Many men about town are experts on bargirls and know all
about what they think, what they do and why they do it.
This reporter, not being an expert and having grown up in
this region, felt knowledge deficient and decided to talk
to the girls themselves. The reader might say: æSomeone who
grew up here should know more about bargirls than a
newcomer.Æ The truth is that bars hold little attraction
for farangs who have lived here since they were very young
(under the age of ten). Having lived here since the age of
four, Thai is one of this writerÆs mother tongues, so the
following forum was held in the central and Isan dialects.
I had the chance to talk to five of the dancers in a
Pattaya bar. Their names were Eh, Toi, Taen, Su and Tor.
They requested that no pictures be taken.
JP: The first question was obviously, æWhy did you come to
work here?Æ
Taen: æThe first answer was obviously, æBecause people told
me the money was good.Æ
All: General agreement.
JP: Is it true?
Su: Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Its like anything. It
depends on the tourism and the number of customers.
Eh: It used to be very good when the American navy came in,
but not anymore.
Toi: Yeah. TheyÆre all afraid of AIDS.
JP: So, if youÆre not making enough money, why do you still
do this work?
Tor: We canÆt get jobs anywhere else.
JP: Are you sure you couldnÆt.
Taen: Look, you! Sorry. Where do you expect us to work? I
only finished fourth grade. To get decent jobs you have to
have finished . . .oh, I donÆt know. But no one wants us.
And we "expire" at about age 25.
JP: Thai bars seem to do pretty regular business. CouldnÆt
you get jobs there?
Toi: Thai bars donÆt want us. Thai men donÆt like girls who
look like us.
JP: I donÆt understand.
Taen: Oh, come on. OK, IÆll talk. I applied to work in a
Thai memberÆs club. They told me I didnÆt have the right
"personality". That means I wasnÆt good looking enough.
Su: Thai men like women who have light complexions and
different body types than us. WeÆre too dark and skinny.
JP: Are Thai bars better than bars that foreigners come to?
Tor: In most ways they are. Thai men come to bars for one
reason. To enjoy themselves.
JP: How about farang men?
Taen: Oy, yo, yo! Farang men. What a bunch of neurotics!
And boring. They get drunk and we have to sit and listen
for hours as they tell us their endless problems. I donÆt
understand English very well and who knows what theyÆre
talking about. IÆm not their mother. I want to get my job
done and take care of the next customer.
All: TaenÆs right. ItÆs true, etc.
Toi: And they all say weÆre so much more beautiful than
farang women. Ha!
Su: We know thatÆs not true. We see many very beautiful
farang women here in Pattaya.
Eh: I havenÆt spoken yet. Let me talk! They say weÆre more
beautiful than farang women. I think that the real reason
is that these men themselves are not charming enough to
attract their own kind. I wouldnÆt want most of them as a
life partner.
JP: But I have seen many bar workers married to farang men.
Taen: You like to play stupid. When we start getting past
the age of attraction, and meet a man who is halfway decent
and responsible, we marry him. ItÆs a matter of life
security. But we donÆt think of it as romantic love.
JP: Who would you like to have as a life partner?
Eh: A gentle Thai man. Maybe a civil servant.
All: Dream on. Are you crazy?
JP: Huh?
Su: A lot of Thai men are very charming, sweet and
handsome. But they lack a sense of responsibility toward
their family duties.
Toi: The best thing is to have a farang husband and a Thai
lover on the side (giggles all round).
Taen: DonÆt talk like that! WeÆre looking for what any
woman looks for in a man. A good person who loves and cares
about his family and is reasonably stable.
Eh: I never thought about getting married. I always wanted
to be a doctor, but my family was poor and I couldnÆt go to
school.
JP: Oh?
Taen: Dammit! YouÆre just like everybody else! Farang men
never believe it when we tell them the truth, but accept
all our lies. Listen, do you think just because weÆre poor
country people that we didnÆt have dreams. Do you think I
sat as a little girl and thought æOh, how wonderful! When I
grow up I can go to Pattaya and sell myself to a bunch of
dirty old men?
Su: Taen, leave him alone. HeÆs not looking down on us. He
just wants to know.
Taen: IÆm sorry. IÆm just a little hot head and resentful.
All of us would like to have a good education like you.
Everybody thinks this is easy money. Phooey! But when
youÆre poor and have many brothers and sisters and
everyoneÆs hungry all the time you do anything to survive.
When we find out there are opportunities, itÆs usually too
late. We arenÆt accepted by the normal world anymore.
Everyone looks at us and looks down on us. I always wanted
to write stories for children but I donÆt have the heart
for it now.
All: TaensÆs really smart. We call her teacher.
JP: If you could ask anyone for advice and help, who would
it be?
All: (Very reverently) Uh, Her Majesty the Queen. Her
Majesty has Metta (compassion) for all Thai people.
JP: What will you do after you stop working here?
Su: IÆve saved a little money and have built a small house
for my sister so she could find a good husband. IÆll go
back home and take care of her children for her.
ALL: Or we can marry widowers who need wives.
JP: Thank you for talking so freely.
ALL: (Everybody Wais) Mai Pen Rai Kha. Please come back and
visit again. You can be our psychologist. (Laughter).
[There are 4 posts - the latest was added on Wed 26 May, 11:37]
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............Lifted from a newspaper. Why this person
persists in posting it on this site and what he thinks he
has achieved by doing so I cannot imagine!
JIM.
I'll check it out tonight.
Lazy young good looking girl chooses to sell her body to
ugly old men with money who prefers sex with good looking
girls to wrinkle sagging bummed, cellulite thighed,
stretch marked sunken bellied, gravity challenged breasted
farang woman, who's old enough to be his wife. So what's
new?
Can she resist this one? The world is waiting...........
Sounds a lot like everyone else griping about their job.
Interesting though...