Whatever Happened To The Thai Sex Worker?

[Guest reader]

The following interview is with a former female sex worker in Pattaya who is now living and working in Isaan. But I think what she has to say could have just as well been said by her male contemporaries.

From National Public Radio (US)

By Suchada Phoisaat and Aurora Almendra

In February, NPR published a story on the tolls of the pandemic on Thailand's sex workers. Before COVID-19 hit, international tourism made up 20% of the country's gross domestic product — and fueled a thriving sex industry. That collapsed in March 2020 when the country shut its borders to keep the coronavirus at bay.

Sex workers in the cities of Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket struggled to cope with the lack of sex tourists. Most were barely scraping by, and many returned to their home provinces in the rural countryside. We check in with M., one of the sex workers whom we interviewed and who has asked for anonymity because individuals have been disowned by their families or ostracized by their communities for association with a stigmatized, illegal industry.

When we interviewed sex workers in Thailand back in September 2020, many were holding out hope that the coronavirus pandemic would end soon. But the country's coronavirus crisis has only gotten worse, with the average number of daily new infections reaching its peak on Aug. 13 at 23,418 cases. While some resort islands, like Phuket, have reopened to vaccinated foreign tourists, tourism is far from having rebounded.

We caught up with M., 33, whom we met in the Thai tourist hub of Pattaya. Before the pandemic, she was earning good money as a topless dancer at a go-go bar and as a sex worker. But when we spoke to her amid the crisis last year, she said she was struggling to send money to her mother, who was caring for her two sons, and was sharing a studio apartment with two other women who worked at the same bar. In January, she returned to her rural hometown in the northeast region of Isaan and started a job in accounting at a local hospital.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

A year ago, you were worried that if tourism didn't improve in Pattaya, you'd have to move back to Isaan. What led to your decision to leave the city?

The COVID situation became more severe. There were no tourists or foreigners staying in Pattaya, and I was very worried about COVID. I started to think about going home because there were almost no customers. My roommates went back home around November last year. It was sad. Our room was quiet, and I still had to pay rent for the room [on my own]. Luckily, over New Year's Eve, I made some money from a customer from Bangkok who came to Pattaya for an island holiday, and I saved it.

In early January, the bar owner decided to close the business. I wasn't sure what else to do in Pattaya. I called my mother and told her I was coming home. But I didn't leave for another [few weeks] because I was trying to find a job in a [government-designated quarantine] hotel in Pattaya, but no luck.

What was the city like on the day you left?

I was speechless. I lived in Pattaya for [six years] and never thought that Pattaya would become a deserted city. Pubs and bars that were always lit up at night are now shut down. The beach is lonely without tourists. At night, the beach has become a place for people [who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19] to sleep, and others go there to donate food to the homeless. When I think about it, my heart aches. I'm happy I survived.

Before the pandemic, you had dreams of saving enough money in Pattaya to buy more farmland for your family and starting your own rubber tree plantation in Isaan. How much of a dent did the pandemic put in your savings?

I only had a small amount of money left. I had about 10,000 baht [$300] saved and used it to pay off my rent in Pattaya. I sent some money [in advance] to my mother for the expenses of my two sons, about 3,000 baht [$100].

What was it like when you first got home to your province?

When I returned to my hometown, I still couldn't stay at our home. I had to report to the village leader and was required to quarantine for 14 days. My mother sent me to live on our [small] rubber plantation. She sent me some food and drinking water.

After the quarantine period was over, I was able to go home. I didn't have much to do apart from [helping my mom with her] rubber plantation. I was frustrated because I didn't know what to do next with my life. I began to look for work, starting with applying for a job as a Grab rider [a motorcycle-delivery and ride-hailing app]. There are not many restaurants for food-delivery service in my hometown, so most of my job was picking up passengers or parcels. It did not earn much money but was better than staying home and earning nothing.

I was also picking up a few shifts at the 7-Eleven and working as a life insurance agent.

Your mom and sons depended on your income as a sex worker to supplement their living expenses. How did they survive when you returned to Isaan and did not have a steady job?

Living at home without any money [in Isaan] is not as difficult as living in Pattaya. In the countryside, we own a house so we don't need to pay rent. My mother grows vegetables for herself. Sometimes we buy meat from the market, and the price of fresh food is not expensive like in Pattaya. Last year, my mother leased half of her rubber plantation to some farmers, so she made enough cash to live on.

What are you doing now?

I [started] working as an accounting officer at a hospital [in early July]. My friend told me that the hospital was looking for staff. I had to take an accounting exam to be able to apply. I wanted this job because I intended to [make enough money to] continue improving our house.

Before the pandemic, you said your job in Pattaya's red-light district earned you more money than from your previous office job. Are you making enough money in your office position now?

I'm a full-time employee with a monthly income. The salary may not be much, but there are health care, child's education and pension benefits.

How does COVID continue to affect you?

I'm afraid I will be infected with COVID because there are infected patients who come to the hospital. I protect myself by wearing a double mask.

What is life like for you now?

My routine has changed. On the weekends, I have time to be with my family. I'm making new friends. [Instead of going to bed late because of my evening shift at the bar], I get up early and go to a daytime job. It's funny — I used to complain that someday I would have to sleep like a normal person!

Do you miss anything about Pattaya?

Party life, handsome men, drinking with friends. I hardly drink now because of my new profession, but I miss it so much.

---

Suchada Phoisaat is a Thai producer based in Bangkok.

Aurora Almendral is an American journalist based in Southeast Asia.

https://www.wbur.org/npr/1033267519/whatever-happened-to-the-thai-sex-worker-trying-to-rebuild-her-life-in-a-pandemi

 

 

[Vessey]

Sex workers in places like Pattaya have a shelf-life, and 33 is on the older side anyway. Past 30 and it becomes harder to compete with the pretty 18 and 19 year olds arriving in Pattaya 'off the bus'. It becomes harder to get the same flow of customers; instead they have to rely more on their 'regulars' and hopes of, at least a level of, sponsorship. Some will find other work in Pattaya, others will return home.  The sensible ones will have built up savings; and/or maybe already invested in land or a house back in the village while others, living more hand to mouth, go back home with very little.

The other observation that I would make is that many of the boys already had other part-time day jobs. For example, one lad from Cupidol I know, worked daytime shifts as a (junior) chef in a local hotel kitchen, but would be at his bar by 8pm, scrubbed-up and down to his tighty-whiteys. Others at Sunnee had regular daytime jobs in factories and construction, and their bar work had always been essentially freelance, but potentially offering welcome supplements to their income.  Low season, also saw many others getting part-time jobs, etc etc. Only the most successful were ever only full time stage performers and/or sex workers.  Many boys have also always regularly returned home for protracted periods during low season.

So I think the 'case-study' presented above risks painting a very simplistic picture of the complexity of a sex-workers life in Pattaya for example. They are already pretty resilient to the vagaries of their 'working lives', although the pandemic closures and restrictions will have hit them far harder than they had perhaps hitherto experienced.

The question for me is how many will eventually decide to return to the bright lights of their bars and partying, and how many see the pandemic as the catalyst to move on with their lives.

[vinapu]

10 hours ago, Vessey said:

The question for me is how many will eventually decide to return to the bright lights of their bars and partying, and how many see the pandemic as the catalyst to move on with their lives.

and this is question answer to many workers world over are pondering during pandemic not restricted to sex workers.

I see people settling in new jobs, deciding to retire, going back to school and making all kinds of decision forced by the situation they found themselves  in during pandemic so situation of sex workers in by no means unique although it may be much harsh because , as you noted above, their limited shelf life.

As for what happens to the scene anybody's guess is as good as next person. All scenarios are possible  from most of venues closing permanently for lack of funds or /and personnel all the way to rebound happening much faster than anybody expects since bringing bar back to life requires dusting of spider webs, mopping floor and making several phone calls to former staff. We can only speculate but in fact nobody knows , even people in the business.

My guess is that it will be mix  of those extremities, some venues will go back to life very fast and many of others breathed their last already without even knowing it. So for first several months we will have less choices in more crowded places.

The same will probably happen to us - some will return as soon as it will be possible, others will take 'wait and see" approach resulting in coming later on or abandoning idea of travel to Thailand at all because they find other interesting places or even  that life without travel  is  quite bearable. 

[Guest]

12 hours ago, Vessey said:

Sex workers in places like Pattaya have a shelf-life, and 33 is on the older side anyway. Past 30 and it becomes harder to compete

I agree.   Eventually people reach an age where selling such services becomes more difficult.   If she's reached 33 and then got what sounds like a relatively good job, well perhaps covid has been the catalyst to bring about a career change which was going to happen sooner or later anyway.   

I would suggest the ones who suffer more would be those in the earlier stages of their career who haven't even thought about what they might next.

[Boy69]

The problem is that Pattaya economy rely almost exclusively on Int'l tourism so the closure of the borders had devastating affect not only sex workers are suffering but the whole city collapsed , Unfortunately Pattaya won't be the same again and it will take many years to recover.

[vinapu]

18 minutes ago, Boy69 said:

 Pattaya won't be the same again and it will take many years to recover.

how do we know?

Not that I don't agree or see merit in such gloomy statement but, specially 2nd part ( my underscore ), may or may not prove to be accurate.

Material devastation may take longer to repair but one of immaterial nature like pandemic effect may be repaired surprisingly fast.

 

[TotallyOz]

Was in Pattaya recently and beach road in the very early AM and quite a few drunk ones roaming the beach. Where did they go to party?  Are some places open? 

[vinapu]

5 hours ago, TotallyOz said:

Was in Pattaya recently and beach road in the very early AM and quite a few drunk ones roaming the beach. Where did they go to party?  Are some places open? 

since when one need to attend party to get drunk? Can't  just 4 or 7 friends get together  and empty some bottles ?

[Travellerdave]

Vessey’s account of the economics of being a rent boy in Pattaya is an excellent presentation of the realities of their lives. It caused me to reflect on my own experience of rent boys in Pattaya over the last 20 years concluding with my last trip in February last year. One boy I remember going back to my second trip years ago stands out in my memory. I was sat talking to a pal in one of the concessions on the gay beach during the late afternoon when two boys appeared and after some hesitation seated themselves close by. One was a really nice looking twink in the 18 to 20 range whereas the other was rather older maybe 26 to 29. We very quickly invited them over and bought them drinks. The older one could speak some English but the younger none. He said that they both worked nights at a laundry but the younger had only been there a week having arrived from Korat. He (the older)had come to the beach to try and find a farang to help him with his rent, whereas the twink was just sightseeing. After perhaps half an hour my pal went off with the older to his hotel whereas I took the younger to a short time room. I returned to the beach the next day hoping to meet him again but he didn’t appear and the day after I went back home. Returning a couple of months later I visited Sunee and spotted him dancing in the Euro Boys Gogo. I offed him and discovered that after our first meeting that he had transitioned over a week or so into full time work in gogos which he found much to his liking than the laundry.

[Londoner]

More guys make a success of their time in Pattaya than some may think. Yes, there are certainly casualties- hiv,  drug abuse and, alcoholism  take their toll and sometimes,  an apparent LTR with a falang is suddenly curtailed when a new and younger boyfriend is found.

A few years sago, P went through a list of   ten or so of his friends (now Facebook contacts) from Dream Boys circa 2003, who had found their falang and were still enjoying  financial support.

Some of the falangs had relocated to Thailand to live with their boyfriends. And to underscore this, I've noted more couples recently in Pattaya consisting of a falang in his sixties (or thereabouts) and a Thai in his thirties, suggesting that these are indeed LTRs.

[Travellerdave]

Im with you there Londoner - some boys are more affluent than one might suppose. During my last contribution I mentioned a very attractive 18 year old I first met on the beach in year 2003 and subsequently offed him from Euro Boys. I like to think he had a prosperous career in the gay Pattaya sex industry. He will be about 36 now and probably retired some time ago from the bars, but after a good remunerative period in the beds of gay farangs like myself, and having probably a number of longer term relationships. The family in Isaan would have benefited from improvements to their property, purchase of farm equipment and perhaps a pickup truck and generally from freedom from uncertainty and poverty.  On the other had I hope he has not been crippled by drugs or alcohol, a motor bike accident or contracted a STD from bare back sex.
 

[Guest]

I agree that some do far better than we might think.  

For a start, I think there's a tendency to understate earnings.  Also, when asking what they have been doing today, well I've never ever heard the answer refer to seeing other clients.    Even when I know a customer he has seen earlier in the day.  

Back in the days when Pattaya had a thriving gogo scene, I've been sat in Funny boys for a while waiting for the full rotation of lads & I've seen boys leave with a customer and return to the bar 40 minutes later, to go back on the stage. 

I know of some who eventually admit they have been saving for years, have bought land & so on, knowing they will need a career change shortly. 

[vinapu]

8 hours ago, z909 said:

 

I know of some who eventually admit they have been saving for years, have bought land & so on, knowing they will need a career change shortly. 

I think along the same lines. Quite  a few guys I was with and talked to had pretty firm plans as of what they will do with their money after they move from the scene.

I recall one Tawan guy proudly showing me his pick up truck he bought back home which was being rented for various jobs while guy was still toiling in BKK.

And another one whom I took for few days from Pattaya to Bangkok who asked me to pay agreed tips in lump sum at end of his stay so he can save all that money ( and of course creating excuse for asking me to buy him occasional small items as he did not have money )