First Night in Bangkok at 56

This was my first trip to Bangkok from the US. The year was 2013. I was 56 and had just begun to travel the world and only my second trip to Asia. It was officially a business trip so expenses like hotel and food I had to budget about $100 a day. I had read some things online but nothing online began to prepare you for Bangkok.

I was booked into a hotel with a deluxe suite near Nana Plaza on Soi 4 it was where the company booked me. After finishing a short first day at work I was free from about 500 p.m. onwards. Quick shower as the heat of Bangkok it’s not unusual to take two or three showers a day. I looked at my phone map and set out for Nana Plaza.

I never even made it to the entrance into Nana Plaza before stopping at one of the beer bars before you reach the entrance. So many beautiful girls I’d never seen so many beautiful girls in one block in my life. I was very awkward so I sat down in the Stumble Inn Bar at the railing looking out onto the street to watch the world go by. I ordered a beer and sat there almost too afraid to begin any conversation.

A Thai beauty spoke to me to tell me to move. I thought I must have sat where her friends were sitting but she reassured me no I simply sat in a seat where the rainwater would have dripped down on me. She patted the seat closer to her but still one away so I moved and a few words were exchanged. She asked me from the script that I now know so well but it was all new to me back then. “Where are you from?” “US Florida.” “Your first trip to Bangkok?” I answered stupidly “Yes.” “Here on holiday?” “No business.” All the wrong answers.

I did admit I was nervous and naive my first time here. She asked me my name. “I’m Alan” I said and I asked her her name. “I’m Tuk nice to meet you.” I am guessing she was in her early 30s but of course she looked younger. I offered to buy her a lady drink. I looked at the bill cup the bar tab and see that she collects her lady drink slip from one of the staff. I was fascinated by how the whole system works.

Moving forward I get up the courage and ask her if she’d like to go back with me to my hotel room not far from here. She says yes but she is very expensive. She is charging 4000 baht for her company. In a cunning move she laughs a laugh that to this day is so special to me; I call it the “Tuk laugh.” I think she did this to test the waters. I offer her 3000 baht and she accepts it. I paid the 600 baht bar fine and was surprised how it all works the bar fine actually goes straight on your bar bill. I don’t even remember if it was long time or short time. I am sure she must have mentioned it but I was just so beside myself with anticipation I completely missed it.

Nana Plaza First Night With Tuk

A stop at a nearby 7 Eleven I offered to buy her something. She asked for a Bacardi Breezer. Then off we went to my room. I had a glass of bubbly chilling. I offered Tuk a glass. She said she normally only drinks red wine but she would try it. Why I thought I had to get Tuk drunk I don’t know. She really liked the bubbly. After a couple of glasses we killed the bottle even with a short Tuk Tuk ride.

She suggests we take a shower as it is hot even for November. She goes first. When she finishes I go next. I don’t know why I never thought to shower together with her. Remember this was my first night in Bangkok and I have been in a bad marriage with no aerobics for the last 10 years yes no aerobics in 10 years. The aerobics were great but even more great was the girlfriend experience. I had never had this kind of girlfriend experience since I was a teenager. I was like a 56 year old teenager. I slept like a baby at this point with Tuk curled in my arms her head on my chest.

The next morning she departed. I gave her some extra cab fare over the 3000 baht which of course she was delighted to receive. I asked if she would be in the bar tonight. She said yes. I was not sure what my work schedule would be so I made no promises but would like to see her again if it worked out.

I did my work for the day with my mind never away from Tuk in anticipation of finding her again tonight. So I went to the bar and we shared a few drinks. This time we played some pool. My work was done for this trip but I had two more days in Bangkok and was totally free from any more work obligations. From this point on I asked if she would stay with me for the next two days and I’d pay her bar fine and her rate for the company. I wanted to take her to dinner and I also took her clothes shopping. She brought three outfits nothing very expensive but cute and not overly sexy. We went back to the room and she modeled all the outfits with me playing photographer. I still have all those photos and fond memories of that night.

The next morning we woke showered and then had some late breakfast. That afternoon she showed me around some malls and we wound up in a movie theater. The movie was a chick flick love story in Thai. I remember to this day because boy meets girl boy loses girl boy finds girl again happily ever after. The entire movie was in Thai with no subtitles but I had no problem following the story line. I’d never seen a theater like this we sat in the back and we had a love seat where Tuk cuddled in my arms.

I returned home to the US in Florida and texted Tuk every day I’m still thinking in girlfriend/boyfriend mode. We also had some video chat sprinkled in. She would send me selfies in the outfits I had bought her. After about a month her text messages became less responsive and longer between texts. Then around Chinese New Year they totally stopped. I did not push too hard I was thousands of miles away without knowing when I would return. But I did know I would return to Bangkok one day in the future.

Tuk Becomes a Bangkok Memory

In fact I did return the following Christmas making it about 13 months since I had last seen Tuk. I returned to the Stumble Inn. I didn’t see Tuk and when I asked I was told she was living with her English boyfriend in Bangkok. Now it made sense why her texts had tapered off.

As I said this was my first trip to Bangkok. Now a decade later I have become much more experienced having been to Bangkok close to a dozen times both as a single guy and more recently as a remarried man to a beautiful Filipino girl (another series of stories). But back to this story on my third trip I again went to the Stumble Inn and there was Tuk. I had since moved on with other girls and although she wanted me to take her out I just made an excuse and we drank and played some pool for several hours in the bar just having fun. I repeated the visits finding Tuk to revisit and replay my first time ever in Bangkok. On my last trip I sneaked off from my wife just to say hello to Tuk.

She greeted me and then said “Where is my bubbly?” You see on every visit I brought her a bottle of bubbly the same as we had shared on that first memorable evening.

Young Soldier Heartbreak in 1987

The small village I was stationed in had many bars and I forgot to mention this was in 1987. Yes it was very humid but I totally fell in love with the food the culture and the people and not to mention the beautiful women. Being so naive and never a drinker I completely drowned myself in beer and in the excitement of girls asking me to buy lady drinks. It was a good time to be 19.

Most of my money back then I was spending at the bars. No one would believe this but it’s the truth short time was $10 long time was $20 overnight was $40 if you wanted female company. The village I was located in was known to have a high amount of STDs but I was 19 and that was not going to stop me. How foolish of me. For the first time in my life I could go into any bar and all the girls wanted my attention. It was a feeling I can never forget.

The first time I spent time with a bar girl it is embarrassing to admit I couldn’t do anything. I was so scared I was so shy I just could not do anything. It took some time for me to slowly become confident enough to perform the aerobics. Once I became knowledgeable I was unstoppable. I waited for every weekend to come around to go to the bars drink scope out and find a new girl that I could stay with and have fun.

Needless to say I fell in love or so I thought it was love. One of the girls who was called Kim told me she hated working at the bar but that she owed the manager money so she could not leave the bar until her debt was paid back. I had feelings for her deep emotional feelings of love and I hated knowing that she had to go with random guys to perform aerobics. When I stayed with her when I had the money we would talk eat watch movies on her TV and I believed we were a couple. Boyfriend and girlfriend. Don’t forget I was only 19 and never had a girlfriend before in my life.

We came up with a plan that would take her out of the bar without anyone knowing. One day in the afternoon she was allowed to go shopping close to the bar for girl items. I waited for her in a taxi and she got in and we left to the capital city away from the village. We were both very excited and nervous and she was crying but we were happy at the same time. I only wanted to take her home to her family. She took me to her sister’s home but I did not understand the language. Her sister did not allow her to stay in the house. Kim became very depressed and sad especially because the bar manager had kept her ID. Without an ID card she could not find a different job.

On the third day she told me the most horrific unexpected words I cannot forget even now. She told me she must go back to the bar. I told her no that would never happen. She grabbed a knife and put it to her throat. She said she would harm herself if I did not allow her to go back to the village and back to the bar. We were at a train station and she was crying and I was so confused but she seemed to be serious. I couldn’t stop her from getting on the train. I was in shock complete shock.

Kim Goes Back to the Bar

Here is the girl I love but she is choosing to go back to the bar. At that moment I realized that I was in the middle of this huge city. I didn’t know where to go what to do or even how to catch a train or the subway. I ended up sleeping in the street because I had no money to get a hotel. The next morning someone woke me up on the sidewalk and asked me if I was okay they were concerned for me. I asked if they could help me buy a train ticket to go back to my village where I was located and they gave me money to buy a ticket. This was in 1987 no mobile phones and not much communication.

Needless to say I could never go back to the bar because the manager would definitely know it was me who took her out of the bar. It has been many years almost 40 years and my heart still has pain and I don’t think I can ever erase that pain. I was in love for the first time. It was a dream for me. But it took many many years to realize that these bar girls all have issues and problems. I cannot blame her and I never will. I only hope if somebody listens to this story they will realize don’t ever fall in love with a bar girl.

Married Couple Adventure in Phuket

Before I go further here is a little story about us. We are an attractive Asian American couple in our late 30s married for about a decade or so now and have a stable line of work. We have been visiting Thailand since 2015 at least once a year. We enjoy the culture nightlife food and exploring. We have visited Bangkok Chiang Mai Chiang Rai Pattaya Phuket and our favorite Koh Samui. We plan to explore other areas such as Hua Hin Udon Thani and other islands in the future.

In our early years visiting Thailand we were the typical American tourists we were young and naive. We came to check out all the tourist attractions and fun. As the years passed and several trips to and from Thailand we grew more comfortable with the country as well as our relationship. We started exploring the adult entertainment districts for fun. We’ve been to similar in the US but Thailand’s go go bars are very different to the clubs in the US. In the go go bars the ladies flirted with us and we returned the flirting. Of course we were not naive about their forthcoming we learned it was their means of living and they earn a commission on the lady drinks.

After a few experiences we soon realized how easy it could be for anyone to enjoy their time if they wanted. We started having a discussion about including a third wheel to join our aerobic sessions. And this is our story. It occurred on Phuket island during the late summer of 2019. We did not know it at the time but that would be the last time in the Land of Smiles for at least a few years.

After a full day of excursions we came back to the hotel showered and were ready to go back out to Bangla Road. It was a busy spot that evening and we hopped around a few bars. After some drinks and dinner we called it a night and headed back to the hotel. Once back at the hotel we realized the night was still young so we jumped on a dating site to see if anyone would be interested in a little pool party and aerobic session. Believe it or not it’s not that easy to find somebody open to partake in a third wheel aerobic session for lack of a better word.

After a few messages back and forth we found a lady open to our invitation. She arrived in about half an hour. She was stunning and looked just like her pictures. She was in her late 20s about 5’2″ light skin and long thick black hair. She was curvy not too slim just right. There was a slight language barrier but we all managed. However she was most concerned with me and wanted to ensure I was completely okay with her being there and the aerobics activity to be had with my husband. I assured her I was happy she was joining us. I gave her a beer and then showed her to the pool that lit up her mood and I think she felt relief.

As we were heading to the pool she mentioned she didn’t bring a swimsuit. We told her she could wear my husband‘s white tank top. She happily slid into it and had only that on. We continued some little small talk then we all got into the pool which was a perfect way to cool down as it was a humid evening. In the pool I spaced myself between her and my husband. I was nervous and shy. She was the opposite she swam up to me and got very close. I was still nervous but was also excited about her approach. She reached out and gently kissed me. By this time my husband was next to us. We enjoyed the caress of one another and continued the rest inside.

Phuket Pool Party Invitation

After our aerobic party we took a group shower. I was the first one to clean up in the shower and got out. To my surprise she stayed back with my husband and they continued for another 10 minutes or so. Once they came back to the room she was still very friendly and very flirty. She also did not rush to leave. We had one last drink and continued some small talk. Then she eventually asked if it was okay for her to head out. We didn’t ask for a long time so we both thanked her for her time and said “Yes of course.” We also told her that tomorrow night would be our last night on the island and hoped to see her again. She agreed she will meet us again.

The next evening came and we messaged her to discuss a meeting time. Her response was a little delayed but eventually she responded she was still polite in her response and seemed happy to meet us again. We agreed on a time and were looking forward to it. About an hour or so before she was to come back to our place she messaged asking for several hundred more baht than what was initially agreed. I was a little turned off by this approach but my husband was okay with it. However having learned a few things from Thailand Bound I decided to decline the request and stay firm on the initial offer. She did not reply after receiving my response.

At this time it was getting late into the evening so we decided to stay in finish packing and prepare for our trip to Bangkok the next morning. We had an early morning flight to catch. Looking back now the amount she had asked for was not much and perhaps we could have had a great second aerobic session but it is what it is. Personally I do not regret declining her last minute counter offer because I think she was hoping to gain a little more from us because she knew it was our last evening. I guess that might be part of their freelance ways.