A game of ping pong Bangkok style!

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  Chang Rai, Thailand
Monday, August 7, 2006

I know whoever is reading this, that has been to Thailand, is smiling because
they know where I am going with this. But first here is my disclaimer.

Disclaimer:
When I decided to keep this journal I said to myself that the only way I was
going to do it was if I was real about my experiences. I want to give an
unapologetic/real life portrayal of what a 26 yr old guy goes
through/feels/experiences while living on the road.
My goal is not to be as raw as Mel Gibson after a few beers but I do want to
be honest

Cornholio!

. I think travel is a form of education and education is selfish unless you share it with the people around you. In no way shape or form am I supporting or endorsing
prostitution! Now back to the show!

Thailand is famous for 5 things
1. Its sex industry (prostitutes, lady boys, etc....)
2. Thai food
3. Muay Thai(Thai boxing)
4. Thai massage
5. Bangkok's (Patpong's) ping pong shows

I fought it for as long as I could. I even made it to my second time around
in Bangkok. But like most other travelers who pass through Bangkok my
curiosity got the most of me. I found myself in the middle of Bangkok's
sleazy underworld (an area called Patpong.) Patpong is a district of Bangkok
that is over run with karaoke bars, shady massage parlors, sleazy night
clubs, brothels, & sex shows. The best way to describe it is Bourbon St. on
crack cocaine! Heaven for Jimmy Swaggart, or Hell, depends on how you look at
it? Almost every traveler for some reason finds themselves in the mix of
that madness

Dragons

. The legend of the ping pong show is all over South East Asia
and the world for that matter. I heard about this show years ago! Anyway a few friends and I found our way to Patpong. As you walk down the streets you
are approached by leach-like street touts trying to drag you into their
places. We decided that we were going to see a ping-pong show. We found a
bar and went inside. The shows do not have a cover charge but require you to
buy an overpriced drink. For me to say this is a big statement but this is
one of the worst places that I have ever stepped foot in. There is a stage
in the middle of the sleaze-club with a few really unattractive girls
dancing on the outer part of the stage. The area in the middle is where they
do the show. Believe me when I say that there is nothing remotely sexy about
the show. If anything you feel sorry for the girls. Unfortunately I am not
going to describe the show for you all

Elephant treking

. I will leave it up to your
imagination! After about 15 minutes we had enough and decided to move on. For some odd reason, like most
of my stories in Asia, homosexuality is about to come into play. We ended up
in the gay section of Patpong. The girls I was with had been here a few
times before and told us that it was something "we needed to see!" I am ok
with my sexuality so I said sure, a once in a life time experience. It was a
man-whore bar that the girls brought us to! When we entered the bar the
stage was covered in half naked men with numbers attached to their
underpants. The process is very similar to a cattle auction. I am not really
sure how the process works? I would guess you choose a number and decide on
a price and go elsewhere with your purchase? I was with a girl so they did
not really bother me. On the stage at one time there is about 20 guys
gyrating to the music. They move in a clockwise pattern. When one leaves
the stage another one enters. After about 10 minutes of that and the
obligatory fight over the price of the beer they cleared the stage. I am
embarrassed to even say what happened next

Elephant, Nomad, Brazil

. Keep in mind I am not bashful. I
wrote about seeing a grown mans vagina on my first day in Bangkok. I saw 2
grown men do things to each other that I only thought happened on "Broke Back
Mountain?" Sorry Momma! I actually think this experience scared me! We did
not go, but, the same sort of cattle auction thing happens in the female bars. The
sex industry is out of control here! One of the hardest things to do as a
traveler is not to judge people. But I am a product of the Western world and
I think selling people is wrong! I have been doing some reading on Buddhism
and from what I understand Buddhism holds "sins of the flesh" in a different
light then Judeo Christian values. Anyway I just wanted to take a few
minutes to share some of the darker sides of reality to you. The sex trade is a common part of everyday life here! I wanted to take a second and talk about it. I recently read that as many as 2 million people work in the sex
industry. I was able to find these facts about it. Keep in mind these are
dated but can give you a rough idea!

Crazy Statistics regarding Thailand's sex industry:

There are 200,000 to 300,000 prostituted persons in Thailand

Feeding the elephant

. Prostituted
persons are mainly adult women, but there are also male, transvestite and
child prostitutes, both girls and boys. (International Labor Organization.
Dario Agnote, "Sex trade key part of S.E. Asian economies, study says,"
Kyodo News, 18 August 1998)

4.6 million Thai men regularly, and 500,000 foreign tourists annually, buy
women in prostitution. (CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and
Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)

There are 60,000 brothels and other sexual service centers in Thailand.
(CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia
Pacific

Thailand has the fourth largest number of AIDS cases in the world with
nearly 60,000

Hill Top Child and my Brazilian friend Vanessa

. This is only the number of officially reported cases and
health workers say the actual number is several times higher. (Sutin
Wannabovorn, "Thai Prime Minister vows end prostitution, AIDS victims
react," Reuters, 29 July 1997)


"Cause heaven ain't close in a place like this" - The Killers

Keepin it real! Take a second think about it............-Johnny Nomad

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Hill Top Child Close Up	Hill Top Native	Hill Top Tribe Child	Kho San Road, Bangkok (tourist ghetto)
My friends	Natives exploting themselves for money	Nomad and Waterfall	Push Cart Driver Naping
Treking in the Jungle

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