Meth: a Ticking Timebomb Gone Viral

A Pessimistic View with a Positive Outlook

I can't wait to get out of Patong. There's nothing wrong with this place, it just isn't for me. It's hectic, the entire town is built around tourism and exploiting as much out of the Farangs as possible, before they fly back to their home countries. I don't blame the Thai people for their attitude towards us, especially here in Patong where Bangla Road is full of Thai women selling sex to men who are, in general, old enough to be their grandfathers.

I am not judging anyone here...the girls make their living and the men have a week or two fulfilling some sexual fantasy. It's all fake, and so long as each party understands it is simply a transaction and follows the rules, then good for them.

However, the entire experience of walking down the streets of Patong has put me off thinking in terms of finding a partner. As a Farang here in Thailand, it will be hard for me to know what it is any female I meet in the future truly sees in me. This isn't just in Thailand either, and if we are being completely honest here, any meeting and forming of a relationship, especially in our later years, very much depends on what it is we bring to the table and weighing up if this new person enhances or improves our situation in some way...be it sexually or financially, depending on if you are male or female.

Age comes into play as far as the spread goes. We hear about Rupert Murdock again marrying a twenty-something in his 90s, and that in itself is a transaction both parties must be happy with. Personally, I wouldn't date anyone much less than five or ten years younger than me. But the main problem with us men is we are still attracted to the same girls we were when we were twenty. A conundrum that the more I think about, the less attractive the idea of finding a partner becomes.

To me it's a bit like going to the fairgrounds, seeing the giant roller coaster and thinking it looks like fun. But once you are strapped in and that thing begins to rocket through the turns and loops, the fun often turns into a nightmare..and there is no stopping or getting off it until the ride is over.

My divorce was almost ten years ago, and yet, it is still very fresh in my mind. There's a saying...if it ain't broke, then don't fix it...and I am having a pretty good time right now. I seem to have gone from one extreme to another. Where in Australia, I was invisible to the opposite sex (although I must admit, I never did try any dating sites or make an effort to try and meet someone romantically). Whereas here in Thailand, it seems to be a national pastime to ask if I am single, and then tell me who in the establishment is single. I'm not sure which one I like better right now, to be perfectly honest...being invisible in Australia or here in Thailand feeling like a piece of meat with perceived cash hanging out of every pocket.

I need to forget about this whole meeting someone special, fantasy, and simply live life to the fullest.

The banking situation has been rectified. It's easy to confuse stupidity, ignorance and/or a lack of knowledge when looking at any problem from the outside in. My internet banking app on my laptop has a button that reads, International Transfers. I have a code generator app on my phone. Then once the transfer is made using the correct swift code and account numbers, and then the code generator number is entered into the system, the next day I receive an email from my bank with another code. Once I call them on the number supplied in the email, and then answer a few basic questions like my date of birth and mother's maiden name, I recite the code and whalla...the money shows up in the receiver account by day's end.

It may appear to be overkill, but I do get why they are super careful, after all, if it's a scam, it's their money that gets stolen and not mine.

So...two more nights in my hotel in Patong. Then at 6.00 am on Thursday, I'll take a taxi to Phuket International Airport for a 9.00 am flight to Bangkok...arriving around 10.30. Then another taxi ride to the BMW dealership to ensure the bike has all the accessories I ordered and is ready for delivery. I'm now thinking of an aftermarket exhaust pipe to get that sound I am after and add a few extra horses to the 132 HP it already has (with 105 foot-pounds of torque). I'll buy a set of leathers, a pair of boots and a helmet (not BMW original accessories though because they are ridiculously expensive) from another dealer, before getting in a taxi for the two-hour drive to Hua Hin.

Over the last week, I've been spending money like it's going out of fashion...which it is. Soon, at least in Australia, there's talk of making the country cashless. Where everyone will pay for goods and services by card only. They want to stamp out tax evasion, try and get a grip on money laundering and make it harder for dealers to hide drug profits. But no matter how they legislate, the criminals will always find a way to get around these things...Bitcoin will be one way the crime syndicates will ask for payments from customers.

I have most of the money from the sale of my house invested in a term deposit for nine months at 5% per annum... which returns a reasonable amount after tax. But with the world situation looking precarious right now and could get even worse over the next year or two, I'm thinking of getting a safety deposit box here in Thailand and buying gold bullion. Depending on how the price of gold is once the term deposit matures. I think gold is one of the safest commodities. It will always hold its value, as opposed to cash in a bank account that if things get really bad on the world scene, paper money could become almost worthless.