RED LIGHT DISTRICT

"Hello, welcome! Welcome, hello! Hello!" As we turned the corner and stepped in to the neon glare of the strip, about half a dozen of young Thai women came running at us. They bumped into each other as they pulled up ten feet short, and some clasped each other's shoulders and pretended to double up in giggles, like teenage girls on a dare, astonished at their own audacity. They pointed to a small bar behind them. "Come! Come!" Five feet further down the street this happened again, then again, and then again. Some of the girls wore tight jeans and halter-neck tops, and others wore little Lycra dresses, but all of them had long glossy hair, which they tossed from side to side, then with kitten eyes, pleaded. There were stools piled up at all at the entrances of the bars where most take a run on us.

My god-brother had asked that I clanged on to him before he lose me into the tight crowds. As the night was still young and there were more sober men checking out from bar to bar than having any thrilling scenes of the night. I still remember how paranoid my god-brother was, lamenting from time to time that he will be killed if my parents knew that he had brought me to this area. There was little I could do or visit as a female traveler. After a short three-quarter of an hour strolling down the streets, we finally took the road to a much flavorful street food for supper. If I have not undertaken the task to do a travelog, I would have skipped that place. There weren't many crowds, but visiting as a female myself, there are certainly mixed feelings about the place.

Most importantly, I get to learn some of the history, chat to the locals, see some gorgeous scenery and even pick up some Thai language, and all this while relaxing in a green, green corner of the world. And most definitely, see my god-brother.