Philippines and Prostitution

The Philippines has long had a reputation of being a sex destination where all girls are happy hookers who will jump into bed with any man. Part of this was fueled by the easy access of bars and bar girls by US servicemen in the days of Subic Bay and Clark Air Base. But this reputation is pretty far from the truth when the country is taken as a whole.

The fact of the matter is that the Philippines is a very religious country where Christianity (mostly Roman Catholics and Church of Christ) and Islam hold sway. These religions preach chastity and fidelity in marriage, and this is reflected by the population at large. Many Filipinas remain virgins until quite late in life when compared to women from Western or even other Asian countries.

Women who move into prostitution tend to be driven by economic means. Still, they must overcome a strong cultural bias in order to become prostitutes. In China, the stricture against prostitution is governmental, not religious, so the move for a Chinese girl to become a prostitute is not a strong burden to overcome. And in Thailand, the live-and-let-live attitude towards life creates many “part-time” prostitutes who will take a john in order to be able to buy the latest cell phone, but then quit as soon as she has enough money. But for the Philippines, becoming a prostitute is a way of life in order to survive, not just for the girl, but for her extended family.

Another major difference is the attitude of Filipina hookers when compared to those of other countries. The aforementioned Thai part-timer sees sex for money as just a quick excursion, something to do to make a thousand baht. She has not connection with the man she services. However, most Filipinas see prostitution as an avenue of escape, and most seem to have the “Pretty Woman” syndrome, where they hope to marry the john and get out of the life. The US (and Australia and Canada, for that matter) is full of US-Philippines marriages where a very large proportion of the women met their husbands while working the bars. And, if data can be believed, the divorce rates of such marriages are half that of American-American marriages.

Most Filipinas think of themselves as looking for the right man, and if all the men before she finds him pay her for sexual services, well, that is just survival. This is probably why punters who are widely traveled marvel at the GFE’s offered by Filipina prostitutes. It is almost as if the girl thinks the man is a boyfriend, or at least by acting as if he is, she can overcome the stigma of being a prostitute.

The heyday of 35,000 prostitutes in Angeles is long over. The market cannot support that any longer. But Angeles still has the remnants of the heyday, and Fields Avenue still boasts a small number of bars. Manila tends to be higher priced and more commercial, and there are small pockets of bars in places like Barrio Baretto and Cebu. So it is possible to find a varied nightlife. Despite the smaller numbers of girls plying their trade, there are still enough for the current demand of men who travel there to find sex. And as long as the economy remains stagnant, this availability should continue.

Thailand Night Life, Part 2

Even if the nightlife in Thailand has diminished, it is still pretty good.

The night life revolves around the Asian (both Thai and visiting Asian), and the Western sex destinations.

Asian night life is different than that which most Westerners know. Asian night life tends to be more subdued, not so in-your-face. Thai "hi-so" tend to go to places like Plaza Entertainment or Mirage, high class establishments where patrons can eat, drink, sing karoke, all in the accompaniment of lovely young ladies. These ladies either provide sex on site or become temporary mistresses.

Visiting Asians tend to gather around areas such as Silom where girls are available for whatever servies are desired. “Falangs,” or Westerners, are not usually welcome. There has been a movement of Asian men to the Western bars, though.

Westerners tend to hit the bar scene, whether in Bangkok, Pattaya, or Patong (Phuket.) The bars tend to be run down, but the music loud, the beer flowing, and a little more crazy atmosphere. In Bangkok, Patpong Road is perhaps the best known, but it is primarily visited by short-term tourists. People “in-the-know” will usually go to Nana Plaza or Soi Cowboy. The bars there are not as predatory, and the atmosphere more laid back

There is no nudity in Thai bars, so dancers are in bikinis or lingerie. And all dancers are checked to ensure they are at least 18 years old.

Two places where freelancers can be found are the Soi 7 Beer Garden and the Thermae Coffee Shop, both on Sukhimvit Road.

Thailand has gone a long way to combat HIV. However, like anywhere else, it is present. So be sure to protect yourself. Most girls will not have sex without protection, but some might offer. This is playing with fire.

The night life in Bangkok is alive and well. Future posts will cover in detail some more specific establishments and areas. Some decent sources of information are Thailand Sex Tour Babes, The Girls of Nana Plaza, Erotic Thailand, and Thai Whores.

Thailand Night Life

Thailand has long been known as a premier sex destination, with places like Soi Cowboy, Nana Plaza, Patpong Road, Pattays, and such heading the pack. The good news is that these places still exist. The bad news is that they are no longer so "wild" as before.

Part of this has been the steadily rising standard of living in the Kingdom. This has created other opportunties for people from Issan and other regions so that they have not migrated to the bars to get work. The main reason, though, is the current administration. Prime Minister Thaksin has steadily eroded the night life landscape by pushing up the closing hours for bars, pushing the closing of massage parlors, and now pushing licensing of all "spas."

On the other hand, the owner of many of the high-class massage parlors, Chuwit, came in third in the recent Bangkok governor elections, so perhaps things will not continue to proceed as they have been.

Thailand offers much more than just night life, of course. The food is great, the beaches fine (Phuket and Krabi will recover from the tsunami--Phang Nga may not). The people are great, the temples interesting. But the night life is still an important part of the economy. It draws people to Thailand as well as encourages spending.

Future posts will cover some of the specfics on the night life.

Love and Asian/Western Couples

This blog is normally intended to look at the erotic aspects of Asia, but as I have just spent hours with a Thai friend who is having problems with her American fiance, I thought I would cover a few points.

In this case, the Thai girl (in Thailand) was asked by her American fiance (in the US) to come take care of him because he was sick. However, the Thai girl's motehr was also sick, so she wanted to take care of him. he told her that if she loved him, she would come. If she did not come, he knew she did not love him.

Regardless that a single Thai girl cannot just get a simple tourist visa to jump on an airplane, the American was forgetting some basic aspects of Thai (and Asian) culture. And that is the importance of family. Children are expected to take care of parents. Children are supposed to obey parents. Of course, some children do this more than others. But to force a decision between her parents and him, he was going to lose.

There are many reasons for Westerners to marry Asians aside from happening to fall in love with someone. But anyone who wants to do so must go into it with an open mind and the ability to accept cultural differences which might not be too agreeable to him or her.

Here is a good article which goes further into some aspects of love across cultures: Cross Cultural Love .