I woke up all sweaty in a messy linen on a grand bed. It’s bright, hot and stuffy. The air-conditioner wasn’t working. Probably because electricity had gone out again. I thought for a moment, trying to work out where I was. Some luxury hotel. Rangoon, Burma.
Link to the previous part: This is Thailand. Chapter 13: Exit of the Dragon. Part 2.
Of course, I was just finishing my inspection of the country! I looked through a big window. Strong sun rays mercilessly penetrated green Kandawgyi Park surrounding the lake of the same name. On the water, calmly drifted a huge, golden dragon – one of the most luxurious restaurants in this decaying but charming city. Somewhere in the distance, the top of the 320 foot tall Shwedagon Pagoda was visible. It’s one of the most important places for Buddhists from the region, if not all over the world. I thought about how it was possible that in a country as poor as Burma, there was enough money to build a 320 foot high golden temple. The air-conditioner kicked back into life. The electricity was back! I opened the computer and checked my e-mail. There were two messages in my inbox. One bad. The other even worse.
From: Guy (Dusit Thani College)
To: Marek
Subject: Bonus
Hey Marek,
I am sorry, but according to the committee you haven’t qualified for the annual bonus. The bonus is only paid out to workers who continue work in the college on the day of the pay out. Usually, the bonus is paid out at the end of December, so you when you left on January 15th, you should have got your bonus. Unfortunately, this year for unknown reasons, the bonus was paid later on January 18th, three days after your termination of employment. The same thing happened to another teacher if it makes you feel any better. I’m sorry.
Kind Regards
Guy
What the fuck? They wanted me to believe that it was a coincidence to move the payout day to avoid paying two teachers and save approximately 150,000 baht? I didn’t believe in coincidences like these. These bastards did it intentionally. I didn’t want to leave it this way, but of course I knew that fighting with Thais as a farang was a losing battle. I e-mailed Puwaret and the rector. Fuck hierarchy! My hand was shaking when I opened the next e-mail...
From: Piam
To: Marek
Subject: I am sorry...
Honey,
I know you will be mad at me, but I have to tell you something. Three days ago, I went to the bank to check if the money had been transferred for the land, which my mother was supposed to sell. There was nothing in the account. I checked yesterday and today, but nothing has changed.
I’ve tried to reach my mother for the last three days to ask what has happened, but she hasn’t answered my calls. Today I went to her sister and asked her to call my mother to find out what had happened. A week after we signed the contract with the bank, my mother went to the bank and cancelled the whole agreement. After talking with her mother, they agreed that selling the land was not a good solution and that it should stay in the family. I asked her what she is going to do with the money she owes us. She said she doesn’t know, but she will think of something. She just needs a few months. I am so angry at her! How could she do it to me? I know that you will be mad too. I am sorry, because this isn’t what we agreed.
I know that you are starting your own business now and that we will have financial troubles. I was thinking a lot and decided that I will help. My friend from Italy offered me a job at the weekend. He is the owner of a huge villa in western Bangkok. Every weekend he organizes exclusive private parties for his business partners from Europe. I’ll work for him as a hostess at one of these parties. My role would be to entertain guests. He pays me 3000 baht per night. It’s a lot of money. I’m starting on Saturday.
I am sorry again.
Yours,
Piam
Deep breath and counting... 1... 2... 3... FUUUUUUUUUCK!
Piam’s family always found a way to fuck me over. These asshole have no idea what honor is! You can have an agreement with them, they can promise you with all saints from their religions, but when the shit hits the fan, you’ll get seriously dirty. More important than honor is what they prefer to have now. If they need money, they will promise you everything. But when it comes to returning the money, they become philosophical and make all sorts of excuses. The stupid farang will wait, he has shit loads of money. And if he waits, then maybe he will forget or stop asking. In all of this conflict, they are right and I am a barbarian. They are older, so they have an automatic right to sovereign decisions, even if they break promises. How can I respect their culture?
Aha, and Piam had found a solution. To get us out of financial trouble, she was going to become a prostitute. 1... 2.... 3... FUUUUUUCK!
-Honey, what the fuck are you doing?!? - I asked on chat.
-What are you talking about?
-What is this shitty idea about being a hostess?
-Normal...t hey pay well, no?
-Yeah, they pay well, but what the hell are you supposed to do there?
-Entertain the clients.
-ENTERTAIN THE CLIENTS? What does it mean? Fucking for money?
-Marek, how dare you?!
-I see what’s happening!
-You don’t understand anything, it’s not what you think it is.
-So what is it?
-Entertaining the clients is talking with them, bringing them drinks. Fernando wants good looking girls who speak English and take care of his clients.
-Girl, have you lost your mind?
-What are you talking about?
-Think for fuck’s sake! Villa... private party... entertaining clients...This is Thailand! Do you think they really go to those things to TALK with the girls?
-Fernando promised me that if I didn’t want to, I didn’t have to fuck them. -
-Fernando promised you? Fuck’s sake, I’ll die here! Do you really think that he’ll pay you 3000 baht to walk around with some drinks?
-That’s what he said.
-And you believe everything people say to you! Jesus, you’re so naive.
-I’m not naive. I’ll go there and prove that you’re wrong.
-The problem is that you’re not going there.
-What do you mean I’m not going there? I promised him already. And he paid me in advance for the weekend.
-Give him the money back because you’re not going anywhere.
-I am going!
-Listen Piam... I started this relationship with a normal girl and not a bar girl that I met in a brothel. I don’t want this normal girl to turn into a whore.
-Nothing will happen. I’ll be drinking and talking with them.
-I don’t want to talk about it anymore. The rules are as follows: You either listen to me and stay home, or you go and never come back. After my return from Burma, I don’t want to see you anymore in my home.
-How come?
-If you go there, we are done. You have to move out.
-Honey relax. It’s really not what you think.
-End of discussion! -
I closed the window of chat. As far as I know, Piam never made it to the private party at Fernando’s villa and she returned the money. But even if that wasn’t the case, I would never have known about it. The internet in Burma was expensive and not available in many places. Phone connections were not cheap either and I didn’t intend to call her in the middle of the night to check if she was home or at the party. On Saturday, she wrote that she was not going. If the relationship had a future, I had to trust her. More and more facts from our lives began to make me think. That episode with her ex-husband, had they really only just kissed of gone further? Was it the first time something like this had happened?
I’d never refused to help her financially, but more questions began to form in my mind. Did her mother really have the motorbike accident that had cost me 6000 baht? Was Piam really robbed on the way to paying for the internet cafe, or was the money needed for something else? And finally there was the story of the 50,000 and the plot of land. It wouldn’t be so surprising if my suspicions proved correct. It’s enough to read a few stories on the internet of Thai-European relationships to see how far some of the women would go to provide for their families. In Thai culture, the girl’s husband, be he Thai or foreign, will always be lower in the hierarchy than the family. For her family, she will do anything. To her husband too... as long as it’s beneficial to the family.
A farang in Thai society is seen as a rich guy who has a lot of money for nothing. I remember surprise on the look of the face of Robbie – the owner of an apartment I had lived in – when I wanted to change the apartment for a cheaper one. Robbie didn’t understand why I would like to save 2000 baht per month if, as a university lecturer, I was earning well over 100,000. I let him know that he was very much mistaken. The guy was in shock when I informed him that I was earning 30,000 and he agreed to change my flat to a cheaper one. In Thailand, even backpackers sleeping in filthy hostels are considered to be rich. They could afford to fly here from Europe or America after all...
TO BE CONTINUED...