21 November
I lunched at Pi Baby’s Café and met Mario the Italian. He was dressed in shorts, tee shirt and trainers and was beaming.
“I just come back from my school,” he said. “Today is sports day so I only teach for 45 minutes but I get paid for whole day! You see, you should teach full time instead of part time – it is much better!”
He sat down, ordered kai dow puk puk (fried egg over vegetables) and continued. “Last month there was a virus going around the school. We have to close the school for two weeks. All the part timers did not get paid – but I did! The full time teachers got paid for doing nothing…
“Aargh! Ice!” he exclaimed suddenly as he looked at his glass of water. “I cannot have ice. I am very sensitive. I will have bad tummy if I have ice…”
Carefully, he emptied the ice out onto the street and poured in fresh water.
“I don’t know why, but last three days my stomach have problem…”
A young fashionably dressed Japanese man came into the shop. His face looked vaguely familiar. He glanced at me then took of his mp3 earplugs, smiled and held out his hand.
“Hey, how are you? Haven’t seen you for a while.”
I recognized him as Taki, a former gigolo from Tokyo who was on a permanent holiday from Japan. I had seen him at Pi Baby’s shop when I had worked in Bangkok last year but had never really spoken to him.
I shook his hand. “I’m fine. Just got back, actually. What have you been up to?”
Taki sat down. “Oh, not much. Just been partying a lot cos one of my friends from Japan is over and he likes to go to the disco a lot. It’s getting a bit much now though. I’ve been going out partying and drinking every single night for a month and never got to bed before 8am. I’m just exhausted.”
“I not like party every night!” called Mario eagerly from his table. “It’s no fun. Always you get tired and more tired and everyone is fresh but I am tired and no have energy. I go party once a month and then I am very fresh and it is great!”
“Well, my friend went to Chang Mai this morning – I am gonna sleep!” laughed Taki.
I looked at him. I thought his face looked remarkably fresh. He didn’t look like he’d been partying non stop for a month.
“How old are you?” I asked, guessing that he must be about 25.
“Thirty,” he said. “I’m starting work next month. I’ve been on holiday in Thailand for three years and now I’m totally broke!”
“What sort of work are you going to do?” I asked.
“Same as before. Gigolo. Down in Sukhumvit soi 22. There’s a new place just opened up. There’s not that many establishments in Thailand that caters for women but we’re trying to change that. In Japan it’s very big – especially in the last five years. Here in Bangkok, it’s mostly places for men.”
“What kind of clientele do you have?” I asked. “What kind of people are they?”
“Rich Thai women. You get a few Japanese but they’re mostly Thais. Usually the wives of powerful business men or mafia leaders. Thais are crazy about Japanese.”
“Isn’t it dangerous to go with wives of Mafia leaders?”
“No, well yes. Sometimes. When I was working in Tokyo, I got involved with the wife of the top Mafia boss but I was really lucky because he was caught and put in jail for a long time! Usually though, they don’t care if they don’t see it because they themselves have lots of other women and it keeps their wives quiet, I guess.
I found myself wondering if Taki’s three year long holiday was not just pleasure orientated. Perhaps he was keeping out of the way of angry and dangerous husbands for a while!
“So what exactly do you do in your work?” I asked curiously. “Do you have sex with your clients or just be an escort?”
“It depends,” said Taki as he sipped his Pepsi. “It’s up to you and the customer. Usually, you just have a drink with them first. You try and get them to spend because whatever they spend is split 40/60 between you and the establishment. There are lots of techniques to get them to spend. If you just have a drink with them, maybe go to a disco with them or whatever, then they’ll ask if they can have sex with you and offer you money. If you have sex with them too soon then they might lose interest and go elsewhere. But if you don’t have sex with them then they might get bored and go elsewhere as well! You have to know to judge the time.”
“How many days a week do you work?” I asked.
“30 days a month. We finish work late too. Maybe 5 in the morning because most people don’t come to us until after the discos shut at 1am, right? So that means we have to pay the police so that we can stay open late because you’re not allowed to open after 1am. So it’s expensive. Our place is under a hotel and they help protect us because our customers will use their hotel. If we weren’t under a hotel then it wouldn’t be possible - the bribe money would be too much.
“You can earn lots of money, though. If you work hard, then in one year you can buy a new Mercedes. In Japan the money is much better. I remember the first time, this woman came for me. Her husband was Director of the waterworks in Tokyo. Anyway, we went to a hotel and had sex. I was 25 and she was 50 and I was just thinking, you know, Taki you can’t do this! It’s just too much, having sex with old women. But the next morning at breakfast, I told her that I was very poor, that someone had stolen my motorbike etc and she just gave me, you know how much? The equivalent of 8,000 US dollars!
“It’s one of the techniques, you know. You have to say that I am very poor boy etc. etc. It’s the same as what the Thai girls use. That’s why, when the Thai girls try to get money from me, it doesn’t work. Because I know the tricks – I am a professional too, you see!”
I lunched at Pi Baby’s Café and met Mario the Italian. He was dressed in shorts, tee shirt and trainers and was beaming.
“I just come back from my school,” he said. “Today is sports day so I only teach for 45 minutes but I get paid for whole day! You see, you should teach full time instead of part time – it is much better!”
He sat down, ordered kai dow puk puk (fried egg over vegetables) and continued. “Last month there was a virus going around the school. We have to close the school for two weeks. All the part timers did not get paid – but I did! The full time teachers got paid for doing nothing…
“Aargh! Ice!” he exclaimed suddenly as he looked at his glass of water. “I cannot have ice. I am very sensitive. I will have bad tummy if I have ice…”
Carefully, he emptied the ice out onto the street and poured in fresh water.
“I don’t know why, but last three days my stomach have problem…”
A young fashionably dressed Japanese man came into the shop. His face looked vaguely familiar. He glanced at me then took of his mp3 earplugs, smiled and held out his hand.
“Hey, how are you? Haven’t seen you for a while.”
I recognized him as Taki, a former gigolo from Tokyo who was on a permanent holiday from Japan. I had seen him at Pi Baby’s shop when I had worked in Bangkok last year but had never really spoken to him.
I shook his hand. “I’m fine. Just got back, actually. What have you been up to?”
Taki sat down. “Oh, not much. Just been partying a lot cos one of my friends from Japan is over and he likes to go to the disco a lot. It’s getting a bit much now though. I’ve been going out partying and drinking every single night for a month and never got to bed before 8am. I’m just exhausted.”
“I not like party every night!” called Mario eagerly from his table. “It’s no fun. Always you get tired and more tired and everyone is fresh but I am tired and no have energy. I go party once a month and then I am very fresh and it is great!”
“Well, my friend went to Chang Mai this morning – I am gonna sleep!” laughed Taki.
I looked at him. I thought his face looked remarkably fresh. He didn’t look like he’d been partying non stop for a month.
“How old are you?” I asked, guessing that he must be about 25.
“Thirty,” he said. “I’m starting work next month. I’ve been on holiday in Thailand for three years and now I’m totally broke!”
“What sort of work are you going to do?” I asked.
“Same as before. Gigolo. Down in Sukhumvit soi 22. There’s a new place just opened up. There’s not that many establishments in Thailand that caters for women but we’re trying to change that. In Japan it’s very big – especially in the last five years. Here in Bangkok, it’s mostly places for men.”
“What kind of clientele do you have?” I asked. “What kind of people are they?”
“Rich Thai women. You get a few Japanese but they’re mostly Thais. Usually the wives of powerful business men or mafia leaders. Thais are crazy about Japanese.”
“Isn’t it dangerous to go with wives of Mafia leaders?”
“No, well yes. Sometimes. When I was working in Tokyo, I got involved with the wife of the top Mafia boss but I was really lucky because he was caught and put in jail for a long time! Usually though, they don’t care if they don’t see it because they themselves have lots of other women and it keeps their wives quiet, I guess.
I found myself wondering if Taki’s three year long holiday was not just pleasure orientated. Perhaps he was keeping out of the way of angry and dangerous husbands for a while!
“So what exactly do you do in your work?” I asked curiously. “Do you have sex with your clients or just be an escort?”
“It depends,” said Taki as he sipped his Pepsi. “It’s up to you and the customer. Usually, you just have a drink with them first. You try and get them to spend because whatever they spend is split 40/60 between you and the establishment. There are lots of techniques to get them to spend. If you just have a drink with them, maybe go to a disco with them or whatever, then they’ll ask if they can have sex with you and offer you money. If you have sex with them too soon then they might lose interest and go elsewhere. But if you don’t have sex with them then they might get bored and go elsewhere as well! You have to know to judge the time.”
“How many days a week do you work?” I asked.
“30 days a month. We finish work late too. Maybe 5 in the morning because most people don’t come to us until after the discos shut at 1am, right? So that means we have to pay the police so that we can stay open late because you’re not allowed to open after 1am. So it’s expensive. Our place is under a hotel and they help protect us because our customers will use their hotel. If we weren’t under a hotel then it wouldn’t be possible - the bribe money would be too much.
“You can earn lots of money, though. If you work hard, then in one year you can buy a new Mercedes. In Japan the money is much better. I remember the first time, this woman came for me. Her husband was Director of the waterworks in Tokyo. Anyway, we went to a hotel and had sex. I was 25 and she was 50 and I was just thinking, you know, Taki you can’t do this! It’s just too much, having sex with old women. But the next morning at breakfast, I told her that I was very poor, that someone had stolen my motorbike etc and she just gave me, you know how much? The equivalent of 8,000 US dollars!
“It’s one of the techniques, you know. You have to say that I am very poor boy etc. etc. It’s the same as what the Thai girls use. That’s why, when the Thai girls try to get money from me, it doesn’t work. Because I know the tricks – I am a professional too, you see!”
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