This is a collection of ten or so cases, which largely feature the client (Western man) meeting him in a coffee shop, asking him to find out whether his girlfriend/fiance (Thai bar girl, always originally from the provinces) is cheating on him.
The answer is almost certainly "YES!"
On special offer in Pnom Penh (photocopied version only)
From hundreds of cases, the author decides that the stereotypical Western man/Thai bar girl relationshiop is doomed before it has even started due to:
*** the age gap (man is usually >40 years old)
*** the culture gap (her English is usually tailored to the needs of her trade - "hello you like me, ok?", he can't speak any Thai)
*** the fact that she's earning money by dancing around a silver pole and whoring
Usually the bar girl has several "patrons" who all think that they are the one. They send her a monthly "salary" in order to get her out of bar-work, and other men. Not only that, but she also typically will continue to engage in the same activities she did before she met her knight in silver-hairstyle/ shining pate.
One case involved a ladyboy, who a UK accountant mistook for a girl. S/he insisted on no sex before marriage. Part of the deal was that the chap would fork over some money as a dowry. The ladyboy was going to use it to pay for the op. If it wasn't for the detective, the poor guy may never have found out.
So, given the odds, why do these men do it?
*** the age gap (man is usually >40 years old)
*** the culture gap (her English is usually tailored to the needs of her trade - "hello you like me, ok?", he can't speak any Thai)
*** the fact that she's earning money by dancing around a silver pole and whoring
Usually the bar girl has several "patrons" who all think that they are the one. They send her a monthly "salary" in order to get her out of bar-work, and other men. Not only that, but she also typically will continue to engage in the same activities she did before she met her knight in silver-hairstyle/ shining pate.
One case involved a ladyboy, who a UK accountant mistook for a girl. S/he insisted on no sex before marriage. Part of the deal was that the chap would fork over some money as a dowry. The ladyboy was going to use it to pay for the op. If it wasn't for the detective, the poor guy may never have found out.
So, given the odds, why do these men do it?
Buyer beware
The answer to this question is the same answer as one of the many psychological falacies when dealing with the market - the endownment effect.
The typical reaction of the client, when presented with evidence of cheating, is "I want more evidence", and "...but my girl is different".
How is she different? Did you not pick her up in a bargirl-bar? Did you not pay her for nocturnal services? This reaction of denial - "Give me more evidence" is phase one of the Kubler-Ross greif process: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance.
Markets also behave like this. In the market, holding a losing position and refusing to believe that the market is moving against you is denial - "this is a temporary move".
Secondly, and slightly weirdly, in most cases the cheated-on client (and you've gotta think what were they thinking giving a full-time whore a salary), after being faced with damning evidence of the cheating, does not cut their losses, as you may expect. (In the market you don't really get final evidence until you're blown up, but even then you could be stuck in denial mode, so the analogy here is weak, due to the continous nature of the market vs. the descrete event of the whoring revelation).
The middle-aged lover, then has an urge to confront the girl with the evidence, or, better yet, walk in on her getting friendly with her Thai boyfriend/husband. This is the Anger stage. And most clients of the author went through it.
Shortly after this they mostly went off to weep/lick wounds in some dark corner, the next stage being bargaining "I only lost X $k", depression, then acceptance.
Moral of the story:
In order to not lose more money than you need to in the market - stop getting emotional. Don't marry a ladyboy.
The answer to this question is the same answer as one of the many psychological falacies when dealing with the market - the endownment effect.
The typical reaction of the client, when presented with evidence of cheating, is "I want more evidence", and "...but my girl is different".
How is she different? Did you not pick her up in a bargirl-bar? Did you not pay her for nocturnal services? This reaction of denial - "Give me more evidence" is phase one of the Kubler-Ross greif process: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance.
Markets also behave like this. In the market, holding a losing position and refusing to believe that the market is moving against you is denial - "this is a temporary move".
Secondly, and slightly weirdly, in most cases the cheated-on client (and you've gotta think what were they thinking giving a full-time whore a salary), after being faced with damning evidence of the cheating, does not cut their losses, as you may expect. (In the market you don't really get final evidence until you're blown up, but even then you could be stuck in denial mode, so the analogy here is weak, due to the continous nature of the market vs. the descrete event of the whoring revelation).
The middle-aged lover, then has an urge to confront the girl with the evidence, or, better yet, walk in on her getting friendly with her Thai boyfriend/husband. This is the Anger stage. And most clients of the author went through it.
Shortly after this they mostly went off to weep/lick wounds in some dark corner, the next stage being bargaining "I only lost X $k", depression, then acceptance.
Moral of the story:
In order to not lose more money than you need to in the market - stop getting emotional. Don't marry a ladyboy.
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