The following article was copied from this weblog at NationMultimedia.com. A big "Thank You" to Poomjai for giving us permission.

About Poomjai: Poomjai lived and worked in Bangkok for five years between 2003 and 2008 before returning to live in his native England. He currently works in London although he stays in touch with Thailand by writing a regular web-blog for The Nation. Poomjai also writes under the pen-name of Toby Brittan, and published his first book "Sao Thai: Rawang Farang" in October 2007. The book contains some cold truths about the tricks that farang men can play when dating in Thailand, but its underlying message is optimistic. That true love is possible between Thais and farangs. It is essential reading for any Thai lady thinking of entering into a serious relationship with a farang man.

A lot of single farang ex-pats who live in Thailand have a bad attitude about and behave badly towards good Thai girls. The farangs have, generally speaking, good jobs, can afford a nice lifestyle in Thailand and because they are in a minority in a foreign land they feel the attention of pretty girls much more than they would at home, even if they are getting old and fat (like me). It feels like living a dream. So many pretty, cute girls to look at and chase after.

Because Thai people in general always try hard to be polite on the surface, many farangs can often misinterpret the attention they get from pretty Thai girls. A Thai girl may be thinking that the farang appears a nice and kind person, or perhaps she is noting how fat he is and doesn't want to make him feel bad. In many cases, the farang may be wondering if the girl is interested in him and how she would look naked.

For the farang will often be blinded by the attractions of the highly visible sex trade in Thailand and not realize that Thai culture is actually far more conservative than in the west. Although attitudes towards dating and sex are changing in modern Thailand, many Thai girls prefer to stick to Thai culture and custom and limit physical relations to the union of marriage.

A lot of decent Thai girls aren't interested in dating farang men. However, a lot are. Respectable, well educated Thai girls from good families and with good jobs, who are looking to find a decent man to love them and, perhaps, develop a serious relationship that may one day lead to marriage and a family. The farang's career and ex-pat lifestyle may be a consideration for the girl who will want to know that her potential suitor can live up to the expectations of her family, who would probably frown upon a relationship with a khee nok from Khao San Road.

And if the farang maintains a surface impression of charm and kindness, she may think this a more appealing combination than having a relationship a Thai man who will still want to make regular visits to the arb ob nuat as a compensation for the strictures of a very conservative 'Thai style' relationship. Or indeed a relationship with a Thai man who is actually gay but keen to get married to keep his parents happy.

But a relationship with a farang man is just as riven with potential problems. The ratio of cute Thai girls to ex-pat single farang men in Thailand is heavily stacked on the female side. Every day, when a farang man leaves his apartment, he will be confronted with a sea of beautiful Thai girls, at work, at restaurants and slick hotels where he hangs out. While the girl might be thinking that the farang man who is 'jeebing' her might be a candidate for 'Mr Right' the farang might in turn be thinking that she is a candidate for 'Miss Right Now'.

If the farang gets bored with his current Thai girlfriend or simply meets another girl that he finds more cute, then he will in many cases be tempted either to play around, cheat and maintain multiple 'gigs' or simply move on to pursue the next girl.

Because it is a truth that many farang men come to Thailand thinking about one thing - sex. Bangkok's brand as the sex capital of South East Asia is hard to shake off in the minds of many westerners and, I sense, will be for many years to come. This, coupled with the confidence engendered by an ex-pat life style, no doubt colours the way many farangs think about dating Thai girls.

It is for this reason that Thai girls need to tread carefully when dating farang men. Some farang men in Thailand may well be Princes, but a large number are frogs.