Days in the Life of a Pattaya Hotel Owner

For those of you who have never visited Thailand — or have been here and kept the sex scene at arms length — there are some things I want to tell you. The main misconception of Westerners is that foreigners have created Thailand’s huge “sex for sale” market. The girls are sold into prostitution from an early age to satisfy the urges of Western men with no opportunity to say no. Women forced into despicable acts merely to satisfy mans basest and varied needs and receiving only a few measly dollars in recompense. You will hear, quite correctly, that the city of Pattaya has grown into the sex capital of the world because it was a resort visited during the Vietnam War by American servicemen taking some rest and recuperation. It should be noted though that the mighty American military did not need to send out squadrons of marines to abduct village girls and force them to work in a Pattaya bar or go-go club — the girls arrived through their own free will and volition.

The truth is that, probably through boredom, the lack of anything better to do, girls and boys, particularly in the rural villages, start having sex at what the West would see as a very early age. Yes, I am aware this happens in the West as well, but it is not so widespread and does not lead on to the next stage that you see here in Thailand. This “next stage” sees young girls realizing they can earn money from sex and they go and sit at the karaoke bars that exist in every village, town and city. Believe me, there are hundreds of thousands of these establishments. There are some properly constructed, often quite palatial, karaoke lounges, but the vast majority are no better than straw huts erected on a piece of wasteland. A few tatty tables and chairs, a television set and a karaoke machine are purchased, drinks are available and the girls are there sitting and waiting for the local men and boys to visit. They will drink, chat, maybe even sing a song or two, and then the men will have sex with the girls and pay for the privilege. There are variations on this theme throughout the country but that is mainly how it works. These girls earn money for sex; they are, therefore, prostitutes. For every girl who works in a bar in Pattaya, Bangkok or other tourist sex area there will be 1,000 working in the type of establishment I have just described. The difference, in Pattaya is that the girl will earn 1,000 baht for having sex, whereas in the village she will get one-hundred! Foreigners did not create prostitution in Thailand and it is probably the case that Westerners contribute less than ten percent of the total money paid to girls for sex in this country.

As for being forced into the business, well, here in Pattaya there could be as many as 20,000 “working girls.” I would guarantee that if you take a look at the number of vacancies for staff in hotels, shops, offices and factories in the area they probably total over 40,000. Just like Julie did in England, the girls here do it for the money! The bottom line is that if foreigners were no longer permitted entry into the Kingdom it would not make a dent in the number of girls selling sex — it would simply mean there were some back to earning 100 baht a night instead of 1,000 baht a night. So for those who look down their snouts at either the Thai women, or the men that visit Thailand or those men that do visit Thailand and think the country could not exist without them you are all very much mistaken.

Continuing this diatribe, I wonder often what it is that some people think is so wrong with what goes on here. Western media is quite ignorant of Thailand. Some reports I see from American and European news channels are more fiction than fact and this is the source from which the masses gain their, so called, knowledge. Instead of being honest and understanding that here is a wonderful country where men of all ages, shapes and sizes can come and enjoy a few weeks in the company of an attractive lady, the media portrays them as perverts or paedophiles. Pictures or newsreel shots of a man in his, say, fifties walking arm in arm with a small girl who looks sixteen are the common images. Well Thai girls are small, that is the way they are built. They also look considerably younger than their Western counterparts and the vast majority of girls whom may be viewed as sixteen are likely closer to thirty! However, if you do not stop to ask, which would likely make the story far less interesting, then you remain ignorant and you pass your ignorance on to others.

Of course Thailand offers more — much more than just the chance for older men to have sex. It is a beautiful country with wonderful beaches, delightful and relaxing islands, ornate temples, places of pure natural beauty, a rich and very different culture, outstanding food and the friendliest people on earth. The sex scene exists, it does not dominate; in my honest opinion it is a good thing not a bad thing. The Puritanical view of Thailand by the West obviously does an injustice to Thailand but says far more about how uptight the Westerner is than it says about the average Thai.