A Week on Bangla Road…Day 1
I began writing this blog and quickly realized that I had
too much to say to condense my thoughts about my first week in Phuket into one
blog. So, I came to the conclusion that I could write a blog about every single
day I have spent in Phuket…well actually Putong. Trust me, it won’t be boring
and it won’t be redundant…just read it…
MONDAY afternoon was
the first time I had ever walked down Bangla Road. I only knew four things
about this road. 1.There are over 200 bars and 1,500 women that work on Bangla
Road. 2. Most, if not all of these women do not work on this road by choice. Let’s
just say that the women in the “closed bars” do not have the same opportunities
to get out of their work as the women do in the “open bars” 3. This road had a
spiritually dark atmosphere that surrounded it. 4. I was going to be walking up
and down this road daily trying to find the most abused women and bring them
out of their environment and into a healthy one at the “SHE house” (Self-Help
and Empowerment) to take English classes.
Anyway, most people may automatically be turned off after
hearing all these things about Bangla Road. I, on the other hand had a strange
peace about being on that road and got excited to meet some girls. After all, I’m
quite used to the whole “bar scene.” At first, I accredited my peace and
excitement to the fact that for the past 8 months, I had been working with
children…not my strong suit…and now I can FINALLY work with adults. But then, I
soon found out that I had peace about being here because I NEEDED to be here. I
had something someone was going to need from me…love.
“Tiger” Bar on Soi Tiger
There are around 10 streets that make up what is known as
Bangla Road. I can’t remember my first encounter with any of the streets
specifically except the one that seemed to lure me in by force…Soi Easy. (All
the streets begin with “Soi”) It was one of the strangest feelings I have ever
felt before, and that’s saying a lot considering all the strange things I’ve
experienced on the race. It was like every bone within my body wanted to go
sprinting down that street looking for ANYONE who would simply just want to
talk to me. It was like someone was literally grabbing my body and pulling me
in. But I had to keep walking along the road with the rest of the group. Even
as I was walking away, I still felt the force drawing me in. Let’s just say I
turned around to look at the street at least 6 times until I got to the end of
the road and could no longer see it.
Soi Easy in the daytime
Let’s back up a minute. Before we went for this walk, our
contact, Amanda and the founders of SHE, Mark and Sharon, all told us that each
road would have a different “feel” to it. Apparently, whatever “feel” Soi Easy
had, it was alluring to my spirit.
So, after our walk, Amanda asked us if any of us felt drawn
to a specific street. I spoke up and said that I could not walk past Soi Easy
again without going down it. She responded by saying we were only allowed to
walk down half of the street because the other half was so spiritually dark and
corrupt that it would be putting us at risk. It would be too dangerous. I felt
instantly defeated. There were only 2 streets that were “off limits” and mine
had been stamped at the half way mark. Really?
Ever since that first encounter with Soi
Easy, I have not been able to forget that feeling.
This is how empty the bars look in the daytime (Soi Sea Dragon)
