We decided to drag ourselves out of our resort lazy haze and head over the headland to Kata beach- or Big Kata as it is called. It was my last night on Phuket and the honeymooners were heading to Bangkok the next day.
We watched the sunset from the beach drinking Chang beer then Ange and
Roland lit a parachute light that floated up into the darkening sky. It was a wish or goodluck charm for their married life, I am guessing. It was very beautiful anyway.
As day turned tonight we noticed fairy lights at the far end of the beach and followed them to find a Reggae bar on the rocks at the waters edge serving buckets and Chang beer. We set ourselves down to enjoy our last night on the island. It was a nice end to our stay.
However, Phuket as well as being an expensive resort island an dbeach bar heaven is also known for it's more unsavoury tourists who swarm to the beaches and drinking strips for the many cheap prostitutes and thai ladies that will entertain them. The overwieght and sunburnt tourists fawn over the girls and proudly sit at bars with the type of lady they could only wish for back home.
I can handle this.
But we had a run in that upset us all and finished our night on a sad note.
We left the beach to have a meal and found ourselves in a little Mexican restaurant on a side street. Halfway through our meal a breathtakingly gorgeous Thai child approached us at our table to sell roses, this is of course common with many young children selling gum, necklaces and roses to tourists sat in bars and restaurants, as an extra support for their families. She was wearing a ra-ra dress and crop top with tiny heels.
We bought a rose from her and played with the girl as she climbed into Age's newly purchased suitcase and played tricks with her money. She was giggling and playful and allowed me to take a picture of her, as she directed me to the places she wanted to be photographed. She was so bouncy and playful at one point i thought she may have been drunk. She ran away for a while and returned in an oversized pair of high heels. At this point we looked around for her parents but could see noone, we then asked the waitress if she knew where her parents were and she said she didn't know her. A clear lie.
At this point the girl begun acting like a much older girl, behaving like, well, a sexual woman. Not sure how to describe it, or that i really want to, but we soon realised that she was a child prostitute. It was an awful realisation.
She soon ran away but came back demanding more money for the roses which we refused. Ange was by this point seething that parents could make thier children do this. As we left we saw her at the restaurant next door with her family. They had a big wad of money on the table and another young son who was also a flower seller. The little girl hid behind her parents as Ange returned the flower and said a few choice words to the family. Roland was sure we were going to get beaten up and we quickly left.
This sort of thing is a major problem in Thailand and Phuket particularly. The sort of tourists that go there make me really frightened for these childrens safety. We all left Kata sadly realising that the island was not a paradise for money,wandering what sort of poverty leads families to such levelsand that there were some obvious broader social problems.
I did a little reading and found this site which explains the situation more clearly and what is being done to stop it.
