"Let's just get a quick drink after dinner"
It was like music to my ears. We had 7 hours of class earlier that day, had trekked across Bangkok, and had finally wrapped up a long group dinner.
It was those words that eventually lead Marsh, Matt, Kristina, and I down the streets of Bangkok, down a flight of stairs, and straight into what we thought was a bar. A bar that doesn't exactly sell drinks. It was those words, "let's just get a quick drink after dinner" that led us straight into a prostitute ring.
Yes, you read that right. And yes - I mean a literal "ring" of prostitutes. Down a flight of stairs, under a hotel somewhere in the east side of Bangkok, we walked into a bar with one long table in the middle. Only a few people were sitting at the table, and along all three of the walls, girls were lined shoulder to shoulder. Just standing, not talking (hence the "ring" of prostitutes).
Let me back up.
Once upon a time, in a land far away, I arrived in Bangkok. I thought I would see beaches, natural beauty, elephants. I thought I would eat spicy Pad Thai. Being my naive self, I didn't hear about all that Bangkok is known for really until I got here. Fortunately, it's not too hard to avoid.
Anyway - on with the story. Matt, Marsh, Kristina, and I were boppin around Bangkok after this big group dinner. We saw a swanky hotel, and obviously believed we would fit in there. Went all the way to the top and found their rooftop bar (starting to discover these are pretty popular here on top of nice hotels). Since we weren't quite as swanky as we thought, we got kicked out because Kristina and I were wearing flip flops. I'm sure it was more than just the flip flops though... I didn't exactly pack the cutest clothes or a lot of make up for this trip....
We kept wandering, and stumbled on a bar that looked more our speed. It had an outdoor deck, rugged wooden chairs, and some pool tables inside. Bush Gardens Bar was the right amount of "dive-y" given what we were looking for.
We sat down for some Singha beers. Took lots of photos. Laughed really loud. Absolutely reinforced everyone's ideas of the "American tourist." About an hour into this, our people watching really picked up. It was Kristina who started noticing quite a few single girls just standing around outside on the sidewalk. They weren't scantily clad. They weren't walking up to people. But, somehow Kristina got the notion in her head that these girls juuuust may be soliciting themselves.
Again, being my naive self, I obviously dismissed this. I mean, wouldn't they be wearing fishnet stockings?
Well, then people watching really started picking up. Every 5-10 minutes, a guy and girl would emerge from a staircase leading below street level. They'd head straight for a cab or around the corner. Clearly, we had to dig into this further. We sent Marsh down these steps (video-taping him from afar on the way down).
On his return, he said, "it's a ring of girls, just lined up along the walls." WHAT?!
We all walked down there. Cameras were NOT allowed. There was a police standing by the door. These people have this routine down.
This brings me back to the beginning - we had walked into the bar with one table in the middle and girls lining the wall. Just staring at you. They weren't aggressive. The just stood there.
We only wanted to stay for 5 minutes. Because of my old lady knees, Kristina and I went to go sit down at that long table. As soon as my behind had hit the stool, a guy that appeared to be the owner ran up shouting, "drink, drink, what you want to drink?" We were pretty overwhelmed and tuckered out, so we declined his offer.... which was then followed by him saying "then you leave! No sit for free!"
Well - kicked out of another bar. Two bars in one night.....
It was like music to my ears. We had 7 hours of class earlier that day, had trekked across Bangkok, and had finally wrapped up a long group dinner.
It was those words that eventually lead Marsh, Matt, Kristina, and I down the streets of Bangkok, down a flight of stairs, and straight into what we thought was a bar. A bar that doesn't exactly sell drinks. It was those words, "let's just get a quick drink after dinner" that led us straight into a prostitute ring.
Yes, you read that right. And yes - I mean a literal "ring" of prostitutes. Down a flight of stairs, under a hotel somewhere in the east side of Bangkok, we walked into a bar with one long table in the middle. Only a few people were sitting at the table, and along all three of the walls, girls were lined shoulder to shoulder. Just standing, not talking (hence the "ring" of prostitutes).
Let me back up.
Once upon a time, in a land far away, I arrived in Bangkok. I thought I would see beaches, natural beauty, elephants. I thought I would eat spicy Pad Thai. Being my naive self, I didn't hear about all that Bangkok is known for really until I got here. Fortunately, it's not too hard to avoid.
Anyway - on with the story. Matt, Marsh, Kristina, and I were boppin around Bangkok after this big group dinner. We saw a swanky hotel, and obviously believed we would fit in there. Went all the way to the top and found their rooftop bar (starting to discover these are pretty popular here on top of nice hotels). Since we weren't quite as swanky as we thought, we got kicked out because Kristina and I were wearing flip flops. I'm sure it was more than just the flip flops though... I didn't exactly pack the cutest clothes or a lot of make up for this trip....
We kept wandering, and stumbled on a bar that looked more our speed. It had an outdoor deck, rugged wooden chairs, and some pool tables inside. Bush Gardens Bar was the right amount of "dive-y" given what we were looking for.
We sat down for some Singha beers. Took lots of photos. Laughed really loud. Absolutely reinforced everyone's ideas of the "American tourist." About an hour into this, our people watching really picked up. It was Kristina who started noticing quite a few single girls just standing around outside on the sidewalk. They weren't scantily clad. They weren't walking up to people. But, somehow Kristina got the notion in her head that these girls juuuust may be soliciting themselves.
Again, being my naive self, I obviously dismissed this. I mean, wouldn't they be wearing fishnet stockings?
Well, then people watching really started picking up. Every 5-10 minutes, a guy and girl would emerge from a staircase leading below street level. They'd head straight for a cab or around the corner. Clearly, we had to dig into this further. We sent Marsh down these steps (video-taping him from afar on the way down).
On his return, he said, "it's a ring of girls, just lined up along the walls." WHAT?!
We all walked down there. Cameras were NOT allowed. There was a police standing by the door. These people have this routine down.
This brings me back to the beginning - we had walked into the bar with one table in the middle and girls lining the wall. Just staring at you. They weren't aggressive. The just stood there.
We only wanted to stay for 5 minutes. Because of my old lady knees, Kristina and I went to go sit down at that long table. As soon as my behind had hit the stool, a guy that appeared to be the owner ran up shouting, "drink, drink, what you want to drink?" We were pretty overwhelmed and tuckered out, so we declined his offer.... which was then followed by him saying "then you leave! No sit for free!"
Well - kicked out of another bar. Two bars in one night.....
