Deborah's Southeast Asian Adventure

Completely forgot to write about my visit to Patpang, Bangkok's red light district last night. I was going to avoid the place altogether but I thought I have to see it since it is such a part of Bangkok life and lore. So I took the Skytrain over at about 9 p.m.

Patpang is this weird mix of market, restaurants, bars and strip clubs teeming with tourists (I even saw several couples pushing baby strollers), local sellers, prostitutes and these annoying hawkers walking around with laminated cards which contained lists of sex acts being performed at various clubs (eg. ping pong balls, bananas, smoking, etc.) Patpong is different than Amsterdam's red light district in that it's much bigger and more lively and for me at least, less depressing. At least in Patpang, the girls tend to be out in the street together laughing and flirting with customers side by side or dancing on platforms in a group. It's a much more social, personal experience than in Amsterdam where the women are sitting alone in a claustrophic room behind glass. (I'm sure Camille Paglia would have some interesting analysis of this.)

I decided to check out the night market which is quite lively and extensive. Fake watches, fake purses, pirated CDs, cheap carved Buddhas, poor quality Thai silk cushion covers and everyone yelling, "Come. Where you from?"

I decided to drop in at a shop which specialises in imitation designer purses produced with real leather. They are quite presentable and the leather is nice but often the colour is a little off or the finer details are missing. A slate blue Hermes knock-off caught my eye but there seemed to be something so pathetic about buying a fake for the equivalent of EUR 350. I'd rather save up or wait to afford the real thing (probably won't happen for a long time). My personal feeling is that if you're going to buy fakes, then buy the smaller sizes since the bigger the bag, the less authentic it looks and the less likely one is to be able to afford it (and buy matching quality accessories like shoes and jewelry).

The weird thing about Bangkok is that here I was in this very busy place where the people are very Zen-like and Buddhism is evident everywhere. Yet, sex, prostitution and the exploitation of women is everywhere and totally accepted. The hotel where I stayed in Bangkok (Best Western Elegance Suites near Silom Road) was full of older, ugly or grossly-overweight guys (mostly British and American) accompanied by gorgeous, younger Thai women dressed to the hilt. I chatted with this British man who looked like he was about 65 who had this beautiful Thai woman on his arm. He gave me some directions and announced that they were off to finalise the purchase of a home in Bangkok. He was obviously quite wealthy. He said that he had a home close to the Tower of London (big bucks) and spent part of the year at another home in France. Who knew what his story was. Perhaps his wife had died. Perhaps he was divorced. Perhaps he found that women in Britain or France were simply not interested in an older man like him. There's a tacit acceptance of this dynamic here. I'm dying to know what Thai mothers, grandmothers, husbands, brothers, even the Thai royal family think of this. Or is life such a struggle that they accept it?

This afternoon, I flew down to southern Thailand to begin a beach holiday. I'll be spending time on the beach in Ao Nang, Ko Phi Phi and Ko Lanta. The resort I'm staying in is very luxurious. Too hilarious. When I checked in, I was required to fill out this guest form. It asked for my title and I put down "Director" meaning Director of Sales and Marketing. The receptionist, not speaking very good English, suddenly beamed at me with awe in her eyes and started blabbering about the movies. I was about to correct her when she announced that she was upgrading me to a deluxe suite and which point, my mouth clamped shut and I just nodded demurely. I consoled myself by thinking that technically, I haven't lied. I am a director, just not the kind she thinks I am ;-)