LOVE IN THE TIME OF CRAIGSLIST
My name is Paul, and I have just moved to Bangkok. This is not my first time here, having had short getaways and brief work engagements, but now I am here on a threeyear contract.
With the longer commitment, I am keen to make some local friends. Previously, I had never had to bother with finding restaurants or places to hang out. It was always arranged for me. The result is I don’t know where to go to meet someone. Where does a 38-year-old American-born Chinese man turn?
So I started with the only universal source I know: Craigslist. I carefully worded my notice and made sure it didn’t sound like a sexual ad, because it wasn’t. The subject was “Be my Valentine”, and I placed it in the “men seeking women” section and went to bed.
When I woke up, I had five emails. I was excited about seeing who they were from. I went through all five emails only to find that all were offering to meet on the condition I paid them. Three of them were really attractive ladyboys. Now I know why so many foreigners come to Thailand to find them.
I responded to all the emails to thank them for their interest, and I apologised that I was unable to agree to their terms since I was not looking for sex.
My advert attracted a lot of escorts in Bangkok as well as Pattaya, even though I showed no interest in a sexual encounter. I became quite annoyed and stopped reading the emails from Craigslist.
I was caught up with my new duties and work environment, went out with colleagues and completely forgot about the advert on Craigslist. I was enjoying the real world more than the cyber one.
I couldn’t see the point of keeping the advert on Craigslist, and came to the conclusion that it’s not the place to look for love. But still, I went through all the emails I received.
“Do you mind BBW?” was one short message. I went on Google to look for the meaning of BBW. Some sources said it means “Big Black Woman”, while others said it means “Big Beautiful Woman”.
I actually have no specific type, so I asked her to tell me more about herself. She sent me an instant reply: “I am Thai. I lonely look for friend. Where you from?” I tried to talk more but there was no further reply. Another email was written in decent English. The sender introduced herself as a well-educated ThaiChinese woman. She was keen to know more about me and wanted to know if I was still looking. I replied, and later found out a lot more about her.
She seems to be a very professional woman with decent manners.
We are still communicating back and forth by email. We have agreed that we will meet for the first time on Valentine’s Day for a blind date.
I am sure people have mixed feelings about Craigslist. From my experience, I have to say many people on Craigslist in Thailand are looking for one-night stands. My simple advert had nothing to do with sex, yet somehow attracted people who were looking for it.
Valentine’s used to be just another day for me since I am a hard worker. But this year it will be different. Who knows what it will bring?
I know I am lucky and it might be rare to get a decent date on Craigslist, but I can’t wait for Valentine’s Day now.