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| soi Nana bar complex |
A pack of lovelies lean out of the bar signing the siren song of "welcome, handsome, young man". While your handsome, young man days may have long ago slipped by, the girls now have you thinking, those 5 sit ups last week really did help trim my belly, ah ha the 3 days of stubble - very manly, yup, my shinny bald head, just as I suspected, really is sexy. However, the clincher is looking much younger than your age, yup I'm glad someone other than me can finely see it. OK, so welcome to Amazing Thailand, land of smiles, beautiful women and ten bazillion bars to sweep you away from the realities of life..
You hesitate in front of the bar and one of the young lovelies takes your arm and guides you to a seat. Then, here is the drill, the beer you just ordered cost around 100 baht (30 baht 1 $) but your new love is thirsty too, girl drinks are around 110 baht for Thai whiskey or 150 baht for beer. If she likes you or is just a drunk she will offer to drink Thai whiskey. Keep in mind she is the entertainment committee and part of her pay comes from her commission off the drinks your buying her. Also keep in mind that even though you are buying her drinks she has a choice in deciding if she wants to be with you or not, so be nice or be alone.
So now you may be wondering about her pay thing, not sure of totals but it breaks down to something like this: commissions + monthly salary, based on the number of shifts worked + bar fine up charges + what ever she hustles up on her own (like room cleaning,(sex). Whatever she gets for room cleaning (sex) after you bar fine her out of the bar is between you, costing somewhere between 4 - 10,000 baht. Also, if you find a girl you like and just want some company and a guide you might be able to bar fine her out of the bar to go clubing with you.
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| soi Cowboy, Bangkok |
For some girls the ultimate goal is finding a falang boyfriend or several, its status with the other girls and generate a steady income for her and then, just maybe, one will marry her.
Many of the girls working in bars come from the poorer areas of Thailand and this may account for the not so very sophisticated thinking of some. However, they are very clever and make up for short comings by being fast learners and absorb knowledge from there international clientele very quickly. While life for them in some ways is much the same it was back home in the country side, as it's still basicly a day to day existence, as they send much of there earning back home to support their families, which may also include a kid or two of their own and any extra left over being frittering away on stuff or gifts for others so they never get ahead.
However, what I find really interesting about their spending habits is that even thought they earn their money by what seems at times like heartless hustling, they might buy food, loan money or even buy drinks for bar customers they really like.
So when you hear the siren song of the Thai lady, don't pre judge her, be nice and be careful.. While keeping in mind you and her both have somewhat similar but conflicting goals, hers is to entertain you while maximizing the money her and the bar make from you and yours is to be entertained while paying as little as possible, without looking cheap. Remember face is important here, so always be cool you "handsome, young man".
