Thread: My Story

Before I knew it, she was working at Shark gogo & life became routine.

I would drop her off at work, go for a few beers & pick her up when she phoned. After which, we would go to either Lucifers or a beer bar on Soi 2, if we fancied a quieter drink. During the day we would go to a place we had found with lots of water. Anybody who lives in Pattaya will know it, for sure. It wasn't a lake, as there were lots of commercial boats, but it wasn't the sea, either. It was like some kind of harbour, about ten miles from Pattaya towards Rayong. It was a nice place. The kind of place you wish you could spend all of your days.

I would go into her gogo for a drink most nights. I soon became friendly with the mamasan, to the point where she would occasionally buy me a drink. I was almost part of the furniture between 9-10 o'clock, when it was quiet, but would usually make myself scarce when the punters started coming in later on, as I didn't want to get in the way. Until they did, I would sit with my girlfriend & the mammasan, getting the drinks in, glancing up now & again at whichever girl happened to be passing by on stage, who would be doing her thing, wearing just a short skirt & no underwear.

I would go & see my old friends, now & again. They were still there, doing the same old thing, but I showed uncharacteristic restraint when offered any of their wares, nowadays. I knew where it would lead & didn't want to upset my girlfriend any more.

The guy's sister, who I had hooked-up with at Soi Korpai was there & we got on really well. She was a nice girl, who spoke very little English, but could understand my Thai well enough for us to converse. She was really nice & I enjoyed her company. We were attracting glances from the friends we were sat with & I got the impression people were hoping we would get together.

I only had feelings for my girlfriend & so nothing ever came of it.

Not that night, anyway.

Working at Shark gogo, my girlfriend met some bad people. Looking back, I am in no doubt where she got the idea to hire a hitman - it was from one of the girls. I even know which one. She was old-school, over thirty & obviously been in the game for at least ten years. My girl used to talk about her in admiration, as she seemed to know all the moves for skanking punters out of their money & never seemed to be short of cash, while my girlfriend, I think, was struggling a bit with her new job.

My girl had made herself a new friend - one that placed very little value in me.

As time went on, she spent less & less of it with me. She would sometimes stay out all night & not answer her phone when I called. Instead, ringing me out of the blue, when she wanted picking up or wanted some cash. Sometimes we would go for a coffee or something to eat, but the romantic days out & clubbing together at night appeared to have gone out of the window.

Days could pass & I wouldn't hear from her. I would have to go to Shark if I wanted to see her & it would be a short visit. We'd talk, I'd buy a drink, then I would go, sometimes asking her to come to the hotel afterwards, sometimes not, depending on the vibe I was getting.

I was almost happy with the arrangement, as it gave me an opportunity to check out some of the places I'd recently noticed, withour fear of being caught doing anything wrong. She could hardly complain if I wasn't at the hotel when she came home, if she wasn't expected to be at home.

I knew in my head things were over when I started taking girls back to the hotel, long-time, assumning I would be okay because she hardly ever came round any more.

I decided to go back to England - alone. I'd had enough of Pattaya & spent what was to be my final week or so with many different girls, only sometimes going to see my girl at work & rarely spending the night together any more.



The day came for me to tell my girl I was going home.

She was remarkably okay about it, as it turned out - I was more upset than her.

We spoke for a while & in the end, out of some twisted sense of giving a shit, I offered to pay for her room, while I was gone. I thought, maybe, at the back of mind, I would always know where she would be, if I ever came back to Pattaya.

The talk soon turned to getting her a better room than the one she had.

Within a couple of days, we had got her a room just off Soi Buchao. The room wasn't fantastic, but after I had bought a TV, DVD & some bedding & what-have-you, the place was okay & a lot better than the one she had been living in.

With only a couple of days left before I had to go home, we spent our time together. I paid her barfine at work so she wouldn't have to go in. We would hang around with her new friend from Shark, a lot. I didn't like her one bit, but kept it to myself. Sometimes, I would pay her friend's barfine, so we could all go out together. Picking up the tab all the way, of course. This wasn't my idea, it was the girls, but I figured I was leaving soon & the friends that remained here, with her, were of more importance than me, so I went along with it to keep her happy.

At the airport, we both cried a little as we went our seperate ways. She promised to stay in touch & I promised to send the rent for her room over every month.

My flight was to Amsterdam & as I pulled the blanket over myself to go to sleep on the plane, I thought about everything that had happened & was glad - in a way - it was all over. It wasn't until later, as I was sitting in my favourite coffee-shop, in the middle of the red-light district, smoking some real good shit, that I began to have second thoughts about going back to England.

There was nothing there for me.

I woke up in my hotel room & as I looked out of the window, I could see the barmaid at my favourite coffee-shop, standing outside the door on her phone. I had been talking to her the night before, telling her - not quite all - about my adventures in Thailand.

In Amstrerdam, the sex is as cheap as Pattaya. Not in monetary terms, but if you are looking for a piece of action, you don't have far to look. Still, this was no use to me, as the last thing on my mind after everything I'd been through was hooking up with a prostitute. Regardless, I thought it would be a good idea to devote a little time getting to know the barmaid. She was a really nice girl. Now, if I could have her as my girlfriend...

A week went by. I would spend all day, or night, in the bar, depending what shift she was working. After living in Pattaya for so long, chatting up women had become a chore. I would do my best, but it wasn't good enough. One time, I was chatting to some Australian tourists, telling them how wonderful Pattaya & my girlfriend were, when my phone rang - it was her.

'Hellooooo', she said, as I answered.

'Hi baby', I replied. 'What you doing now?'

Her reply nearly knocked me off my chair. What made it worse, is that I had the phone on loudspeaker, telling my new Oz mates that my girl was on the phone before I answered, thinking they would be well impressed. I couldn't have been more wrong.

'What's your name?', she asked.

What was my name? Was she taking the piss? I'd only left her a week ago & she had just phoned me. I told her who I was, feeling more than a little stupid. I asked her what she meant by asking me what my name was. The Australians were laughing.

'What's your name?', she repeated.

Something was going on. She was acting strange. Thinking about it now, she was likely with a customer, but that didn't explain why she had phoned me in the first place, if she couldn't really talk. In the end, I hung up the phone. Not a lot was said. I had no idea why she was acting so strange & the Australians - stoned - were almost hysterical by now. I looked like an idiot.

After a few more drinks I made my way back to the hotel. I tried to call her, but her phone was switched off. It was on my mind as I went to sleep & when I woke, early the next morning, I decided I would go back to Pattaya & see her. It was all the excuse not to go back to England I needed. I bought a ticket from a travel agent for a KLM flight leaving that afternoon.

I had a wander around Amsterdam - it is a beautiful city - before making my way to Schiphol.

The flight was uneventful. I got into a taxi right outside the airport & was in Pattaya in no time.

The first thing that entered my head as we turned off Sukhumvit & into Pattaya, was that I would buy her a motorbike. I told the taxi to stop near a place that had lots of them for sale outside. I didn't know what was going on with her, but whatever it was, I would need transport & I was sure she would be over the moon with her present.

Bear in mind, I am not as daft as I come across - I had spent thousands on motorbike rental while I was here last time & was simply killing two birds with one stone by buyng one, instead & as far as I was concerned, she could have it when I left, no big deal. There is a phrase for this - it is called Indian giving.

Originally Posted by Clockwork Orange

...I looked like an idiot.

...I decided I would go back to Pattaya & see her. I bought a ticket from a travel agent for a KLM flight leaving that afternoon...

Great story thus far. I have to buy the t-shirt.

Don't get me wrong. I spent 9 months trying to get out and have seemingly spent most of my energy since then trying to get back in.

It turned out buying a motorbike was more complicated than I had thought, so I got on a Baht bus to the Sabai Inn.

Everyone at the hotel was pleasantly suprised to see me. I was pleased to be back. I can't recommend this hotel or the staff enough - a very discreet & friendly bunch they are, from the cleaning lady to the bell boy. They had done very well out of me in tips in the past & securing my favourite room was no trouble.

I had treated myself to a duty-free bottle of Grey Goose. I opened it up & poured myself a large measure - neat, no ice - while sitting on the bed, next to the phone. I looked out of the window, half expecting to see her coming down the Soi, for no good reason at all. As I watched Pattaya-life go by I felt nothing but familiarity & we all know what they say about that.

I sat there for the longest time, as I wondered - what was I going to say?

I looked out of the window, looked back to the phone, took a slug of vodka & things went on like that for while. I knew that if I called her, I was commited, so to speak & that I wouldn't be able to meet anyone else, such as Yupin, who I hadn't seen for a while. I wasn't bothered about any gogos or anything like that.

As the vodka took effect, it dawned on me that I had made a terrible mistake, coming back to Pattaya. Why, exactly, had I come back, to have a row with a girlfriend who - at best - only mildly hated me? I'd come back on nothing more than a whim & was deeply regretting it now.

I was stuck there for three weeks, regardless, so I decided to make the most of it.

Getting a motorbike was easy & just around the corner from the hotel is a place open day & night. It's basically three motortaxis with somebody else's bikes for rent. The guy knew me so well he didn't even take any money or a copy of my passport as I picked my bike. I headed for Walking St. I had decided to meet the 'mafia' in the bar & get wasted. This lasted a couple of hours, but the trouble started earlier, when I met Supreeya, who was 'working' at the bottom of Walking St, where you park the motorbikes. Her brother was taking 20 Baht off anybody who parked up. It didn't look to me like he had any right to be taking anything off anybody, but it was none of my business. This brother & sister act were the same as I'd had the encounter with. We all said hi, in that way you do when you're all so, erm, familiar with each-other, I left the bike (he took the 20 Baht) & told them I would see them later, when I came back. I knew this could cause me problems later on, but didn't read too much into it, at the time.

After getting high I was minded to leave the bar & head over to Shark, alone, at around 11 o'clock. I had told everybody about meeting Supreeya & her brother. It seemed like the most normal thing in the world when I was asked if I liked her & all that shit. I said that I did. I took the short walk to Shark & bounded up the stairs, getting that superstar reception you do when the doorman is a complete chimp & as he opened the door, I had to pull the curtain to one side myself. I walked through, but I couldn't see her. I was recognized instantly by the service girls & they came over before I had even decided where to sit.

I sat down & looked around, but still could not see her, my beer was on the table in a flash. I noticed everybody was giving me a funny look, rather than coming over & sitting with me. The place was quite busy, so I couldn't start demanding attention, but I got the impression something was wrong. I felt out of place. I thought that maybe they thought I'd be pissed-off if she was with a customer & nobody wanted to tell me, but nothing could be further from the truth. I almost felt relieved, it meant I could fuckoff & do what I wanted. I didn't try to call her, as it would have sealed my fate had she answered. The mammasan beat me to it & came over with a mobile phone, indicating that it was for me. I was in no doubt as to who it was on the phone, but the music was so loud, I had to take it outside.

It was her.

Her concept of conversation had vastly improved since we had last spoken, but now her tone was dark. She was trying to sound pleased that I had come back, but it was painfully obvious that she wasn't. I sat on a stool at the outside bar area, the mammasan close behind, keeping a beady eye on her phone & we talked about meeting up. I didn't ask her where she was. She said she would be there soon, but sounded like she was in no rush to get there, which was good, as I had plenty of time to go & move the motorbike. I didn't want to be turning up with her there later on & dealing with any awkward questions.

After declining Supreeya & her brother's request to join them for a session later on, I explained I would see them tomorrow & parked the bike at the opposite end of Walking St, near the VC hotel. I had to be careful making my way back to Shark, as I had to almost walk past the bar where they hung out, but I made it okay.

When I made it back to Shark, she still wasn't there. I waited for her inside. Still nobody really talked to me, but I suppose I had never been in there before, without sitting with her all night & it was all a little awkward. Taking into account her tone on the phone & the fact nobody was coming near me, I should have guessed that something was up, but I didn't - her dodgy friend was conspicuous by her absence, too.

Eventually she turned up, looking lovely & sat next to me.