (a convenient excuse for the fact that when I stared at her perfect face my knees buckled and I conveniently forgot my 10/80/10 rule) so I invited her to dinner for the coming weekend.
We ended up going out with 3 other couples, and it was obvious everyone came from money. One guy was no more than 22 but was driving a top end Mercedes Benz and all the others sported attitudes of wealth and privilege. Dinner was at a nice Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, and I have to say the food was great and the service superb. I chatted with everyone in the group in both English and Thai, and eventually ended up conversing with the waiter. He spoke English, Mandarin and Thai and was an exceptionally bright young fellow. He was working there to put himself through graduate school in Engineering. I have to admit it was refreshing to talk with a bright, ambitious young man after the boring conversations with her pretentious friends.
When dinner was finished, we boarded a taxi to take Jintaree home, and it was obvious she was not happy with me. After the obligatory 7 tries at “what’s wrong” she finally launched into a 5 minute harangue about how much I had embarrassed her in front of her friends by talking to that “low class” waiter. I was forced to tell the truth, that the waiter was by far the most intelligent person in the room, and if she could drop her pretentious ways for a moment she may have learned something from him. She responded by telling me that only a low class guy would chat with the waiter, and that I had embarrassed her immensely. My response was that in my opinion, the definition of a low class gal was one who told her date who he could talk to! NO MORE rich gals for this guy.
My best quote of the week came when I was walking down Sukumvit Road with a Thai lady friend and a 300 pound western lady grazed by. I told my friend “half an Isaan village could cool itself in the shadow cast off by her enormous body.”
I was talking with a very savvy local friend I will call Rob, and the subject of money and gals eventually came up. I have to say that Rob and I very rarely agree on much of anything. Perhaps it is because I am American, and Rob is from Ecuador. Regardless, I value his opinion and am always pleased to disagree with him. Surprisingly, he totally agreed with me on one very important point. The more money you give to or spend on a Thai girl, the worse they treat you and the less they respect you. Perhaps it is because women are naturally contrarian. Perhaps it is because they can sense that guys who give too much are generally attempting to make up for a lack of self-esteem. I don’t know the exact reason for this phenomenon, but one thing I see time and time again is guys who are smart with their money have great gals who treat them with respect, and guys who are stupid with their money get walked over like a doormat. This hold true in both committed relationships and short time affairs with entertainment providers.
I have been known to be somewhat critical of western women. Well, I can testify to the fact that there are a few cool ones out there. Last week I was enjoying a beer in one of my favorite go-go bars (Angel Witch Bangkok) and next to me was seated a nice looking western couple. We struck up a conversation and the wife (who was from Switzerland) asked me if I went there often. I responded that I practically lived there! I somewhat expected her to give me the old feminazi line about how horrible it all is, what “victims” the gals are etc. etc. To my shock and amazement her response was “this place is GREAT! If I were a man, I would come here every day!!”
Read Khun Lee’s other WoWasis columns for more advice on navigating the adult dating scene through the backstreets of Bangkok
(2007, ISBN 978-0-06-088838-1) details the life of Pham, who studied in the U.S. and was nominally a reporter for Time magazine during the Vietnam war years. Berman knew Pham, interviewed him countless times, and discussed his actions with friend and foe. The book is an outstanding chronicle of a little-known but fascinating aspect of the war, and underscores the fact that in Asia, very little is black and white, but instead exists in a world of many hues of gray. Pham saw himself as a freedom fighter, tempered with personal loyalty to his American friends. As the book reveals, on more than one occasion he saved American friends from almost certain death at the hands of his countrymen, and considered himself a man of honor thrown into a difficult situation. Some of his American colleagues are not so generous, feeling Pham sold them out. Others share an opposite opinion. 
