by Dr. Iain
Corness
The manager at Jameson’s Irish Pub is a bright young
lady called “Molly”, a lovely Irish name. However, it may come as a
surprise that the very Thai lady Valeerak Intharakavee has been called
Molly since she was a child, being a reference to the bottled milk
(“Molly” brand) on to which she was weaned. Her mother called her
Molly, not some drunken Irishman after all! Molly has also been a quiet
observer of human nature during her many years of serving beers to the
imbibers, and has some words of wisdom for those looking for nice ladies
in Pattaya, and will also reveal who are Pattaya’s worst tippers!
Molly was born in a small village which is impossible
to spell unless you are Thai, near Chachoengsao. Her father worked for the
railways and she has one elder and one younger sister, so the train did
stop a few times at the station!
She went to the local schools but by the time she had
completed her schooling, she had no idea what she wanted to do, other than
get out of a small impossible to spell village near Chachoengsao. “I was
a teenager and you watch TV and Bangkok looked like Number 1.” So off
she trotted to the capital and got a job in a factory making wallets.
Unfortunately they didn’t give her too much to put in her own wallet,
and so after 18 months she looked further afield. The hospitality industry
looked to be a better proposition, as a young waitress could expect to get
some tips by the end of the week, and I don’t mean best bets at the
races!
For the next nine years she worked for a very
interesting man who had many restaurants in Bangkok, including hot dog
stands and Bobby’s Arms in Patpong. Molly worked them all, hot dogs and
fish and chips.
During that time, she also picked up English, as she
was dealing with the English speaking tourists, and being a bright young
lady soon had a reasonable mastery of the language that was going to stand
her in good stead later.
That ‘good stead’ turned out to be an Irish pub in
Bangkok, called Delaney’s. “I just wanted a new experience,” said
Molly, and she worked there for two years before returning to her village,
after she found herself pestered every day by an amorous suitor.
Back in the impossible to spell, she helped her mother
run a small shop for the next 18 months, but it was really time for a
change again. Her uncle lived in Pattaya, she liked the beach, she liked
to be in Pattaya for Songkran and Delaney’s opened up a branch in
Pattaya. With her Bangkok experience, she got the job as a waitress.
As Delaney’s rose up to become Shenanigans, Molly
rose to become a captain in the pub, and then after a few more years moved
over to Jameson’s to be the manager from day 1 in Pattaya’s newest
Irish pub. This is a position that runs from 5 p.m. until 2 a.m., but can
go later, as she has to wait until the cashier has balanced her books, and
4 a.m. is the usual time for bed.
I asked Molly something about her own ideals, after all
there are ‘easier’ ways to make money in Pattaya than pulling pints.
She left me with the very strong impression that this was a very moral
young lady, who had definite ideas on what was ‘right’ and what was
‘wrong’. “Nobody told me,” said Molly. I questioned her a little
further on this. Was this moral code something her parents had given her,
or her religion perhaps? “I think this by myself. Sometimes I think too
much, but I try to do things good. Going to bed for money, that is not
love.”
Contrary to the popularly held notion that Thai girls
think no further than tomorrow, Molly has already put some very long range
plans into action. “When I was 18 you don’t think too much, just go to
parties with friends. Now I am old (she is in her early 30’s!) I have to
think how I can save money.” One main reason for that is she is buying
her own house. “It’s just a little house, but I am happy. I have to
pay it off over 30 years.” Now there’s a long range plan!
Having now worked in pubs for many years, Molly has
seen many males crying in their beers over yet another lady who has made
off with the gold chains and the motorcycle. Molly has some advice for the
lovelorn (Hillary could be out of a job here) and suggests that the first
thing that has to be done is to see if the lady has a ‘good heart’.
“Talk to them, and look to see what she is like,” says Molly. Second
factor is to weed out those who are just in it for the (your) money. “If
they love you, they don’t ask about money,” says the all-knowing
Molly. And thirdly, after ascertaining they have a good heart and not
weighing up your wallet, “Make sure they take care of you properly,”
were her final words on the matter.
And finally, in case you think that Molly is the ideal
lady for you, she has a very steady boyfriend that she has had for four
years, and is definitely not ‘in the market’.
Now I also did promise you that Molly would reveal all
as far as the best and worst tippers are concerned, and some national
prides could get dented here. The best tippers are - the Brits and the
Irish, whilst the most stingy are the Aussies!
Girls like Molly deserve all the success that they work hard to
achieve. Think about the Molly’s of this world next time you are looking
at how much tip you are going to leave. Don’t be a ‘keeniow’ Aussie!
