A First Timer Experiences a Massage in Bangkok
Northern Thailand, where the company I was heading to is located. This meant I had to spend 2 days in Bangkok before flying back to Zambia. Before embarking on this trip, I read a lot about Thailand and, being a curious person, I decided to use the opportunity to explore Bangkok. The city is world-famous for its nightlife and massage spas. In the evening, I took a walk just to see what the city was really like – the way I had seen in American movies such as Kickboxer. The weather was hot and humid, but I did not mind because I come from a warm country myself.
As I walked along the busy streets, I noticed many tourists sitting in open-air restaurants relaxing with young Thai women. I respected their choices and continued my walk. The further I went, the more massage spas glowed under colorful lights. Being a black man with dreadlocks, I quickly realized I was attracting attention. People looked at me but pretended they were not when I caught their eyes. After a few minutes, one girl called out to me from a group of women. Normally, I never respond to such calls unless I’m interested, but something about her caught my attention. She stood up, smiled warmly, and greeted me in simple English. She looked about 30 years old, had long black hair, a shiny iPhone in one hand, and a nice wristwatch on the other hand.
She asked politely if I wanted a massage. I tried to hide my true curiosity, but her charming smile and gentle voice disarmed me completely. I said yes, as long as the service was good. She asked me to follow her to the spa, which I did without much hesitation. Inside, she offered me a soft drink, which I accepted out of respect. She showed me a list of massages, explaining each one, but I was already distracted by her friendly presence. When I said I was a bit hungry, she advised me to have the massage first, saying it would increase my appetite. That sounded reasonable, so I agreed.
From my research, I knew that in some Thai spas, there are what people call special services. I decided to test if my research was accurate and chose a nuru massage for 2 hours. She led me upstairs to a quiet room. The city noise faded, replaced by soft music and the sound of cars far away. The room was clean with two beds – one looking like a hospital bed, the other a normal one. She asked me to take a shower first and handed me a robe.
I followed her instructions like a man under a spell. This was the first time in my life I stood before a woman who was not my wife telling me to undress. It felt strange, like I was hypnotized. After my shower, she also changed into something comfortable. The massage began gently. She started from my feet, then my thighs, and finally my back. Her hands were soft and professional. The oriental music in the background made the whole experience peaceful and relaxing.
When she began the nuru part of the massage, the experience became unforgettable. She whispered something in my ear, and my brain stopped working. Everything after that moment is best left to your imagination. When it was all over, I felt like I was floating on air. I left the spa walking lighter and smelling like coconut oil – and questioning every business trip that did not include such research. That was my Bangkok experience – a city that knows how to relax your body and confuse your soul at the same time.
A Holiday in Vietnam and Thailand Was Nearly Derailed by a Peeing Incident
“My name is Jim and after spending a few years in the UK stuck in the rat race chasing the wind, I decided it was time for a break.” I planned a trip to Vietnam, then Thailand, to clear my head and enjoy some fresh air. I traveled with a group of friends from Manchester and we landed in Ho Chi Minh City around 5:00 in the evening in early October 2025. The heat hit us straight away, and the streets had the familiar Southeast Asian buzz.
We took a bus to the hotel, freshened up, had some Vietnamese food, and headed out. We left our hotel and went to a busy area which was packed with bars, restaurants, food stores – and the whole place reminded me of a smaller version of Soi Cowboy mixed with Walking Street in Pattaya. We moved from bar to bar and soaked up the atmosphere. I noticed a few women on the streets carrying babies, which felt strange at that time of night. While walking between bars, I was approached by a group of young women offering full body massages for 300,000 dong. One girl grabbed my hand and pulled me inside. I resisted at first, but she was cute, so I let her lead me up to a small room on the third floor.
She told me to get into my underwear and started massaging my back with oil while we talked. After about 15 minutes, she asked me to turn over and continued for a short while before stopping and climbing onto the bed beside me with a smile. She pushed for 3 million dong for what she called the full package. I told her I only wanted a normal massage because I was jet-lagged, but she kept insisting. When I refused again, she got annoyed and told me to leave. She walked out of the room and I followed her back down to the street. My friend later told me he had almost the same experience with another girl in the same place. After two nights in Vietnam, we flew to Bangkok. Bangkok hit differently. The energy was stronger. The city felt bigger, and everything seemed more intense. We arrived too early for check-in and ended up sleeping in the hotel lobby for a while. After freshening up, we grabbed some food, headed to Nana Plaza around 7:00 in the evening. Soi 4 was buzzing with people, and the bars were packed.
We ended up in a go-go bar on the first floor, and the girls were stunning. Drinks flowed. Everyone in our group paid the bar fine of 1,500 baht. The girls asked for 5,000 baht, which I did not mind because my girl Pat was a showstopper. We swapped LINE details and stayed in touch. On Monday, we drove to Pattaya. After settling in, we went to Beach Road for massages, then had dinner in an Indian restaurant. Later, we headed into Walking Street, which was lively as usual – with more Indian and Russian places than I remembered. Some of the go-go bars were quiet, which meant the girls were competing for attention, and that made us feel like kings.
As we were leaving around 5:00 in the morning, my friend was caught urinating behind a taxi near a neon sign. The driver was furious and demanded 400 baht. My friend argued back, and within seconds, several taxi drivers surrounded us. A ladyboy walked over and said, “You can do that over me, but never on a car” – which made me laugh. Even though the situation was turning bad, a police officer arrived on a motorbike and pretended to check CCTV before demanding 1,000 baht. I paid it because I could see where things were heading. The original driver refused to take us, but his friend drove us back to the hotel. We stayed one night in Pattaya, then returned to Bangkok.
I went back to the same go-go bar in Nana Plaza, and Pat spotted me again. I sat down and booked her beer, but she was in the back room, so I called another girl from the stage to sit with me. That was a mistake. When Pat came out, she saw us and gave me a long cold look. To ease things, I called her over and ended up with one girl on each leg – buying more lady drinks than I planned – but it was a good laugh. I took Pat back to the hotel, and she stayed the night before leaving in the morning. After two nights in Vietnam and five in Thailand, the whole holiday felt far too short. And I will definitely be back in the Land of Smiles sometime in the near future.
A Sprained Ankle Led to a Life Changing Trip to Thailand
“Hi Peter, I hope you’re well. I recently discovered your YouTube channel and I’m really enjoying your viewers’ stories. So keep up the good work.” I first visited Thailand in 2009 with my friend from England for a two-week holiday in Phuket. We returned a year later for a month holiday before jetting over to Australia to stay with our Australian friends we had met in 2009. That holiday ended up lasting 16 years because I never went back to the UK. Since then, I have returned to Thailand five times, which is tragic because I should have gone more. My advice to any of your listeners is that Thailand is far better on your own. It is not only about the bar girls. I just enjoy the whole solo travel experience because it is easy to meet people and you never know what will happen or where it will lead you.
In 2009, I was 23 and working in a glass factory in England, earning close to minimum wage. My whole life revolved around football at the weekends. Looking back, I was stuck in a rut, but at the time, I was living with my parents and had no real responsibilities. In August 2009, I sprained my ankle. And at the time it devastated me because everything in my life was football. I trained on Tuesdays and Thursdays, played a social game on Wednesdays, played for my team on Saturday at a decent level, then played with friends in the pub league on Sunday. My social life revolved around football, too. Looking back, that injury ended up shaping my life for the better part because I would never be where I am now without it. My evolution started when one of my friends suggested a guys’ holiday in November because I would not be playing football. Normally, I would never have traveled during the season, but with the injury, I agreed.
At first, we had five guys keen to join the trip, but when it came time to book, they all backed out. So it ended up just being me and my friend Adam. We booked two weeks in Phuket after taking advice from my dad who worked in the travel industry, and he promised us the time of our lives. We had no idea what we were getting into. We just knew we liked spicy food and hot weather. We landed in Phuket around 8:00 in the evening in November and checked into a hotel called Divana. We dropped our bags, showered, and headed out. This is what I call the sliding door moment. We walked along the beach road towards Bangla and passed a lively looking boat-shaped bar. We found somewhere to eat, and my first Thai meal was a red curry with spring rolls. Afterwards, Adam suggested we go back to the boat bar for a couple of beers and have an early night. That bar ended up being our home for the next two weeks, and just like my ankle injury, it ended up shaping my life. The bar was simply called Beer Bar, and the girls were so welcoming. We ordered our first beers and soon met an Australian guy called Andy who was on holiday with two friends and one of their families. We got on like a house on fire, and before we knew it, the idea of an early night disappeared and we were heading out.
The beer bar became our home. The girls became our friends. None of us took any of them for aerobics. We just had fun with them every night. We even ended up unofficially working at the bar – pouring drinks and helping bring in customers whenever it was quiet. The owner loved it, and the bar was busy every night. Over time, the bar owners stopped charging us for drinks because we made him a fortune. Those bar girls will always have a place in my heart. We saw the other side of things and treated them with respect, and they treated us like family. We were young guys and not really there for the bar girls. At that time, we were more interested in holidaymakers. We also acted like security. One night, two Russian guys drank all night, then tried to leave without paying. We chased them, but before anything happened, a group of Thai guys who always sat at a nearby table stepped in. One of them had a handgun on the table, and we assumed they were some kind of mafia group.
I also nearly died on this holiday. I went go-karting with the Australian guy, and because we are competitive by nature, it was never going to be a relaxed activity. The carts were barely regulated, and the petrol tank was between your legs. I was chasing one of the Aussies around a corner when he braked suddenly. I swerved, hit some tires, and my go-kart flipped and I flew down a bank. It stopped between two trees, which probably saved my life. When I looked at my legs, one was bent behind me and the other foot was pointing the wrong way. A Thai guy ran over asking, “Are you okay?” I shouted, “Do I look okay?” Somehow I had no broken bones – just burns on my thighs. It was such a lucky escape and a real eye-opener because it could have been far worse. That two-week trip was the start of something special, and I completely fell in love with Thailand.
One more moment worth mentioning happened in a disco where I met a Thai girl who latched on to me the second I walked inside. She was young and hot, and we ended up going down to the beach for some aerobics with no money involved. It happened three nights in a row. She never once mentioned money, so I still do not understand how I managed to pull that off. At the end of the trip, we exchanged details with the Aussies and promised we would visit them in 2010. We all assumed it would never happen, but it did – and I have not been home since. This story is just the introduction to Thailand. The trip in 2010 was far more action-packed, so I will need some time to put that one together.
A Seventy Nine Year Old Man Battled to Bring His Filipina Partner to Israel
“This true story is intended as a warning to any man thinking of bringing an Asian girlfriend to visit or live with him in the West.” My name is Avery and I am a 79-year-old longtime widower from the UK. I am a dual UK and Israeli citizen, and I have lived most of my life in Israel. I am in good health and I have traveled in Thailand and the Philippines for the last 18 years. Last November 2024, I began a 6-week dating trip with the intention of finding a serious partner. I used the services of Thai Friendly and Date In Asia. During that trip, I dated five women between Thailand and the Philippines. I eventually met a beautiful 42-year-old Filipina who I will call Diane. We connected well. She had two older teenage children and worked full-time in Metro Manila, which meant we did not have much time together. Our focus was simply getting to know each other without distractions. After I returned home, we stayed in touch every day by WhatsApp. After 3 months, it was clear that we saw ourselves as a couple, and we started planning a future together. With all my previous experience dating in those countries, I knew she was not a scammer, and I made it clear from the beginning that I live modestly on my pension.
After considering everything, I invited her to visit me in Israel in the spring. I checked all the requirements and confirmed that she needed a valid passport and some other documents – a simple letter of invitation stating I would host her, provide for her, and ensure she returned home after her visit. Visitors from the Philippines were officially allowed to stay for up to 3 months. What I did not know was that in recent years, this relationship had weakened because of rising numbers of illegal Filipino and foreign workers attempting to enter Israel. I booked Diane a ticket from Manila through Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv for arrival on September 2, 2025. The night before her flight, I expected a message saying she was ready for her first ever journey abroad. Instead, she wrote saying the passport officer told her she was missing paperwork. He said she needed an official letter of invitation notarized by the Philippines Embassy in Tel Aviv and a notarized affidavit of support. He then claimed her travel insurance was invalid – which was untrue. Seeing she had never flown before, he pressured her into paying him. I was shocked.
Nobody expects to check departure rules for another country when buying a ticket. You check your own country’s entry rules, not theirs. Because of this, we lost the ticket and the insurance money. I could not claim because insurances do not cover documentation refusal. Before retiring, I worked in insurance management, so I know exactly how these things unfold and how easily they trap you. Corruption in the Philippines is widespread. As Westerners, we expect fairness, order, proper procedures, and professional behavior. In reality, airlines and officials do not always provide accurate information. A Filipino overseas worker in Israel later told me that anything can happen when cash is involved. So I warn your viewers – never assume departure regulations abroad match the ones at home.
The next morning, I accepted we had no choice but to continue. During that week, I typed the required documents based on official embassy templates. Then I notarized them at the Philippines Embassy in Tel Aviv, sent them to Diane by courier, and bought a second ticket for September 13, for arrival on September 14. Full of excitement, I waited for her at the airport. She called saying she had landed at 5:00 a.m. An hour passed, then almost another. When I phoned, she said Israeli passport control were questioning her. Israel is extremely strict on incoming visitors, even with correct documents. Security concerns include large numbers of illegal workers from countries like the Philippines trying to enter for domestic or caregiving work. More time passed, and Diane told me they refused her entry. They gave no explanation. They would not speak to me. At the immigration office, they refused to tell me anything and ordered me to leave. I went back to the arrival hall and kept contacting Diane and anyone in the country who I thought might help. Nothing worked.
Immigration staff pressured her to sign a form agreeing to be sent home. But I told her not to sign anything because it might block her future entry. After 9 hours at the airport, my phone battery was almost dead. This nightmare was happening again. Our nerves were completely broken. I even asked Diane if she was willing to be held at the airport for a few days while I appealed. She initially agreed, but with no battery left, she eventually lost hope and boarded a flight home. It was devastating. We lost more than $3,500. Worse than the financial loss was the feeling of being treated like criminals – despite being a genuine couple. As an Israeli, I understand strict border policy, but this was suspicion with no evidence. The most obvious reason was the age gap. I am 79 and Diane is 42, and they likely assumed I was bringing in an illegal caregiver. This was nonsense – I train with weights three times a week and I do not need one.
I have now hired an immigration lawyer who told me the legal process to bring Diane could take at least 6 months or more. I told her I do not have unlimited time, and I intend to marry. But Israel does not allow civil marriages between different religions. A Jew cannot marry a Catholic or a Muslim or anyone of another faith. My plan is for Diane and me to meet in Thailand and marry. There is a simple registry office marriage. Some may assume the Philippines makes more sense, but I have many reasons why I do not want to marry there. I prefer Thailand, and I want Diane to enjoy her first proper holiday. So, to finish, I hope this warning helps other men planning to bring their Asian partners to the West.
An Airplane Romance Ended Before Landing
Flashback to February 1998 – two friends and I were sitting in a Seoul coffee shop reading the Korean Herald when my one friend pipes up and says, “I need to do a visa run. Where should I go?” My other friend and I were on a month’s break between projects, and I said, “Let’s go to Thailand.” We quickly gathered the funds and called my travel agent, and we were good to go. The next day, we planned to meet at Seoul Station and take the subway to the old Gimpo Airport. However, my friend arrives and informs me that his passport has only 3 weeks left on the validity. What the heck? How do you let that happen? Fortunately, I had a friend at the embassy and we got a new one in less than 3 hours. And yes, I know some will say BS, but it was my friend and we were sworn to secrecy not to let anyone know it was possible.
Due to this unscheduled bit of business, we were now rushing into the airport to catch the flight. Remember back in 1998, tickets were the carbon copy things and you needed to hold on to the return copy. No iPhones in those days. We check in and rush to the gate – and yes, we made it barely. I collapse into my aisle seat and breathe a sigh of relief, and I glance to my right and see a gorgeous Thai lady. Score. My buddies are further right of her, and we are on the 5-seat middle row. I was just about to greet her when the stewardess rushes up to me and says, “Sir, you may need your return ticket” – and hands me the carbon copy receipt. Wow, the scrambling around caused me to forget it at check-in.
I take a breath again and I think, “Wow, what a day.” Then I hear a sweet voice say, “You so lucky.” And I turn back to my beautiful seatmate and began the best conversation on an airplane I’ve ever had – and I travel a lot. It is about 6 hours into the flight from Seoul to Bangkok, and halfway through my seatmate is asleep on my shoulder. My buddies are looking and cursing their bad seating luck. An hour later, her head is on my lap and she is holding my hand. I glance over to one friend still awake, and he whispers, “We’re not even in Bangkok yet” – and laughs.
I gently shake my new female friend as we are stopping off over Eastern China for a few minutes. As we deboard, my new friend grasps my hand, and we enter the smoke-filled waiting terminal where the passengers were actually smoking immediately after exiting the plane in the connecting tunnel. Crazy. We continue to walk through the terminal, and my new girlfriend is attached to me like an octopus. My two buddies are giggling behind me and making snide comments. All of a sudden, she turns to me and says, “You come with me to my parents’ house. They pick me up at airport.” I pause and I say, “Ah, I’m with my friends, but you can definitely meet up with me in Bangkok.”
All of a sudden, she drops my hand and walks away. I look at my friends and mouth “WTF?” We eventually get back on the plane, and my seatmate is silent. About 10 minutes before landing, she scribbles a cell phone number on a card. She says she works in a jewelry factory in Korea. Upon landing, she bolts off the plane, and we do not even see her at the luggage area. Thus ended the shortest relationship in my life.
I did call that number when I returned to Korea, and some guy answered and basically told me off in Korean. My buddies and I had tons of fun in Bangkok. However, the lead-up to the trip was so ridiculous. I have more stories about living in Asia – if anyone is interested, let me know in the comments. Thank you, Peter, for allowing us a forum to submit our memories.
