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Illustration by Manjul
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Most Indian tourists (males, that is), seem to perceive Thailand as an easy sex getaway — convenient and affordable. Most Thais consider Indian tourists (males, that is) sex-starved deviants who don’t think twice before indulging in things in Thailand that they wouldn’t think of doing in India.
Are lakhs of Indian tourists condemning Thailand to being perceived as a perpetual sin capital? Or, is the largely Buddhist Thailand funnelling disposable incomes of resurgent India’s largely Hindu male tourists into its economy via the sin route?
I was part of a media delegation on a ‘business visit’ that included leisure activities. I shall forgive you if you had straightaway presumed that mine was an out-and-out ‘pleasure trip’. You wouldn’t be the first person guilty of such a grave error. As mentioned earlier, almost all Thais think — not without good reason, of course — that Indian tourists visit Thailand for cheap thrills and puerile pleasures.
So, do Indians really go ballistic in Thailand? If the unabashed approaches of local Thai men purporting to be pimps are any indication, it looks as though most Indian male tourists indulge in what is called ‘sex tourism’. That’s what seems to convince these pimps, ubiquitous in both Bangkok and Pattaya, that every Indian male visitor is a pervert on the prowl for female flesh. The moment these locals notice an Indian male, they accost him outside the hotel, on the streets, at restaurants, tourist spots, boat quays, and even on the way to the famous Buddhist temples. They offer to organise quick tours to seedy spots for a rendezvous with “young girls with big, big boobs”.
As you walk through Bangkok, it dawns on you that massage parlours, too, are everywhere. “But not all of them are seedy. Most are genuine,” says the local guide, Barry, a Thai proud of his country’s economic progress and achievements (Thailand is one of the world’s top rubber and rice producers).
But you can only tell if a parlour is seedy or genuine if you step in and experience it yourself. Young and not-so-young masseuses sitting or standing in front of their parlours invite you in coquettishly. Their demeanour is friendly, even obsequiously courteous. It’s only the lilt and drawl in their voice that makes their advances suggestive.
Unless you have mischief on your mind, you may want to smile politely, and move on without making eye contact, and without looking back, lest the temptation — in the form of second thoughts — lead you astray. Even if you manage to duck their charming invitations, the colourful display boards, with images of parlour interiors, prices and duration of different types of massages, may catch your eye. These are designed to be that effective.
Over a period of four days and nights, as I criss-crossed Bangkok, I noticed hundreds of such parlours. But nowhere did I really spot Indian male tourists entering or exiting them. Does this mean that the ill reputation that the Indian male tourist has in Thailand is unfounded?
Maybe, yes. Perhaps not. Statistics suggest otherwise. Some 9.14 lakh Indian tourists visited Thailand last year. Thai tourism estimates indicate the figure will likely swell by 16% to about 11 lakh in the coming years.
So, if Indians are not lighting up cash registers at Bangkok’s infamous massage parlours, as suspected by everyone in both countries, why are so many of them flying to Thailand?
There are three more activities that seem to clinch the deal in favour of Thailand: First, adventure sports like parasailing, undersea walks, high-speed motor-boating and scuba diving are hugely popular. Second, bargain-hunters can’t get enough of the discount deals all over Thailand: From gems and jewellery, IT hardware and software to LCD and LED TVs, consumer electronics, liquor to garments… they’re all “dirt cheap”.
And finally, there are ‘novelties’ like in Pattaya that offer what India doesn’t: naughty, legal adult entertainment in the form of live shows featuring beautiful girls/women from Russia and its erstwhile sister countries. These 60/75-minute shows feature really ‘adult’ content and can set you back by about Rs1,200.
Call me ignorant, but I was shocked to note that 70-80% of the audiences at the Pattaya shows were Indians. Not just testosterone-turbulent Indian males, but also decent, homely- looking saree- or churidhar-clad women. And they spanned all age-groups. I noticed an ageing couple that I imagine must have been married for no less than three decades.
“Our society has become so conservative and so hypocritical that most of these decent middle-class people are now either sex-starved or desperately seeking to spice up their sex lives. These shows help them to shed their sense of shame and shyness. They go back rejuvenated,” says one of our hosts.
Rejuvenated, not debauched, should I add?
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