So I was stuck on what to do the night of Jan 10th, so I went and did the Patong Museum which is in the middle of a red light district (the original redlight district). Lots of people had posted online how interesting it was and I didn’t have any other options (not a drinker really).

It was fascinating because it dived into the history of the district. The man who built the area had come over in the 1890’s as a Chinese coolie, he then bought the land which was banana’s/rice paddies from the government as it had used to be the Japanese headquarters when Thailand was occupied in the war. His son had a masters from America and had been trained by the OSS to fight for the free thai movement. He parachuted back to Thailand just as the war was ending.

So how did Patong which was just a Rural area become a major district of Bangkok. The man also started the SIAM cement company which when the trams were decommissioned in the 1960s and the lines converted to roads, SIAM cement was the only cement company in Thailand.

So how did it move from that to more… liberal pursuits. Well he didn’t want to evict his friends and neighbors and it just happened. However the Vietnam war after he had died is when it really started to change. The first go-go bar in Thailand was brought by an American, he skirted the law not having an entertainment license and the police said – you don’t have dancing license. He said – there is one girl on a pole, that’s not dancing. Technically per thai law – dancing requires 2 people. Therefore he was allowed to operate. One of the most famous adult places in Thailand – the Soi Cowboy – had been stationed here as a munitions loader in Vietnam (there was an Airforce base here with 50,000 troops), and after a RIF, he opened up several of these places. I think some of this is because the American’s had the cash and incentive to be innovative.

The tour guide was excellent.

So after volunteering in Sing buri where there were government projects to try and pay a wage for people to stay in the rural communities, I am reminded of the industrial revolution in England. I’ve had a couple of discussions on this topic with several people. You have lots of people moving to Bangkok, and there aren’t jobs, these people are a funding their families. Prostitution is unfortunately seriously driven by economics here. In the museum it was discussed that originally (1800s) Brothels were for the rich and wealthy. That changed. I don’t see a way to resolve the issue in Thailand, if you remove the prostitution, you are going to have starving people, and social assistance in any country like this has distinct limits. I think the only thing you can do is to actually legalize and regulate it, remove the trafficking aspects and the exploitation. Require unionization, policing of age of the prostitutes, limit impact of “pimps/bar owners/clubs owners/massage parlor owners). All making it illegal is doing is making it less safe, and higher risk. I feel as a responsible member of society that my job is to protect children, not a 20 something year old who has choices. It is simply to ensure they have a choice. This is a complex issue but with the underlying economic factors I don’t see any easy option for Thailand.

I will admit that my patience of having my arm grabbed and someone going “oh… you want massage… you big, strong, I give you good massage” has its limits. Especially when I am carrying shopping bags. I miss having women with me to protect me from that (they only do it if you are a single man or group of men).