The Chiang Mai Card Scam

My back story is I’m a widower of 10 years and have traveled widely over the years including Thailand. Not being a drinker or a party animal I have always kept myself to myself. I have walked around the hot spots of Bangkok Phuket and Koh Samui and always enjoyed the view but I never joined in the action.

Now to my story which from my point of view I came out of well but I would be interested in others’ views.

I was in a resort for 15 days. On the 10th night as I was going out to dinner I was walking past a bar that I had passed many times before. On this occasion a young lady came out and grabbed my arm and asked me to go into the bar for a drink. She was pulling me and I was resisting her. She wasn’t my kind of girl and I was hungry and I wanted to go and get some dinner. I promised to go in for a drink on my return back from dinner.

I spent the time at dinner trying to decide if I was going to dodge the bar on the way back to my hotel or not. I decided that a promise is a promise and as she wasn’t my type it would be very easy to have one beer and be done.

When I got to the bar there were about three customers and five girls. The girl who had tried to drag me into the bar earlier was nowhere to be seen. So I sat down at an empty table. The manager of the bar came and took my order and brought my beer.

First warning sign no bill with my drink. I didn’t know about the ‘pot’ system in bars in Thailand.

Meeting Newt

After a few minutes a beautiful woman asked in poor English but the best way she could and a lot better than my Thai if she could sit with me at my table. I naturally agreed. She wasn’t dressed like the other bar girls I’d seen. She wore jeans shorts a blouse. She just didn’t dress like a typical bar girl.

She said her name was Newt and I said I’m Tom. We talked about my home country and her town in southern Thailand and about her son and mother and what COVID had done to her life losing her job. Communication was partly thanks to Google Translate.

After I finished my beer I noticed her drink was also empty. As I was enjoying Newt’s company I ordered another beer and a drink for her. We continued talking with silent moments now and then. She was always attentive and she was extremely beautiful and not too young.

After another round of drinks for the both of us that’s three beers a new world record for me with no real effects as yet I asked Newt what she would like to do now and she said she’d like to go for a coffee. I settled the bill. The bar fine system was explained to me. I just smiled and thought ‘Why not?’ I had been quite lucky because although the pot hadn’t been delivered to my table I wasn’t cheated in this bar. I was just happy to have the company of a beautiful woman on my arm.

As we walked towards the coffee shop hand in hand I’m feeling ten feet tall. Newt was smiling and in my mind proud to be with me. The other bar girls in the other bars seemed to be looking at her with envy instead of pity.

When we got to the coffee shop we found out it was closing so no coffee. I then suggested we go to my hotel as I have coffee there. Newt agreed and off we went. Coffee was served and drunk and we continued to chat then cuddle then kiss. My heart was racing as was my mind.

The Night Continues

Newt then asked if she could take a shower which I said yes to of course. Now I was certain that things were going to develop further. To use a football saying I’ve been on the bench for 10 years plus I was about to get on the pitch. I doubted my performance levels were up to a good enough level.

Newt came out of the shower wearing only a towel and that beautiful smile. She had a naughty look in her eyes gleaming as if to say ‘Come on then.’

I took my turn in the shower. While I was showering I realized that my ‘striker’ didn’t have his kit with him and was not I wasn’t expecting to be playing at all. Unlike most single men who travel to Thailand I never kept anything tucked away in the bottom of my wallet. Thankfully this kit issue was easily solved as Newt had come prepared.

After full time we cuddled and she started to sniff deeply at my chest and neck. I’m thinking ‘Okay what’s this all about? Surely I don’t smell that bad and if I did why is she sniffing me?’

It was quite late by now and Newt said she had to help close up the bar. She got dressed and I was about to leave. I then said ‘Can I pay for your taxi?’ and gave her a thousand Baht taxi fare for her time paying her in a much more polite way. She smiled and said ‘This is for my family.’ She then kissed me and left.

I felt great. I was on top of the world. But had a niggling feeling in the back of my head that I’d been a cheapskate and perhaps I should have given her some more.

Learning About Thai Affection

I was still very much intrigued about the sniffing thing so I did a Google search. What surprised me was it wasn’t a bad thing she was doing it was actually good. Apparently it’s a way of Thai girls showing affection and approval of the person they are with. I don’t know it seems a bit primal to me.

The Next Night

I spent the next day thinking had I been too cheap? Surely she would have told me if she wanted more right?

The next night I went back to the same restaurant but decided to take a different route to avoid Newt’s bar. Over dinner I was thinking to myself what a pleasant night I’d had with Newt the night before. So why not go back and see her again?

After dinner on arrival at her bar I was greeted like a returning hero. She was sitting with the female manager of the bar and three other girls. I bought a round of drinks for myself and all of the girls. Newt immediately snuggled up to me cuddling me holding hands and showing affection. It was almost like I was now her new boyfriend.

The second round of aerobics that night definitely were better than the first. Newt seemed to enjoy this night more than before. I think it was perhaps because we were now familiar and comfortable with each other. I would just say that Newt participated in just as much as I did. We collapsed into each other’s arms and stayed that way until Newt had to help close the bar later.

Again being a little naive about Thailand I unfortunately broke the three day rule. I once again returned to Newt’s bar for another night of bliss.

The Last Night

On my last night I had some stomach problems nothing serious but I didn’t feel like going out. So I had to make a decision do I just disappear without saying goodbye to Newt or do I risk going out to the bar to meet up with her again? I was wrestling with these thoughts for most of the day and in the end I thought ‘I’ll go back to her bar to say goodbye but I’ll go very early in the evening.’

When I arrived at the bar it was quite busy and I could see Newt was preparing somebody’s bill. She waved at me and I smiled and said ‘I’ll come back later.’ I took the short walk back to my hotel as I had to yet again use the bathroom let’s leave it at that.

Upon return to the bar Newt actually ran out and hugged me. It was like she was greeting a long lost family member. I told the bar manager it was my last night and everybody said goodbye to me and told me I should come to visit them the next time I’m in Thailand. I said I wanted to take Newt to dinner. I will pay the bar fine. The manager seemed quite happy with that even though I didn’t buy any more drinks.

So here I was sitting in a restaurant with a beautiful Thai woman looking at the stars and listening to the waves lapping the beach. I was in heaven. Newt was super attentive during the meal and was concerned about my stomach.

Whilst we were at the restaurant I gave her the tip and said ‘We don’t have to play football tonight.’ We left the restaurant and made our way back to my hotel. Along the way Newt told me that she needs to go to her room to call her mother and her son because they don’t know what she does to make money and they will be expecting a call from her. I said ‘Yes no problem take your time.’

I thought to myself ‘Well that wasn’t a bad three days. There was no drama. She didn’t ask me for anything more and she was great company.’ There were no skills involved on my part from choosing the right girl I just got extremely lucky and ended up with Newt who was perfect for me at the time.

Final Goodbye With Newt

About half an hour of me being alone in the room there was a knock at the door and yes it was Newt. She was very apologetic telling me that her mother wanted to keep talking to her and her son misses her a lot. I said ‘No problem come in.’ And although it wasn’t planned we did have one final game of soccer which was fantastic.

Afterwards Newt had her head on my chest and told me my stomach was gurgling. She asked me if I needed any medicine. I came out with a corny line and said ‘You’re the only medicine I need.’ Cringe.

The time eventually came for her to head back to her bar. She was in tears and to be honest I struggled to hold back mine. This is something that can happen to a guy in Thailand the girls have that effect on you. Even though it was a short term rental she eventually let go of the tight grip she had on my waist said her goodbyes headed to the door and didn’t look back.

When we had been talking earlier she asked me if I intended to come back to Thailand and if I did would I come to see her in her bar again. I will definitely be visiting Thailand again in November and I will definitely be looking for Newt. We never exchanged numbers and she never asked me for any additional money.

Okay so I brought her drinks and I took her out for a meal but don’t people do that on normal dates anyway? I think I got extremely lucky wouldn’t you say? She did not look at me like I was a walking ATM machine. Perhaps a bar manager did I don’t know but I think Newt genuinely enjoyed her time with me. I’d like to think so anyway because I definitely enjoyed my time with her.

So that’s my story. Ships that pass in the night. I will never forget Newt even if I never see her again. She brought a lot of joy into my otherwise mundane life at the time. If I don’t meet her again I hope she meets a man of her dreams and has a wonderful life.

Story Two Two Close Calls Bali and Chiang Mai

I’d like to tell you a couple of stories about nearly getting scammed in Asia.

Bali The Phone Thief

The first story starts on the beautiful island of Bali. I was a frequent visitor being a surfer and I had traveled around the world and throughout Indonesia and felt pretty comfortable in Bali. The people there had always treated me very well if not a little slowly.

It was late in the afternoon and I took the usual walk to the beach to watch the sunset. As usual people would come up to chat or to sell you something. This time a young girl started a conversation with me as I sat on my folding chair under an umbrella with that Bali red globe sinking into the sea. She had an okay face but her figure was her feature. She had some sort of crop top on that revealed her sexy abs. One other thing I noticed was that she had at least two mobile phones and was constantly looking at them.

After the sunset she suggested that we go back to my hotel. I had nothing else on and as a single traveler I often take advantage of these kinds of offers. So we hung around the hotel room watching the TV and of course I tried it on. We fooled around a little bit but she wouldn’t let me go all the way. I didn’t really care it was just nice having somebody around. So we just lay there on the bed watching the TV. I did feel a little suspicious though. I couldn’t put my finger on it but I knew I couldn’t fully trust her.

However eventually I fell asleep with the lights on and the TV on. I’m a very light sleeper. I don’t know what woke me up but I woke up quickly to see my guest helping herself to my phone. Talk about good timing. The gig was up she was busted. I didn’t get angry as I left myself open to it. I just asked her to leave and leave the phone on the side.

Chiang Mai The Card Scam

The second story is about my first trip to Chiang Mai in my mid 20s in 1990. I was traveling with some good friends. For some reason I was walking on my own on a Chiang Mai street when a man walked up to me dressed well who spoke in very good English. He asked me where I came from and I told him New Zealand. He said ‘Oh that’s amazing and so surprising as my sister works in a hospital here as a nurse and her husband comes from New Zealand. Would you like to meet him?’

I thought ‘Why not? It’ll be great to get the lowdown on Chiang Mai from a fellow countryman.’ So I followed this guy for 500 meters or so and we came to a larger self standing house. We walked into the lounge and there was another guy there. He talked to my host in Thai. My host said that the Kiwi guy was on his way back to the house and would be arriving in approximately one hour. The host said that we should play cards until he gets here.

I had no interest in cheating anybody but somehow they convinced me to learn their system. The Chinese guy turned up very soon after I learned their system. He brought in a very large briefcase full of money US dollars neatly arranged. The briefcase was open with a flourish clearly designed to attract my attention.

With that event I immediately knew that I was in a difficult situation. I realized that the plans that these gentlemen had for me would not work out well. I knew I had to get out of there.

The only thing I could think of was to fake having a pain in my stomach which I did. It was very weird and awkward but there was no sense of a physical threat in the room thank God. I was able to get out of there. The host came with me and as we walked together up the road he asked me why I didn’t want to cheat the Chinese guy. I told him I try not to be dishonest and I don’t like people that are dishonest. He seemed very surprised at this. It made me wonder how many greedy dishonest westerners he had defrauded.

Chiang Mai eventually became very well known to me as said this happened in 1990. I ended up marrying a beautiful traditional Chiang Mai girl and lived there from 2014 to 2017. I have a few stories from that period but that’s for another day.