Finding the Missing ATM Card on Soi 6
I’ve been to Thailand several times over the years, and like a lot of guys, I always dreamt of packing up and living there one day. After my best friend suddenly passed away last Christmas, I realized life is short. So, I booked a ticket back to the Land of Smiles and decided to stay for a few months to see where the road would take me.
I started off in Chiang Mai. It used to feel like home to me, but things have changed. The place is still great, but it has been invaded by scruffy backpackers who look like they haven’t had a shower since COVID. Still, I enjoyed my week there. The bars were lively and the girls friendly enough, although nowhere near as wild as Pattaya or Bangkok.
After that, I moved to a quiet little cottage in Lamphun. No tourists, no lady bars, no hassle, just mountains, lakes, and real Thai village life. My host was an older Thai lady who treated me like a son. She brought me food, checked on me every day, and even rented me a motorbike for 100 baht a day. The people up north are some of the kindest in Thailand. You could leave your wallet on a table and someone would chase you down the road to return it.
From there, I headed to Khorat to visit a mate from Scotland who married a Thai woman. That was my first time in Isan, and I finally understood why so many guys talk about the place. It is raw, simple, and real. We spent our days eating spicy Isan food, drinking too much Chang with his in-laws, and riding around on one of those crazy homemade tractors that look like they’ve been built from spare parts. The locals were great, and the village life was something I will never forget.
A Tinder Hospital Scam in Rural Thailand
It was in Isan that I had one of those classic Thailand moments that most of us have been through. I matched a girl on Tinder. She was cute and in her early 20s. She said she was a student. She came over for the night. We agreed a price, and things were going fine until she got the famous message. Suddenly, her mother was in hospital and she had to leave immediately. She even had a picture ready to go some random woman hooked up to wires and a machine.
I told her to just be honest and go home if she wanted to. She swore blind it was real and rushed out the door clutching the envelope of money. I did not mind; she was sweet enough, but it was funny to see that the hospital emergency story is alive and well, even in the villages.
Pattaya Nights and a Surprising Tinder Date in Bangkok
After my friend went back offshore, I headed to Jomtien and Pattaya for five nights just to let loose. Pattaya was chaos as always. I had big nights on Soi Buakhao and Soi 6, and one night ended in a drunken blur somewhere on Walking Street. I was dying the next day, but it was worth it. Say what you want about Pattaya, but nobody can deny it delivers exactly what it promises.
I finished things off with two days in Bangkok around Soi Cowboy and Nana. On my last night, I met a girl from Tinder who claimed she was “not that kind of a girl.” You hear that a lot in Thailand, but surprisingly she meant it. We had some of the best aerobics of the trip, and she refused money, so I gave her 1,000 baht as a thank you. She deserved it. It was a great way to end the adventure.
If this trip taught me anything, it is this: do not stay in one place when you come to Thailand. Get out and explore, because the best memories are always waiting in the places you least expect. And whatever you do, stay active. Thailand is amazing. But if you sit around doing nothing, it will eat your head.
I’m not retired yet, but when that day comes, I know where I’ll be. Somewhere in Thailand, maybe even back in those quiet Isan villages.
Story 2 A Lost ATM Card in Pattaya and the Search for Emergency Cash
It must have been around 2018 that I took this fateful trip to Pattaya. From memory, it was just three or so nights on the end of a longer holiday trip, with a night in Bangkok planned to follow before my flights back home to Australia.
I was staying in a hotel on Second Road between Soi 7 and Soi 8. I’m an early riser and not much of a night owl. To me, 10 at night is late. So, my plan in Pattaya was to venture to Soi 6 in the afternoon, then go to Walking Street in the early evening.
On my second day there, I hopped on the baht bus to Soi 6 at around 3:00 in the afternoon. As anyone who has been there knows, Soi 6 is overwhelming and you get completely accosted verbally and physically by the bar girls once you enter the street as they try to drag you into their bars. Especially if you are a solo farang in your mid-30s.
Being shy by nature, I had consumed three or four drinks in my hotel room beforehand to fortify my nerves for the upcoming onslaught. I chose a bar to have a drink in or rather, it chose me by the alluring nature of the lovely ladies who pulled me inside. I had a good time having drinks with the very playful girls there.
But my plan was to drink in at least a couple of bars and not bar fine anyone until later that night. So I moved on, and a ladyboy bar found me. I went in to have a couple of drinks, and everyone there was friendly and fun and not too pushy about lady drinks. I was having such a good time, I stayed a bit longer, but I had spent the cash I brought with me.
Finding the Missing ATM Card on Soi 6
There was an ATM on the street, so I used that, got more money, and went back to the bar for a couple more drinks.
By then, it was getting dark, and although I had a few drinks, I was still sober by my standards. I thought it was a good time to get back to the hotel for a rest before Walking Street. I got the baht bus back to the hotel, sat in my room for a while, and started getting ready to go out again.
I checked my wallet as I always do, and my ATM card, which was also a debit card, was missing. I had used it, so it made no sense. I checked every compartment in the wallet and my pockets, but there was no ATM card. By this time, I was on the verge of a panic attack. I did not have a backup card and only had a small amount of cash on me, not enough to last the couple of days I had left before flying home.
First things first, I used the old routine of asking myself where I had last had it and retraced my steps. I had used it at the ATM on Soi 6, so I headed straight back there. I looked around the ATM area, but nothing. Then I thought one of the ladyboys might have pinched it somehow. So I went back to the bar and saw the main ladyboy I had been drinking with. I told her what had happened and asked if anyone had seen my ATM card. They all said no, and a couple of them even came with me to look around the street, but we could not find it.
By now my mind was racing, and I was sure someone had stolen it and already used it several times. So, I called my bank right away while I was still on Soi 6. My heart started beating again when the bank told me it had not been used, and they cancelled the card.
Western Union Saves the Final Days of the Trip
I never found out what happened to my card, but I now had a big problem. I had two more nights in Pattaya and one night in Bangkok with almost no money. My mind was racing about how to get cash, and then I remembered Western Union. I had an Indian friend back home in Australia who used Western Union to send money, and I contacted him to ask if he could send me some more money after I embarrassingly explained the situation. He said no problem, which was a huge relief.
Filling out the form was a task because my writing is not great, and after a few days of heavy drinking, I could barely control the pen. I filled the form out in blue pen and then read that it had to be filled out with a black pen. I thought surely they would not be strict about this, but they were. The lady at the booth said she could not accept it, so I filled out another form in black pen and eventually collected the money.
I was so thankful knowing I now had enough cash to see me through. I lay low on my last night in Pattaya and booked a very cheap hotel in Bangkok because I had to pay cash. It was in the backpacker area, and the room was just a mattress on the floor with shared bathroom facilities, but it had air conditioning, so it did the job.
A Final Night at Nana Plaza on a Tight Budget
Even though I barely had any money left, I could not help myself and wanted to go to a go-go bar one last time. Who knew when I would be back in Bangkok again? So, at around 7 p.m., I took a motorcycle taxi to Nana Plaza. I figured I could afford two beers and one lady drink. So I went into a bar on the ground floor, I think it was Lollipop, and I was there only 15 minutes. A very well-endowed dancer named Nan was giving me the eyes. So I bought her the one lady drink I could afford.
As soon as she sat down, she asked me to bar fine her. She was incredibly attractive, and on any other night I would have done it, but I had no money, so I just smiled and pretended I could resist her.
After that, I left and went back to my tiny room. I checked my money and had just enough to get to the airport and buy some cheap food. I slept well that night knowing I had made it and would not end up as one of those farangs begging on the streets.
The next day I woke up, got the train to the airport, spent my last baht on a cheap snack, and boarded my flight back to Australia. I am still grateful to my friend for sending me that money because I do not know who else I could have turned to. Let this be a lesson to everyone about having a backup system of funds and being sensible with what you take out with you, even in the afternoon on Soi 6.
Story 3 Dating a Thai Woman While She Was Seeing Another Man
My story began like many others, meeting a Thai girl on the internet. Her name was Nut, and we hit it off very well from the beginning. She was a rather small girl with a big smile, beautiful eyes, and a nice set of curves. So, of course, I fell in love with her instantly.
We decided that the next time I visited Thailand, we would spend time together first in Bangkok and then maybe later in a resort somewhere on the coast. When I arrived in Bangkok, we had a good time from the beginning visiting cafes and restaurants and even attending a friend’s wedding. After a couple of days, we decided to travel to Hua Hin and have a relaxing 6 to 8 days there hanging out at the beach, eating great seafood, and just enjoying life.
Nut was a single lady in her 40s without children, and she had a good job at a car dealership which explained her brand new Honda Civic.
After a few days in the resort, our small holiday was coming to an end when she suddenly received a phone call. I did not know her very well at that point, but I could see her mood change. She told me she had to go to the north of Thailand for a company seminar for 3 days, and then she would go back to Bangkok where we could meet up again. I did not suspect any foul play, so I accepted her explanation.
The same day, I said goodbye to her at the taxi stand and went back to my hotel. I had already paid for another three or four nights, but after the great time I had with her, the thought of being alone there felt boring. So, the next day, I decided to take the loss on the hotel and go back to Bangkok, where there was more life and something to do while I waited for her.
Finding Nut with Another Date at Starbucks
What happened next was that a lady I had met on a former trip suddenly sent me a message on the LINE app. She told me she was in Bangkok and if I wanted to meet her, she would be available that afternoon. I knew this lady from a former trip to the Phi Phi islands. She was a very beautiful girl, and it was hard for me to say no, even though we had lost contact long before.
What I did not know was that she had planned to meet me to take revenge and show me what I had missed by breaking up with her. That was not the most important event that day, though.
We had arranged to meet in Terminal 21 in a cafe upstairs, but I arrived a little early and decided to get a coffee in Starbucks on the ground floor. That was a place where Nut and I had been several times in Bangkok, so I knew it well.
When I walked in, I immediately saw Nut sitting at one of the tables we had used before. In front of her sat a foreign guy with a big smile. He was good looking and maybe 10 years younger than me. Nut had that same big smile she used with me the big round eyes and the body language of someone who is very fond of the person in front of her.
I froze and did not know what to do. After catching my breath, I started thinking: what was she doing and what was I doing? In a way, it was the same thing, although she was more devious because her company trip excuse was clearly a lie. She was dating another guy at the same time she was dating me. Maybe even more than one. Maybe she did not even have a job and was living off different men, including me. Maybe that nice car was a gift from that guy.
Leaving Two Unfaithful Relationships Behind
I stood there thinking about whether I should confront her or walk away. Should I act like the innocent man even though I was about to meet another woman myself, or should I just leave the whole thing and go upstairs to my other date? In the end, I chose the latter, and I went upstairs to meet my former girlfriend who was dressed in a nightclub outfit with full makeup. She told me she had found another foreign boyfriend and she did not need me and only wanted to show me how happy she was.
So, in one day, I felt like I had lost two women. But maybe that was a good lesson. Sometimes you need to stick with someone who is not perfect, because the one who looks perfect can turn out to be the worst of them all.
Later, I felt disappointed, and I could not face Nut again. I did not want to see her fake smile or hear more lies. So, I sent her a simple message saying, “I saw you in Starbucks. Goodbye.” She ghosted me and removed me from her app. That was the end of that story.
I still travel to Thailand whenever I have the chance, and I still date girls from time to time. I’m always hoping to find a good relationship not a perfect one but one that will last. Is that not what we all want? I learned my lesson that day. Women can be just as bad as men when it comes to cheating, lying, and giving false hopes.
Story 4 Starting a Quieter Life in Jomtien
It has been about a year since that first story, the one about L, who was a bar waitress, not a bar girl, and who turned out to be more of a lesson than a love. After that mess, I tried to get back into a normal routine in Bangkok, but it did not work. I was not angry, just tired. There are good people in that city, and I met a few. But it started to feel like every friendly face came with a transaction attached. Maybe that is unfair, but that is how it felt.
I told my sons I was thinking of going home to New York and finding a small place upstate. They both shot that idea down fast. My son in Hawaii said, “Dad, you have sunshine, good food, and people who smile at you for no reason. Do not run, just move.” My other son said, “Bangkok is not Thailand. Try somewhere quieter before you quit.”
So I did. This time, both my sons came over for a couple of weeks to help me move. The boys had a great time exploring Pattaya, and I’m sure they saw more than they admitted. I did not ask for details.
Once I was settled in, I put them on a bus to Koh Chang for a few days so they could unwind before heading home. They’re good young men, and I’m grateful they still like spending time with their dad. That is how I ended up on the north end of Jomtien Beach. It is technically part of Pattaya, but it feels like a different country. Less noise, fewer tourists, and more regular people. I found a simple condo with a balcony and a small sea view. The place is not fancy, but it is clean, quiet, and close to the market where you can buy mangoes that taste like candy.
The Jomtien Cafe That Became an Anchor
In my first week, the visa office called me and told me something was wrong with my lease paperwork. Apparently, I had the wrong kind of copy or the wrong color ink or maybe the stamp was not at the right angle. I did not even know there were different kinds of copies. The woman on the phone told me to stop by a cafe on a nearby soi and ask for someone named Suda. That is how this new chapter started.
The cafe was small with mismatched chairs and photos of the owner Dao all over the walls. She poured me coffee before I even spoke and told me to eat something because men think better when they are full. Suda was in the back helping another foreigner fill out a form. She is Thai American, the daughter of a US soldier from the Vietnam War, which is a touchy subject for her. She has a calm way about her, as if she already knows what you are going to say.
She looked through my papers, made a call, fixed the problem, and told me to come back the next day with a different stamp. While I was waiting, another woman came in, British, loud, funny, and a little rough around the edges. She said, “You must be the new guy. I’m Ruth, Suda’s partner in crime. Do not bother understanding Thai paperwork. Just buy everyone lunch and call it even.”
That was my first morning with them. Dao feeding me, Suda fixing my problems, and Ruth making fun of both of us. I did not know it then, but that cafe would become my anchor.
Building a Supportive Expat Community in Jomtien
A few weeks later, we were meeting there almost every day. I would roll in late around brunch after watching the New York stock markets all night. Ruth would already be there coughing and pretending not to care, and Suda would show up soon after with a stack of folders and a head full of opinions. Dao ran the place like a mother who had stopped scolding people years ago but still kept a close eye on everyone.
I met a few others through them. Fern, the photographer who saved me from getting fleeced on the Yaris, started calling me Lum Charlie. She is half Cambodian and has an older brother who lives between Battambang and the Thai border. He lost a foot to a landmine years ago. Fern sends him money every month to help him, but she never brings it up unless someone asks. Maybe that is why she is so grounded.
Then there was Nigel, an Australian retiree about my age, who looks like a cross between Crocodile Dundee and a mad biker. Loud, sunburned, and always ready with a joke or a bad idea, hard to tell which is which sometimes. He dragged me along to gentlemen’s clubs during the week for a while. At first, I went for the company and the fun, but it got old fast, and everything started to feel the same. To his credit, Nigel did not hold it against me when I stopped going. We still meet for lunch or a beer. He is rough, but he is a good man.
Our little group formed naturally. Fridays became community night at Dao’s Cafe. People brought a friend, or a bottle, or a story. Some weeks we were six people, some weeks 15. We ate, argued, laughed, and sometimes we just sat together without talking. It felt good to be around people who did not want anything from me except my company.
Ruth’s Cancer Battle Brings the Group Together
The only cloud that first year was Ruth’s cough. She had been a heavy smoker all her life, and we joked about it until it stopped being funny. One morning, she scared herself coughing so hard she went quiet, which was a first for her. Suda told her to see a doctor, and I offered to drive.
They found small cell lung cancer. Bad news, but not hopeless. Ruth tried to laugh it off, but you could see the fear in her eyes. She quit smoking that day. No speech, she just stopped.
We adjusted. Suda handled the hospital paperwork. Dao cooked soft food and brought it to Ruth’s place. I drove her to chemo when she needed a lift, and Nigel dropped off mystery novels to keep her busy. Fern took quiet photographs of hands, cups, and lights not of the sickness, but of life carrying on.
Ruth got through the treatment. It was rough, but it worked. The day she got the remission call, she came to the cafe wearing a bright scarf and said she was not dying yet and someone better buy her lunch. We did, of course.
The photo show that Fern organized was called “Still Here.” We used a little gallery near Pratamnak Hill. She hung photos of everyday life in Jomtien. One was just our coffee cups lined up on the cafe table. Ruth sat in the corner, bald but smiling and making jokes about looking like Yul Brynner. It was one of those nights that remind you that you have built something real, even if you did not plan it.
That small group of Suda, Ruth, Dao, Nigel, and Fern had become like a little family. A slightly broken one, but it worked. In Bangkok, I was surrounded by people but never connected. Here I know who will be at lunch and who will complain first and whose laugh I will hear. I did not know I was missing that until I found it.
Looking Forward to More of Thailand
A few months ago, Dao closed early and organized a small dinner to mark one year since I moved to Jomtien. Everyone was there. Ruth made a toast. Nigel told a terrible joke that still made everyone laugh. Suda gave me a framed photo of the five of us sitting at the cafe table and said, “Now you can remember us when you forget to show up.” I told her I was not going anywhere.
I think I will start using my car more often, but not as a medical taxi. I have been wary of driving beyond town because Thai drivers seem to have a death wish, but I want to explore more. I want to see Isan. I had a taste of it before, but this time I want to do it my way.
I’m also saving up for a few days at Khao Sok National Park. I want to stay in one of those floating hotels that look like they are from another world.
Story 5 A First Thailand Trip and Falling for Pim
It started in 2019 on my first trip to Thailand. I had saved up for this trip for five years and I was excited. It was also my first time on an aircraft. I traveled with a friend, and we arrived in Phuket in Bang Tao. The first day was not very interesting because Bang Tao is quiet.
The next day, I took a tuk-tuk and told the driver to take me somewhere I could have some fun. He told me he could not take me because it was too far and I should get a taxi. I did not know how to get a taxi right there and then, so I went back to the hotel and the hotel ordered one for us.
We arrived on Bangla Road, and two girls came up to us and dragged us into their bar. It was around 2:00 in the afternoon. The two girls took good care of us. One of them was chubby, which I like and her name was Pim. The other one was slim, and her name was Nan.
We stayed in that bar for several hours, and my friend spent all his money. He took two girls back to our hotel, and I took Pim. When we arrived, there was no problem until the other guy came to my room and told me he had a problem with the girls. He had not agreed on a price before, and he did not have enough money to pay them.
I was in the middle of having aerobics, and I got quite annoyed. In the end, I said fine, let’s sort it out now. We sent the girls home, and I paid a reasonable price for their company and also paid for their taxi back to Bangla Road.
The next day, I wanted to go on some trips, but my friend had no money left, so he stayed in the hotel. Pim arranged a car to pick me up and take me to visit some places in Phuket. The trip was amazing. In the evening, I went back to the same bar and I took my friend with me. I loaned him some money. I thanked Pim for arranging the trip.
Pim and Nan Change the Course of the Trip
I stayed drinking at the bar until Pim finished work. I agreed to pay her the same price for one more night of company, and I arranged for my friend to stay with Nan. We did not go back to the hotel that night; we went to the girls’ place instead. We had a good aerobic session, and in the morning we went to the bar, and I paid the bar fine for Pim. She took me around Phuket again, and it was amazing, and I fell in love with her.
My friend stayed with Nan, and I do not know what he did, but I gave him €50 every day and I arranged for Nan to stay with him. I stayed with Pim for the rest of my vacation, and my friend stayed with Nan.
My friend had a small problem because the protection he was using broke. We went back home, and I stayed in contact with Pim. She told me that Nan had borrowed money from all the girls in the bar, had stolen a motorcycle, and disappeared. Later, we found out she was pregnant.
Broken Trust and the Search for Work in Thailand
I was planning my next trip to Thailand. I tried to find a job in Thailand, but did not find anything at first. I got a visa, and I went back. I asked at all the bars, in security, and even in garbage collection, but nobody needed workers. After that, I found a job in a Hungarian bakery. I worked there for three weeks. One day, a man died next door in a massage shop, and the police came. I was working with no papers, and I got scared because the boss did not want to make a work permit for me. So I left.
I searched again for a job, but this time in Bangkok. I had no luck, but I did get to know the Thai community. My visa expired, and I went back home.
When I got home, a man sent me photos of my girlfriend with him. The man was from Austria. I forgave her. But one day when I called her, the call connected by accident, and I heard her having aerobics with someone else. That was the end.
I still go to Thailand every year once or twice.
