This is the kind of story you often hear in Thailand, a common story of a man who falls in love and spends everything he has to live with his girlfriend, but unfortunately, love stories end often sometimes badly in Thailand.
A Swiss man told his love story in Thailand to TMN Cable TV in Pattaya.
Today, Tony Niko from Switzerland sweeps a temple in Jomtien, south of Pattaya, to make ends meet every day.
But it wasn't always like this.
According to TMN, he earned at least 300,000 baht a month running a construction company in his home country.
He employed 50 people, and then he decided to come to Thailand.
He then meets the love of his life on Pattaya's Walking Street.
Her name was Leuchakorn.
The couple spent seven happy years together.
Tony bought her a house, a car and a piece of land in Rayong.
It also funded a new laundry for her.
Tony told TMN Cable TV that he had a nest egg of 10 million baht when he arrived in Thailand.
He thought that with their local businesses, the money would be enough to last.
Then Tony asked him the big question.
He proposed to Leuchakorn to get married and continue to live in marital bliss, Thai style.
According to the story, Leuchakorn then told Tony that she could not marry him at that time and that she was going to work in the north of the country.
The house and land were sold, of course in his name, and then...
... it has disappeared.
And that's about it. Tony says he has nothing left and has been looking for Leuchakorn for three years, but to no avail.
He says he still loves her and wants to be reunited and continue their life together.
For the time being, he lives in a local temple and helps to keep the grounds clean while being helped by locals who know him.
Tony is now 56 years old, intends to continue living in Thailand and says he has nothing left, but is "happy".
He lost everything but his smile !
Menu
Tony Niko's testimony on his love story in Thailand
A video in Thai:
Love story in Thailand: possible explanation
Of course, I don't know the whole story, but one can imagine what happened in relation to the situation of the country and the many common histories.
Issan (or Isan), in the north-east of the country, is the poorest part of Thailand.
Many women, sometimes already married and with children, come to work in Pattaya, in the sex industry or in tourism and with the hope of meeting a rich "farang" (foreigner) to support his family.
Since she went "up north" and after the marriage proposal, one can imagine that she was perhaps already married and, for fear of being discovered, decided to leave, with the money of course, before having to explain herself.
There are also many Laotian women in the same situation, who come to Pattaya and pass themselves off as Thai from Issan, as the language spoken in Issan is Laotian (well, there are two parts, Lao Issan and Khmer Isan).
A story similar to this one:
Documentary: My nightmare, I married a Thai woman
Generally, when a story starts to get serious with a Thai woman, you have to meet the family, has Tony ever met Leuchakorn's family?
I think not, because otherwise he could have found her easily.
Finally, even if it is hard to reason with yourself when you fall in love, you should still try to keep a cool head and learn the Thai language, customs and wait until you know the person and their family well before spending money.
I had a girlfriend who, I found out a long time later, lied a lot, but was a very religious Buddhist.
So when I wanted to know the truth, I took her to the temple, because she was unable to lie in a temple and usually, of course, rather than tell the truth, refused to repeat her lies, which confirmed them...
See also :
Danish man wins lawsuit against Thai wife for not sharing property
Scams in Thailand: know them and protect yourself
Words for dating, loving and breaking up in Thai
What is the best Thai dating site?
Source: TMN Cable News ; The Thaiger
FR_BE
EN
IT
PT
ES
ZH
RU