Dear Hillary,
Thanks for highlighting my plight Hillary; I’m now back in the UK. I can’t afford to live in Thailand legally (there are underhand ways of acquiring a retirement visa) now I’ve sunk my life savings in a very dubious investment. I’ll be stuck in health damaging England for another 3 years before I can practically afford to return to Jomtien. I didn’t have enough time or money to get useful legal help while I was there till the end of June; though one seemed very promising. I hope I live long enough to ‘return in triumph’ to Thailand in 2016.
Phil

Dear Phil,
Whilst everyone feels sorry for you, there were some legal steps that you should have done at the outset, but didn’t. “Caveat Emptor”! One of our regular readers also commented with: What you need to know is that if the condo is held in “company name” there is an annual corporate tax on your condo as well. You must make arrangements to pay the corporate tax from overseas as assessed by the Land Office. Sorry for more bad news friend, but always remember the old saying: “If it appears too good to be true.....it is.”

Dear Hillary,
I read somewhere that the way you can tell if a Thai girl is lying is that you will see her lips are moving. That’s a real put-down of Thai ladies, isn’t it? I’ve only lived here for six months, and I don’t think they are that different from women anywhere. All, females think different from us. Is it really that bad, Hillary?
Ray

Dear Ray,
Males and females do have a different way of looking at things (the Mars and Venus approach). What foreign men consider to be a lie, Thai women may look upon this as normal. Thai women will also tell you what they think you want to hear, so it is kind of lying again, but with good intent! Is that a ‘real’ lie or a fib? Working out human relationships is very difficult, Petal. The breakdown of marital relationships is very high throughout the world, not just in Thailand either, so it isn’t just a local problem. However, I did read that 60 percent of Thai women admit to having affairs, but I have no figures to confirm any of this.
Dear Hillary,
This is a serious question. Why are all Thai women addicted to sales? My Thai GF cannot walk past a shop which has a “sale” sign without going in and if it has a two for one deal she’s sold, even though we don’t need it or already have one (from the last sale). I have spoken to mates and they all say the same, so is it something that’s taught in Thai schools or what? Or is it the bowerbird complex that women have in general and Thai women have it in big degrees?
Thom

Dear Thom,
No, Petal, the addiction to sales is not taught in schools because it is already in the genetic make-up of all Thai women, so it is more like an inbuilt bowerbird complex as you say. All it needs to trigger the response is the smell of farang money. Like Pavlov’s dogs that would run when a bell was rung, Thai women run to the shops when shown a full wallet. The two for one deal shows just how she is being frugal and looking after your interests and money (so there is still some left for tomorrow’s sales). You should be thankful. By the way, get her to let me know when the next sale is on.

Dear Hillary,
There are so many lovely girls in Thailand, how come all the people who write in to you seem to have picked a dud? Are all Thai girls as bad as they are painted by these guys or what? I get nervous about coming over for my next holiday when I read all the horror stories. Is there some easy way to pick a good one?
Yankee Doodle

Dear Yankee Doodle,
Don’t worry, everything is Dandy! You are forgetting that there is a legion of lovely ladies out there who are doing all the right things by their men, be that a short term arrangement or a long term steady/married situation. These people do not need to ask Hillary for advice, so you are getting the wrong impression if you think everyone is like the sad people who write to me. Many of them do try and warn the tyros, but I believe their situations and their problems do not really represent the majority of farang/Thai liaisons. However, remember that in any man/woman relationship there can be problems. Look at the divorce rate in your own country, for example. The last figures I read were 50 percent of first marriages end in divorce and 60 percent of second marriages go down the alimony alley as well. The simple answer, Petal, is to use discretion and judgment before plunging headlong into something that could be an unsuitable partnership! Avoid all those who “lub you too mut” on the first date! There are others to choose from.