Why are all these sweet lovable girls working in bars in places like Pattaya, Thailand and Angeles City, Philippines?   They may tell you that they do not like the local men, and they may tell you they have more fun in the bright cities than in their village.  They probably will tell you that they need to send money home, and that is the truth of the matter.  They do it for money!   Never forget that!

Picture yourself living in a Spartan house in the middle of nowhere, with no income, no welfare state or charity organization to help you and no food.  What are you going to do – starve? – beg? – steal?  Well millions of people face this dilemma every day in Asia.  No food, no free medical care, no insurance and no way out.  There is a welfare system here and it’s called having children.  When you bring kids into the world an unwritten contract is entered into.  You will nourish, care for, support and love your kids.  In return, when you are old they will take care of you.  Family is the key to survival in Asia and this unwritten contract is stronger than any legal document.  Young people in Asia who break the contract and desert their parents, (and there are a few) are on a very slippery slope indeed with suicide a likely outcome.

One of the few choices available to good-looking girls is to come and work in the big cities in the bars.  Not surprising then that many of the best looking girls choose cities like Pattaya and Angeles.  Although not considered the most desirable occupation, this kind of thing has been very common in Asia for hundreds of years.  As a profession it is not considered such a terrible thing.  Certainly, a bar girl is a few notches up the status ladder than her counterpart in the west.  There is a common saying in Asia- “as beautiful as a prostitute”.  I can’t see many westerners liking that particular compliment.

I don’t want to go on too much but please understand there is no great merit in getting one of these girls for free.  Yes they fall in love all the time, and yes they can feel shy to ask you for money.  If you have such a girl, do the decent thing and give her some cash.  Consider it a donation to her family’s welfare.

I believe most prostitutes back home choose the life as an easy way to make money and turn their back on society’s normal expectations.  Many are hard, unpleasant people.  Not so with the Asian girls.  They have made a hard choice but often the only viable one.  Please treat the girls with the respect they deserve.   I hate seeing drunken men taking extreme liberties with defenceless bar girls.   Generally they won’t complain if you grope and molest them at the bar, but this is very embarrassing for the girls.  They are naturally shy and public affection is frowned on in Asian society.  Hand holding is about as racy as it gets in public. These girls are kind, loving people so give them respect and a chance to earn a living.

by

Long Time Resident