John Galt Presents: The Galt Apology

For the past few weeks, I have been telling you accounts of what actually happens in Pattaya with the bar girls. I think each story is interesting and different. And I do plan on coming back to this same subject in the future.

I have a confession to make, I've been using a cheap trick to get your attention. I'm low, and I confess....I've been publishing a few select nude photographs of these bar girls and I'm just feeling guilty about it.

I know its wrong -- I'm feeling about this low (holding my thumb and index fingers together) and so I'm going to turn over a new leaf. I'm going to straighten my act up. I'm not feeling guilty about it in regards to the girls, I'm just so very sorry because I'm taking some unfair advantage over the other Thailand web sites.

If the other web sites who advertise with Google adsense can't show scantily clad females like these, then I'm not going to either. It's just not fair. I just don't feel right taking advantage of these other sites in using cheap tricks in pulling readership over here. So I pledge my best effects in cleaning up my act...

Ok, people. No hard feelings with other web publishers? Everything good with the people?

What to talk about... hum.... what to talk about........ OH...Yes. I have been wanting to show you more of my living arrangements. On the surface that might not seem very exciting, but living in Thailand can be a very powerful tool in making money and being happy, so with those thoughts in mind, I want to show you a couple of shots of my bath room.

Now, for you guys already live here, this is going to may seen kind of ridiculous. It's the foreign based readers that is going to appreciate the the aspects of seeing the bathroom and its features.

This is the bathroom, for those who would want to make a million dollars. How you ask? Well, simple, by not spending money on it. That might seems overly simplistic, but the truth is, you have to get your money working for you. Spending money on an extravagant bathrooms means that money can't do any work.

However, let me be the first to tell you - I have not made a million dollars here in Thailand yet. My guess is that I have grossed about 400 thousand dollars in the 4 or 5 years. That really may not seem like much. But it can be quite a bit if you don't have to spend it. My monthly bills are approximately $600 in rents, food, and utilities. And when I say rent - I'm talking about my entire building that houses my business and my personal living space. When I say utilities, I'm talking electricity and water to cover all the expensive of the business which operate with 10 local employees.

So, do the math. How much extra do I have each month? Now don't forget, I do have a payroll and taxes to pay.

When it's all said and done, I have extra each month. Since starting my turn signal business, there has never been a month when I didn't have extra. Where those extra dollars are spent is important. Where you don't want them to go is into your bathroom.

This is a typical low cost bath. It has tile on the entire floor and up the walls to the level about 5 feet. It has running water but only a single line from a water tank on the roof. We are not plumbed for hot water and so if you want hot water you have to install an on-demand electric hot water heater. I have one of those units on the far wall, but many households don't have one. In the winter time, that water can get just a little bit cold (about 50 degrees F). I paid about $100 for this 4.5 kilowatt heater and it's just minimally sufficient in the coldest part of winter.

Also notice that I hang a bucket on the wall. This is not normally done. The Thais leave standing water in a bucket like this and have a small dish that they use to scoop up the water (see smaller blue dish with handle). I like my bathroom dry so the mildew doesn't grow too fast.

Frequently, bathroom also have cement holding tanks full of water. In my case, I have a tank on the roof so I don't need a holding tank in the bath itself.

The tile is cheap and toilet is a normal Asian style unit. Normally you would use the toilet by standing on it, but you don't have to use it that way. You can sit down on it and just straddle it fairly easily. You'll notice that the walls and ceiling are solid concrete. There is no dry wall or any material that would be damaged by water. You can clean the entire bath quickly and easily by throwing soap and bleach water everywhere and just brushing up a storm. It takes about 15 to clean and rinse.

The electrical system is primitive and there is no grounding so there is no ground fault breaker system. I installed a plug in the shower area and normally this is not a very safe thing to do, but I don't really use the shower and just fill up a bucket with warm water to bath in, so the electrical plug is not a problem. I probably use about 7 liters of water for a shower.

This is a interesting little picture below. Every bathroom in Thailand some of these. This is a gecko dropping. Geckos are everywhere in Thailand and you can't keep them out of your home. The homes here are not sealed up that tight, so these guys get in fairly easily. These dropping are just stuck to the wall and you can brush them free fairly easily. Take a closer look at the ceiling picture and you'll see the tiny little black marks on the wall, these are gecko droppings.

Here is the part I like best about my bath. This is why the bathroom works for me.... This is why living cheap doesn't cut into your personal happiness here in Thailand.....

The girls don't mind this bathroom. They don't mind coming over and having a seat and showering off. What more do I need? If I'm happy and not spending money on granite tile and fancy bath fixtures or a tub, then why spend that money where is doesn't do any work?

If I have good female company like this then I'm going to put my money in the business. That my friends is power.

I can tell you for a fact that I'm happier here in Thailand than David Hasselhoff is in the US, and we know he can still get his hands on the young chicks just like I do here.

Seems like DaveTheRaveBangkok and Stickman and several others are raving about the new relaxed bar closure times. They are claiming that "it's back to the future" with all the hot press released and clarifications on 2 and 3 am closure times across Bangkok and Pattaya.

However, the perspective here may be a little skewed. The industry is down as a whole. Tourism is very slow and to add pain and suffering to the neighborhood, the Visa rules have chased off a number of regular resident "squatters". The net result is that tourism dollars are down -- so much so that Thais in the upper ranks of control are feeling the pinch. Certainly tax revenues are lagging. Consumer confidence is down. Exports are struggling against the value of the bath.

This announcement of relaxing of closure times may be a very bad sign (a confession of sorts) that things are really looking poorly. Are we coming into some hard times? Is Thailand once again creeping toward a financial crises?

The policy makers here in Thailand are constantly changing the rules. They can't seem to leave well enough alone. I guess they hate the naughty night life and would eradicate it entirely if they could, but they can't give up the good money that it brings.

So, what we see here is a shifting policy that produces a compress/rarefaction effect on the industry.

Are we close to having a Visa policy rollback? It would not surprise me in the least....

For now, the club owners are happy. But, when those business are sufficiently back in the black, will the Thai power that be will pull the reins on them once again. The answer is most definitely yes.

I'm hearing from one of my vendors in Bangkok that they are coming into some financial difficultly. Seems what is happening is that some companies that he has been dealing with in Bangkok are buckling and are being sold and taken over by other entities.

And the problem is the new companies who have assumed the debt of the old company have decided not to pay or to significantly delay payment on the outstanding debts of the former owners.

This is a really a bad sign. I really don't know how pervasive this is - but I had not heard of this before. Perhaps this is a semi-common action during cyclical financial downturns in the industry.

I'm wondering in my mind, just how many of these "failing" companies were in reality being sold to a sister or brother or uncle, so that they could get a break from having to pay their debts while Thailand is going through a "Rarefaction" in the business sector right now.

I had been wondering what happened to all the eye candy at DaveTheRaveBangkok.com. This past week Dave finally announced the answer. He is using new software for his site and he hasn't figured out how to reintegrate the photo gallery yet.

I have to say though - that site is turning into one big ad space and real content is lagging. It's almost to the point where the ads are annoying.

I agree with quite a bit of what Stickman wrote this Sunday, but he missed a few points. And I think it would be best to clarify just a few minor things to help you achieve the correct instincts.

Thailand is funny place. You can see a lot of parallels in the way things work here when you observe it like an animal kingdom. Now that may sound a bit goofy or perhaps disrespectful on the surface, but it is not altogether incorrect. Disagreements between males that melt down into chaos are not all that dissimilar to how a pack of wild neighborhood dogs interact.

If you are disrespecting their territory, you are asking for trouble. If they are in a group, the Thai are more bold. If its night time, they are more likely to attack you. If you run, they will see this as weakness and are more likely to peruse you.

But, on the other hand, if you face off the "big dog" and and stand your ground, then the rest of them will respect you too. Running is seldom a good idea even when the gun is drawn and cocked.

I have personally seen weapons pulled and in a one case actually used. I saw a man one night shoot three other in the legs with a pistol. This happened a few years back at the height of the nation wide drug crack down. I have also seen police fire warning shots in the air. Weapons fire is not that common and I don't believe they Thais are prone to violence and they naturally don't like to hurt people (we westerners are much worse).

FIRST and foremost, I would be smart enough to be sensitive about another persons feelings. That is job #1. Generally, we farangs are boisterous, rude, and just down right self absorbed (I hear my detractors out there snickering right now).

We have to be a lot more considerate about what we say in public. Most Thais are pretty cool. Most will not lose their temper, but some obviously will.

When you see a situation like this start to get out of hand, you need to jump on a solution immediately.

In the case of this taxi driver, you could have gotten out of the car at the same time. And you could have followed him back to the trunk and challenged him on what he was doing. Of course, if you're drunk, its kind of hard to be proactive.

To tell you the truth, just being drunk gave the Taxi driver some extra courage knowing that you would not be able to respond.

(Solution Option - Dialog / Body Language) The big problem with this taxi situation described in Stickman's weekly is that these farangs shouldn't have been shooting their mouth off like that about Taksin. And immediately when realized they upset the taxi guy, they should have reached out to him and just said, "Hey we like you and I'm sorry to disagree with you about Taksin". "People who work hard in Bangkok and make this city run are much more important to the future of Thailand than Taksin, and Long Live the King" That would have solved the whole problem. The taxi guy would have probably agreed with them in saying "Long Live the King".

(Solution Option - Show of force) In other situations when the parties are out in the open, you can stick your hand into your carry bag to make like you have a weapon to make a stand off of it - yelling at him to stop what he was doing.

Now that might sound like a foolish thing to do, but fear of the unknown a powerful tool and I think its better than running especially if you are in a tight spot and have little room to move.

Stand offs like this can be wound down from with a show of strength and some dialog. Very few Thais are truly interested in shooting you. They want shown a little respect.

If you run I think you are more likely to be shot at. So, show them a little respect.

In this culture if you show that you are at a disadvantage, the aggressor has an instinct to conquer you.

(Solution Option - Show fairness) If you have a real dispute, stand your ground, be reasonable, don't let anger rule your decision and be fair about the issue.

This can be a particularly sensitive situation where you are part of community. To not face a situation with resolve will cause you to look weak and people will talk about you.

I wrote that the Thais can appear to act like a pack of dogs. Let me finish that thought by saying, that they learn what they see. Thais are practical and barring higher education, they relate to what they have seen. That means they will look toward nature and pattern it.

Imagine if you will for a moment how our culture in the west would be so different if we had not removed farm animals from our communities. How would be me more similar to the Thais? How were we more like Thais 50 years ago when the west was much more agrarian?

(Solution Option - Smile) It's a simple thing to do. Get some happiness going. Hold you're hands open with palms up and defuse the situation. Again this is dialog but non-verbal.

(Solution Option - Learn how to sorry in Thai) "Kau Toaghd Krup" (this is also used to say excuse me)

BIG POINT. Forget this notion of face. If you hem and haw and start groping for the right things to say just because you want to give the other Thai party some face, he is going to be angry that you're buffalo-shitting him. Just be honest. Be genuine. Thais are experts when it come to buffalo-shit and they are actually stunned in a very pleasant way when you're just straight up and honest with them. Honesty is very disarming and great medicine to a bad situation.

If you're open and honest with them and its your mission to resolve a crises correctly -- they will have face - and so will you. "Eat crow" if you screwed up and do it immediately. Do not hesitate in taking responsibility to for your actions. I think you'll see that a bad situation will correct itself like magic surprisingly fast and you'll make a friend in the process.

The Stickman article was titled, "Dealing with Confrontation". So, having read the Stickman article, do you remember any other solutions he recommended other than running? I think this is a Stickman specialty. (remember last week when a disagreement broke out at a restaurant - Stickman focused on saving his own sorry ass and paid the check-bin and split).

Let me quote the article his this week, "While I don’t think running from a problem is often the best option...". What were the other options did he suggested? When has Stickman not run in his articles? I don't remember him writing any articles facing a tough situation with resolve.

This is going to be a Stickman classic line. In this week's article Stickman wrote, "few farangs really have any real understanding of Thai society, myself included". Well, Stickman has been here for 8 or 10 years now, just when is he really going to understand Thai society? This is a real cop out. This statement basically says, "I don't have to give you any really firm answers on the subject and therefore no one can say that I was ever really wrong about the conclusions".

Hell, he's only been lecturing in his weekly columns for 6 years now. I would have never imagined that he didn't have a good understanding of Thai culture all this time. How much more of a wimpy, uncommitted stance can you get?

In weeks past, I have been commenting on Marc Holt. I had not really taken any notice of him as part of the Stickman Team until it was brought to my attention that he published in a reader's submission that he called "John Galt" a pedophile. When I emailed him asking about this comment he responded to me belligerently saying that I was crazy to think that he was writing about me. Of course, I knew he was lying to me. He just wasn't a man to take ownership of that statement at the time. He just called it a joke. I published an opinion on this a few weeks back and if you had been following along you will probably recall this.

(Damn doesn't he look a little like a younger Lee Iacocca in this shot?). This picture must be from 1970?

I also recently took an email from a reader who felt that Stickman was being racist in his column, and I my opinion was that I didn't think Stick was racist but I would guess that Marc Holt was. And I said this because I have read Marc's writing on the web and I in my opinion, I have surmised that he could very well be racist. That is just my opinion.

I even spotlighted the fact that in one of his publishings that he endorsed the idea of breaking up with Thai bar girlfriend by letting her catch you in bed with a new girl. I thought was a very abusive thing to do and I wrote on the net that I disagreed with that philosophy.

Last week, I repeated a comment from one of my readers suggesting that Marc Holt was the "Mark" in the Stick "Mark" II who may be co-authoring the new Stickman Weekly column. It seems like a plausible idea and I published it.

Well, it turns out that Marc Holt was very upset that I used his picture last week (his copyrighted photo), and he set out to do a little "Summers" smearing this week. He created a very nasty little photo by pasted my face on it and made some rather crude comments. A few comments were true, and few are wrong -- over all, a weak array of complaints.

He went around to a number of bulletin boards / chat forums like Pattaya Secrets posted a link to his own site to call everyone over to take a look at his smear campaign. These postings were just for the sake of "knocking o'l Summers" down a few pegs. The link at Secrets was called "Summers Comuppance" (I think he meant to write Comeuppance - which means, "deserved reward") Marc, that is a tough word to get right -- no dishonor in misspelling it.

I want to show you this page and I want you to look at the photo on this page (warning - it is a big graphic). You can read through the comments if you like. I have an opinion on this photo and I'm going to share it with you but I don't want you to read my thoughts on it first. I want you to make your own judgment about it first and then and let's see if we agree.... This is just for fun.... now don't look ahead until you have first seen his blog.

IF for some reason Holt has removed this link (by the time you see this article), I have saved a copy of it. (frequently these guys to a runner when the spot light is on them).

AS IT TURNS OUT -- MARC HOLT DID A WEB RUNNER AND PULLED DOWN THAT FINE PIECE OF PUBLISHING...

Just as I thought -- he doesn't have the nerve to stand up to and take responsibility for his actions when the spot light is on him.

We are big boys and girls here so I'll talk plainly with you. Marc Holt was hoping to demonstrate how I was an Asshole that needed to be tapped (as it were). I see how this picture was selected to present that point, but it says something much louder to me about Marc Holt himself.

Do you see that? Assholes are not typically shown in pictures like this -- this is a "screwing over" picture.

These guys are hardened, forceful, manipulative deal makers. They will use their knowledge of Thailand against you if things go wrong in a business deal.

They are mentally abusive in some cases. You really need to be prepared for this - and if you are not -- then I strongly suggest you don't spend seriously big money on any "get rich quick" type investments that come across in Thailand.

Two of these businesses are frequently in the news as high risk for those who rip off foreigners.

This guy reminds me of gypsy jumping into businesses that will turn a fast buck by appealing to investors' greed. I'm hearing the song sung by Cher, "My mama used to dance for the money they'd throw, Papa would do whatever he could"

Marc's resume is on-line. He is 60 years old this year. He married in 1998 at the age of 51. This is common. Seems like a fair number of guys are marring again for the second time in their 50's. I have a suspicion that guys feel they are reaching the end of their opportunity window in their 50's, so those who want to marry do. I don't hear of many marriage in their 60's and up.

They typically marry a very young girls in their early to mid 20's. Typically these girls is weakly uneducated and from a poorer background because farangs like Marc like to dominate their wife and keep them under control. Frequently these girls are virgins although Marc would down play this side of it. (oh yes, people ask x-pats who have chosen their wives here in Thailand. Many look for inexperienced girls). Of course The Galt is vilified for talking about virgins, but the fact is, virgins are here and they do come looking for farangs. If you want to marry one, it is possible to have this arranged.

Overall, though, I found that showing them who was boss paid off big. I gained their respect. Let’s face it, women need to be pulled into line sometimes. They get emotional and manipulating at times, especially around that time of the month. That’s when men need to be especially vigilant and not take any shit from them.

Now don’t get me wrong. I have no trouble with caring what my women need, both in and out of the sack. I am quite happy to empathize with their feelings. But I drew the line at kow-towing to their every whim, especially if they start using their ‘feminine wiles’ to try and make me do what they want. For example, if my wife starts getting bitchy near that time of the month I head out the door for a couple of days on a business trip. Even if I don’t have any clients to go and visit, I go somewhere and conduct research for my business. By the time I get home again she has got over it and things are back on an even keel again. I get some work done, she appreciates the time alone, so we both win.

Selfish? No, I don’t think so. I think it has preserved our marriage and made it much stronger. She respects me and knows she has to behave herself or I leave. It also creates an element of insecurity, not knowing if I will just keep going one day. She tries extra hard to make nice-nice when I get back.

Marc says that creating insecurity in his wife makes his marriage stronger. How interesting....

Marc is fond of writing fiction.... So I think I will take a crack at it myself.... Here my rendition of a Marc Hold blog written in the future...

Today when I asked my wife to rub my back again because my arthritis was acting up, she said, "Marc I just can't deal with your bitching about your aches and pains. Look, I'm taking the kids shopping and then we are going to down to the beach condo for a few days until you are back to your normal self. Like you always say, time apart is good for me and it's good for you."

With my advancing age, I don't know if my wife is going to divorce me. I don't want her walking off with the house, condo, SUV, and the kids, so that keeps me in line. I don't understand how she ever learned to treat me this way. I used to get more respect than this. But, I respect her, and I know I have to behave because I don't her to leaving me taking 50% of my wealth with her.

One of Marc's favorite lines is, "Now don't get me wrong". Not to worry Marc, I think we get you exactly right.

No, I'm not "doing a Taksin" and buying readership. I get them old fashion way by having something credible to say. I think I'm in a groove this month.

Here is a reader running a marathon in Stockholm Sweden. He is the one in the white shirt. He emailed me again with a second picture showing his face saying this first one was a mistake but its perfect for posting here.

I made it on 4 hours 18 minutes and 2 seconds. Place 4208. It was like hell the last 10 kilometers and when I ran in to the finish at Stockholm Olympic Stadium it was hard to hold back the tears. I am happy although I missed my time goal at 4 hours. I started my training quite late on February first so I have to be happy with the outcome. The high temperature shattered many peoples plans.

I assume this runner comes to Thailand on occasion. He really didn't indicate this in his email.

As you have probably figured out, I wasn't serious about the apology. I was just joking with you and the "Galt Detractors" who are all just waiting for me to take a fall. I don't have any problem posting a little tasteful nudity. I think Thai girls are fantastically beautiful.

Back to my point about making money. One of keys is most definitely getting happy with living on less money than you really have and then getting that extra money working for you.

When I was 24, I was a fool. I was doing very well with a good job and not saving it the extra money. Instead I bought this car. It was one of the things that I thought would make me happy. I enjoyed this car for about a year and half. It drained me of resources. Oh, I did landed some pussy with it and I had fun driving down the highway at high speed. (I also spent a fair amount of time under the hood with repairs.)

In the end, I lot some opportunity. I foolishly didn't make that money work for me.

Here in Thailand, I don't own a car (I have a small motorcycle). I haven't owned a car for about 6 years. And all my extra money is invested in my business and in my building my new product lines.

My personal relationships here are ample enough to keep me happy and feeling good. This is a very big advantage to running a business in this part of the world. It adds to your bottom line.