Also my life

I feel the need to declare that I’m not often in the company of folk who are swinging and a-flinging their g-strings to the degree that it might compromise my Gin.

I called it ‘colourful’ but much of SE Asia has a reputation for its lascivious nightlife. Some tourists come in pursuit of that specific activity: others are here for the temples and the beaches, but most are curious about the other, equally well known attraction.

Whenever a friend/colleague/relation tells us that someone they know is coming to Thailand, we always offer our address and an invitation to get in touch while they are here. In the event that they need help, it’s always reassuring to their family and friends that they have Western contacts here who know the place. No-one has ever needed serious help (beyond some clean sheets, a hot shower and - in the case of two young lads who’d been living very cheaply in China before they came to us - unending supplies of toasted ham and cheese sandwiches.)

L is our current ‘backpacker’ and she is the cousin of the wife of someone we were at University with. It was in this capacity that we found ourselves hosting a tour of the more outlandish and flamboyant sides of the city. We’ve done it before and I dare say we’ll do it again.

The truth is it isn’t only the few famous red light areas. It’s everywhere and it is roughly this subject that my book is about. What it is like living, as a Western woman, in a place so openly flaunting sexual availability.