Thailand its culture, religion and its flesh trade

[Dom Tuk]

I am quite taken aback that the Thai culture which is proud, confident, with an emphasis on religion and conservative in many aspects has allowed such an extensive trade in prostitution to flourish in its major tourist places. There are few countries that have so many thousands of local women (of all ages) in the trade. Poverty cannot be the main factor as there are many other poorer countries dependant on tourist trade and they have not let their morality slip so drastically. What is/are the reasons for this to happen in Thailand.

[WoWo]

Depends on your morals. You obviously find prostitution morally wrong, they clearly don't. I personally don't have a problem with it either.

It just seems the Thai's have a particuarly open policy on it and it's not become a destination for people wanting that service. That will to an extent will have had a snowball effect.

Because to all intents and purposes it's illegal in the UK it has to go underground and that's where the dirty image stems from. But there doesn't have to be anything wrong with it.

[B00]

Child prostitution is another matter WoWo. I used to work for a holiday company and one particular guy phoned up wanting to book a holiday to Thailand and he had the nerve to ask me if I knew whether the hotel allowed underaged 'company' in it.

[jno]

I believe it really got under way when Thailand was a big resort catering for holidaying GIs during the Vietnam war. I wouldn't swear that they are happy with it morally but it would be hard to replace economically. I have no doubt they could stamp it out, at least as a major industry, if they really wanted to.

[luckystrike]

The vast majority of postitutes in Thailand cater for local men, despite what many outsiders think about the farang (Westerners) making it flourish.  Yes, there are areas of Bangkok like Patpong, Nana and Soi Cowboy which have grown from GIs using these areas for R&R in the early 70s, but all over the country, it's the locals who keep the trade thriving.  Indeed, many Thai men have their first experience with a prostitute.

As for the question of morals, I too find this strange Dom Tuk.  As a Buddhish country, I'm surprised that prostitution, or visiting prostitutes, can relate at all to the teachings of Buddha.

All religions have some basic rules that define what is good conduct and what kind of conduct should be avoided. In Buddhism, the most important rules are The Five Precepts. These have been passed down from the Buddha himself and include 'no sexual misconduct', resulting in respect for our pure nature.

The Buddha said that proper conduct shows respect for oneself and others. Our bodies are gifts from our parents, so we should protect them from harm. Young people should especially keep their natures pure and develop their virtue. It is up to them to make the world a better place to live. In happy families, the husband and wife both respect each other.

[Booldawg]

great! when are we going?

[Trillipse]

sounds like burnley