I found myself drawn to the sounds of live music wafting from the riverside... I nervously approached the bar man for a beer, but he had a warm smile and urged me to sit down—where was I from? how long was I staying in Pai? Korean? he'd met a Korean girl just last night! etc. /// He had "Sticky Rice Blues" tattooed on his inner forearm and wore a leather vest... hair about as long as mine...//

Between a number, he called me out—"Ajarn! Teacher! of Love!" and _____ ; and as the night progressed, he got drunker and a little bit more sloppy ... he asked me where my boyfriend was, and I unhesingtatingly said that he was in America; "What do you think of him?" "I love him!" (he slaps me playfully on the shoulder; guurrrrlll). "What does he think of you?" "He loves me! I think..." "You think? Come on. You should be with me. Have you ever had a Thai man before?"

I laughed. No, I hadn't—was that bad?

"You know, there's a reason why there are so many foreigners who keep coming back to Thailand..."