The fairy tale of a barmaid (part 1)

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Nit is a 'bar girl', she is 22 years old and has a four year old daughter named Pon. Nit has been working in a bar in Pattaya for several months.

Before that, she worked in Bangkok as a waitress for two years. She stopped with that. The rent of a room in Bangkok and her own living costs were too high in relation to the salary she earned. There was not enough money left to send to her family.

Feed six mouths

Nit's father is a rice farmer in Isaan. He has to lease the land he cultivates. He earns next to nothing. Too little for his family. Nit also has an even younger sister and an older brother. She never sees her brother, he works in a factory and has a family of his own that he can barely support.

Nit's family also consists of her mother and three small children. Her own four-year-old child, her sister's five-year-old son, and a three-year-old girl. That three-year-old girl is the daughter of a Thai man from another village. Unable to take care of the child, he works in the city, so the child is taken into Nit's family. There are six mouths to feed in total.

Deflowered

Taking care of the family is a task that Nit has taken on to a large extent. She has no choice. The eldest daughter in Isaan is the loser. On many fronts. Sometimes the girls in the countryside are 'deflowered' when they are about fifteen years old by a boy next door or even worse by the neighbour. So rape. Many girls have a child around the age of eighteen. Not too. The result of a three month relationship with a Thai boyfriend. She decided to keep the child. Not really a choice, because there is no money for an abortion. At least a normal abortion.

The father is gone. Quite normal in rural Thailand. An estimated 70 percent of young mothers in Isaan have no contact with their father. A lovemaking party that got out of hand and a child? “Your problem”, says the Thai father and happily continues to fuck with another girl. Nit never had sex education. She had never heard of contraceptives or STDs.

Farang as a friend

Nit would like one farang as a friend and potential husband. Another girl in Nit's village has a farang for a boyfriend. This Englishman is a taxi driver and takes care of her, he sends money from England. Nit wants that too. She can then stay with her family and her daughter. The only way for her to get in touch with a farang is through the sex industry. She finds it a difficult step.

Nit knows the stories about Pattaya from the other girl in the village, but Nit is shy and doesn't speak English. In addition, she is terrified. Just going along with a farang, you never know if it's a scary man. What strange demands will he make? What if a farang gets angry and doesn't want to pay or makes trouble? Gonna yell at her. She's already scared, let alone when a drunken farang demands things from her that she doesn't want.

She talks herself into courage and decides to take the step together with her younger sister. She waits for her sister in Bangkok and they take the bus to Pattaya. They go to work in the 'Puppybar'. A so-called 'short time' bar. That means there are a number of rooms above the bar. The customer chooses a girl and takes her upstairs for an hour or so. They know the 'Puppybar' through the other girl from the village.

Fighting for customers

Nit's sister is already on her way back to Isaan after three days of work. She has only been up with a farang once. That was not a success. Too scared, too shy and unable to communicate. From now on, Nit is alone. She misses her little daughter, her sister and the rest of her family. She has no friends or other relatives in Pattaya. The older girls in the bar are mean to her. There are few customers in bar. The competition is fierce, almost literally every customer is fought for.

Most of the girls in the Puppy Bar are now hardened and dulled by bar life. They know the tricks. They also try to steal potential customers from Nit. She has never felt so lonely. Not that anyone will notice, Nit is always smiling, as many Thais do. When the bar closes, Nit is alone in the street, walking to her room that she has rented for 2.000 baht a month. It's a very small room, but for her alone. An old rickety radio is her only entertainment. She listens to Thai love songs and falls asleep every night with the radio on.

Slim and petite

Nit has hardly had any customers. She worries if she can afford her room rent. She worries a lot and therefore sleeps badly. Nit is not particularly handsome and has small breasts, so the choice does not often fall on her. The only advantage is her figure and her youthful age. She is slim and petite. She knows that farang like that, especially the older farang. The few clients she has had have also been mostly older men. Luckily they were very friendly.

No money to send

One day Nit sees a farang walking by. He looks neat. Nit does something she never does otherwise, she calls after him. The farang reacts and walks towards her. She quickly takes him inside the bar. The farang is nice and jokes. Nit now speaks a little English. She bought some English language books.

Fortunately, the farang understands her and communication is less difficult than usual. The farang wants to have sex with her, Nit is happy. It's almost the 15th of the month and she has to pay her room rent again. Her family asks every day when she sends money. But Nit has no money to send. Sometimes she doesn't eat to save money and goes to sleep on an empty stomach.

The farang does not want to go to the room above the bar, but takes her to his hotels a five minute walk away. They have sex with each other and afterwards she is not immediately sent away. The farang even helps her with her English lesson. She has shown the textbooks she has in her bag. The farang takes some holiday photos from his suitcase and shows them to her. Nit feels comfortable with the farang, she asks him if she can have his phone number. The farang agrees. She also receives a generous tip from the farang. Nit is delighted, she can now pay her room rent.

Stay sleeping

In the days that follow, Nit tensely sits in front of the bar, waiting for the farang to call or pass by. But alas, no farang. After four days she suddenly sees the farang walking by and he also recognizes her. The farang approaches her and greets Nit. She asks if she can go with him to his hotel. “Maybe” says the farang and walks away again.

Later in the evening he comes back to pick her up. She asks if she can spend the night with him, the farang is fine with it. Nit decides to go the extra mile. She wakes up the farang at night to make love to him. The farang gets his money's worth and is also happy. Nit gets another big 'tip'. At least he's not 'Cheap Charlie' thinks Nit.

A fairytale

The following days, Nit cannot get the farang out of her mind. He's back to his country, his vacation is over. She decides to call and text him. A considerable risk, because calling and texting abroad is expensive and if he does not respond, the disappointment will be great. Fortunately, he responds. The weeks that follow are like a fairy tale for Nit. They call or text each other almost every day. The farang says that he likes her very much, in addition, the farang is single and therefore available.

Nit has now started working at another bar and feels less lonely. She's even friends with another barmaid now. The farang has promised to come back for her. That will take another six months, but Nit can wait. She still doesn't have many clients. She did go with a client for a few days, but in the end he didn't want to pay her for all the days. Nit was very disappointed, she felt cheated and abused.

The farang she has set her sights on has now sent her money. She's overjoyed. Finally she can send some money to her family in Isaan.

Introduce to the family

The months pass and the time has come, the farang is coming again Thailand, this time to find her. She is only afraid that he will lie or change his mind at the last minute. She has told everyone that a farang is coming to Pattaya especially for her. When he doesn't show up, it means loss of face. A huge risk for her. She wants to take the farang to her village in Isaan and introduce it to her parents. If the farang stays away, she has to disappoint a lot of people, something she doesn't like to do.

Fortunately, she has correctly assessed the farang, he is waiting for her at his hotel in Pattaya. The farang even brought her presents, a big plush teddy bear and perfume. The first days of being together are a bit awkward. Nit barely knows the farang and is going to spend some time with him anyway. The farang will stay in Thailand for three weeks and will also accompany her to Isaan.

Introducing the family is a big step for Nit. She means that this is her official boyfriend, a potential suitor. But she doesn't know if the farang feels the same way and if he wants to take care of her. When he doesn't want to, she has a lot to explain. Then there will be gossip about her in the village, that she is not a good woman and has let the farang go. Despite the joy of his presence, Nit sleeps badly every night; she worries a lot about what could go wrong.

To Isan

The farang goes with Nit to Isaan to meet the family and visit her native village. The bus journey is long and deadly boring. They are met upon arrival by the family and her four-year-old daughter Pon. Nit's sister also came along. She takes care of Pon now that Nit works in town.

Nit wants to hug her daughter, but Pon doesn't want to hear from her. Nit is a stranger in Pon's eyes. When Pon was 1 year old, Nit left for Bangkok to work as a waitress. Since then, she has returned to her village only three times for a few days. She has no money to go to Isaan more often. As a result, Pon is completely estranged from her mother. The farang sees it from a distance and has to swallow a few times.

Part 2 tomorrow.

– Reposted article –