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The Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Inside world's seediest sex market dubbed ‘porno Disneyland' where Brit ‘sexpats' buy hook-ups for ‘price of McDonald's'
GRINNING from ear to ear, an overweight, bare-chested British pensioner shuffles along the streets of an exotic beach resort, clutching the hand of the Thai girl he's paid to be his lover. Nearby, randy holidaymakers visit so-called 'b***job bars', shamelessly romp in the sea, and buy sex for as little as £12 in what locals have dubbed the 'porn version of Disneyland'. This is Pattaya - home to the world's seediest open sex market, where 'red light vacationers' indulge in prostitutes and 'happy ending' massages at bargain prices. The city, once a quiet fishing village in eastern Thailand, is now a neon-lit magnet for Westerners drawn to its sex shows, go-go bars, brothels, and 'barely legal'-looking girls. It has also become a hotbed of 'sex-pats' - older men who have moved overseas from Britain and elsewhere, on the hunt for girls often 40 years younger than themselves. These 'sex-pats' are seen tottering through Pattaya's vibrant entertainment district, where bar names include Horny, Lips Lounge, Sexy in the City, Seduction, and Kittens. The sight is a far cry from other parts of Thailand, which is known for its stunning white sand beaches, picturesque islands, diverse cuisine, and beautiful Buddhist temples. 'The sex-pats own this area of town,' says British primary school teacher Sherri, who used to live and work in Pattaya but struggled to turn a blind eye to its 'in-your-face' sex market. 'They drive around on bikes like they're in a Harley Davidson promo… it's as if they live in a bubble erased of humanity and have happily invested in a porn version of Disneyland.' Sherri, 38, tells The Sun it isn't unusual to see 'old, white Western men' drinking in bars from 10am, eyeing up scantily-clad female workers and ladyboys ('Kathoeys' to locals). 'It's also a very familiar sight to see older men walking down the street with a local woman or man who's half their age, as a legitimate partner or fleeting pay-per-hour worker,' she says. Yet, while these pensioners may be smirking with pride, experts warn that the 'girlfriends' on their sunburned, wrinkled arms may be victims of abduction and trafficking gangs. Shocking moment Brit tourists in Thai 'Sin City' fight locals in road rage brawl Some, they say, are sickeningly just children - with creeps obsessed with 'barely legal' pornography increasingly seeking out Thai girls and women because they often look young for their age. 'Not only is there an open sex market in Pattaya, it is flourishing,' top UK criminal defence lawyer Marcus Johnstone, who specialises in sex crime, tells The Sun. 'Many British men travel to Pattaya because they have unlimited access to very young Thai girls.' He adds: 'Gangs are becoming ever more powerful. The internet has spawned a new interest in sex tourism. 'More and more girls are needed to service the sex tourists. This has resulted in many children being abducted from poorer areas of the country and trafficked to Pattaya.' Sex capital of world Marcus, of Cheshire-based PCD Solicitors, describes how the explosion of interest in sex tourism has seen online 'travel agents' give Brits advice on touring Thai sex hotspots. And Pattaya - which has earned the nickname of 'the sex capital of the world', despite the fact that prostitution is technically illegal in Thailand - is no doubt top of the list. 'There's an ever-increasing number of sites and videos explaining where to go in Thailand to gain access to prostitutes,' says Marcus. 'There are also men who make money out of arranging 'holidays' to Thailand – so the visitors can easily gain access to the young girls.' 11 11 'To gain unrestricted access to Thai prostitutes, the men need to arrange apartments, rather than hotels, where prostitutes can come and go without concern.' At these apartments, he says, 'nothing' is monitored. 'This, of course, allows easy access for the abuse of children,' Marcus tells us. 'The gangs can make more money from prostituting children.' Pattaya's now-notorious sex trade began in the 1960s, when it became an R&R (rest and relaxation) spot for American soldiers during the Vietnam War. Some servicemen are said to have dubbed the breaks 'I&I' instead - standing for "intoxication and intercourse". Inside the life of a sex worker DR EMMA CUNNINGHAM, senior lecturer in criminology, with research interests in violence against women and girls, says: "Some sex workers insist this is just a job, and they are making lots of money from it. But there appear to be many more with awful experiences of violence and PTSD who become trapped in this work. Some women may be topping up low-paid employment. Some charities – Beyond Streets and Women's Aid – have said the cost-of-living crisis has pushed more women into the informal economy of sex and escort work. From films like Pretty Woman there is a romanticised notion of escorting, and it is not a crime to buy or sell sex between two consenting adults in the UK. Many sex workers end up with PTSD. Many are trafficked and exploited and take drugs to forget the trauma they have experienced. Many female sex workers have experienced severe repeated violence. How can a woman who is selling sex to a man who is physically much stronger than her withdraw her consent if he hurts her? He is potentially capable of killing her. According to research, women selling sex are 18 times more likely to be murdered than those who do not." Today, the sun-soaked destination attracts more than 24million visitors each year - with families enjoying its water parks, zoos, aquariums, beaches, and famous botanical garden. But at night, some of its streets are the opposite of family-friendly - with the likes of Walking Street and Soi 6 packed with swarms of skimpily-dressed girls. Amid the neon lights and blaring music, these workers can be seen approaching tourists, hollering 'handsome man' and 'sexy man' to catch their attention before offering them sex. Some workers, it is said, charge less for sex than the cost of a McDonald's family meal deal. One Reddit user claims revellers in some streets of Pattaya can purchase a 'short-time' fling for just 500 Thai Baht (THB) - under £12. Others say the price is more like 1,000 THB (£23). 'If they were really hot, I'd just do 2,000 [THB],' recalls one tourist, who visited Pattaya six years ago, when he was 28. He adds that workers aged over 30 'were down for 1,000'. Prices are reported to have soared in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which stripped many workers of their income, with venues forced to close and foreign men unable to travel. Yet this week, a Facebook post advertising a bar on Soi LK Metro (an area less well-known among tourists) flogs beers in the company of 'sexy policewomen' for only 60 THB (£1.30). 11 11 11 Another post from a different bar promotes a 'sexy stocking party' with 'cute ladies', while messages on the Telegram app show lingerie-clad Pattaya bar girls striking explicit poses. Thai tourism chiefs have previously vowed to clean up their 'Sin City' - yet men continue to flock to Pattaya's 'b*** job bars', where women are lined up and chosen 'like cattle'. Customers can choose whether to have the sex act performed on them in a private upstairs room or - for those less shy - in the middle of the open bar area in front of others. While it is impossible to put an exact figure on the number of sex workers in Pattaya, it was reported in 2017 that almost 20 per cent of the population were employed in the sex trade. Some of the workers are freelancers, who promote themselves - with pictures and details of their height and weight - on online dating sites, as well as in freelancer-friendly bars. Unlike with bar girls, the customers of freelancers don't have to pay for so-called 'lady drinks' or fork out on a bar fine (a sum of money paid to take a bar girl out of the venue). Sherri, who runs the blog Travel Mermaid, says she had known of Pattaya's murky reputation before moving there with her husband to work at an international school. She had hoped she could 'turn a blind eye' to its seediness. 'Seedy s***hole' But she admits: 'The sex-trade in Pattaya is so in your face that it's hard to overlook.' Sherri, who relocated to the city around a decade ago, says her first impression was that 'it was a seedy s***hole'. And, after a year of living there, she admits she still didn't love it. In fact, Sherri found herself 'counting down the days' until her work contract expired. The teacher, originally from London and now living in Saigon, Vietnam, tells us: 'Walking Street is where the main action happens. [It] is filled to the brim with go-go bars doing regular ping-pong shows, strip clubs, 'massage parlours' and short stay 'rooms for rent'.' She adds: 'While you often can't see what's going on inside through the blacked-out windows, everyone knows the craic.' While prostitution is technically illegal in the country, experts warn the law is complex - and that sex tourists can feel a false sense of safety because sex work is widely tolerated. 'This discrepancy creates a false sense of legality and security, particularly among British tourists, who may not realise the serious legal and reputational risks involved,' says Adam Jones, a tourism legal expert at HD Claims. He adds: 'For Brits considering soliciting sex services in Thailand, it's important to recognise that engaging in illegal activity abroad can still carry serious consequences. 'If arrested, individuals may face fines, deportation, or even imprisonment. 'More significantly, being accused of a sex-related offence – such as assaulting a sex worker – can lead to severe legal implications both in Thailand and back home in the UK.' Sadly, assaults are far from uncommon, with studies showing that 15 per cent of the country's female sex workers experienced physical or sexual violence in one week alone. Horrifyingly, this percentage soared to 25 per cent for those aged under 18, according to research by Dr Michele R Decker, a US expert in gender-based violence. And, with some attacks undoubtedly going unreported, the real number of victims could be much higher. In 2020, a former British Army soldier was accused of killing a sex worker with a machete and a pool cue. Just last month, a Chinese tourist was reported to have confessed to killing a younger Thai transgender woman in Pattaya after she refused to sleep with him. Fu Tongyung, 42, is said to have told police he wanted to 'play' with the 25-year-old's corpse, and later apologised for the crime. The resort is also plagued by drunken violence, street crime and petty theft. In one incident in February a Western tourist in his 50s was found 'murdered' floating in sea with rock tied round their neck. Though sex tourism generates a hefty income for Thailand - more than £4.7billion annually - sex workers can be jailed for up to 20 years for earning an income as a prostitute. There are also 'laws against engaging in prostitution, soliciting, operating premises for prostitution (brothels), or being a pimp,' explains Marcus. 'To get around this problem, the 'brothels' operate as bars, massage parlours, karaoke clubs, and so on, where money is exchanged not for sex but for a drink or an entrance fee,' he continues. 'The bar owner (pimp) then allows the sex tourist access to the girls, who he will pay separately for sex.' These vulnerable girls, Marcus says, have 'little hope of escaping'. Due to the nature of their work, they have no employment nor legal rights. 'They cannot report anything to the police for fear of being imprisoned or deported themselves,' says Marcus. 'They are themselves acting illegally and the police may be corrupted.' 11 Despite the country-wide tolerance for sex work, Thai police dramatically rounded up more than 50 alleged sex workers along Pattaya Beach earlier this month. Officers stormed the popular area on May 21 in a coordinated operation aimed at banishing the city's reputation-damaging sex trade, The Thaiger news outlet reported. It came six years after two shameless Westerners sparked another police investigation, further along the coastline, by romping in the ocean at the city's Jomtien Beach. It's yet to be seen whether the latest operation will make a dent in Pattaya's open sex market, which will undoubtedly get a boost from more sexed-up tourists this summer. Even Brits who have never set foot in Thailand are contributing to its sex trade - by sending messages, and money, to Thai girls and making sickening pornographic requests. 'Many men want access to 'barely legal' material,' Marcus says. 'Thai girls often look much younger than they are. ' Horrifying cases Describing one case that was brought to him, Marcus tells us: 'A man was sending money to a Thai woman who he met online. He believed this was his girlfriend and that they may eventually meet and be together. He invited her to the UK. 'She needed financial help for her poor family so he started sending money to her. They exchanged photographs of one another, including some sexual images. 'He was arrested by the police. 'The 18-year-old girl he had been communicating with was, in fact, 14.' And some cases are even more horrifying. 'I am aware of cases involving men based in the UK who pay Thai prostitutes to abuse their own children for money,' says Marcus. Yet again, ruthless gangs are involved. '[The abuse] is recorded and sent via encrypted sites,' Marcus adds. 'Crypto currency is used to pay the gangs controlling the prostitutes.' Whether Pattaya's prostitutes are operating online or offline, in the resort's streets and brothels, it is clear many of them are desperate. Some have relocated from poorer parts of the country - such as Isan, Thailand's northeastern region - to make money. But it comes at a heartbreaking cost. 'All I want to do is get out of this job,' admitted one Pattaya sex worker, who told documentary makers she fell pregnant by a German client who then dumped her. 'But what can I do? There's no work in my village.' 11
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Amsterdam's plan to get rid of its red light district - by creating a five-storey mega-brothel 'erotic prison' filled with prostitutes and dumping it on another suburb
Amsterdam is planning to get rid of its notorious red light district with a controversial plan to build a five-storey 'mega brothel' in the suburbs. Under proposals backed by the mayor, the city has touted the hub as a safer alternative for sex workers that also improves the image of the historic centre. From this week, residents will be able to respond to the plans as the City of Amsterdam looks to push through its initiative after a 'long process of consultation'. But residents and prostitutes have already come out against the plans, branding the concept an 'erotic prison' that will contribute to stigma and impact locals. At a council meeting at the city hall, the majority of more than 40 speakers said they opposed the building of the site in the affluent Zuid district. The plans would see a multi-million euro multiplex built with some 100 windows for sex workers, as well as entertainment and erotica available for guests. Preliminary designs shared in 2020 show two towers in red and black with spiral ramps for visitors to climb up, passing live shows on the way. According to the mayor, the space will ensure safer working conditions, reduce criminality and tackle human trafficking. The innovative solution followed noise complaints over misbehaving tourists visiting the red light district in De Wallen, central Amsterdam. A small faction of supporters have praised the initiative, including one male sex worker who said the site would create more space for minority sex workers. He said those sex workers were currently either working out of their own homes or would go and visit clients, putting their safety at risk. Another resident said the site would 'update' the city centre, which has seen the confluence of historic sites with sex tourism. Amsterdam City Council has been considering relocating legal prostitution away from its historic red light district for years and in February 2023 announced three possible locations for the centre. They hoped to agree a location by the end of 2024. The city eventually plans to shut down the centuries-old red light district, known for the neon-lit windows in which sex workers stand as they try to attract customers. This will depend on agreement from those affected. It could still take years to build the site. Realising the project still faces obstacles. Currently, the City is working on a 'project paper', inviting residents to read and respond between June 12 and July 23, 2025. The view is to make a decision by the end of the year before writing an 'investment paper'. By the end of 2026, they will make a decision as to whether or not construction of the centre can begin. Huge protests have already amassed in response to the proposals. In a meeting in the south of the city, hundreds of angry locals argued against the building of a 'mega brothel' on their doorstep, unexpectedly finding themselves on the side of sex workers bidding to stay in the city. Residents are wary of moving sex work to residential areas outside the city, while sex workers feel the moves constitute a 'witch hunt', hurting sex workers' livelihoods without tackling crime itself. The mayor said she was convinced that the erotic centre would not cause any danger and that sex workers would be more secure. Businesses, too, have voiced concern about moving the district to a sole building on the outskirts of the city. The European Medicines Agency HQ, based near the proposed sites, said it was 'concerned' about plans for the centre. 'The change of the location of the Red Light District is motivated by concerns of nuisance, drug-dealing, drunkenness and disorderly behaviour,' the EMA said in a statement. 'Locating the Erotic Centre in close proximity to EMA's building is likely to bring the same negative impacts to the adjacent area.' 'EMA is very concerned that this will create safety, security and nuisance issues' for its staff and for visiting delegates, who often have to leave late in the evening, the regulator said in a statement. 'The change of the location of the red light district is motivated by concerns of nuisance, drug-dealing, drunkenness and disorderly behaviour,' it added. Two of the three proposed locations for the huge new brothel are near the EMA's high-tech headquarters in a business district on the southern outskirts of Amsterdam. FILE PHOTO: The city eventually plans to shut down the centuries-old red light district, known for the neon-lit windows in which sex workers stand as they try to attract customers Sex workers, too, have expressed their reservations. Sabrina Sanchez, a sex worker, told AFP: 'We really don't agree with their solutions that they are offering, that they are imposing. They're not even negotiating with the sex workers' organisations.' Michelle, an Amsterdam sex worker, said: 'If you're already inside that's fine, but you also have to go out with your earnings.' She also argued that the 100 booths for sex workers in the erotic centre were far fewer than the 250 spots in the red-light district. But, with its spaces dedicated to rest, art, culture and 'erotic' entertainment, the planned centre could be beneficial for some, so long as the aim is not to shut down the red-light district altogether, she added. Huub Nelis, chairman of MBO College Zuid trade school, said concerns remained that the centre would bring new criminality to the area, too. 'Our students don't just walk around up to 5pm but also in the evening,' he said, as reported by Dutch News. 'There will be parents who will say, my child won't go there, and that's the only education [for their chosen career] in Amsterdam. 'For the erotic pleasure of the one, some children will not be able to get their education.' One former sex worker argued against the closure of the red-light district, but noted that 'there are also trans and gay' sex workers for whom there is 'no place, and this centre offers them an option.' An older study into experiences of the red light district concluded that the nature of the current spaces granted sex workers independence and standardisation in interaction and negotiation, which was largely shaped by tourist expectations. The regulation of sex work in Amsterdam ensures industry workers, including but not limited to sex workers, are safer and reliably paid, generating steady tax revenues for the city. Sex workers are also eligible for health insurance, unemployment and invalidity benefits, and can access STI checks. Regulation has made human trafficking much more rare and access to health support has made the experience safer for clients.
