The Sign Says Do Not Enter

There are going to be some posts that are a bit out of sync with time, as am I.
This is night one Kamala Beach, Phuke, Thailand.
As I sit typing away on the porch of my bungalow the sun is beginning to set and I am taken back by the sound of a single male voice. Beautiful loud and powerful he chants and sings. I have no idea if his singing is related to the sunset but just this second he is joined by the crickets they have begun their concert, the volume is astounding. I am on the outskirts of a small village and the jungle is still a big part of the landscape. This being my first day and now my first night I am becoming aware little by little what this means. First of all if you do not like to sleep to the sound of crickets you could have a problem here. After I settled into the Bungalow played a little guitar I tried to take a nap I am exhausted. No sooner than I lay down does the electricity go out. This means the fan stops, I cannot use my computer as I have no idea when they electricity will return and my battery is low. It is too hot to read and to hot to write and I have a major headache. I decide to take a ride into town on the Rhonda’s motor scooter, I may be exhausted but I am also very hungry. I travel down the highway to Patong. This is one of the biggest resorts on the island and famous to me, anyway, for the party scene. Lots of music, go-go bars, and massage parlors; both traditional and the ones that are really covers for prostitution. No one keeps this a secret, prostitution is technically illegal here but apparently not only is it accepted but supported. As you walk down the street passing the go-go bars and the massage parlors the girls solicit their wares. Calling out to you all sorts of suggestions and ideas for a good time; I’ll leave the rest up to your imagination. No judgment from me but this is not my thing 1st I do not like to be accosted on the street and second it’s not my thing. In Thailand this apart of the culture, these girls are not just here for the tourist but also the Thai men. Many of them visit the parlors on a regular basis and even keep the same girl as their #1 concubine for years. When I was in Bangkok I was taken to two massage parlors one for the middle class and one was the top club in Bangkok. These clubs are not cheap and the business is very professional. I was curious and wanted to see first hand the famous Bangkok massage business. All I can say is it was very odd, but yet very civilized. These are the places the Thai men go. My escort was a Thai man so I take his word on the subject as valid. The Girls sit in an area that is set up like bleachers. They are fully clothed and they just sit and talk among themselves and watch TV occasionally making eye contact with a little flirt. The men are in a bar where they sit drink and scope out the women. They either have a drink and then leave as we did or they pick a girl, they then tell the attendant of their choice and off they go for the two hour tour. My friend told me that is very common and a very accepted part of the Thai culture. He admitted to have a relationship of his own for over six years with the same girl. I asked him if he loved her, he looked at me funny and replied no not at all, not like a girlfriend but as a friend. I asked him if they kissed and he told me that Thai people do not kiss that kissing is not apart of their culture, but that the girls will do anything you want because once you close that door you are the boss. I have always felt that all vices should be legal. If it is not hurting any one other than the person that is making the choices, than why create more troubles with judgement and punishment. I will tell you that I did see some men going on the two hour tour that where down right un-mateable. These girls give them a place to go, where, even if for just two hours they feel love, and feel good about themselves. Even if the girls are acting it works and the men go home with a “Happy Ending.” Now I am in the party capitol of Thailand, Patong. It is all I expected it to be and a little more. I am here as I said I am hungry and I know that there will be plenty of restaurants that cater to the tourist and that I would not get any surprises regarding my meal; anyway I also get to see the famous Patong. I pick a restaurant on the beach, as I expected the menu was in multiple languages Thai, English, Italian and German every thing from pizza to hamburgers as well as Thai. I order Thai food I am in Thailand after all. My meal was very marginal and very expensive by Thai standards. I decide then and there that will never walk into a restaurant while I am here that has any English on the sign; if there is English on the sign it says “Do Not Enter.” I eat wander around and go for a swim then home to bed. Hopefully the electricity is on now. It is now day two. The “Do Not Enter” sign idea, made for an amusing experience when I went for lunch. I asked the boy at the Internet spot for a recommendation of a restaurant he suggested a few but all were for tourist I explained to him again that I wanted to go to a Thai restaurant that the locals liked, he finally understood, and made a suggestion. Once I arrived not only was there no Thai on the sign but also no one in the restaurant spoke English there was no menu just a board with the choices. Of course I have no idea what to order, however I take a seat and a woman approaches me she speaks to me, not knowing how to reply, I just rub my belly. She looks at me strange and walks away. She is friendly but confused as how to deal with me. After a few minutes I see some food coming from the kitchen that looked great. I motion to the woman she comes over I point to the food and again rub my belly, this time she really smiles a big smile and walks away in a few minutes the food arrived just as I ordered, it was fantastic! When I go to pay my bill I ask how much using the universal language of rubbing my fingers together, she replies in Thai and I do not understand a man sitting nearby told me 50 Baht. The woman said something to him with a bit of an edge and the man shakes his head and says no, no. I think that the woman was trying to charge me more than the local charge but the man in his innocence was just trying to help. I was charged the regular price thanks to him, 75 cents, for a great lunch; now I feel like I am getting settled. I know where to eat and how, I know where to buy fresh fruit and water and I know where the locals play soccer every night. So I have food water and entertainment.
I am a happy camper; sunburned but happy. I applied what I thought a sufficient dose of sunscreen to my lily white head, I am sure this saved me from disaster, but I ended up with a pink head from lily white to pink. The one thing that keeps coming up for me is that regardless of cultural differences people are the same everywhere. When I was standing at the counter of a mini market buying time for my phone a little boy of maybe 5 began to pull at my shirt. I turn to him he begins speaking to me as he is pulling on his own shirt really a smock. I have no idea what he is saying but I engage with him with smiles and love, his Mom says “he go to school.” I get it that this is his first day and he is proud and excited and wants to show off his uniform to every one he meets; people are the same everywhere.