Made For Each Other...

Two of my closest friends... Quinny and Betsy... are about to tie the knot back home in Australia. And I couldn't be more proud of them both... this little blog is serving as a good luck message as unfortunately I can't be there for their special day.


Which is probably a good thing for both of them... as after spending many nights travelling with them in the Philippines... I know all their embarrassing stories from travelling in the holiday spirit. But wedding speeches are traditionally embarrassing for the bride and groom right?? So guys... if you thought I was gonna let either of you off lightly here... think again hehe ;-) In fact, I have a photo of Quinny snoring on the sofa at our Cebu Hotel foyer... don't worry mate I'll save you the torture ;-) And I'm sure Betsy would already be giggling at the very thought of THAT photo appearing on this BLOG hehe LOL ;-) But that's a testament to the amazing couple they are... they can laugh at each other like best mates do... but underneath that is a deep love and respect that I have personally witnessed over the last year. 

When Quinny first told me about Betsy... I was still in Sydney at the time, and had no idea what to expect when I met her a few days later. The moment I saw them together... 2 things became clear-

1) They had something unique and very special together.
2) Betsy was on the happy gas.

Well it didn't take long to discover Betsy's bubbly personality and infectious laugh was genuine & something that lights up a room. And never had I seen Quinny so happy... the more I got to know them as a couple, the more it became apparent that they were made for each other like Strawberry & Cream. Or in our case... Vodka &^ Red Bull. 

Anyway I wish you both the very best of luck for the wedding. I truly wish I was there to help you celebrate. You are both wonderful friends to me personally, wonderful people and I'm grateful you are both in my life. You are both lucky to have each other. So enjoy the big day guys... and look forward to spending the rest of your lives together. And you know what that means... well for you Betsy it means enduring another 875,000 individual snores. And for you Quinny... it means enduring another 875,000 individual photos. Gawd help ya mate LOL ;-)

In all seriousness... I love YA BOTH. And wish you nothing but all the happiness and love in the world :-)      

     

Happy Traveller Emails: YaYa (Part 1)

Isn't it funny how 1 or 2 insignifcant moments can literally... change your life. Ive always wondered where my life would be today if SHE wasn't working the day I walked past... or if I didn't happen to glance across the road... and if SHE didnt happen to look up. But SHE did. And I did. And it changed my life forever. Fate? Destiny?

I like to call it the way things are supposed to be...
Anyone who knows me... knows YaYa to one degree or another. But only my 2 absolute closests friends know the full story. Ive decided to BLOG it for may reasons... because it’s such a big part of why my life is where it is now... because I think its a story worth telling... and because somebody said to me the other day they're giving up on love.

Its uncut and unedited... apart from the photos Ive added and names + emails have been withheld to protect the guilty ;-)

Date: Wed 23 July 2008, 3:02pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: Welcome to Phuket
Hey ya'll...

Landed in Phuket last night from Chiang Mai... business class on Thai Airways WOOT!!! Makes a nice change from stewardesses screaming in my ear LOL.

This place is completely insane… my heads still spinning. Started off normal enough with a mini bus transfer from Phuket airport with 3 ladyboys, 2 gay Arabs and a surfer from Hawaii. Got to my hotel at 11pm and the city was crawling with freaks!! And the occasional person... so decided I'd check out the nightlife.

OMG there was everything from drunk Aussie guys walking around in nappies (WTF?) to Thai girls hugging 80 year old men. Plus it appears to be normal here to squeeze as many people onto a motorbike as possible... I saw one with 5!!!! They were sitting on each others shoulders hahaha. Oh and of course the highlight of the night had to have been getting grabbed on the nuts by an attractive Thai girl only to have *her* say in a deep voice... you want some lovin darlin! Faaark what is going on here!!!

So I went to bed confused lol... then this morning go outside again and get swarmed by street sellers trying to sell me a suit... then the Tuk-Tuk drivers constantly asking me if I need any drugs!! Freakin hell... must have said "no thanks mate" 20 times within the first 10 minutes of stepping out my hotel. Then... just after I thought everything was normal... I get bombed with cries of "hellooow massaaaaage" from across the street from all these beautiful Thai massage girls LOL!! Hmmm I must admit the massage girls got more attention than the Tuk-Tuk drivers hehehe. But there was this one particular massage girl who was dead set beautiful... she had long wavy hair and a smile that lit up from across the road. I might just 'accidently' be on her side of the street when I walk back to my hotel tonight LOL

Just booked some tours... going snorkelling 2moz... then Phi Phi Island in a few days. Tonight I was thinking about going to see the Muay Thai Kickboxing. Anyhow... I'm in this internet cafe trying to escape the chaos... gonna go get myself into trouble now hehe.
Chat soon...


Date: Thu 24 July 2008, 10:04pm
To: me@hotmail.com
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: Welcome to Phuket
Mate watch those ladyboys LOL. Are they an easy pick??? If anyone was gonna accidently take home a girl with hairy nuts it would be U... LOL it would be the greatest Rodd Story of all time LMAO

Im pissing myself laughing even thinking about it....

Date: Fri 25 July 2008, 11:55am
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: Welcome to Phuket
Mate their 6 foot height and fake boobs is a give away. But some are petite and slim, plus look really natural. I'm buggered if I know LOL...

Hey I met that massage girl I was talking about in my last email.. walking back from the beach. I totally forgot about her to be honest until I hear the 'hellooow massage' cries again LOL. And out of the 20 odd massage girls at her shop... guess who steps out with her arms spread out to stop me from walking past... yeah HER. Im thinking cool that’s gotta be a sign LOL so go for a massage.

We go inside, she says "ok get undressed and I back 2 minutes I go get changed". So WTF does that mean haha??! So I take everything off... but kept my Calvin Klein undies on right... cus honestly I have no idea if this is a normal massage like we get in Australia or some seedy sex massage. Anyway, so she returns now devoid of the traditional Thai dress she was wearing on the street... now she is wearing hot pink beach shorts. We're getting acquainted with some light chat... about family and blah blah. Then she takes my towel off... and sees that I'm still wearing my Calvin Klein undies lol... she playfully says "ooooh you shy man you not take everything off" LOL friggin hell!! I stutter out "just massage... back shoulders and legs thanks". Then she starts joking about me being gay... since I didn't take everything off LOL. Was quiet a funny experience. Actually ended up being one of the best massages I've ever had... not to hard but not too soft... probably a good description for a few things ;-)

And NO... no happy ending. But YES... that option was clearly made available to me. Shit I cant even remember her name... think she said it was Oy... or maybe Oy Ya... LOL who knows maybe I'll just call her Miss Massage hehe

Date: Sat 26 July 2008, 9:21pm
To: me@hotmail.com
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: Welcome to Phuket
Hey tried calling U yesterday... U didn't answer... probably still lovin all the attention from these exotic sounding Thai chicks... lucky bastard. When U comin back eh...

Faaaark me... sounds like my kind of massage LMAO. Might have to have a chat to *** tonight about moving me entire family over there LOL... no wait Id end up divorced in 3 days LMAO.

Date: Sun 27 July 2008, 11:04am
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: Welcome to Phuket
Last night I returned for another massage... its only like 200 baht ($8!) mate as if Im not gonna have one every day haha!! Her name is not Oy Ya... its YaYa.

She's keeps trying to get me for a happy handing... honestly mate I dont think too many guys say no to her. She's real flirty and playful... but she aint getting me... not like THAT anyway.

When we walked back downstairs all the other masseuses’ were looking at me giggling... LOL friggin hell nothing even happened... and YaYa was just kinda looking over at them with raised eyebrows and a surprised smirk as if to say nope I still didn't get him LMAO.

I gotta say... she has these amazing eyes... well she has amazing everything LOL... but her eyes... heeeey ya... you'd love em... the deep and soulful type.

Gawd I'm in love hehehehehe

Date: Mon 28 July 2008, 7:34pm
To: me@hotmail.com
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: Welcome to Phuket
You've got a thing for this girl don't U... as soon as U start crappin on eyes and stuff... thats when I know... so confess up already biatch!!! I want details!!!

Or have U been abducted by ladyboys again LMAO???

Date: Tue 29 July 2008, 7:02pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: Welcome to Phuket
Hey bud...

Yeah I do like her a bit... there is just something about this girl. But at the end of the day... I live in Sydney and she live here in Phuket... so love can never happen buddy. Anyway can you honestly imagine me ever having a Thai GF... hahaha yeah right!!!!

You're seriously not gonna believe what happened to me last night... I got invited by YaYa to a PRIVATE party at the massage place... it was one of the other girls birthdays at the shop. And there were 16... yep count them 16 beautiful Thai massage girls plus me haha! Gold! It was an awesome night too... chilling out with YaYa and her friends. So the night is starting to wind down... the mood is good so I take a gamble and ask YaYa if she wants to stay me for the night. At first she said she can't cus she needs to go home with her friends. So ok, fair enough.... ego slightly dented I say "thanks for a nice night" and start walking off. Didn't even reach the footpath before I hear "W-A-I-T" ... and turn around to see YaYa standing there with a smile... "how big is your bed" she jokes LOL hahaha!! So I'm like "its big enough for 2, you can kick your legs around as much as you want". She laughs and says "ok I need to tell my friend where I go so they not worry". Cool so she is giggling and talking to her friends in Thai... they're all looking at me... and gigglin some more LOL. Mate it was like an episode of Seinfeld hahaha. As we're leaving her friend whispers in my ear "look after her she a good girl ok". So YaYa takes my hand and we start walking home. And thats all I'm giving you CAVEMAN...

You'll have to use your imagination to fill in the blanks;-) WOOOT!!!

I'm gonna go back up to see her a little later... see how she's holding up after last night. If shes still talking to me that is... I had to kick us both out of bed at 8am because of that Phi Phi Island tour Id already booked... felt a bit bad couldn't even buy her breakfast hehe. Mate she's an awesome chick... you'd really like her yeah.

This place has really grown on me eh... I had a real interesting conversation with a Thai man today about working here... will tell you about it when I get back. Flying out tomorrow.

Stay safe mate


On the plane coming home... for some reason I couldn't stop thinking about this exotic Thai massage girl I had met. I didn't have her phone number... so when I got back to Sydney I got a photo developed of myself and YaYa together in Phuket... and made it in a nice timber frame... then paid my local Thai restaurant $20 to translate a note I'd written her into Thai for me. I put the note and the photo in a box and sent it off to YaYa's work. I didn't even know if she would ever receive it.

Then 3 months later... I got my hands on a 1 year Thai working VISA, quit my job at Flight Centre and headed back over to SE Asia... and Thailand again...

Received: Tue 21 October 2008, 10:21am
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: YaYa
Ok that SMS went to 4 people only: ***, ***, ***** and YOU!!! So stop crying love… bloody female drama queens ;-)

Hey I walked up to YaYa’s work last night... she wasn’t there. All the other girls remembered me though... it seems the photo and little note I sent was a big hit... they couldnt stop saying how sweet it was LOL!! HaHa I cant believe she actually got it!!! Although thought I overheard one of them saying YaYa was in Ko Samui with a boyfriend... hopefully I misheard.

Ive been a bit crook last coupla days... must have been those fried mosquitoes I ate (Im not joking). You’re prob killing yourself laughing thinking its the Vanuatu peanut situation all over again hehehe.

Anyhoo... gotta do a big groupie email now.
Sputz

Date: Wed 22 October 2008, 2:37pm
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: YaYa
Are you sure it's not Malaria again… peanuts can give you a bad case of that… but if you’ve been eating mosquitoes (WTF??) then you’d have it for sure lol.

If Miss YaYa does have a boyfriend, it's not like you've started this amazing relationship (yet) and at least no hearts will be broken... perhaps just a dented ego.

By the way what is it with you using my name ****?? Shit… reminds me of when I was in trouble as a kid... my mum would say **** with tone. Grrrrr

Hurry up and get married so I can book my trip to Thailand...
Jxxx

Received: Thu 23 October 2008, 6:55pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: YaYa
Im ok now… must have only been a mild case of Malaria. Maybe she does have a boyfriend now... I really dunno. Can’t seem to get a straight answer out of anyone re her whereabouts. But just quietly it will be a bit more than a dented ego if it turns out she does. What is it about this girl... FRIG why am I so nervous to see her again???

I think she may be back here now. If she’s not then the weddings off GOD DAMMIT ;-)

You know what… Im gonna have a shower and wander up there now.
ME

Date: Fri 24 October 2008, 9:32am
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: YaYa
Hey have you seen your Thai princess yet?? Does she have the BF in tow or not??

Just got some of your photo's... how did you get such good photos of the KL tower at night... the lights kept reflecting off mine.

So when do you start working you beach bum... and what is this about Vietnam... I'll kill you if you get there before me...
Jxxx
PS: My Mum was "tickled pink" to get a postcard from you:
“Lots of love to you"… quoted from herself.

Date: Tue 28 October 2008, 7:02pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: YaYa
Goodays me lovely.

Guess what… FINALLY saw YaYa last night. I was walking up towards her work and from a distance could see this tallish girl with long wavy hair standing out the front... I knew it was her straight away. And she's every bit as stunning as I remember her to be hehe ;-)

She was COMPLETELY shocked to see me too… you should've seen the look on her face... she loved the photo and note... even showed it too me... she kept it all this time in her locker at work!! Anyhoo... heres her scoop... its kinda complicated. Apparently this rich dude from Europe appeared on the scene after I left in July… he took her to Ko Samui last week (hence why she was never at work) but YaYa says he's not a BF. In her words:

"a little bit more than a customer"
LOL ... LOL ... LOL ... LOL
haven't heard that one before.
as clear as mud right :-s

Basically dunno what the fucks going on LOL…
Mr Me

Date: Wed 29 October 2008, 9:05am
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: YaYa
haha hahahaha. Only a Thai girl could say that.

You're having way too much fun, why don't you get a real life that involves going to work each day and doing the same boring monotonous office crap. You might enjoy it... not. I think after what you put up with at Flight Centre... you earnt you this little working vacation

Just got your other groupie email... I had to laugh at the part where you got fined for not having a helmut but they let you continue riding home drunk????

Since when have you been able to ride a Moped anyway Mr Smith??
Jxxx

Sent: Fri 31 October 2008, 8:33pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: YaYa
Hey Hey :-) I bloody CANT ride a moped... hence why I was only doing 20km/h... its only a short trip from the Open Bar to where all our rooms are. And i was the LEAST drunk out of me Gai and Kung so i rode us all back hehe 

Having quiet a cruisy time with Miss YaYa... I must say. Still have no idea what the hell is going on LOL. She hasn't given up on trying to get me to pay for a happy ending LOL… I think she knows I'm not that type of guy. But she keeps trying to make me weak with these seductive massages. I haven't given in yet but it’s become a running joke between us now. We've been having some funny as discussions on love and life so I'm happy with that :-)

Last night she asks me "would you come home with me for 1 million baht?" Laughing I say "are you crazy Im happy to come home with you for free not even want tip LOL". She says "I know this already but what if I offer you 1 million baht?" A tad perplexed I say "sure of course I'll come". With a cheeky grin she says "hmmm you take money for your body too... maybe you and me same". Hmmm interesting angle LOL. So I ask her if she's seen the movie Indecent Proposal... she starts giggling and says "yes i seen it. And Im like "you not same Demi Moore YaYa and I not have 1 million baht same Richard Gere lol.  And in her typical humor she replies "if you have 1 million baht I marry with you tomorrow" hahaha bloody smart-ass.

Nothing really has happened so far... we've had the odd kiss and are flirting with each other... but thats about it so far. Its fun though... she's good company and we always have a good time so I'm happy.

You wanna hear something funny… considering her line of work... and I'm pretty sure you can read between the lines here and understand this girl is making extra money in ways MORE than just massage... but she apparently has only ever kissed 3 guys in her life!! And she says that I'm one of them.... when she stayed in my room last trip to Thailand. Dunno if I 100% believe that yet but she’s got no reason to lie about it. Who knows…

Received: Sat 1 November 2008, 11:30pm
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: YaYa
Ive had some wine and are a little incoherent tonight. I was going to say something about cross cultural conversations but I think I may have another wine with ***** instead lol lol lol. Sounds like you guys are having a fun time.

Dont forget to wrap it up


Sent: Mon 10 November 2008, 7:16pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: YaYa
Hey sorry I havent written in so long...

I need some girly advice from a wise old soul... and you’re it!

Have been seeing YaYa heaps more almost every night at her work for a massage... which normally involves us just sitting around chatting. I've told her I have no money and strangely enough for a Thai girl... she still wants to see me. Ive also told her Im not interested in anything serious if she had someone else on the side. But the problem is she will ALWAYS have someone else on the side... its how she makes money and survives.
Coupla nights ago we're chatting away and I ask what she says if a customer offered her money for sex. She kinda half looked down with this embarrassing smile and said "I ALMOST always say no". I say "what do you mean ALMOST always". She replies "many farang customers ask me this but only 1 time have I gone". I ask what was so special with this 1 customer. She says "he was gentleman and offer so much money I cannot say no". So I surmise "people can buy your heart?" To which she says "nobody can buy my heart". The conversation went on and she basically said that she switches off her heart whenever she is with a customer in the massage room. Eventually I asked her if her heart was switched off when she was with me… to which she replied "I never meet farang like you before… you different... you so easy I can talk to you about anything" which was super nice to hear. I told her I felt the same way and we made a pact that no matter what happened we’d always be honest with each other. Anyway we had a bit of a laugh and the odd kiss then I left.

Back for a massage the next night (just for something different LOL) and we're having our usual banter... we get talking about relationships n stuff. YaYa says something along the lines of "now you know truth about my work I think you scared of ever getting more involved with me". I say "I dont wanna end up falling for a girl I could never have". She says "why you think you can never have me?" I say "it would make me crazy if my GF did specials for other men". She says "many thai lady who work massage same me have farang BF". So I ask her if she thinks that’s what true love is... she says "nooo true love different true love always lives inside heart" and ponders "if I ever love somebody true how can I do my work?" So then I drop the million dollar question "would you give up happy massage for somebody you loved" and she says "if I give up massage how do I survive… massage all I know how to do". Oooh grrr makes me crazy!! At the end of the day she is still putting her hands on another man. All the other sex tourists here that have Thai GF's seem to have this crazy agreement with their girls that its ok for them to give happy endings as long as there is no sex. Maybe I'm going crazy... but I just cant roll with that. How the fuck do I have a GF and let her do that???

Gawd it’s starting to do my fkn head in. She said I can stay with her anytime I want... clearly free of charge... but as yet I havent. I mean all bullshit aside... she's never lied to me about anything. And honestly… life here aint easy. She doesn't even get a salary at her work... she works for tips only. She could stand in hot sun all day trying to get farangs inside for a massage... but if no customers come in she gets nuthin!! Normally a massage at her work costs 300 baht... of that YaYa gets 100 (about $2 aus!!!) plus gets to keep the tip. Every time Im there... she always slips the 100 baht she earnt back into my pocket as Im walking out. Maybe doesnt sound like a big deal... but that’s everything she earnt. Plus she refuses to take any tips from me... and tells me if I want oil (normally extra) to buy it at 7eleven and sneak it up. Clearly, she doesnt want me for my money... anyway she thinks im nearly broke. So heres where I need some advice... I cant handle the thought of what she does... it would send me nuts. But maybe I could find her a good paying job doing something else... I dunno. YaYa is a good girl with a good heart... that much I dont doubt... she's just stuck in a country where she's gotta sell her soul to survive. And Im starting to like a girl that I'd have to sell my soul to be with her...

Should I walk away now with my heart intact??
OR
Give this a chance and see where it ends up??

CONFUSED SPUTZ

Received: Tue 11 November 2008, 11:52am
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: YaYa
Holy fuck Sputters... I've just had to read your message twice...

By the sounds of things YaYa is just doing her job to survive, but I can completely understand where you are coming from, I wouldn't want my partner or the person whom I was in love with doing sexual favours with anyone else but me, even if it were for money.

Look, I think bottom line is, if she is willing to get out of the business and try and find some other source of work, or agrees to find something else, then perhaps you may be able to salvage something of this. Have you actually asked her "DOES SHE ENJOY HER JOB"? I know so many girls in her position think that is their only option, and they don't know any better, so they just continue to do what they are familiar with no matter what the cost is... When they are desperate to earn a few quid, they will do anything... so I think it was a good move on your behalf to lay it straight on the table and tell her you have no money. Because either: A) If she was after you and your money only- she will continue as normal, see other guys and you will be left alone to watch the sunset- basically she won't want anything to do with you and hope you will disappear into the sunset, because you have nothing to offer her.

B) If you have told her there is no money, and she still wants to spend time with you, hang out, get to know you better, and see's her job as a means to an end.... Then I think she sounds intelligent enough to know there are many other money making options.

Look I know jobs don't come easily in Thailand, but perhaps part of your adventure there, is to help lead her away from the path of prostitution (bottom line, that's what it is, she's just not standing on the street.) sorry, I don't want that to come across harsh but by definition prostitution is someone that in exchange for money will perform a sexual act....

Remember the movie Pretty Women with Julia Roberts & Richard Geere. The story line of a prostitute who is hired by Richard Geere's character, only he doesn’t sleep with her, he just hires her to attend functions and for his company & because she is absolutely drop dead gorgeous... it was all about the look... anyhow blah blah blah... the storyline goes on and she realises that for the 10 past years of her life she is doing this job, because that is all she knows, she hasn't been educated or had any other skill that she feels she can offer... BUT... through meeting Richard Geere, she starts to realize that the world is a much bigger place and she is a part of it... That her options were endless... It only took Richard Geere to make her realise this... she wanted to move on and start living life and experiencing love...

Maybe your YaYa's Richard Geere....

Oh god this is such a tricky one... but from a females perspective... If she does really have feelings for you, and wants to be with you, she will give up her business and try and find something else and if she doesn't, you really have to ask yourself, are you going to sleep well at night by knowing your gal is sharing intimacy with someone other than you...

Because my friend as far as I know... you are a one-on-one man....

I don't want to judge the girl… but in the end only you will know what is right. Remember that great 7th sense we all have, however not all of us use... intuition... well you’ve got it and you use it well.

So my friend... I'm not sure if I've helped you at all with this one, and if you want to respond to me by calling me a bitch for using the word prostitution...go ahead...I wont be offended... I just hope I haven't offended you. The only message that keeps popping up in my head whilst I've been writing this whole email is: "You will know the answer"

Stay strong & DO NOT weaken EVEN if you think you are having a pussy whipped moment...

and you have reason not to be...
Ciao for now Bello
Jxxx

Received: Thu 13 November 2008, 8:30pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: YaYa
GUESS WHAT... Ive found vegemite... in Phuket!!!!

And haven’t I been having some fun with it... been playing pranks on all my Thai friends hehe. I spread some on Kung's rice last night... told her it was a special Aussie butter that we use on everything... LOL LOL LOL... you should have seen the look on her face when she saw this black shit all over her rice hahahaha. When she gingerly took a mouthful... OMG I swear to god I almost pooped my pants laughing... haha... she looked like she was about to give birth LOL LOL... payback for all the fire breathing chilli they make me eat hehehe LOVE IT :-P

Re your last email… WOW… there’s good reason why I confide in you. Absolutely loved the Pretty Women analogy LOL… that’s basically the situation I'm in... well less Richard Gere's charisma anyway. Seriously thanks heaps that... I was starting to come up with crazy ideas in my head that would justify me being with her in her current situation.

Yup, Ive asked her if she enjoys her job... she says she likes the massaging but not the extras. I also asked her why she just doesn't become a bar girl... she'd make a fortune. She says because the bar girls have to go home with any man that pays their bar fine... they have no choice. She says by being 'only' a masseuse, she has the freedom to choose if she takes a client home or not. She says freedom is the last thing she has left... and she'll never give that up no matter what the cost... which I do rate. Look I know she’s basically a pr.. pros.. prosti.. nup I just cant say it hehehe. But at least she hasn't completely sold out on herself and just gone and worked in a bar.

You dont have to apologise for calling it as you see it... it’s why I came to you for advice. I hated reading it... but I do appreciate the cander... I probably needed to hear it anyway.

Last night YaYa asked me if Ive been with any other Thai girls… I say to her "yeah have been with 1" and she says "aaay why you not tell me… was it bar girl??" Im like "nooo are you crazy it was massage girl LOL" her eyes almost popping out of her head she exclaims "WHAAAT!!" Ultra casually I say "yeah was about 6 months ago" now grinning she says "what her name?" to which I happily respond "her name YaYa" hehe hehe :-p

We've been spending most of our time together at her work... sometimes we wander up the street to grab a bite to eat... but even then its only for an hour or so. Ive been thinking I might ask her out somewhere soon. Even if its just to get her out of work for a few hours so we can spend some quality time together....

Anyhoo after reading your email... maybe this will somehow work itself out and have a happy ending... pardon the pun LOL. Im just going with the flow at the moment.

Might cost me my heart in the end...

But won’t be the first time its been broken.
Love ya darlin
Richard xx

Date: Fri 14 November 2008, 10:42am
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: YaYa
I just got the giggles reading your last email...you signing it Richard hehehe. Then you had me in tears with the vegemite pranks lol lol lol… I can so picture you doing that too!!

But seriously as soon as I read your story... Pretty Women was the first thing that popped into my head. Probably a little bit of a rant on my behalf as it was a message written from work.

Keep me updated on your "Pretty Women" scenario... in fact from now on YaYa is going to be called "Viv" Vivienne was Julia Roberts character... lol lol... oh that's me laughing to myself... I guess you will now be known as Dick... get it..."Richard" Geere??? lol lol lol lol... yes not much changes, I still crack myself up.
Jxxx

Received: Sat 15 November 2008, 10:37pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: YaYa
Well I managed to drag YaYa away from work last night... I just walked straight in and told her BOSS (we get along like a house on fire) that YaYa had a hot date with a very good looking man... LOL... and that she'd be gone for a few hours. BOSS just laughed and said "ok Joy only because you my number 1 customer LOL". All the other girls started whistling as we walked out hehehe was funny as :-) We had a really cruisy night too... just wandered around Bangla Road laughing at everybody... had some dinner and basically chatted all night. Was kinda nice too... walking around with her hand in hand... its the first time we've done that sort of stuff since Ive been back. So I guess Im pretty happy at the moment... Im way past the point of being a customer... even all the other massage girls at YaYa's work see me as a friend now. Which is cool because they trust me with all their little secrets LOL. Mate some of the conversations YaYa and Ive had about the funny stuff that happens during special massages have been hilarious... LOL

Stay safe yeah...
Love Dick
Ohhh that just sounds all wrong.


Date: Sun 16 November 2008, 10:09am
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: YaYa
Hey I tried to call you last night... where were you?? No doubt you're ignoring me now that you're having too much... hmm never mind. Typical man ;-)

Wow by the sounds of things... maybe you and YaYa will be married soon and have beautiful blue eyed tanned skinned babies... and I can finally book my trip to Thailand for the wedding... and ahhh never mind Im just trying to amuse myself again lol lol

The weather here at the moment is shit....we went from nice warm days... you know the ones that lead you into the false sense of security that summer is here and then BAM... the last 4 days haven't gotten over 16 degrees...

Wishing I was there............
Jxxx

Date: Sunday 23 November 2008, 7:01pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: YaYa
How the hell are ya sunshine???

Okies... heres the latest on the great YaYa love story... The other night I was out with a few friends and guess who walks past holding hands with another man (ie customer) yeah you guessed it... YaYa. As she walked past we exchanged glances... she was shocked to see me and I could tell by the look in her eyes that she didn't think she'd ever see me again... and after seeing her holding hands with a customer (or whoever he was) I had every intention of NEVER going back.

I mean I knew that was what she did... but when I actually saw her with someone else (esp the holding hands part) it just pissed me off. Plus she always said to me she's only ever taken 1 customer home. Now co-incidentally this is number 2... and while Im here!!! What I'm supposed to just believe that??!! Oooh GRRRR... fkn Thai girls!!

Anyway on Friday... it was YaYa's day off... so I went to her work to hear all the gossip from her friends..All they are all telling me how much YaYa is missing me... and that we need to sit down and talk blah blah. Yeah whatever!! So I'm downstairs with halfway through a foot massage with one of he other girls... and guess who walks into the shop on her day off? Yeah YaYa!! One of the girls must have called her and told her I was there. Straight away the girl who is giving me the foot massage says "oh sorry I have to go have another customer" and walks away... just in time for YaYa to sit down and takes over the massage. Talk about a set up LOL. So I ask her why she comes to work on her day off... and she just does her cute little giggle and says "I dont know just walk past my work very innocent and see you here, ooh I can never believe how lucky I am today." LOL bullshit haha!!!! So we start chatting about the other night... I told her it drove me crazy to see her with another man. She says "its my job if I have customer sometimes I need to make them feel happy but customer never in my heart". I say "well you looked pretty comfortable with him". She says "I've learnt to fake happiness on the outside"  so I ask the obvious question "how do I know you’re not faking it with me?" She says "you different I tell you this many times" and then adds "you would never believe what I think of you in my heart".

Look... I dunno... maybe she does genuinely like me... and she is only acting with customers to keep them happy... maybe I need to re-read your Pretty Woman analogy again. I can probably semi handle her doing the odd happy ending massage WITHIN THE CONFINES of her work FOR THE TIME BEING... only because we're not BF/GF.

The part I was struggling with was why was she HOLDING HANDS OUTSIDE of work with a customer (that she's always maintained mean nothing to her emotionally) and ALSO now how can I believe she has only taken home 1 customer??!! I try to explain express all this to her... in simple english... eventually she says "I never lie to you... only 1 customer have I taken home and ever been outside work with". Then BANG... the truth hit me!! I say "the man i see you holding hands with was Mr "A Little Bit More Than A Customer". that she was in Ko Samui with when I first got back to Phuket..She simply nods and puts her head down.

Fuck.

You reckon I didn't feel sick to the stomach. So this guy 'a little bit more than a customer' is STILL HERE in Thailand!! It’s a hard feeling for me to explain to you. On one hand it’s what she does... I knew that from the get-go but on the other hand I guess I kinda secretly hoped she’d just magically stop. Maybe this was my reality check. I just dont know...

Apparently she's only ever loved one man before... a long time before she even came to Phuket when she was a young girl. He was a Thai man... her childhood sweetheart and the father of her daughter (yah she has a daughter). Anyway she fell pregnant to him at 16 years old the third she ever had sex. She says "my village very poor nobody tell me about condonGs" (condonGs... hehe). Anyway the story goes she gave him all her heart but apparently he broke it time and time again... and now she wont let herself love a man like that again... I quote "true love too much pain because if finish leave heart empty". Hmmm she has mentioned this a few times... that she wont let herself fall in love with a man...

Guess its time to lay it on the line to her... dont even know what Im gonna say. But Ive got this fantastic hammock that sleeps 2 and know a really nice quiet spot on the beach here. Maybe after she gets off work one night... I'll surprise her and take her down to the beach... always a good spot for a chat...

good spot for many things actually ;)
Stay safe yeah...
ME

Date: Monday 24 November, 2008, 11:43am
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: YaYa
Hey Stranger :-)

I think you've got you're head in the right spot here. You can take solace that at least she wasn't outside of work with any old customer off the street. This relationship... or whatever it is right now... clearly can't survive forever like this.

So I think it’s definitely a good idea to lay it on the line. No girl likes an ultimatum, but at the end of the day, I think that’s what you need to give her here.
Not much to tell over here... the weather is still grey and gloomy. So for right now, I don't want to hear about hammocks on the beach, hot muggy days, beers at bars or anything that is going to remind me I'm stuck in this shit hole of a place.

Keep me posted on this ok...
Jxxx

Date: Mon 1 December 2008, 9:22pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: YaYa
I think you need a break from the day to day grind... may I suggest Phuket ;-) I know by the time Ive finished this sentence... you've probably already come up with 10 perfectly rational reasons as too why you shouldn’t come over. That’s ok... I guess hammocks, 30deg days and dark skin just aren't for everybody ;-) Speaking of hammocks and dark skin.... heres the lowdown on YaYa...

MR ' little bit more than a customer' has gone back to Europe now... so its just been the two of us lately... and we've been spending heaps more time together. A few nights ago I picked YaYa up after work... didn’t tell her I was coming so it was a total surprise. Took her down to the beach with my trusty hammock and a bottle of wine that I'd hidden in my daypack... set up camp right on the sand... even had the local ice creamery hand deliver us 2 of their super banana and coconut splits right to our hammock hehe fkn gold... she loved it!!! We had such a good time too... it was a perfect night... no clouds, we just laid around chatting and having fun. After we polished the wine off, she started opening up at bit more... and yes I did manage to tell her I just cant keep going on like this... seeing her when she is doing happy massages. She totally understood... so we just left it at that and enjoyed the rest of the night. Although I did manage to roll us both off the hammock and onto the sand once LOL funny as.

So that was it... you know I just left the ball in her court, so to speak. I dunno what else I could have done... I mean hammock, moon-lite night and ice creams... mate gotta give myself kudos for that hehe.

God this has the makings of a fkn book.

Stay safe yeah xx
PS… HAPPY BIRTHDAY for tomorrow…
thought Id forgotten didnt ya :-D

Date: Wed 3 December 2008, 4:47pm
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: YaYa
Hahaha yes I'd already hung you... thought you would forget for sure. Thanks for the happy b'day voice message you left…

And then my perfect timing calling you back in the middle of a Yaya yippy I aye massage session lol lol. I still can’t believe I actually got to talk to her… and that we share the same birthday hahaha. Did you buy her a gift?? Oh my... This is really turning into quiet a story...

Maybe you can sell it to a romance author you never know it could be a best seller. Of course they'd have to change the names to protect the innocent... or in your case the guilty lol lol. Maybe you could be Sputnik the Great and YaYa could be Yippy Yippy YoYo... lol lol yes Im bored again...

Oh by the way... I seen **** at the Town Centre the other day. Did he tell you?? It was so funny... we were talking about your little adventures and he was complaining that his wife is threatening him with no more sex until he starts being more romantic hahaha... he reckons its all your fault with your stories of hammocks and ice cream sundaes LOL. He said if you don't shut-up he's gonna have to disconnect his home computer so he can finally get some loving from his wife again lol lol hahahaha! I couldn't stop laughing at him.

Gimme another update soon easy traveller...

Date: Mon 8 December 2008, 4:15pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: YaYa
Hahaha that explains the text I got from him the other day hehehehe that's funny!!

Yeah I did get her a gift... a bottle of perfume. She loved it. She says "oooh you know how to shop for lady eh" LOL LOL

Last night YaYa and I were having dinner at this nice little outdoor restuarant on the beach... they had this Thai girl singing... had a fkn amazing voice too. Anyway she sang that 'Bleeding Veins' (or whateva its called) by Leona Lewis. After it finished YaYa says to me "I want you listen to words in that song please listen close because it how you make me feel". I havent had a chance to google the lyrics yet... but got a basic jist of the song last night.

Gawd **** Im really starting to like her... this wasn't supposed to happen. All I know is Im getting that giddy feeling in my stomach whenever she's around.

Then this morning I get a message on my Thai phone saying YaYa has just bought a 1 way Air Asia ticket back to her home village on the 22nd December... and that she wants to see me before I fly back home!!! Dunno whats going on until i see her again... maybe she is quitting massage… maybe she wants me to come back with her... guess I'll find out soon enough....


Date: Tue 9 December 2008, 2:42pm
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: YaYa
So the plot thickens... AGAIN... lol lol

Its "actually called 'Bleeding Love' SPUTNIK... just googled the lyrics myself. WOW. You seriously need to read them... they tie in perfectly with everything she's always maintained about not wanting to let herself love again etc etc. That’s pretty powerful dude... esp coming from someone in her situation.

By the sounds of things you're coming home soon... will you bring her back... is that your plan?? Will we finally get to meet her... or have you been doing too much partying over there and run out of money??? Gawd... you've been gone what... almost 3 months now... feels more like 6.

Let me know if I need to start practising my sawadee kaaaa ;-)

Date: Sun 15 December 2008, 7:47pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: YaYa
This will be my last email. Im in the transit lounge at BKK airport.

YaYa wanted me to come back to her village with her on the 22nd and spend Christmas with her family… which I’d love to but honestly Im almost out of money… I’ve got no choice... have to come home.

Yesterday I sent ******from Flight Centre an email asking if she needs any good travel consultants… she said she’d fit me in somewhere. Hopefully only for a few months so I can re-save and come back over here for good.

As for me and YaYa… FUCK FUCK FUCK is all I can say. I can’t bring her back... its still too complicated. But she's given me her number and I promised her Id call when I get back to Australia.

We said our goodbyes at her work… in the massage room. We hardly spoke a word the whole time. At the end Im fumbling around like a fucktard trying find the right words… trying to say how much I’ll miss her… and she just threw her arms around me and wouldn’t let me go. She said something… don’t ask me what it was… I honestly couldn’t tell you.

All I remember is feeling her tears on my neck…
and thinking fuck I just don’t wanna let you go…
ME


When I got back to Sydney I somehow managed to lose YaYa's number. It was written on a bit of paper that YaYa had given me and Id put in the back pocket of my jeans. They inadvertantly went through the wash when I got home and rendered the number unreadable. But I still had her works business card so I sent her BOSS an SMS asking if she could ask YaYa to re-send her number. This is the reply I got:"Hi Joy how is Sydney? So sorry YaYa not work here now. she go home already i dont know if she will come back. how are you we all miss you. very hot here. love BOSS"


So that was it... there was no just way I could contact her... she didnt have my Australian number... and I didn't know where her home village was. I thought we'd lost each other forever. There was no way to find her or see her again.

Happy Traveller Emails: YaYa (Part 2)

I had almost given up on hearing from YaYa again, but still wanted to return to Thailand and make an honest go of living there. So I returned to Flight Centre... saved my ass off and 5 months later had booked another flight back to Phuket via Bali and Singapore. Then a funny thing happened... just TWO days before my flight was due to depart Sydney... my phone rings. The number was coming up with a Thai prefix. I held my breath... and answered... and this cute little Thai voice on the other end says "Hellooooo do you remember me?" It was Yaya. I almost spit the pizza I was eating clear out my nostrils.

Just by chance YaYa had called her work and her BOSS had told her about the SMS I sent and passed on my AUS number. As it turned out YaYa never returned to work at Happy Massage and stayed in her village with her daughter. I told her I was flying out to Thailand in 2 days and she invited me up to her village...

Received: Mon 4 May 2009, 4:21pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: My whereabouts next few days
Hey Hey lil missy...
Having a ball over here... gawd I love Singapore... we missed out on the best part of it... Clarke Quay... just down from Orchard Road. Its right on the riverfront and is set behind the backdrop of the city skyline (similar to the view from Darling Harbour of SYD's skyline) And its fkn awesome... so many chic bars n restaurants... its designed around renovated warehouses that are decked out in these cool pastel colours. And the whole place is covered with giant iridescent alloy sails that softly change colour at night... I think they are designed to keep the humidity out... it's awesome!!!

Bali was fun.... met up with my friends from KL **** and *** and we all went into Kuta City for the night... we got completely drunk... including our taxi driver (LOL bloody hell!!). My God. *** was so drunk... I had to carry her back to the taxi hehehe... almost had to carry our bloody taxi driver too LOL!! Apart from that Bali is basically shit.. the best part was leaving the place...

Highlight so far was meeting **** in Singapore... she sooo wasn't a letdown and was exactly the same girl I've got to know online. Turns out she's ex Jetstar cabin crew... loves flying, travelling, adores dogs... even laughs at my cheesy jokes hehe... and speaks bad German like me too!! Not too mention very easy on the eye. We went out for dinner at this trendy little Chinese restaurant then up to a cocktail lounge at one of the big hotels here... kicked back on their sofas 45 stories up drinking $20 cocktails until midnight. Had a real nice time with her... she is refreshingly uncomplicated (makes a nice change LOL) and you know what... she's a real classy girl too. Nothing happened... but I kinda left the ball in her court as to if we'd see each other again. As yet haven't heard back... maybe I scared her off LOL. We'll see what happens. I'm single and free.

Which brings me to good ol Phuket. Yep here I am... back again! I've met up with Kung and  Gai again... it was so good to finally see them all again. Plus Nick turned up a few nights ago also... we've been busy checking out ideas for the business... looks like we might put the bar idea to bed for a little bit... anyways that is down the track and I definitely don't wanna rush into anything. So for the time being... I'll probably start looking for some teaching work after I get back from Borneo in a few weeks.

Have my room sorted out... it’s just down the road from my old room... a block from the beach. I'm pretty happy with it... has a wardrobe so I can finally unpack and stop living out of my backpack WOOOOT. Probably the only downside is its close to a Muslim Mosque... so every morning at 5am they blast out this Muslim prayer song through the loudspeakers... fuck me it is LOUD!!! It honestly sounds like someone is screaming Arab in my ear LOL... the first time I heard it I damn near shit my pants... thought Osama Bin Laden had broken into my room with half the fucking Taliban terrorists lol..

Ok... so... here it is... YaYa!! God here we fucking go again LOL. Put on your seat belts back home... LOL more turbulence ahead... sheeeez (shudders). I must say its a bit weird walking past her old work at happy massage and not seeing YaYa's cheeky smile. I've already said hello to the other girls there... all they want to know is whats happening LOL. Anyhoo YaYa and I have been chatting on the phone every night... I'm gonna fly up to her village tomorrow. It's called Nong Khai... its in far NE Thailand somewhere in the mountains on the Thai/Laos border overlooking the Mekong River. Cant tell you much more than that except its about as genuine Thai village as anybody will ever experience. Not sure what to expect when I get up there... except maybe a massage hahaha. But from what YaYa has said so far.... there are still a few twists left in this little love story yet.

Anyhoo how was Anzac day... did you manage to get in a few games of 2 up?? Hope yr well darlin... actually no I hope you're reading this and pop a haemorrhoid out of jealousy and come on ova. I know you want to... can sense you feeling the urge :-)

give in to it :-)
Love ya
The Happy Traveller

Date: Mon 4 May 2009, 11:17pm
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: My whereabouts next few days
Hey My happy traveller, how the hell are you???

Anzac Day was ok. Nothing compared to what you're doing you lucky bastard... god wish I had some guy chasing me all around the globe.

You mean to tell me we spent 5 days in Singapore and we missed out on the best part?? Ive never heard of Clarke Quay and dont remember seeing it in any FC brochures. Are you sure you weren't dreaming Sputters?

I'm actually quite surprised at the lack of contact this trip, usually I am thirsting for your quirky travel stories, the ones where you take me on your adventure, and I feel like I was there with you, with your ability to write so descriptively and capture the essence of the culture. I'm just getting the feeling this trip is somewhat quite different from the past ones... but good for you... do what, and go where the moment takes you.

It will be an amazing experience for you up in her village... just be careful up there ok. And no eating any Thai dog lol. I look forward to hearing from you when you back in the thriving metropolis soon, I expect a full update with all the juicy... well maybe not too juicy details. When you’re back to civilisation I want a detailed answer as to what is going on!!! Well whatever is happening, enjoy and savour the moment.
Stay safe my friend
Jxxx

Received: Wed 6 May 2009, 11:58pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE My whereabouts next few days
Sorry haven't written much... you know what its like when you're having too much... uhhm... sticky rice maybe ;-) hehe

Well Im here!!!!... after flying into Udon Thani airport then catching a taxi 1 hour towards the Laos border… I finally arrived in Nong Khai. YaYa had said she’d meet me at the bus stop… couldn’t see her at first… then I hear this "heeellloooow honey" LOL. She was dressed in this bright blue traditional Thai dress and had a couple of her village friends with her. God it was so weird not seeing her in her regular Patong massage attire. We hit it off straight away again... everything still feels a bit surreal. The first night was uber weird… we're getting ready for bed yeah... both standing side by side cleaning our teeth in front of the mirror... toothbrushes in hand… froth hanging down to our chins… and I just started giggling. Couldnt help it... just felt so strange. YaYa just looks at me and says "when did we get married" LOL glad to see she’s still got that quirky sense of humour. So of course I flicked my toothbrush froth in her face and that started a toothpaste-froth-fight LOL… never had one of them before hehe.

The village itself... WOW... its amazing up here… and poorer than you can possibly imagine. YaYa lives with her 16 year old daughter Ying and her 38 year old sister plus her husband in this half finished house. And when I say half finished... I mean it has no front door... ceiling lining or floor coverings. But on the upside it has a bucket for a sink and a TV that gives you an electric shock if you touch it LOL LOL. Basically its a concrete tent hehe. But i love it... its uber cosy and YaYa is so proud of it... its the only thing she has ever owned :-) The highlight so far was the rocket show we went to yesterday... FRIGGIN HELL its insane... all the men from the different clans of the village make these HUGE rockets... it takes 4 men to carry them up to the launch pad. The whole village gets together... its a big festival. The idea is you bet on which rocket will go the highest... you put 100 baht down and if your rocket wins you get 200 baht back. Some fly up over the clouds while others explode on the launch-pad sending everyone running for cover hehe. There is n gambling in Thailand... so these village folk invent their own form of entertainment hehe… love it

Anyhoo we're going back to bed. Gotta get myself some sticky rice.
Stay safe ME


Date: Thu 7 May 2009, 9:17am
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: My whereabouts next few days
It seems like you and Yaya Yippy have picked up where you left off the last time you were in the land of Thai.

Enjoying reading your emails to see all of the fun you’re having... rocket shows, toothpaste froth fights and houses with no front door... lol its never dull with you my friend!!

You see Im at work and no one to email or talk to, its fricken cold and windy... so I may as well experience someone else's joy... Give me a story or something to visualise... but not sticky rice visualise... thats too much visualisation for a sweet and innocent girl such as myself

Say hello to your wife for me lol lol
Jxxx

Received: Sat 9 May 2009, 11:04am
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE My whereabouts next few days
Hehe... dont worry YaYa has already heard all about you!!!

Having a hoot up here with my little Thai princess...YaYa’s neighbours have a wireless laptop (but no front door either hehe) and they let me use it whenever I want… so should be able to write you more now. Anyhoo most days we jump on her Moped and go riding through the countryside up here... half the time we end up lost because YaYa... just like you... is a typical female navigator ;-) And nights normally consist of sitting out under the stars on her back porch drinking vodka under candle-light LOL the ultimate romantic. It might sound lame but it really is beautiful up here at night... no lights... no traffic... no nothing... just the soft glow of the fire-flies and our endless chatting :-p

Had a funny experience yesterday... we all went out to organise dinner. YaYa and her sister jumped on the moped and went to the jungle to search for fresh mushrooms (welcome to village life LOL) while me and the sisters husband went fishing for the main course. So me and him and trudging through the rice fields at the back of YaYa's house. He don't speak English and I don't speak Thai so we are just kinda smiling and grunting to each other (he dont even fart in English remember lol). He is carrying this bucket. Yeah... thats what I was thinking... WTF how we gonna catch a fish with a bucket LOL??? We reach the river and he starts wading out into the middle... constantly peering into the water. I wanna look cool in front of him (as you do LOL) so I follow what he does... also peering into the water (clearly I had absolutely no fkn idea what I was supposed to be peering at hahaha). Then all of a sudden he thrusts his hands into the water and comes up with a bloody fish!!! A massive fkn catfish... it was huge!! WTF I couldnt believe it!!! So then of course I want to prove I am a real man and can be a good village fisherman too lol! So over-confident ME wants have a go... husband points to where I need to stand and minutes later I see this fish swimming towards me. Now Im thinking yeah I got this... this fish is gonna be on the BBQ tonight with his mate. So I keep as still as possible... then at the last moment thrust my hands into the water to grab this fish... but all I grab is pain LOL

I grabbed the bloody razor sharp spines on the fish's back didnt I... LOL friggin hell... fuck it hurt... he couldn't stop laughing either the cheeky bastard hehe. Anyway we get back to the house... the girls are back by then. YaYa bandages me up and we all had a good laugh about it. The fish was beautiful too... already had enough herbs and chilli's to make up 2 different sauces... one really hot one (that makes yr poop smoke) and then a slightly milder version (that only brings tears to yr eyes) for me. I cooked the fish on the BBQ with the mushies... we added the sauce and had a feast. It was super delicious too... 100% fresh :-)

Anyhoo… gotta go.

Going to Thai Karaoke tonight… should be interesting

Date: Sat 9 May 2009, 5:17pm
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: My whereabouts next few days
Hehe I can just imagine you doing that too!!!

Gawd it does sounds very romantic up there… apart from the fishing anyway. I could use a few nights of silent bliss myself with nothing but fireflies, candles, and some vodka for comfort. Well that and Matthew McConaughey

Looking forward to your next update
Jxxx

Received: Sun 10 May 2009, 11:22pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE My whereabouts next few days
Sawadee Khrup little missy :)

Gawd the Karaoke Bar a funny last night… well calling it a bar is prob being a tad optimistic… it was more like a old timber shack with fairy lights LOL. We went there with YaYa’s neighbour friends… anyway we’re having a few drinks… they’re trying to teach me Thai… and Im trying to teach them English LOL. Id been drinking doubles and after about the fifth round your mate sputters thinks he is Frank Sinatra and decides he’s gonna give Thai Karaoke a bash. And of course for the rest of the night YaYa had her arms proudly wrapped around me ward off any potential ‘interest’ from other Thai girls that were there hehe… cute :-p

Anyhoo tonight is my last night here… we’re having a quieter one tonight… don’t think YaYa is game to take me out in public again after last nights performance LOL. We've both sitting on her porch (aka concrete slab) having a few drinks and trying to out fox each other at Connect 4 LOL... she says "hellooow kaa" by the way. She wants to know what Im writing about... she saw me type her name but cant read any other English... so Im telling her you are my aus girlfriend hahaha. Now she is hitting me heheheeee. So not much has changed... still having a ball.

Actually I bought this book at BKK airport... it’s a story about a Thai bar girl called Joy (same as my Thai name). Sometimes I read it to YaYa in bed at night... she loves listening to me read... it helps her understand eng better. Occasionally I'll completely make something up... you know to see if she’s listening. After we got home from Karaoke last night I was reading it to her in bed… and just randomly threw in "and Joy kissed the polar bear" hehehe. Completely perplexed YaYa asks "what is polabear" (she pronounces it as 1 word LOL). After I explain what a polar bear is she exclaims "heeeaay you craaazy... you bad teacher you make me think polabear is part of body". Im laughing my head off and she says "what happen if I teach my daughter this... she go to school and ask boy to kiss her polabear" hahaha haha fkn hilarious.

Gawd we have some fun with it... normally ends up in a pillow fight... or better :-)

Clearly I kinda like her... always have… but now Im REALLY starting to kinda like her!! I mean we are from 2 completely different worlds... but somehow it just doesn't matter. We just click... you know what I mean?? All I know is when she puts her head on my chest every night... theres simply nothing more in the world that I want.

And I havent felt that way about any girl since ***** :-)

Anyhoo... I'm leaving the village tomorrow to fly to the Philippines and Boracay Island... have to renew my Thai Visa and always wanted to see Boracay so nows probably a good time to do it lol. I need to talk to you about something too... something YaYa confessed to... but its way to involved to get into in this email. Will tell ya everything when I get to Boracay...

And no... she's not a ladyboy LOL
Miss ya.... Sputters xx

Date: Mon 11 May 2009, 9:33am
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: My whereabouts next few days
I had to laugh at the SMS i got from you when you boarded the plane that articulated it's safety precautions to holding a hanky over your nose in case of fire and get down low... I wanted to know if they had a parachute on board just in case...

Well I am really blown away by your little love story...

I totally understand what you mean by 'clicking' with somebody. And by the way you're talking it sounds like you're really into Miss Yaya (gawd that sounded wrong).

I haven't heard you talk about a women like that in a while :-)

Of course the curious little being that I am... are just dying to know what she confessed to... and the tale of this never ending Cinderella story. Hopefully you won’t turn into a frog.

Anyway my dear by the time you read this you'll already be on Boracay Island... and will have time to write something more detailed. Yeah Im onto you Sputters... the more sticky rice you appear to be getting the shorter your emails appear to be lol lol. So don't keep me in suspense for too long... remember silence can be more disturbing than noise.

Just out of curiosity… did she already have Connect 4… or did you buy it up there… and if so did you buy that particular game for a particular reason?? Im only asking after what you told me about the bars
Jxxx

Received: Wed 13 May 2009, 8:39pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: My whereabouts next few days
Hi from Boracay Island... you wanna know what I was doing 10 minutes ago?? Sitting on the beach... beer in hand... watching an overwater sunset. Mate this island is total paradise... you should see the colour of the freakin water OMG.

Yeah CLEVER GIRL... I did buy Connect 4 for a reason… I wanted to see how good she was at connect 4... but she was only thinking 1 move in advance… not 20 like a bar girl does. YaYa has never been a bargirl. She just wasn’t good enough.

Ok missy grab a coffee hun and sit yr ass down. Heres the scoop…

Better rewind the clock a bit... remember last time when I was in Phuket... remember that guy from Europe... the one Yaya always referred to as a little bit more than a customer?? Well turns out he is her BOYFRIEND... yeah... her fkn BOYFRIEND!! She confessed all when I got up to Nong Khai and honestly... I almost left. Her reason for hiding it from me: She was scared she'd lose me if I knew the truth... hence 'the little bit more than a customer routine'. At least it explains a hell of a lot... remember the night YaYa walked past me holding hands with another guy... well that was HIM!!! She said she almost crapped herself that night... she was certain I was gonna yell out a smartass comment like "hey YaYa having fun with your customers tonight eh LOL". Kinda wish I did...


Look I dont like the fact that she lied any more than you will... but in a weird sort of way at least it shows me that she cared enough to be scared of losing me. I mean I've never given her any money so there is absolutely no reason for her to keep me around unless she cared. So on one hand... yeah Im pissed that she lied... but on the other... happy to know the tears she cried in Patong 6 months ago when I left were for real. Everything else she told me was 100% true... right down to her house having no front door LOL.

Now to the BF... his name is Frank... and by all accounts he is a fkn fruitcake. He is 43 and from Belgium... but get this... can't actually live in Belgium due to an arrest warrant (he wont tell YaYa why but she thinks he's involved in the black market). So he works overseas and right now he's in of all places... Perth!! He sends her 90,000 baht every month... money that she's used to buy a block of land and start building a house... the half finished house that Im staying in now LOL. He and YaYa hardly see each other... only once every few months when he visits her. YaYa’s family don’t seem to mind her having another man in the house… they were a little coy the first night but after they saw how happy we were together I was just kinda accepted. They are all really nice too... really grown on me. I mean the sister hardly speaks a word of English... and her husband cant even fart in English LOL... but we always find a way to joke around. Hand signals, drawing on concrete... anything hehe. But mostly YaYa translates Eng to Thai and then Thai back to Eng again haha.

She even spoke to my mum on the phone the other night... I put her on to say hello... she says "hello mama" hahahaha LMAO... poor mum didn't know what to think hahaha. None of them seem to like Frank but as I've already told YaYa… she cant have both. Shes gotta choose him or me. She says she is too scared to leave Frank... she says that he'd have to leave her... clearly her leaving him is just not that simple. Frank is due back in Thailand on the 5th of next month... so if we are ever gonna work it out... I have to figure this out by then.
Gotta go… they have a bikini contest starting on the island here at 9pm :-p
Love ya... Miss ya.

Date: Thu 14 May 2009, 9:40am
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: My whereabouts next few days
It's been one of those weeks for me, nothing has gone right. You remember what they were like before you went jet setting off to South East Asia again and left us all here in the mundane??? lol

Uh Huh… now it all makes sense. I always wondered about that. Are you not scared of this creepy boyfriend of hers that has dealings with the underworld and could no doubt grind your ass into a pulp if he found out about you? Just be careful, I know I'm probably just a little sus, but just make sure she is not setting you up for anything, I know that's maybe a long shot...but you never know. Who's to say yaya is not saying the same things to this other dude as she is to you. But then again sounds like you have had an amazing time up in her village and have gotten to know her pretty well... follow your instincts...

You have always been a pretty good judge of character. Keep me updated. I need a nice sunny, humid story due to the weather here being windy, cold and crappy.

Oh and some divine words of wisdom from *** "don't get arrested, the beer coaster is not worth it"
Ciao my love, don't forget to wrap it.
Jxxx

Date: Fri 15 May 2009, 9:55pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: My whereabouts next few days
Im in Borneo!!!! At some shitty seaside village called Sandakan... just arrived here today after seeing the Orangatangs. Its a full on Muslim town and Im devastated cause I cant find any beer LOL. Will be heading back to Kota Kinabalu 2moz... then back home to Phuket again... which Im really looking forward to because I MISS MY ROOM AND MY BED. By the way thanks for the pic. What the hell you both look liked you morphed your faces... or maybe i just had too many vodkas again lol. Tell *** I wont get arrested but if I do it will be in spectacular fashion so keep watching channel 10 news.

As for YaYa... im not worried about Mr Frank the Holiday Wank... in fact right now Im more worried about how I'm gonna wipe my bum after the upcoming poopsie I drop because YET AGAIN all I have is a bucket and no paper.... and I utterly refuse to wipe my ass once more on the 1 remaining pair of socks i have left... God DAMMIT... lol. Anyhoo back to Frank the Wank... he's only a danger to me if he catches me up in her village... if he did I'd be a dead man at the bottom of the river and nobody would know about it. But there's not much chance of him turning up out of the blue... he's 15 hours flying time away plus he calls YaYa every night... so we always know where he is. No its not a set up... 100% definitely not. I know she’s not saying the same thing to Frank the Sperm Bank as she is to me. I hear her talk on the phone to him (yup slightly painful) every night and she is very 'a matter of fact' with him. She doesn’t even say she loves him… which is good cause Id be on the first plane outa there if she did. Thanks anyway... always good to get some balance and I'll keep it in the back of my mind. God there is soooo much more to tell... but for now this still has a final chapter to write.
Love to You and *****
ME

Date: Sat 16 May 2009, 6:45pm
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: My whereabouts next few days
O.K fricken happy bloody traveller.... You see it's a little like this.....I have just spent half an hour writing an email to you. A good page or some shit....at the end of it I do my usual quote, go to "pretty it up" so to speak, change the font, highlight the text and then I fucking deleted it somehow didn't I... and now have bloody lost it.... uggggerrrrrr%^&**

Ok so this was the email I had planned but your getting it in point form now instead…

1. Spoke of shitty flu I have and how you wouldn't know what that was like considering you were in a warm climate where disease didn't spread, apart from the aids virus.
2. Made reference to how you and YaYa yippie I yay, look good together in the photos and well suited....not all westerners can get away with looking good next to a thai gal.
3. Asked if "The Frankster" had pummelled your ass yet?
4. Asked if you knew what YaYa yippie I yay's history was... her background?
5. Told you ***** and I would send you weekly photos of our ugly mugs, just so you would remember us. God, I think I will write in point form all the time, what took me all day before I have done in 5 minutes.

I shall write again soon, hopefully next time I won't delete the bastard.
Jxxx


Date: Tue 19 May 2009, 4:20pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: Going back to Nong Khai again...
Hey missy :-)

Thank god Im finally back in Phuket and loving my own bed!! Never thought Id say this but Im starting to get sick of airports. My condolences about the shitty flu... I think it’s your body crying out to you in protest of you NOT being here :-p

YaYa and I have been chatting every night on the phone since I left her in Nong Khai. I cant stop thinking about her... and this epic 1 year freakin story is becoming famous around the streets of Phuket now too. All YaYa's friends at her old work keep asking how its all going... they call it Thailand’s Number 1 Romance LOL.
Heres her history... now I can fill in the gaps... and it’s not a pretty story. Her Mum and Dad both died before she was 5. She was bought up by her older sister. When she was 14 she met a Thai boy and fell pregnant at 16 the third time she had sex. Her boyfriend became an alcoholic and threatened to kill her if she didnt give birth to a son. She gave birth to a daughter and he stabbed her 7 times in the stomach the night she got home from hospital... almost killed her... and yes I've seen the scars so I know its not bullshit. Aftr that he was too lazy to work so sent YaYa into the rice fields. She worked 14 hour days to make enough money to feed the baby and buy his whiskey he demanded every night. After 5 years of violence and rape... she fell pregnant to him again… this time having a son. Now with 2 kids she couldn't afford his whiskey. So each night when Yaya got home from the rice fields the BF would tie her up and let his mates fuck her in exchange for a bottle of whiskey. She said she wanted to kill herself every night but had to stay alive for her kids. Then she got lucky... one of her friends in the village ( who had been through a similar thing with a Thai man) came to YaYa one night and told her she needed to run away and make better money or her kids will have no hope. She gave YaYa enough money for a bus ticket down to Phuket. Of course YaYa couldn't take both her kids... had to choose one... and her friend promised to take care of the other one until YaYa came back. She chose her daughter because she was older and already knew her Mum where-as her son was still only a baby and wouldn't have missed her as much. So one night while the BF was passed out drunk, her friend took YaYa and her daughter to the bus station and went to Phuket. YaYa said she couldn't stop crying the whole way thinking about her baby son that she'd left behind. She was 22 at the time.

FUCKING HELL :-( :-( :-(

Once in Phuket she got a job in a factory that paid enough for them to survive. Eventually gambled her life savings doing the massage course to become qualified Then started to work massage in Phuket under the lure of big money from foreigners and the chance at finally getting an easier life. After a few months at happy massage Frank walks in. A few months after that I walk in. And the rest… as they say... is history.

Tomorrow Im flying back up to Nong Khai before Frankster the Hamster gets back on the 5th.
Im gonna try to bring YaYa back to Phuket... that's my plan. Frank can get fucked.

Stay safe ME


Date: Tue 19 May 2009, 10:04pm
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
Oh my God... just showed your last email to **** about what happened to Yaya... thats just heartbreaking. I feel so sorry for her. Ive heard some SE Asian men can be jerks but thats just fucking cruel... what kind of a lowlife would treat a girl like that... GRRRR fucking men!! Poor girl... that must have been just horrific... so so sad. No wonder she just wants an easier life... cant say I blame her.

*** was just saying thats probably the reason YaYa is the way she is about never wanting to let herself love another man again. Remember the song she gave you in Patong last time... BLEEDING LOVE... think about it.

What ended up happening with the baby son she had to leave... does she have him with her in the village now... were they re-united after all these years???

If you bring Yaya back to Patong what are you going to do with her family... wont they be at Frank’s mercy? Im assuming he knows the location of the house (he is paying for it after all lol). Are you not worried that he may harm her daughter when he arrives in the village and discovers his GF has run away with another man??
Jxxx

Date: Thu 21 May 2009, 7:47pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
Heeeey ya... Im back in Nong Khai now.

Yeah I know... I was holding back tears when she was telling me. Wherever that fkn animal is I hope he's smart enough to never show his face around here. If he does we'll see if he can man up to someone his own size. Asshole.

RE YaYa's Son: They were never re-united. He is now 8 and lives a long way from here... the BF's sister kept her promise to YaYa and bought him up. A couple of years ago YaYa caught a bus to his village to catch a glimpse of him when he finished school… she hid behind a tree so he wouldn't see her. She says it would be too hard on him to just re-appear after all these years. And honestly being adopted... I can understand that.

RE Franky the Christmas Hanky... its easier said than done. YaYa is worried if she left him after all the money he has given her... he’d go nuts and kill her or harm her family. And I dont doubt that for a second… the guy is obsessed with her in an unhealthy way. He has a tattoo of "YAYA" all over his chest and even the girls at YaYa's old work have told me to steer clear of him. So theres NO WAY Id even consider leaving her family here to face him on their own.

We've been chatting about this endlessly... actually we chat about everything endlessly LOL. Its what I love about what we’ve got… theres just nuthin we cant talk about. I never have to second guess her you know... always know where she is at. Last night I was asking her more about her and Franks relationship… how it started and stuff. Apparently he just walked into Happy Massage off the street one day… like I did.

She says "he was always polite but talk very boring and sweat too much LOL". Anyway he kept coming back and wowing YaYa with expensive gifts and promises of building her a house. She says she never loved Frank... and never will. But says he DOES give her an easy life and in return she plays GF for him. I pondered this for a bit and said something along the lines of "so in your mind Frank IS only a little bit more than a customer" to which she warmly smiled and says "now you understand... ok he my BF but he will never be in my heart true". Hmm … so I say "maybe I only little bit more than a customer too". She says "you different I tell you this many times" and reiterates "I speak true now… yeah ok Frank make my money feel safe… but you make my heart feel safe". I mean our cultures are so different. From my perspective... I need to know Im not gonna be another Frank... and from YaYa's perspective... she has to know Im for real also. I guess thats why we are forever sussing each others feelings out.

We have fun with it though... the conversations are always full of playful banter.. but last nights chat got a bit more intense than normal. I was crapping on about something... when she said "ohh maybe I need two man... one for money and one for love". She was only joking around but I prob took it a bit to heart. Anyway Ive jumped up and had a bit of a spit... told her to sit there and not move... and walked outside and lit up a durrie LOL. Thirt seconds later she comes out after me and says "heeey... you always so easy... why you mad I say what I say to make funny". Then proceeds to giggles in my ear "I not want to fight with you... I only want to kiss your polabear" LOL

I just cant stay pissed off at this girl for any longer than 12 seconds.

At the end of the day... I guess she is the one with the most to lose here. She has to walk away from a finacially secure future with Frank PLUS risk her family's safety... to be with ME (who she thinks is broke).
ME


Date: Fri 22 May 2009, 9:36am
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
By the sounds of things… she has boxed herself into a corner with Frank. She’s accepted so much money off him… enough to have half built a house that she probably feels obliged to stay with him… regardless of whats in her heart.

So I don’t blame her for being scared, the fact that he may hunt her down and kill her may play a large factor in her thought process. Maybe you need to tell her you're not as broke as you make out... that you acn take care of her finacially. And what if he turns up earlier than the 5th... are you not worried he may rip your arms off??

Oh and I'm just going back to my wicked o'l ways of leaving you with a quote... Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards first - Soren Kierkegaard.
Be careful okay... getting slightly worried down here now
Jxxx

Date: Sat 23 May 2009, 1:27am
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
You’re completely right... it’s just not that simple for her to walk away though.

Mate Id LOVE to re-assure her about the money situation... and honestly its the only thing Ive ever kept from her. But heres the thing... if I fess up that Im making just as much as Frank the Wank... AND THEN WE END UP TOGETHER... I'll always be questioning her motives. I cant help it... its the way I am. Look... Ive said ENOUGH for her to know Id never let her family starve... hopefully thats enough.

If Frank turns up... then he turns up. Just have to get me boxing shorts on. Look honestly theres not much chance of that happening anyway... he calls EVERY NIGHT and YaYa always susses him out to see if his plans have changed. So we always know where he is... I just really couldnt give a toss about him anymore.

We've always had a deal that whenever Frank calls... she has to speak to him in front of me. She always looks at me with these eyes when his number comes up. So I just try to have some fun with it... you know... doing sumthin stupid trying to make her laugh while shes talking to him. Last night he called while we were having a shower... LOL you reckon I didnt have some fun with that one LOL heheeee.

Our nightly philosophical discussions on life and love are becoming a ritual now LOL… after the movie finishes we grab a coupla LEO BEERS… sit out on the back slab under the stars and yap the night away. Almost as bad as you and I after a bottle of wine back in the land of vegemite hehe. The exception being YaYa actually lets me talk once in a while ;-) Anyhoo as the LEO's get sunk... invariably the discussion turns to love… and then us. Tonight we were talking about past relationships and stuff and I was telling YaYa about ****** and how she cheated on me and blah blah blah you know the story. Anyway shes listening intently and after I tell her how much it hurt to be cheated on... she says something to the effect of "ahhhhh this why you think you could never be with me". And honestly hun… this has been playing on my mind a lot. At the end of the day she IS CHEATING on Frank the Wank with me… so whats to say she wont do the same to me. Which I verbalized to her… and she says "tee-rak I never plan for you to come in my life… you make me feel some things inside I never feel before" and adds "I go with you for happy… not same Frank". So I tell her I wont play part time BF when Frank isn't here and that I like her too much to share her and she say "ahh you make me happy that you think like this" and adds "I know you not butterfly man"...

You know what?? She honestly believes she is doing nothing wrong by being in a relationship for financial gain only. I mean their type of relationship… however much frowned upon in western society… is accepted over here in her culture. Unfaithfulness… ok that’s another story… and Thai people refer to that as being a butterfly. But as far as marrying a western man for financial security… many Thai people are fine with that. Anyhoo its late here… we’re going to bed.

"say goodnight to **** YaYa"
"goodnight khun****" AND "happy sleep kaaa"
Quoted directly from the girl herself
ME

Date: Sat 23 May 2009, 10:12am
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
LOL eeee hee she sounds sweet. I know "ka" is what they say at the end of a greetings. But what is "khun"?

I really enjoy reading the conversations you have together, when you quote them in italics, it makes me feel like I am right there with you, and not stuck in an office looking at the world go by. Its actually really interesting watching you both cross cultural boundaries, some of the things she says to you really make me think. I like her.

If she is like that in real life, from where Im sitting… I believe she is a good girl.

Write again soon… I need a distraction this morning

Date: Sat 23 May 2009, 4:17pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
"Khun" means "You" but is also used by girls to respectfully address people that are older than them. I think she was just being super polite to you… or maybe she was calling you an old fart LOL hehe. Whaddya mean you need a distraction today?? You want a phone call?? Talk to me…

We rented a car today... and Im trying to teach YaYa to drive... you see she has never driven before. OMG she almost drove us into the FRIGGIN river LOL. The roads in the illage are REALLY narrow... if another car comes you have to almost stop to let them past. And for some reason I thought it would be safer if I stayed in the drivers seat and YaYa sat on my lap. She was doing the steering and accelerating while I was changing gears for her (was a manual). hehe shit... you should have seen us. Everytime she hit the accelerator pedal I damn near shat myself. I mean she wouldnt just squeeze it slowly like a normal person would... she NAILED it every time and the car would launch forward at break neck speed bringing screams of "Braaaaaaake" from me and poor Ying in the back. Im giggling now even thinking about it. After a while... YaYa Schumacer is a bit more confident... we get up to 50km/hour LOL. I think that was about the time all hell broke loose LOL... a FRIGGIN car comes flying around the corner. Im like "whooooa... slow down babe"... she panics... hits the GO pedal instead of the STOP pedal... FRIG we go flying. Im trying to get my arms around her to grab the wheel... she somehow headbuts me in the chin LOL... mate it was utter chaos. Ended up ripping on the handbrake and we slid to a stop on the side of the road facing the river LOL. The funniest part was seeing the other drivers face when he VERY SLOWLY (lol) drove past and saw 2 people tangled together in the drivers seat (LOL LOL LOL) god knows what he was thinking hehe.

Coming home... only 500 meters from her house YaYa tells me to pull over which I do. Somewhat mystified I look at her and she says "I want to show you something". So we get out of the car... I follow her through an old stone wall and into what looks like nothing more than an overgrown garden. I had no idea what she was doing... she walks over near this big tree towards what looked like an old headstone. She looks down and says "I want you meet my Mama and Papa". I was gobsmacked... just kinda looked at her... she had this intense look in her eyes and says "this very special place for me... I not even show this to Frank". I had goosebumps. It blew me away... it really did.

Ive got a nice little romantic suprise lined up for her tonight :-p

Stay safe
ME

Date: Sun 24 May 2009, 7:33pm
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
Hey again, got your long winded message on the home answer phone last night. In fact im glad I'm never home when you call, your messages are a crack up!!

WOW dude... if she has shown you her parents grave, I think its fair to say you're definately not just another Frank to her. Hopefully that should put your mind at ease.. it would mine.

Suprise... OH GOD!! What have you got in store for the poor girl lol??

God you have to write a book on this...
Jxxx

Date: Mon 25 May 2009, 2:42pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
I bought this little 2 man tent at the markets... thought it would be nice if me and YaYa had a little suprise campout in the backyard overnight... you know just the 2 of us.

Waited for YaYa to take a shower... everyone else was in on it... so we had it up pretty quick. Set it up like a little LOVE PALACE too hehe... threw a blanket and pillow inside... put a few candles in there on an old block of wood... a bottle of wine... and more candles on the ground illuminating a pathway to the tent entrance LOL... it looked absolutely SHIT HOT!!! The final touch I was trying to make a sign in Thai saying "HAPPY MASSAGE TENT" hehe... YaYa's older sister was writing it for me (I cant write Thai) and mate you should have seen some of the desperate animations I was doing to try to describe the words "HAPPY MASSAGE" hehe gawd I looked like a fkn wanker LOL... literally HAHA!! Anyway she finally understood (so I thought) and she wrote it down on a bit of cardboard and I stuck it on the side of tent... and hid inside waiting for YaYa.

Ten minutes later I hear this giggling... and hear YaYa walking towards the tent. The giggling gets louder and she finally sticks her head inside the tent LOL LOL... awww mate her face just lit up when she saw everything... she LOVED it!!! She was like "aaaaaww this sooo romantic... I can never believe you do this LOL". She keeps laughing at the sign I made up... and says "tee-rak this very nice but why you write MASTURBATION TENT"... heheh LOL hahaha... the sister had taken my animations of Happy Massage to mean Masturbation LOL... shit I was almost crying with laughter... of course I told YaYa what it was SUPPOSED to say... then the both of us our cracking up... she says "when I first read I think why he need Masturbation tent for... he has me" LOL damn it was funny... we had a really really good night.

Gawd if I thought I was falling before... now Im totally screwed LOL.

Anyhoo we're about to head off in our trusty rental car on a mini holiday. So if Im offline for a few days... thats why. Im taking my Thai mobile just in case
THE HAPPY TRAVELLER :-)

Date: Wed 27 May 2009, 5:05pm
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
Hahaha hehehe. I enjoyed that... that was funny hehe
And very nice by the way too ;-)

Let me know when you're back in the village... please dont let YaYa drive lol.
Stay safe
Jxxx

Date: Sat 30 May 2009, 11:32pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
Hello little Missy...

We are safe n sound back home in Nong Khai after a massive 4 day road trip across central Thailand dodging water buffaloes and staying in cheap skanky hotels along the way... really has been awesome. It was so nice just for the 2 of us to get away… gawd we had a good time. We ended up in Roi-Et to meet up with my friend Kung (from Phuket) who was there to visit her family. I think it was good for YaYa to finally meet her… god knows I talk about her enough. They really hit it off too… and the 3 of us had a ball cruising around the countryside there exploring these amazing old temples and stuff. On the way back home YaYa says "lets not talk about the future tonight… we can pretend in our life tonight that we already BF/GF and we not have to worry about nothing". Which was perfectly fine by me. So we've been doing just that tonight... living in the moment.

Stay safe... and keep your grandma undies on ;-)
ME

Date: Sun 31 May 2009, 9:30pm
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
Hey glad to see you are still alive...

And for your information there was a study done on Bonds in the latest Marie Claire magazine in which 85% of females now wear the boy leg and 92% of Australian men also wear bonds... you never really have been up with the latest trends...and you will be even worse by the time you get back from Thailand... if you ever do.

Be good... or good at it
Jxxx

Date: Mon 1 June 2009, 8:32pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
Hey... I am a trend-setter... you know that ;-)

Guess who turned up today??? LOL.. no... not Frank. The lady who bought up YaYa's son that she had to abandon. YaYa hasnt seen her in years (shes the biggish girl in the left of the pic) and as you can imagine was jumping for joy when she turned up. She stayed for the afternoon and we had a big BBQ for dinner and a few drinks. Was kinda cool to see her as well... now I can put a face to her past a bit.

YaYa keeps saying she wishes she had met me before Frank. Even her daughter Ying said the same thing to me today... we were sitting on the porch and I was helping her with some english stuff for school and she says "Papa do you know I will miss you when you leave Nong Khai". How cutes that... she called me PAPA :-) hehe

Last night I had one of those moments... you know the ones you wanna live in forever?? YaYa and I were riding back home from the night markets. It was just turning dark... you know that twighlight time just as the sun sets. God it was just beautiful... perfect temperature... nobody on the village roads... ricefields passing by. Girl on the back... it was just perfect you know. WORDS will never do it justice. I took a moment to take it all in... wasnt thinking... nothing. Just living IT and appreciating how fkn lucky I am right now. I wanna write that HERE so I never forget it. Think YaYa was in the same space too... she was on the back holding onto me... she rested her head on my shoulder and I felt her squeeze me just that little bit tighter. She didnt say anything... but she didnt have too

Mate... its the simple things in life yeah :-)

That’s the frustrating part... everything else seems perfect. Friggin hell… I wish there was a way out of this. I have to book my flight back to Phuket... looks like I’ll be flying back on 03 June... just two days before Frank is due back in Thailand.

Stay Safe
MR PHILISOPHICAL

Date: Tue 2 June 2009, 09:33am
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
What do you mean you might be going back to Phuket... NOOOOO this story cant end like this... its too epic not to have a happy ending. And what are we all supposed to do for entertainment back here without YaYa yippee love story updates lol

Ok seriously... you need to figure something out... can you bring her back here?? More importantly... would you bring her back here?? Because my friend from my distant vantage point... I cant see any other viable options for you. From a female’s perspective… if she doesn't go back to Patong with you this time... I think you really need to question if she ever will.

Time to ask yourself the question... do I love her?

I will call you tonight if I dont hear back from you...

Date: Thu 4 June 2009, 10:20am
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
Gawd I changed my flight... Im still here!!! Now Im flying back tomorrow at 5pm... on the same bloody flight as YaYa!! And you know what that means... Franky will be already there at BKK airport waiting for her.

FREAKIN HELL!! Im gonna have to walk straight passed him when I get off the plane!!! ARGHH!!!

Dont ask me how this even happened... everything’s just a blur... all I know is we couldnt bare to leave each other yesterday... and somehow my flight got changed LOL. So now we're flying back together... the only difference being YaYa will stay in BKK with Frank... whereas I'll connect with an onward flight home to Phuket. FUCK FUCK FUCK… Im losing my mind up here… ARGHH!!!!
To answer your questions...

1) Im not letting her THAT close until I know she is 100% mine. Put it this way... that could easily become a yes.
2) In a heartbeat. But I can only get a VISA for YaYa... not her family. Which means I'd have to leave them here at Frank’s mercy.

We just haven't been able to work this out. We've tried... god knows we've tried... we've talked about it every night... sitting out on the slab until the wee hours of the morning. But at the end of the day... it seems the only way we can be together and still keep her family safe is if Frank leaves HER... and that aint gonna happen. The only other option is if I confront Frank myself... which I have no problems doing. Im at the point where I couldn't care less how psychotic he is... he's 43 years old for fuck sake. But YaYa wont let me... she's too worried he'll go crazy after all the money he's given her. You cant buy love... but it looks like if you throw enough money at a Thai girl you can at least buy her loyalty... even if it is out of fear.

Screw Frank. I swear to god Im gonna look him dead in the eyes tomorrow when I walk passed him at BKK airport… I wanna see the man who thinks he can buy love. Might even ask him for a cigarette.

All I know is tonight is my last full night...

Sputters needs to create a moment.
Pray for a miracle...

Date: Fri 5 June 2009, 5:27pm
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
OH MY GOD!!!
THIS IS CRAZY!!!

I'm actually nervous for you... I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. You are what... 3 hours behind us?? God you're probably on the way to the airport with Yaya right now!!

Oh god, I'd hate to be in Yaya shoes right now... at least if she feels shit, you can feel shit together. This is all just too much... it’s done my head in as well lol. Maybe you should have stayed in Singapore with ******. Didn't you say something about her being refreshingly uncomplicated lol...

Im going out tonight so wont be able to check my emails until tomorrow. But I will keep my phone handy all night ok... ring me if you need to

And whatever happens
STAY SAFE
xx


Date: Sun 7 June 2009, 7:30pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
Im in Phuket... my brain is mush this emails gonna be all over the place. I honestly dunno where to start. Ahhhh :-(

You know what I dont even feel like writing. Sorry.

Basically we flew back to BKK together... I remember peering out the window and seeing the city lights. I remember saying to YaYa "I never want this plane to land". I remember her teary eyed saying "at least Frank will think Im crying because Im happy to see him". I remember saying goodbye on the fkn airbridge. I remember walking away from her.

I saw Frank... walked stright passed him. He had a white shirt and blue jeans on. He was a big fucker. And he had my girls name tatooed on his forearm. I dunno what else to say to you. I left my favourite black shorts there.

YaYa hasnt called me yet

Date: Mon 8 June 2009, 9:45am
From: friends@yahoo.com.au
To: me@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
Look I've ridden this rollercoaster with you, I know you're hurting right now, I wish I could take it away but I cant. No one but she can give you the answers, thats the sucky part

I think she does cares; sometimes it's harder when you care. Maybe she just cant find the right words...

There is a perfectly good explanation you haven’t heard from her. Maybe she ended up telling Frank the fruit about you and he has killed her... JUST KIDDING. He is probably suspicious of her because Yaya's no doubt acting differently around him since you're not there... you know that shitty feeling of being with someone you don't really want to be with... and you have met someone new... and your actions to the previous person you've been in love with are much more distant... and they are kinda like WHATS UP??? Maybe that's whats going on... oh god I'm raving again... if this doesn't make sense I’ll explain it to you later.

You can hold your head up high, you had the balls to chase a dream that the rest of us would have given up on. That's what we all love about you... you never give up. Thats the reason why you always lead this amazing life and have so many close friends. Most girls would kill to have a man like you as their better half. So just remember that ok. And remember we'll always be here to prop you back up and give you a vodka if you come home.

Maybe thats not such a bad idea... cmon back... I'll warm the DVD player up

Date: Wed 10 June 2009, 8:53pm
From: me@hotmail.com
To: friends@yahoo.com.au
Subject: RE: Going back to Nong Khai again...
She called me. Last night.

She said she thinks about me everyday and she missing me. It was only a short conversation... she had to go almost straight away. She must have snuck outside to call me as she was talking really softly. At least I was able to tell her Im going crazy without her and if she's gonna leave Frank... SHE NEEDS TO DO IT NOW

And I just so happened to be on msn with ****** from Singapore when she called. Yeah I had both Miss Refreshingly Uncomplicated and YaYa online at the same time. God like my brain doesnt have overload enough already...

This SUCKS ASS... I mean I cant even call her. I'm walking around looking at my phone every 2 minutes... cant concentrate on anything. I just cant do this anymore mate, its done my head in 10 times over.
My heart has got nothing more to give :-(
Im spent :-(



Later that night YaYa called Kung looking for me... I wasnt there but Kung said YaYa was freaking out about everything. She told YaYa that she needed to speak to me... not her.

I walked down to YaYa's old work... had a long talk to the girls about everything... they told me not to worry if YaYa didnt call because Frank normally confisgates her phone whenever he's in Thailand. So all the girls helped me write a big SMS in Thai transcript so that YaYa could read it without Frank being able to understand. It said everything I needed to say.

The next morning at 5am I got an SMS back. YaYa must have gotten up early so she could send it without Frank knowing. It was all written in Thai... Kung's direct translation was:
Hi Tee-Rak. I never want to hear you talk about goodbye. I think about you every day and I miss you every night.
But I couldn't care less about what was written in Thai... all I could see were the 3 words she'd written in English.

They were the last 3 words YaYa ever said to me.