Saddle Up Cowboy

Soi Cowboy, a street known for two things; prostitution and tourists.  The streets are filled with old white men holding hands with their young Thai, “girlfriends” who they have more than likely purchased for the night, if they have not purchased them that night, they have purchased them many nights ago, and these “lucky” girls have struck it big by keeping a Farang man. While these men are in the street, on the sidelines are scantily dressed women, grabbing at everything in sight, trying to get you into their bar.

My guide took me behind the curtain of what he says is one of the high-class joints. Girls who come to the city from the poor regions and hill tribes to work in hotels or at restaurants usually end up working on these streets in these clubs; the "lucky" one's at least, the majority end up being sold to a brothel and sent locked up like a prisoner, servicing up to 40 clients a night before being tossed out like disposable good. Once they have been seasoned and have paid off their debt, they are able to negotiate their own prices, and move up to more profitable and safer establishments, such as this. This is the same establishment glamorized in the movie, "The Hangover 2." The movie did a horrible job at displaying the accuracy of the club. In here, the girls have clothing (barely, though they are covered) and numbers. They dance in groups on the center island until an audience member pays the mamasan the 600 baht bar fee (this is a more expensive fee) and calls their number. The girls then are free to do as they please, and negotiate their own prices, with the man who paid the bar fee. Sometimes they will stay and flirt with the men other times, they will leave and go to another bar with the man, other times, its straight to the hotel and then back in time to try to dance their way into another man’s heart.

My guide called the mamasan over to our table, and we chatted with her for a bit. She used to be a bar girl herself, and now serves as the enforcer of her own club. She had some motherly tendencies, braiding my friends hair, giving affectionate hand massages and joking with us.  A girl came to try to talk to my guide, he said that I was his girlfriend, which was met with a pout. It didn’t stop her from trying to dance for his attention. When she didn’t get any, she decided to just talk with us instead. Her name is Apple. She is 25 years old. She is worried that even though she is “the most beautiful” girl at the club, she won’t be able to work much longer, the men like younger girls.