Pattaya

After a long nights sleep after my flight, we got up the next morning and drove an hour to Pattaya. Pattaya is located on the southern border of Thailand and is the prime spot for tourist activity. There is a lot of darknes in this city, as it is most well known for being the center of sex trade in Thailand. We drove down to the main drag and saw many open air bars on the streets full of young Thai girls. Men who are interested are expected to sit down with a girl and spend money on drinks for himself and for her. That's it. After that he pays an average of $5 US and he is able to take the girl for the night. What I was shocked to hear was that the $5 does not go to the girl...it goes to the bar owner! The girl is guaranteed nothing. She may get paid or she may not. Most girls are driven to stay in such a horrible situation because they dream of some foreign man falling in love with them and taking them to a better life. This rarely happens and hope continues to be crushed time and time again in their hearts.