Bangkok’s Red Quarter and Prostitution

Bangkok’s Red Quarter and Prostitution:

We walked along Silom Road and wandered into the Patpong district. Clothing and jewellery stalls lined up in the middle of the avenue all sold exactly the same things. But the biggest attraction was the go-go bars, discotheques with paid dancers in bikinis, strip clubs, and sex shows. This was Bangkok’s infamous Red Quarter, where Thais, and mostly tourists, come to catch a glimpse of some bare skin (or a lot of it!) and to see live shows of young, naked girls (or men, as the case may be). Prostitution was rampant here, and though some of the clubs were what one could consider a “regular” nightclub (aside from the mostly naked Thai women), most of the bars were centered around the sex trade. We looked from the outside – I wasn’t keen on entering – but the men and women who tried to convince us to enter the bars were extremely persistent. “Sir, sir,” they would, say, grabbing onto Stephane’s arm, “Entry is free. 5 minutes is free. If you like, you stay.” They all held up identical “menus” that served up cocktails with obscene names.

Though you could see dozens upon dozens of bars with half-naked female dancers and the same number of bars with names such as, “Girly Show,” Go-Go Bar,” and worse, you couldn’t see any bars with male dancers. It is said that there are many, however. The male bars were more hidden. There is a large and active gay community in Thailand – a country which is known to be very liberal and tolerant of the gay community. We have seen many older white men with young Thai men. Every time that I see any young Thai man at the tiny Internet café down the street from our guesthouse, he is always – without exception – looking at gay Internet sites. The favorite seems to be “Gay Romeo,” in which many tourists look for Thai men even before arriving in Bangkok.

Thailand is known for its sex industry and prostitution is rampant in certain areas, such as Bangkok. The escort industry and prostitution is booming and shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, the sex industry in Thailand draws untold tourists each year, who come only for this reason. Walking around Bangkok – especially in certain areas – it is impossible to miss. Innumerable white men pair up with young Thai women and men, and these “couples” can be seen in the streets, in restaurants, in bars, or poolside.

We’ve met many gay men in Bangkok, and sometimes when I ask them how their evening was, I’ll get little glimpses into Bangkok’s “other side.” There are a lot of men-only bars, and they sometimes even have live sex on the stage. Others in our tiny guesthouse bring back prostitutes to the rooms (though not very often). One man had a different girl each night. The grandmother who ran the guesthouse would recount the stories the following morning because she could hear their conversation through the paper-thin walls. The man was complaining to other tourists because in previous years, he could have a girl for the entire night for only 400 Baht (10 USD), and this year, the price had risen to 500 Baht (12.50 USD).