For a long time I have been interested in going to Thailand, but so far opportunities have not presented themselves and my mongering mainly takes place in Mexico and Germany. The other day, however, I was watching a special on HBO which profiled AIDS in Thailand. The special indicated that fully 25% of all sex workers are HIV postive. While I am sure all of you know of the dangers, I just wanted to share this very scary number with you. Apparently the girls will pretty much do anything for the right amount...well, you are probably well advised not to pursue anything too fancy and stick to condom services. I always assume every girl I am with is HIV postive and take proper precautions....but there have been times when I have slipped. The same is probably not a good idea in Thailand (or anywhere). Again, just wanted to share this information with you. Not sure when HBO will re-air this special. I think it was last Sunday night.

You can keep that bogus number . That is total bullshit. After 20 years of mongering in LOS I in no way believe that 25% of the working girls are HIV positive. I know many girls who have been in the business for a long time-- once bargirls-- now mamasans or managers. All are healthy and growing older without problems. If indeed 1 out of 4 girls were infected , I should know of someone who has succumbed or is ill. I am not saying HIV does not exist-- just that the sky is not falling and never will.
I have barebacked more than my share of Thai poo ying and have never even gotten a low level STD let alone HIV. Am I just lucky or are the figures you quoted fucked up?? How was the sample taken ??
Most BGs will not admit their profession to anyone let alone participate in some random HIV testing study. Are these stats based on the percent of girls presenting for testing being positive ?? Likely a skewed sample as they probably suspect an illness and thus are going for test. It would take random testing across many bars and cities to get an accurate percent. Who is going to cooperate with that ?
This is likely some bullcrap issued by Pracha and his cronies to use as fodder in their " social order campaign."

Come to Thailand my friend and do not be misled by likely meaningless statistics. I am not saying you should follow my example of BB sex, but with usual precautions you should be more afraid of a great white shark attack in the Thai bars than HIV.

I second Khun_mor. I would love one of these shows to post the actual data used so the public could discern the significance of the data. I personally doubt the media even have a rudimentary background in statistical analysis-- if so they suffer from amnesia. It makes sense though; media needs a story and shock value.

Although I'm not suggesting to go BB, your chances of getting run over by a motorcycle in the fair city of Pattaya far outweigh HIV risk.

And for those single exposure (e.g., my condom broke-- am I going to die??) worried wells, even if she IS HIV+, there is a .1% - .3% (1/300 - 1/1000) chance you as a male would become HIV+.

The bottom line, use your brain (bring yur condoms)/common sense and you'll be fine anywhere.

"all sex workers" in Thailand would include an awful lot of dudes who take it up the ass for a living. I would bet that is one way your statistics get skewed.

I am only quoting what the HBO show stated...but then again it is very easy for the media to hype up a particular issue. Saying 25% definitely gets your attention. I am by no means an expert on statistics, but after watching the show it made me think twice about going there. Then again, I just downloaded some Thai porno yesterday and now I am hot and heavy about going again. I do agree with you all, in that if you take basic precautions then the chances are minimized to slim. Now if I can just come up with an excuse to go there....but that's another situation all together!

Marv

I was not flaming you I was pissed at the asswipes who produce documentaries such as this. There is obviously no story and no ratings if the workers are generally happy and healthy -- which happens to be the case. Granted the majority of the girls would rather be working in another profession, but the bars offer them a way to make quick huge amounts of cash and they can get out of financial trouble or set themselves up for a better life in the future.They are not treated badly by most of the establishments and are for the most part happy. I have talked with hundreds of bargirls over the years. The HBO folks and A-holes like them do not want to hear about that.They gotta go out and find some outrageous statistics so they can show how our hobby is perverting the world and killing young women. Now that sells !!!
The morons who do these documentaries know nothing about their subjects.

Just look at Bernard Trink -- columnist for Bangkok Post who has been in bar scene there for 40 years or so. He repeatedly asserts that the HIV scare in Thailand is just that-- a scare. If there really was a significant impact from HIV he would be the first to recognize as he has known these people first hand for so long. His experience also mirrors mine .

No one needs an excuse to go to Thailand -- only the time and the money. The money required is not all that much so basically if you have the time there is no excuse NOT to go!!!

Get thee to Thailand my son !!!

Khun_mor, would you happen to work for the Thai Ministry of Tourism? If not, you've found your calling I for one can't wait to get back. HBO can stick it.

-dm

If you want decent data, don't listen to HBO!!! Please!!!

The most recent seroprevalence studies of sex worksers in Thailand do not find an overall rate of 25%. In fact, as someone above implied, such a number would be relatively meaningless because the seroprevalence rates vary dramatically among sex workers in different parts of the country. Rural areas in the north have very high rates. Bangkok has had quite low rates for some years now, largely a result of the Thai governments "100% condom use campaign" that started about 5 years ago.

If you want to best data available, go to the UNAIDS website. They have individual country reports for pretty much any country you can imagine traveling to, and they give data on seroprevalence rates for sex workers, IV drug users, MSM, etc.

Thailand is frequently held up by HIV prevention folks as a country with a particularly aggressive, creative, and successful prevention campaign, especially in Bangkok.

I know that UNAIDS isn't as authoratative a source as HBO or People Magazine, but you might want to at least check out their information when you hear a surprising claim.

Don Marco
I would appreciate it if you called the Thai Tourism Auth and recommended me for the job !!!
It is not easy being 8,000 miles away from my Tirac !!

There are lies, damn lies, and there are statistics. Your common sense will serve you better.

Cheers,