house of the setting sun

i loved the way kelsey suggested starting a paper on this- "Holy herpes!" Alex exclaimed. (true quote). We looked at the parking lot full of dozens of mopeds and motorcycles. Men, who must have been security, stood around outside the joint, a fancy massage and shower parlor... The entrance was brightly lit with a pond fountain sitting between two marble staircases the rise and meet in the middle where there are two doors: on open to a lounge and the other masked in etched glass. On the entrance wall there are rows of faces of beautiful girls. All of us were a little giddy, wanting to see what is going on inside. While we stand and wait for our friend to pay the tuk-tuk driver, we take a peek through the glass and are stunned by what we see. A group of young normal looking men come up the stairs behind us. Our friend says something to them in Thai, they sorta chuckle and reply, then go inside the etched doors. The doors swinging open, we get a much better view of the girls sitting behind a glass window, displayed on red tiers and looking incredibly bored. Men sit in the semi shadows, drinking and picking out girls. We end up going into the bar and looking at them from a booth, feeling like sheep in wolves clothing, disturbed and sick. We have to leave, all of us more than a little disgusted by the men- especially western men- in this place. The next place we go to is a "go-go" bar. Another disgusting place. But here the waitress explains to us how the two venues work (having worked at both places) and gives us details, some we wish we never heard. When we get back to the guest house we sit and work out the emotional impact we each had from this experience. The guide said he suddenly understood why some women hate men. The Thai girl said she was disturbed that some of these girls had a college education (because that is supposed to save you from that sort of life!). It was interesting and eye opening, but it left my mind and heart in a dark place, so for the durration of this trip, i am done with such investigations. Now on to better things.