Confessions Of A Bangkok Bargirl Part 2 As Told To Lookpapa
After we arrived at Happy Land, I met my cousins (2 girls, a bit older than me) and later that day my uncle, who came home from work around 6pm for a short rest before driving his taxi again.
He leased a taxi and worked from 6 in the morning till about 9 to 10 at night.
They lived in a 2 story townhouse which they rented for 3000-baht a month.
My cousins were quite excited to have me come and live with them, later I found out that they liked the fact that I was younger and they could tell me what to do and off load a lot of house work on to me.
I ended up going to work in the same garment factory my Aunt had a job, where she trained me in the art of sewing jeans, until I became good at it.
My cousins were attending high school, they wanted to be nurses.
During this time I can remember being tired all the time from working 6 days a week,10 hours a day at the factory in Minburi, then doing a lot of cleaning, washing ,ironing and other chores around the house. At the end of the day, I just flopped down
on front of the TV and was asleep within minutes.
My cousins had a much easier life, they would meet their friends at the Mall after school and have a good time, I was very jealous of them, but they thought of me as a dumb country cousin. What really pissed me off was that they had boyfriends and had
their photos done in a photo booth and plastered them all over their room.
One day in the factory I met a boy who was working in delivery and it seemed he liked me as he was always smiling and winking at me when he came by. He asked me to go out with him on a Sunday to have some sticky rice and chicken at a food stall and go
for a ride on his motorcyc. He said he was 19 years old, originally from Roi Et, and he could speak in my dialect.
He was living in a small Moo Bahn off Sukhapiban 3, sharing a small townhouse with 5 other young guys.
I was very lonely and bored with no one to have fun with at home, so I thought it was a good idea to hang around with Poon (that was his name) and have some excitement in my life. So we started to be together from then on, mostly ending up at his place
on Sundays, where the boys were having a good time, drinking Mekhong, singing, playing cards and fooling around. Some of them had girlfriends too and they brought their friends, so it was party time every Sunday.
My Aunt and her family did not care where I was on Sundays, they just wanted me back by 7 pm.
Of course, during the Sunday parties, I started to drink a bit too, just to join in the sanuk and many times, usually in the afternoons, Poon and I would go upstairs, he’d lock the door and we’d have our private fun. The other guys and their
girlfriends would do the same at various times, it was a bit of a ritual .
It was not as good for me as for Poon, as he’d get his fun but did not wait for me to finish most times. It left me wanting to do it again and more but he was not interested, he just wanted to get back to his mates.
I thought, maybe this is the way it was supposed to be with all men, they’re always in a hurry; my girlfriend and I used to have more fun together upcountry.
One Sunday, I left Poon upstairs to sleep it off and one of the guys ,the oldest in the house, (I think he was around 25 and seemed to be the leader of them) came to talk to me. His name was Chai. He was not from Isaan, he spoke Bangkok language only.
He had a nice smile and told me I was very pretty, which pleased me a lot, ’cause nobody said that to me before, not even Poon.
He asked me a lot of questions about my life, who I live with, what work I do and such, then told me I’m wasting my life and he could help me earn more money and be independent. He told me to see him if I was interested. I said, OK, but I’d
have to talk to my Aunt about it. He said, don’t bother to do that, they’ll never let you go, you’re their maid. And we left it at that.
About a couple of months later, one night the phone rang at home and my Aunt picked it up. I was watching her and I saw a cloud came over her face and I knew something bad happened. Then she called me over, handed me the phone and said my mother wants
to have a word.
I took the receiver and heard my mother sobbing on the other end telling me that father had an accident in the fields, his foot got caught in the plow and he is in hospital and they may have to amputate .
I did not know what to say, I started to cry too and handed the phone back to my Aunt. I was sure my mother was asking for money to pay medical bills plus living expenses until father recovers as there were 5 other kids in the house, still school age.
My Aunt kept repeating “mai mee” and told her to borrow the money from some moneylenders in the village, until she can see whether she can get some money from somewhere. I felt so helpless, as if somehow it was my fault that I was
not there any more helping on the farm.
The sense of desperation, frustration and heartache for my siblings who I imagined will be starving, if not for the charity of some neighbours, was overwhelming . And how long can that charity last before they’ll be destitute?
I ran upstairs to the Buddha Room and wai’d to Lord Buddha 3 times asking for help for my family. Minutes later my Aunt joined me upstairs bringing some offerings to the shrine and we prostrated ourselves together again with tears streaming down
our faces. My Aunt left me alone for a while and suddenly I remembered what Chai said a couple of months ago, about him helping me earn more money!
The next 3 days were terrible for me until finally Sunday rolled around and I had the opportunity to meet up with Poon and the other friends, including Chai.
As soon as I had a chance to grab Chai on his own, I told him the bad news from home and asked him if he’d keep his promise and help me earn more money.
He smiled and told me not to worry, just do exactly as he tells me.
He said I should act sick the next day and tell my Aunt to go to work next day alone. Then, when everyone was out of the house, pack the few belongings I had and meet him at the Mall around 11 am. He made me promise not to say a word about this to anyone,
including Poon.
I did exactly as I was told, except I left a note for my Aunt to tell her not to worry about me, I found another job so I can send more money to my parents and I’ll be in touch later.
When I got to the Mall, Chai was already waiting for me and we got on his motorcyc to go somewhere. I asked him where we’re going, but he just said “mai pen rai”.
At this time I put all my trust in him, he was 25, I was around 17, did not know my way around the big city.
We had traveled a long way, it took about 30 minutes to get there, even though he was weaving in and out of heavy traffic, I was petrified, hanging on to him like glue.
Finally we got to a major intersection where he took a left turn; as I looked up at the street sign, it said “Sutthisan”.
He parked his bike and took me to a small restaurant to have lunch, then left me there while he went to meet someone.
After about 20 minutes he came back, paid the bill (I had about 60 baht to my name) and we went to see a man nearby, who was in a bar, which was closed for business.
He was introduced to me as Khun Veera, he had a moustache and an army style haircut. He was around 40 years old, but looked very strong and trim.
I was very frightened by his manner and his stern style. He also had a gun in a holster on his belt.
I saw him hand Chai some money and say to him “She’ll do”.
Chai told me Khun Veera was my new employer and I must do exactly as he says.
Then he left. I felt like I was abandoned in a strange and scary place.
Khun Veera asked me about my name and I said it was Lek, he said for me to forget that, they already had a Lek, from now I was Toy! He asked for my ID card, had a look at it and said he’ll be keeping that and will give me a new one later, that’ll
show my age 18. He told me he paid Chai a lot of money for bringing me to him and I have to work the first month free to pay him back.
I started to cry telling him about my parents plight and that I need to send money home, he said he’ll give me an advance of 2000- baht in a few days after he watches me work to see if I’m suitable for the job. He told me I’ll start
as a “deck serve” (waitress), then we’ll see. He also told me I’ll be living upstairs with the rest of the staff, for which I’ll have to pay rent.
Then he took me up 3 flights of stairs and led me to one of the rooms, where I saw 3 girls asleep. He said I can bunk down there and relax until the “Mae Laow” (Mamasan) arrives, who’ll take me under her wing.
Mae Laow came around 5 pm, her name was Meaw, she was around 29 years old, very nice looking. Later I found out she was Veera’s Mia Noi, and took care of business for him at this location, while he was on duty as a police sergeant.
Meaw gave me some instructions during the night in the art of serving drinks, smiling and generally being friendly to customers, most of whom were young Thai men in their 20’s. The girls at the bar numbered around a dozen, it was a small place
with a central bar and stools, there were 3-4 girls dancing to disco music at any one time and other than that they tried to chat up customers to get a drink and some other business which I was not really privy to that first night. I did notice
though, that sometime a customer and one of the girls would disappear for a while up the stairs, and on returning the guy would receive an ovation from his friends with a lot of backslapping and cheers.
My job was taking drink orders, serve, take the cash to the cashier and try and get some tips. The bar really got busy around 10 pm, when groups of guys would roll up and start their binge drinking.
The place was supposed to close at 1am, but apparently some weekend nights the drinking would continue till much later, especially when Veera’s buddies turned up from the cop shop.
Anyway, my first day on the job passed without any problems and I was beginning to feel that my new career will eventually enable me to earn more money, after a short period of apprenticeship.
Little did I realize what I let myself in for and the very next day something happened which scarred me for life.
The next day I woke up around 11 am like everyone else and we shared some food, joked around, washed our clothes and had the TV on to watch some daytime drama and so on. Later in the afternoon some of the girls went to a hairdresser a few doors down the
street, then soon after it was “applying make up” time and getting ready for the night activities.
The evening started off uneventful, a few customers started to drift in around 7.30 and I helped around the bar with the bartendee.
I saw Khun Veera come in and soon after Maew told me that he wants to see me upstairs.
I went upstairs, gave him a respectful wai and waited to hear him.
He told me he’s got a special job for me tonight, he is sending me to see a VIP and he wants me to be extra nice to him as he is a Jaw Paw (mafia godfather) and a very powerful man. He led me downstairs and put me into the back seat of a big pick
up, driven by a young hood.
He drove for around 40 minutes without saying a word; I looked out the window and saw that we joined a main road heading out of Bangkok, called Srinakarin Rd. We were already in Samut Prakan when he suddenly turned left into a driveway, past a security
guard kiosk and I saw a building, single story with a long row of rooms separated by curtains. Some curtains were drawn with a car parked behind them and a door into the apartment.
My driver stopped and pointed to one of these that had a Benz parked there and told me to get out and knock on that door.
I did as I was told and the door was opened by a pot bellied man in his forties, I guessed. The first thing I noticed about him was that he had a scar running down his cheek from the corner of his eye to his mouth. He had heavy gold chains around his
neck, a diamond studded watch and a heavy gold bracelet and a big jade ring.
I gave him a deep wai and waited to see what’s next.
His eyes were red and his breath smelled of booze, I was shaking with trepidation.
He locked and bolted the door, then told me to go into the bathroom and shower. Just before I left him, I noticed he popped a little blue pill in his mouth and washed it down with whisky.
I took a shower, put my panties and bra back on, wrapped a towel around me and came out.
He was sitting on the edge of the bed wearing only his underpants and he motioned for me to come to him. He removed my towel, than tore the bra and stripped the panties off me. Then he stood, dropped his underpants and told me to kneel on front of him.
He screamed at me to open my mouth, then he put his dick into it, while holding my head tight, grabbing my hair. As he grew larger he moved it back and forth with increased intensity causing me to gag and choke on the verge of suffocating. I tried to
push him away, but to no avail, he was strong and rough and started to slap me around with his free hand while his grip on my hair never let up. Just as I felt I would pass out, his body shuddered and he came into my mouth with full force, then
tossed me away like a rag doll. I was writhing on the floor, tears running down my face trying to spit out what was left of his semen.
When I looked up at him, I saw that he was still erect and I knew that my nightmare was not finished yet.
He dragged me into the bathroom, told me to clean myself up and waited there so I could not lock myself in.
When I looked clean, he dragged me by the hair again back into the room and threw me onto the bed and before I knew it he was on top of me with all his weight.
A man like this was something I never imagined, he was more like an animal on heat, similar to some farm animals we had back home.
What he did to me that night was unspeakable, just relating it sends me shivers down my spine. I really don’t want to go into more details, reliving it in my mind makes me sick!
Anyway, after about 2 hours of this torture, he seemed totally spent and satisfied, so he told me to bath and get dressed.
I was totally exhausted and sore everywhere; I could hardly wait to be free of him!
He called his driver on his cellphone, who was there within a minute and told him to drive me back to where he picked me up.
I was slumped in the back of the pick up, whimpering like a puppy all the way back to Sutthisan.
I think it must have been around midnight when we arrived and the bar business was in full swing. I quickly scampered up to my room, threw myself on my bed and sobbed uncontrollably.
The next thing I knew, Khun Veera was towering over me.
He told me I just paid off my debt to him, so he’ll be promoting me to hostess/ dancer from tomorrow so I can start earning more money going upstairs with customers when they desire me. Then he tossed 2000-baht to me and he said that was the advance
against my future earnings so I can send it to my parents.
At that moment I felt so despondent, I just wanted to die, but I knew that dying would not help my family.
And this is how I embarked on being a Bangkok Bargirl, very far removed from the innocent Isaan upcountry girl I used to be.
I spent about 6 months in the Sutthisan bar, being very popular with a lot of customers and becoming the top money earner in the place. Some months I managed to send home as much as 3000 – 4000 baht to help my family. The doctors were able to save my
father’s foot, but it took a long time for him to make a full recovery, so the money I sent home was their sustenance.
On the day of my 18th birthday, I was looking forward to celebrating with my fellow workers and customers, when something happened which changed the direction of my “career” and circumstances…
To be continued…
Stickman's thoughts:
A very interesting series.
