The good woman of bangkok

[dive_mistress]

Do you people ever go out and look at what is really going on with a bar girl? ....

But still they manage to tell the customer “I will always remember you, you are special baby”

Usually I am to amused by the fact that many of these men do actually believe they are "special,baby"

Specially when the girls can be so stunning and the men so uattractive. I generally feel badly that the girls will have to do the horizontal jig with some of the western worlds finest! HOwever ask most Thai girls that are not selling their body, what they think about bar girls, and then you will get a very harsh judgemental opinion! .

But I know girls in America that were down and out heroin addict prostitutes that have turned there life around and that have developed special interest, and some of them had lives that were equally if not more harsh then being a bit down and out in Thailand. the tricks dont exactly take them in and transform them into girlfrieds.

My question was if she did like her job so much, which WAS stated in the post, why did she go back?

I still want to konw where i can see this movie too? From the sounds of it the director producer also thought he was something special. I saw a picture of him and he looks like the standard issue sex tourist.

[Master Chief]

Well we can look hundreds of movies about working ladies and men and we still never know WHY, ask one day and you have an answer and ask the next day and you get a differnt answer.

Who knows what people think and do next!

tip, try LimeWire to find the movie

[dive_mistress]

I tried torrent spy already.. its an obscure little movie. I have an idea for a documentary (as most people do) and will admit im totally clueless as how to make one.haha

HOwever the movie was recomended to me as an example of a really good documentary in the way it was made. His professor had them watch it more for the technical aspects and style.

Ill try lyme wire but the one time i got something from there it was full of virus or ad ware. Thanks for the tip though.

[khall64au]

Do you people ever go out and look at what is really going on with a bar girl? ....

But still they manage to tell the customer “I will always remember you, you are special baby”

Usually I am to amused by the fact that many of these men do actually believe they are "special,baby"

Specially when the girls can be so stunning and the men so uattractive. I generally feel badly that the girls will have to do the horizontal jig with some of the western worlds finest! HOwever ask most Thai girls that are not selling their body, what they think about bar girls, and then you will get a very harsh judgemental opinion! .

But I know girls in America that were down and out heroin addict prostitutes that have turned there life around and that have developed special interest, and some of them had lives that were equally if not more harsh then being a bit down and out in Thailand. the tricks dont exactly take them in and transform them into girlfrieds.

My question was if she did like her job so much, which WAS stated in the post, why did she go back?

I still want to konw where i can see this movie too? From the sounds of it the director producer also thought he was something special. I saw a picture of him and he looks like the standard issue sex tourist.

OK Dive Mistress... just consider for a moment that you are an orphan from an early age and you have had very little love and caring in your young life. The lady in question was "saved" from a life of prostitution but her first dive industry employer did not treat her too well. She had deep "issues" and her only "family" was in the bar-girl industry. She went back to her "family".

Luckily, she got a second chance and is now a very well-adjusted and professional career-oriented young woman. You will most likely be meeting up with her in the not-too-distant future and you will never guess her past.

[corkscrew]

Years ago I met Cleo Odzer....she wrote Patpong Sisters.

[dive_mistress]

Years ago I met Cleo Odzer....she wrote Patpong Sisters.

I read that book, its a book that I was embarassed to be reading, a bit frustrating (at her stupidity) but couldnt put it down. Worth a read though.

WHat was she like?

Thank goodness that everytime somone gets treated badly by a dive operator combined with their "issues" the dont leave the diving profession or there would be no diving professionals.

If this was the case Id be back on drugs.

Now when I meet a female thai instructor Illa be wondering if it is her. NOt really nice to be breaking people anonymity in a forum.

[corkscrew]

Years ago I met Cleo Odzer....she wrote Patpong Sisters.

I read that book, its a book that I was embarassed to be reading, a bit frustrating (at her stupidity) but couldnt put it down. Worth a read though.

WHat was she like?

Thank goodness that everytime somone gets treated badly by a dive operator combined with their "issues" the dont leave the diving profession or there would be no diving professionals.

If this was the case Id be back on drugs.

Now when I meet a female thai instructor Illa be wondering if it is her. NOt really nice to be breaking people anonymity in a forum.

Cleo was a member of the Mensa society (very high IQ). She was a drug addict (open about it). She died in Goa a couple of years ago.

[khall64au]

Years ago I met Cleo Odzer....she wrote Patpong Sisters.

I read that book, its a book that I was embarassed to be reading, a bit frustrating (at her stupidity) but couldnt put it down. Worth a read though.

WHat was she like?

Thank goodness that everytime somone gets treated badly by a dive operator combined with their "issues" the dont leave the diving profession or there would be no diving professionals.

If this was the case Id be back on drugs.

Now when I meet a female thai instructor Illa be wondering if it is her. NOt really nice to be breaking people anonymity in a forum.

Cleo was a member of the Mensa society (very high IQ). She was a drug addict (open about it). She died in Goa a couple of years ago.

Methinks the world needs more open books like Cleo - and her sisters and brothers- how else can we inform and educate unless we tell the truth?

I don't understand your issue Dive Mistress - I have broken no anonymity, merely told a truth about a good news story with no revealing details. If you want to spend your time wondering who is who... up to you!

[alexth]

Considering the fact that Thailand it's not the poorest country in the world, as far as I can think, the prostitutes have no excuse and even if it was...the czech were poor too, but they didn't sold their genitals, there are hundreds of examples. Full stop

Edited May 22, 2006 by alexth

[mark45y]

Considering the fact that Thailand it's not the poorest country in the world, as far as I can think, the prostitutes have no excuse and even if it was...the czech were poor too, but they didn't sold their genitals, there are hundreds of examples. Full stop

Prague is one of the leading destinations for sex tourists world wide. If they don't sell thier genitals what do they sell?

[alexth]

Considering the fact that Thailand it's not the poorest country in the world, as far as I can think, the prostitutes have no excuse and even if it was...the czech were poor too, but they didn't sold their genitals, there are hundreds of examples. Full stop

Prague is one of the leading destinations for sex tourists world wide. If they don't sell thier genitals what do they sell?

Was, long time ago...what you can find now is monuments, castles, etc...the percentage of prostitutes is uncomparable with Thailand.

[ProfessorFart]

The bottom line divemistress, is that prostitution in Thailand is a very lucrative occupation. You have read Odzer's book (one of the most open and balanced books on the subject if you ask me) and yet you fail to grasp the root of it all?

Yes men beleive they are the 'special baby' much as the female sex tourists of Morocco and Jamaica think its all for real too.

Once again may I say that 'The Good Woman of Bangkok' is fictitious and not based on any real person.

Edited May 24, 2006 by ProfessorFart

[lor]

In this piece of fiction was a scene where a very young Thai girl is seen to get into a lift with some older Farang. The commentary at the time is about children (young girls) going with Farang for money. It looks as if the pictures are supposed to go with the words.

In fact the film is of my good friend Nat. She was only young at the time and had just gone to the hotel lobby with her mother and father when she remembered she had forgot her umbrella. Her mother told her to quickly go back to the room and get it. As she entered the lift this man was filming her.

She is annoyed that this film keeps getting shown on TV and she is depicted as a young prostitute. No one ever asked her permission to film or be in the movie.

Chris Heaton

[Lamphunman]

My wife is from Thailand. We watched the movie "The Good Woman Of Bangkok" years ago. I thought it was interesting; she thought it was boring.

Of course I felt great sympathy for this rather attractive girl, and as noted in an earlier post, my wife, being Thai, felt nothing but scorn towards her. She's always regarded hookers in Thailand as lazy; they would rather use sex to earn money than to get an honest job. In fact, we talked about that movie just today and she told me there are many jobs in Thailand and were back in 1990 when this film was made.

An earlier poster commented that is was available for "the outrageous price" of $300 USD. It is actually $350, but with it comes the public performance licensing rights, good for 7 years from the date of purchase. I bought a pro-manufactured copy of this film from the distributor here in the United States and I didn't pay $350 for it. You may email me for details.

For anyone interested, I wrote a brief review of it that can be found at internet movie database. There is a total of three reviews there for this movie. This is a testament to the relative obscurity of this film as other less-than-popular films can have 50 or more reviews written about them and some well known films may have hundreds.

Also, the book "The Filmmaker And The Prostitute" (I bought a used copy off amazon) is very enlightening. The movie did indeed leave many questions unanswered and left me feeling a little unsatisfied. This book not only answered some questions I had but changed my idea on the film as a whole and "Aoi" in particular. It contains essays by people who interviewed O'Rourke, analysis by academics that kept me reaching for the dictionary and articles and reviews written about the film at the time it was released. I recommend it to anyone who has seen this film and is interested in it.

Finally, I have been to Thailand 7 times and have been to the "Red Light District" a number of times. Although I have never availed myself of any of the girls there I have seen one of the "shows" that are accurately depicted in the movie. It was a bit creepy, kind of interesting and not at all a turn-on. Also, many of the male "tourists" I saw at Patpong did look a little bit unsavory. Because I have not interviewed any of the girls there I can't really comment on their motives or personal situations. I do believe that every country has all types of people and the hookers there do it because of reasons outlined earlier; they might just like the excitement, their friends work there, the money is good, etc.

I find it interresting that people are still talking about "The Good Woman Of Bangkok" 15 years after its release. It is definitely worth checking out.

[gburns57au]

I have seen it a number of times....it is a more accurate depiction of a bar girl than a certain novel that people thought was real also.

Scripted or not it is still a good film

[Barney_the_Dinosaur]

I recall the girl in the movie had a wonky eye.

Like Rene from 'Allo Allo'

[Lamphunman]

It was hard to tell. She looked quite decent, from what I could see.

[merlin1]

Great thread. I've learned a lot. I didn't know that the woman was an actress. I recently learned that there were questions about the authenticity of the story and sequence of events. What is the proof that Aoi was actually an actress?

When I first saw the film when it came out, I really liked it. (and believed it was a documentary) I thought it depicted the complexities if the sex trade well. Redemption is difficult since the sex industry is so corrosive to the soul. Of course, there are women who enjoy having sex for money, or the lifestyle that the money brings and that is their choice.

I still remember a scene from the movie: a scene of the go-go dancers in slow motion against an opera in the background. That was a fantastic scene. The music had a sad but powerful quality to it.

I also didn't know that Cleo Odzer recently died. How did she die? I enjoyed reading Patpong Sisters.

[eljeque]

I have not seen the movie, but an equally sad story, one repeated a thousand times in Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, etc., is that of Lon.

It is the life story of Lon, a 13-year old Thai runaway who becomes involved in the sex-tourist industry. During one of her runs away, her father died while searching for her. She was then ostracized from her family’s shack.

She needed to find a way to earn enough money to make up for her father’s death in order to be allowed back in her home. The way she found was through the American sex-tourists in Thailand. Selling her virginity was the first step, which earned her $1,200. She knew that she had to earn enough money to pay for her sisters to go to school, so that they would never have to live the life that she did.

She spent five years in the sex-tourist industry in Thailand before marrying to go to Switzerland. That lasted only 12 days. Upon returning to Thailand, she met up with a former customer who took her to Germany, where she worked in a massage parlor, where at the age of 19, she looked only 15 years old, and that demanded a premium from her customers.

She made her way to Sweden where she worked as a stripper for two years before returning to Thailand and writing her story. She now lives in England.

The book is written in her voice and will give you a new angle on what it is like to be born a poor girl in Thailand. She now hopes to raise awareness about girls born into her situation, and to get them out of the industry.

More information is available about her projects and the book on her website www.only13.net

I learned that the book is coming out in French too.

[kayo]

More info about this movie available here

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104360/

[sunn65]

could it not be just the fact that some 'bar girls' enjoy their job???

yes I believe this. Thai people are lazy and if they can earn good money from prostitution some will. Some have no morals. Best to avoid the bar girls.

I agree with "Thai people are lazy" especially in prostitution.....

I tested my theory, I offer them a day job, they never call to come in.

If being a poor countries mean we can be a "prostitution country" despite all bu***sh** about "buddhist country", then there are so many POOR COUNTRIES in the world. All poor countries should all be in prostitution then!!!!!!!!!

Farang do have so many legal issue about SEX in their country and here slap on the greedy lazy asian prostitue for small $$$, where's humanity? Why are we encouraging prostitution anyway?

I don't have anything against bargirl, I don't have anything against foreigner..... but When you buy SEX, you encourage thai no educate families to sell their kids to whorehouse......... SEX slave continue for 100 more year more!!!!!!!!

when you buy SEX from bargirl, you're adding demand in the market and telling the sex meat trading to recruit the new 12 years old girl in queue already (it's a cycle of trade). She will be booked for prostitution by 12 years old and enter the sex-trade the first day of her legal age. Then telling everyone same "<deleted>*k*ng sad story that we heard for 50 years (same story never change). Either you didn't know about it or ignore this fact.

Think about it....