Bangkok – Love it or Hate it, Part 2
Hi again! Following up with the second part of the rather long post about the pleasures and annoyances of life in Bangkok.
My son Alec at Bayoke
Hate it!
That’s only if you don’t get ripped off of course. One of the most annoying things about being a foreigner in Bangkok is that you are constantly quoted the “tourist price” for almost anything you try to buy outside of a shopping mall where the prices are clearly marked, and even then some cheeky salesmen might try it on!
“Tourist prices”, while still cheap by western standards, can be as much as three or four times the actual price that something is supposed to cost, and while this may not annoy everyone, certainly not the uninitiated, for anyone who knows the real cost of that fake designer watch they are trying to buy it can be a real annoyance having to find someone else to buy it from just because the guy is being an ass!
Love it!
Stunning beauty of Thais
The frustration of being ripped off soon melts away though, the moment you stroll around the corner and come face to face with a group of stunningly beautiful, smiling girls.
This cannot go unmentioned, Thai women are too many western males simply beguiling – beautiful, slim, friendly and young, and a huge number of them are most definitely INTERESTED.
There’s no doubt that the huge availability of attractive young Thai women is one of the main reasons you see so many foreign men in Thailand.
Thai women are whole lot of fun, they can be caring, they can be attentive and they are most certainly beautiful. Many western men in Bangkok will be only too honest and tell you the reason they love Bangkok so much is for its girls.
Hate it!
But if you’re unlucky, these very same girls can quickly turn the dream into a nightmare! Horrors stories abound from hundreds of men in Bangkok, of meeting a beautiful girl, falling in love, getting married…
However, a great deal of these marriages do not last. Thai women can also be very demanding, especially when it comes to money. The divorce rate amongst Thai/Western couples is very high, and many guys find themselves getting taken to the cleaners for thousands of dollars, sometimes even their whole life’s savings! One thing’s for sure, when selecting a Thai partner, you need to be very careful that she really is the one.
So there you have it. There are many reasons to hate Bangkok, and I could go on and on about the daily gripes I have about this confusing, sometimes totally mental place. But at the same time, I could regale you for hours and hours on end of all the good times I’ve had here and hopefully will continue to have.
For all its annoyances, one thing is true. Wise up, learn what they are and where they are and you’ll be able to steer clear of most of them, then I promise you that Bangkok really is the place where your dreams can come true.
