First Impressions of Bangkok And The Night I Walked Into a Bar

I should start by saying that I have always been someone who knew what he wanted in life. More importantly, I have always been someone who went out and made sure I got it.

When I was younger, in my 20s and 30s, I built a successful business in property development back in the UK. I worked my way up from absolutely nothing, and by the time I was 50, I had an amount of money I was happy with.

I’m not trying to brag here. I’m just setting the scene for what comes later because I think it’s important to understand that I’m not some desperate fool who doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing.

I’ve been around the block. I’ve had relationships before, and I was even married once in my 30s. That marriage ended after about eight years because we simply grew apart.

After that, I had a few relationships here and there, but nothing really stuck. I always focused on my work, and to be honest, it didn’t bother me either way.

By the time I turned 60 in 2020, I’d sold up. I was talking about one and a bit million pounds. I had my house paid off, my money was invested, and it was bringing in more than enough income for me to live very comfortably.

I had no ties to anywhere or anyone, so I started thinking about what I actually wanted to do with the rest of my life. I’d travelled a bit over the years for business, but I’d never really travelled for pleasure or taken the time to explore somewhere simply for the sake of it.

A few friends had retired to Spain. That seemed to be the done thing: move to the Costa del Sol, play golf every day, and have a few beers in the sun. It didn’t appeal to me in the slightest. I wanted something different, something more exotic, somewhere that felt like a real adventure.

I’d heard a lot about Thailand over the years, mainly from other businessmen I knew who had been there on holiday. They all said the same things: the people were friendly, the food was fantastic, the weather was beautiful, and everything was affordable.

The cost wasn’t really a concern for me given my financial situation, but the rest of it sounded appealing. I started researching the different areas and trying to work out where would be the best place to spend some time.

I’d originally thought about Phuket because it seemed to be where many tourists went. The more I read, though, the more it seemed like it would be full of people who went to Thailand just to say they’d been there without really experiencing the country.

Then I started reading more about Bangkok. It seemed much more interesting to me: a proper city with millions of people, plenty of culture, and lots of history. From what I could see online, it looked modern and developed, which was not at all what I had expected.

The world was shut down for a while and I couldn’t go anywhere. Thailand stayed with me throughout COVID, and when I could finally travel in early 2022, I thought it would be a good time to go because it wouldn’t be as crowded as usual.

I booked myself a business class ticket. I’ve never been one to scrimp on travel because if you’re going to be stuck on a plane for 11 hours, you might as well be comfortable. I also arranged a nice hotel in Bangkok.

First Impressions of Bangkok

When I arrived in Bangkok, I was immediately impressed by how modern everything seemed. The airport was spotless, everything was efficient, and everyone was polite and helpful.

When I got in the taxi to my hotel, I looked out of the window and thought, “This isn’t anything like I was expecting Bangkok to be.” I found it incredible.

My room was on a very high floor, the 32nd I think, with huge floor to ceiling windows overlooking the river. I stood there for a while taking it all in and thinking about how this was the start of a new chapter in my life.

That first evening, I didn’t do much. I was tired from the flight, even though I’d slept a bit on the plane, so I went down to the hotel restaurant and had some food that wasn’t too adventurous.

I wanted to ease myself into the Thai cuisine I’d read so much about. Then I went back to my room and slept for about 12 hours straight.

The next morning, I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to explore. The hotel had an incredible buffet with every type of food you could imagine, including Western, Thai, and Japanese food.

After breakfast, I decided to walk around the local area. I’d read that walking was the best way to get to know the city, but I quickly found out it was too hot to walk very far.

I still managed an hour or so and had no idea where I was by the end of it. It was exciting to see somewhere so different from home.

Over the next few days, I did the tourist things I was recommended to do. I visited the Grand Palace and some temples, took a boat trip on the river, and really enjoyed myself.

At the same time, I was starting to feel a bit lonely. When you’re travelling on your own, especially when you get to my age, you notice that everyone else seems to be with someone. Couples were everywhere, and I started to think it would be nice to have some company too.

The Night I Walked Into a Bar

One evening, I was in my hotel room looking online for recommendations of places to go in Bangkok bars or restaurants where I might meet people. I kept seeing references to different areas of the city, and Sukhumvit kept coming up.

Apparently, Sukhumvit was where a lot of the nightlife was. I hadn’t been to that part of the city yet and hadn’t done much research before going to Thailand, so I thought I’d go and see what it was all about.

I got a taxi to Sukhumvit and was dropped off on Soi 11. As soon as I got out, I could see that it was a popular tourist area, with loads of bars and restaurants along the street.

I thought it looked like the kind of place where I might be able to have a chat with someone. Most of the bars were loud and had music playing, which wasn’t really my scene, but I found myself walking into one out of interest.

I walked up to the bar and sat down on one of the stools. I was only a few steps from the pavement, and the bar didn’t even have a front. It was open like seven or eight bars packed together.

There was a young Thai woman working behind the bar. She couldn’t have been more than her early 20s, and she came over and asked me what I wanted to drink.

I ordered a Singha beer, one of the local ones, and she put it inside a little sleeve that I’d never seen before. Apparently, it kept the beer cooler for longer.

We started chatting. She asked where I was from and how long I’d been in Thailand, which I assumed were the usual questions anyone would ask.

I told her I was from England and had been there about a week. I was thinking about staying longer because I was enjoying it, and I might even think about living there because I was retired.

She said that was great and that Thailand was a beautiful country. She seemed very interested in talking to me, asking about what I’d seen and what I was planning to do.

We chatted for about 20 minutes, and I was enjoying the conversation. She was easy to talk to, very smiley and friendly, and it was nice to have someone to chat with.

I started to realise that this probably wasn’t a normal bar. It was probably one of the types of bars Thailand is famous for, if you know what I mean.

I wasn’t naive. I knew these places existed, but I’d never actually been in one and wasn’t sure what it was all about. I didn’t want to leave immediately because that would seem rude, so I thought I’d finish my drink and then make an excuse to go somewhere else.

Then the girl came back and asked if I wanted another drink. I said, “Yes, why not?” She handed me another beer, and we started chatting again.

She told me her name was Meow, which she said meant cat. She asked if I had a wife or girlfriend, and I said I was single.

She smiled, touched my arm, and said, “Really? A man like you, no wife?” I have to admit that I was quite flattered by the attention.

I knew what was going on. I knew why this girl was probably working in the bar, but I also thought, “What’s wrong with that? She’s working, she’s being friendly, and I’m enjoying the conversation, so where’s the harm?”

We chatted for another hour. I bought her a few drinks, something called Sang Som and Coke, and she told me about herself.

She was from a village in the northeast of Thailand, an area known as Isan. She said the province was Udon Thani and that she’d come to Bangkok to work because there weren’t many good jobs in her village.

She also said she had a young daughter who lived with her mother in the village, and that she sent money home every month to support them. She said it was hard work, but she was doing her best.

I felt sympathetic towards her. Here was a young woman trying to make a better life for herself and her family, and I thought that was admirable.

I told her she was doing a great job. She seemed genuinely touched, put her hand on my arm again, and said, “Thank you, very kind man.” I could see that she seemed to mean it.

Leaving the Bar Together

By this point, it was getting late, probably around midnight. Meow asked if I wanted to go with her to get something to eat.

I thought about it for a moment and decided, why not? I was in Bangkok on my own, had nobody to answer to, and it would be nice to have some company.

I paid the bill. I wasn’t money conscious, so I didn’t pay attention to the extra 600 baht added to it, something I would later learn was called a bar fine.

When I found out what it was, I didn’t care either way. We left the bar, and she suggested a late night restaurant she knew that served good Thai food.

We got a taxi there. It was a big place next to one of the Skytrain stations, and it was full of Thai people as well as other foreigners.

She ordered for both of us because I didn’t really know anything about the menu. I thought the food was excellent, some of the best food I’d had since arriving in Thailand.

We talked a lot over the meal. She asked about my life, my business, and why I’d decided to come to Thailand.

I found myself telling her much more than I normally would tell someone I’d just met. There was something about her that made me feel comfortable opening up.

She seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. She asked follow up questions and remembered things I’d mentioned earlier.

I thought, “This girl is not only beautiful, but she’s also intelligent and a good listener.” I was starting to feel very attracted to her.

After dinner, being old fashioned, I gave her a little money and said I was tired but had had a great time. I told her, “I’ll see you again, maybe.” She looked puzzled, but simply said, “Okay, nice to meet you.” Then she got in a taxi and left, as did I.

All the way back, I thought about her, about how lovely she was, how easy she was to talk to, and how beautiful she was. By the time I got back to my hotel, I knew I wanted to see her again. I went up to my room but couldn’t sleep.

I realised I hadn’t even got her phone number, which was ridiculous. I decided that the next evening I would go back to the bar and see if she was working.

Falling Hard and Fast

The next day, I could hardly concentrate on anything. I tried to do some sightseeing, but my mind kept wandering back to Meow.

By evening, I was ready to go back to the bar as quickly as possible. I got a taxi to the same street, and I was relieved to see that she was still working there.

As soon as she saw me, her face lit up. She came over, gave me a big hug, and said, “You come back? I so happy.”

I said, “Of course I came back. I really enjoyed last night and wanted to see you again.” We sat and chatted for a while.

Then she said something I didn’t quite understand. She said, “I think you know like me.” I asked what she meant, and she explained that she thought we would go to my hotel because she liked me.

I didn’t know what to think. It was great to hear that she liked me because I liked her too, so I said, “Let’s go.”

Over the next few weeks, I saw Meow every single day. She was still working in the bar, and we would meet there when she started work and leave together.

I was having the time of my life. I’d never felt that way about anyone before, not even my ex-wife when we first got together.

I started to think that maybe I’d finally found someone special, someone I could have a real future with. There was an age difference, of course. I was 62 and she was 23, which is a big gap.

To be honest, it didn’t bother me, and it didn’t seem to bother her either. She said she liked older men because they were more mature, stable, and kind.

She said young Thai men only wanted one thing and then disappeared. I thought that was a very good attitude to have.

Around this time, I was starting to think I wanted to stay in Thailand longer. I had a return ticket, but nothing pressing to do at home.

I found out that I could get a visa because I was over 50 by putting a little money in the bank, and it could be extended indefinitely. I approached a company to help me with it, and the process was painless.

After about six weeks of seeing each other, I suggested that Meow stop working at the bar. I said I would be happy to give her money each month to replace the income she was losing.

She was hesitant at first because she needed to send money to her family. I told her I understood completely, which was why I would give her the money.

I told her, “Whatever amount you need to send back to your family, I will give you that plus extra for yourself, so you don’t need to worry about money anymore.” Her hesitation changed immediately into what seemed to be the best thing she had ever heard. She said nobody had ever been so kind to her or offered to help her like that.

She said she felt like the luckiest girl in the world to have met me. It made me feel incredible to know that I was making such a difference in her life.

So that’s what we did. She stopped working at the bar, and I agreed to give her 50,000 baht a month.

From other stories I’d heard, that was apparently a lot. To me, it was about 15 percent of my monthly income from investments, so I was happy with it. Things were going well.

Meeting the Family

After about three months of Meow staying with me in the same hotel, which cost 5,000 baht a night, I started thinking about the next step and finding somewhere to live more permanently. We were also getting very serious, and Meow asked me to visit her family. I readily agreed.

We took a bus to Udon Thani, which took about nine hours. From there, we got a driver to take us to her village, another half hour or so from the city.

When we arrived, it was quite a culture shock. It was very rural and basic, nothing like Bangkok.

The houses were mostly wooden or made from concrete blocks. Some of the smaller roads were not paved, and there was plenty of wildlife around.

Meow’s family lived in a small wooden house raised on stilts. Her mother came out to greet us, a tiny Thai woman who must have been in her 60s or 70s.

She was very welcoming. There was a lot of bowing, waiing, and smiling, and although she didn’t speak any English, Meow translated everything for us.

We also met Meow’s daughter, who was about four years old. She was a cute little girl but very shy, hiding behind her grandmother at first.

Eventually, she warmed up a bit. We also met Meow’s father when he returned from the farm, and he was friendly too.

We stayed in the village for a few days, and I have to be honest, it was challenging. There was no air conditioning or hot water, we slept on the floor, and I had to use a squat toilet.

I also had to eat food I wasn’t used to. I didn’t want to complain, though, because I wanted to show Meow that I was willing to embrace her culture and way of life.

During those three days, we decided to get married. It seemed like her family would be happy if we married, so the ceremony was arranged for a later date.

The Wedding and Sin Sod

When we returned to Bangkok, Meow told me that she loved me. We’d said it before, but the way she said it this time was different, as if she really meant it.

I told her I loved her as well, and I meant it. I felt we’d reached a perfect point in our relationship where marriage was the next step.

The wedding was set for about two months later. That gave me time to sort out the money and gold I had agreed to provide as sin sod, along with everything else needed for the ceremony.

I went to a gold shop in Bangkok with Meow and bought heavy gold necklaces and bracelets. It was expensive, but she said it was important for the ceremony, and I didn’t want to question it.

I spoke to the company helping with my visa about the marriage process to make sure it was customary Thai tradition. They told me it was.

Sin sod is something many men talk about in their stories and call a scam to take money from foreigners. Thai people pay it when they marry other Thai people too, and it is a sign of respect for the family.

It shows that you have good intentions and that you are able to look after their daughter. I was happy to follow the Thai way because I was in Thailand and was about to marry a girl who, before going there, I would never have imagined would even look at me.

I didn’t care that the sin sod was going to cost about a million baht, half in cash and half in gold. I could afford it, so I didn’t see a problem.

While we were waiting for the wedding, Meow said her family needed help with a few things. Her mother’s house needed some nonessential work that would make a big difference, costing about 80,000 baht.

I said, “Of course. Your mother has been so welcoming to me. That’s the least I could do.” A few weeks later, Meow said her sister had been left by her husband and needed 30,000 baht to support her children.

I said yes to that as well. Then there was an extra 20,000 baht for English lessons for her daughter because it would be good for her future.

I didn’t care because I could afford to help. If my money was going to materially improve the lives of different family members without affecting my livelihood, who cared? I surely didn’t.

The wedding day finally arrived, and we went to the village for the ceremony. There must have been more than a hundred people, including neighbours and relatives from miles around.

They had set up a large outdoor area with tables, chairs, and decorations. Monks conducted the Buddhist ceremony and chanted while I knelt in front of them with Meow.

There was also a ceremony where Meow and I had white strings tied around our wrists, and people poured water over our hands. I didn’t understand most of it, but I went along because it was important to Meow and her family.

The sin sod was displayed on large trays for everyone to see, and people took photographs. Meow’s mother looked proud, and Meow looked happy.

I felt that I had done the right thing by respecting their traditions. After the ceremonies, we had a huge feast, traditional Thai dancing, and lots of drinking.

People kept coming up to congratulate me, even though we couldn’t speak the same language. I felt welcome and accepted.

I thought, “This is it. I’m married now. I’m part of the family, and I have a wife and a stepdaughter. This is the start of my new life in Thailand.”

I don’t understand how some men describe their Thai weddings as though they were forced into them. Why were they there in the first place?

I wasn’t being forced or pressured. I was spending a lot of money, but I had worked for it and had the money to spend. If this was how I chose to spend it, that was my choice.

Moving to the Village

After the wedding, Meow and I went back to Bangkok. I felt amazing being married, but after only a few weeks she suggested that we move to her village and live there permanently.

She said Bangkok was too busy and expensive. In the village, we could build our own house and live a quiet, peaceful life.

She also said that, with her mother getting older and needing help, it would be good for her daughter to grow up with her family nearby. I initially wasn’t sure because I liked Bangkok and its convenience.

I liked having restaurants and shopping malls nearby, and I liked that most people I needed to speak to knew at least some English. Then I thought about Meow and realised she was right.

If we wanted to build a life together, it made sense to do it in her home village, where she had family support and where we could be part of the community. With that, I said yes. Let’s move to the village.

She was very happy about the decision. She said it was the best decision we could make and that we could build a proper house with air conditioning, a Western toilet, a Western kitchen, and everything I needed to be comfortable.

We started building only three weeks after she suggested the idea. Meow said her family had given us land that was already in her name.

She said the land had been arranged when we were getting married and that we didn’t have to pay for it. It was a gift, but it had to stay in her name because foreigners couldn’t own land in Thailand.

I already understood that and told her I was fine with it. I didn’t even care.

The house was going to cost about four million baht, around £95,000. We’d looked at a number of builders and received quotes from several of them.

The company we chose showed us houses they had already built in different styles. The price included the materials, labour, tiles, paint, and air conditioning in every room.

I was happy with the cost. I wouldn’t even need to dip into my investments to pay for it.

We agreed on a design, and the building process took about eight months. During that time, we stayed with Meow’s family.

It was cramped, but we had our own private room, which I built on the side of the house. I spent more money on air conditioning and a private bathroom next to it, so I was comfortable enough.

During those eight months, Meow often asked me for money. Sometimes it was for materials we already knew the house needed, and sometimes it was for her daughter, her parents, or another relative.

I kept giving her the money because I trusted her. She was my wife, and I believed she was using it responsibly for things that were needed.

Finally, the house was finished and we moved in. It was a beautiful house.

It had two stories, four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large living room, a good Western kitchen, air conditioning throughout, and a balcony beside our bedroom. The balcony looked over the rice fields behind the house. I felt we’d built something amazing and was proud of it.

It felt like a symbol of our life together and our commitment to each other. In the evenings, I would sit on the balcony and think about how lucky I was to have found Meow and this life.

Village Life and Family Dynamics

Living in the village was very different from living in Bangkok. It was quiet, and there wasn’t much to do.

There were no restaurants, bars, or shops nearby apart from very local places and a 7-Eleven about ten minutes away. We had to drive another ten minutes to the nearest town and small supermarket.

I had bought a car before we arrived, a brand new Toyota Fortuner. It was a big four wheel drive and very comfortable, so I didn’t mind driving to get whatever we needed.

I thought it was a small price to pay for living in such an incredible place with an incredible wife. The other villagers were friendly and always waved and smiled when they saw me.

I got the impression that I was a curiosity to them because they had probably never seen another foreigner living in the village. Sometimes I saw people looking at me or talking, but Meow said they were simply interested because I was different.

One thing I noticed quickly was that Meow’s family seemed to be around our house a lot. Her mother and father lived next door, which was expected.

Her sister came over almost every day with her children, her brother came over, and various cousins, aunts, and uncles visited. There always seemed to be people in our house.

At first, I didn’t mind because I thought that was simply how Thai families were. They were close knit and spent a lot of time together.

After a while, though, it started to feel like a lot. I felt I had no privacy, but I couldn’t complain because they were Meow’s family and I didn’t want to seem unwelcoming.

She kept reassuring me that it was normal. This was how families lived in Thailand, everyone helped each other, and I should be happy that her family liked me.

I told her I understood but sometimes wished we had more privacy and time to ourselves. She said she understood that too, but her family was important to her.

I knew that, so I didn’t want to push the issue. I was able to spend more time upstairs in our large bedroom, on the sofa, or on the balcony when I wanted to be alone.

We also went away at least once every two months for a week. I enjoyed seeing different parts of Thailand, but after less than a week away, I started to feel the urge to return to our house.

One day, Meow said we needed to go somewhere in the village. She couldn’t explain properly what it was about, but when we arrived the house was full of people.

Another day, we walked past a different house that was full of people too. It made me realise that it wasn’t just our family. It was simply how things happened in Thailand.

The Money Keeps Flowing

As the months passed, I noticed that the 50,000 baht I gave Meow each month never seemed to be enough. It was a fair amount, but she came to me every week or so asking for more.

The amounts were getting bigger. They were for all kinds of things, including small businesses she wanted to try and help for her family.

On top of the regular money, I was probably giving her another 100,000 baht a month. I was spending around 150,000 baht a month on her, as well as what I spent on myself.

After a while, I told her I wanted to make sure she was being sensible. I didn’t want her gambling or doing anything else she shouldn’t be doing.

Then she asked for 200,000 baht to open a shop. She had tried a few different things already, and I asked if I could be involved in getting the shop ready, not in running it.

She said, “Of course,” so I gave her the money. About two weeks later, the shop had been built and stocked, and one of her cousins was working there.

Because I’d given her so much money, I said I wanted to look at everything else it had been spent on. I was interested to know what she was doing with it.

She didn’t hesitate or try to hide anything. She said she would show me.

We visited her sister’s house and her brother’s house. Everyone had a nice new sofa and television, and some had new motorcycles outside.

When they saw me, they greeted me respectfully. They offered me drinks and meals, and I didn’t have to pay for those things.

You could look at it in two ways. Either they were taking advantage of a foreigner by taking a lot of money and improving their own lives, or you could look at it another way.

A 60 year old man was living in an incredible house he had built on his wife’s land. His wife was in her 20s, he was having the time of his life, and he could travel anywhere in Thailand with her.

She never said she had something else to do or wanted to stay in the village. She always went with me.

I would read my book on the balcony, and she would bring me a drink without being asked. She never stayed out late.

If someone was getting married or something was happening in the village, she insisted that I went with her. She never wanted to go alone because we were married.

Her daughter had moved into our house. Meow understood that in my culture it was unacceptable for a child that age to sleep in our bedroom, and she never tried to force me to do it her way.

Her daughter was improving her English because I paid for extra lessons. Forgive me for improving the future prospects of her daughter. Am I an idiot for doing that? No, I’m not.

A Typical Day in Paradise

I want you to take a step back from your preconceived ideas about how things should be in Thailand. Picture a typical day for me in the village, and then tell me if I am stupid.

I usually wake up early, around six o’clock. When you get older, you want to take advantage of as much of the time you have available as possible.

My wife gets up at the same time. Village life starts early, so I open the news from home, keep in touch with old friends, and follow what is happening in my country.

After about half an hour, I take a quick shower and get dressed. I think to myself, “I can do absolutely anything I want right now, so what am I going to do today?”

Occasionally, I jump on the bike I bought with my wife and we go for a long ride together. Usually, I turn on the computer and look into something that interests me.

Between 8:30 and 9:30, my wife brings me breakfast. She knows what I like and keeps it varied.

One day, she brought me a full English breakfast, coffee, and orange juice. It can be difficult to buy those things, but we can drive to get them and keep a good stock in the freezer.

Then she might spend time with her family or check on something she has set up in the village. Quite a few family members have businesses we invested in, and many people seem to have better lives because of it.

I might read, watch television, play on the computer, go for a drive, or have lunch at a restaurant. If we stay home, she cooks for both of us, or sometimes she cooks her own style of food for herself.

She’s a great cook, so lunch is always enjoyable. I also force myself to exercise regularly because my wife cooks for me so often and the food is so good.

We built an extension with our own gym. If I want to eat as much as I want, I have to exercise, so I use it regularly.

Throughout the day, I basically do whatever I want. In the evening, we might go to a local restaurant ten or fifteen minutes away, or drive further into Udon for a nicer meal.

Sometimes we stay in a hotel in Udon if we feel like it. If we are at home, Meow is never back later than 7:30 when she goes to see her family during the day.

If something important is happening in the village, she insists that I go with her, and I gladly do. We also travel regularly, sometimes to our condo in Bangkok and sometimes somewhere else.

That is how I live my life. In all the time I’ve been with my wife, I can’t think of one time when we’ve had a really big argument or shouting match.

There is nothing to be angry or upset about. Life is too short for that.

The Honest Truth

Has some of the money I’ve given Meow been wasted? Probably. But I’ve seen that most of it has benefited her and her family.

The thing is, I consider the value and benefit I’ve got from this relationship to be far more valuable than what I’ve spent up until this day. Everyone has to spend money. Everybody’s perfect life costs money in some way.

If you want to live in a beachfront house, it will cost you money. The people who built it or sold it to you will make money from you, because that is how business works.

My perfect life is living in the house I built on my wife’s land, with my perfect wife who dotes on me every day. She makes me feel like I’m the luckiest man in the world.

If you want to ask me one question and one question alone, you won’t have to. I’m going to answer it before you’ve even asked.

You think your wife will be with you if you weren’t giving her any money? No, of course she wouldn’t. But I wouldn’t be with her if I didn’t have any money either, would I?

I don’t see what the problem is. If I couldn’t give money to her, she wouldn’t be able to stay with me because she would need to get money from somewhere else.

So yes, she wouldn’t be with me if I had no money, but I don’t care. I have money, and I’m choosing how to spend it.

For me, the key to a brilliant retirement in Thailand is being able to afford the retirement you want. So many men who lose everything in Thailand don’t understand that you can’t have your cake and eat it unless you’ve paid for the cake.

The men who go to the village to save money, putting their last bit of cash into a house or business and hoping it works, are taking a risk. What do they expect to happen if it doesn’t work?

Only bad things are likely to happen. You need to understand what you can afford before you commit to a life in Thailand.

I genuinely believe that my wife loves me, but is it the same kind of love that I have for her? No.

I love being with her, what she does for me, what we do together, and how she makes me feel. She loves the fact that she has a great life she wouldn’t be able to have any other way.

She loves that her family are looked after, taken care of, and happy. She loves that her daughter is going to have a good future.

That is what I’m able to give. I pretty much give my Thai wife everything she wants because I can afford it.

I’m living a retirement I never dreamed of before I went to Thailand. I still have my investments, my house at home, and a great income even after everything I’ve spent.

I would say to anyone wanting to do the same thing that it is possible, but you need to understand things for what they are. Enjoy them for what they are.

If you want what I have, you can have it, but it is going to cost you. Anything you want will cost you.

If you stayed with somebody who worked as hard as you back home in your own country, that would cost you too. Would she bring you breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day and do her best to make you happy all the time?

Of course, I’m doing my best to make her happy in the ways that matter to her. It is a win win situation, and it’s the best life I could ever have dreamed of.