Phuket, Thailand: Old prunes with young grapes

November 29, 2010

On the beach, Ken and I started counting how many old, wrinkly Western men were with young, nubile Thai women. We lost track of our count, there were so many. Now, I use the term “women” loosely. Some were of legal US age, others younger. Actually, it was rare to see a teen with a very old man. At this location, I only saw a couple teens dressed for sex but they were with younger men than these near-70-year-olds. In fact, I saw one older teen girl with three 30 year old tattooed, working class, muscled Afrikaaner, I think, men. I found it a disturbing image. But, most of the time, it was a woman in her 20’s or 30’s who was with very old Western men. Or a near-40 year old woman in incredible shape, usually sporting something black and sequined for dinner.

Now, these women were more about comfort than sex. They were not the stereotype you imagine of Thai prostitutes soliciting sex in the Bangkok streets. These Thai women had found a niche, and their niche of old men had eagerly found them. These men clearly wanted someone who could take care of them, fawningly and attentively. And, the men wanted a younger woman on their arm with whom they could walk on the beach, talk with in English, and sit across from at a restaurant table.

The waiters at our restaurant didn’t blink at a table filled with older men (men aged mid 60’s and 70’s with dye jobs), but that didn’t stop me from staring and eavesdropping. In fact, the waiters seemed to know the women well and responded to them almost as if they were businesswomen they appreciated bringing high-class, moneyed business to the restaurant. The Thai women at the table largely spoke to each other while the 3 old men spoke to each other, but the women’s English wasn’t bad. And, the men often started conversation with the women, and seemed to enjoy having pretty enough ladies around to share a few bottles of wine with.

My eavesdropping research suggested that these women and men actually have some warm relationships with a little depth, at least in the women's bonds with the men’s network. One man asked the most well-spoken Thai woman about how another older man’s home building was going in Thailand. I had to stop myself from asking him if he shares this woman with another Western man. I resisted.

But, I didn’t stop from asking Alice to smile for a picture while I actually snuck the above picture of the table of couples.