Adventurous Kate contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. In Southeast Asia, the line between prostitution and dating is often murky. Especially between young local women and much-older Western men. In Sihanoukville , Western guys who go home with Khmer girls they meet in bars are often shocked to hear them demand money afterward.
In Saigon , hair and nail salons are often fronts for prostitution rings. My friends and I headed out to a bar. Upon arriving, there were about ten customers, including the six of us…and seven girls behind the bar, a few more on the floor, all of them dressed in identical jackets.
The boys played pool. I hung out at the bar, talking to the girls in the jackets. Soon, they convinced me to play this game with them:. I had never seen it before in my life. One person rolls a pair of dice. The goal is to turn over all nine numbers with no repeats. Well, obviously, as a first-timer, I lost. Despite calculating probability in my head with every roll. And it was amazing, from the music to the Angkor-themed decor to the beautiful crowd.
Well, mostly beautiful. Amidst the gorgeous Khmer girls, I spotted an old man with long white hair and mutton chops, sweat dripping down his brow, his arms flailing like chicken wings. A stunning Khmer girl, probably a few years older than me, saw me staring and leaned into my ear, pointing to the man. Have you been taken by a hooker? Update : It was my impression that these women were prostitutes, considering what I heard and what I saw with the customers.
Since then, some people have insisted that they are not prostitutes; others have claimed that they are. This post is a summary of my impressions on one particular night in
