Weird and wonderful things can happen when you’ve had a bit too much to drink. Big D and I were walking around Patong’s red light district around midnight, enjoying the free visual entertainment provided by the working girls outside all the bars. Old Mate sitting alone on a bar stool called out to get our attention: “You from Australia?” “Sure are!” “Thought I recognised the accent”. We pulled up a chair and he ordered us some beers. “On the house”, he said, “considering I own this place”. Divorced, lonely and bored of Australia, Old Mate had recently moved to Phuket, Thailand and bought a bar. “Motivated by the lifestyle more than the money,” he said. A group of working girls, dressed in tiny white skirts and knee-high boots sat at another table attracting the attention of
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