the third sex

A ladyboy friend, who works at Cascade in Nana Plaza, came in to see me yesterday evening on her way to work. How is business in Nana, with all the problems, I asked.

“Very bad,” she replied. “Only few customer, and they pay smaller money now.”

She said that a short-time payment is usually 2,000 baht, or even as high as 3,000, but what has been happening recently is that the payment has gone down to 1,500 or even less.

“Anything to make some money,” she said, sadly, adding that she was thinking of leaving Bangkok to go down to Phuket, which is less seriously affected. “But if I go Phuket I have to leave my Mum,” she said. “That not good for her, and I also not happy.”

I felt very sorry for my big-cocked friend, because she is a thoroughly nice and decent person, with good English, and just wants to earn enough money to open a small business for her and her mother.

But I’m afraid to say that things are going to get worse. I haven’t been to Patpong for the past couple of weeks, not since Songkran in fact, because Silom Road is crammed with Red Shirts who have paralysed the city’s business district. On Thursday several grenades were launched into a crowd of people up near the Dusit Thani hotel, killing at least one person and injuring 80 or so others.

One of the grenades came down through the roof of the skytrain station, and the system has been shut down. Part of the subway system has been closed. This area of the city, plus the area around the Erawan Shrine, has become impassable. The traffic has become so bad that getting across Bangkok is often better not even attempted. The mood is getting more and more ugly. Violence, either in the form of the army moving in to dispel the Red Shirts, or mass clashes between Red and Yellow Shirts, could break out at any time.

When trouble hits Thailand, the top end of the tourism market melts away but the cheaper end always holds firm. This is why the price of a short-time is falling to 1,500 baht or less. The budget travellers and the backpackers will always come here, no matter what is happening. The four- and five-star traveller will stay away.

I maintain what I said on this blog a few days ago. This is still a good time to visit Bangkok! The big hotels are empty. The entertainment girls (and boys) are anxious to take whatever they are offered. As long as you stay away from the crowds, you won’t be in any danger.

My ladyboy friend was ready to go on to Nana Plaza. She grimaced. “Traffic very, very bad,” she said. “But I have to go or they cut my salary. But no skytrain to get to Nana. Probably no customer. This very bad time.”