Hollywood Bar Nana

Hollywood Bar Nana, water color on paper, 5x7 inch

On a Friday or Saturday night, Hollywood Bar at Nana is usually rocking out, hundreds of Expats and girls, lots of beer and raunchy shows.  Except when the police close it down for showing too much.  Or not paying enough, no one’s ever sure.  Sometimes the police make the Expats and girls go pee pee in a little cup which is really hard when everyone’s been drinking so much, the cups are so small.  And the little cups always get all mixed up on the table where they’re doing the tests.  The poor police technicians try to keep track even though they know it’s only for show.  In the end, no one’s going to be arrested and no charges are going to be filed.  This is Hollywood, Thailand, not California, after all.

Thaniya Paza

Thaniya Plaza, water color on paper, 5x7 inch

On Patpong’s fringe, Thaniya Plaza is for the Japanese executive crowd in Bangkok.  They are Thailand’s largest group of Expats, owning and running most of the automobile and electronics factories.  Thaniya’s set-up to look like Tokyo’s Ginza with a vertical array of clubs, KTV’s, bars and cozy hang-outs, over a hundred, all with colorful Japanese signs. The Thai girls are dressed in kimonos and gowns and speak a little Japanese.  Hello, How are you, Handsome man, Do you want whiskey, Thank you so much, Nice to see you, Please come back.  They bow from the waist with heads tilted down.

If a western guy approaches, they turn and look the other way, sometimes pointing towards the little sign on the door that says, For Japanese Only.

Old Mamasan

 Old Mamasan, water color on paper, 18x24 inch

She’s been the Mamasan for thirty years, watched too many girls work way too many men.  Heard too many stories, seen too many tears.  Desire is an illusion, she knows too well.  She goes to the temple every day and listens to the monks.  But how else is she to earn a living?

Pegasus Girl

Pegasus Club, water color on paper, 5x7 inch

The girls at Pegasus Club are a confident bunch, secure in their place at the hi-end apex of the Bangkok Night.  All the guys are dollar millionaires and above, from all over the world, Asia and the West as well as the Middle-East, Russia and Thailand itself. Brand names, celebrities, movie stars and tycoons.  They fly into Bangkok first class or in their private jets, stay at the top hotels and meet their pals at Pegasus, for drinks, dinner, music and the two hundred constantly changing girls, every one beautifully dressed, perfect skin, a face that could be on the cover of a fashion magazine.  Stylish, smiling and clever enough to know what to do and how to be, to end up with a condo, a beach house in Phuket, a bank account in Singapore, a lifetime of income to raise their kids and put them through school, even send them to university in Australia or the U.S.

Husband and Wife

Husband and Wife, water color on paper, 5x7 inch

She married the Russian guy two years ago.  He needed to get a residence permit to stay in Thailand, a perfect place for him and all his stuff.  She only knows what he’s doing when he’s right in front of her, little else.  They share a Bangkok condo and she no longer works in a bar.  He doesn’t pretend to be anything he’s not and on that basis, she’s happy to hang around.  She might even have his kid.

Service Girls

Service Girls, water color on paper, 5x7 inch

In Thailand, the phrase Service Girl or Service Boy can mean a waitress or waiter, sales clerk, attendant or also someone who is available for sex, it depends on the situation. It’s often ambiguous. If you’re asked, do you want special or special service, it can mean anything.  If, however, you ask, do you provide service, and they answer yes, it means they’re available for sex, even if you didn’t mean to ask. Whether in a department store, coffee shop, snooker place, barber shop, gas station or dry cleaner.  Thailand can be a very confusing place for people who are not Thai and think sex is something special.

Lady Barber

Lady Barber, water color on paper, 5x7 inch

In Thailand, getting a haircut can mean more than one thing.  Especially if the barber is a woman and the room with the mechanical chair has a door that can be closed.  A Thai woman would never tell her husband, Honey, I think you need a haircut.  She knows he will get one on his own, whenever he feels the need.  The wife’s only defense is to be so essential to her husband’s life and business in so many ways that the haircuts make no difference.

Girl from Burma

Girl from Burma, water color on paper, 5x7 inch

She was smuggled into Thailand from Burma, has learned some Thai and can say the four English words she needs to work  Nana Plaza, “Pay bar for me” 

To negotiate price, she uses fingers, thumbs and hands, the universal sign language of commerce around the world.  For yes or no, she nods or shakes her head, facial expressions emphasize a point. Sometimes she even smiles.