The mechanics of life

At Independent Bo, there is an English couple and two French twins and their Cambodian...uh...working girl? I talked to her today for a while. She beamed about the 53 year-old Canadian father of her 2 kids. She's 27 and they are married. He took the kids to Canada, and bought her a house and car in Cambodia. Their first child is a girl. But their second child? What luck...a boy! From what she said, once she got pregnant with the boy, everything changed. The husband got tons of job offers, loads of money, although she has no idea what his job is. She's just thrilled that her womb was the lucky one, her son the golden boy. She had even consulted a monk who she said told her her son would look like the Buddha. From what she said, it's all worked out. He got what he wanted, a family. She got what she wanted. A house, car and cash. He's had a vasectomy. But when I asked about her tubes, "Oh no. I have more babies." I know. Who am I to judge? But how do you say condom in French?

It's hard to see. Strapping westerners walking by with Thai women (often quite young) clutching their arms. It's not real. They're not a couple. Shared time? Hired time. Jacqui said it ruins the men here. Some lovely young lady walks by. Yes, sir. You can have her. For a price. Whatever you want is available to you. At a premium. Almost like a gas station. What do you need? Car wash? Oil change? Fuel, wiper blades? Come on down to Sheila's. We're always open.

It's a different life. Every single one. And I guess we're all doing what we can to survive. And be happy.