Dear Hillary,
After writing to a Thai girl for almost one year, I met her at Xmas and she was everything I could have ever hoped for. Loving and caring in a way no woman from home has ever been. I spent three wonderful weeks with her, met the family and her son (aged 5), all nice people. I will be coming back in March and we will get engaged officially and look at marriage later in the year when I am due more vacation. My girl has mentioned that something called “sinsot” must be paid to her parents, which I think is like a dowry. She is saying a million baht which is more than 30,000 dollars, and that is quite a lot of money for me to put my hands on at one time, after paying for air fares and accommodation. Is this usual, Hillary? If so, it is turning me off marrying this girl.
Leroy
Dear Leroy,
After three weeks, you are so sure of this relationship that you will be returning to get engaged and married later in the year. And then you are lining up to pay a dowry as well. My Petal, please go and look in the mirror and see if you have the letters ATM tattooed on your forehead. Your “loving and caring” girl has a son already and is not a virgin, so there is no need to pay a dowry, unless of course it was a virgin birth, but I’ll let you work that one out. My Petal, you haven’t got a relationship with enough depth to even start to contemplate marriage, and you are being led up the proverbial garden path by the carrot. My advice is simple – RUN.
