This might take several posts, but I know that some of you would be interested to know how I got on when I met my filipina girlfriend for the first time - in Thailand! I will also post some photos if I work out how it works!
Arrival
We (my son and I) arrived half a day before Mae (not her real name) and so checked in at the hotel downtown and had dinner. Then we took a taxi out to the airport.
Waiting for her was a bit strange - I should have known what she looked like as we have chatted on webcam so many times, but then again, there were a lot of pretty asian ladies trekking through the arrival gate. In the end, she saw me first. She had met 2 filipina ladies on the flight who were giving her moral support.
Although she gave me a smile and a hug, I felt she was a bit distant - but she looked as lovely as I remembered her of course. In the taxi she relaxed a little - although she did scream once as we shot over a typical steep Thai bridge on the motorway!!
In the hotel she made a few phone calls home and although we kissed and hugged she still seemed a bit distant.
I can't remember when, but fairly early on we had a bit of an argument. I began to imagine that her distance and phone calls might be because she had a boyfriend in the Philippines. Understandably sho got a bit upset and threatened to go home. This was soon patched up, and gradually something dawned on me that should have been obvious from the start - Mae was very scared.
After all, even though we had chatted online for a year, she doesn't really know me. She had taken a huge risk in meeting me. Whats more she had travelled abroad for the first time in her life. The phone calls were to several neighbours and friends who she had prmised to call on arrival to say she was safe. Silly me!
Another thing that was made clear were certain ground rules as we were sharing a bed. Mae made it very clear that she is not the kind of girl who has sex with a man she has only just met. Thankfully as we got to know each other things progressed in a friendly and natural way - but for her sake I will go no further in to that. . . . . . OK, by the end it was fantastic. Nuff said.
The second night was quite tough for Mae. We went out for a meal with my mate who is a very senior official in the Thai railways. His entire family came along - including his mother in law! Socially this was tough for Mae as she does not come from a priveleged background - and it was her first experience of Thai food. As I would have expected, my friends treated her really well, although I am sure that they were a little shocked by me meeting her on the internet! Especially as they also know my two ex wives (both Thai!). Mae didn't really eat a lot an disliked some of the Thai food. Needless to say I ate and drank loads!
So, we spent about a week in Bangkok. It seems that most of this was in shopping malls. not that Mae is into shopping - but they are by far the coolest places to hang around in such a hot city. It was hard to get Mae to buy anything. When she said she wanted shoes I found out that she only wanted Hawaiana flip flops. She had seen them in one mall but was shy to ask me. We spent half a day trying to find bloody Hawaiana shoes again!
We did a bit of tourism. We visited Jim Thompson's house. We went to a decent aquarium. We went on a river trip and visited the Temple of Dawn.
This all sounds a bit stale. But Mae was lovely. She is a very very relaxing person to be with. And she is very funny too - which is important for me. Sometimes whe would find something funny and just laugh and laugh - although sometimes we couldn't quite see what she was laughing at.
There was a definite difference in how she behaved when my son was around. Once we were alone she was much more comfortable touching and kissing me. I was grateful for that, because it was important for me not to make my son feel unwelcome at all. He is 15 and this was an important holiday for both of us. In fact he loved Mae too and they got on really well.
More to come. Bangkok bars. A Week by the beach. More time together.
Cheers
Ian
