today: “same same” (one of thailand’s most adored english phrases…who knows where in the world it came from because i've definitely never heard an english speaker say it…)sunbathing, dipping in the pee-warm beach water, indulging in the fresh pineapple (or sah-bah-roht… thai vocab word of the day!) offered temptingly from the beach vendors, and sweating profusely in the heat I still am quite unaccustomed to… which –not to mention- surely reeks of beer from last night’s escapades. good riddance though. my body could do without the excess of formaldehyde (supposedly one of the main ingredients in the many chang beers i consumed on walking street). my only concern at the moment, therefore, is whether the congealy greasy street meat I just ate is going to result in a magic cure for my hangover or a 24 hour case of explosive diarrhea….
last night’s quintessential pattaya experience made it clear to me yet again that I made the right decision coming here. first, roaming the streets of sunny plaza in south pattaya on the back of my teacher friend’s motorbike (and by roaming I mean dipping in and out of narrow alley-like zigzagging streets that kept the ride exciting, though made it so I hadn’t the slightest clue how we got to the bar we finally stopped at). once there, we got the full lowdown on pattaya’s infamous sex scene, thanks to my new friend’s expertise in the area of gay thai boys and all associated fetishes and fantasies that money might buy. he filled up in on exactly how the system of “renting” little thai boys works (in case we might ever get hit with the urge). he explained that the boys working at the gay bar –at which we were presently enjoying happy hour- expected the average minimum of about 1,000 baht to be taken home for the night to make many and all of your fantasies involving little thai boys come true (he apparently has an explicit list of precisely what he likes that he whips out on such occasions). the next morning, a further tip of at least 500 baht is also expected. this, like the overall fee, is mostly property of the bar manager, with very little actually going to the ones having to do the dirty work of sucking on skinny bald mens’ toes, or whatever that crowd might be into these days…
importantly, the distinction between this type of “beer bar” and an actual “go-go bar” is that the beer bars are casual places anyone can go hang out and have drinks (as we were doing) and not feel the slightest obligation to participate in such festivities (or, in my case, even be fully aware of the real purpose of the place as a sexual rendezvous meeting point). go-go bars on the other hand, have the sole and blatant purpose of choosing a boy/girl to take home. literally, “I want #32.” and bam. yours for the night. these joints lack even the slightest pretense toward being something less seedy and uncivilized than they are, and it is not uncommon to see genitalia flying haphazardly across the stage or even shoved in your face, as we would soon find out in our front row seats at the “wild wild west” show…
welcome to boyztown.
i won’t deny how much I enjoyed critiquing the 40 or so boys parading across the stage in teeny-weenie camo bikini bottoms, cowboy boots, and number badges for easy identification (names would have just confused the whole dehumanization bit). it was admittedly refreshing, that double standards between men and women simply do not exist here. nor do stigmatizations or judgments regarding sexual preference, or simply sex in general.
no. in thailand, and especially pattaya, there is something for everyone, and the sex industry is cimply considered a service like any other. showing off naked bodies on a stage like pieces of meat up for auction is not a cause for feminist uproar as is so often the case in the united states. in america, such places are nothing more than a perpetuation of the notion of women as big breasted small-waisted sex objects to be used and abused for the pleasure of men. here though, it seems different. people come in all shapes and sizes to suit any and all types of taste and sexual orientation. our friend, full of wisdom and knowledge of the thai culture from his 8 year relationship with his thai boyfriend tells me: thais think of sex differently. for the thais, sex is like lunch. if you’re hungry, you eat. if you’re horny, you have sex. no need to make a big ordeal out of such a basic human need.
however, while the spectacle of downtown pattaya represents the fun and adventurous surface of the issue of sex tourism in this country, the sex industry has equally dark and dangerous aspects of exploitation, abuse, and underage workers. whisperings of the sick world of child sex trafficking in the area show just how little of the reality of “sex tourism” that the bright neon lights and scantily-clad promoters of the go-go bars actually reveal…
but anyway…. musings on the philosophical implications of this culture’s unique outlook on the issue are beside the point. all i can personally attest to is the entertainment aspect of the one amusing show i attended…
unfortunately, my favorite boy (number 32 i think? …the only one not skinnier/prettier and a better dancer than me…well maybe still prettier, but at least his body was definitely that of a man, rather than a 12 year old girl like many of the other boys…) was not in the actual show. though the erotic dancing in belly dancing skirts, ballet-inspired solos by the lead ladyboy, and under-the-blanket peep scenes of intense 3-boy sex positions (all set to dramatic lighting and music, of course) was still very much entertaining. our poor straight boy companion in the group was such a good sport throughout the whole sheer skirt/erect body parts intensity of the show that afterwards, we all agreed he deserved some boobies.
next stop: boyztown’s older, longer, more intense, and much more famous sister neighborhood: Walking Street. (all i can say on the subject is i have definitely had my whole year’s helping of thai boobies…)
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