Thai temptation

On my recent holiday to Thailand, I discovered that Bangkok has "pussy ping pong" shows to entertain straight guys, and that it also has "hard cock shows" which aim to attract a gay male audience. Although I said in my post about the Babylon sauna in Bangkok that I'd managed to resist seeing both types of show, the truth is more complicated. It was true when I wrote that post, but it turned out that I wasn't able to resist for my entire holiday! So I guess I'd better come clean and update everyone on what really happened.

After Bangkok, me and my Thai friend B went down to Phuket. The second evening that we're there, B introduces me to one of his American friends called T, who is living there teaching English as a foreign language.

"Has GB seen a money boy show yet?" asks T.

"Not yet," replies B, "he didn't seem that interested when we were in Bangkok."

"But you've really got to see one of these shows while you're here!" says T, talking directly to me now, "you're on holiday after all :-)."

With both B and T looking at me with expectant smiles on their faces, I can see that resistance is futile. In any case, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't curious to see what these shows are like!

T assures us that he knows the best place with the best show, so a little later that evening I find myself in a bar with B and T being ushered to a table with a good view of a stage.

"That guy who showed us to the table here seems quite cute," I say, looking around, "actually all the staff look quite cute :-)."

"Do you want any of them?" asks T, "They're all available!"

Before I can answer the lights go down and the show begins. It starts with lots of young guys walking almost naked across the stage. They're all dressed as though they're heading for a shower, with something like a towel wrapped round their waists, however it's not a towel but some kind of see-through fabric. Through the fabric, one can see that they've all got at least a semi-erection! Well, that's not a bad start to any show :-).

Although there's no admission charge, it seems to be understood that everyone has to buy at least one drink. So while I'm watching the semi-naked guys on stage, a smart looking young guy called "V" who's dressed in a shirt and tie comes to take our orders. However, it turns out that he's not only a waiter because when he returns with our drinks he sits down on a little stool in front of me.

"You like show?" asks V, looking at me with such a cute smile on his face.

"Sure," I reply, "I've never seen anything like this before!"

Now that I've started talking to him, he reaches out and before I can object, he's started rubbing my knee. I catch his eye and he smiles at me. It's clear that he's trying to get me to be his client!

"Are all the guys in the show gay?" I ask him, trying to make conversation.

"A lot straight," replies V, "not many gay. But me gay :-)."

B and T pay little attention to the fact that there's a money boy trying to chat me up. For a while V carries on gently rubbing my knee and smiling, but he's also glancing around regularly to see what's happening on stage and in the rest of the bar. After a few minutes he seems to spot something over at the bar that needs his attention so he casually gets up and walks away.

The show is varied and quite interesting. One of the acts is a ladyboy singing a song, however other acts involve one or more naked guys who are ready for action! Contact between the naked guys is limited to touching and fondling, which suits me just fine because if I want to see guys get very intimate with each other I'd just buy a hardcore porn DVD. None of the guys get to the point of producing any man juice either, presumably because the idea is to save it for prospective clients!

"So how does this work," I ask T in between two of the acts, "if one wanted to take one of these guys home?"

"You just pay the bar 300 Baht," replies T in a matter of fact voice, "and then what you pay the boy is between the two of you. But I think they're usually happy with 600."

So the total bill for a Thai rent boy is about £18! The next act turns out to be a shower scene, with a particularly cute guy called "A" standing in a cubicle at the edge of the stage and playing with himself, while rubbing himself sensuously and pretending to wash. At the end of the act a smart older looking Thai guy, who I guess must be the bar's owner, wanders through the bar shouting something in Thai.

"What's he saying?" I ask B.

"He's just asking 'Who wants this one'!" replies B, translating for me.

The stage then goes dark while some kind of tarpaulin is laid out, and while it's still dark, a couple of guys come out and place themselves on it. The bar owner moves to near the front of the stage with a small torch, and quickly illuminates the crotch of both guys in turn. When the lights get a bit brighter and the act starts, both guys are naked and slightly soapy, and they spend the next few minutes rubbing themselves, rubbing each other, and playing with all their naughty bits!

"The owner was just checking that the guys had erections before the start, wasn't he!" I ask B quietly, shortly after the act starts.

"Yes of course," says B. "Actually, I reckon a lot of these guys must use Viagra because most of them perform here every day and they have to get erections on demand!"

Throughout the show, V occasionally drops by to rub my knee, or massage my shoulders from behind. Although I have no intention of going home with him, I see no reason to tell him to stop. Even if I did, I'm not sure that he'd take any notice!

The end of the show turns out to be a parade of all the performers and staff in the bar. Just beforehand I see V disappear from the bar area so he can take part. Each guy in turn walks out onto one side of the stage, then over to the other side of the stage, and then off the stage and around the room before getting back on the stage so everyone can take a final look. The guys like V wearing shirts and ties who work as hosts in the bar are all mixed in with the stage performers, who're now all topless but wearing trousers. All of them carry a clear name badge. As the shower performer "A" walks past me on his way back to the stage, I can't help catching his eye. He smiles back at me.

A couple of minutes later, I'm chatting to B and T when A comes and sits down with us, exactly where V had been sitting. No doubt this is because I accidentally caught his eye when he was in the parade just now!

"Hi," I say, "What's your name?"

He continues smiling at me, but starts looking slightly confused, although in an exceptionally cute way.

"Do you speak English?" I ask.

"No sorry," he replies.

I suppose I should have expected that. I smile at him to kind of say "sorry" back to him, and turn away to resume my conversation with B and T. If I just wanted his body I'm sure he'd be great, any two guys who're just interested in the physical side of gay life can no doubt communicate just by touching the relevant bit of each other's bodies and using sign language! But when I go with another guy I always want to be able to chat to him a bit too.

No sooner has A walked away than V sits down to replace him.

"Why not take a boy home tonight?" he asks smiling at me and rubbing my knee again.

"That A, he nice guy :-)," he continues.

"Is he gay?" I ask, but V doesn't answer.

"Or is he Bi?" I ask.

"Yeah, same thing!" replies V.

Suddenly he leans forward and whispers.

"Take me home tonight :-)." Looking at him sitting there with his name badge on, he looks so helpless and adorable!

"Come on GB," pipes up T, "why don't you take this lovely guy home with you tonight. Look at him sitting there, he's GORGEOUS!"

I look at T and shake my head, surprised that he thinks that I'd be interested in a money boy.

"And he REALLY likes you," continues T, and he puts such emphasis on the word REALLY that I almost believe him!

"Yes, of course he looks gorgeous," I say to T quietly, "and of course he likes me. It's his job! I probably find 70% of these guys attractive, but the fact that they're for sale is a complete turn off for me."

"But you're on holiday and this is Thailand. If you like him just take him home, it doesn't cost much, nobody cares!"

I look at V again, quietly sitting there looking completely cute and lovable, and I feel really sorry for him. What kind of life can he have, trying to sell his body every night? Perhaps I should take him home with me, just so he can earn a bit of cash from me?

But thinking about it a bit more, I devise a plan that I feel more comfortable with. I decide to give V a small tip for all the attention that he's given me. Reaching into my pocket I pull out a 100 Baht note and give it to him, before standing up and talking to B.

"Shall we go?" I ask, "it was interesting to see the show but I'm tired now!"

B nods his head in agreement and stands up too, but T wants to stay. As we head to the door I look back to see T talking to V. I can't help wondering whether V will end up with a client for the night after all!

"What do you think of these kind of bars?" I ask B in the car on the way home, "Don't you think they're exploiting the local lads?"

"It's not so bad!" says B, "it's a job and they get paid something each night even if they don't pull a client. No one is forcing them to do it either."

"There's something else too," continues B, "it's good for poor old farang too. After all, without places like that, old farang would never get to have sex!"