Soi Lion is a dark place. The bars are
so close together that you can’t see where one starts and the next
one begins. The space between the bars across the row from each
other is so small that the three of us could hardly walk single file
down the row. The roofs of the bars almost touch across the aisle,
and the neon lights add to the feeling of being trapped. Each bar
has no fewer than three Thai women dancing on top of it in skirts
that I could use as a headband.
Our little team of three started down
the row. We stopped at a bar that was almost unoccupied, and Lindsay
made friends with Lan*, a girl who spoke very little English. Stacy
and I waved over another girl, who brought a game of Connect Four
with her. Her English was good, and when Lindsay overheard her
talking to us, she asked her if she could translate for Lan. She got
Lan’s phone number so that the staff at SHE would be able to contact
her.
the row. We stopped at a bar that was almost unoccupied, and Lindsay
made friends with Lan*, a girl who spoke very little English. Stacy
and I waved over another girl, who brought a game of Connect Four
with her. Her English was good, and when Lindsay overheard her
talking to us, she asked her if she could translate for Lan. She got
Lan’s phone number so that the staff at SHE would be able to contact
her.
After the interaction, Lindsay told
Stacy and me that when she had asked Lan how she liked work, Lan had
immediately said that she hated it. “Too much boom-boom,” had
been the exact response.
Stacy and me that when she had asked Lan how she liked work, Lan had
immediately said that she hated it. “Too much boom-boom,” had
been the exact response.
We left the street for a minute to
regroup and gather ourselves at Subway. After praying for about ten
minutes, we dove back into another bar on Soi Lion. We expected to
have conversations with the women there. We did not expect to be on
the receiving end of come-ons. Rik, the woman I was talking to,
stopped talking and asked me to buy her a drink. I declined, but she
was determined. “Would you like to go somewhere?” she asked.
regroup and gather ourselves at Subway. After praying for about ten
minutes, we dove back into another bar on Soi Lion. We expected to
have conversations with the women there. We did not expect to be on
the receiving end of come-ons. Rik, the woman I was talking to,
stopped talking and asked me to buy her a drink. I declined, but she
was determined. “Would you like to go somewhere?” she asked.
That put an awkward end to our
conversation. Rik went back to work, and I was left to sip my Sprite
and mentally sort through what had just happened, while Stacy tried unsuccessfully to have a meaningful conversation with another girl, and Lindsay went
down the table to talk to a girl from the bar next door.
conversation. Rik went back to work, and I was left to sip my Sprite
and mentally sort through what had just happened, while Stacy tried unsuccessfully to have a meaningful conversation with another girl, and Lindsay went
down the table to talk to a girl from the bar next door.
On our way to meet our van to go back
to SHE, we ran into Lan on the street. She was hand-in-hand with a
thirtysomething Canadian male, walking away from Bangla Road.
to SHE, we ran into Lan on the street. She was hand-in-hand with a
thirtysomething Canadian male, walking away from Bangla Road.
When we went home, I was feeling completely helpless. I hadn’t been able to get through to anyone we had talked to, and I was feeling more useless than impactful. But Lindsay had other ideas.
“We’re going back tomorrow. We have to. We can’t let Lion get the best of us.”
Oh no. Two nights in a row? I don’t think I can handle this.
*Names have been changed.
