Planning To Propose To Thai Girlfriend

After a couple of weeks returning home from Vietnam and realizing that my Vietnam adventure was more lust than love with the girl I spent time with, I went back on Tinder with a paid subscription to match with girls.

No, I’m not a drinker, so I generally don’t go to bars which meant I never experienced the girl scene in Vietnam even though I was there for 3 weeks and was dating (unknowingly) the wrong type of person. With some experience under my belt, I vetted the girls I matched with. I truly was searching for love, not just a fling. So I was asking about their work, their past, asked if they had children, their wants, their dating histories, and so on.

It wasn’t easy for me the girls I matched with in Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, and Indonesia but eventually I narrowed it down. I was thoroughly addicted to the beauty and culture of Asia thanks to the overall positive experience with my Vietnam village girl fantasy come to life. So I decided to focus my efforts on finding love in Southeast Asia again.

The Girl from Chiang Rai

It turned out she was much younger than me 24 years younger, in fact. I had to set my dating age preference from 26 to 52, so I was open to meeting love at almost any age but it was her youthful energy and sweet disposition that won me over. Let’s call her Flower. She is of Chinese descent but grew up in Chiang Rai, living a comfortable life, and her English was fair enough to communicate even though at times, due to cultural or communication misunderstandings, we had some difficulty getting to know our personalities and humor.

One thing I’ve noticed is, because of communication barriers and cultural differences, us Western men really do need to be careful with sarcasm and punchy humor. But I digress.

Eventually, in late 2022, I made my way to Bangkok to meet her and visit Thailand for the first time. We spent the entire 3 weeks I was there together. She showed me the sights and the sounds of Bangkok, Pattaya, and Koh Samui. I loved it even more than Vietnam for various reasons but to each their own.

I fell for her. Her smile alone can melt the sun. She was fun, caring, beautiful, and the best hostess anybody could hope for. I was and still am in love. I also thoroughly enjoyed all of these areas of Thailand I visited the beaches in Koh Samui and the two hotels I stayed at were brilliant. The weather was the cherry on the cake, so I could not complain.

Pattaya, An Unforgettable Experience

Pattaya was certainly an unforgettable experience. We stayed at Pullman G, and I recall writing this it was a nice hotel on the beach with all the amenities I require to have a five-star hotel stay. The first night, my girlfriend brought me to Walking Street, which definitely was an eye-opening experience. I am more of a reserved individual, so I was honestly slightly uncomfortable being there especially with my new girlfriend on my arm. But she was obviously used to it and giggled at me. We stopped to have one drink in an open bar. Thankfully, we were left alone to enjoy each other’s company as I soaked in the goings-on. I can understand the reason why people go to these places no need to say more here.

Another night, we went into a disco bar called Lucifer. The music was thumping and something I’m not used to, so we left quite early to prefer quiet time with each other. I did enjoy my stay in Pattaya, but I do wonder what it would be like staying there as a single man. I don’t believe it’s something on the cards for me to experience in this life and I’m okay with this.

We also stopped off at an elephant sanctuary where I got my first elephant ride with her. On our drive there from Bangkok, we visited a floating market. We had lunch at a popular dim sum restaurant in a small town where I was the only Western person. Such lovely experiences.

Falling in Love with Bangkok

Bangkok what to say? I was amazed with the public transit system in Bangkok, the taste and quality of food that’s everywhere, the low cost of everything, the amenities of the modern high-rise condo she lives in, how friendly people were, the markets, the beauty of Buddhist temples, how rich the culture is, the beauty of the women and so much more. I have to stress these points again because I don’t do it justice in comparison to where I live in Canada. The sheer cleanliness of the MRT and the BTS stations and trains were amazing to me. I even felt safer than where I live so it boggles my mind why Canada would issue warnings to travel to Thailand. Perhaps I haven’t seen the other side of the tracks yet, but never once did I feel unsafe or get scammed. I guess partly because I was with a local showing me around so here’s a pro traveling tip for you to consider.

The options for traveling around Bangkok are also endless it seems: subway trains, river taxis, Grab taxis, buses, bikes, tuk-tuks, and whatever else I might be missing. I also felt healthier with the food I was eating, and the sheer abundance and choices of food everywhere is really convenient for a big guy like me. The size and scope of the city dwarfs where I live a corner block is bigger than my city.

The only drawbacks are at least in Bangkok there should be a water filtration system in place, and the air pollution at times can be annoying. The heat can also be overwhelming in the daytime, but I’m personally okay with it.

Looking to the Future

Since this first time going back to Bangkok, I’ve been back four times and plan on going again sometime in 2024 to ask my girl to marry me. I am now more experienced with the Thai culture, lifestyle, and expat living, so I do also finally have a better understanding of the bar scene which isn’t for me.

My girl and I have had a bit of a bumpy road developing our long-distance relationship, but throughout it all we keep coming back to each other. Over the past 1½ years, because of the bumpy road, I also traveled back to Vietnam twice, Singapore, Chiang Mai, Indonesia, and Japan. I did meet a few free-spirited girls while my girlfriend and I were on breaks.