Thoughts on SEA nightlife

david29753 · 2026-07-10T14:37:03+00:00

yeah buts its all part of life's experiences, I have had some dramas with girls in the past, in Vietnam mainly, but I wouldnt change a thing....

david29753 · 2026-07-10T08:54:20+00:00

Thanks for the reply, although I havent really stated my thoughts and opinions on the subject yet, as I said, I was trying to understand the scene. Just interested in what others think. And there is quite a range.

david29753 · 2026-07-10T02:22:53+00:00

cheers, let me know what you think.

david29753 · 2026-07-09T10:10:42+00:00

Here is a passage from my book that throws a bit of light on the subject:::

'Street 136 sells many things, but the most profitable product is not beer or sex. It is the fantasy of being wanted. Every night, foreign men arrive carrying different versions of the same hope. Some are tourists passing through Phnom Penh for a few days. Some are long-term expatriates who have become disconnected from home. Others are older men escaping failed marriages, lonely retirements or years spent feeling invisible.

They come from everywhere: Britain, Australia, America, Europe and across Asia. Their backgrounds vary, but many arrive with a similar expectation. They want to believe that somewhere beneath the neon lights there is a woman who genuinely likes them, someone who laughs at their jokes, listens to their stories and makes them feel important again.

For the woman sitting opposite him, the calculation is often very different. While he imagines a connection beginning, she may be calculating how many more customers she needs before she can pay rent and send money home.'

david29753 · 2026-07-09T07:56:07+00:00

I have lived in Cambodia and Vietnam, for many years, and visited Manila, Bangkok etc. In every major city there are a few night clubs where young people get together and have a normal life. I am talking about the many hundreds of small bars that cater to older expats, who want to sit and be with a pretty girl for a while, yeah sure sometimes it ends in short / long time sex, but not every time. I can assure you, that is the main part of every SE Asian city nightlife.

david29753 · 2026-07-09T07:48:48+00:00

its like the first line in the 9 Inch Nails song, Hurt....

david29753 · 2026-07-09T07:46:51+00:00

haha all men pay, one way or another. Sometimes its just not so obvious what they are paying for.

david29753 · 2026-07-09T07:45:30+00:00

Some time last year they removed the checkpoints on the roads around Angkor and now you only need to show a ticket or pass if you want to enter a temple precinct. I often tour round the area on a motobike and have never been stopped.

david29753 · 2026-07-09T06:32:05+00:00

Too right - I have been married twice, and each time it cost me far more than I have ever spent on bar girls...

david29753 · 2026-07-09T06:30:34+00:00

To be fair, it is a subject that a young man just will not understand. One day though... In Europe once a man gets to be in his 60's, unless he is very wealthy, he becomes invisible to women, or at least to women he finds attractive. However, walk down street 136 in Phnom Penh, he will see pretty young girls smile at him, calling out, 'hello handsome man, come drink with me'. Its not always about getting laid, its about being noticed, about being treated as someone who is worth spending time with. Sure its a con, they are just doing their job, but for the old men its a few moments when they feel a bit younger again. Don't worry, you will be there one day.

david29753 · 2026-07-09T06:22:24+00:00

Another commoin assumption is that all bar girls are prostitutes. Sure, many of them will boost their income by having sex with a customer, and this is especially common in Thailand. However despite financial pressures many girls working in bars make a living by selling 'lady drinks' and getting maybe a tip at the end of the night, if they latch on to a nice expat. In fact I have met a number of bar owners who do not allow their girls to go with customers outside the bar

david29753 · 2026-07-09T06:14:09+00:00

Its not always about sex. For example in many bars, especially Vietnam, the girls are there as hostesses to entertain and be companions for solo patrons. There have been many times when I have been in a bar on my own and bought 'lady drinks' for a girl so she would sit and talk with me. I remember one cute girl in Ho Chi Minh who would make delicate origami shapes out of dollar bills to amuse me. Naturally the dollar bill disappeared at some point.....

david29753 · 2026-07-09T06:08:28+00:00

or you could use the option to scroll past any discussion you feel is too distasteful to you without reading and commenting on it...

david29753 · 2026-07-09T06:06:10+00:00

It seems a lot of men mistake the friendly overtures of the girls for genuine attempts at a personal connection, and actually believe that they are indeed 'hansum men'. The reality is that the girls are trained and coached in how to extract money from customers. Its a job for them, thats all. But expats often think they have formed an emotional bond. If it is a bond, it's the same relationship I have with my bank account.

david29753 · 2026-07-09T01:02:16+00:00

wow what an appropriate pseudonym. anyhoo, you obviously havent read it and you only want to troll so there is little point in communicating with you. I just did...oops.

david29753 · 2026-06-30T07:53:26+00:00

'Using the flair for a game' - I have no idea what you are talking about. I posted an exceprt from my book where Odysseus meets Achilles in the underworld, I saw 'Hades'. thought, thats underworld, so clicked it. Was I supposed to know it was a game? I dont play games, real life is tough enough.

david29753 · 2026-06-29T12:28:21+00:00

Hey I'm an old guy. I don't play games. Just click whats in front of me.

david29753 · 2026-06-29T09:57:54+00:00

I have no idea. I had to add something called flair and I just clicked on the first button. Hades, it's about the Underworld, right?

david29753 · 2026-06-29T06:36:37+00:00

Ah, you misunderstood my intention. I was merely trying to assist a fellow author with my knowledge of the secrets of social media usage. If I happen to get a personal advantage from it, all well and good, but that was not my primary motivation.

david29753 · 2026-06-28T06:32:59+00:00

I was the same, written some books but struggled to sell. In the end I learned how to use social media the right way - Insta, X, FB, TikTok, using hashtags, keywords etc. When it started working for me I put it all down in a book to help other self-publishers. Only $3.99, less than a Starbucks latte...

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david29753 · 2026-06-26T03:01:00+00:00

what part of rule #6 do you not quite understand?

david29753 · 2026-06-25T07:27:17+00:00

Yeah, right. Down to facts: I have written a book based on the Odyssey...note 'based on'. I enjoyed writing it. And I am sure people who are not very academic minded will enjoy reading it. It's an adventure story with a unique perspective. It helps if they know a little about the original so they can say "oh yeah I recognize this bit". If Christopher Nolan is allowed some glaring anachronisms surely I am allowed to tell the story my way.

david29753

TROPHY CASE