The Ghost of the Nana Hotel in Bangkok
Back in 1996, I was seeing a girl called Noi. She was a lovely girl. When I came to Thailand, we would spend a month together and travel up and down Thailand. On one occasion, we met up in Bangkok. I had booked the Nana Hotel for a couple of nights before we went traveling. The rooms in the old part of the Nana Hotel were very big, and the bathrooms were to the bottom right hand side of the room and not on the left as you walk in as in most hotels.
Anyway, about 3:00 a.m. in the morning, I was asleep in bed and I awoke to see the bathroom door open and what looked like steam coming out. A woman walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel the towel wrapped around her head. She walked past the bed and towards the door entrance. At the entrance to the room, there was a mirror on the wall. She just stopped there staring in the mirror, and I just presumed it was Noi. So I shouted something like, “What are you doing at this time in the morning, having a shower?” To which I got no reply. She just carried on staring in the mirror.
Then I turned my head to the right, and there was Noi fast asleep at the side of me. I abruptly turned my head back to the entrance, and the lady had just disappeared completely. I could not believe what had happened.
I spoke to Noi in the morning about it and told her my story, and she said she did feel a presence in the room like somebody was sitting at the end of the bed but she did not see anything, unlike me. Anyway, we checked out that day and went on our travels. About 3 weeks or so later, we came back to Bangkok as I was flying home. We checked back into the Nana for a couple of nights.
On the day I was leaving, I went into the beauty salon to get my haircut. Noi went in after me to get her hair done, and she mentioned the story to the girls in the salon. They went very quiet and did not want to talk about what had happened in the room. So Noi quizzed them further, and they opened up. They said this is not the first time this has happened in the hotel, and there have been many reports. One guy even checked out of the hotel in his underpants as he was so scared at what he had seen.
Noi came out of the salon and told me, which confirmed what I saw. Some of the reports were of a lady sitting at the end of the bed growling at men in the room alone. Luckily, I did not have that experience. The frightening thing is it looks so real just like a real person. I suppose I could have imagined it or dreamt it, but I don’t think I did. I’m sure I saw something that night.
I started staying at another hotel after that, but a couple of years ago I stayed back at the Nana, and I mentioned it to one of the porters. He had heard of the Nana ghost he did not disbelieve me.
Pim’s Tragic Death in Phuket
My story starts way back in 2005 when I was 40, on the now overpopulated and manic island of Phuket Paradise Lost for sure. I had never been to Thailand before and had no idea about the nightlife, the customs, or anything. However, I consider myself no fool as I had traveled a lot in Europe and further. I had been made redundant from my job in Edinburgh, and it gave me enough cash to take some extended time off. As a keen scuba diver, I decided to get my instructor certificate and maybe look at a new career.
One thing that did strike me is how many older guys actually believed they had become attractive on the flight over and were quite defensive about their young Thai girlfriends who were obviously fleecing them. This I’m happy to say never happened to me, although I did have a couple of girlfriends in the 5 years I stayed in Phuket and did fall for a bar girl.
One particular bar I used to frequent had a Thai mamasan and a British owner. They were really helpful with advice on everything from visas to dating. It was in this bar that I fell for a girl called Pim. She was, of course, a bar girl, but she rarely went with anyone, and I often saw her in clubs with her girlfriends batting away the men. She was pretty but more importantly very funny and smart. She was in her mid 20s, slim, and had a son back in the village in Isaan.
I got to know her over a year, and she would really only ever go with customers if she thought they were hot usually her age and only if they were sober. I was always jealous of the men she went off with as she never let me get anywhere near her.
It was at that time I started bar fining another girl in the same bar who I thought was really cute. She was called Nok. We always got along well, and she was never keen to leave my condo, but to me initially it was strictly a business transaction. But boy, did we both put a lot of overtime in on the aerobics. Sometimes she would pay the bar fine herself to come and find me.
I found out that Pim was now involved with a rich man from Singapore. I had no right to be jealous, but I was envious as I always really enjoyed chatting with her, and when I’d pass the bar in the day, she would wave me in and share food with me. I ate it, but it was very Isaan if you know what I mean. She did keep her personal life private, but she was happy to share her family life with me, and I even had FaceTime with her young son who was about 5 years old at the time.
One evening, I noticed Pim was looking over at me and Nok. I didn’t intend to bar fine her as I was meeting some friends in a small nightclub down the road, and I only bar fined Nok every couple of weeks anyway. I went to the club and sat on a sofa. I noticed Nok had turned up with a couple of girls from the bar to my pleasant surprise. And out of nowhere, Pim came over and sat on my lap facing me. I just said hello, and she replied, “Let’s go,” and smiled. I could not get out of there fast enough.
What followed and I know you have heard it a thousand times or more on this channel was mind blowing aerobics. That girl knew what she wanted and was quite happy to demand you do exactly what she wanted. This went on until she was done. I was wondering who was getting paid.
In the morning, after another workout, I dropped her back at the bar. I gave her 1,000 baht, and she gave me back 100.
A week later, I went to the bar and had a chat with Pim. I noticed she now had a thick gold chain and matching bracelet on, and she also had beautiful clothes to match. I told her that I had the best night of my life which was 100% true and wanted to know if she was up for another round. I also had a motive of trying to win her over for a relationship. I was gutted when she said no and told me to forget about her. I asked her what that meant, and she said she was moving to Singapore with her son with the rich Singaporean guy. I could see why he had decided to keep her as a permanent fixture.
I told her that if it didn’t work out, to come back as everyone loved her in the bar and I was totally smitten. I said to her, “Don’t think about losing face this bar is family to us.” Little did I know this would be the last time I would speak to her.
That night, despite the heartbreak, I tried to bar fine Nok, and she was having none of it. She told me that she knew I had been with Pim, and she really had liked me, but she was really upset I had gone with Pim. I just got really drunk and went home alone.
The Tragic News About Pim
In the morning, I woke up sweating profusely. I had left my condo patio window open, and the sun was on the bed. I’ll never forget this day. Hungover, I showered and decided to go grab some breakfast to help me recover. At the cafe, a friend saw me and said, “Had I heard the news?” A bar girl in Kata had died in a late night motorbike accident. There were hundreds of girls working in the area, and although they showed no signs of panic, I paid my bill and drove like a demon to get to the bar.
When I got there, the mamasan greeted me but was in tears. All the other girls had their heads in their hands and were sobbing. I saw Nok and shrugged. “Who was it?” The mamasan couldn’t speak, and the British husband told me it was Pim. This totally knocked the wind out of me. I couldn’t speak. I didn’t know how to handle it and just got on my motorbike and went back to my condo.
As it transpired, Pim had met a young Swiss guy that night, about 20 years of age. They had decided to go to a club in Patong. On the way, a couple of locals on scooters had kicked them off the scooter, and they had gone into a deep culvert. Pim had broken her neck, and they stripped her of her gold and fled. The Swiss guy got on a plane out of there before the sun came up. He called the bar a couple of days later and told them what had happened.
In the aftermath, I asked if the police were going to arrest anyone, but they wrote it off as an accident. A couple of people also told me they wouldn’t spend a single baht investigating the murder of a bar girl if they could blame it on an accident. The bar itself was imploded. The girls said it was haunted, and all left. The mamasan and her husband divorced.
I went back there after I had left Thailand a couple of years later. There were two girls working in the bar. I told them I used to frequent this place years ago, and they said some of the old paraphernalia was still in an old cane shack and did I want to see it? I said yes. I was genuinely nostalgic to see it. The first thing I saw was a large framed picture of Pim and her Singaporean man. They were both in wedding attire. I staggered back. It was just too much to take in, and I started to cry. I apologized a little later after I recovered, bought them a drink, and left.
I have been back to Phuket several times, but I avoid Kata altogether. I just find it haunting. Although I always attend the temples in Thailand and pray Pim is enjoying her next world.
Actually, I’ve spoken to a lot of Thai girls about this. I’m not talking about bar girls I’m talking about regular girls. There are quite a lot of girls here in Thailand who have much older boyfriends or husbands I’m talking 15, 20 years. And when you get down into the nitty gritty and you talk to them about it because for us in the West, either a younger girl wants money from you or there’s something devious going on but not here. A lot of girls have told me here that they just find older guys more dependable. Young guys, they want to go out partying and doing all the stuff young guys do like I used to do when I was younger. But with the older guys, they’re more settled, financially stable. It doesn’t mean the girl’s a money grabber. She just wants somebody who’s got a stable life and they can live together.
A Yank’s Observations on Thai Women and Dating
I’m a Yank who just celebrated his 65th birthday party at a small bar/restaurant owned by a young British guy in Jomtien. The first three months I lived here which was in central Pattaya hotels near Witherspoons I got more than 400 Thai girls’ LINE IDs. Most I met near my hotel when they were out shopping, eating, or walking near Witherspoons by the Baukhao market. After I moved to a condo in Jomtien a year ago, the rate of meeting new women slowed dramatically because of the lifestyle in this city and because I had my own place.
When I visit other Thai cities, I don’t approach women often, except occasionally in laid back Hua Hin. Rather than date a Thai here as a non drinker, sometimes I head to the barber shop or a massage parlor. Even if I don’t go to the business that day, I buy the guys street food. Between busy times, we generally joke a little, and they always insist I eat a lot of it often hand feeding it to me. At the barber shop, I usually do this in daylight, but not always. At massage spots, I either go late when it’s not as warm outside and a little slower for the business, or because everyone who calls or emails me from the States is in bed at 2 or 3 p.m. here in the afternoon. If the girls always have food when I arrive, they offer or share it. They offer me beers, but I don’t drink. Some go inside and grab me a water.
I date a little or invite girls over from time to time who come to the condo after work. It’s almost always someone who has slept over before. If they’re off work, we’ll eat out together at tiny sit down restaurants I frequent when I’m not with them, where the staff and owner know me. But as you know, they’re almost never off. When they do have free time, most head north to stay with their family anyway. When they visit me, Thai girls tell me about their co workers, their families, their pasts, farang men, and sometimes specific stories or abbreviations about men over here.
Over the last 6 months, I’ve also traveled to Siem Reap three times, but I’ve never gotten a massage, and no girl has come over. There is a girl vendor I like there and met during a recent trip, but she hasn’t come to my hotel yet. We have each other’s contact info Cambodians don’t use LINE.
I brought 2024 in at Angeles City, the Philippines. I wanted to see Cebu, but flights there were much higher. I didn’t go to a bar or a massage place or have a girl over from a dating website. In my experience, men and women in Siem Reap speak better, less accented English than most Thais I have met. Also, motorbike helmets are the norm there maybe it’s enforced.
The males in Siem Reap either tuk tuk drivers or those sort of standing around on or near Pub Street are very aggressive towards me, offering to steer me towards substances or women. I didn’t really experience this in Angeles and almost never from a Thai man. But my hotel shuttle driver in Angeles told me not to walk at night to the main drag, so I ate all my meals and did all my convenience store shopping on the street my hotel was on.
When Thai women ask me about my dating situation why I have traveled solo to Samui, Phuket, and other places here I either shrug it off, or if it’s someone I’m around often like the girls I sit with outside their workplace, I’ve told some it’s because women here are seldom available enough days to accompany me on a 3 day stay. That is a barrier of entry to conversational dating here, no matter where the girl works. This is likely not the case in Bangkok, where more women work Monday through Friday.
Soon I will see what everyday life in Hua Hin holds. Thank you again, and maybe my next email will come from a city where freelancers are not as prevalent as the local economy is not as bar centric.
60 Hours in Bangkok on a Whirlwind Trip
The flight from Singapore Changi Airport was delayed by 45 minutes, so instead of landing at 8:30 p.m. at Suvarnabhumi, I touched down at around 9:15 p.m. The clock started ticking exactly 16 hours later, I would be on a flight back to Singapore. I went to the DTAC counter to get a SIM card and was supposed to meet a friend’s sister who worked at the airport, but she stood me up, saying she was asking if I could wait for 30 minutes. Time was precious, so I told her sorry I need to meet a friend and rush to get a cab.
I had booked three nights at the Continent, a newly opened hotel between Sukhumvit Soi 21 and 23. The cabbie took me for a ride. I was busy messaging John and didn’t notice he had switched on the meter halfway through. I asked why didn’t you switch on the meter, and he casually replied, “400 baht, okay?” I wanted to curse but didn’t. I held back. I wasn’t going to let a few extra baht ruin my mood. Whatever I wasn’t going to be much poorer for it.
I reached the hotel, checked in, and left immediately. I walked into Bamboo restaurant on Soi 3, wanting to check out the scenery en route before meeting John for dinner. My first reaction everything had changed so much. After a quick bite, we decided to hit Nana Plaza. I went to Billboard, where I bumped into Ring the Bell a girl that I had met on another trip. What a coincidence. There was some decent talent on display, but after a while we decided to leave Nana and head to Soi Cowboy. Baccara nice memories from my previous visit. A couple of really nice girls caught my eye, but none of them even glanced at me. There must have been something about me they didn’t like. Oh well, time to leave.
Next stop Mixx. The place was packed with way too many guys, not enough girls. We hung around for a couple of hours, but I was getting seriously tired. I decided to leave, so grabbed a quick bite to eat. What do you call a meal at 5:00 a.m.? Supper or breakfast? I went back to the hotel around 6:00 a.m. and fell asleep.
I woke up around 8:30 a.m., showered, and went up to the 35th floor for breakfast. 12 hours in, and I still hadn’t been with a girl. That was about to change. I called up Mango Massage and asked them to send Lee to my room a girl I’d met before. I gave them the wrong room number my brain wasn’t functioning well at all. After waiting for some time, I called again, realized my mistake, apologized, gave the correct number, and 5 minutes later the bell rang.
Lee was a pro. She gave a fantastic rubdown. The massage continued. I dozed off in between, and soon I was ready for a second round. Decent action, and I was done. I tipped her generously. She had skipped breakfast to come straight to my room poor thing.
I sent a message to a girl whose contact details a friend had passed on to me. I found out her rates for short time and long time. I decided to rest for a while and then headed to Siam Paragon for some social obligations. I met a friend and her kids I had promised to take them to Siam Ocean World. That took up most of the afternoon. Later, I wanted to do some photography, so I went to the river to shoot Wat Arun at sunset. A lack of sleep was getting to me by now. I mixed up BTS trains, got on the wrong river taxi, and missed my stop. I ended up at the next pier, wondering what the heck was going on with my life. To make it worse, as the sun went down, the sky had this beautiful reddish glow, but my mood had turned gray. Screw photography, I thought. So I grabbed a cab and returned to Sukhumvit. I had dinner and went back to the hotel.
The girl I had messaged earlier Mot had responded. It had been 24 hours since I landed, and I noticed some female company. Mot came to my room at around 9:30 p.m., and I told her about my day. She lightened my mood we chatted, kissed, and things escalated from there. She has a tattoo on her back on her left shoulder apparently it was supposed to bring her good luck. I don’t know about that, but she sure brought me luck and changed my mood.
At around 10:00 p.m., we decided to hit the bars at Soi Cowboy. She suggested Long Gun, so we went in. I don’t remember visiting this bar before, but I enjoyed it. The dancers were fantastic. After half an hour, we moved on. Went to another bar can’t remember the name but it was a quick splash and dash. Nice girls. In between checking them out, we had a great conversation about Bangkok and life in general. My mood was definitely improving. Then we walked into another bar packed with customers. One look at the stage, we looked at each other, didn’t say a word, and just walked out.
Next stop Baccara. That was one on two levels with a clear glass dance floor. The place was packed to capacity. We went upstairs and found some bar stools. I messaged John telling him we were at Baccara if he wanted to join us. He replied, “I’m in a cab on my way to Soi Cowboy.” We watched the girls and enjoyed the shows. We had a few drinks and then decided, what the heck, let’s check out one more bar. We went to Suzie Wong a small place with maybe a dozen girls playing ’80s music. It was close to 1:30 a.m. by now, and I was exhausted, but John had other plans.
We met up on a rooftop bar on the 38th and 39th floors. Nice ambiance. I took some photos, had a good chat, and finally called it a night at around 2:00 a.m. I was drained physically and mentally. I slept like a baby, hugging Mot my lovely and delightful partner for the evening. She had definitely changed my mood and my luck.
Morning came too soon. I woke up excited, and Mot took care of it. She was great at what she did, and I returned the favor. I wanted to keep her for another day, but she had an appointment. We said our goodbyes, and at around 11:00 a.m., I went to Hua Lamphong Railway Station to buy return tickets for some friends struggling to book online. It took me 5 minutes, thanks to the helpful staff at the “May I help you” counter. I thanked them and texted Mot for bringing me good luck.
Afterwards, I went to the Erawan Shrine, met up with John, and had lunch at a Chinese restaurant called Crystal Jade, I think. Later, I decided to retry my failed photography attempt. I explored the small sois around several piers on the river. I finally found the perfect spot a rooftop café opposite Wat Arun and got some great shots. Then headed back to Saphan Taksin Bridge for some long exposure shots of traffic and cruise boats. John then helped me locate a spot that I had seen in a photo online. Mission accomplished.
48 hours in, and only 12 hours left in Bangkok. Should I sleep or find a girl? The answer was obvious. I showered, changed, and walked to Soi Cowboy. First stop Baccara again. I love that bar. I got a drink and watched the girls. Nothing clicked, unfortunately. Then I spotted her a petite girl with a killer smile. She hadn’t noticed me. When she walked past, I tried to get her attention, but she didn’t see me. She disappeared downstairs, and I thought she was gone. Then she came back up, and I got a waitress to call her over. She came over with that dazzling smile. I asked her her name she was called Kwang. We had a drink. I bar fined her, and we left hand in hand. The night was gone great so far.
After a few drinks at Long Gun, we went to my hotel. Showered. Sat by the window wrapped in towels. We talked for a few hours and looked at photos, laughed, and just enjoyed the moment. We slept tangled together. My alarm was set for 6:00 a.m. When it went off, I was still exhausted, but anyway no time for another round of aerobics. I took a very quick shower, packed, and was ready to leave. We hugged, kissed, took some last photos. Even though my head told me she was a working girl, my heart let me enjoy the moment. I hugged her and thanked her for coming into my life even if it was just for a few hours.
7:00 a.m. time to go. Dropped Kwang off at the BTS. She hugged me tight, kissed me in the middle of the street. If death had come to me, I’d have been okay with it. I reached the airport, checked in, called Kwang one last time. “I miss you already,” I said. She chuckled. “We will meet again,” she said. I boarded the plane. 60 hours in Bangkok were over. As I dozed off, I was already planning my next trip to the Land of Smiles.
A Veteran’s Life From Vietnam to Thailand and Beyond
I enlisted in the military in 1966 and volunteered for Vietnam. I had what was called the John Wayne syndrome I wanted to go to war, fight, and be a hero. There is a saying in the military that they never give you what you want. Since I volunteered for Vietnam, they sent me to England. I really enjoyed my 3 years there and traveled the countryside quite a bit. It took me 5 years and five volunteer requests before I received orders to go to Vietnam. Whoopee I got what I asked for.
I fell in love with Vietnam, and my first thought as I jumped off the plane in the middle of a rocket attack was, “What a beautiful country it could be if we were not blown the hell out of it.” I learned very quickly being in combat was nothing like the war movies on television. But overall, I have had a charmed life. I was blown up by a sapper my first week in Vietnam. Having survived that, I knew I would make it home and never had a fear of death since then. I also ended up being shot, stabbed, and bitten by a cobra. So I really do feel invincible.
I think having that attitude was to my advantage throughout my life and helped me to do a lot of crazy things. Looking back, I think to myself, “My God, how could I have been so stupid?” Well, you are young and dumb and believe you are invincible. I was no exception. I fought, I won, and I was awarded medals. Again, whoopee. When you’re in combat, you never fight for the medals you fight to survive or save your buddies. There were no lines of color in my mind we all bled red.
I ended up doing 24 years in my military career. I was designated as being a diabetic on my last day of active duty. I had been complaining for 2 years I wasn’t feeling right. I would go to the military hospital, and they would tell me there was nothing wrong with me. On my last day of active duty, I went comatose and was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with diabetes caused from Agent Orange. I ended up being 100% disabled over the years with additional health problems: high blood pressure, kidney failure, and heart disease.
Even though I’m 100% disabled, I still get around well, and travel around the world is my favorite hobby. I was lucky in everything but love. Raised three children by myself. Once my youngest was grown and out of the house, I decided to start traveling again and went to Thailand, where I found the true love of my life. We have been married 13 years now.
I have been back to Vietnam twice and was amazed there were no hard feelings about the war and how friendly the people are. I look forward to going back again and seeing much more of the country. I have also been to Laos, the Philippines, Cambodia, Okinawa, Guam, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and China. I make a distinction between Hong Kong and China because the people of Hong Kong do not consider themselves Mainland Chinese.
I was stationed in the Philippines for 3 years at the base where they held the POWs from the Bataan Death March. I was in Libya 5 months before the US broke off diplomatic relations with them a very hostile environment and one place I never want to see again. When I went back to Cambodia, they were very unfriendly, and I stayed for one night and left so another place I do not care to go back to. In retrospect, I did make the mistake of wearing my Special Forces baseball cap, so maybe that is why they were hostile towards me.
I also would like to return to England, take a visit to Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. I’ve also wanted to visit Moscow and see the Red Square. My wife and I want to take a trip to Burma. Also plan to go to Bali as I want to see the Komodo dragons and the culture of Bali.
I guess mine is not the most exciting story you’ve read, but I just wanted to send it anyway. I hope you enjoy reading it.
