Day 31: Changed.

Last night at Sala Daeng changed me. Honestly, there are no words. I was well aware of the fact that Thailand was big into sex trafficking and all of that, but I saw it first hand last night. To preface this, I will say that I have not once felt threatened in Thailand, and last night was no different. I just witnessed the absolute monstrosity of the sex trafficking industry. Allison and I went to Sala Daeng early, about 5pm, to have dinner. We ate at a Mexican restaurant and forked out a whopping $10 each for chicken nachos, chicken burritos, and our virgin strawberry margaritas, but it was so worth it. Mmm. It was really similar to Las Mas or Amigos (see picture), and it was so weird being served by Asian lady boys saying "Hola!" Haha.

So after dinner, we walked around the markets and just explored the area. We met a few people from New York while we were passing another restaurant playing Lady Gaga. Music makes people come together every time. So we heard people singing and instantly made friends. After we went our separate ways, we continued to explore the markets in area. Allison is turning me into a shop-o-holic. Haha. Nah...I just look at stuff, but I never really buy much. But anyway...it was just getting dark, probably around 6:30 or 7:00, and we passed a road with tons of bright lights and people everywhere. We were trying to karaoke or something so we started walking down the road. There were people hollering for Thai massages and stuff, but that's normal. That's everywhere you go in Bangkok. But then people started saying "Boy Show." Now, we'd heard about and been invited to "Ping Pong Shows" and that's a definite no go. We're not even tryin' to mess with all that crap. But "Boy Show"? I figured it was something stupid like a lady boy drag show or something, so we walked up and asked what was going on, but when the door opened, we saw what was inside. There was a stage full of boys (looked like teenagers) in their whitey tighties with numbers on them. They just stood there and rotated around the stage. We also saw several old white men oogling over them. About this time, something in my spirit/heart got a bad feeling. We were trying to ask the people what exactly it was, but the language barrier wasn't helping at all. I guess the owner of the place (pimp?) heard us asking questions, so he came over to talk to us in his broken English. He made everything crystal clear. What we assumed was a stupid drag show was in fact prostitution. People didn't pay for those boys to dance all over them or something stupid like that...they paid for sex. RIGHT THERE NEXT TO MASSAGE PLACES AND MARKETS WHERE FAMILIES GO!!!! Maybe I'm just a little too naive, but I actually thought that there were red lights at a red light district. False. Absolutely needless to say...but Allison and I gave each other a disgusted look and left immediately. We went back to where the Mexican restaurant was, rudely declining ever offer of massage, food, drink, hello, everything on the way there. I was utterly disgusted. Revolted. Completely beside myself with anger and rage. I can't even put it into words how upset Allison and I were. I'm still not okay with what I saw. I don't get it. I don't understand how somebody can live with themselves. I'm not one to classify sins, but I believe there's a special place in hell for somebody who abducts another human being and sells them for sex. Last night completely changed the way I look at things. Thank God for this amazing opportunity to experience the world...both the good and the bad. All of you who read my blog, please pray specifically for all the people who are affected by sex trafficking. Even pray for the pimps and customers! It's all just so Sodom & Gomorrah. Ironically, that passage in Genesis was on my schedule to read today.

I can't even talk about anything else right now because I don't want to distract anyone from the severity and realness of the sex trafficking industry in Thailand. The rest of last night was alright...we sang karaoke with the New York group and a gay man from Nashville who's father was a Southern Baptist preacher. Interesting. (I rocked out to "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" by CCR...made me miss Waffle House dates with my Daddy.)

Today was uneventful anyway. I slept most of the day, and we just went to the food court to eat dinner and then came home. I tried to buy the movie Slumdog Millionaire to watch. Allison said it would be perfect for now, especially after everything we've seen here. And I'm ready to start my last week of teaching. That's about it.

Love you all. And I promise I'm being safe. Don't worry Madre & Daddy-O! Good talking to you and Chloe and Kellie on Skype tonight! :)

I'm out.
Cwalk.