Seeking Revenge on a Go Go Girl Who Scammed Me

My experience in Thailand started a few years ago when I decided to head to the kingdom after the passing of my one true love.

Once my love passed away my life pretty much stopped for a couple of years or so and I got myself into a bit of a rut.

At this stage in my life I was 40 years old, not a lot of excitement in my life and fancied doing something different.

I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and add a little flair into my life.

After doing some research on Thailand and armed with the info on what to do and what not to do, I decided to save a bit of money and chose Phuket as my destination.

Choosing Phuket for a Fresh Start

I originally was going to head to Pattaya, but I thought I’d try a different place first just to get my feet wet.

Don’t get me wrong, Pattaya looked like a single man’s paradise, but as a first-timer and solo, I wanted to take it slow.

It would only be a 2-week trip to see what it’s like and see if I actually liked it or not, or if I was just going through some midlife crisis with these travelling ideas.

Without saying what my actual job is in my home country, let’s just say I am in the justice system and I work closely with criminals from all walks of life.

Arriving in Thailand for a Much-Needed Break

After doing this job for many, many years, I thought nothing could get through my defences, especially all the scams you hear about that can happen in Thailand.

My job has also sent me to some rough countries to work with people there, so although I am not new to travel so to speak, my trip to Thailand would be my first solo trip and first trip for pleasure not work.

Everything was sorted and packed, and it was now time for me to head to Thailand for a much needed break from my life.

First Impressions of Phuket and Its Tourist Streets

On arrival in Phuket, I was pretty much gob smacked, all the videos and stories about this place do it no justice.

It seemed like a beautiful place, with nice beaches, it could be a relaxing holiday for some people, but I was not there for that type of holiday.

Bangla Road is one of those places that you have to see to believe, with beautiful girls and hammered tourists, it’s carnage.

Anyway, on my first night there, I was eager to get out and experience the nightlife there.

Finding a Bar Near the Hotel

I found a bar that was close to my hotel.

I wanted a bar that could be classed as my local, like have a couple of beers there at the start of every night that I would venture out.

The bar was nice and the people there were friendly, and let’s just say, the bar girls were very sweet towards me.

It had quite a few bar girls in there as well, but as I wanted to make it my starting bar, I decided against ever bar-fining a girl from there so it would not be awkward if I keep returning.

That was the idea I had in my head anyway, but like most men in Thailand, we don’t do much thinking with our big head and I failed that plan close to the end of my trip.

Choosing a Bar Girl Who Catches His Attention

I just couldn’t resist the beauty of some of these ladies.

Every time I went in that bar I would sit and talk to this tanned goddess, sometimes, at the end of the night I would even finish in the bar with her.

Sometimes when I would go out, I wouldn’t even make it past the first bar, I would just sit with her talking about anything and everything.

Three nights before the end of my trip, I bar-fined this girl and after a night of drinking and bar hopping, we headed back to my hotel.

Breakfast Conversation Reveals Her Interest

The morning after when we went out for breakfast, she was telling me how much she’d enjoyed her time with me at the bar and how much she likes me.

Don’t get me wrong, she was a beauty but I did not like her any more than a friend or a fling, I was not exactly looking to be dating anyone.

I went to Thailand for one reason, and that was to have a bit of fun.

She asked me if I planned on coming back anytime soon.

Promising to Return to Phuket in Six Months

I replied “I should be back in around 6 months”

However, on my last night in Phuket that is when things got a bit messy.

As it was the last night of my 2 week millionaire holiday and I still had a quite a few baht notes left, I hit the drinks a bit too hard.

I got extremely drunk, and like usual I decided to finish my night in my local bar, in hopes of seeing the girl one last time before heading home.

When I got to the bar, to my disappointment she was already sitting drinking with a customer.

His Friends Hide the First Bar Girl from Him

Her friends in the bar knew about me and did their best to usher me to a seat where I couldn’t see her, but it was too late.

I was not bothered anyway, I was not in love or anything like that, just wanted some fun before I departed.

Shortly after I ordered my beer, this other young cute bar girl came and sat next to me.

I had not seen her in the bar before so at the time I was guessing she was new.

The Second Bar Girl Does Not Know About the First

And as she sat with me, I’m also guessing that she did not know about girl number 1.

I kept glancing over to the other bar girls and they were giving me dagger eyes like I was in the wrong for talking to a different girl.

After a few drinks and a couple of lady drinks, I asked the new girl if I could bar-fine her and go back to my hotel. It was my last night after all, and I wanted to end it on a bang.

She happily accepted and went to get her things to leave.

The First Girl Confronts Him After Seeing the Rival

I noticed that girl number 1 was sat alone now, her customer must have left, but but I had already bar-fined girl number 2.

Talk about a bad situation to be in.

Once girl number 2 came back, we started to head out until girl number 1 started a barrage of abuse towards the new girl.

She went crazy shouting while pointing her finger at us, I don’t know what she said at the time but I could tell by her attitude that it wasn’t nice.

So much for a sweet and innocent girl that I thought she was.

The Second Girl Is Shaken by the Confrontation

Girl number 2, the one that I just bar-fined, looked a bit shaken up but confused more than anything.

I asked her if she was ok and still wanted to come back, I gave her the choice and told her she could leave if she wants.

Fortunately for me, she still wanted to come back to my hotel with me.

We got back to the hotel and had our time together, it seemed nothing was getting in the way of that.

Learning What the First Girl Said During the Argument

After, I asked her what girl number 1 said during her outburst.

She replied that she was calling me a bad man and that she should not go with other girls’ customers.

Which I do understand that girls should stay away from each other’s customers, it makes sense but she already had a customer when I arrived, what am I meant to do?

Sit and hope that her customer leaves?

Maybe I was wrong to bar fine a girl at the same bar, ah well, my trip was fun and I couldn’t wait to return.

Falling in Love with Thailand After the First Trip

I was only in Thailand for 2 weeks but I really fell in love with the place, just the relaxed way of life there, something I was not used to.

There was a bit of everything where I was.

If I was in the mood for a night out with a bit of chaos I could just head down Bangla Road, and if I wanted a quieter night I could just stay at the hotel bar and chat to the staff there.

Once I got home, I wanted to go back as soon as I could, and I wanted to interact with more Thai people so I took some Thai speaking lessons online.

Learning Thai and Building Confidence

Turns out, I picked it up pretty quickly and easily, though I am nowhere near fluent, just basic Thai and a few phrases to help me get by.

For the first time in a while, I was actually looking forward to something in my life.

Six months came and went, and it was time for me to get back to Phuket and carry on where I left off.

I booked the same hotel and headed to my same local bar, with hopes that the dust has settled after all this time.

The First Girl Apologizes for Her Outburst

Girl number 1 was there and she apologized for the way that she acted.

She said she really liked me and was just jealous to see me go with another girl.

I explained to her that I am strictly here on holiday, I don’t plan on getting attached to anyone, I want to be a butterfly and spread my wings.

Side note: Bar girls call foreigners butterflies when they go from girl to girl, basically what we call a player.

I also made it clear that I did not want to bar fine her, or anyone in that bar, because I like it there and don’t want things to be awkward like last time.

A Quiet Night Together After the Apology

She seemed ok with that, and we had a few drinks together that night, but that was it.

I did ask about girl number 2 as I did not see her; apparently, she left for another bar because there was too much tension in the bar and it seemed nobody really liked her there.

It seems like all the girls in that particular bar were either close friends or family, and they all came from the same province.

Anyway, that’s about as exciting as my first night back was.

I had a few more drinks with her and then headed back to my hotel for an early night, alone.

Discovering Go-Go Bars for the First Time

The second night is where everything changed for me, I discovered go go bars.

How the hell did I miss these bars on my first trip?

On my first trip I thought they were all nightclubs as that’s what they looked like from the outside, and my clubbing days are over so I always gave them a miss.

I don’t know what made me go into one, but I was hooked instantly, and when I noticed this particular girl on stage, I was even more hooked.

Meeting Apple and Feeling an Immediate Connection

My heart was pounding this go go girl was perfect.

I tipped her while she danced on the stage and when she finished her time on stage she came and sat next to me, well practically on my lap.

I was buying the lady drinks and I was loving it, it looked like she was having a lot of fun as well.

All the warnings, horror stories and advice went out the window.

We sat and drank, and every now and again she would go up on the bar to do her show looking at me while performing, and then she would come back and sit with me to carry on our drinking session.

Apple Speaks English and Helps Him Practise Thai

She spoke surprisingly good English, and I attempted to impress her with my very little knowledge of Thai.

Every time she spoke to staff or the other girls, I understood enough Thai to notice that she was switching between Thai and another language, or so I thought.

I asked her about this and she said she was speaking Isan which is a kind of Thai slang.

Once you learn enough Thai, you will notice that a lot of these girls speak the Isan slang in the bars.

Learning Thai and Isan with Apple

I was trying to learn both Thai and Isan at the time, and when I would come out with it or reply to girls in the bar they seemed to be very impressed that I could understand a lot of it.

But again, I was nowhere near fluent or close to it.

Just enough to get by and win me some compliments.

Anyway, back to my new go go girl.

Her name was Apple.

Apple’s English Nickname and Her Place in the Bar

Obviously not her real name, but that was her English nickname.

She was from Khon Kaen which is in Isan, and she had a very unique look about her, different and darker than your average Thai girl, she was pure beauty.

Girl number 1 from my local bar was a beauty but nothing compared to this girl.

After a good night drinking with her and having fun with her, I ended up barfining her.

Worrying About Being Seen with Apple Near the Local Bar

On the way back to the hotel we passed my local bar, I was hoping girl number 1 didn’t see me, in case she acted up like last time.

Luckily, the coast was clear but her friends saw me, giving me some shady looks.

That night we had a lot of fun at the hotel, she clearly was not shy.

The next day, I gave her some money and told her I’d come back to the go go bar again soon.

That night, I went to my local as per usual to start the night.

The First Girl Confronts Him Again at the Bar

I ordered a beer and sat down, out of the corner of my eye I saw girl number 1 storming over to me.

She went crazy at me again, it was so weird.

She was acting like I was her boyfriend that just cheated on her.

The staff and customers in the bar were staring at us, it was such a cringy moment.

I explained again that I’m on holiday and enjoying myself, we are not in a relationship so stop acting like this.

Questioning Whether Apple Is Drunk or on Drugs

She kept saying random stuff while kicking me, she said “I love you” but all the other words just came out randomly.

It then clicked on me that this girl wasn’t crazy, she was just high on something.

In my line of work, you soon learn to pick up when someone has taken something, and this girl was clearly off her head.

I obviously could not fight back with a Thai woman, or even restrain her, as the customers will think I’m just a violent foreigner and probably try to attack me.

Leaving the Bar Before the Argument Escalates

Instead, I just put my money in the bill pot and left quickly.

Needless to say, I never went back to that bar again and I feel sorry for any customer that comes in contact with her in the future.

After that weird encounter, I headed straight to the go go bar again to see my Isan beauty, Apple.

We had another great night like the previous night, drinking, watching her dance and having fun.

That night I bar-fined the go go girl again, and did so for the next week and a half.

Apple Helps Him Improve His Thai

During this time, she was teaching me Thai and I was improving every day at a good rate.

It’s amazing how much you can pick up if you actually keep at it.

I had a fantastic trip with Apple, and enjoyed every moment with her.

She even introduced me to her friends and some of her cousins that were in Phuket.

I was also invited to parties with her where I was the only foreigner there and they would find it really cute that I was trying to interact in Thai with them.

Paying for Drinks and Becoming the Group’s ATM

Needless to say, at all these gatherings I was the walking ATM and paid for most of the drinks and food, but I guess that’s just normal, I was the guest and, as I’m a Westerner, in their eyes I’m automatically rich.

But I did not mind paying, I had a great time.

Spoiler: I’m not rich.

I also met a Swedish guy while I was in Phuket, he had a few businesses in Thailand and was pretty well known in the area.

A Business Investment Proposal from Apple’s Acquaintance

After getting to know him more, he shared a business idea with me and asked me if I would like to invest, which I did.

I made it clear to him my occupation in working in the justice system, and told him that if he tries to scam me I will come looking for him.

The business actually turned out well, I don’t want to say what it is on here, it wasn’t a bar or anything like that, but within six months, I started to receive money back and it seems to be on the up and up.

Anyway, back to my go-go girl.

The day before I left, I was spending the day shopping with Apple and I bought her a 3,000 Thai baht bracelet, nothing special but just a little gift.

Giving Apple Money After She Spends More Time with Him

She had spent many days with me, so I wanted to show my appreciation with just a little gift.

I told her not to sell it.

To me, buying her this bracelet was just a little test to see if she still had it when I return.

While saying our goodbyes, she said to me “You go with no one else but me when you come back”.

That was perfectly fine for me, as she is the one I wanted.

Agreeing to Pay for Apple to Leave the Bar

I couldn’t exactly say it to her considering her line of work, so I just agreed.

Time to go back home and for another 6 months until I can come back to Apple again.

While I was at home, Apple and I spoke on the phone every now and again, but with the time difference, our work and everything else, it was pretty difficult to communicate.

However, we did actually say that we love each other.

Saving for Another Trip to Phuket

I worked pretty much every day until I could return to Phuket once again, and six months later I was heading back there.

I should note, the time that I was home, I never sent Apple a single penny, nor did she ask me to.

I got back to Phuket, checked in and within an hour I was heading to the go go bar again.

There she was, stood on the stage, perfect as ever, still wearing the bracelet that I purchased for her.

The cashier at the go go bar who I became pretty good friends with, told me that Apple had never taken her bracelet off and rarely went with any customers.

Apple May Be Waiting for Him—or Making Excuses

Now, I know that was probably a lie, because why else would she be working in such a job if she didn’t want to go with customers to make money? But maybe she was telling the truth, maybe Apple was actually waiting for me.

Although I have probably broken every bar girl rule in the book, my life couldn’t have been any better, I was truly having the time of my life.

Me and Apple picked up where we left off, and back to house parties with her friends and daily outings.

I was still the walking ATM but this time only for Apple, not the whole group of friends.

His Reputation Spreads Through the Phuket Bars

The more time I spent with Apple meeting people, the more my name was getting around.

It was like every bar we went to, the staff and girls would know who Apple is, and that way, they started knowing who I was.

I don’t know if that was good or bad thing, but it did do a lot for my ego.

I would walk into bars and mama sans would call me by my first name, claiming I am a good man and nothing bad will happen to me.

Even the bar girls in a lot of the bars knew I was dating Apple so they paid no attention to me.

Other Bar Girls Keep Their Distance

Sure, they would smile and greet me, get me a drink and sometimes sit with me but they knew not to flirt or to try and get lady drinks.

This was fine with me, as I was totally addicted to Apple, so other girls did not really interest me now.

I was more of a people watcher than a butterfly.

One day, I was drinking in one of the bars that Apple introduced me to, where I got along with all the staff.

A British man came into the bar, and everyone seemed to go quiet and keep their distance from him.

A Local Man with a Reputation for Trouble

It turns out that this man was very well known and sounded like a foul piece of work.

It wasn’t like he tried to hide it either, it seemed everyone knew who he was.

With my background, I really wanted to go to the police about him, but it’s not my business and the system works completely different in Thailand.

Back to my sweet Apple.

I asked her if she would like to come to my country with me, just for 2 or 3 months.

Apple Accepts the Offer to Leave the Bar

She was super excited about this and couldn’t have accepted the offer fast enough.

However, she told me that she did not have a passport, which I thought was strange because some of her friends would travel to other Asian countries to work in their profession.

I assumed Apple did also but I did not want to bring up her work, nor did I need to know about it, so I never really asked.

With that said, I sent her to Bangkok and paid for her to apply for a passport.

Planning a Return Trip and a Visit to His Home Country

The plan was for me to come back to Thailand again in 6 months and then after that trip, we both go to my country for a couple of months.

Apple and I were pretty serious at this stage, and I felt like I had the right to ask her to not work at the bar anymore.

I know it was her job and way to make money, but it’s pretty hard to be in a relationship with a woman that does that type of work.

I think most men would agree with that.

I suggested that she go back to her village in Isan until I return to Thailand.

Giving Apple Money to Leave the Bar

I gave her a nice chunk of money, not a huge amount, but enough to get by and enough to cover her wages for leaving the bar.

I knew she would send money home from her job as she had a child that her mother takes care of.

So I suggested that she take the money I gave and start a business, I thought that this would keep her family happy and keep Apple busy.

This should also save me money in the long run.

She agreed to this arrangement and promised to leave the bar once I left Phuket.

Returning Home to His Old Working Life

I went back home and resumed my boring and dull working life.

As promised, Apple left the bar and headed back to her village.

This time we spoke pretty much every day and things were going better than ever, and better than I’d ever have imagined.

Also, this time I did send her money, but it was towards the laundry business that she had started.

She sent me pictures of the place she rented and the washing machines, so I had no reason to not believe her.

Apple’s Bar-Girl Life Turns into a Serious Relationship

I used to be a butterfly in Thailand and now I am loved up, what the hell happened.

Work was pretty quiet this time around, and it gave me chance to work on my Thai reading and writing a lot more.

Yes, I was still at the level of a 6 year old with my Thai speaking, but it was coming along nicely, it’s not exactly an easy language to learn.

I knew enough to be able to read some basic text messages from Apple.

Returning to Phuket with Friends from Work

This time back to Phuket, I came with a few of my friends from work.

One of them had been to Thailand many years ago, but the other 3 were complete newbies to the country.

We stayed in the same hotel and I was looking forward to having a fun time with them.

Apple was still in her village and was not due back in Phuket for a couple more days, so I had a little break with my friends.

I did the right thing and took them to the bars I knew and introduced them to the bar girls there as I knew they were decent girls.

Learning Apple Has Gone Back to Her Village

I asked one of the girls who was good friends with Apple if she had been in Phuket since I left, and the girl confirmed that Apple had left for her village about 2 days after I left Phuket.

After a couple of days with my friends showing them the ropes and hopefully putting them on the right path, it was time for me to meet Apple.

She showed up at my hotel and I fell in love all over again, I swear she looked even more stunning every time that we met.

We did not go out that night, we had a lot of catching up to do, if you catch my drift.

Apple Plans to Celebrate Thai New Year with Family

Thai New Year was coming up, and Apple wanted to go back to her village and spend it with her family, as it’s been a few years since she spent New Year with them.

She did not ask me if I wanted to join her, but as my friends were here in Phuket, I thought what the hell and said that she could go.

It will give me some time to enjoy with my friends and see how they get bitten by the Thailand bug.

We spent 2 more nights together and everyone was telling me how happy Apple is with her new life and business in her village, and how much of a good man I am.

Because Apple never asked me to come with her, I decided I would test her.

Giving Apple Money for a Small Business Investment

I gave her some money and told her that it wasn’t to spend, it was for investing into the business for more machines or equipment.

I did not ask, but I told her that after the New Year I would come to her village because I wanted to see the business and see how we could expand it.

I kind of had in my mind that if we got married in the future, and the business was making decent money, then her family wouldn’t be hounding us to send them money.

Apple left for her village that day, and I went to catch up with my friends and had a night out.

Just want to add that I stayed faithful to Apple both in Thailand and in my home country, since I met her.

Calling Apple After She Leaves for the Village

The day after Apple left I called her to see how she was doing and if she was okay.

The phone kept ringing and ringing with no answer, which wasn’t normal for Apple.

I thought to myself that maybe she is just busy with family, so decided to leave it a couple of hours and try again.

All day my text messages and phone calls went unanswered, again, this was very strange.

Looking for Another Way to Find Apple

On to plan B.

I went to the bar where Apple’s good friend works and told her what was happening.

Her friend tried to call and text her phone but got the same results as me.

Then it sank in, I have been scammed by my Go Go Girl girlfriend.

Now, if this type of thing happens to a foreigner, normally they accept they have been scammed and move on.

Demanding His Money Back and Seeking Revenge

However, I couldn’t do that, not only did I want my money back, but I wanted revenge on her for wasting over a year of my life.

So, with that kind of feeling, I took a lot of my belongings to my friend’s room to save and packed a small backpack of clothes and some other items, jumped on a bus and made my way to her village.

The problem was, I did not really think this through, I had no plans on what I was going to do when I got there.

And once I was there, I did not realize my Thai was actually that bad, nobody understood me in this village and had no experience in dealing with foreigners.

I eventually found a hotel and checked in for a week, thinking finding her might become a difficult task.

Searching Phuket for Apple with Her Photograph

For the next three days, I walked around as many streets as I could, with a picture of Apple in hand, asking locals and damn near anyone if they knew this girl.

I was having no success.

My only remaining option was to go to the police.

I would have done this first, but after hearing how corrupt the police are in Thailand from other foreigners, I decided against it.

Reporting the Disappearance to the Police

However, I was running out of options, so off I went to the police station to explain what was going on.

Now, you hear a lot of stories about police in tourist areas, but in small little villages they seem to do everything by the book.

The police officer I spoke to was extremely professional and was quite a high rank, according to him.

He put a lot of officers on finding Apple, although I was very thankful, I kept thinking in the back of my mind “How much is this going to cost me”.

2 days went by and the police did exactly what they said they were going to do, they found Apple.

Finding Apple at a Friend’s House After the Money Is Spent

She was at a friend’s house with a bunch of other Thai people and had been drinking and doing God knows what else for around 8 days straight, blowing most of the money that I had given her towards the business.

She had a good life up until now, and a bright future, but at that moment her life changed.

People in the town now knew she was a bar girl that was scamming men in Phuket.

I was literally the talk of the town.

The Story Spreads Through the Local Town

The news around town was that a farang had chased the girl from Phuket because she had stolen his money and scammed him.

In the police station when the police brought her in and she saw my face, you could see the regret just ooze from her eyes.

The police made her pay whatever money she could back to me, so they took us to her house to collect it.

When we arrived at her family house, I could see that she had used some of the money wisely for her family, I guess she’s not a complete waste, right? While there I also discovered she had 2 more children that she never told me about.

I managed to recover just a fraction of the money and some jewelry that I had given her and that she had purchased herself.

Cutting Contact After the Police Return Him to Phuket

After I left her house and traveled back with the police, I blocked her from everywhere and never saw or heard from her again.

As for the police, I wanted to repay them for their efforts so they allowed me to take them out for lunch with lots of beer, it was actually pretty fun with them.

I had 2 more days at the hotel so I spent them unwinding and meeting actual nice Thai ladies and being friendly with the locals.

So there you have it, a tale of some woe but I really do love Thailand and Thai people.

In fact, I am so glad that I didn’t just let this scam happen and I did something about it, or I would never have gone to Isan and learned what Thai people outside the tourist zones are like.

Planning to Explore Isan Beyond the Tourist Areas

I love it up there that much, that in a few months I will head back to Phuket to see my friends and then spend the rest of my trip exploring Isan and meeting more real genuine Thais.