Hiii,
As promised, this is Part 2 of my journey in Thailand. In case you missed it, here is Part 1. In this post, I will discuss the rest of the activities I did during my time in Bangkok, as well as some more controversial topics. Some of this content may not be appropriate for children.
My friend and I went on a boat tour that travels along the river in Bangkok. This is apparently another popular way to travel in Bangkok. It is basically like a bus route, except you travel on a boat instead of a bus. There are many stops along the way and you can get off at any of them. Due to the extreme heat, my friend and I did not get to travel to all the stops, but we were able to check out several of them.
Let's talk about more interesting subjects in Thailand: nightlife and sex tourism. Fortunately for us, we look like Thai natives (due to our heritage) and are women, so we were able to blend in with everyone else and escape the tourist traps. However, if you are a Westerner who is white or black, you will certainly stick out like a sore thumb. According to the locals, white people love to travel to southeast Asia to say that they're cultured and stroke their egos (but that's another topic I won't go into). Due to the influx of tourists, Thailand's nightlife and sex tourism thrive.
My friend and I went to the "red light district" of Bangkok one night to see what it was all about. We saw so many tourists walking around and Thai, presumably bar girls/prostitutes, soliciting them for money in exchange for sexual "services." These women all dress in little tight dresses or bikinis. Ladyboys are also a hot commodity in Thailand. They are called "kathoey" and are male-to-female transexuals. Personally, I think they are gorgeous and I couldn't tell the difference for some of them. Apparently, Western men love them because they can have the best of both worlds being with a kathoey. It is their little secret and fantasy that they get to live out for a short while. I guess one of Thailand's beauties is its ability to fulfill a "straight" man's deepest erotic fantasies.
My friend and I went to Levels Club during the weekend. This club is located in the upscale part of Bangkok and caters mostly to tourists. It was ladies night when we went so we received 2 free drink tickets at the door. The bouncers did not even check our passports, they only looked at our IDs and let us through right away. I did notice that they did not allow kathoeys to enter which seems very hypocritical to me. How is it that Thailand prides itself on being open-minded, showcasing these kathoeys to attract tourists, yet denies them entrance to its own night clubs? On the other hand, I can see from the owner's perspective that allowing kathoeys in to solicit customers for sex would be bad for business.
Despite all this, we had a lot of fun at Levels. They played popular American music and had live entertainment. We were approached by these French men who were interning in Bangkok for several months. They thought we were Thai, but were surprised that we were actually from America and could speak English fluently. According to them, they love Bangkok and haven't missed France at all because of how much fun they have in this sin city.
To sum it all up, here is a list of interesting things I found in Thailand:
- It's hot hot hot... and rains A LOT from around June-Sept (Monsoon season)
- There is a 7/11 at every corner....literally
- They ask for your passport everywhere
- It is a 3rd world country so the locals' daily lives are poor compared to Western society
- Taxis and tuk tuk are cheap
- Don't take taxis that refuse to turn on their price meter
- Sex tourism is thriving
- Street foods are delicious
- Prostitute solicitation is very common in the evening time
- There are many plastic surgery clinics
- Thai women love to paint their faces pink!
- Bangkok has many Buddhist temples
I hope you enjoy my post. Let me know your own experience in Thailand :)
