Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Sukhumvit Sightings

Tonight I had a bit of time to kill and walked Sukhumvit road in Bangkok between soi 4 and 15. That area of Sukhumvit is sex tourist, sex worker central.

Here are some of my observations made from 4am-5am:

Beautiful female sex worker looking over her shoulder back at her balding middled aged white customer uses a bank ATM machine. She then followed him, quietly,head down to a wating taxi. What struck me was how after he got his money the customer did not stop and talk or acknoledge the girl in any way, he simply blew past her and she followed obiediently. I thought " He is treating her like his dog."

Multiple groups of freelance workers having their fortunes told by street fortune tellers while sitting on the sidewalk.. Many Thais especially the poor and more desperate believe in all kinds of superstitions. There is often real desperation in this need.

Two older freelancers sitting at a sidewalk bar with their 50+Arab customer. The man is hugging one of the woman but is completly out of it, drunk as a skunk. Mean while at the same time a young girl maybe 10 is begging from him with a cup held up to his fsce. The man in his drunken stupor ignores everyone.

A woman in her 30s begging with a baby from my table to table with the tourist males who are drinking, eating and playing with freelance sex workers.

Many generally desperate Thais chasing money. A tuk tuk driver asking me 5 times to go with him, an older woman promising me 3 times to give me an oil massage in an hidden away upstairs room, a not attractive middle aged ladyboy sitting alone on a dark sidewalk promising sex.

On the lighter side, two Thai boys working at a 7/11 teasing and joking with a old lady who sells food on the street. They made loud noises and then quick sharp and surprising movements making the old woman call out "Groo-ai!!!" ("scared!, frightened!"). It was all rather fun and good natured and done in a joyful way. They probably know and have joked with the old lady in this way for foe several years.