John Galt Presents: The Sky is Not Falling VOA

Stickmen saw an article in the BangkokPost (which may or may not be true) and he decided to make a column out of it. The article has now been withdrawn (or hidden from view) and just for the sake of argument, let's say it is completely true.

The article said that all foreigners here on tourist visas will be permitted to only renew 3 times for a total of 90 days. After that point, they would have leave the country for 90 day and receive their next visa from another country/home country.

One of the fundamental things you need to said is that in Thailand is that rarely do things change. And when they do change, they change very slowly.

Very high ranking police and Government officials are implementing a major crack down on ALL gogo bars in ALL areas! It has been all over the newspapers and the Interior Minister has come pout with some very strong comments, saying that Thailand does not need the type of visitors that these bars attract and that such visitors do not spend much money in Thailand.

Wow, this sounds scary. This information would indicate that Gogo owners are at risk as losing their business. (by the way, foreigners working in Gogo bars are totally illegal).

Does anyone recognize this writing??? You guessed it. This is stickman making a statement from the column that followed the capture of Hanbali. This was also just before an APEC conference here in Thailand.

Obviously, no major changes occurred in the bar industry coincided with this crackdown threat.

Here is a brief list of many of the other announcements of crack downs as reported in the Stickman columns over the years:

Crack down on pirated CD and Software: Columns 17/8/2003, 21/10/2001, 10/2/2002, 11/5/2003, 12/1/2003, 16/6/2002, 15/6/2003, 16/9/2002, 16/12/2001, 23/9/2001, 17/8/2003, 21/10/2001, 24/2/2002, 27/4/2003, 29/7/2001, 9/9/2001.

I think we have seen a permanent reduction in illegal drugs activities and fake Visa stamps, but for the most part most everything else has not changed.

The broader pictures doesn't support an elimination of the VOA or the short term enforcement of its limits. Quite simply, it's a mammoth change and it won't come to pass for quite a while, if at all.

Why don't you get legal? Thailand doesn't want you to live off the land. They want you to enrich the land. What is really so hard about staying here legally?

Want to take a Thai bride to do it? That is probably the worst solution that anyone can recommend. Thai females who will marry for money are driven by money. If they know they have leverage on you, they'll squeeze you for all you're worth until you're so unhappy (or broke) that you leave Thailand.

One of the best ways to stay here legally is come here to start a business. A small enterprise is the way to go. Typically, here is what you need:

There are slight variations to these requirements. A good lawyer can get you around the need for a full 2 million baht in the bank. You can pretty much establish a company inside any area of Thailand that would benefit from your efforts. Hiring local Thais is a must. They are not expensive. If you have a small niche market to cater to, you'll do quite well for yourself. I do not recommend selling inside the country unless you really know what you're doing. I recommend attacking products that are clearly over-priced in the west and export this products. I do not recommend any local based business such as a restaurant.

Can you really just hang around inside any one city with nothing to do but chase skirt? I think you'll find yourself unhappy without some balance between making money and spending money. Working for several weeks and then taking mini-vacations is likely to be the healthiest balance between work and play. No matter what you do, if you don't have change, you'll get bored. Seriously consider creating a company that produces some income and you'll find yourself very happy. You won't just be allowed to stay, it's very likely that the locals will protect you from harm.

ONE MORE THING, as you grow more wealthy from success, you'll find that more and more girls will begin to chase you. You'll start to see the higher class girls favor you. EVEN IF YOU ARE MARRIED, they will try to steal you away from your wife. Your choices for the naughty night life will expand. I am telling you the truth. If you eventually rent a large building and hire a dozen people and have big face in a local community, local girls will continue to want to see you even if they know you have a girlfriend already. Most of these girls aren't necessarily interested in the money either. I hope to have time in the future to tell you more about running a business in Thailand, but this column is not the place for that topic.

Consider this article from the Bangkok post that explains how our prime minister broke Thai law in selling his business into foreign control. Shin probe generates panic

If the Thai government decides to change the law to keep people from circumventing the company ownership rules, then the whole country would shake. Foreign investment could be seriously effected for a while the number of bar girls in Pattaya could swell.

My prediction on this will also be the same -- Nothing to worry about in the shorter term. Thai law is weak. It's weak for a reason and it favors the rich. No matter what changes are made in the law, small companies will always find ways around it. It would be the medium to large companies could be scared away.

Generally, if you come here to obey the spirit of the law and set up a corporation that benefits the Thai people, the Thai authorities will interpret the rules in your favor. If you come here to exploit the country, and not bringing value to your community, you will have a hard time staying here legally.

Last week I presented this copy of an article from another web site on the net. This week will explain why this interview is so far from the truth that it's false.

Me: So, when did you first realize you wanted to be a katoey?
K: Oh, forever. I always knew.
Me: So at what age did you begin to change? What’s the actual process?
K: The first stage is to take female hormone tablets - I started this at age 11.
Me: 11?!
K: That’s right. Then I had silicone breast implants at 15. (she shows me)
Me: Um, very nice. You had them at 15? That seems a little young - is it legal?
K: (laughs) This is Thailand, you can do anything here!
Me: So I see. Any other work?
K: Yes, I have silicone in my nose, I got that done at 21, and then had my adam’s apple reduced at 24. I’m 28 now.
Me: And that’s everything you’ve had done?
K: That’s right.
Me: So you’re still um, endowed in the male sense?
K: Yes, I still have my penis. And I’m keeping that!
Me: No more surgery planned then?
K: No, this is the finished article!
Me: Now, are you a “he” or a “she”, in English (in Thai there is only “khao”, which is non-gender specific). I can’t call you a phoo-chai (man) or a phoo-ying (woman), right? Only a katoey (ladyboy).
K: That’s right - there are three genders: male, female, katoey. But I think it’s better to call me “she” instead of “he”.
Me: And how long have you worked here?
K: Only three months. Before, I worked in a ladyboy cabaret show - I’d never worked in a bar before I came here.
Me: Do you like it here?
K: Sometimes - it depends on who comes in. I like you.
Me: Right. Um, thanks. Do you prefer Japanese or farang men?
K: Oh, farang - always. You are cute.

I received email from the author of this article. I asked him for a reasonable explanation on how he edited the column so I could make a better evaluation of what he had written. He said that he removed all the vulgarity and made it his objective to clean up the conversation "for the sake of keeping a modicum of decorum". He then when on to personally attack me in email and call my web site names, yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah. Ok, so he's angry at me. If he really had a plausible explanation about why this article was so off base, he wouldn't have been so angry. He would have just explained it to me. But alas, the Great Galt is sharper than the average six-pack x-pat.

When you are interviewing a Katoey, it's not possible to keep it non-vulgar. In the naught night life industry they are completely vulgar and in-your-face about sex. That is part of the identify of a Katoey.

If a Katoey doesn't know she is being interviewed, and she is talking to your normally, the first three things out of her mouth is:

If a conversation with a Katoey doesn't start off this way -- you are lying about the interview.

The Katoey states that she started taking hormones at an early age. This is true. Katoeys know at a very early age who they are and hormones are easy to come by. The Katoey (in my lay) experience, is a genetic condition because young boys show the signs at an early with relatively little exposure to older Katoeys. (I live in a more rural area and see these children growing up).

The Katoey then states that she received her implants at age 15. This is not true. Katoeys are only taking hormones for a few years at this point and this is before their growth spurt. No Katoeys would know if they actually needed implants until at least age 20. Also, Katoeys don't know the word "implants". They know the word "silicone".

Also, implants cost money. I don't know of any 15 year old that has access to that kind of cash. A Katoey would have to be working a while to afford this luxury.

Keep in mind that even if this interview is real, some Katoeys will screw with you just to see how smart you are. If a Katoey tried to tell me that she has implants at age 15, I would lean over to her, look her square in the eyes and tell her sternly that she was lying. She would likely smile real big and chuckle and say "Gkang". Which is her way of saying that she respects me for knowing the difference between truth and bullshit. Katoeys will test you just to see if you just to see how gullible you are.

A Katoey will never say the words "finished article". The manager here at my business is fluent in English and can speak with anyone at full speed in English. I asked him, do you know what "finished article" means. He said, "No but I know what 'particle' means". The word 'article' has an "R" sound in it. This sound is one of the most difficult sounds for a Thais to make. They avoid words like roar, right, articulate, rear. They just won't pick those words to learn. They would say something like, "Chun Set Laouw" or if they spoke that in English it would translate to "I'm finished". The author who used the words "finished article" polished it up for your reading pleasure.

Katoeys rarely use the word "cute". They say "handsome" much more frequently or they use the Thai word "Law".

The last evidence of that this article is fake is the picture. This picture was taken from another web site because it's naming pattern and optimization didn't match the rest of the photos on the author's web site. He wanted you to think this was his work and this was a picture of the Katoey and obviously it is neither.

Even if the interview occurred, all the language has been changed to the point that you would not recognize how a Katoey really communicates. What the point in taking the interview if you're going to change everything about it? People want to read the truth not what an author thinks appeals to their sensibilities.

If some of this sounds fascinating, then please by all means possible come to Thailand see and understand all this for yourself. Stay in Bangkok and talk to a "lady boy". Don't take my word for it. Be skeptical, challenge what you read about because its up to you discern the truth about Thailand.