Twilight world of a Bangkok escort

PROVIDING ‘escort’ services in Thailand is a big, unregulated and in most cases a sleazy business, modeled on a western concept that first appeared here more than three decades ago and has since developed into a multi-million baht industry.
 
It’s believed that the first escort service was introduced to Thailand in early 1979 by a British national who saw the potential and posted an ad for female ‘guides’ in a local English language newspaper.

Over 50 women replied to the ad, according to an informed source, and were personally interviewed by the Briton in a Sukhumvit motel where he lived in a twin suite. The motel is still in business.

The women were mainly bar girls, a few students and office workers looking for extra income. Some also saw an opportunity to find a foreign boyfriend or husband.

The British man had no intention initially of providing call-girls. His original idea was to run a genuine service for foreign travelers and businessmen who wanted someone with good English to show them around or just for company.

The business was going smoothly and the ads attracted a stream of foreign clientele. The Brit and his Thai partner, Mr Somchai, were busy day and night answering inquiries. Both men would also accompany the escorts to their customers and often picked them up after assignments, collecting money from the client in the process. The customer was charged according to the time the escort spent with him or her.

The partners shared the small expenses and considerable profits of the business until one day Somchai decided that he wanted it all. After threats that, as a foreigner, he was in violation of various laws and faced arrest and deportation, the Brit wisely conceded the business to his former partner and vanished, leaving Somchai and his ‘contacts’ to continue raking in substantial profits.

Today escort services are promoted in countless English language websites and a few publications; the implied
message is that the agencies are a source of prostitutes.

Although prostitution is actually an illegal and criminal offence in Thailand, it remains the chief means of income for many women and men. It’s offered in various guises in massage parlors, spas, bars, discotheques, karaoke clubs, tea houses and brothels. In several areas of Bangkok, prostitutes also solicit customers on the footpaths.

Setting up an escort agency is easy and relatively inexpensive. All that’s really necessary is a mobile phone and a list of willing escorts. There’s no need for a license or company registration. Overheads are low, while potential earnings are high and tax-free.
 Many agencies offer women, men, ladyboys, gays, transvestites and even bisexuals. Some also advertise VIP escorts, claiming they are students and even foreigners. Most leave little doubt that ‘escort’ is a code word for prostitute. One agency might operate several websites, but actually display the same girls in each of their galleries.

Escorts are aged 18-45, and their hourly rates depend on location in Thailand and duration of the service. Agencies are able to charge high fees because they mostly target foreigners who are in the planning stages of a visit to Thailand or who have been here only for a short time and don’t know where to find a partner.

Curiously, the few escort agencies offering male escorts for women charge higher rates than those with girls on their books. 


High earnings, low life

Tricks of the business, as revealed by a VIP escort

Ms Pooky is an attractive 26-year-old from Pha Yao province in northern Thailand who recently resigned from a Bangkok agency after three years as a VIP escort.

“Before joining the agency in September 2008, I worked freelance for about four years, finding customers mainly in discotheques. After my friend told me that I could make a lot of money working as an escort, I singled out one particular agency to contact because of the high charges mentioned on its website. I figured I could make maybe three times more than I had been earning,” she explained. 

After filling out a questionnaire, she was told to have a medical examination and was later interviewed in a five-star Bangkok hotel by a representative from the agency.

“The agency told me what was expected of me and said the fee was split 40% for me and the rest for the agency, which was ok with me. I was told some logistic details, like how to meet customers and what I needed to do to take care of the business end. I was instructed in how to deposit the agency’s share in their bank account after every job. Everything was agreed verbally - there are no written contracts.”  Her agency won’t accept African, Arab, Indian or Thai customers. “I don’t know why and I didn’t ask either, but it was ok for me because when I was freelancing I preferred to meet Europeans. The conversation was mostly in English and the agency was surprised at how well I could converse in the language,” said Pooky. “I got my first job the following day.

“All my customers were well-to-do tourists or businessmen who came here for a short period of time. Some made
bookings before arrival and some were already here.  

“I had very few clients who lived in Bangkok. Men who go with escort girls are mostly well-off, married executives employed by foreign firms. 
 
“After seeing the client for the first time, I would screen him during an introductory conversation that would last 10 to 15 minutes. If I thought there could be a problem – like he wouldn’t pay – I would ask him to pay the full amount immediately. If the customer appeared trustworthy, I would ask for the money after one hour, just to be on the safe side.  
 
“Don’t forget, I was marketed as a VIP escort and this required for me to be sophisticated and to engage in general but intelligent conversation with the client – especially businessmen. It often paid off in longer-term friendships and financial benefits. In fact, this is one of two reasons I decided to quit, at least for now. The money is still coming in.  

“I made a lot of money and got nice gifts from the clients while working for the agency. But one reason I left was that sometimes I wasn’t in the mood to work but I had to because I was ordered by the boss. This was something I agreed before they accepted me. I didn’t want to tell lies, like I was sick or my mother was sick and I had to go visit her immediately. The agency was good to me, so I wanted to be good to them as well.
 
“If the customer didn’t like me – which happened several times – then he would pay my travel expenses and the agency would send another girl. I didn’t meet many of the girls. I don’t know how many girls the agency employs, or who the big boss is. I was making good money, and that’s what mattered to me. 
 
“It was pretty obvious what virtually all my customers were after. Most of my bookings were for evenings and overnight. Some customers booked me for a late afternoon and some wanted me to show them around Bangkok. I hardly ever went outside Bangkok,” Pooky said. 
 
“Some customers also took me shopping for watches, bags and other things. I always treated the customer – provided that I liked him – more like a girlfriend than a highly paid escort. I gave him the illusion that I actually was his girlfriend, but it was for the money.

“I didn’t have to report to the agency if the customer gave me extra money or bought me presents. They just wanted what belonged to them.”
  The illusion that an escort girl is more like a ‘girlfriend’ is established at the first meeting. “When going to meet a new
client at a hotel, most escort girls will go alone,” said Pooky. “They will then pay the agency immediately after each job. I
accepted only cash but some escorts will accept credit cards. They carry the manual imprinter with them,” she explained. 
 
“Sometimes a customer will send the girl back to the agency because she looks beautiful in the photo on the website but not so good face-to-face. Photos can be enhanced to make the lady look pretty, and hide pimples or tattoos that many men dislike.”
 
“In some cases I would drive to the airport to meet a customer off the plane. As a result, I was often able to establish relationships that continue to this day with several customers who live abroad.

“Now I live comfortably and enjoy life with the money they are sending me regularly – at least for the moment. I have four bank accounts and five mobiles, one for each customer and one for everyone else.

“All four men who gave me money to buy the mobiles told me to leave the set open 24/7 and only for them. Every time they return I must organize things. I try to make sure they don’t come at the same time as this would make things very complicated,” said Pooky as she took five mobile phones from a Louis Vuitton bag and put them on the table. 
 
“I don’t have my photo on the agency website because I didn’t want my friends and family members – or especially my four customers – to recognize me,” she giggled. “I would be out of business and have to join the agency again.  
 
“I have made good money and keep everything. I have to make as much as possible when I am young. After I get old
and can’t work, I will go back home to Pha Yao and open a food shop.”