What 20 Years in Thailand Taught Me

First, some background on me. I’m a 71-year-old retiree and first started going to Thailand in 1999. That was a year I divorced and I have never remarried. I’ve had many wonderful and exciting trips to Thailand over the years.

Anyway, from 1999 until 2020, I used to visit the kingdom twice a year. Unfortunately, I had medical issues and in 2021 and 2022 was unable to travel. Luckily, in 2022 I recovered from my ailments and began traveling again. Afraid of the 18 or 19 hour trip from the States to Bangkok, I decided to make Mexico my travel destination for almost two years now. Mexico had been my go-to vacation destination. I haven’t thought much about Thailand as I wasn’t healthy enough to go there these last two years.

From Sweden to Mexico

Then last Sunday, on August the 27th, 2023, you read out a story of a guy from Sweden who talked about his Thai woman he met on a dating app and that the woman has lived in Sweden for six or seven years. As I read the story of the man from Sweden, I realized it was my story over the past two years, only my story occurred in Mexico, not Sweden.

To refresh your reader’s memories, I’ll summarize what he said, and I’m using his words as much as possible and editing some parts out. He said: she had a short body, a cute face. At first she would show me a lot of affection and attention, but it all changed and she started always thinking about money and what she needed and what I had to do to help her. She hardly showed me any love, never hugged or kissed me. And did I mention she had a couple of kids as well.

Lessons Learned – Love and Loss in Thailand

The truth is, in 1999 I went to Thailand and I fell in love with a girl I met while traveling Six months later I returned looking for her, but she had met a guy and moved to France with him. Lesson learned. I never made that mistake again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

However, I happily had three successful relationships in Thailand these past 23 years. Each of these relationships lasted for years, and of course never at the same time. All three of my Thai friends worked in nightlife, and I was the two-week millionaire when I was with them. We had wonderful times together and a lot of fun, though not exclusively committed to each other.

Those three women and I were close and are close friends to this day. In fact, we still communicate every two to three months.

The Point – Friendship Over Money

Now here’s the point I want to get to. While in Thailand over the years, I spent a lot of time with these three women. However, once I returned home, not one of the three girls ever asked me for money. although towards the end of COVID I chose to support them financially as I knew they were having a very hard time of it.

I recently asked my three friends why they never asked me for money, and all three said, “Because we are friends.” I’ll repeat this for your readers who will think I’m making this up: they did not ask me for money while I was away from Thailand.

Comparing Experiences Mexico vs Thailand

Now back to my Mexico experience. Although she wasn’t involved in nightlife, my Mexican companion was the most financially demanding person I’ve ever met. Or to put it another way, my three Thai partners were nowhere near as demanding as she was.

Three Key Points

One: That while some people in those environments can be financially motivated, and I’ve certainly spent time with the gold digging type, there are some people who are simply working to earn a living in a straightforward way.

Two: That you don’t have to work in nightlife to meet someone who is financially motivated. You can meet financially motivated people in any profession. In certain social environments, there are people with different intentions, but some of the women are fair in their profession and are honest about their intentions.

Three: That you don’t have to be in Thailand to meet someone who is financially motivated. As I said above, the most financially demanding person I’ve ever met was from Mexico. Meaning every country has people with different intentions.

Final Thoughts – Life Is to Be Experienced

I’m not sure how you or your readers will react to my take on things, because in a way I’m defending some people in that line of work. In closing, I’d like to say that life is to be experienced individually, and stereotyping any person or profession is not good. My advice to anyone is to be open to life, keep your wits about you, and hopefully you’ll be able to enjoy life well into your 70s.