The Suan Lum Hooker Myth Busted
I found it funny that some people really consider these girls an alternative. There was a guy recently who wrote to Stick that they might be a cheap alternative to bargirls or massage girls. For 500 baht they would do anything. Other people suggest to
beware of them, that they are dangerous, that they all have their boyfriends following them around and then they can steal money from you or even harm you.
Well, I live quite near the park, and a couple of nights ago, I walked around the park at 2 AM, because I could not sleep. I was bored. So this is what I observed.
1. The girls are below average. Some have slender bodies, but I would bet that most of them had a baby already. They were wearing too much make up and looked like ghosts.
2. The girls are not very friendly to foreigners, but they flirt with their Thai customers. I started to talk to some in Thai, but they seem suspicious of foreign customers, since the people they deal with are almost 99% Thais in drive-by
cars. It is pretty amazing how many cars slow down or even stop. I would say up to 20 % of the cars slow down to have a look and about 5 % actually stop. And there are a lot of cars passing around Suan Lum. But I did not see many girls getting
inside the cars. Every kind of vehicle stops – motorbikes, taxis with passengers, taxis without passengers, pickups, limousines, lorries.
3. The price is 500 baht for Thais and 1000 baht for farangs. I saw them smiling and heard them shouting "ha roi baht" to the cars driving by, and when I approached them later to ask for a price, they all said 1000, in quite an
aggressive tone. It is almost impossible to negotiate with them, since they are so rude. I only found one girl who was a bit chubby and seemingly in a good mood, that she came down to 800. All the other girls I talked to, about 20 of them, did
not really want to go with a foreigner (I do not look scary by any means). I got the impression that the 500 baht surcharge was to go with a smelly beast, almost to have sex with an animal. If you talk to them, you feel like an Indian or African
and you are not welcome, but maybe if you pay double they may consider it. I am pretty sure that they will only do the very basic and be suspicious the whole time. I do not think they would like you more even if you paid them more. They seem very
different from the hookers you get around the tourist areas.
4. Danger: I did not see any guys with motorbikes hanging around the bushes. The girls stand there all by themselves. There is nobody following them. I don't see any danger whatsoever.
5. They always operate in a team of 2. If you want to take them back to your hotel, it is possible, but one girl alone will not go with you. She will ask her friend to come with and wait downstairs or join for a threesome. Of course this
threesome will not be a threesome like say in the Eden Club. I could not think of anything more horrible than having two of them in my room. It is possible to go with just one, but then apparently they have a short time hotel in Soi Ruamrudee.
I have never been there, but I guess that will be another 200 – 400 baht.
These were my observations. In all fairness, I have not taken one home and I am not planning to. I see them every night and I just wanted to find out what's going on there. There are girls all along Sukhumvit who are used to going with
foreigners. But I think one has to be more careful with the street girls along Sukhumvit because they seem to me more tricky. The Suan Lum girls do not make a very tricky or dangerous impression. I think they just want to get it over with and
they do not want to get hurt. There are some girls standing around the Nana Hotel. They also charge 1000 baht. If you are lucky or if you have a good eye, you can get a pretty and polite one from there but you also have to be prepared to go home
alone, since not every night there are pretty ones around. Some office girls are short of money and they hang around there. If you are nice to them they will be nice to you too.
Some people also recommend going to Thai lower class brothels to get sex for a very cheap price. I have been inside such places and do not recommend them at all. Very dirty rooms and worn out girls to say the least. Sure, the price is nice,
but you might have nightmares for the rest of your life if you engage in anything sexual. The best thing in Bangkok, if you are horny and you have no girl around: Watch a porn movie and do it yourself. Or take a cold shower. Seriously.
Stickman's thoughts:
I enjoyed this report. It is good to know what it happening on the ground.
