Penetration of sexual paradise in Thailand

Two Thai girls work in a bar in the red light district of Bangkok – a famous sex tourist destination for many Australian men.

According to Courier Mail, Dan is not ashamed to boast about spending a lot of time wandering around karaoke bars and red light districts across Thailand.

At first glance, Dan’s wanderings are similar to other Australian tourists looking for strange things in Southeast Asia, but in fact, he is a secret employee of an organization specializing in rescuing teenage girls who are victims.

`It’s an abusive industry,` Dan admits.

Research shows Australian men are among the biggest Western contributors to the sex tourism industry in Southeast Asia.

`These people moved to Thailand, to Pattaya, to Bangkok, they all encountered the same problems,` Dan said, sharing his many years of experience wandering around Thailand.

`They think life is incomplete without going to Thailand for sex tourism, so they pursue this dream until they realize the lifestyle they choose is meaningless.`

He spends a lot of time chatting with Western tourists who come to Thailand to find strange things.

`At first they all said, ‘I can have sex anytime I want, it’s great!’

He recalls an Australian man breaking up with his girlfriend back home to pursue a free and bohemian lifestyle in Thailand, later admitting `it was the most regrettable decision of his life`.

Balcony of Nana Plaza building located in the red light district in Bangkok.

`He did everything to fill the void,` Dan said.

`At that time I was sitting next to him, and on the street corner in front were deaf girls working as prostitutes. He said: ‘Um, deaf girls. What do you think, wouldn’t it be great to have sex with them?

As an anti-trafficking officer, Dan is always painful when encountering such situations.

`Sometimes, I wish my mind would urge me to return to Australia, but faced with young women who have suffered countless traumas and need help, I choose to be here,` Dan said.

Sharing about the impact of his work, Dan said that every time he goes into the red light district, he feels like he is going into `hell on earth`.

`When they first met, every girl seemed to hate themselves. They were raped and abused, but now, after everything, they regained their self-respect and felt they were still valuable,`

Dan’s voice deepened every time he mentioned young women who were tormented by men to satisfy their desires.

`Men pay for sex and then leave, they never look back at that girl,` Dan said.

`The more men pay to have sex with them, the more difficult it becomes for them, the more they feel like they’re not worth a dime. Many men make excuses like ‘they like sex, like this job’. No,

Dan said most Western men who go looking for strange things justify that they are helping the other girls.

`When I asked, ‘If your daughter came to Thailand penniless and went to a bar to be a prostitute, would you mind if I came to buy you sex? Do you think I would do that to help your daughter?

`They all replied that they would do everything to get their child out of there, but they made excuses if it was a Thai girl.`

Dan felt sad for the men he met.

`It’s understandable that many Australians, especially women, hate these people, but when we talk to them, we suddenly realize that they are all broken, lost, self-destructive people.`

`I remember someone once asked, ‘do you think that after we die, we have to pay for the bad things we have done?’

Prostitutes work at Nana Plaza.

Understanding how these men feel does not mean Dan condones their behavior.

Over the past five years, the press has reported many stories about Western men `obsessed with the Pattaya lifestyle` who jumped to their deaths.

`Pattaya is considered the capital for foreign men looking for sex, but there are a lot of people committing suicide here,` Dan said.

This issue has attracted the attention of many organizations and the Thai government, such as Night Light International or MST Project – units that provide support for male visitors to Thailand looking for sex.

Dan believes this is necessary, not only to help men overcome their sex addiction, but also to help end the trauma caused to women in the industry in Thailand.

`I think if there was a group that went to the bar to meet these men, not preach to them, but talk to them, become friends, listen to their stories, maybe it would help more,` Dan

When asked what Dan would say to men who come to Thailand to find sex if they didn’t have to hide their identity as employees of an anti-trafficking organization, he answered:

`I will ask them: ‘Are you happy to be this person, do you love life like this? You can absolutely use your skills and abilities to help people, not deprive them.

`It’s never too late to change, become someone worth being proud of.`

See more: Thailand’s sex paradise – where women are easily bought and sold

Hong Hanh