Kew, the barboy: reaction (2)

At the Sawasdee forum, as I wrote earlier, someone has posted a link to a story in which Kew claims he takes a stun gun with him when he accompanies customers off the premises, and that he goes to bed with his clothes on.

I can't add any detail to the claim about the 'self-protection device', as I have not seen the device and it is the kind of claim which you either believe or not, as you choose. However, I can add some detail to his claim about going to bed with his clothes on, and charging extra for sex.

Kew says customers who take him off the premises pay different amounts depending on whether they want to go out for drinks, sleep with him, or have sex.

I can't imagine why he would allow a customer to take him to his room if he just wanted drinks.

A Thai customer might claim that he wanted a sleeping buddy rather than sex, in which case his story about going to bed fully-clothed could be plausible. Why give them more, unless they are willing to pay?

However, given that most customers would probably want sex rather than comfort from strangers, I imagine that's how most encounters end. The rest sounds like wishful thinking.

Kew is a proud young man who tells stories to boost his standing and elicit sympathy.

When I first met him, he told me he was in the army, and studying for a tertiary degree. His mother dismissed both claims as nonsense.

Few people other than Kew know what his life is really about. I suspect he does work in Pattaya, more as a barboy than as a DJ, despite his initial claims. But his life in Pattaya may be even rougher and sadder than he is willing to admit.

I hope his new job, as a security guard in Bangkok, will keep him away from Pattaya bars.

Kew does not have typical barboy looks: he is light-skinned, not dark. He is also getting too old for the trade.

He says most of his 'off' customers are Thai women. I don't know if he has been out with many foreigners.

A few years ago, when he sold knock-off scent in Phuket, he had to speak in English when chatting to foreign tourists. At the time he asked me how to say various things in English, such as how to greet customers, and offer them discounts.

This time around, he has not asked me how to say anything. That suggests he is not using English as part of his work.

In Bangkok, he craves the company of friends. If he thinks I am up for a sad story, he will tell me one, whether it is true or not. I am the one paying for the drinks, after all.