Ringing the Gong

Song of the Day : Beyonce "Ring The Alarm"

I've been alone in the office all day. At first it was nice because I was able to actually concentrate and focus at the tasks at hand, but now I am bored and this major rain storm is scaring me. I would really love to listen to music right now but all we have in the office are Thai cds and I don't mean to be rude in any way but Thai music sucks! Every song sounds the same!

Anyways, the other day Reena and I were able to leave the office at 3pm to hit Walking Street and get ahead on our bar work. Justin wanted us to talk to a really young girl we are trying to help get out of the bar scene but unfortunately her mother is in the same biz so it is harder for her to get out. The young girl was not at the bar so Reena and I decided to just walk around and look for young girls. So we went to the shady area and saw a young girl sitting at the bar. As we approached her we were kind of hesitant to talk to her because she looked so hardcore. She was wearing the shortest low rise shorts I have ever seen. Her black thong was hanging out and she had tattoos everywhere. We were going to turn away but she told us to come in for a drink. So we hesitantly sat down and order our usual cokes. We started to talk to her and her English was so good. She didn't have an accent. We asked if she lived or went to school abroad but she said no. That she learned English on her own by reading books and watching English shows. Her name is Tang and she is 20 years old and has been in "the game" for 2 years. She seems to be on top of her game and unable to talk her out of it. Then 2 other girls came to join us and talk to us. Joanne who is 25 and Anne who is 24 (we later found out that Anne is the Mama Saan of the bar as her boyfriend from England is the owner).

They were really funny and joked around a lot. The things they said were unbelievable. They were really raunchy and talked really dirty and in detail. I think they fed off me and Reena's reactions. The more we reacted the more they would talk dirtier and act crazier. Anne whipped out from under the bar a rubber snake. That of course drove me into a real tizzy. I freaked out and screamed and turned my back towards her. All the bar girls were looking at me like I was crazy and Reena was laughing explainning how scared I am with snakes. I was afraid Anne will throw the snake at me so I started to walk away while sipping on my coke to calm me down. I thought Anne had put it away because she was telling me it isn't real and I shouldn't be scared. So I turn to walk back to the bar and Anne was waving the damn snake saying "It's not real! It's not real!". She then promised to put it away, as she knew we would leave if she didn't. She then said we should all play JENGA to calm down. So I said ok. Anne then said it would be more fun if we gamble for drinks. That the loser will have to ring the big bell and buy drinks for everyone. I don't know how it came about but Reena agreed to it. Of course we lose so we ended up having to buy everyone drinks. It really hurt having to start our bar work with an empty wallet. I asked Anne what would happen if we didn't have enough money to pay for the tab (600 baht) she said we would have to work at the bar. That we would get 300 baht if we have a little BOOM BOOM with a Farang (western man) for 2 hours. I freaked out saying the girls ONLY get 300 baht to have sex with a nasty UFO? She said that is what they get. 1,000 baht if they stay overnight with a Farang! It's pretty sad knowing that the girls sell their bodies for sex and only get $9 for 2 hours. It's sad knowing that it is a part of life and that it is hard to get out of it as it is the only way to make fast cash for their families. We asked why don't the girls work at McDs? Or at a store? Anne said they would only get 150 Baht ($4-$5) for 12 hours of work a day whereas working at the bar they can get a lot more for 12 hours of work. So we lost 600 Baht but the good thing about it, was that I was able to ring the big GONG. It was so fun! I think I got a little too exited with the bell that it attracted tourists knowing that the sound of the gong means free drinks. We got hustled by the bar girls but at least they only let us pay for the bar girls' drinks and not the tourists.

We then went back home to get more cash and take a 2 hour nap. After dinner at McDs we went to visit and follow up on our friends WEE AND WAHN (sisters who work as bar girls). We first met them last week. Wee is the older of the 2 and was the freshest in the Pattya scene. We found out fantastic news from Wahn. She told us that Wee decided to leave the scene and go back home up North to be with her 2 babies. She didn't like the scene and wanted to get out fast. So now we felt it was our duty to try and work on Wahn to get out. She wants to get out real bad, but unfortunately she is the bread winner for the family. Reena got into a deep discussion with her while I worked on distracting the Mama Saan and the other bar girls. We can't let them know what our intentions are. Mama Saan remembered us from last week and started questionning me to find out what we are doing here. I lied saying we are visiting Farang friends who work here. She thought I was half black half Thai so she introduced me to a black man who was sitting at the bar with his girlfriend. Not sure if it is his girlfriend or a woman he bought. Anyways this guy is from the States and as soon as we started talking, I noticed the bar girls and the mama saan all went to the other side of the bar talking and chilling amongst eachother. I was like HEY! They're making me do their job!!! After he left with his "girlfriend", the mama saan then brought this nasty Australian with the longest goatee ever! I was checking to see if there were any bugs caught inside! And then she and the bar girls left me with him. He was so raunchy and was talking about his 10 days of heaven and constant "BOOM BOOM" with girls. (People refer to 'sex as BOOM BOOM) I kept looking at Reena and Wahn to see what's going on and if we can leave soon. I made a face to Reena showing my desperation and my urgent requests to get on out of there! At least I got a few laughs from bar girls at the other bar next to us! Apparently none of the bar girls wanted the Aussie and they were hoping I can "entertain" him and maybe go home with him! NASTY!!!!!!!!!!!! He started rolling up a joint and urging me to smoke up with him. I was like Noooo thanks! Then he was like 'Common I won't charge you! I felt like I was in highschool again, it was a total DEGRASSI JUNIOR HIGH moment. I was like "I've never taken drugs before and I intend on ever doing so!". So he smoked two joints before he left me and said he wanted to look for BOOM BOOM before his flight back to Australia in 6 hours.

Later that night we decided to unpack our thoughts and feelings over ice cream. We've been having a tendency to really treat ourselves everyday. So now our wallets are a lot lighter and our stomachs are a lot heavier. We then decided to visit our friend Phi for our hour foot rub and a 30 minute back rub. We haven't been able to sleep for the past few days because of that damn kareoke place next to our hotel. As a matter of fact I showed up for work at 11am instead of 9am because I did not sleep AT all the other night. It was really out of control. So we thought getting a massage would calm us down and let us relax so that we can sleep. So as Phi was doing my back, she started to freak out because she said something is wrong with my back. She asked if I've been injured or something. Then Reena's lady started feeling my back, and then they got Reena to feel my back. I think Thailand is good for me in the sense that I am discovering a lot about myself. That I've got issues and that I have a bad back. Sheesh! Anyways the massages worked as we were really drowsy walking home, but it only worked for a little while because as soon as we got home we were hyper again!