Dear Hillary,
Regards the chap Brian who pays his GF a 30,000 baht salary each month - Brian your first step should be to cut your GF salary by a lot and ask her to get a decent job. Two months ago I did the same just gave 6000 baht. Now I cut it to nothing. She is now forced to work at the farm for 200 baht a day to survive. Maybe now she appreciates the money better again, or might turn up working in a bar. Whatever I fed up with this prima donnas.
Vern

Dear Vern,
I think you have to rethink what you want out of a GF. If it is someone to share your life with, that is a lot different from someone you just share your bed with. You do not seem to have much affection for your GF, so I think it is better for both you and her to go your separate ways. You have to learn about commitment first, and you haven’t any.

One respondent asked last week about the cost of living in Pattaya, and this brought out many replies from the readers. Mark wrote, Welcome to Pattaya. I live over the “Dark side”, this is where most long timers live. You will get a two bed bungalow for around 15,000 per month, water, electric, call it 3000 and 2000 day/night walking around money. Why not have a look in the “Luckytimebar” on Soi Nernplabwan, good people, they may be able to help, good luck.
Phoenix wrote, I agree with Ms. Hillary’s opinion. For a decent life, including restaurants, venues, cigarettes, funny (but not too much), if you own the condo, month expense can be around 50/60,000 baht. Of course it depends what you want to do, can be much more.
Don chipped in with, Bah! and more Bah! I have a live in, reside in a high rise condo, am not dumb enough to pay outrageous wine prices (400 % tax), eat in good, clean, reasonably priced restaurants, and home a lot, use common sense in shopping and have change left over from 50,000 a month. The good Doctor and Hilarious have expensive tastes!
While jcb said, 100,000 can live nicely for much less than that! However, if you are a ponce and want to show off and do unnecessary things then maybe you need more. 10K per month for a room and no more than 1K each month for food and a couple of beers. What else do you want?

Dear Mark, Phoenix, Don and jcb,
Thank you for your ideas and experience. Of course Thai people can live very much more cheaply than you Farangs, but how much you spend really does depend on your own idea of lifestyle. I might have expensive tastes (Veuve Clicquot is just getting outrageously expensive these days!) but if you are happy with a 50K lifestyle, then keep going with the Chang outside the 7-11. As long as you are all happy, my Petals!

Dear Hillary,
I don’t believe the bar girls are anymore “out for what they can get” than the fellows pursuing them. They have a job, often entertaining foreign undesirables, do it well and deserve what they earn. The percentage of “baddies” is quite low!
Jonny
Dear Jonny,
I agree with you, Petal. As I have written in this column for many years, the ladies from the bars are doing a job, bringing in millions of tourist dollars, and as you point out, “entertaining foreign undesirables.” However, let us not forget that their “occupation” is still against the law. Not a well-policed law, but it is there in the statutes, nevertheless. I do receive reports of successful marriages between bar girls and foreigners, but I also get a greater number of sad letters from disillusioned men.

Dear Hillary,
There are lots of theories, but may I ask the thorny question, ‘Are you actually a lady of the female gender?’ Your approach in your column seems very masculine to me; why don’t you publish a visual image inside your ‘heart’ at the top of your column, unless you look like Claire Raynor or Marge Proops? Are you going to give me a literary lashing for my cheek, wearing only thigh-length boots, a thong and nipple tassles (sic), like Madame Whiplash? Ooh, I hope so.
Submissively yours,
John Thomas.

Dear Submissive John Thomas,
May I ask the thorny question, ‘Do you really have a John Thomas?’ What have I done to engender doubts on my gender? Your approach seems very British to me, being so disrespectful to my sisters in The Sun and The Daily Mirror, such newspapers known for their consistent high standards. Or should I say, standards. And who are you referring to in the thigh-length boots? You or me? By the way, before you get too excited with your verbal imagery, it’s ‘tassel’, not ‘tassle’, Petal. However, don’t worry, I will publish my photograph the day you get photos of your John Thomas published in these pages. I expect a magnifying glass will be in order?