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I'm not a "liar". I went to Tibet to go to Mount Everest base camp once. Only a stop over in Shanghai, so I really haven't been to China just a stopover. I went to Bangkok and many men on the street corner with young girls. Also allot of Child pornography. The reason i'm asking this question is because i'm looking for new places to go, and I want to try again with Asia. I understand you're trying to defend Thailand, and I know what I saw. Street venders there sell child porn and ask you if you're looking for boom boom. And this was only three years ago.
I agree with the poster above.
I've been to Thailand over 20 times and never experienced or heard of people selling kids.
I have male friends who live there, as well, who have never had this experience.
Were you seeking this out?
Quote:
Originally Posted by JL
Taiwan has thugs too...i suggest you just avoid Asia all together with all your concerns and just take a trip to W. Europe .
Please don't send him here (W Europe).
We have criminals here, too.
(Hope that scares him away)
I went to Bangkok and many men on the street corner with young girls. Also allot of Child pornography. The reason i'm asking this question is because i'm looking for new places to go, and I want to try again with Asia. I understand you're trying to defend Thailand, and I know what I saw. Street venders there sell child porn and ask you if you're looking for boom boom. And this was only three years ago.
Bangkok is a very large city. What part of Bangkok are you talking about? SUkhumvit Road? Patpong? Soi Nana? Soi Cowboy? Vendors and touts asking "if you're looking for boom boom" are usually promoting various erotic massage parlors, soapies, fishbowls, escort services, etc. Touts get paid a small fee for steering each potential customer to certain businesses. The girls (or guys) at these places are of legal age. The police can and do sometimes make raids on places that are reported to have girls who are underage, not just for sex, but are labor sweat-shops. Most of those places are filthy dumps that amount to slave labor, and such slaves are almost never Thais but have been brought into the country illegally under false pretenses of a great paying job.
You say that you know what you saw. Are you sure about that? The point is that some things are not always what they may appear to be. Guys on street corners with girls who are much younger is not an unusual thing to see. Sometimes the "girls" are bar girls that the men take out after having paid a required "bar fine" to the management. But there are also guys who live in BKK and are married to young ladies. As for children, they could just as easily be the men's own kids, or the kids of their wives. It isn't all that unusual to see what appear to be rather young girls but who in fact are older (at least legal age) than you might think.
I wouldn't doubt that there might be some magazine vendors with child porn or other explicit deviant subjects, but most are not going to have them out in the open on public display for all to see. It doesn't take much to figure out that all it would take is one person to report the vendor to the "Boys in Brown" (police). I'll stand on my earlier statement that such activity out in the open is extremely rare, especially offering kids out on the streets. Chances are no one is going to be on the streets offering an accompanied by a child. Such an offer would mean going to some sleezy building where you're more likely to end up being robbed. Enough said. It's disgusting. That's not what Thailand is about.
What I said before is that if that's the first impression that comes to mind for you about Thailand, then your impression is completely wrong. Try spending more time where people are more normal. If you're around the coast, try snorkling or scuba diving. Check out some of the many historical ruins and or important structures. Go north and take a trek to some of the hilltribe villages, go for an elephant ride, or see how crafts are made. Spend some time wandering around the Chatuchak Weekend Market in BKK. Go to an outdoor Thai-style concert. Check out the varety of food at different places. Wander around some of the larger night markets. Hire a river boat to cruise around some of the canals in Thonburi. Go see what life is like in some of the rural communities around the country. There are far more things to do than I'd care to write up as a list. There's no shortage of interesting things to see, places to go and things to do.
I've spent decades going back and forth to Thailand. My wife is from there, we have family and friends there, and we have a house out in the boonies there. I've never really had a dull moment. There are enough places around the country where communication is not that big of a problem, especially around BKK. There are Thai people who can speak English, not everyone, but it's not that hard to find people who do. It might not be perfect, but good enough to understand. If you go out to the sticks, communiction can indeed be a problem, but just take someone along who knows the language. Problem solved. You can always take along a phrase book or an electronic phrase translator.
Bangkok is a very large city. What part of Bangkok are you talking about? SUkhumvit Road? Patpong? Soi Nana? Soi Cowboy? Vendors and touts asking "if you're looking for boom boom" are usually promoting various erotic massage parlors, soapies, fishbowls, escort services, etc. Touts get paid a small fee for steering each potential customer to certain businesses. The girls (or guys) at these places are of legal age. The police can and do sometimes make raids on places that are reported to have girls who are underage, not just for sex, but are labor sweat-shops. Most of those places are filthy dumps that amount to slave labor, and such slaves are almost never Thais but have been brought into the country illegally under false pretenses of a great paying job.
You say that you know what you saw. Are you sure about that? The point is that some things are not always what they may appear to be. Guys on street corners with girls who are much younger is not an unusual thing to see. Sometimes the "girls" are bar girls that the men take out after having paid a required "bar fine" to the management. But there are also guys who live in BKK and are married to young ladies. As for children, they could just as easily be the men's own kids, or the kids of their wives. It isn't all that unusual to see what appear to be rather young girls but who in fact are older (at least legal age) than you might think.
I wouldn't doubt that there might be some magazine vendors with child porn or other explicit deviant subjects, but most are not going to have them out in the open on public display for all to see. It doesn't take much to figure out that all it would take is one person to report the vendor to the "Boys in Brown" (police). I'll stand on my earlier statement that such activity out in the open is extremely rare, especially offering kids out on the streets. Chances are no one is going to be on the streets offering an accompanied by a child. Such an offer would mean going to some sleezy building where you're more likely to end up being robbed. Enough said. It's disgusting. That's not what Thailand is about.
What I said before is that if that's the first impression that comes to mind for you about Thailand, then your impression is completely wrong. Try spending more time where people are more normal. If you're around the coast, try snorkling or scuba diving. Check out some of the many historical ruins and or important structures. Go north and take a trek to some of the hilltribe villages, go for an elephant ride, or see how crafts are made. Spend some time wandering around the Chatuchak Weekend Market in BKK. Go to an outdoor Thai-style concert. Check out the varety of food at different places. Wander around some of the larger night markets. Hire a river boat to cruise around some of the canals in Thonburi. Go see what life is like in some of the rural communities around the country. There are far more things to do than I'd care to write up as a list. There's no shortage of interesting things to see, places to go and things to do.
I've spent decades going back and forth to Thailand. My wife is from there, we have family and friends there, and we have a house out in the boonies there. I've never really had a dull moment. There are enough places around the country where communication is not that big of a problem, especially around BKK. There are Thai people who can speak English, not everyone, but it's not that hard to find people who do. It might not be perfect, but good enough to understand. If you go out to the sticks, communiction can indeed be a problem, but just take someone along who knows the language. Problem solved. You can always take along a phrase book or an electronic phrase translator.
OK, maybe I did get the wrong impression. I will add Thailand to my itinerary and give it a try for a few days. I am going to add it to my trip.
WHAT??!!!?? Who told you Russia isn't safe for tourists?! That most certainly isn't true. Buryatia and the Russ Far East are very placid, and beautiful. I don't know where you'd be traveling from, but you can fly East through Korea directly to the RFE, and then get a flight to Buryatia. Alaska Airlines is considering re-starting their direct flights from the West Coast of the US to the RFE.
There's also the Kamchatka Peninsula, just 3 hrs. out of Anchorage. Beautiful city, Petro-Pavlovsk Kamchatsky, set on a fjord, with volcanoes in the distance. In September, the Native people have their big "summer" pow-wow, with traditional dancing. Old, abandoned villages with totem poles. It's a lot like Alaska. Americans take fishing tours there.
I understand now. Eastern Russia must be so different to Western Russia, such a big place. I don't know if i'll be able to bring it into my trip though, I am having trouble finding airfare.
OK, maybe I did get the wrong impression. I will add Thailand to my itinerary and give it a try for a few days. I am going to add it to my trip.
Great! Ignore the vendors and touts in question and just keep going to where ever you're headed. Focus on the country and the people from a fresh perspective and enjoy it. Give yourself a few choices of things you'd like to see or do while you're there. You'll have a good time. You might want to pick out a different location for your visit though.
Cruises to Southeast Asia & China
Cruise past sampans into Hong Kong Harbor. On your voyage, learn the art of Chinese kite-flying and see rice paddies where water buffalo graze. Weave your way through the tapestry of Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea and Malaysia. And capture the most dazzling images of China and its treasures on a land & sea vacation to the Forbidden City and beyond.
I'm sure you can squeeze in the Philippines somewhere on your itinerary or start from the Philippines, if you can break away from the women there to board your cruise ship on ward to your other destination!
Cruises to Southeast Asia & China
Cruise past sampans into Hong Kong Harbor. On your voyage, learn the art of Chinese kite-flying and see rice paddies where water buffalo graze. Weave your way through the tapestry of Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea and Malaysia. And capture the most dazzling images of China and its treasures on a land & sea vacation to the Forbidden City and beyond.
I'm sure you can squeeze in the Philippines somewhere on your itinerary or start from the Philippines, if you can break away from the women there to board your cruise ship on ward to your other destination!
Thanks =}. I was looking for n Asian cruise and couldn't find one. Thanks for the link, I saved it, nd will possibly book the cruise with it.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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I think Singapore is a good port of entry for Asia. If you're considering SE Asia, I'd recommend flying into Singapore. You can spend a few days there and get a 'taste of Asia' before moving north. Might give you an idea of which part of Asia you want to see.
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That most certainly isn't true. Buryatia and the Russ Far East are very placid, and beautiful. I don't know where you'd be traveling from, but you can fly East through Korea directly to the RFE, and then get a flight to Buryatia. Alaska Airlines is considering re-starting their direct flights from the West Coast of the US to the RFE.
Great! Ignore the vendors and touts in question and just keep going to where ever you're headed. Focus on the country and the people from a fresh perspective and enjoy it. Give yourself a few choices of things you'd like to see or do while you're there. You'll have a good time. You might want to pick out a different location for your visit though. 
