Tuesday was the
first night that I got to experience Bangla road at night. The funny thing
about being there in the daytime is that you still get the same feelings you
get at night, but it has a more eerie feel during the day because no one is
there. It’s like the emptiness reflects the feelings that are in the men and
women’s hearts at night. It’s also like the girls bring life to the street
because of the odd sense of joy they have within them despite their situation.
As I was walking down Soi Sea Dragon around 10pm, with my
team for the night (Lindsey and Melissa) I felt a little discouraged from the
start, knowing that I could not walk down Soi Easy. We were only allowed to
walk down Soi Sea Dragon and Soi Tiger the first night. But, thanks to my
friends, my spirit was lifted as they encouraged me and uplifted me and
confirmed in my spirit that I had a calling and an anointing to be on these two
streets that very night and that very time. (P.S Lindsey and Melissa are the
BEST wing girls everrrr)
That’s when I met (I’m going to call him C. for “legal”
reasons) C. is what Thai people call a “Lady Boy.” (what you may know to be a
Trans-gendered person) I will never forget the very first thing C. told me when
I asked him to sit down with me and play connect four (yes they have the BEST
bar games ever!)
C. looked at me through his caked on makeup and said, “You
are so beautiful.” I stared right into his
eyes and said back, “I have never seen so much love in someone’s eyes
before.”
It was an instant connection that reaffirmed all my doubts
about not being allowed on Soi Easy that night. I needed to meet C. if for any
reason at all, to let him know that he was beautiful and capable of real love.
C. knew I wasn’t there for his body (which may I add looked WAY more in shape
and beautiful than mine) But, I was there for a conversation. I was there to
just be there and let him be there. No strings attached.
Since C. did not know that much English, he quickly called
over his friend, P. This was more than I could have asked for. Not only had I
began to form a relationship with C within a matter of seconds, the door was
now open for an opportunity to gain someone else’s trust. The problem was, P’s
role at the bar was to draw people in, not to talk. She was a little smaller
and shorter than me. Her body looked so frail but the smile in her eyes could
catch anyone’s attention. Even though I noticed her eyes first, I’m sure it was
her tiny body that was used to draw people in, not the smile in her eyes.
So, she pulled me off my stool and took me over to play this
game where you try to hammer a nail into a large piece of tree trunk…not the
best game to play considering how most of the people who play it are drunken
old men. But there I was, standing in between P and C hitting (or should I say
failing miserably at trying to hit) nails into this wood contemplating my next
sentence.
After a few minutes of asking P and C about their families,
where they lived, how they liked or disliked their job, I realized I was
actually drawing more people over to P and C than away. So, I asked them both
to come back over to the stool and sit back down with Lindsey and Melissa. We continued
our conversation, I got their numbers and we left. That was it. I guessed my
job was done for the night.
The funny thing is, you can leave Bangla Road but the faces
of those girls never leave you. Even if you never seen them again (which has
been the case of C.) they will always be ingrained in your mind. It is
something that you can’t just see happening and let it happen. It’s something
you just have to do something about. At least that’s how I feel.
