‘Behind The Smile’ - The Prequel

Lek was a child in the late Seventies and early Eighties in the wealthiest farming area in Thailand - the immense rice belt of northern Thailand, which was previously part of the area called 'Laana', which translates as a million rice fields. This is not a poor area of Thailand by any means.

However, the people to this day are farmers and farmers tend to work long hours for their money and are therefore careful with it. Lek's village was in a part of this rice belt that is the is the only part of Thailand to get three crops a year. Lek's family were doing very satisfactorily and their family was one of the richest in the village.

Educational facilities were not good in those early days, but most children were anxious to finish school as soon as they could and begin work with their dads. Particularly the boys, but a lot of the girls as well. Life was slow in those days when rice was planted by hand and apparatus was pulled by buffaloes.

People worked from sunup to sundown, not only to make a living, but just to make a decent living. Some kids wished to go on to higher education, but without grants and occasionally with parents who could not see the point of an education, not many ever got there.

Lek was the eldest of four children and she enjoyed school, but she as well could not see where it would get her. She came out of school at 16 years of age because her parents were reluctant to pay for her to go on, when she could help out in the home and the field.

Lek had moaned, although she agreed with her parents to a substantial extent, but she thought that if she was going to work like her ancestors had, she might as well do it for her own family. Her own, new little family. So she permitted a boy she had liked from school to make advances to her and they made plans to get married.

This was not a difficulty for either family or any of the parents and they had a wonderful marriage ceremony and settled down to work for Lek's family for a wage. However, Lek's husband soon began to wish that he had waited a while before getting wed.

He was with one of the most beautiful girls in the village, but at 19 years of age, he still liked to be out and be a lad, whereas Lek was becoming broody. He often came home so drunk that he could not work on the farm; Lek's dad was complaining; Lek was complaining.

There were frequent scraps and bloody noses and it was getting out of hand. He often went away for days at a time and there were rumours of mistresses. Meanwhile, Lek's dad seemed to be getting ill.

He was diagnosed with diabetes and could not work for a few months. The family had savings, but not lots and Lek's husband was nowhere to be seen. She thought about divorce and then her father died unexpectedly.

That was to change her life dramatically.

Owen Jones has just published his first book which is called Behind The Smile: the story of Lek, a Thai bar girl in Pattaya in Thailand.