I've been a member of the board for nigh on 10 years. I'd like to think that in that time I've built up a certain credibility - I am actually who I claim to be. An Irishman who drinks too much (I know, the exception to the rule), too prone to falling in love with a cute go-go boy, prone to depression when at home, and who's had a challenging couple of years.
Matt joined the board at roughly the same time, give or take a year. At first, I thought he was a really nice guy, defying his parents' wishes and striking out on his own in a strange country. I admired and envied that. I totally believed his accounts of his daily life in Pattaya with Kim. He wasn't afraid to admit making mistakes, but generally seemed happy with his life. I can't remember what prompted the split with Kim.
Then came the move to Khon Kaen, which seemed a bit odd to me. Why would a young Western man move from Pattaya, where one can access support networks of farang business men, since he was building up his business. And of course, the usual pleasures of Pattaya. Seemed an odd choice to me, but then again, we've all made odd choices in our lives. Sometimes those choices take us closer to where we wanted to be, and sometimes they take us to places we never even knew about, and are happier for the experience.
The kicker for me was the blindness. You can't judge the decisions a person makes in that situation, but we all do. I can only speak for myself. Had I been rendered blind by a fall, and told there was no treatment, I would have gone home, no matter how much I didn't really want to. Just to have the support of family and friends (which I already have right now) but also access to services such as guide dogs, etc, which can give a blind person a greater level of independence. But Matt (apparently) decided to stay on his own in a strange town, in a (relatively) strange country, without a support network of any kind. A rational decision? I think not.
So once the doubts about his credibility begin to creep in, it becomes harder to believe anything
he says. I finally decided a little while ago that I didn't believe any of what he posted.
So why did I say I would go to KK to confirm (or otherwise) the reality of the person we know as Matt? He needed to be called out on his bullshit. And I hoped in the expected long discussions here about that visit, he would reveal more about his alternate persona.
The final straw was this morning, when he said I was still welcome to visit KK, but the rest of you could all fuck off. I couldn't maintain my pretence of believing his lies anymore.
Well, this went on a bit longer than I thought. I've tried to write as honestly as I can. Does it matter whether you believe what I've written? Well, yes, it does. I'd like to think that over the last 10 years I've made a couple of friends (even if we don't physically meet) and these are important to me.
So we all make our own decisions in these matters. I've made mine. I'm staying in Pattaya - spending the early part of the day in the Beer Garden, and trying to find a replacement for All of Me bar.
Now, I'm off to have a deep fried Mars bar with bacon for my tea.
