Offered a job in a Thai Massage House

[bucknaway]

A friend of mine was offered a job working in a Thai massage house. The offer was for him to work part time while in Bangkok on his vacation. He didn't consider it for very long before he turned down the offer. I put some thought into what it would be like to work in a massage house during my holiday and it sent a shiver down my back... My friend took it as a compliment and was very respectful to the person that made the offer. He told me that he could only imagine the worst of the worst choosing him to perform a full service massage and he knew that if he didn't find the customer attractive than it would be the worst time of his life and possibly an awful time for the customer.

Years ago I was offered the chance to be a gogo boy at a bar in Pattaya, I rebuffed the offer and took it as a joke but they made the offer several times. Now I am wondering if visitors are often employed as service workers in the entertainment sector? Is that even legal? Maybe the rumors are true about the gogo bars that have Russian guys on offer??

[gerefan2]

Maybe the rumors are true about the gogo bars that have Russian guys on offer??
mmm...where?
Well maybe not after all we have read recently!

[Wesley]

"the gogo bars that have Russian guys on offer??"

My MY better stay away from those Russian Boys, They will cut your throat for a 20.

[Neal]

Doubt very seriously about most of that! The employment of anyone other than Thai's is illegal unless they first obtain a work permit. In the case of non-thais in a go go bar, since go go bars are really not considered legitimate anyhow, I can't believe them getting a work permi to work in a go go bar. Add that to the fact that many go go bars don't claim go go people as employees they probably would not have the correct ratio of Thai staff to allow them to hire a non-Thai. The fines for violating these are large and the fines usually also provide for the temporary or permanent closure!

[anonone]

I didn't give it much thought at the time, but last year had an off from a BT gogo. When we got to the hotel, he used his passport as ID....obviously a non-Thai. I cannot remember for sure what country he was from, but it was a neighboring SE Asia, maybe Vietnam? I think so because I vaguely recalling trying to speak French wih him ( didn't work).

I wonder if he had a work permit? He might have received a special skill exemption as he was VERY good at his job. :sign5:

And before anyone asks, I don't remember what bar either. Damn whiskey makes the details a little foggy....

[joe552]

One of my 'companions' last year from a beer bar was from Laos and had to do a visa run every couple of weeks. I don't know that he was 'employed' by the bar.

[Neal]

OK the explanation to those two is that they are working illegally. If he used a passport or whatever, he doesn't have a work permit and those boys are usually from Buma, vietnam or somewhere where they kind of blend in as not to be questioned by the police but certainly not from Europe, US or somewhere when a police officer walks in, he can spot him right away. Nope, he would be arrested, the bar fined or closed. It's the same reason why Thai boys and girls own many bars rather than the falang, it's legally working and the falang doesn't have a wrok permit or is living here on a retirement visa., and not just bars!

[christianpfc]

he used his passport as ID....obviously a non-Thai
I have a Thai friend who has a passport and uses this as ID, to show off that he has travelled to other countries.

And I have a Lao friend who works in massage (first Soi Twilight, now outside gay areas) who does visa runs.

[anonone]

Good point Christian. I didn't mean to imply that a Thai could not use a passport.. I meant I obviously knew he was not Thai because the passport was issued by a different country. I am 99% sure it was Vietnam.

[pong]

VNese are quite rare in TH-most likely are Laotians, then Burmese, and a few Khmer. VNese tend to go after the real money-Malaysia and SINgapore.
To mr. daBoss: wish you better health, hope its improving. It is quite well-known that Thai officials take a different look at ASEAN as at other farang working. You must know that there is more as 1 ''truth'' in Thailand for such things.
To OP: most likely (and assuming it was all true-which I would believe-or not), this would mean in a kind of 'sheltered'' position-many of those msg shops have their common boys on view for anyone (and i have met quite a few Burmese and Laotians among them-I always ask and double check, and many Burmese are prone to hiding) and more selective boys for special clients-these would be prearranged. I think youre friend would have that same enviable position. But I have also-quite some time ago- noted recruitment leaflets for doing msg+''more'' at considerable sums aiming western bekpekkers.
Also in the few times I have bumped into Thai customers in such shops, they always were quite young and often indistinguishable from the msg-boys themselves-just a little older, and all were the tipical Sino-Thai bisnismen lookalikes.
After all it may not have been such a bad proposal?

[christianpfc]

A friend of mine was offered a job working in a Thai massage house.
One important information is missing: was the friend Thai or Farang or Black? From context I assume that it was not a Thai friend, but one from the USA, and therefore rather White or Black than Asian.

[bucknaway]

My friend is black or you could say black with mixed blood of an American Indian and white Italian grandparents.