Thailand's Prostitution Image Is Embarrassing

[chiangmaikelly]

What Thailand should be embarrassed about is the plethora of extremely unattractive older Foreign (white) men who proliferate here like rednecks with little subservient slave girls from poor families. The range of ugliness of these types of men living here is appalling.

haha your so right. even the ugliest, fattest, grossest, oldest of men get laid here. why is this? BAHT!!!!!!!!!!

You mean like this?

[Eddythekid]

I think many lwas are written in Thailand just for them to sound like they care or are doing something, heard the latest that they will carry the largest written warning on their cigarettes, "hey - that Thailand, what a brilliant country" SHUT UP, anyone here longer than 5mins know all the laws passed around are a joke, many used on temporary basis to line pockets. During my 4yrs in Pattaya (many moons ago) I rekon half the bars I frequented around Soi2/3 and 7/8 were owned by local police, ie they were the pimps, if you take a bar fine for a girl you're a pimp, that's immoral.

As for the plight of the young poor classes it's bull shit there is no work, anyone with a business up here in the north-east will tell you how hard it is to get or keep staff, they just want an easy life, and their lack of morales makes it easy for them to open their legs for a fast buck.

Thai ministers don't care about prostitution, in fact they positively want it to remain, it keeps their pathetically run country turning over, they just don't want to know or hear that they are being laughed at. I don't want prostitution in Thailand, I wish it could clean up its act, it ain't no fun when you take your wife back to your home land and have people sniggering behind your back, but I say to my wife "Thai people over generations have caused this and there ain't nothing we (us two) can do to stop it"

PS - never paid for sex never will, never pimped a girl, never will, and I would never expect a girl to be with me who's old enough to be my daughter - this is not just aimed at falang, in the north-east I frequent mainly Thai establishments, the girls here leave me alone (skin too white) but I see exactly the same sick crap going on among the Thai men with their Mia-noys - incidentally, do we really believe these married men go out night after night to visit the mia-noy and the wife hasn't got a clue? I think they know, so they stay with their cheating spouse for the security, prostitution is a grey area me thinks!

[monkeycountry]

The VAST majority of Thai/Foreigner relationships end quite quickly. Thats a fact. Look up the numbers. You're cute personal anecdote and apologetics may sound nice but they don't mesh with the facts. Most of my friends who are married to Thais are either in bad relationships they want to get out of or are being hustled by the wife's family. All Thai women may not be that way, but there is a disturbing number who are and if you think it is no different from anywhere else you are either frighteningly naive or not living in reality.

"The VAST majority of Thai/Foreigner relationships end quite quickly."

The vast majority of all relationships with westerners end quite quickly, no matter if a Thai is involved or not. If that was not the case, then how would the average westerner manage to have many relationships during his/her life?

Not according to the below:

"Did you know that according to some recent statistics from the Bangkok district office the amount of marriages between Thai and Farang has been rising at about 10% per year over the past decade and with a very interesting 50% of marriages registered at this office being between Thai and Farang. Remember though that not all marriages between Thai people are registered because quite often marriages between Thai and Thai are either Buddhist ceremonies or just recognized between families.

It would seem about 6% of these registered marriages (approx 6500 marriages registered) end in divorce and that 10% of those are cross cultural marriages. Some more statistics are that USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia all finish in the Top 15 or 20 highest divorce rates with the USA taking top spot!!!…Thailand comes in at 22^nd behind Singapore and China."

@ ThomasBird67 - Where did you get your "fact" from that the vast majortiy of Thai / Farang marriages end in divorce? Perhaps your choice of friends as more to do with their marriage relational issues than the nationality of their wives? The rest of your comments border on misonogy.

First of all I would never even consider relying on information from any Thai statistic.

Secondly there is a big difference between "relationship" and "marriage".

Thirdly, I have no idea about the percentage, I was simply trying to make a point that I do not think the relationship failure ratio is specific to any country if a westerner is involved.

[Baerboxer]

@ ThomasBird69 Nope. Comes from about 15 years of experience in this place. Name one country with more prostitutes than Thailand. You think its just the bargirls sleeping for money and lying to people to get paid?? LMAO. Being a Mia Noi in Thailand has become something a large segment of the population strives for and even in rural areas there are roving motorbike prostitutes literally everywhere. Filipinas, Germans and Dutch people don't have a culture of giks and mia nois, so no they are not the same. Been all over the world and there is no other country where you will find more women willing to go with a man for money than Thailand. And if the truth is offensive to you I could really care less.

The truth according to you! So you've been to every country in the world and checked the number of whores, you believe there is a culture of whoring prevalent in most if not all Thai ladies, you believe most Thai/foreigner marriages end up in divorce contrary to the facts, you see roving motorbike prostitutes everywhere (any one else seen these?), you believe adultery doesn't happen in other countries and you are the only one in a good relationship with a Thai lady who is one of a minority based on all your friends being in bad relationships. Think I've got the gist of most of your posts.

The truth isn't offensive because your unsubstantiated opinions, to which you are entitled, are not the truth. They are your opinions based on your experiences, mental models and world views. I would advise seeking professional help - but I couldn't care less if you don't.

[EyesWideOpen]

What Thailand should be embarrassed about is the plethora of extremely unattractive older Foreign (white) men who proliferate here like rednecks with little subservient slave girls from poor families. The range of ugliness of these types of men living here is appalling.

haha your so right. even the ugliest, fattest, grossest, oldest of men get laid here. why is this? BAHT!!!!!!!!!!

Even the ugly, drunken skinny young western men get laid in Thailand, why is this? baht!

Hahaha yes you are correct !!! I always feel sorry when I see some poor bar girl being led off by some young drunk obnoxious

lager lout covered in tattoos and steroid muscles. Sigh........guess a girl has to do what a girl has to do.

Edited February 15, 2013 by EyesWideOpen

[Baerboxer]

The VAST majority of Thai/Foreigner relationships end quite quickly. Thats a fact. Look up the numbers. You're cute personal anecdote and apologetics may sound nice but they don't mesh with the facts. Most of my friends who are married to Thais are either in bad relationships they want to get out of or are being hustled by the wife's family. All Thai women may not be that way, but there is a disturbing number who are and if you think it is no different from anywhere else you are either frighteningly naive or not living in reality.

"The VAST majority of Thai/Foreigner relationships end quite quickly."

The vast majority of all relationships with westerners end quite quickly, no matter if a Thai is involved or not. If that was not the case, then how would the average westerner manage to have many relationships during his/her life?

Not according to the below:

"Did you know that according to some recent statistics from the Bangkok district office the amount of marriages between Thai and Farang has been rising at about 10% per year over the past decade and with a very interesting 50% of marriages registered at this office being between Thai and Farang. Remember though that not all marriages between Thai people are registered because quite often marriages between Thai and Thai are either Buddhist ceremonies or just recognized between families.

It would seem about 6% of these registered marriages (approx 6500 marriages registered) end in divorce and that 10% of those are cross cultural marriages. Some more statistics are that USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia all finish in the Top 15 or 20 highest divorce rates with the USA taking top spot!!!…Thailand comes in at 22^nd behind Singapore and China."

@ ThomasBird67 - Where did you get your "fact" from that the vast majortiy of Thai / Farang marriages end in divorce? Perhaps your choice of friends as more to do with their marriage relational issues than the nationality of their wives? The rest of your comments border on misonogy.

First of all I would never even consider relying on information from any Thai statistic.

Secondly there is a big difference between "relationship" and "marriage".

Thirdly, I have no idea about the percentage, I was simply trying to make a point that I do not think the relationship failure ratio is specific to any country if a westerner is involved.

Sorry Monkey - this was really asking ThomasBird to give us his "facts".

I wouldn't trust any statistics - Thai or otherwise without checking more

Relationship failures are not recorded in countries whereas divorce rates are.

These statistics, if believable support your point.

[rucus7]

12 or 13 years ago, while living and working in America with my Thai wife. I was discussing moving to Thailand sometime in the near future. His response was "Thailand, thats where you can rent a woman,Right" My response was I never have. However, I felt deeply offended. Not sure why.

Because in actuality you can indeed rent a woman. I am still saddened by his main association with Thailand being prostitution.

[Baerboxer]

What Thailand should be embarrassed about is the plethora of extremely unattractive older Foreign (white) men who proliferate here like rednecks with little subservient slave girls from poor families. The range of ugliness of these types of men living here is appalling.

haha your so right. even the ugliest, fattest, grossest, oldest of men get laid here. why is this? BAHT!!!!!!!!!!

You mean like this?

And what attracted the beautiful young Chinese lady to this older multi-millionaire?

[chiangmaikelly]

What Thailand should be embarrassed about is the plethora of extremely unattractive older Foreign (white) men who proliferate here like rednecks with little subservient slave girls from poor families. The range of ugliness of these types of men living here is appalling.

And vice versa. I used to work with young male Thai university graduates. They would ask me in amazement why wealthy farangs would marry and be with Thai farm girls who were extremely ugly in the eyes of these Thai men. I had no real answer for them...

Next time tell them it is because Western men are not racist.

[Robbie Dye]

People the Thai men do the same when they go to "karaoke bars" and I have been inside a shorttime Thai bar in Kon Khaen and observed. Short time it is too, 10 mins and off home before the Missus starts asking questions. They all have mia nois and/or gicks too. Sauce for goose and the gander??

[chiangmaikelly]

What Thailand should be embarrassed about is the plethora of extremely unattractive older Foreign (white) men who proliferate here like rednecks with little subservient slave girls from poor families. The range of ugliness of these types of men living here is appalling.

haha your so right. even the ugliest, fattest, grossest, oldest of men get laid here. why is this? BAHT!!!!!!!!!!

You mean like this?

And what attracted the beautiful young Chinese lady to this older multi-millionaire?

He's an Aussie mate. It was the personality. Everybody knows that.

[oldsailor35]

My old dad once told me that one could easily get a woman for the night in Germany and most of Europe at the end of the war for a bar of soap or packet of fags. So get the idea that its not only Thai strugglers who cannot get a proper job that has turned to this. Now a days in places like Amsterdam,Hamburg and other large cities its easy to pay for a prostitute, but i see this differently to Thailand as these German, Dutch and other European nationalities find it easier than working, not a choice that many girls from the poor areas of Thailand will ever get ! apart from standing in the hot sun of a rice paddy for Bht100 per 10 hour DAY !

[avalonmick]

this pubertal boy is so naive he blames for poor for turning to prostitution and giving thailand a bad name.

what about the promotors of the industry - the businessmen and politicians who run the shows, and the police who get kickbacks to turn a blind eye to all this illegal activity?

Would it survive on this scale if thailand is not so corrupt?

In Amsterdam its legal. the country openly trades on it.

The world laughs at thailand because its illegal, in a buddhist country, yet everyone in the top levels of the country benefits from it in one way or another so it flourishes.

that's the joke.

Not the fact that poor women are exploited by their fellow countrymen so those same countrymen won't actually have to do productive work.

Embarrasing?

Who's embarrased? The sellers? Not apparently. The buyers? Not apparently.

Maybe it is those who are in denial, and do absolutely nothing to change the reality of the state of Thailand who are embarrased.

[monkeycountry]

First of all I would never even consider relying on information from any Thai statistic.

Secondly there is a big difference between "relationship" and "marriage".

Thirdly, I have no idea about the percentage, I was simply trying to make a point that I do not think the relationship failure ratio is specific to any country if a westerner is involved.

Sorry Monkey - this was really asking ThomasBird to give us his "facts".

I wouldn't trust any statistics - Thai or otherwise without checking more

Relationship failures are not recorded in countries whereas divorce rates are.

These statistics, if believable support your point.

I realised that, but not until after I had pressed "post" and was too lazy to delete :-)

[Tboy928]

Unfortunately a true fact ... I guess if tighter laws against prostitution appear a lot of men wont come to Thailand anymore .... but maybe more families will replace them also . It could be interesting to see how many prostitute female or male are in Thailand.

But the reality is not that funny for the prostitutes))) Is easy money , and some save up for build a house in Isan, or where they come from, some waist the money , Some even try move with western guy to another country , but often come back , not because ist not comfortable , but booring and cold..

Edited February 16, 2013 by metisdead
: Bold font removed.

[oldsailor35]

What Thailand should be embarrassed about is the plethora of extremely unattractive older Foreign (white) men who proliferate here like rednecks with little subservient slave girls from poor families. The range of ugliness of these types of men living here is appalling.

haha your so right. even the ugliest, fattest, grossest, oldest of men get laid here. why is this? BAHT!!!!!!!!!!

Oh Ello you andsome man................perhaps they have more money than you kid !

[rinteln]

monkeycountry

Imagine for a second that all prostitution in Thailand stopped tomorrow. Do you think the girls would then be better off or worse off? Many of them would end up sitting on a farm in Isaan sleeping, eating and watching tv all day - just as many of their family members do as we speak. I wonder what long term damage that does to your brain? They would stay dirt poor, and so will their children.

I agree with you that if the girls had a bunch of options such as good schools and decent work, then that would be much better, but that is just not the case today, so to be honest with you, I do not know if me paying a girl to sleep with me is good or bad - for her?

I knew it wouldn't be long before someone said something like this. This theory is a bit like officials in the UK who now want to allow drug addicts to have more drugs because maybe it will be worse forcing them to stop than trying to deal with the problem. You are thinking like the Thais, short term and not long term. Do you really think that long term its better to just let this process carry on or better to stop it and see the benefits later and for longer. I should not need to explain the benefits that a whole generation would have if they were not working as sex slaves for 15 years or so.

Yes Im sure it will be very painful if girls now were forced to stop prostitution but the next generation will benefit and you could argue that they will only be in the position that they would of always been in without prostitution. The question needs to be asked what would they do if they never have had prostitution. Do you really think they would not of survived. No, they would of worked, the family would work. In my experience i would say a typical 2 adults 2 children family in Isaan don't need anymore than 15,000 a month to live healthy lives. Now that must be achievable if all or most of the family works or contributes in some way unless ofcourse you have greater needs....which maybe is the problem but only born out of western influence.

To answer this fully i suppose you have to separate need and greed. Since my time in Thailand i have thought more and more that i don't think there are as many girls that really really have to do this as i first thought when i came here first. I look at how much money these girls are getting and compare that to my time in Isaan and alot of all this is greed. Families don't need 50,000 - 100,000 a month to live. Considering they all know prostitution is bad and still carry on i consider it greed. My point is if they really wanted to im sure most families could avoid sending their child off.

I think in the short term you paying for a girl helps but only in the same way giving one more hit to a drug user helps. In the long term i don't think so no because its not giving them responsibility, its giving them a fake image of earning money, they don't respect the effort of earning money and also that cash is not giving them anything that will help in the future. What about post 35 - 40 , what are they going to do then. As i said before they wont work for 6000 a month after 15 years of easy money. You have to think about the second part of their lives. No skills, no education, probably wont enjoy sex as much or at all. Mentally used to lying and cheating and taking the easy way out. Not the way i would want to be at the still young age of 35 - 40 or around that age.

Please note that I wrote "so to be honest with you, I do not know if me paying a girl to sleep with me is good or bad - for her?"

I agree with most of what you are saying The Isaan family living on 15k/month may survive yes, but they will never get out of poverty, and the kids will never see a good school or a good job, giving them a better chance in life than their parents. The fact that they are so poor, and with no hope for the future, is what often leads them to drinking and drugs in the first place!

You say the next generation will benefit from a prostitution stop. How exactly will they benefit? Yes, they may get a job, but it will be the kind of job that brings a maximum of 15k/month for the entire family, and there will be no mental stimulation for anyone in that family - and so the circle continues.

The bar girl takes a gamble - often unknowingly. She gets a unique chance to bring herself and her kids and thereby the family future out of poverty for good, but at the risk of being broke and mentally damaged at 40! As I said, I do not know if this is good or bad, considering the alternatives?

Yeah that's a fair comment.

But as i said I surely don't have to explain why the stopping of mass prostitution would benefit a generation. If you cant think of anything then maybe its a sit with a beer discussion then.

The idea is that without prostitution people are forced into their normal evolution. How would that family normally survive !!! They would all contribute and work if possible or at least most. The girl may struggle but at least grows up with the values of hard work earning her way instead of the exact opposite. This can only have positive benefits down the line. And you know even if i couldn't explain any other benefit other than the girl simply not being a sex slave then surely not being a sex slave is enough on its own.

I think you also have to be careful with that word poverty. Getting by is not poverty. Remember it is only because of the western influence that many of these girls and families have bigger needs and wants and raises the benchmark too high.

"The bar girl takes a gamble - often unknowingly. She gets a unique chance to bring herself and her kids and thereby the family future out of poverty for good, but at the risk of being broke and mentally damaged at 40! As I said, I do not know if this is good or bad, considering the alternatives?"

Thats one of my points, only a chance and a slim one at best. Not many of these working girls stay forever with a guy and have stability. Most get so consumed by it all that they are unable to hold something down. So really they have 2 chances, either meet a good man who earns good money and stay with him or just have 10 - 15 years of so much success in prostitution that it sets her up for life. Now either of those is rare or at best certainly not enough end up like that to justify a whole industry.

If the alternative is literally that the family will starve or cannot live then ofcourse i would have to be a hearltless person to still say no you shouldn't do it just for morals but I doubt there are as many in the position as we may think.

Edited February 15, 2013 by rinteln

[Thai at Heart]

12 or 13 years ago, while living and working in America with my Thai wife. I was discussing moving to Thailand sometime in the near future. His response was "Thailand, thats where you can rent a woman,Right" My response was I never have. However, I felt deeply offended. Not sure why.

Because in actuality you can indeed rent a woman. I am still saddened by his main association with Thailand being prostitution.

So you can attest to the fact, that this reputation has been around the world for at least 13 years?

[oldsailor35]

A racist article blaming non Thais for the prostitution situation here in LOS. Yes people come here for sex but the majority of users are Thai men. Blame tourists for the mess that pattaya and Phuket for example have become. Blame them for nana, cowboy etc, but these are just new forms of a Thai prostitution scene that existed long before sex tourism kicked in.

Or before the Viet Nam war. The 'high so' Thais have always used the poorer women.

[wealth]

REPRESENTATIONAL PROBLEMS:

Thai prostitution is a representational problem. The exact nature of surrounding issues is unknown. What is known, is that sex-slavery is foremost an issue of poverty, and is run by politicians, business people, military generals, police chiefs and is supported by the World Bank, international airlines and hotel chains.

It is a cultural problem; an educational problem; a problem of political corruption; a problem of making the correct distinctions between sex-slaves and sex workers; a health problem; a problem of exploitation; a social problem; a problem of misdirected self-interests; a problem of carelessness; a problem of putting the economy before humanity. It is a problem that needs to be addressed both locally and internationally.

SURROUNDING ISSUES:

Prostitution is one of the oldest professions in the world, but that is not to say it is not a normal part of human social formation. So-called sex-work is prominent within sexually suppressed societies however, it is rare in societies that are otherwise sexually permissive. This difference illustrates that prostitution is not a universal social norm. Moreover, some experts argue that prostitution is an abnormal form of promiscuity that develops from strict governance of sexuality within a society.

Women who do not consider themselves sex-slaves resent organizations that deny them the right to make a living in the way they see fit. Some have argued that Western countries take a patronizing approach towards non-western women by ignoring sex-work as an issue of personal income and labor. Furthermore, placing all sex-workers into the same category, casting them as victims, denies them the chance of participating in the decision making process that affects their own future and does not respect for them as people who deserve positive rights.

Vigilantes have raided brothels in the past to rescue slaves but have not been aware of the fact that they put not only the lives of the sex-workers at risk but also their families. Many girls escape their rescuers for this reason, or because they did not consider themselves in need have being rescued in the first place. Some girls may even escape out of fear of being killed by brothel owners.

In Thailand, children are the property of their parents and it is culturally acceptable for them to do with them whatever they wish to protect their livelihoods. Thailand’s government celebrates the economic benefits of prostitution, developing a highly successful national plan to support its “sex-tourist industry”, despite its connections to child prostitution. Thailand’s current period of dramatic economic growth – labeled the “Asian Miracle” is reliant on the sex-tourist industry. The demand for new prostitutes has increased, resulting in the widespread recruitment of child prostitutes through debt peonage arrangements in small brothels.

Many Thai foundations claim to help the victims of child prostitution but merely coerce them into sweatshop work by subjecting them to arrest without warrant.

Evangelical Christian's, exploit the issue of sex slavery to grow their follower base and political strength. Their captors and their rescuers so heavily exploit these women and children and as such, the line between captors and rescuers has become increasingly blurry. Hence, the true voice and story of these girls is unheard. Self-styled US vigilantes have raided brothels in the past to rescue women, which resulted in gun battles and other disappointing results. For example, girls rescued in these raids and similar escape from their rescuers within the first 24 hours. 678 girls reported that Trafcord [an anti-trafficking NGO] continually interrogated them as if they were hardened criminals and are threatened their release will be delayed if they do not reveal the identity of their traffickers.

The Thai State government depresses agricultural prices, which enables landowners and loan sharks to exploit farmers and accumulate capital. This is because Thailand did not have a history of technological development or capital formation. The ruling class sought to specialize in sex-tourism to stimulate the accumulation of capital. The growth of the Thai economy is based on impoverishment of peasants and intensive exploitation of labor. Peasants are indebted, incomes plummet as prices decline, forcing many into low paid industrial and 'service' employment.

Since prostitution is illegal in Thailand it is difficult to estimate exactly how many girls are work in the sex tourist industry. However, the total estimate is around 2,000,000. 800,000 of which are teenagers and children.

Thanks K Nattapon for this contribution

Getting closer!

Rather soon there will be more revelation.

[NanLaew]

What Thailand should be embarrassed about is the plethora of extremely unattractive older Foreign (white) men who proliferate here like rednecks with little subservient slave girls from poor families. The range of ugliness of these types of men living here is appalling.

And vice versa. I used to work with young male Thai university graduates. They would ask me in amazement why wealthy farangs would marry and be with Thai farm girls who were extremely ugly in the eyes of these Thai men. I had no real answer for them...

Oh no.... not ANOTHER farang worker feeling stigmatized whenever an 'educated' Thai co-worker pushes the "Isaan slappers are ugly" button?

[jpippy]

Did a teenager write this? So cute. Wow.

[chiangmaikelly]

A racist article blaming non Thais for the prostitution situation here in LOS. Yes people come here for sex but the majority of users are Thai men. Blame tourists for the mess that pattaya and Phuket for example have become. Blame them for nana, cowboy etc, but these are just new forms of a Thai prostitution scene that existed long before sex tourism kicked in.

Or before the Viet Nam war. The 'high so' Thais have always used the poorer women.

I think if you do the research back to the Ayutthaya Kingdom the reverse is also the case.

In fact, the image can be traced back to the 17th century when junk merchants regularly passed through the kingdom. Christoph Carl Fernberger von Egenberg, for example, described Siamese women as "excessively lewd.

History's wanton women The journal of a 17th-century Austrian merchant offers a lopsided view of Siam's lewd ladies.

[Thai at Heart]

What Thailand should be embarrassed about is the plethora of extremely unattractive older Foreign (white) men who proliferate here like rednecks with little subservient slave girls from poor families. The range of ugliness of these types of men living here is appalling.

And vice versa. I used to work with young male Thai university graduates. They would ask me in amazement why wealthy farangs would marry and be with Thai farm girls who were extremely ugly in the eyes of these Thai men. I had no real answer for them...

Oh no.... not ANOTHER farang worker feeling stigmatized whenever an 'educated' Thai co-worker pushes the "Isaan slappers are ugly" button?

If the epitome of beauty is the society pages of Tatler, buyer beware what they turn into.

Ironically, this is in a feature called "The Beautiful People"

[rubl]

If the epitome of beauty is the society pages of Tatler, buyer beware what they turn into.

Ironically, this is in a feature called "The Beautiful People"

Watching my back fearing the whiplash, I can tell (in a low voice only): "Men tend to age more gracefully"

[wealth]

A racist article blaming non Thais for the prostitution situation here in LOS. Yes people come here for sex but the majority of users are Thai men. Blame tourists for the mess that pattaya and Phuket for example have become. Blame them for nana, cowboy etc, but these are just new forms of a Thai prostitution scene that existed long before sex tourism kicked in.

Or before the Viet Nam war. The 'high so' Thais have always used the poorer women.

I think if you do the research back to the Ayutthaya Kingdom the reverse is also the case.

In fact, the image can be traced back to the 17th century when junk merchants regularly passed through the kingdom. Christoph Carl Fernberger von Egenberg, for example, described Siamese women as "excessively lewd.

History's wanton womenThe journal of a 17th-century Austrian merchant offers a lopsided view of Siam's lewd ladies.

As far as I remember he realized the women in front of their huts hanging around and when they saw strangers most of them came up with "pai nai? pai due" (Where you go? I go with you)

The difference? - That time no drugs. So in fact it's now worse than 300 years ago.

BTW, they all shut up when you tell them that the planet has the same age for everyone. The apologists stumble and fall bitter in their conceit.

[Mudcrab]

Thais should be embarrassed how stupid their politicians are. How corrupted and unqualified they are for their jobs

I think every nation should be embarrassed how stupid and unqualified thier politicians are!!!!

[Thai at Heart]

If the epitome of beauty is the society pages of Tatler, buyer beware what they turn into.

Ironically, this is in a feature called "The Beautiful People"

Watching my back fearing the whiplash, I can tell (in a low voice only): "Men tend to age more gracefully"

I am not going to say anything. Pictures speak louder than words.

[Xonax]

Most women in the world are prostitutes. But only the "decent" women let the man pay in various other ways, than charging him after having sex.

[Mudcrab]

12 or 13 years ago, while living and working in America with my Thai wife. I was discussing moving to Thailand sometime in the near future. His response was "Thailand, thats where you can rent a woman,Right" My response was I never have. However, I felt deeply offended. Not sure why.

Because in actuality you can indeed rent a woman. I am still saddened by his main association with Thailand being prostitution.

So you can attest to the fact, that this reputation has been around the world for at least 13 years?

try 40 years