Dear Hillary,
I have two married guys in my condo block I have got to know pretty well. Good guys, but at least once a week their chasing tail. I reckon this isn’t the right way, but so far I’ve not said anything. I’m not married, so I reckon it’s OK for me, but not for them. Do you agree? Should I tell them?
Pete

Dear Pete,
What grown-ups do in their own time is up to them. You can’t push your standards of behavior onto others, no matter how ‘correct’ you believe you are. You don’t know what the arrangements are in your friends condo’s with their wives, so they are not singing from the same hymn book as you, Petal. Should you tell them? No.

Dear Hillary,
The usual hopeless cases again for 2012. Are these the same ones still believing they have someone “different” from their 2011 bar girl disaster? Is there no end to idiocy?
Jim

Dear Jim,
No end, I’m afraid. Bar girls are more clever than star-struck young men, middle-aged men, old men.

Dear Hillary,
Last week you had this poor chap who didn’t like answering questions in a beer bar. Who does he think he is? If he wants tea and muffins and some culture, then he’s drinking in the wrong places. The six star hotels for you, Sir. If you want some hassle-free fun, then answer the girl’s questions and don’t get on your high horse. Bars are for having fun, don’t you agree Ms Hillary?
Monty

Dear Monty,
Of course you are right. The problems that you chaps have with the bar scene is you all want to find the girl of your dreams and settle down and raise hamsters. Bar girls are for fun times not for getting serious.

Dear Hillary,
I’ve never been to Thailand before but I’m saving to come over next Xmas hols, and I’ve been reading up something ferocious and your newspaper tells me a lot about where you live. I have read the phrase ST Bars and am not really sure of the meaning. Can you please explain it for me?
Harold

Dear Harold,
I was about to throw your letter in the ‘delete’ box, but then after re-reading it I think you must be the most na๏ve person to ever think about coming to Thailand for a holiday. I get the feeling that you are still in your teens and your mother didn’t teach you how to dry behind your ears. ST stands for “short time” which is a bar where you have to wear shorts to get in. However, it can also mean that it is a bar for short people who spend some time there in the company of other dwarves. If you think I am pulling your leg, then you’re not as dumb as you sound. Look me up at Xmas Petal, and bring lots of money as well as the champagne and chocolates.

Dear Hillary,
While driving up a small street in the suburbs the other afternoon I saw at the last minute it had been blocked off. I went to do a U-Turn because of the blockage and then in the rear vision mirror I saw a taxi coming up behind me at a great rate of knots. By the time he saw both me and the barricade in front of me it was too late and he lost control of his bike and slid sideways into the rear bumper of my car. My car had no damage and he was not severely injured, just a few barked knuckles, and the motorcycle only had a few scratches, but he demanded payment from me. As I was in a hurry to get to an appointment, my Thai friend who was with me said to offer 500 baht and we eventually struck a deal at 1000 baht and that was it. Away he went. What I don’t understand is why I had to pay anything at all? He was going too fast and ran into me. Why should I pay anything? It makes me angry.
Confused Motorist

Dear Confused Motorist,
There are lots of ways at looking at your accident. You could have called the police and waited around and gone to the station to make a report and allowed the nice policeman to deliberate whether the poor little taxi bike rider was to blame, or the angry farang. There is also the viewpoint that in any accident with two moving vehicles it is extremely rare to see one 100 percent in the right and the other 100 percent in the wrong. Could the taxi bike afford to pay for treatment for his barked knuckles and the damage to his bike? You would do better, my Petal, to consider it a donation which allowed you not to have to waste several hours of your time. I believe your Thai friend gave you good advice, but the choice is always yours. Hope you have lots of time up your sleeve.