Nov 18th
We slept in till 10am and decided that we should head for the beach. We got a great spot and bought beach chairs for just 50 baht (less than $2USD). We spent the whole day basking in the sun (I am still pealing quite a bit, but enjoyed sitting under the umbrella). We ended up meeting a couple of German boys at the beach and chatting with them for a few hours. We made plans with the German boys for drinks later in the night then headed back to hotel. We showered and got ready for the night. I was able to go to an internet café and skype home and post my scuba video. I also picked up my laundry that Jess had dropped off for me while I went scuba diving- I love clean laundry!
We went to dinner at a Mexican place, it was great. We enjoyed having margaritas- the whole experience was better than the Mexican place in Patong. We met the German boys at 9pm and got a drink with them. Next the four of us headed to the beach and went to a beach party with a fire show that was interesting to watch. They had a fire ring that tourist could jump through and if they did they’d get a free shot. I guess there is no such thing as lawsuits here!
I spend most of the night talking to Marious. He’s an interesting guy. He hates Munich and is there because of his job. He is well paid as a set director and I think makes a ton of money. He told me a lot of interesting things about the film world and I enjoyed all that he had to tell me. We also talked a lot about the Sex-tourism that is very prevalent here in Thailand. Phuket was filled with prostitutes who were harmless to Jess and I since we were females. Marious explained how he and Oliver got massages and had to be very careful not to get anything else (especially STD’s). It seems to be so common in the Thai society. Families expect that their daughters will become prostitutes and makes good money to send back to the family, it’s the way of life here. It’s kind of hard to watch at times, you want to give the girls (who are all very very young- some as young at 15 years old)$30 and tell them to go home, but then again its only one night and you know they’d be back at in the following day- plus its only one girl, there no way you could possible give money to every Thai girl. In Thailand they also have what are known as “Lady-Boys.” These are men who dress as women and are perfect women. Jess and I literally stared to figure out if they are men and women (luckily growing up in a gay beach town where every night is a surprise has trained me well- I have been able to pick out the Lady-Boys a bit easier than the average tourist). Anyways, Thai society is much different than anything I have experience and I couldn’t have predicted it until I was here in person to see it with my own two eyes. Everyone knows that the Chinese want to have boys to carry on the family name (especially since they can only have one child), but in Thailand they seem to want to have girls so that they can become prostitutes and make money for the family. The part that gets me is that fact that prostitution is so normal in this society. It is not hidden and its not shamed upon. Back to the Lady-Boys, these are men who basically want to be prostitutes so they dress as women. We’ve seen several male tourists (mostly Westerners- but perhaps only because they stand out a but more here) think that they were flirting with Thai women (dancing and grinding with them). We’ve seen guys leave the beach with Lady-Boys and not seem to realize that they are actually men. Marious explained to me that he heard that many people (especially European male tourists) have fantasies about sleeping with men, but are too afraid to experiment, but they can easily sleep with Lady-Boys since they look like perfect women but still get to experience being with a man. It’s a whole different world here. This conversation opened my mind to a whole different dynamic of Thailand- those thoughts had never crossed my mind. I guess I’m still in shock that a whole society can revolve around prostitution. All of the hostels and hotels that we stay in have big signs reading “No Thai Women Allowed in Rooms” and “No Lady-Boys!”
After several hours at the beach Jess’s throat started to hurt and so we decided to call it a night and popped in a DVD and fell asleep.
Love, Katie
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