John Galt Presents: The Art of the Deal Part 1

I just couldn't help but borrow the title of Donald Trump's book The Art of the Deal. This particular title came to mind because engaging in P4P (pay for play) is anything but straight forward. It's a creative exchange. It's an exchange that is implied and implemented with a certain finesse. Operate outside of the proper decorum, and it all sours rather quickly and is not worth the efforts. However, if you enter into the process with (you're going to cringe when I say this) ... class and courtesies then you're going to come away with what might be a magical experience Disneyesk type of enchantment.

There are two fundamental types of customers. One is very much into "baby scratch my itch and here's the money" transaction. This customer is not very interested in knowing much about the girl -- and would rather not know about her. He is keeps himself at a distance. Some of these customers are married. Some are hobbyist racking up a string of experiences for amusement and personal gratification. These customers have their personal reasons for keeping at a emotional distance. For some it can be a factor of guilt or just apathy. Their focus might be considered a bit de-humanizing in nature. For what ever their reasons, the exchange is primarily physical/financial.

Personally I am much more the "other" type of customer. I like what has been written as "the girlfriend experience" if you can call it that. But, I think it's slightly different. I view this more as making a secret friend. A friend who opens up a door to her world with me for a few hours. Then, when that time is done, that door is closed and she returns back to work. While the door is open, it's quality sharing time. I may treat her like my girlfriend for that time but I may not necessarily feel the pain of separation when it's all over. Perhaps this is a result of my being here in Thailand for so long. I don't loose my sense of bearing and go over-board and allow myself to get attached deep down. Going back to the Disney allusion, when the "park" closes, I'm quickly back home and my sense of reality is still intact.

However, that being said, I don't hesitate in wanting to find more out about the girl who I'm with. I want to know who she is. I want to find out a little about her family. I like to know what brought her into this business and where she wants to go in the future. I want to know what makes her happy and sometimes, what she cries about. How do her values differ from my own? Is she becoming a better person? Does she need to justify her efforts? Is she resentful for the work or does she resent me personally on any level for being a part of this business environment?

I think participating in the P4P market is an opportunity to discover something important about other people. Just how often do you have a chance to get this close, this personal, with someone you don't formally know? If you're not in a discovery mode, then to some extent I feel that you miss part of the value of the exchange.

If you do open yourself up to her, and as a mirror she reflects back what she sees in you. Are you going to like what you see?

Also, it is said that sex is in the mind. If that is true, then having an understand and appreciation for the girl on a mental level is a necessary part of the exchange.

I frequent Pattaya. It's seems to be most conducive place for a holiday inside Thailand. It's rich in resources, it's less expensive than other places and closer to me than places like Phuket.

When I blow into town and I'm out and looking around on the first night. I first familiarize myself with changes. And without fail, I roll through McDonald's for a Fillet-o-Fish and a cheeseburger (because in my part of Thailand, we don't have a local MckeyD)

Interestingly enough, I rarely bar fine a girl on the first night. It just doesn't sit well with me. What I normally do, is I browse the neighborhood and look at the faces. I look for smiles, I may make some light conversation. I might buy a single drink at a number of locations and "take the pulse" of the community. Typically, I'll sleep alone on the first night. But, on the second night, I'm going around to look at some of these faces that caught my attention on the first night. This is just what I do. I figure that if on the second go around I sense more of "connection" to that girl on the stage or that girl behind the counter at Dairy Queen, then I'm on a path to a better experience. Perhaps this is just a mental trick I play on myself thinking that in some way, I have known this girl just a bit and therefore, she is more trustworthy when I see her on the second night? Alright, that's goofy. I admit it. But, I also have a stronger sense of knowing if she'll go with me. It's like I'm giving the girls one day to think about if they like my face. Or they may be given the impression that they are special if I return the next day to select them. So, if the second OR third time they have seen me, if they show a little extra spark of interest, I pretty much have an idea that they will say yes to me. And to my recollection, I have never asked a girl who said no. So, the window shopping warm up routine is a must for me. I have my own suspicions that its a very agreeable way to make a nice approach to the girls as well. It's just a more culturally natural way to break the ice (not rushing right over in the first 30 minutes and saying, and doing a Marvin Gaye "lets get it on" maneuver). Know what I mean. It's more like they see you come in alone and ultimately walk out alone, and instantly, they can envision you as something other than a playboy out for the hunt.

My first night in Pattaya on this trip, I had a mission to accomplish. I wanted to set up an opportunity to photograph a girl with my new LED lighting system. So my first night I went to see Chuck at Club Boesche and I asked him of his group of girls, did he know of any that would pose for pictures? I told him that expected to pay a price for that service. That first night I did meet with the girl who I would ultimately take, but we didn't strike the deal on that evening. I think she was trying to figure out if I was trustworthily and no doubt Chuck's interaction helped to put her at ease. I didn't take her on that first night, we just discussed it. I had nothing to show her, so I think she was unsure of what I was talking about.

I hung out at the club for a while (as I was in a out of a lot of places that evening) I looked around, and spied this lovely dancer on the floor. She had a flawless body. Face was nice but her jaw line was a bit irregular. Nice hair. Beautiful smile -- and yes, she did smile at me (I think she was noticing me). You might consider this is part of the business, but some of these stunner type girls are so on top of their game that they only smile deeply to guys who they may be potentially inviting to come see them. So, I considered her intentional smiles to be quite flattering. I didn't talk to her this even. We just had a little bit of nice eye contact. This is how I like to leave it on the first night. Something just short of drool coming out of my mouth and composure with a bit of class as I exit alone, preferable in her view.

There is a principle that goes something like "people want what they see", and when I'm out on the town I want to the girls to see me. And in doing so, I scan for the girl who I can evoke a little desire in. This sounds a bit hokey -- but it's real to me. Frequently on the second or third night out, you will come across girls who had you in their sights a night or two before. They are looking for the preferred customer just as you are looking for the target (oh, that sounds so cold).... It's not exactly that cold. But, I think you get the picture.

The higher quality ladies will tell you that there are a lot of what they consider undesirable choices in the crowd. If you are fit, dressed decently, have good eye contact and nice face, you will be their preferred choice. Not everything is about just the money. The money has to be there for them, yes, but the top of line girl can get it all, and just like you -- they want it all.

Anyhow, I had "taken some proper notice" of a high end (likely to be high priced) go-go girl. And I thought that she had also taken a bit of notice of me.

I was everywhere that night on Walking Street this first night and I can't explain all of that. It's beyond the scope of my article here so, I'll fast forward to night number 2.

Typically, on the second day, I'm ready to bar-fine. I have settled in, hit McDonalds, perhaps a good Pizza, and I've said hello too all my friends.

The previous night I've put a couple of faces before me, and hopefully gotten their attention. Night number two consists of looking again for more faces (ok, so I look at the bodies too - don't bust my chops).

Early on this evening, I was looking at a few beer bars. I was buzzing around at about 8 pm. I hadn't eaten yet, but it was about that time. I strolled by a particular beer bar and I notice a really pretty face and she looked at me. I caught her attention. She gave me that "side look". I was just walking by and she had a very pretty face and on this occasion, I didn't stop. I had it in mind to eat and I did just that. I knew I could come back later. Well, I returned about 45 minutes later with it in mind to stop and talk to this girl. And just as I approached the bar, another guy was about 4 steps ahead of me. He was in his late 20's and he walked right up to this girl. I came to a halt about 15 steps away. He didn't see me. She grabbed her purse and started to come out from the behind the counter and I could see what was happening, she was leaving with this younger good looking guy.... Oh shit. Well, not a bit deal. I actually walked right behind them as they were headed in a direction to leave this area. It was the only return path. She knew I was there because I had definitely had some eye contact with her before. He had no clue what I was doing but, I was making a statement that I came to see her because I was right behind them and I looked sideways at her co-worker as the three of us proceeded down the soi. She did not look back in my direction as she obviously did just a hour early so, it was not a big deal to me. Just another one of those -- "hey I'm leaving by myself because the one girl I wanted was not there for me -- kind of statement". Just to whet your appetite -- I did come back the next evening and find her and take her from that bar, but I won't have a chance to introduce you to her until next week. She was a really nice girl and I will tell you about her next week.

I went back to Boesche and picked my conversation with the girl who chuck said would allow me to photograph her. The previous night I actually set up my LED lighting at the hotel room and took a side shot of myself posed naked like a statue painted with color. And I show this to her saying "this is what I'm interested in" and I again I promised not to take any shots of her face. At this point she had a comfort with it and with me. We talked price, and I promised her 2,000 baht for about an hour or 90 minutes of shooting time. She agreed and I bar-fined her. At this point the night is still pretty early. It's about 9pm.

The photo shot turned out to be fairly easy. I didn't touch her (ok, I kissed her neck just a bit) and we finished up in about an hour. I wanted some closer shots of some very private parts but that didn't suit her, (I wanted to get a shot of the "taint" -- for those of you who can follow that lingo). But, it didn't happen. I did get some interesting shots. My LED system was very simple with just a single RGB flood light, so I was more limited on this shoot. Anyhow here are samples of the results:

The photos that are most obvious here are Blue and Red LED shots, but the picture on the far right is taken with a small ultraviolet LED. Each of these photos can be clicked on for a larger photo. This photo shoot was was fun to do. I think they are as much artistic as they are erotic. I would like to do more of them. This girl was from Club Boesche, but I'm not opposed to taking girls from other clubs. If you're a manger of a club and would like the free exposure of a photo shoot on the web, drop me a line and we'll talk about getting one of your girl up on-line.

Anyhow, I released this girl and I believe she went right back to Boeches to resume her activities there. I wasted no time in going back on the town.

On my first night a passed through the Doll House a couple of times. There was one girl in there that looked like my first girlfriend here in Thailand. This second night after my photo shoot, I returned back to the Doll House and she was there, and excited to see me (this is the second night of having known her). She was rather fond of Tequila. So I bought her a round or two (as I did on the first night making my rounds). I bought the Mamasan a drink, and I showed her my newly acquired photos and ask her if she might be my second model (this is a technique for success. The girls here get a jealously thing going when it comes to being asked to do something special. If you manage to have one girl take the plunge then others will follow on grounds of competition). She and I negotiated a one hour photo session AND long time sex for 3k. I thought that was ok. She had a hot little body and it was different than the first and it would be a great addition to growing portfolio.

So, I bar-fined her (this is the second one of the night -- another 600 baht). She wanted to hit a few clubs and see a couple of friends. I agreed. We went by Club Electric Blue Junior. She knew one of the girls here. We sat right down next to a guy that was having the time of his life. He was shooting pictures and throwing 20 baht ping pong balls and looking like a Saudi prince surrounded with a harem of girls. He was really in a grove.

He was on my right and she was on my left (ordering another tequila). I leaned over to him, "Hi, what's your name", He said, "Jay". "Hi Jay, I'm Keith Summers". and he said something like "Hi, nice to meet you". I said, "Wow, you're lucky to be allowed to take pictures in here, as most places aren't very comfortable with that". He said, "Oh, well, I own the place. Some girls don't like to have their pictures taken so I just tell them to step aside." (and he waved his hand through the air with a sweeping motion). I said, "Congratulations, you must be very happy". (I think he bought this club from Andy who I believe sells this club on occasion. Well, at least he has sold this club a few times before.... ) He and I chatted further. He felt really happy about the idea of providing the girls health coverage (although he was unsure exactly how that was happening). He felt proud like a papsan should. And I felt proud for him. He just seem to be tickled to call that place his own. He said that he bought the club for fun and said it was very easy to afford it because he mainly worked in England. In fact he was headed back to England in a few days time and that one of his friends was going to run it while he was away. (and he pointed to his friend a few chairs away).

And Jay went on to do his thing and he must of thrown 40 or 50 ping pong balls (each with 20 baht value) to all the girls. The hostess brought him a bill and he turned to me saying that even he has to pay the bar, and he laughed some more. He had his hands and face full of flesh and girls carrying on, he was like bouncing around sniffing for wild honey and smitten with fragrant love potions. The guy was just having a ball.

Meanwhile my girl had downed 2 more tequilas and her friend had a drink or two and I paid the 500 baht tab and we headed out.

She wanted to go to another bar. Seems she had another friend at Shark Bar. I had not been there before so I said, Ok, the night was still early.

We did the Shark Bar. 2 tequilas, a couple of friends, and another 500 baht check later, we made our exit for some food. Now, this is where it gets interesting....

Shit, that girl ordered about 5 plates of food. My God, what the hell was going on. Oh, no, the ordering got out of control. At this point, I take out my camera and photograph what turned out to be an 850 baht "early breakfast". My Thai is not quite sharp enough yet to recognize all the types of food being ordered, so I wasn't on top of this at

the beginning. This is a common occurrence in Thailand, and you need to prepare for it. Girls (especially poor ones) will often get so excited about eating out at a fancy restaurant on another person's tab that they will grossly over order. Now, in this case, the girl was close to toasted from the tequila and was just plain disrespectful. This is a case where the girl thinks she can just do whatever comes to mind because "the farang" is paying for it all. It's the irresponsible behavior. I managed to suppress my instinct to complain taking it all in stride and seeing nice photo-op for the column. I was eating from the plate at the front of the photo, she ordered all the others include this large fish in the middle. I ate some of the batter dipped vegetables on the right. The quality of my plate was substandard. (It was like a Thai wasn't even cooking the order because my plate didn't taste right at all.) We were at the place in the Marine Disco area. You walk on block away from the water and you enter an open area. It was just across from Coyotes a go-go. Perhaps they were better at sea food because they have a great shrimp and fish tank set up there.

But, that didn't mean the end of the night. We were heading for a photo shot back to my hotel room and a night of fun and frolicking. So, we left there and walked to my hotel just a couple minutes away. We entered and are walking down the hallway when she announces a change in the deal. She says, Ok, the pictures and short time for 3,000. I said, no, we talked about long time for 3k. And I took a deep breath and I mulled over my options as we continued the few last steps back to the door of my room. We stepped inside.

I turned the light on. Shut the door and turned and looked at her. Her eyes blinked and as they opened, I watched those eyes roll just a little while the room was coming back into focus. Great, she was close to trashed. She and I in unison slowly lifted up the front of her shirt and she reflexively pushed out her full stomach. She looked almost pregnant. I said, baby, I'm going to take you back to the Doll House. I said, I'm not taking your picture like that (pointed down to her tummy). She knew that she was out of control and there was just a tiny drunken murmur of disappointment, but without any problems, she followed me out and I walked her back and dropped her off.

I could have kept her, but the stage was set for disagreement and confusion. Another guy might have pulled her clothes off and push her down on the bed and vented out a fantasy on her, but that is not a prudent choice and it can lead to trouble. The business of pleasure for money can be a sticky one to start with. It's not good to mix that up with alcohol and/or drugs especially if you have no prior experience with the girl.

I know she was disappointed about not getting the money, but, as the farang in the party, you have to "know when to say no". And I said no to what could have lead a lousy evening. I didn't even ask for the 600 bar-fine back. It really would not have be due the refund because the girl did spent some time with me and she would have had sex with me. So, I just dropped her off and said goodbye. I did not give her any consolation gift (as I sometimes do if something goes wrong unexpectedly) -- as she has pretty well spent the bank on our outing.

It was about 1 am at the time -- maybe 2 am. The night was not over. It had been fairly interesting so far.... but in Pattaya, there are people out till dawn and most clubs are still peculating until about 3 am.

I went to Boesches and to my surprise and delight, there was that girls I saw yesterday with the prefect body, wow. She was not there earlier in the night when I bar-fined my model (she must have gone short time). Nice face, but the body was perfect. When she saw me again, she make a face at me like "Oh, there you are again. I'm glad to see you". She smiled and tipped her head back as an acknowledgement. See -- here is the point. If you make a visual acquaintance earlier in the day, or the previous day and leave and return, you can get this kind of a "welcome back response" and it turns out to be a very nice door opener. You can almost know for sure that she is going to say yes to you in most cases (if you don't screw it up by imprudently start asking about her back door policies, LOL).

She came down from the dance stage and sat with me. She and I begin to exchange names and the basic pleasantries. Almost immediately the emotional support group rolls in. It's usually another one of the dancers and perhaps a hostess girl, maybe even one of the service girls. I immediately offer the dancer a drink, she orders a coke, to go with my coke. Mine was the full size "customer" version while hers was the half glass "lady drink" version. I'm already pleased in her choice of drink.

I turn to one of the support girls (hostess) and I put a 100 baht bill in her hand. She looked at me with some question. I said, "Do you want the lady drink or do you want the money"? And she smiled with a bob of her head and said, "the money". With my money pouch still open, I did the same for the other "second string" dancer, and I twisted around and leaned back and slipped another 100 baht bill into my waitresses' hand. She was temporarily baffled but that passed very quickly. See, one of the things that I like to do with a new girl in front of me is set the right president. In this case, for just a couple of hundred bath, I telegraphed to my girl that I was going to be in the right mind set with her. I immediately dispelled any fear that I might be an English teacher (he he).

All the preliminary small talk went very well. One of the items that came up for discussion is "did I smoke?". I said no, I don't. She was a non-smoker as well. (I'm telling you, girls think about those things). I think the first 10 minutes are for discovery. She and I are feeling each other out for any "show stopper" issues. I ask a lot of what might seem like silly questions abut I like about the girls. She was telling me that she was off work for several months and that she had just returned back to Boesches the previous night (first night that I saw her). She made point to say that she noticed me as well.

Before we move forward, I want to remind you that in the course of my publication here on the web, I preach skepticism. I preach it in almost every article and I even wrote an article about "Referrals and Recommendation" and how it works in Asia. I came in and "spied" this hot babe the night before and with only a strong eye contact, I telegraphed to her that I had a little class and that I wasn't leaving there drunk or with another girl in toe. I can't stress enough how powerful this preliminary action can be. Perhaps I'm being a little dramatic about it -- but I don't think so. The girls are looking for something that will set you apart from the "other guys", and being perhaps just a little bit elusive and worth investigating. And you have probably read this on the web many times before, if you went everyday to the same bar and never bar-fined a girl there, some of them would be curiously drawn to you for just the pure reason that you were not bar-fining them. So, my scouting them out one day in advance (or several), is almost like fly fishing. Why not invoke a sense of some curiosity in the girl? It's only adds to the experience. Also, once you have taken a girl out of the club, in front of the other girls, the excitement factor for you diminishes. So, picking out the right girls on the first round is important. Coming back on a subsequent night (and rotating through various clubs in this same manor) will draw out the most interested girls towards you. From there you can pick the one you like, not just the one only ones who will say yes to you. I can honestly say that I have never been told no. Most every girl who had given me the positive signals have always worked out fairly well.

Ok, we are going to give this girl a name. We'll call her Dolly. And that's not her real name (and I most certainly do remember her real name and number).

I did bar fine Dolly within about 15 minutes of talking with her. We didn't waste a lot of time there. At this point it was very late in the night so it wasn't difficult for me to negotiate long time with her. If it were early, then she would have leaned towards short time and I typically don't like short time. Short time allows them to take up with a number of customers in one evening. But, it was about 2 am and at that point, she was willing to go long time. I knew up front that was going to require a minimum of 2k baht.

The bar-fine was 600 baht (this was the third bar fine I had paid in 3 hours - this was a record for me), she dressed down into her street clothes (or should say dressed up) and we were on our way. It started raining but the hotel was just walking distance from the club. We we made it there without much of an issue.

I had Dolly in my room. It was the start of a very nice 12 hour encounter. I'll return to this story next week and continue on with it. I think this will be a good insight to the mind of just one of the top "stunner" go-go dancers.

Jesus, I've never seen anyone go over and over the same subject in such multiples....."It slow here, it's slow there, it's slow in most places around the bar industry". Damn Dave how many times can you slice and dice that one? There you go, I summed up his "Night Fever" column this week.

I looked hard into his article this week because there was one notable change on his site - Dave removed all the naughty night life pictures and closed the gallery. I thought he might make mention why in the weekly column, but I was wrong.... I'm not surprised. Evidently, someone has spread a rumor that the authorities are doing an inspection of web sites to see who is "showing" (play on words here). This has occurred before, I'm guessing that this is happening again. There is no solid way of knowing for sure if in fact Dave, or Stickman, or even my own site (as I show some nudity here), are being watched by authorities. But, certainly in the case of Dave (a bar manager) or Stick (an English Teacher), they are in very vulnerable places and when a rumor comes down the pike that authorities are looking chew some ass to possibility gain some face in the public eye, then these web masters quake in their boots and yanks down the most controversial parts of their sites. A few years back when APEC was in town, Stickman closed down a major portion of his site.

I personally have never been contacted by authorities. I don't hang with the naughty night life crowd and so rarely do I hear rumors of these things unless I'm emailed. Even then I am quite skeptical. (we'll get back to rumors shortly....).

Dave printed a couple of other interesting things in his column that are worth reflecting on.

First, he took a stab at lining up the top go-go bar performers in Pattaya, and according to my sources, he was off. Here is what he said:

A selection of the very top grossing bars that remain very popular are; Peppermint, Happy, Beach Club and Angelwitch. Other go-go bars that still remain popular are; Living Dolls 1, Living Dolls Showcase, and Dollhouse. In Soi Diamond you can still find some hot babes and Heavens Above still has its fair share. Wandering away from the Walking Street area Mistys on Soi Pattayaland 2 is worth making the journey.

Here is the scoop. Those "in the know" down in Pattaya will probably concur with my assessment. If you are down in Pattaya, I challenge you to make a few rounds to all these places over a couple of days and see if what I say is confirmed.

Here are the performers. In most cases, talent pools at each location match their performance.

People, The Great Galt knows for a fact who the top performer is. It's one of these four clubs.

Super Babes does a pretty decent piece of business. And Heavens Above is strong, but their club is small and so their over-all profit volume is lower than the "big boys".

Peppermint a Go-go has a high volume of sales, but their margins are tighter -- so they have good foot traffic there and there offerings are good. This club might be one of the better bargain values for those who are on more of a buget.

The truth is that AngelWitch is a bit down right now.... DaveTheRaveBangkok is a manger at the AngelWitch in Nana Plaza Bangkok, so quite naturally he is not going to tell you the truth about the Pattaya branch being on the weak side right now. Is is possible they didn't tell him? That would not be good for business now would it? He would be in hot water with the owners if he printed the truth and it cast AngelWitch at closer to the bottom (and it's not the bottom of all the clubs - its the bottom of best go-go clubs).

Also notice that he omits mentioning Club Boesche and he down graded Showcase. And of course, he miss-place AngelWitch completely in the ranking.

All of these clubs above are the top performers. They all have good reputations. I have been to most of them. And to be fair - I know the people in and around Boesche, Doll House, and Showcase. But, that has not skewed my assessment of their performance (because -- I don't make -- nor lose -- any money with this publication). I do strongly encourage you to check them out for yourself. And as a final note: I like the shows at AngelWitch Pattaya, but I have yet to bar fine from there. (I better get that done on my next visit). I almost forgot -- I don't have enough quality information to comment on go-gos outside of Walking Street, so there are certainly some other places off-walking street that are worth visiting. And I have been to Misty's and bar-fined one girls there (several times) - great experience.

According to a few bar owners in Pattaya, even more new bars will continue to emerge over the next few months. I think certain parts of Pattaya are competing with Bangkok for the title of construction capital. As a visitor to Pattaya there are more venues to frequent, but for the existing bar owners there will be even more competition to deal with. For the Pattaya establishments in their many guises it will be a clear case of survival of the fittest.

Dave says it will be "clear case of survival of the fittest". I have to add that survival may also be a factor of the ones who will cheat. The word cheat may be a bit on the course side.... Let me explain....

AngelWitch pulled a stunt in Pattaya when they first opened up and they alienated a fair number of other bars from them because they went against the grain and broke the "unspoken rules" when they hired their first set of girls to open their club.

The correct and ethical and respectful way to gain your dancers is the "hang out a shingle" and announce the call for girls and post the offered monthly salaries, etc. This is how it works. As an owner, you are not to go directly target the other club's girls. It's considered a no-no and it's looked down on by others. Its a sign of disrespect in the go-go community. Generally, its not done. The standard, acceptable method is to advertise and let the girls walk in on their own, or to let girls refer their other girlfriends over to your club.

AngelWitch went out directly to the top performing clubs and bar-fined targeted girls and then offered them special sign-on deals (suposedly) to get these top girls to quit their current employment and move over to the new AngelWitch club.

I think it was a shrewd and effective move that produced a good line up of opening performers but, one has to question whether or not the reputation they garnered with that action hasn't hurt them over time within the community.

So, perhaps if times are hard or getting harder, will survival also depending on how to get away with "stunts" to gain a competitive advantage?

It's a valid subject. There was some information in there worth knowing. I'll add one correction. I opened up an account at a branch of Kaserkorn Bank 5 years ago in Pattaya, and I didn't use that account very much over about a 3 year span. I lost the ATM card and I visited a local branch and was able to regenerate an ATM here (500 km away) without having to go back do to Pattaya to do it. I have since begun to use the account and I find that all my activity works fairly well regardless of where I am. I can make deposits instantly, withdraw on the ATM card (obviously) and transfer moneys to other bank accounts (at the ATM) without having to be at the original branch where I opened the account. The local branch would rather have my money at their branch but all my services are working here and in Bangkok/Pattaya as expected without any hassles. So, you may not really need to move an account with you if you move across town. Everything else Stick writes applies pretty well. And yes, I would leave the bulk of your moneys in the west were it is better protected and never blocked.

Thailand is so over extended in loans and the farang community is so jittery that any type of public event puts foreigners in line to pull their money out of the banks here. Then the Thai government wants to blame us for over-reacting -- so they on occasion send the word out to the banks to "freeze" the foreigner's account. And I stress that this seems to happen when a major event like a Tsunami occurs.

I should complete my thought on the "over extended" thought. Thailand is not in a rock solid place. It doesn't take much for the banking system to feel some pain here. They have been "stimulating" the economy and "patching up" the fiscal systems here for a while (it seems to be their habit) and consequently, I believe that has given it a bit of frailty. If enough farangs with enough money try to make a withdrawal, there just simple won't be enough money in the system to keep the system from failing. Just a soon as a scare gets out that the bank wont' have the money to cover everyone - then just everyone will pull out their cash and collapse the system. I believe this type of occurrence in the US is what prompted the US government their to create FDIC protection for depositors. I don't think that exists here (I could be wrong).

The bottom line is - the Thai government can instantly put a clamp on your money and the only end around solution to get money sent out at those times is to present a business invoice and claim that you need to pay a bill abroad. (so keep that in mind).

I keep reading little murmurings about Stickman being divorce from Mrs. Stickman. Some are saying this is why we see a Miss Udon in his weekly column. I personally don't know anything about Stickman's personal life. I would guess that he doesn't want you know either or he would have told his readership something by now. He is making efforts to keep himself secret. He doesn't want to come forward and acknowledge his identity. I think this fact will actually come back to bite him in the future, really.

When the authorities come to find out why he is taking advertising dollars and making a business of this on-line publishing, they are going punish him harder for trying to keep it a secret. If he were just a bit up front about it, I think the authorities would see some good faith that we wasn't trying to conceal that activity and just slap his wrists for not having it legal. But, this is his business and thought I may make comments about it, it's not my personal responsibility how he handles it.

So, Stickman, are you going to tell us if you are divorced? This would be good material for a new article. Something you have not commented on before. We already read the article about the "Bangkok Effort" and dealt with guys cheating. You made it clear that you would rather end the marriage than cheat. Tell us, did the "Bangkok Effect" get to you? Was Mrs. Stickman getting out of sorts with you? (because let's face it, she was insecure about your work and connection to the naught night life to start with).

Inquiring minds want to know.... But, the Great Stickman is more prone to hiding than coming out in the open. I fault him for this, and it's only going to continue to disappoint his readership.

HOT OFF THE PRESS.... This came in today Thursday May 24th. I have no way of knowing if this report is true, but it has some compelling comments... This is a reader's email to me.

Yeah you are so right about Miss Udon she doesn't bloody exist. Mrs Stick did a runner a while back, took their car from what I heard and is telling anyone who will listen what a cheap bastard he (Paul Owen) is. Divorce was official a few weeks ago. makes me so bloody mad because he spouts all that fucking advice about how to meet good girls and how to keep a Thai girl happy and it's all crap. He met her online and she was fucking around left right and centre and picked him because she thought she was on to a good thing. Now she's dumped him but he doesn't have the decency to own up. He is full of shit. Why hasn't he written about his divorce, hey? He was always giving us his stories about his lovely mother in law, remember? And his trips up country with his lovely adoring wife. Bullshit. She was like every other hooker on the make and he's too embarrassed to admit it. tell him to come clean why don't you? He should admit that he knows fuck all about Thai women. I heard he got a bargirl pregnant before he got married which is pretty good considering he's always telling newbies to wear condoms. Hypocrite is his middle name. oh yeah the guy offering to collect money for the injured girl is the guy who wrote My Name Is Lon about the underage hooker. I think he's ok but you are right to be suspicious.

Well, I wouldn't go a far to classify (the former) Mrs Stickman with those "fine professionals" down in Pattaya. But, hey -- marriage is a bear. You can be the perfect husband (or not) and still it's a crap shoot. I think Thai women can get very controlling when they think they have you at a disadvantage.

OH..WAIT A MINUTE..... I remember column a long time about about Stickman taking a girl to an abortion clinic. I remember that article well. .... Oh.... he made it sound like he was helping someone else, but maybe he was escorting his own lady into the clinic. Stickman.... you are clever one.... Come to think of it, I don't see you sticking your neck out like that for someone else. You must have been taking your own girl to the clinic. Click on the link above in blue and put the pieces together for yourself.

Oh, lets examine this "the guy offering to collect money for the injured girl is the guy who wrote My Name Is Lon about the underage hooker.". I warned people last week to stay clear of what looked like a scam....

So, this guy has already made attempts at creating an income by selling the story of a Thai girl (If I remember correctly how she was pulled into prostitution). If he is already selling a book for profit, are we to now just accept that fact that he is not going to be pocketing any of the proceeds for the girl who, according to news sources, had her arms chopped off? Personally, I wouldn't trust him.

But Stickman sure does -- enough to put the Stickman recommendation on it. Stickman is either an idiot or he is in on the financial take. Paul Owen, have you no shame?

By the way, the return email address on this email was from someone who has published on the Internet before from here inside Bangkok. So, I have every reason to believe that his information has some credibility.

Stickman is a never ending source of amusement. His own friends and acquaintances are selling him out because he has NOT been a man of his word.

Why don't you let me tell your story to the on-line readership? First, I'll need to confirm your identity in some way, but I'll print your story as you would like it to be told.

You know that I can be trusted because I have always been honest with the readers and you would have been able to see this from your vantage point. If have been hones then, I'm being honest now. I think it's time to air out the fact and separate the facts from the fiction.

Why don't you tell the Stickman readership the truth. Disclose what was really happening behind the scenes and tell the Stickman readers what they really want to know. Has Stickman been really telling everyone the truth, or has he been writing stories and articles to make money off unsuspecting and ignorant readers?

Did he not do his part in the marriage? What caused the break up? What gripes do you have? What can you tell the farang readers about the possible problems with a mixed farang and Thai marriage?

I'm never too busy to take a minute out and comment about my dear friend MangoSquashDave over at MangoSauce.com.

Dave (sorry) David, has been the slacker lately. He has lost his appetite for his own unique style of rogue grotesque, "take no prisoners", journalism.

Has was churning out tiny little articles of hate and fire about once every three days. Now he seems destine to regurgitate news from the web at a snail's pace.

Is he even in Thailand anymore? I hear from the grape-vine that Dave is a paranoid type of guy.... What's wrong David, are that pear shape middle age women at immigration haunting you again?

Someone told me that your last name start with a "G". Is that correct David? Did I hear that right?

My crystal ball says that by years end we are going to throw that "coming-out" party for you. I hope you're available to share in the festivities.

Having a hard time holding on your Visa perhaps? I guess you shouldn't have been bragging so much about retiring early at an early age. Oh well, the best laid plans of mice and men....

If there other "grapes" out there on the vine who would like to contribute the MangoSquashDave outing -- please forward all anonymous information to me here at JohnGaltThailand@gmail.com

If you have a photo that you would like to share. I'll pony up some money for that. Tell me what you got and we'll deal.

There were a couple of articles there this week worth mentioning. One was about the value of the baht forcing Thai business to refocus their sales efforts closer to home. This trend could really have a negative impact on the economy. One of the prime reasons for the banking crises of the late 90's was that export income fell drastically.

Money has value when it moves inside an economy. Money also has a value when it comes from outside a local economy. Money from abroad is more powerful than local circulating money. If money from abroad dips too far, the local economies will feel some pain. And if the fiscal policies have extended the kingdom with loans and debts, we could see some trouble.

We are told that some consumer confidence is down (if you have been following along with the BKK Post). We are told that people have lower than expect confidence in the interim government. There is a lot of sour discussion about the former prime minister and his families possible criminal indictments. We are also being informed of a reduction in free speech.....

We are even being told that slow season in the naught night life industry is as slow as it has been in a number of seasons (DaveTheRaveBKK)

I would say that on one hand, starting a business here (for export), might be a good time if you were trying to get past all the red tape and wanted an easier entry. And you would of course need to prepare yourself to deal with any back lashes in raw materials from a recessionary trend. Sometimes coming in at what looks like a bad time might help you in hiring cheap labor, getting your work permit approved, renting property, etc. Thailand will ease their strictness in needy areas with underemployment and a tax base that is shrinking. You can more easily get away more with saying profits are low.

That is just my take on it. I would not come here and depend on a local economy for sales right now. The Thais are very good at tightening their belts and not spending on even what appear to be essential items. I never liked the idea of selling locally anyhow. It's calls to local companies to steal your ideas and infringe on your unique trade techniques (if you are successful).

This was a sad week for me. Numbers are way down. 400 last Thursday and about 200 to 250 on every other day. I think part of the reason for this was my announcement to publish every 2 weeks and at some point phase out my column. I really do want to cut down, but I'm having more fun publishing than before. The writing is getting easier and I like the results. I almost enjoy the change of pace away from my normal work. And I also feel good about making a contribution the on-line community.

Hey, I have a god given right to waffle. If Stickman can waffle, then I can too, dam it! :) At least I'm not confusing about it.

If nothing else, my sister in the US gets to keep tabs on what I'm doing with my life. And one of these days when my Mother gets a computer, she'll be able see all the trouble I'm getting into over here. Won't she be proud.

We'll continue on with 12 hours with Dolly next week. There are some interesting things to write about her. We'll try to follow up with the beer bar girl (I have some pictures of her).

Otherwise, it's been a busy week. Lots in the hopper here. I'm still working on my first large scale LED system for Tony's.

You know what I say, don't believe it just because I say so. You have check all this out for yourself. If you have been following along in your home country -- you should come out for a visit and stick your nose in a few things. Some of those things just might turn out to be down right pleasurable.

I'll catch you guys next week with another installment (I can't make you wait 2 weeks to hear about Dolly AND the other beer bar girl).