May 7 2005

The ladies of Lumpini Park

This week, our Mango Sauce Nightlife Correspondent checks out the action in Lumpini Park. He also tells me that, on the Greek island of Mykonos, bar owners are threatening to close at 11.00pm to protest against a law that forces them to shut at 4am "on weekdays." In a press statement, the irate owners argue that "on an island where partying begins at 2.00am in the morning it is inconceivable to close (so early)." I'm lost for words.

After a heavy weekend spent consuming too many Tiger beers, Marlboro Lights and chasing the tail of Miss Creeping Lizard Girl around the bar counter of Suzy Wong's, I resolved to commence a fitness campaign starting on Tuesday by going for an early morning walk around Lumpini Park.

At 8.00am I caught a taxi to the park (not wishing to overdo the exercise thing) and commenced my morning walk. After about two minutes what struck me was that everyone was walking anti-clockwise while I was walking clockwise. The next thing to strike me was that all the other walkers, who numbered a few thousand people, all seemed to be over sixty and were walking with such intent that they must have been practising for the "Geriatric Olympics" to be held in Beijing in 2008.

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The next thing to strike me was that Thai ladies do not wear well. There wasn't a pretty one amongst them which goes to reinforce the old adage that before marrying a girl always looks at her mother's face as this is your wife's in twenty year's time.

The highlight of the walk though was observing a crocodile line of very attractive girls, aged in their late twenties, walking towards a group of buildings in the corner of the park by Soi Sarasin and Wireless Road. Spotting a couple of friendly, and almost familiar, faces I asked what was going on. An early morning party perhaps?

Not so, I'm afraid. It turns out these buildings are a vocational school where girls can learn dress making, Thai massage, hair and beauty, computer skills etc. It seems some benign institution (not the Thai government) offers free tuition in these skills to any girl who is willing to learn. Even closer observation revealed that the reason these girls were surprisingly pretty was that many of them were ex-ladies of the night now seeking a new profession. So, if you have ever wondered what happened to your favourite bar girl, who you haven't seen for ages, take an early morning walk to this corner of Lumpini Park where you may find a familiar face (or two).

If you go there in the late evening, you might run into a few more.

[Posted to Your Letters by David]

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