A 74 Year Olds Final Thailand Farewell Tour
I just got back from Thailand after my last visit in 2024. I thought that this would be my last visit due to my age, which means less action in the aerobics department. However, it crept into my mind that I would love to do a farewell tour visiting all the places I loved in Bangkok and Pattaya.
I first went to Thailand in 2020 just before the pandemic hit. I was fortunate to return to Australia before the border was closed. I stayed in Bangkok on Sukhumvit Soi 4 and in Pattaya. I had a lovely time there with lots of aerobics but all pay for play.
I then went to Phuket in June 2022 for 2 weeks after the ban was lifted. I wanted to see what Thailand was like after the pandemic. Phuket was just okay. I didn’t enjoy the nightlife as much as I did in Pattaya, and Phuket is more expensive than Bangkok and Pattaya regarding drinks, food, and girls.
The Doggy Bag Scam at Lunch
With one girl, I went for lunch before going to my hotel room. She ordered lots of food only to ask for a doggy bag to take it away. This, from my perspective, is an additional indirect charge. She was quite upset when she called the next day and I declined to meet her again. However, later on I learned that this behavior is quite common in Thailand.
In 2023, I went twice to Bangkok and Pattaya. On my fifth trip to Thailand in 2024, I stopped in Bangkok and Pattaya for a few days as a stopover en route to Europe. I did the same on my way back after 3 months in Europe. I enjoyed breaking up the long haul flights to Europe and back to Australia.
An Empty Pattaya Creates a Strange Farewell
On my recent farewell trip, I flew Scoot in their ScootPlus class which is basically premium economy from Sydney to Singapore and then to Bangkok for less than £600. The service, of course, was bare bones. The only bad thing is that they fly at strange times and you always have to lay over in Singapore for 5 hours.
This time I was shocked by how empty Pattaya was. I arrived on a Tuesday and went at night for a meal at the beer garden. It was fairly empty. In the outside bar, I was the only guest. In Thai news shows, they talk about it, but I had no idea it was this bad.
In Bangkok, I stayed as usual at a nice hotel on Soi 4 with easy access to Sukhumvit Road and Benjakitti Park. My favorite restaurant on Sukhumvit Road A Seafood Sukhumvit and I like to have a good draft Chang beer at the beer garden in Nana Plaza.
Final Reflections on Visiting Thailand at 74
I enjoyed my farewell trip very much. I am now 74 and call it quits with pay for play. I never had any problem with the girls. Some I threw out, but I always paid them. I also had my fair share of ladyboys turn up. Whenever I found out, I paid them and told them to go. There was never a problem.
I have been living happily on my own for over 20 years and I have never had the desire to find a Thai partner or look for love. I got most of the girls from Thai Friendly and the odd one from Beach Road. I never paid a bar fine. At the end, I had a pool of girls I could go back to either in Bangkok or in Pattaya. The good thing with these girls is that I could leave my wallet on the table and never have any money missing. I always wore protection, so I never had any health issues.
I don’t regret anything that I did or that happened to me in Thailand. The only thing I regret is not going there earlier in my life. Right now, I enjoy what Sydney and Australia have to offer daily walks, a beer here and there with friends, etc. Also, I am going back to Europe every other year using Bangkok or Singapore as a stopover. So, in a nutshell, I’m pretty happy with my retirement life.
A Sri Lankan Romance in Pattaya
My story is a little different from the usual bar girl horror stories that I have heard about through travel stories. However, because of my research, I was quite well versed in how to handle the various situations that foreigners can be in on visits to Thailand.
A little about me. I’m a Sri Lankan, 41 years old in December 2023, not particularly tall at 175 cm and on the heavy side at 100 kg. But I do not resemble the average Sri Lankan man. My skin tone is on the lighter side of brown with a salt and pepper French beard. Physically, I look Mediterranean, and I am regularly asked if I am Greek, Italian, Turkish, or Lebanese. I’ve never been married before.
Meeting Farah Through Bumble
My story started when I met this Thai lady on the Bumble app. The app had unlocked travel mode to users periodically during the COVID pandemic, and I was swiping on profiles in Thailand. We were chatting via the app for a few months, and eventually switched to Instagram and WhatsApp. Occasionally, we would have calls.
Far was very pretty in her photos, had a college education, spoke very good English, and claimed that she owned a shop selling women’s clothing and accessories at the Pattaya night market. She said she was 40 years old, but I did not believe her since she could easily pass for 28 to 30.
The First Meeting in Thailand
In October 2023, a friend of mine from Switzerland messaged me about her plans to visit Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand in December and asked if I was interested to join. Due to work, I could only take 2 week trips. So it was decided that I would join her in Bangkok for the last few days of her trip before she flew back to Switzerland on January 1st, 2024.
I wrote to Far about this and told her I would fly into Bangkok and come directly to Pattaya on Christmas Day, then leave Pattaya to join my other friend in Bangkok on the 29th. Far helped me find a hotel in central Pattaya. She even visited the hotel to check out the facilities and asked for a special price. She also advised me to use the Bolt app from Bangkok airport and even offered to pick me up from the bus station in her car.
On the day of my flight, I found it was delayed by 8 hours. Instead of arriving at 600 a.m., I would land at 100 p.m., meaning I would get to Pattaya around 4 to 500 p.m. in the evening. Far was still awake when I told her and said she would meet me at the hotel. She even volunteered to pay for my taxi.
True to her word, she arrived at the hotel just as I got out of the taxi. She looked beautiful, just like her photos. We hugged, checked in. She inspected the room and even tipped the bellhop before I could reach my wallet. Then she walked with me to exchange money and buy some snacks.
A Perfect Few Days in Pattaya
Aerobics with Far was great, and after a restful sleep she drove me to Pattaya lookout point for breakfast. Afterwards, she went to work while I told her I would visit some bars in the evening and meet her again at 10 p.m. I made it clear to the bar girls I wasn’t interested in taking anyone because I had someone to meet later. It was still fun playing pool and chatting.
Later, she told me the coffee packets I had asked her to order had arrived and cost 1,000 baht. She refused to accept my money until I insisted. She also said she would take a full day off to spend with me. I felt guilty because it was high season, but she insisted.
On my last full day, she introduced me to her best friend who owned a coffee shop. Afterwards, we drove to Jomtien and then to a local seafood market where I was the only foreigner. We ate grilled seafood and fried fish with Chang beer. On the way back, she stopped for gas and again refused my offer to pay.
When a Relationship Conversation Changes Everything
That afternoon, as we lay in bed, I thanked her for making my trip so memorable. Later, over dinner, I raised the idea of a relationship. She said she also enjoyed my company and would love more, but we both knew a long distance relationship would not work out, so we agreed to stay friends and keep in touch. She had booked my taxi to Bangkok and even paid for it, but I insisted on reimbursing her 1,400 baht.
The next morning we had breakfast together, and she stayed with me until the taxi came. I felt sad leaving as she waved with her bright smile. She told me about the struggle since COVID but also her determination to stay afloat with loyal customers. She was tough and resilient, and I found it refreshing to speak with someone educated with a good head on her shoulders. I was glad to have met Far, who was nothing like the Pattaya horror stories.
I have kept in touch and even visited her again 6 months later. This time we drove outside the city to an elephant sanctuary, temples, and even tried go karting, where she took photos of me. Unfortunately, with work I could not return until July 2025. This story is still ongoing. Far and I remain in contact, but she has started to distance herself, saying she’s not right for me, that I should find somebody younger to marry and have a family with, and that she is too old to have children. Who knows what the future holds, but I will always remember what we shared together.
The Reality of Retiring in Thailand
My story is not your usual bar girl story. It’s about me as an expat seriously considering if I should move here long term. I thought I would spend at least 6 months to a year here to evaluate if Thailand was the right retirement option for me. This is what I have found out so far and may help people considering retiring here.
Thailand is not like your own country the government, the people, the culture, and the whole system are totally different and can work actively against you as a foreigner. There are a lot of things you need to consider before you decide to move to Thailand permanently.
I thought of myself as a bit of an expert on Thailand, as I’ve been coming to Thailand since 2007 and have been more than 37 times. I have been married to a Thai woman for the past 18 years, and I have three Thai stepchildren. We have a house in rural Thailand, 3 hours north of Bangkok, and a condo in Bangkok. I have the government issued pink Thai ID and the yellow Tabian Baan (house book). I have Thai car and motorbike licenses and two Thai bank accounts. I kidded myself. I was almost Thai. Boy, was I wrong.
I’m a foreigner a farang and I will always be a farang in Thailand, no matter how long I live here.
A Thailand Visa Nightmare
I was rudely awakened to this fact when I was forced to leave Thailand and go overseas, as immigration would not allow me to apply for a marriage visa inside Thailand and said I had to apply from overseas. I flew to Malaysia and submitted an application online to the Thai embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
A few days later, I was emailed to provide more information, namely bank account details. I sent my Thai bank account that showed I had over 100,000 baht income coming in every month. I thought that would be fine as the Thai immigration website states that 65,000 baht is sufficient income. Wrong. I was requested by email to provide an account with 400,000 baht in it.
I did not want to take money out of my Australian bank accounts and send it to Thailand as I was probably only going to stay for a few more months anyway. Plus, I had clearly demonstrated that I had exceeded their monthly income requirements. So I decided to fly to Thailand and get another 60 day tourist visa.
Big mistake.
Detained at the Airport Over Visa Problems
When I arrived at Don Mueang airport, I was detained by immigration as they did not like that I was trying to enter Thailand a second time in 12 months on a tourist visa. They asked why I was coming to Thailand again this year. I told them my Thai wife, who lived with me in Australia, was visiting her family here and I wanted to join them. Immigration said, “You should have a marriage visa.” I said, “Exactly why do you think I went to Malaysia in the first place?”
Then things took a turn for the worse, and the immigration officer started becoming aggressive and argumentative, saying that he did not believe I was married to a Thai. I showed him my Thai marriage certificate. He did not believe it. He then asked in Thai, “Where are you staying?” I said, “Ban Mae… mother’s house.” This infuriated him even more.
He said, “I think you’re living in Thailand because you know Thai.” I said, “No, I’m visiting Thailand. I live in Australia. I know some Thai because I have lived with my Thai wife and Thai stepkids in Australia for 18 years and they speak Thai all the time.”
Immigration then asked to see my Tabian Baan (house registration), which I showed them. They did not believe it. I showed them my pink Thai ID. They did not believe that either. Finally, after about an hour, I was allowed to leave, but I was told they would refuse my entry into Thailand if I came back without a marriage visa.
I have since learned that Thai immigration is scrutinizing marriage visas very carefully as they have discovered quite a number of sham marriages being used to gain long term visas in Thailand. The marriage visa process requires immigration to take statements from neighbors about the couple’s marriage. How humiliating for your neighbors to have to report on your life. You’re living on a street as a married couple nobody else’s business but yet immigration go and visit your neighbors to take statements to see if you really live together.
Other Warning Signs in Thailand
My second awakening relates to the Thai banking system. I needed to replace an ATM card. So I went to my Thai bank and they asked for my Thai marriage certificate, my house registration, my Thai ID for foreigners, my passport, my phone number to be linked to my account, and then all the same information from my Thai wife just to get an ATM card for an account that I have had for 15 years.
My third red flag was when I tried to buy my own condo in Bangkok. I had everything the land office wanted my Thai ID, my passport, my Thai house registration, my Thai bank account statement, proof of the purchase funds coming from Australia. Unfortunately, this was not enough, and they insisted on a letter from my Thai bank stating the transfer came from overseas. I could not obtain this letter for a few days. So we had to put the condo solely in my wife’s name as we wanted to complete the purchase that day.
My fourth red flag was when we went to the immigration office where our house is located to update my address from my TM30 form. Immigration refused to accept that I lived there as the house was in my mother in law’s name. So now we have the absurd situation that I cannot legally live in either the house or the condo that I paid for.
My fifth warning sign came when I befriended a Thai nurse and she showed me the aged care facility she managed. One of the residents was an American who has lived in Thailand for over 20 years. His Thai wife had looked after him, but now she was in her late 60s and was not far off needing care herself. She had no option but to put him in a nursing home. Unfortunately for him, the only people who can speak English at this aged care facility are two Thai nurses who only have basic English skills. He also has to eat Thai food all the time.
Final Retirement Advice for Thailand
Your health is a vital factor when considering your long term ability to stay in Thailand. If you are 70 or over, it gets more expensive and harder to obtain health insurance, particularly with pre existing illness. What do you do if you have a major health problem and your health insurance will not cover it?
I would recommend people come here for a year first before they make their decision and really consider all the factors that could affect them. If they choose to move to Thailand permanently, you are and always will be an outsider in this country. Thailand is a great place to visit. But visiting is not the same as living here. If you are looking for a stress free retirement, Thailand is really not the place.
A Thirty-Three-Year Thailand Love Story
I thought I would share some of my experiences with Thai bar girls, but this was a long time back.
I first came to Thailand in 1990. I was working in the oil fields of the Middle East and was working on rotation 6 weeks at work and 4 weeks off. The company paid during my vacation and also paid for my airfare to wherever I was going on leave.
When I was deciding to come to Thailand for the first time, a work colleague said, Be careful because if you go there, you will never want to go anywhere else. Well, he was right. And that first trip here was the first of more than 100 trips to Thailand. I retired in 2016, so 25 years of coming to Thailand five times a year.
A First Trip to Phuket
My first trip, I arrived in Bangkok without any sort of real plan. I arranged a hotel and taxi from one of those travel desks that they used to have on arrival at Don Mueang airport. The travel desk also offered a tour of Bangkok. A few hours later, the phone rang, and it was a tour guide from the lobby saying my tour was waiting. I thought I was going to be getting on a bus with a bunch of gawking tourists. But when I got down to the lobby, it turned out it was a personal one on one tour. There was a driver, a cute Thai girl as my guide, and me.
She took me to a couple of jewelry clip joints, of course, but I didn’t buy anything. She asked what I wanted to do, and I told her I really wanted a massage. So she took me to a soapy massage place and explained how it worked. Wow, it was like an hour or an hour and a half at the window. So many pretty girls. The mamasan suggested two girls. That sounded good to me.
Meeting Her in Phuket
After the massage, I told the guide that I wanted to go to Phuket the following day. I booked a nice hotel on the beach at Karon Beach. The hotel sent out a taxi to pick me up at Phuket airport. That evening, I was having dinner alone at the hotel, and the waiter asked if I was going into Patong that night. I said, “Where is that?” I really had no idea about anything in Phuket.
The tuk tuk dropped me off on Soi Bangla, which of course was nothing like today, but was hopping nonetheless. I eventually found a small bar on Bangla Road a few girls but a bit more laid back. I sat at the bar, and of course a cute girl sat beside me right away. She spoke reasonable English, was very cute and attentive. I liked her from the start.
We went and had dinner together, but I didn’t take her back to my hotel that night. But I did go back to the same bar the next night, and she was there and she ended up staying with me for the rest of my holiday. There was no such thing as a bar fine back then. At least not at that bar. When I asked her how much to stay with me, she would always say, “Up to you.”
She and I had a nice 3 weeks at the nice hotel good meals, lots of booze, hanging at the bars in Patong, going to the beach. When I went back to work, I gave her a few thousand baht. I told her I would be back in Patong in about 6 weeks’ time, and maybe she could stay with me again.
A Breakup Leaves the Room Empty
I was spending money like mad partying with her, but I didn’t care. I knew I was going back to work to make more money. She said she was going to stay at home in Khorat when I went back to work. I didn’t really believe her, and to be honest it didn’t bother me if she stayed in Patong as long as we were together when I was in Thailand. There was no social media or even internet back then, so we basically were not in touch at all when I was at work.
She talked about us getting married and buying land somewhere. Well, you can probably see where this is heading. Yes, I gave her money to buy land. But on my return to Patong, I found our room empty. Well, mostly empty. There was a pile of my clothes on the floor not even a suitcase. TV gone, fridge gone, bed gone. She was gone. Her friend said she went back to Isan with her Thai husband.
I was hurt and a bit surprised. I knew she had kids, but I had no idea about the husband. I guess she reckoned she got all out of me that she was going to get. I never did see her again or speak to her. She sent me a letter about a year later telling me she wanted me to take her to Canada. I didn’t answer.
The Woman Who Stayed for Thirty-Three Years
All the girls in the bungalows felt sorry for me and wanted to help meaning they wanted to be my girlfriend. There was one girl that I’d always noticed very cute and rather shy. So I asked her out. She was actually a cashier at a beer bar. We hit it off, and after more holidays in Patong, her and I moved up country together away from the madness and partying of Phuket. You can only do that for so long.
Long story short, we have now been together for 33 years living in Thailand. I am retired now. We have two grown up children that live in our home country but visit often.
