Leader of the Pack

This is a full and different week for me in Bangkok.  Part of its different flavour is to have Veronica in town with her daughter, Sara.  Who is Veronica? 

Veronica is a great friend.  She and I worked together at the Matt Talbot hostel in Sydney 10 years ago.  We were great partners in crime, facing the foes of upper level administration together.  Since then we have never lost touch.  So here she is in Bangkok and it is wonderful to see her again.

Well, as this is Sara's first time in Bangkok, she of course wanted to see the famous bars.  I was nominated as the official tour guide for the night and so off I went with my small troupe of followers.  We were also joined by a new Thai friend, Am, who just needed a good night out and I thought what better company for her than Veronica and Sara.

It was a captivating experience to be the only male with a group of friends, female and such strong and fun characters.  I was all ears when they talked about men.  I did not know that I was like how they described us but I am open to new insights.  Am was particularly enlightening for me as she talked about the changes in Thai men over the past 20 years.  I had never heard this before. 

Through my work, I know a number of young Thai, professional women.  They all seem to not like Thai men and express a hope for foreign boyfriends.  That is a definite trend I see here.  What is this about? 

Well, Am's theory is that with the great 1997 economic crash that hit Thailand, there was a change in the male species.  She says they became weaker, depending more on women and relying on their largesse.   Basically, it seems to be a case of when the going got tough, the men lost the plot and never regained their status.  I can see a truth in that as my mum would say that men could give up too easily while women would stay strong. 

I am no expert but this may explain what I see here - young and capable, professional women not having a great interest in the local male.  But then as I said last night in one of my very few interventions, the western male may not be the answer either.  It just depends who the individual is. 

As for any older Aussie male searching for a subservient woman in a Thailand, not all Thai women are subservient.  Truth is there are impressive, strong women here, just as in Australia. 

I may have been the tour guide but I think that my troupe of three were the leaders of the pack.  It was a top night among friends.