This was a full page story in Hong Kong South China Morning Post, this morning about my transition. I hope it can inspire other tgs.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2108317/how-ruthless-playboy-businessman-hong-kong-became
By Rachel Blundy
Congratulations I hope you were happy with the article... The article to seems to have been trying to be respectful whilst providing enough information to keep it authentic. I think it was pretty well done.....the more important question for me is did you like it and was it how you wanted it? Hopefully it ticked all those boxes for you.
It was well done and expressed my views before and after transition. There is no sugar coating my views, it comes from my heart. Its hard for western tgs to understand how easy life is when the heart of the people accept you, we dont have the being tg drama and no fears of agression nor discrimination. Its just like a normal female or males cis growing up or transitioning as the 3rd gender.
Thank you for sharing, a nice piece of journalism. X
Sent from my MI 5s using Tapatalk
Quote from: warlockmaker on August 26, 2017, 06:50:32 AM
It was well done and expressed my views before and after transition. There is no sugar coating my views, it comes from my heart. Its hard for western tgs to understand how easy life is when the heart of the people accept you, we dont have the being tg drama and no fears of agression nor discrimination. Its just like a normal female or males cis growing up or transitioning as the 3rd gender.
As the piece is about you it is heartening to hear that you are happy with the way things have been reported. There are certainly some very basic differences in the western cultures inability to deal with Trans people as people, first and foremost.
Thanks for the best article and videos that I have seen this month!
Just wanted tgs in the west to know that a normal life is possible when the heart of the people fully accept . There already is such a place Thailand, and wanted to present an inspirational piece of hope for the future.
Bobbie
We will meet one day. Thanks for the link to the story.
Quote from: warlockmaker on August 26, 2017, 10:53:45 PM
Just wanted tgs in the west to know that a normal life is possible when the heart of the people fully accept . There already is such a place Thailand, and wanted to present an inspirational piece of hope for the future.
If I can scrape together the money, I'm strongly considering a holiday to Thailand next year. Between the beauty of the place, and what sounds like a hugely accepting society, it sounds like paradise!
Sent from my MI 5s using Tapatalk
This is a very good article, mainly because you are constantly breaking the rules and stretching the boundaries. I admire that and it inspires me.
I especially like this quote:
"I still feel like I have many 'younger days' to go. In my very early days, it was The Rolling Stones, later Dire Straits, then Coldplay. I'm also a fan of Ed Sheeran."
People are being 'retired' and put on the scrap heap too soon.
It's a good article, but I feel I know you better than that from all the discussions on the site. There's a few things that continue to confuse me, so I may as well ask one now since it's mentioned in the article. I've always been quite curious about the cultural differences around family obligations.
I'm western, and probably a bit strange even so, and personally I don't feel much obligation to my parents. I would never consider placing them above my own happieness, and I don't feel any real obligation to carry on the family line. My children on the other hand are all important and I place them first before anything. My obgligation to my wife also comes before me because I made certain promises and I never break my word. I've found an immense source of stress balancing these obligations when some are in contradiction to each other.
I've also been delaying transition for family, but its all for different reasons. My choices would entirly depend on my obgligations at time, and that has varied significantly over my life.
So, is waiting until now something you're still happy with, and if you could do it all over again would you still choose the same path? Is it maybe related to your deep family history, and is it still the same for the younger generation? What you you advise young Chinese trans people to do?
I can't really say I understand Thailand but I have the impression it's a society in transition in regards to trans acceptance and integration. It's not fully there yet, but many aspects are far ahead of the west, while others lag behind. Ive heard that it's the buddhist culture that's behind the rapid progress in recent decades, especially in social acceptance.
The family obligations as the eldest son was to ensure that there would be grandchildren. This is the Asian family way for a 1,000 yrs, it defines who we are. My younger brother came out as gay at 18, thus there was no options for me. There was also the matter of running a family business and taking the appropiate degrees to manage it. So no real choice left. So I just enjoyed it. It is not my mother or father or grandparents its the family that I have a duty and my wives and children are my family also.
Would I change anything, no not really, I am at peace having fufilled my duties. I am free to pursue my dreams and life values. It was the right time for me. Enjoyed fufilling my duties, guess I have this very positive attitude. 69 is young if you are healthy and have long life genes. My father will be 96. I would not change anything. I have peace.
I used to be catholic, I have a nephew who is a Jesuit priest my older sister speaks in tongues. I understand christianity, I find christianity to be intolerant and not an accepting religion. Thus, I became a buddhist at 23. Thailand is virtually a buddhist secular state. We believe in live and let live. We are a peaceful and believe in rebirth. I cannot explain it all here, but yes it is a major factor.
Wonderful Article. You are definitely an inspiration.
I had a few questions I hope you could help. I am going to have some FFS revision work in 2018. I will not be having it done in the USA. I was thinking of either India or Thailand. Factors I am considering are surgeon outcomes, safety and cost.
I have been looking into India and some fixed costs are airfare $650 and hotel $70 to $200 per night. There are some doctors I have been investigating and have yet to skype them. In your opinion, would you go to India or Thailand if you were to have revisions if travel was not an issue?
You look beautiful, may I ask who your surgeon was and where were the procedures done?
Thank you,
Rachel
I can see we have a very different views of family. My strong ties are only very close family and it fades out quickly quickly in the past and future. No doubt the Asian way also explains why I see so much pressure on Asian children to excel at school in Australia, while Caucasian parents simply don't care (I don't share that view, but most of my neighbors do). Many of the top academic schools where I live are 90%+ Asian children.
Quote from: warlockmaker on August 27, 2017, 11:21:30 AM
I used to be catholic, I have a nephew who is a Jesuit priest my older sister speaks in tongues. I understand christianity, I find christianity to be intolerant and not an accepting religion.
Yes, unfortunately I agree with that.
Hi Rachel, re: FFS correction surgery. I would recommend Thailand, they have the track record and perform FFS alot. The Thai females and of course the very large populations of Female tgs are kinda obsessed with surgeries. They typically have nose jobs, facial implants, hair transplants, eye lid etc. Plus beauty clinics galore for botox, fillers, etc. I dont know much about India, I know that Indians fly here for their FFS.
FFS can be costly if complicated. I had a rejuvinating face lift, eye, nose, brow shaving type 1, at Preecha Aesthetic Institite. I love their work and professionalism I am considering a siliocn nose implant for the more perfect nose later this year haha. Send them an e mail and get more info on costs etc.
I came across a Facebook Meme today with a link to your video story...seemed very positive stuff!
Warlockmaker, thank you for the information. I had FFS with Dr. Spiegel and just need some soft tissue work on the jowls, some lipo and an upper eye lift.
Quote from: warlockmaker on August 28, 2017, 12:04:15 AM
Hi Rachel, re: FFS correction surgery. I would recommend Thailand, they have the track record and perform FFS alot. The Thai females and of course the very large populations of Female tgs are kinda obsessed with surgeries. They typically have nose jobs, facial implants, hair transplants, eye lid etc. Plus beauty clinics galore for botox, fillers, etc. I dont know much about India, I know that Indians fly here for their FFS.
FFS can be costly if complicated. I had a rejuvinating face lift, eye, nose, brow shaving type 1, at Preecha Aesthetic Institite. I love their work and professionalism I am considering a siliocn nose implant for the more perfect nose later this year haha. Send them an e mail and get more info on costs etc.
My thoughts on this and at this point, it is only a dream (due to finances and questions) is to relocate to Thailand for 3 to 6 months. Go in some sort of male mode, come back female. Set up in an apartment that is nice but not necessarily luxurious (probably near PAI) and go to work transforming. I have numerous procedures needed. Start with hair transplants, BA, FFS, body modifications (cool sculpting etc) and maybe GCS. This would give me time to take care of procedures and recovery, see the country, enjoy the life of the country and getting out-patient procedures done. And save a bunch of money. Right now I am projecting around a total cost of $50K or so. Here in the USA it would be much more money and require many trips to distant towns and doctors with associated softer costs.
Now to get my dream set and money accumulated.
Hi Julie, I believe 50,000 usd will cover it all. Let me give you some ideas for costs.
Housing in the city of Bangkok, varies considetably, but you should find a 1 bedroom in a good building for around 750 usd and a studio apt for 500 usd. Food is very inexpensive. Seaside resorts depend on the time of the year. High season is Nov to April. Rents in beach resorts like Phuket vary depending on proximity to the beach but again 500 to 750 usd per month.
Transportation in the city is by BTS and MRT eletric trains. Very clean, a/c, and effecient. At beach resorts rent a motorcycle for usd 200 per month Very cheap to rent and wonderful for seaside living.
I came to Bangkok as a male and became a female here. No one cares and its a great place to learn and develop your style. Clothes are cheap at the right type of malls. In Bkk go to Platinum.
BA, Ffs, srs cost around 28,000 usd. So you can do the math.
Thanks Bobbie for reassuring me that my gross dollars are realistic. I did a quick calculation and came up with $20K quickly without GCS included. And I have been impressed with the reasonable pricing on plastic surgery costs, western standards of facilities and levels of care or better, along with professionalism and reputation that many doctors and staff have.
Your outline of apartment rentals is a bit high to my calculations but is just an adjustment to the budget and not close to a deal killer. Cheap food and clothes are a definite plus.
While my list is not comprehensive, I know doctors will probably recommend additional procedures that at this time are not considered. And for instance if PAI does the procedure, I hope they will give a frequent patient discount over the time I am there.
Finally, the fact that Thai for the most part don't see trans as a social issue and we are just part of the scenery is a huge plus. Here in my less than tolerant town the locals are pretty much the opposite. So a long visit to an accepting environment that I can BE MYSELF, get so many procedures done, recover, go out and about freely and safely, tour around, shop, eat, learn to speak Thai (some) and become the inner me on the outside is very enticing. And for 6 months be considered rich.
Quote from: warlockmaker on August 26, 2017, 05:22:10 AM
This was a full page story in Hong Kong South China Morning Post, this morning about my transition. I hope it can inspire other tgs.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2108317/how-ruthless-playboy-businessman-hong-kong-became
By Rachel Blundy
I just read this and was amazed at the transformation and your life. You are truly living two full lives in a lifetime. Congratulations on the article and your continuing philanthropical work.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thank you and I continue to live in Bangkok and love my life here.
congrats
I enjoyed reading the article, although some of our stories are not as dramatic this one is an attention getter. It does help show we are normal people. You seemed to have had it all but something was missing. When you met that wonderful transgender woman it opened your eyes. I was always taught trans people were perverted but knew something was wrong and I'm not a pervert. I don't wish to have sexual fantasies i want to live my life normally and be happy. Thanks, that was inspiring.
Corrina