Thai Girl
Page 35
Confused and upset, Ben did not ask the waiter to write a reply. Instead he went home to collect his thoughts and a few days later when he had a free moment, he wrote a letter to Fon in English. As a friend would have to read it for her, he could not say anything too personal.
He told her he was well and hoped her mother’s health was improving. He said he too missed her very much and that he had a wonderful memory of their time together in Thailand which would stay with him for the rest of his life. And he broke the good news that he was to be sponsored by one of the big London law firms to study law at college for two years before starting a two year training contract with them. It was an excellent firm which paid well and he would be able to clear his debts almost immediately. He thought of telling her that the firm had an office in Bangkok but for some reason decided not to mention it just yet. He asked her to say hello to Joy and Gaeo for him and finished by saying he hoped she would write again when there was any news from the island.
He did not post the letter for a couple of days but took it to the Post Office when he went in to renew his mother’s car tax. The counter clerk was brisk and efficient. As she weighed the letter and took his money, she chatted about the dreadful weather they were having before finally dropping it into a sack of airmail packets on the floor behind her.
My Thai Girl And I
This is about how I met Cat, a ‘Thai girl’ half my age and how we set up home together in her village out in the rice fields of North Eastern Thailand.
I’ll tell you of toads in the toilet, of ants’ eggs for breakfast, how we took up frog farming and how I got married without really meaning to.
It’s also a book about the countryside, of the old Thailand where the rhythm of the seasons and belief in the spirits and Buddhism remain strong.
Though how could I, a greying English lawyer, ever fit into the lives of a Thai rice farming family? Can Cat and I with our many differences really be compatible?
If you’re curious to know what it’s like to start a totally new life as I did, to slow down and ‘go with the flow’, I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading the story of ‘my Thai girl and I’.
About The Author
Andrew Hicks first came to Thailand in the late seventies and in more recent years has travelled extensively throughout the country with backpack and notebook, observing the interaction of Thais and foreign visitors.
In his various incarnations he has been a corporate lawyer in London and a lecturer in law at universities in Nigeria, Hong Kong, Singapore and England. When living in Hong Kong, his interest in and concern for migrant workers led him to write a bestselling self-help manual for Filipina domestic helpers. That concern is also a primary focus of this, his first novel.
The Thai Girl website, featuring a Readers Forum, an interview with the author, the author’s acknowledgements and a picture gallery is at www.thaigirl2004.com.
The author welcomes your views about the book and the issues raised in it for publication on the site’s Readers Forum. These should please be sent to arhicks56@hotmail.com.
His second book, My Thai Girl And I, is a memoir about how he met Cat, a ‘Thai girl’ half his age and how they set up home together in her village out in the rice fields of North Eastern Thailand. For the latest news about Andrew and Cat with zany commentary on all things Thai, please visit www.thaigirl2004.blogspot.com.
Copyright
First published in Thailand in 2004 by TYS Books, a division of the TY Group of Companies.
First published in print by Monsoon Books in 2006.
This electronic edition first published in 2012 by Monsoon Books
ISBN (epub): 978-981-4358-24-8
ISBN (paperback): 978-981-05-3918-4
Copyright©Andrew Hicks, 2004
Cover design by James Nunn
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
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