Patong City's pulse has changed, and my conversation with Lada, a Phuket local and freelancer, brings this transformation to light. As we navigate the post-pandemic landscape, Lada shares the unexpected shift from the familiar Western tourist faces to a new wave of Russian nationals making their mark on the island. Their investment interests have taken a surprising turn towards property, altering the financial currents of a place once dominated by fleeting nightlife entertainment. This intimate chat uncovers how these economic tides have affected those who, like Lada, have made a life amidst the ebb and flow of this tourist haven.
The heart of our discussion beats to the rhythm of Thailand's ladyboys, a community bursting with color yet shadowed by societal challenges. to voice their raw experiences in the realms of employment and romance, where discrimination and superficiality often cloud their horizons. These personal tales echo the complex dance of seeking acceptance and the enduring quest for authentic connections in a world that frequently offers less. Their resilience and unwavering optimism, despite the adversity, is a testament to the human spirit's capacity for hope and the relentless pursuit of happiness.
Patong City's pulse has changed, and my conversation with Lada, a Phuket local and freelancer, brings this transformation to light. As we navigate the post-pandemic landscape, Lada shares the unexpected shift from the familiar Western tourist faces to a new wave of Russian nationals making their mark on the island. Their investment interests have taken a surprising turn towards property, altering the financial currents of a place once dominated by fleeting nightlife entertainment. This intimate chat uncovers how these economic tides have affected those who, like Lada, have made a life amidst the ebb and flow of this tourist haven.
The heart of our discussion beats to the rhythm of Thailand's ladyboys, a community bursting with color yet shadowed by societal challenges. to voice their raw experiences in the realms of employment and romance, where discrimination and superficiality often cloud their horizons. These personal tales echo the complex dance of seeking acceptance and the enduring quest for authentic connections in a world that frequently offers less. Their resilience and unwavering optimism, despite the adversity, is a testament to the human spirit's capacity for hope and the relentless pursuit of happiness.
Hello everyone and welcome to the eighth episode of my Thai Wife I'm Mike, and sadly I'm still doing this podcast without my lovely, lovely wife Sunaree. But today I have a very special guest for you, all the way from Thailand. Please welcome Lada Hello.
Lada:
Hello, how are you?
mike:
How are you?
Lada:
Merry, christmas Merry.
mike:
Christmas. My name is Erin Lada.
Lada:
And you can call me Lada.
mike:
Merry Christmas, lada, I'm good, how are you?
Lada:
I'm very good Merry Christmas.
mike:
I think there is some delay in the voice, but it will be okay not worry. So can you tell me about yourself a little bit?
Lada:
My name is Erin Lada. I live in Phuket, Patong City. I'm 35 years old.
mike:
Okay.
Lada:
Yeah.
mike:
And what you do for living, or are you living with your family? Tell me a little bit more about yourself.
Lada:
Yeah, I live in the south of Thailand but my original home is from the Northern. Okay, and my dad lived with my brother in Petchaburi purovince, in about like two, three hours from Bangkok. Yeah, I was living in Bangkok seven years and here in Phuket, say, about two years and a half.
mike:
Okay.
Lada:
Yeah.
mike:
And what you do for living.
Lada:
I do like freelancers, like massage. Sometimes I work in the bar also. I have many jobs in here, okay, but I'm not really good income. So I think nowadays the only one job is not enough for living, and in Thailand we have like some problem with economy.
mike:
Okay so, but before you think it was a better job to work freelancer, you think people can make more money by doing that before.
Lada:
I used to work in like a normal job, like in like a job thing more, and also in hotel, and to come to work like this is kind of like very difficult for me as well. But when COVID come, people lose the job not only for me but all people throughout the world. So we need to file something to to find the money for living and I need to take care of my family as well. So my friend invited me to come to work in here as a freelancer yes, yeah.
mike:
And is you say, now working as freelancer is not so good money, right, but before it was better before people can make more money by doing that.
Lada:
Some years, not just, not everyone. If you're beautiful, yeah, if you're beautiful, sexy, maybe you can make a good money. And it depends on about the tourist as well.
Lada:
I think this after COVID, like before COVID, maybe we have like many, many tourists come to Phuket and especially in Pattong, because in Pattong city we have so many bars, so many clubs and everything so around like a very good for night flight people so they can enjoy the city, go to the bar for drink, have fun, go to the club dancing, many restaurants, many hotels and nearby the beach. But after COVID we have like we think like same this year. We think like now it's high season and we think like we will have so many tourists to come to visit in our city. But this year not really good. Now we have like less tourists more than the year before. So I can say like now the bugger and all the freelancer have the problem with the income.
mike:
So we not get good money right now. Okay, also, I understand that different tourists are coming now. Right, if before there were many Europeans or people from America. I understand this change now. Yeah, my name is.
Lada:
Yeah, now we don't have so many turrets from European, but mostly now we have Russian, but Russian, some Arabic country and also some Indian in Asia, because now we have Thailand, we open for the Russian from the war. They have the war with the Ukrainian. So all Thai government, we allow the Ukrainian or Russian who want to run from the war and come to Phuket, and also they have the direct flight from Moscow to Phuket. So we can see so many turrets from Russian.
mike:
Yeah, but also Israel have direct flight from Israel to Phuket, so it's not something special, you know.
Lada:
But I think it's because of, like the Russian people. They run from the war, so they take the family and they come to here, and also government, allow for the Ukrainian and also the Russian people to have like a special visa so they can stay here for a long, long time.
mike:
I understand. So let's say….
Lada:
Yeah, but the problem is like when the Russian they come, they come with the families or they like to walk, they like to see things, but they don't spend much money in the bar because they come with family, with the wife and baby.
mike:
Maybe they don't want to spend so much. Maybe they think they don't know they have to stay here now Five years or ten years. They don't know how long they have to stay right.
Lada:
Yeah, I think so Because, like they don't know how long they need to stay, and also from the war, and, as you know, the Russian currency is not so well. So when they come here, I think the most money that they need to put in is about to buy the house, to buy the wheelhouse. Also about, like, the apartment for a stay with a family.
mike:
They buy, they not rent.
Lada:
They have many kids as well to take care, so they don't spend much money in the bar.
mike:
Are they buying? They are not renting.
Lada:
Yeah, because, yeah, they buy, they're not renting because, like in Thailand, the government shans about the laws about the foreigner can own like 80% of the property in Thailand and especially the Russian and also in this city who get the number one tourist now is Russian. So the government we know after COVID we don't have so many tourists from European, from Australian or America, so the things are the way to get the money is from Russian and Chinese, but also Chinese. The Chinese not come so much in this year as well, so the only one way is Russian. So they put so many special law for Russian people.
mike:
To encourage them to come and live here and who are your favorite customers. If you can choose who you want Not someone, I mean. Like country, what country you like people to come from? Brazil?
Lada:
If things about the money, I think that America is good and some Arabic country like from UAE something, like that Because when they come they spend a lot of money and they give a big tip if you become like a very good entertainer to them. I call my job like the entertainer because we make when the man come to the bar. We make the man happy, the man loving, buy us a drink and take us home so we can get good tip from the American guys or from some Arabic country. Yeah, but you need to take care of them so well as well.
mike:
So you say not so much European countries, more American and like United Arab Emirates and maybe Saudi Arabia?
Lada:
I also like German and Australia Because the German guy and Australian guys was very kind and very open minded. Maybe you don't know I am a lady boy, so when I leave here some country I totally understand them. Some country not really open minded for my, for my sex show.
mike:
Like.
Lada:
American guy, australian guy and also German guy or European. They kind of like open more.
mike:
Okay. So you say, because you are a lady boy, you say that some countries that are more, let's say, open minded, it's more easy for a lady boy to find customers right.
Lada:
Yeah, it's easy if we have some the customer that's really open mind for the lady boy, but especially from German or from Australia or some America, because I think many, many men know say if you want to find some lady boy, you need to come to Patia, to Bangkok Nanna Road or Kaosan Road and also to Phuket in Bang La Road. We have so many lady boy here, but they also have some tourists that they just want to see what the lady boy is and they mostly like ladies. So, as I told you, as a freelancer, as a lady boy freelancer, it's really difficult if you're not very beautiful or not very feminine Like me. I don't have a big booth like Nicki Minaj or big ass like Nicki Minaj or like you, basically want to be Nicki Minaj.
Lada:
Because I know I have so many Nicki Minaj friends, you know, on the road. Because the first thing that's a man going to look is a big booth and also big ass, walking and shaking and left right, left right, like Nicki Minaj. Nicki Minaj, it's that you like that, but I'm so skinny, I'm very skinny. I'm also like tall skinny. I have no boobs, I have no big ass.
mike:
You had any surgeries at all.
Lada:
But most of the men love the big boobs yeah.
mike:
You had any surgeries at all, or you are still natural.
Lada:
I'm still natural. I really want to have a big boobs. Yeah, maybe when I win the lottery I can make the boobs and the ass, but not so much, not too big. I just want to be more sexy and more, like, more confident, not just only for my job. Yeah, maybe a very good benefit for my job, but I think when Lady Boy wants to make our style to be more beautiful, to be more feminine, it's kind of like we want to be a beautiful girl, we want to be really beautiful and really petty, we want to proud of our style and when we look our style in the mirror or maybe it's just a big dream when you are younger, when you are young, when you still have a lady boy with their skinheads, you know, sometimes we just put a little bit things to our hair or make a fake wig, fake hair.
Lada:
We use the towel to put like oh, I have red hands, so beautiful, something like that and also to become a lady boy. Since we was young until we grow up, we got a lot of bully from people all around, even through the family. So I think it's like a big scar in the heart that like, oh, we got a lot of bully. We have so many tears with this bully and then when we grow up, we want to be a beautiful girl, so she's like cover our sky, you know.
mike:
Was it hard for you? Same you say for other people, it was hard for you also. Your family bullied you, or in school or somewhere, or for you it was better.
Lada:
It's really difficult for me as well because through a back time for 10 years ago or 20 years ago when I was young in Thailand, we not really open same nowadays we are still young.
mike:
35 is not old.
Lada:
We cannot say like 100% open.
mike:
Pardon, we cannot say 35 is still young, we are not old yet I'm also 36, don't say we are old.
Lada:
No, I'm 35, but I can see my wrinkle, I can see when my hair fall, you know. So I can see like I feel like I want to be 18, that is so fresh, so young. I want to turn back time.
mike:
It's not possible. But if you say same you say before, if you win lottery you can do whatever you want.
Lada:
Yeah, it's possible. When you have the money you can share, like 50 years old to be 18 again.
mike:
I have a question for you. Before you say you feel your hair, you lose hair. This is something that a lot of ladyboys have the problem about bolting.
Lada:
I think it's also because actually we are a man and then when we take a lady home and so many, so many people, you know, to make ourselves very more feminine, sometimes it's good for your skin, but sometimes it's kind of like a big effect also. Yeah, some people get like a very bad effect, but it's just something that we need to handle about it. For example, like surgery, some most of the lady boy we want to surgery side, we want to make a big book, we want to have a book, we want to have like a doubted same lady, you know, but some some lady boy, after they make it they become like a very easy to angry, very easy to to sad or sometime like this hormonal effect right like emotional.
Lada:
Yeah, because our your nature is, our our nature is a man, right, and then we need to take the lady home on, and when we cut that thing off, it's just like our body system is confused.
mike:
Okay.
Lada:
Yeah, so it's kind of like a big effects. Okay, and the hair fall is also. But but my lady tell me that's stupid because, like because I, my lady, my lady friend also says like they are lady, but they have so much like a hair falling as well.
mike:
Yeah, but I know that lady boy. I yeah, it's not just for lady boy, but men as men. We are getting bald. You know, I am getting bald and many people that I know my age are getting bald. So I ask is it a big issue for lady boys? And what are they doing with, let's say, some lady boy? When she turned 35 or 36 already, she not have half hair. What are she what? What is she doing? She wearing wig, or she go take medicine or operation. What is the? How do you fix that?
Lada:
Yeah, some some lady boy take the medicine to to grow up her hair as well, but some lady boy they decide to put the wigs on. You know, but sometimes, sometimes the problems about the hair is come from the wig as well. Oh, I'm sorry if you hear us about like a more in time, more in time, it's just my room just nearby the street.
mike:
So I hear nothing. We hear nothing.
Lada:
Yeah, a car to drive by. And then I promote about the more in time boxing. You know it's like just more in time, more in time tomorrow night.
mike:
No, we not hear that. We not hear that.
Lada:
Yeah, I should enjoy maybe my another job. I should change myself.
mike:
You need to be a Muay Thai fighter.
Lada:
Yeah, muay Thai fighter, maybe I have a big arm. I have a big muscles as well, so I think I can do well.
mike:
Maybe, but you say you are skinny, so maybe you need to gain a little bit weight before you do that. So I have I make some questions to ask you. It's not you not have to answer everything. If something you don't want to answer is okay, I just tell me I don't feel. I don't feel comfortable and whatever you want. But so you say your favorite.
Lada:
You can answer every question, no problem for me. So, yeah, don't worry.
mike:
I want to know what is like being Ladyboy in Thailand compared to, let's say, I don't know if you traveled the world before, but let's say, in America or even in Israel all day. Let's call them transgender's, okay, because I want to be politically correct and also I think this is the right term. The people transgender's and cross their cells normally have some problem to get in society, so this means maybe it's not easy for them to get jobs regular jobs, I mean, or maybe it's not easy for them to get to find a boyfriend or husband or something like that.
mike:
I want to know it's yeah.
Lada:
Yeah, it's really, yeah, it's really difficult because I got, as you know, to be like a ladyboy, even when, when they're already surgery and become a trans woman or trans girl, but most of them still call us like ladyboy, you know, because what we are before, yeah, but even through we already become like a woman and I think it's like it's really difficult to run the visa. I try to run the visa like three or four times to go to work in another country, but when we go to run the visa sometimes they see like we are ladyboy, we are trans, so there's just things like ladyboy and trans. Maybe they go to work at the British deals or they go to work like the air cost in another country.
mike:
So they block us.
Lada:
They're not, yeah, they're not allowed to go in that country. I don't mean how it's like. Sorry.
mike:
I don't mean how it's like to go outside of Thailand. I mean, is it easy for ladyboys in Thailand to find boyfriends and to find regular jobs, or it's harder more than people?
Lada:
that are not. So yeah, yeah, also in Thailand. Yeah, because, like for my experience, when I am ladyboy, right, when I know myself I am ladyboy, when I go to apply some job in the shopping mall is a very big shopping mall in Bangkok. So when I go to apply the job, I go to the interview with a human resource, right, and then when they saw me they said, oh ladyboy, no, we don't want ladyboy. I said why this thing like ladyboy not good? Ladyboy is just like maybe too much funny, maybe too much brain don't work good and sometimes very easy to angry.
Lada:
Maybe they can fight with the customer but, I, think it's not fair, like they just said, like that. But I know they're kind of like a bully or they're kind of like they don't like the ladyboy, but I think it's not fair because there are so many good ladyboy still have it.
Lada:
And also they don't even ask me what can I do? Can I speak English? What is your work experience? They don't wash it, they just wash it. We are ladyboy and then they just kick us out without not really good welcome, you know so, and also in there to find a boyfriend as well. It's really difficult because Because when we are lady boy, the men also know we cannot give a baby for them.
Lada:
And also, sometimes their family is not really welcome. You know the ones about their son to have are a good wife If you have a real lady, if you have a baby, if you have a niece for their parents. So I think most of the men that come to the lady boy life, they have only two things that they want. First is sex. Yeah, I know that lady boy have very good in sex. I am the best bro job cure ever as well.
mike:
Okay.
Lada:
All men say that yeah. And also another reason is about the money. I see that many Asian boys come to become like a fake boyfriend with the lady boy, lady boy. We all know that the men just want to come with the money. But sometimes when you stay with someone, when you like someone, when you love someone, we put all the heart to them, you know.
Lada:
But in fact she already know that the men not sincere to her not really love her. She just love her money. But it's just like a comma, I don't know why. But all my lady boy and yeah, we all say it's like we teach each other, like with the young lady boy, that growing up like don't fall in love with a man, because a man's always pray game. When a handsome man come to your life, the only one thing that they want is your love. Is your money, not your love.
Lada:
Or maybe they just want some sex, maybe they just want to try, but in the end of the day it's just, it's always be you just sitting at the corner and crying, then the boy is gone. But, as we know, we know this, this rule, we know this thing. But we, we, we still looking for love. You know, even through we we not really have, we not really fight the true love as well, but we still believe like one day we are lucky, we have a good boyfriend that really love us, leave it out forever. It's just like a kid dream. Or maybe it's just like you. You buy the lottery like you know only 1% that you're going to win, but you still keep winning and you still keep lying to yourself saying, oh, tomorrow I'm going to be the winner, tomorrow I'm become the rich man, rich woman in the world, tomorrow I'm going to like you. Even through today you already lost. You just say, oh, life have, tomorrow is the beautiful day but, the next time you're going to win, just lie to yourself.
mike:
But it's okay to be optimistic.
Lada:
I don't mean like 100%, because some lady boy fall through love as well. She are lucky.
mike:
Yeah, but I don't think it's. It's something wrong about being optimistic. You know what I mean. I think it's good to think about okay, maybe in the future everything will be better and I will be lucky. If not, we are all our life, are really sad. And also I want to comment on something Before. You said that a lot of men don't want to be with lady boy because she cannot give children to him. But all the gay community have the same problem. I mean about men, gay, not lesbians. Men with men cannot have children. They have to find someone else to carry their child for them, right? So I think it's not not very different from that.
Lada:
Yeah, sometimes I have so many. It's like we have like LGBTQ, lgbtq, lgbtq, right, so we have so many. We have lesbian, we have gay, we have lady boy, we have trans woman, have everything of course everywhere. Yeah, everywhere, all throughout the world. But for comparative with the men and the lady, the LGBTQ, we really have to find a true love. You know, I don't know why, but in my experience, and also it's all I see from my friend I have many lady boy friends.
Lada:
I have many LGBTQ friends as well. So all I see is like really difficult to find about the true love. Maybe just because about like maybe that parents, maybe the traditional, maybe the words or whatever I don't know, but it's really hard to find really.
mike:
I want to ask you you think for a lady boy it's more easy to find a foreign husband than or foreign boyfriend than Thai boyfriend or it's. Both are not very good chance.
Lada:
I think to find a foreign boyfriend is more opportunity than a Thai man boyfriend because, as you know, the Thai man don't like lady boys. Well, maybe the life because of the money, or maybe the lady boy is very beautiful, same like a Korean girl. You know they also have like some lady boy that they go to surgery and make their skin like very white skin same a Korean girl. So very beautiful, like that. In Thailand we have some superstar, yeah, some superstar that become very feminine, look like a lady. She found true love as well and she live in Phuket as well. She name is a boy, she very beautiful. You know her Definitely.
Lada:
And she look like a lady. Yeah, oh, you live there. I know her just like no, no, no, I never meet her but, I, know her like superstar.
mike:
Okay, I understand.
Lada:
Yeah, like a movie star, and she found true love with a man that she used to study together when she was young and this man like she never think she gonna marry this man. And now she, she married with her, she married with him and they become very lovely couple and they basically live in Phuket.
Lada:
Okay, A man how is in Phuket and luckily they like the family of a man very welcome to her and she have very lucky. So I think, like um Many lady boy, we're looking for the foreigner boyfriend. I think not just only lady boy, I think the lady as well, Because not just only because the foreigner man, maybe they have more money than a Thai man, but I think maybe it's like the foreigner man, they have more responsibility and more respect for the lady boy and also the lady with her. There are some lady that already have the baby like, have many kids and used to marry before Thai man. He's not very welcome or his family not very welcome with the lady who already have a kid and already married before.
mike:
Okay.
Lada:
Already divorced. But for foreigners they really open mind for the married girl or for the lady who have a baby, or for the lady boys and for the transgender or LGBTQ.
mike:
I think a lot of pharangs that come to Thailand are really looking for love. Yes, they come for sex and come for this, but I think some of them are really looking for love. They just want someone to spend their life with, you know.
Lada:
Yeah, yeah, I know there are also some Like as a work, as a work like a freelancer. We know, like we have one rule, like I always say to there are many, many lady boy friends, like we have one strong rule when we work, not just for the lady boy, it's like a lady as well.
mike:
All freelancers.
Lada:
Yes, we work in the bar, yeah, all freelancers and all the bar girls, also massage girls like happy ending massage. We know, like one year we have so many tourists, so many men come here. Like a million men come here. And they come here and not just looking for love, they come here for have fun If I have sex, or going to bar, to the party and to have sex. And then some men have a very pretty word they say, oh, I love you, I love you, I'm single, I will marry you, I will make you the visa and take you to my home and live with me in America, in Germany or in my country, in my home.
mike:
And it's on bullshit.
Lada:
Yeah, it's the bullshit and we have the strong rules, Like don't fall in love with your fucking customer. That big strong rule for us Because, yeah, it's really difficult Because, man, it's very fucking handsome. You have like a big or something like that, and also she's like a big muscle, very sexy, and become like a dream and say, oh, he come from magazine. She's look like, oh my god, he's so handsome. So it's not easy for us to handle our feeling, to not fall in love with him. Yeah, I guess so.
Lada:
We sometimes we need love. We don't want just all these sex. But when we fall in love with him, like in the end of the day, it's always be us to be sitting at the corner and cry. It's like a broken heart. And then I see many things happen to my lady boyfriend and then I say I told you, bitch, I told you already, like in the end of the day you're going to cry and you're going to broke your heart. But yeah, it's really difficult to not fall in love with men you like.
mike:
Yeah, I want to stop you one second.
Lada:
They just want the vacation, girlfriends.
mike:
OK, so I see we already hit the 30 minute mark, so I think it's a good time to finish this episode. I still have many, many more questions to ask you. I would like to know if it's OK for you if we start to record again next week and make another episode.
Lada:
Yes, it's OK.
mike:
You sure?
Lada:
Yeah, I'm sure OK.
mike:
Perfect. So I want you to say thank you to our listeners also. I hope they like you, I'm sure they will like you, and I want to thank them for listening to this episode. Lada, have something you want to tell them?
Lada:
Yeah, thank you for listening to me and I hope to see you in the next. I hope to talk again in the next episode. I wish you all the best in the Christmas time.
