Thai Language Blog

I had a clueless friend who once sat down at one of these tables. He was tired of walking, and needed a chair. Well, some girl sitting at the same table started chatting with him. He said they had a very good fun conversation and he even bought a beer from her. He described it as ‘a nice friendly enjoyable chat.’ But after a half-hour he decided to go home and got up to go. So the girl said, ‘you aren’t going to take me home with you?’ My friend was confused . . . ‘huh?’ He walked away in awkwardness. A year later he still hadn’t quite figured out what happened at that table until I explained ‘the system’ to him.

On rare occasion I pass by those tables at night, and sometimes they try to chat with me. They really are a friendly funny group of people. I remember one conversation went something like:

ไปไหน       bpai1 nai5            “Where are you going?”

กลับบ้าน    glab2 baan3        “Going home.”

ไปด้วยกันมั้ย?             Bpai1 duay3 gan1 mai4    “Can I come with you?”

ไม่ได้คับ จะโดนแฟนตี  mai3 dai3 krap4 ja1 don1 faen1 dtee1 “I can’t. My girlfriend will beat me up.”

ไม่เป็นไร งั้นฉันจะตีแฟนคุณก่อน    mai3 bpen1 rai1 ngan4 chan3 ja1 dtee1 faen1 kun1 gawn2            “It’s ok. I’ll beat her up first.”

They always have something clever to say . . .

Note: in more recent years there have been mobile bar stands that pop up there at night, some run by mama-sans. The girls there are also becoming more like the stereotype, so it’s probably not a good example any more. The word ‘mama-san’, which has Japanese origin, is the same in Thai, มาม่าซัง maa1maa3sang1.

But don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to go near shady areas to find this stuff. I once met one, who looked and dressed absolutely normal, approach me around 1pm at the high-class mall Siam Paragon. Serious. It started off with her being friendly, then asking me to buy her food and such . . . but I kept saying ‘no’ and she got more persistent. I admit I was clueless until she asked to go home with me . . .

language note: A polite word for a girl who sells ‘services’ is called saow5 kaai5 bo1ri4gaan1 สาวขายบริการ. Do not confuse this with a girl who sells insurance and investment policies, saow5 kaai5 bpra2gan1 สาวขายประกัน. I once made that mistake . . . man, was she mad at me . . .

One day, I was walking to a food stall near the front of Hua Lamphong (hua5 lum1 pong1, หัวลำโพง) with a friend. Near the station we passed by a bunch of people having a picnic. It’s around 8pm at night, and dozens of Thais are having a picnic (bpig2 nig4, ปิกนิก) literally on the side of a big road on a common footpath area. Yea . . . Well ok, a little strange, but I just kept walking and ignored it. Hey, it’s Thailand, weirdness is normal for me here!

Later, my friend explained to me what I just saw. It was prostitution, she said. Seriously, it looked like a picnic to me . . . What does a picnic have to do with any of this? I had to investigate, so I went to have a closer look.

The Thai girls were dressed like normal, nothing ‘skanky’ or revealing, and they were just chatting with Thai guys while eating food and drink. They were all sitting on straw mats, and there was a basket which had food inside on each mat. Nothing looked even remotely inappropriate. Seriously, it looked like a friendly picnic!

My friend explained that it was the girls’ job to charm the guy through conversation. If she was successful, they’d then go somewhere else to ‘dtee1 maw3’ ตีหม้อ (slang; best translated as ‘hittin it’). If not, she still makes money from selling the food (sell food, ขายอาหาร, kaai5 aa1haan5). I was told these girls don’t make much for what they do because their customer base, blue collar Thai men, don’t have much money to spend.

But not all work for Thai men; there are some that do the same for farang (western men) as well. I’m sure many of you have been to, if not at least heard about, the infamous red-light street called Soi Cowboy (ซอยคาวบอย). If you haven’t, do a google image or youtube search for it (in English). This street has your stereotypical girls and bar girls, and needs no further explaining. But what you probably never paid attention to were the small tallish tables outside of Soi Cowboy where the normal looking people were just sitting down and chatting/drinking. There aren’t many tables, maybe 10 at most, and these tables only appear at night. Guess what was being sold at these tables . . . it’s not just drinks!

to be continued…

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Disclaimer: The following views and descriptions should not be conferred as the views held by Transparant Thai, and in no such manner is this article meant to demean women or Thailand. The following article is presented as a means to convey the darker side of Thailand, an opportunity to learn vocabulary that wouldn’t be taught in any formal/proper educational setting. Such vocabulary, culture, and events can be found in Thai movies and daily conversation, giving it practical academic use.

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We all have preconceptions of what prostitution is and isn’t. When that word is mentioned, we all conjure up stereotypical images of what that means. However, in Thailand there is type that so defies the stereotypes even many native Thais wouldn’t recognize it. You’ve probably seen this type and perhaps spoken to them – without even knowing.

I’m sure you already know about the bar girl (saow5 bar1, สาวบาร์) phenomenon, right? For those who don’t know, a ‘bar girl’ isn’t necessarily a prostitute. Her job is to get the customer to buy drinks by flirting with him. The customer gets female attention, and she gets paid by commission on overpriced drinks. Some of course go home with the customer for additional commission, but only after he pays the bar owner what is called a ‘bar fine.’ This compensates the bar owner for lost sales on drinks. Although this is rare in the US, it’s fairly stereotypical in Thailand.

But what probably hadn’t occurred to you (and all of us, really) is that a bar is not needed for this to work. Let me explain . . .

The famous Thai railway station in Bangkok, Hua Lamphong (hua5 lum1 pong1, หัวลำโพง), is a major place for prostitution in the evenings. Did you ever notice all those prostitutes at the railway station? There are dozens of them every day, right there in public and easy to see. How could you not see them? It’s ok, almost no one does. It’s because they are so different from the perceived stereotype that the mind just doesn’t pay any attention.

to be continued…