Dear Hillary,
Careful, careful readers! Generalizations are rarely accurate. I have found bar girls to be mostly delightful. My ex-bar girl wife of 10 years is lovely, honest and loyal, and very happy.
Lucky Farang

Dear Lucky Farang,
I am so glad to hear of your success with your lady of the night. If only it were like that all the time! I take your point about generalizations, and we’ve got lots of generals around here at present, but by far the great majority of farang/bar girl associations is not a happy ending (even though it might have started that way)! And of course the girls are delightful - that’s their job, Petal. That’s what they are employed for. Let me know when your silver wedding is coming up and I’ll pop over for a bubbly or three.

Dear Hillary,
If I hadn’t been spending most of my holidays and money in Thailand for the last 20 years, I would think that Pattaya Mail made up these letters. But I know that these ignorant people actually exist, and there’s a lot of them in Pattaya. And of course Phuket, Samui and elsewhere.
I have “my own” girlfriend in Thailand, when I am there. I know what I need to know about her, after knowing her for nearly 4 years. I really like her. I trust her with everything because she tells me just about everything. She shows me mails and texts from farangs abroad, and ask me what it says. And sometimes she asks me to reply these people. I can speak and write ‘Thinglish’. Whatever will happen to me and my lovely Thai woman, she needs money. I could never pay as much as she needs, I know that. And she knows that. So on my last holiday in January, in Pattaya, I thought that the best I could do for her, was to let her work all she wanted. I said that I would still pay her every day, on the condition that I would wake up with her. We made a set of extra keys to our guesthouse. I must say that this arrangement worked out perfect for both of us. I like some time on my own. Oh, and she told me that I could take a girl ‘short time’ if I wanted to. I never did though. I am fine with my Thai woman. I have never sent money and she has never asked for it. She ‘use’ me to get information about farangs. I like to give her advice. Some of the worst people in Asia are actually from the West, in my opinion.
I will never understand farangs who go into a bar, meet a girl, and then want her out of the bar as quickly as possible and back home to her village, and pay for that (she will come back to the bar as soon as the farang has left for home, of course).
Me (47 y.o.) and my Thai woman (36 y.o.) get along because we both know the realities of life, I think. I respect my Thai woman, and any other bar girl/woman. I would do exactly the same, if I was a poor Thai woman, or just a woman. It beats factory work or construction work, in my book.
Peter
Dear Peter,
I had to shorten your letter just a little for space reasons, and I am glad that you are another farang happily in a relationship with a Thai bar girl. Your situation is a bit different from Lucky Farang as your is closer to a ménage a trois, rather than a monogamous one, but if it works for you, then just keep going Petal!

Dear Hillary,
In reply to Eddie who wants the girls to lower their prices - Hey Ed, This is Thailand where what goes up rarely comes down. Some hotels can be almost empty but rather than lower their rates they lay off staff. You come up with a logical answer to the working girls problem. Lower your price? But will the landlord lower her rent? Will the song-tow driver allow her half fare or must she survive on Mama noodles and Pla-kapong as the food vendors have a set price.
If your boss has trouble selling his product, would you take a cut in wages? I think not. You can front up to social services and claim hardship and will be looked after. These girls don’t have that option. It’s either go home or work Beach Road, where they have to put up with “Cheap Charlies” like you, who even try to get a cut rate on a B.300 short time.
That’s right Ed, I remember now, you are the guy I have to step around outside 7/11.
Sean

Dear Sean,
I think you are being a little hard on Eddie. He’s only outside the 7-11 because he is waiting for the morning shift to come and open Suckers Beer Bar at 10, or 11 or whenever mamasan drags herself out of bed. BTW, I don’t think Eddie can claim hardship, as he is on a frozen pension. Frost-bite perhaps?