Lemon’s Graduation
Quite a few months ago I went to my local, Number One Bar n Soi 1 off Loi Kroh Rd Chiang Mai, earlier than usual as I had a lunchtime meeting in town. I arrived atabout 4 PM. I was greeted as usual by the girls in the different sections of the bar on both sides of the soi (lane). “Sa-wat-dii khâ khun Joe” they chorused. The girls know every customer’s name and always greet them on arrival. I took a stool in the main bar and ordered a drink. San Miguel light with lemon. The drink was brought over to me by a new girl who I hadn't met before. She said to me in Thai “Sa-wat-dii, khâ khun Joe. Chan chue Lemon. Sabaai-dii mai?” (Hello Joe. My name is Lemon. How are you?). Her name was confirmed by the name tag hanging on a cord around her neck. I said in Thai that I was good and was pleased to meet her.
Lemon looked to be about 30 years old. She had light brown skin, was about 5 feet four inches tall, thin with a good figure and long shapely legs which were enhanced by her short denim miniskirt and her high heel shoes. She had long black hair, a pretty face and a broad engaging smile.
We went through the usual exchange of questions and answers in Thai. It is always good practice for my Thai speaking to the girls at Number One Bar. Unlike in Western countries it is not impolite to ask personal questions in Thailand. Whenever you meet a new person you will be asked your name, where come from, how old you are, how long you have been in Thailand, whether you are married or single, what you do for a living and, inevitably, whether you like Thai girls. This question will always be asked whether the interrogator is male or female. Similarly, after a short conversation with a Thai girl you have never met before she will always give you her phone number if you ask for it.
Lemon disclosed that she was born in Korat, the gateway to Isaan, but had lived in Bangkok for many years. She was single and had never married and had no children. She did not have a boyfriend. She had worked for more than 10 years with an IT company in Bangkok in the staff training division. She had also completed a university degree part-time. She had now come to Chang Mai as she wanted a change of direction in her life. Her friend, Tukta, had left the same IT company two years earlier and had been working at Number One Bar since then. Lemon had come up to Chiang Mai at Tukta’s suggestion. Tukta is just as nice as Lemon but not as attractive. Lemon said she shared a room further down the soi with two other girls.
It was Lemon’s second day working at Number One Bar. I said to Lemon that her name was unusual and not a Thai name. I asked her where it came from. Thai girls always have a nickname usually between 1 to 4 letters as their christian names are usually quite long. Some common nicknames are Lek (small), Noi (little), Maew (cat), Pla (fish), Fon (rain), Gung (prawn) and even Poo (crab). Porn (blessing) always gets a smile or a lewd comment. Lemon said her real nickname was Mon, a common Thai name. She said however that there were a number of farangs working at the IT company and they had christened her Lemon. The name had stuck he said that she had used it ever since. She said that she even used it in her e-mail address which she said was lemon72@................ She gave me the full e-mail address but you will have to guess the rest. I knew that Thais, and indeed many people, use their birth year as part of their e-mail addresses or passwords so I guessed that this was a clue to Lemon’s age. I said to Lemon in Thai “How old are you? “ (Khun aaýu tâorài?). She said “Guess”. I said that it was dangerous (antaraai) guessing girl's ages but that I thought she was 39. She said to me “That's right. Gàe laéw (old already) but how did you guess that?” I told her I was just good at guessing girl’s ages but said that she really looked much younger. She smiled broadly at me and said “khop khun khâ. (Thank you).
Thai men have the view that girls over the age of about twenty five years are gàe laéw (old already) and therefore not desirable. They prefer young girls but not so the expats or western tourists (farangs) who have no such difficulty. So the girls working in the bars might be gàe laéw to Thai men but they live in hope that they will find a farang who will find them beautiful who will love and look after them. The girls have no similar prejudice against farangs who are definitely gàe laéw.
Over the weeks Lemon and I became friends. If I got to the bar early to meet mates we often sit down together and hda drink and a chatted. She's always good fun to talk to and it helps me with my Thai and her with her English.
After a while Lemon announced that she was going back to Bangkok for about 10 days to visit friends and to collect her car and bring it to Chiang Mai. A couple of the regulars offered to travel to Bangkok with Lemon and drive her back in her car. She grinned at these offers but did not respond. Lemon subsequently went to Bangkok and we were at the bar when she proudly arrived driving her recent model Toyota which she parked in the bar’s parking lot. She later informed me that she had also attended her university graduation ceremony while in Bangkok. She seemed very proud of the fact and told me that she had majored in human resources. I suggested she should have the degree framed and hung on the bar wall. She laughed and said she might do that.
After working for more than 10 years in the IT industry and completing a university degree Lemon was putting her studies in human resources to good use working as a bar girl in Chiang Mai. She's a really nice girl. I know of no patron at Number One Bar who considers Lemo.n to be gàe laéw. I hoped she'd find what she was looking for.
Well she did. a few months later Lemon told me she hsd met a really nice guy, an Amserican who worked in the Middle East, and that she was going over to stay with him. And it worked out. She's now in a permanent relationship with him and they live in an apartment in an upmarket part of Chiang Mai. He commutes back and forth for work.
And what about Tukta? She had given up and was about to return to Bangkok to work for her old employer wfpho had offered her a promotion. but the the floods cane and her home in Bangkok and her workplace were under water. She had resigned from the bar but had to stay in Chiang Mai until the floods retreated. During that time she got lucky too and met a guy she fell in love with. They now also live together in Chiang Mai.
Tukta comes back to the bar quite often as her partner drinks there. She always has a chat to the regulars. I asked her recently if she had seen Lemon. She said she had phoned her but had not met up with her adding "Lemon is a rich girl now and is too busy".
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