Well, just going to try and set the stage of Pattaya, Thailand and explain why we are here.
In Pattaya, Thailand there are approximately 60,000 prostitutes. This town is located on the beach. There are streets and streets filled with bars and women who are there to sell themselves for sex. Pattaya is a pretty big tourist location and it’s primary draw is the women. There are a ton of foreign men here, a lot of them are American. The age of the men is primarily older. A lot of older men retire and then move to Pattaya or come here for several months out of the year to be with the women here. The men are not shy about telling you that is exactly why they are here.
In Thailand, the official third sex of the country is the Lady Boys. They are men who not only dress like women but generally have sex change surgery. Bangkok, Thailand is one of if not the top sex change capitol in the world. The lady boys are a huge part of the entire sex selling industry here.
The bars are everywhere here. They are generally open from about 12pm to the wee hours of the night. There are bars which are the tradition brothel type setting and you buy the girl by the hour and take them to a room upstairs that is provided; and then there are bars which are more buy the girl by the night/day and they will go with you. A lot of the older men come and will want the girls for necessarily primarily sex but also for companionship. They will often take the girls on vacation with them for days at a time just to have someone to spend time with. Most of the younger men here are here for sex and sex only and have no problem letting you know that.
The bars are for the most part open as opposed to the more closed door bars in America. Most men will walk down the street and the women will be all over them, trying to pull them into the bars, and yelling all sorts of things at them to get their attention. There are times that we women will walk down the street and get yelled at. There really are not words to describe what it is like to walk down some of the main streets with bars here. It is something that you can be told about, but there is a whole new reality to seeing in person.
Why are the women here? Some are here because of human trafficking but I don’t think this is the main factor of most of the women here. A lot of the women come here because their families send them to make money. Some of them know what they are coming to Pattaya for and others are probably surprised by what they are being sent to do. So, a lot of the women by financial situations are stuck selling themselves for money to support their families back home. Very few of the women, when asked say that they like Pattaya or that they are glad to be here. Yet, this is their only way of supporting themselves.
This city is filled with lost men and women. The women in these bars need to know God’s love for them, to see an alternative lifestyle and way of supporting themselves, and have hope for life being more than selling themselves to different men everyday. The men need to see and know God’s love too. It is hard sometimes to not get angry with them, but they need to know God’s love and truth just as much as the women. There is just a huge need for God’s love and truth here.
