Asian Exposures & Comparisons: Short Stories Asia
Behind the Glittering Lights of Bordellos and Brothels
Smashwords edition
Text & Cover by Thomas Clarion
eISBN 978-616-245-036-5
E-book published by www.bangkokbooks.com
E-mail: info@bangkokbooks.com
Text & Cover Copyright© Thomas Clarion
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, copied, stored or transmitted in any form without prior written permission from the publisher.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to www.bangkokbooks.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
***
Interested in publishing your manuscript or selling your ebook on iTunes, iBooks, Amazon, Google, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Sony and bangkokbooks.com?
Contact us at info@bangkokbooks.com or visit www.bangkokbooks.com
***
Taiwan
Snake Alley Taipei
From the glorious Grand Hotel Taipei, once a famous tourist attraction on its own, to Snake Alley one crosses over from luxury and culture to the seedy but unique style of life. Is the Grand built as a Buddhist Pagoda but a 5 star hotel in reality, Snake Alley is where in traditional fashion live snakes and other reptiles are being skinned, their blood caught to be used in drinks and their meat prepared to be eaten. Snake blood being drunk and meat eaten, for what? These were questions that came to mind. But what did I do in Taiwan?
Well, in the beginning the eighties I was engaged in a discount travel agency that was meant for travelers to share their experiences and to make programs as slide shows. There was to be a travelers café as well and for that cooperative travel agency that I kind of initiated I could travel at very low rates. So, I went to places I have never been and really wanted to get into the heart of Taiwan to visit the indigenous peoples of the island in the interior. They were after all overrun by the formerly fleeing from the mainland Chinese who had settled there and had transformed the island into a powerhouse of industries and commerce. Also I wanted to discover the Dutch heritage, for my forebears from a coastal fort had kept a strong and controlling eye on the seas around to keep the Spaniards at bay who had taken possession of the island archipelago to the south, the Philippines. So, while figuring out how to get to the interior by myself to meet some of the tribal people there, I wandered around town and had thus come across this quaint little street called Snake Alley.
The not so five star hotel I stayed in was much more like a traditional Chinese place from the inside than the Grand was from both inside and outside. And, having visited some of the traditional art shops, one of which was just around Snake Alley by the way and dealt solely in erotic depictions, the differences were striking, too striking at times, blindingly strike. I had been wandering near the river and has seen how ordinary people lived. I had gone to the enormous garden where the monument of Chang Kai Chek, the founder of Taiwan and the Kuomintang organization which was defeated as they had to run and positioned themselves here on Taiwan from the Mainland. This grandiose garden with gates like from a palace and where very well drilled soldiers guarded his statue when throngs of visitors were paying tribute to their erstwhile leader, was also a fine place to get married, modern style and with the bride dressed in white. When I was there and had returned from the dome where the leader was seated to be revered, I walked down the imposing steps back to the garden and near the entrance found a couple alighting from a hired limousine to have their wedding pictures taken in front of the gate. They were delighted when they saw I was taking pictures too and of the ones that took theirs officially as well. The statue of the old leader was impressive but even more so the soldiers who were swinging their rifles when being relieved. In Taipei at the time the flyovers were built, the subway and all kinds of modern amenities, I was quite overwhelmed by the grand perspective Taiwanese had envisioned. Little did I know then that Taiwan was to play a prominent role in the technological innovation.
So when I entered Snake Alley for very first time, though forewarned, I was flabbergasted by the display of life snakes on the many stalls. Yet what struck me most was how ‘normal’ it seemed to be, the normalcy of buying a glass of fresh snake blood mixed with honey and herbs. Snake Alley is a man’s affair for I could hardly see a woman around, the exception confirming the rule due to the waitresses of the small restaurants just behind the stalls. The restaurants are simple joints that would not draw attention on their own, but for the specialties brewed up outside. And, because these are restaurants like no other they are in fact considered to be exquisite gourmet restaurants. Still the center of attraction was outside, the food served inside only. Green as grass as I was when watching the shows in Snake Alley I very quickly learned that even the gourmet restaurants were not the highlight. No, the center of attraction really was the bordello, for the purpose positioned right at the end of the alley. The restaurants were a prelude, a preparation for the act to be executed at the end of the alley; in the bordello.
At the first stall I stopped by a hawker eying a live python; he was about to start a show when I noticed a long rope in front and above of him with all kinds of dead snakes hanging. Snake Alley was pointed out to me as a tourist attraction by the lovely looking reception desk lady of the hotel I stayed on my question what would be a ‘must’ for me to see:
“All tourists want to see that sneaky Snake Alley,” she smiled but sniffed her nose in disapproval. I laughed and said:
“Okay, I will report to you what I think of it!”
And so, now here I was in front of a stall where the show about to begin. Show I say because I soon to learned that every single evening utter competition for attention was the game. Watching intently I saw the man picking up the python he had a razor sharp knife in his right hand. He was talking is his own language of course, but seeing me he smiled and switched to English, a few words only, to clear up what he was talking about:
“This python is a miracle,” he began, “its blood fortifies your libido. You will be able to satisfy a woman of your choice,” he said and grinned as he took the snake and draped it around his neck, a beautiful beast at least longer than two to three meters, “it is young and vigorous,” he continued, “and enormously powerful. It can crush my neck!” he said and paused for a moment to let that triviality sink in.
“Now, who wants to taste its qualities?” he challenged every men standing in front of his stall. Eager to see more they all kept quiet nevertheless.
“You Sir? Do you need a sexual boost,” he asked me and in an effort to get a potential hurdle out of the way he added: “It does not cost very much!”
“I am not too sure I am in great need,” I laughed, “never did I need a booster for that purpose Sir,” I answered.
“It will change your life Sir, I guarantee you that,” he emphasized.
“For a drastic change in my life I like to be certain it will do me good and will assess my potency first to see what I need in that respect Sir,” I said smilingly.
“Good thinking Sir, so look and wait, I am sure you will be convinced,” he concluded and looked then for other clients. One man raised his hand then and in Chinese asked the price of both the blood and the meat.
“Aha, this man understands the value of the python,” he praised and mentioned the price of both, “this rare snake, this marvelous python, this magnificent natural animal, a predator, is a delicacy beyond belief. The meat of the python, though not as potent as the blood, is nevertheless very good for your stamina.”
The man did not look impressed; he looked like he knew the pep talk and wanted to get right to business. He lifted a finger only as a sign he would go ahead with the price of meat and blood. The snake hawker now knowing this snake was sold kept everyone in suspense by announcing he was going to kill the python to harvest what he had announced: blood and meat. He showed the head of the mighty python first, the head much smaller than the body, the midsection about twice the size of the head. He showed the powerful muscles he was about to turn into meat and waved with the sharp knife precariously. What I did not expect but what he did swiftly was to make an incision in the lower part of the snake’s body; the cut opened the body and with a glass in hand he caught the blood of the snake which was then still alive. I expected the snake to react violently but it did not move. While the blood dripped he quickly cut the snake’s head, severing all vital functions. Without putting up a fight the python died instantly. Then the man, glass with blood in hand, took of the snake’s skin and prepared it to be cooked. Astounded by the way he had done this I looked around but could not detect anyone as amazed as I felt. Now only, the man who had bought the entire snake stepped forward and gave the hawker the money.
“Would you like a taste of the blood,” the hawker asked me, “I mix it with honey and some fine stimulating herbs, so you will feel even more powerful,” he laughed enticingly. Trying to get out of the situation which both attracted and repulsed me I answered:
“I am all right Sir and it is his snake I believe?”
“Just a sip to get you hooked on the powerful potion would not harm any one of us,” he chuckled as he looked at the man who had bought the python.
“No thank you,” I said, “but I do appreciate your concern and your invitation.”
Both men smiled and let it be. The hawker mixed blood, honey and something and sent the man to the restaurant to have his drink and wrapped the snake for the chef to cook him a meal. When later he was served I understood having the snake cooked and served was part of the bargain as well. Not quite satisfied with the explanation of the connection between python blood and sex inquisitively I asked the hawker:
“If this works wonderfully Sir, why then is there a bordello at the end of this street. I would think some men would like to take your potion home to their wives?”
He smiled in response first before he lectured:
“You are a man, I am a man. Men want to have a good time with a woman. They do not want to fail, now do they?” he asked rhetorically, “with this potion you are sure to reach where we want to go. You go and see the women there. Hire one, they will tell you, they are used to supercharged men!” he laughed out loud now, the men when he explained again in his own language roaring louder.
“Thank you,” I said and laughed with him.
Overlooking the street I think there must have been some thirty of them and yes at the far end I could see some read light in the dark. My attention was drawn to the next stall and I waved goodbye to the first then walked over another hawker who was gearing up to a similar spectacle; only this time it was no python but a viper, a cobra. And, in contrast to the python, this viper was not complacent at all. The man put the snake on the stall and there, for everyone to see, it curled up with head high and its neck was flaring out wide. The man smiled and showed a small animal in a cage, an animal I forgot the name of but was one of the few who was not afraid of it, but would attack the snake. When the man brought the cage to the table of the stall the animal tried to attack the viper while still in that cage. The snake, furious now, attacked the cage too now. This was a show, fight, for neither snake nor animal could touch and attack in real. The hawker took the cage away to in defiance still let the snake be. Then he began his talk and like the first hawker sang about the qualities of this particular species. He talked about its powerful venom that, if not treated immediately, could lead to instant death. Talking like this he teased the snake with a stick and predictably a couple of times the viper charged at him. When he found a customer things moved rapidly. For me it went too fast because before I realized what actually had happened the snake was dead and its blood dripping into a glass. Like a replay in slow motion I tried to reconstruct what he actually did. On the buyer’s signal he had suddenly taken the snake’s head and in one move slit the snake opened the animal. When he saw my face still trying to figure out what happened he volunteered to explain how he had done it”
“This has to be done fast or I get bitten, the risk is too high,” he said and he opened the mouth of the dead snake to show its hollow teeth. When he pushed on them a little, the transparent highly toxic liquid oozed out. I was impressed both by the violence and skill displayed and with confidence. The buyer, like the one before, was served in the restaurant but this man’s snake was wrapped up for him to take home. I walked further down the alley and passed a number of stalls of which some were in full operation while others were abandoned. They were all the same, more or less, till I came to stalls where live tortoises and turtles were on sale. Here the man did not really sell the potent blood with the body as an extra, no, here is was the turtle meat that was of prime concern. I could hardly believe my eyes when was what was happening. Though turtles were in demand but apparently were hard to kill. I was both fascinated about how normal the killing was done and sick with the brutality, my stomach turned. Like the other hawkers the man behind the stall attracted people by shouting the virtues of the turtles. While talking out loud he placed one on the table of the stall and waited till the turtle showed its head which it had hidden inside his shield. The hawker cut it off the turtle’s head the moment it had it out far enough. Blood was spilled around but the turtle would not die, it moved and moved a very very long time still. I saw five being sold which were all moving still. When he cracked open one to take out the insides the legs still moved then. Of course I knew when the head is severed from the body the animal is dead or at least cannot feel anything anymore, but to me it felt the turtles died agonizing deaths. Nobody around cared about that though; it was as normal as killing a chicken. The hawker was selling the turtles like they were hot cakes and when he had wrapped up a few, I could not take it anymore and left. Walking past some more stalls again I saw the light of the brothels and knew I neared the end of Snake Alley.
The end of Snake Alley, the brothel
The brothel I saw first was the one facing Snake Alley, but when I turned around the corner I saw that this was a short street in itself and filled with brothels. Like in Amsterdam all of them were bathing in red lights, pinkish red neon lights in this case. Lots of men around walking, passing, looking, staring, assessing. I did so too at first to see what really was happening here. Most of the joints looked the same. All of them had some three to five girls in rather wide doorways. Dressed in white, more looking like receptionists or nurses, they were not flirting or soliciting or offering but more like hanging around while just looking. Every now and then men would walk up to them to talk shop and so would either be on his way again or disappear inside with the woman he had agreed with. Compared to other bordello set ups in Asia this was quite different and to my understanding not very inviting. Though there were quite a few attractive women around, they looked cold as in not interested to the point of being haughty. I did not exactly know how to approach them and when I passed by very close, one of them giggled so I asked:
“If you do speak English, would you be kind enough to tell me how things go here and what you charge?”
The girl I addressed was shocked. She looked at me, eyes open wide till another girl came to her rescue and said to me:
“She does speak Chinese, not English, can I help you?”
“Yes,” I said, “I asked her about this place. Just prices and what can be done, just the ordinary?”
“Ahhh,” she smiled, “we do not see many foreigners here. She was afraid; most of the girls will be you know. I am too!”
“Oohhh,” I could only say.
“Yes, the girls think you have a very big one and are afraid you would use it on them, they would refuse you know!”
“Ahhhhh, I understand, this must be one of these ridiculous prejudices,” I laughed.
“Prejudice?” she asked eyebrows up.
“Thinking for sure but not knowing, generalizing,” I answered.
“You don’t have big one?” she smiled
“Not that I know of,” I said with emphasis.
“I want to see,” she smiled.
“Then you must tell me what price and what things are offered here?”
She told me the price and that only sex was offered. Since I wanted to know the dynamics and she had a good smile I decided to agree.
“Ok, you follow me now,” she smiled, “but I will refuse if you have big one, okay?”
“Of course,” I agreed, “that is fair enough.”
I followed her into the bowels of the brothel and saw two rows of doors in a corridor, one of which she opened and asked me to enter. The room also in subdued red light was the place were the girls lived as it was kind of personalized. She seated herself on the bed that took most of the room and offered me the one chair that was there. She smiled at me and waited. I did not know exactly what she wanted me to do so I asked:
“And now?”
“You show!” she said as she kept smiling.
“Ah, I see, yes of course,” I answered.
I got up again, dropped my trousers and then my underpants. My dick at rest because I was not in any way aroused but more in a curious mode, was visible.
“Ooooohhhhh,” she exclaimed, “very normal. How when sexy,” she asked.
“It will not triple in size,” I said enthusiastically putting my dick back in underpants and lifting trousers.
“So, what is your verdict?” I asked.
“Is okay,” she said and showed a heavenly smile, for now convinced she could accommodate she saw me with different eyes and did a seduction trick. I smiled.
“I think it is your turn to show,” I said and handed her the money.
“Oh yes,” she said and immediately got up to unbutton the white blouse. A white bra appeared as she kept smiling; she licked her lips in a fancy way while she unzipped her skirt and dropped it slowly. Everything in white around here, I thought, as her white panty became visible. She did not have stockings on but half high shoes with heels. Now only in bra and panty plus those shoes, she came towards me and asked:
“Did you take the snake blood?”
“No,” I answered, “I think you need that when you cannot get aroused all by yourself or by you,” I smiled cheekily at her.
“Aaahhh, you do not need. That better!” she concluded and slowly began to unclip her bra then she bowed and showed her breasts right in front of me.
“Yes, no need for that,” I agreed with her.
“You can touch,” she whispered and teasing brushed her breasts over my chest.
“Thank you,” I answered as I saw her gently slipping out of her panty, elegantly heaving one leg after the other. She let go off the skimpy piece of clothing and when it was off she stood up straight to look at me again:
“Do you want me?” she asked.
“I like you,” I smiled in answering. For her that must have been confirmation for approached, bent down a little and without asking began to take off my clothes. Buttoning off my shirt she cried out:
“Oooooohhhhhhhh, you have small hair on your chest! I like.”
Standing in front of me she touched my chest with both hands as she swayed her lovely pear shaped breasts with now quite erect nipples. After taking off the shirt she kneeled to unzip my trousers and took them off like she was peeling and orange. She fold my clothes nicely and put them on the table before she said:
“Now I show something.”
Face down she went to my socks and in smiles pulled them off my feet one by one with her teeth. An odd but erotic sight she was with her head down but bottom up; her buttocks beautifully suspended in mid air. Finished she came up to, to my astonishment, kiss my chest. It felt ticklish and I giggled.
“You no like,” she asked and looked at me, disappointment in her face.
“I do,” I smiled, “and you are a beautiful woman too,” I added.
“I want you,” she whispered and changed her face into beaming smile then, using her tongue, munched on my chest. It was ever so nice but I had no intention to have sex with her; not only because regarding all kinds of disease it would be dangerous but also taking sex for money and taking it for granted felt odd. Sex, money, stranger, these words ran through my mind and I knew could not do it. Unless of course it would mean something intimate and it would not be a one time affair. This was not very likely at all because I would be only here for a few days. On the other hand this girl was open and warm and wanted the intimacy I also desired; she treated me like she wanted to please me. I also had to face that I was attracted to her; her friendly nature but admittedly also because of her fine physique. And so, in spite of my reservation I could not bring myself to stop her, not yet. As she dangerously moved close to my groin, I gently massaged her shoulders realizing that this was not only stimulating for me. She touched my private part and mesmerized for a moment. Then she very softly kissed it and used her tongue as a vibrator. It felt like heaven descended on me. But, I wondered,was it only that her interest was raised because my dick was not oversized which she expected? Now she was cherishing it and I stood trembling erratically. My thoughts bounced while her subtle touch warmed me inside. Like a sorcerer she vibrated life into my being and this was directly expressed by the erection which she brought about and held like it was a treasure, her treasure. I sensed she equally enjoyed what she did but it was proved when she came up and beckoned me to lay on the bed with her and I saw her vagina glistening of moisture. She shivered when I touched her back.
“Come,” I whispered, her eyes full of passion but on that word suddenly shied away. My passion was rising fast too and I took her face into my hands and planted a kiss on her lips. She shivered and softly moaned with pleasure. As we stood and kissed I took a breast into my hand gently squeezing her nipple as I felt her tongue hungrily seeking mine..
“Uussssshhhhhh,” I trembled with her. I slipped my hand over her back and landed it between her thighs, fondling her soft flesh as we kissed. Engrossed in an everlasting kiss, my hand slid over her mound and squeezed her moist flesh, sighs escaping her lips. Passion surged through me but I knew this tremendous experience had to end fast, or soon it would not be possible anymore. This was en extraordinary, unexpected, so unique and strange that I would be impossible to resist her. I forced myself to remember I paid for the privilege for it and my feelings then suddenly changed, for if there is one thing I do not want, it is to buy sex like it is a commodity. So I pulled myself together and while moaning out load:
“Usssshhhhhhhhhhh, ooohhh,” I pulled her off of me, “ohhh baby, I cannot,” I sighed.
She had my shaft in her hand and like she was startled by something her face dramatically changed expression. She looked frightened.
“What is it, ling,” she cried out, “you no like me true?”
Again I took her face into my hands, gentle but now I kept her at safe distance. I looked at her. She looked exquisite nude her fine form and I surprised myself to have the strength to withstand that formidable pulling factor.
“No, no, no, it is not that,” I whispered.
She looked frantic now, rejected and came close to becoming angry. So I took her back into my arms and held her. But she refused and now defiant for I had made the wrong move, her eyes shot fire, her eyes demanded an explanation:
“Okay,” I said, “I am afraid, that’s it really.”
She mellowed a little but was not convinced and asked:
“About what?”
“I do not know you, you are a lovely girl of course, but I am afraid I might catch a disease. That is one. Two is more important because I like you I do want to know you, not just to have sex and say goodbye. So, I did not know what to do. I feel great with you so intimate, but cannot use you like that,” I explained.
She looked at me, listened as tears quelled in her eyes. Then in whispers she softly answered:
“Me no sick, me like you too, you no worry, all good.”
“When we make love now, I cannot let you go but want to know you. Now I can still go and never see you again, do you understand that?”
“Yes,” she said now head down.
“Then what do you think we can do?”
“Make love,” she whispered, “is good!”
“But after making love when time is finished?”
“I see you after work?” she suggested
“Okay,” I replied, “come let’s sit on the bed, relax and let me tell you something, okay?”
“Okay,” she answered and took my hand hen we sat on the bed together.
“I am here in Taiwan for a few days only; I don’t know when I will be back. When we start something now, I do not know how to follow up.”
“Why you come see me then, when sex not good!”
“I am curious about the brothels here in Snake Alley. I did not think anything could happen. I wanted to pay for your time and so talk about your life inside. I wanted to meet a girl like you too to talk about your work and so. I never thought you and I would like each other so much.”
“Then we do, we know, we feel, we do something?”
“Yes we do and I am glad you say after work. I feel much freer when you are outside so not any man can have you!”
“Every man? No!” she said. I was glad to hear that and made a note so I could ask her about that later.
“Are you free to meet me outside?”
“After work yes,” she said.
“Okay, let’s do this then,” and I gave her the name of my hotel, “come see me there and we will talk if we need to we will talk all night, okay.”
Her eyes lighted up and now she smiled again.
“I do that, I off in two hours, okay?” she asked.
“That would be nice indeed,” I replied and thought immediately that my plans for the day after were going to go down the drain because if we would be talking long, we would not sleep and I would be too tired to go anywhere. Seeing me thinking she cocked her head and asked:
“What is it, what is it?”
“No, I was just thinking I have to reset my plans,” I answered and smiled. Again I looked at her and though now in talking mode it was the way she moved which made my heart race again. I felt odd, strange, for I could not remember when I had felt like this. Here with a young woman, nude and lusty. Oh, I had been in situations like this before and had loved, yet this was quite different. She was a prostitute but behaved like a girl who was madly in love and….at first sight. And, I felt overwhelmed and was now convinced I would only allow myself to fall deeply if we would have a chance to know each other much better: her background, her thoughts about her life and much more.
“So, you will?” she asked.
“If you come to see me tonight after work, yes I will. When I say I want to know you, I mean it. Ling oh Ling,” I said, “how did you do it, you have captivated me, you put me under your spell girl!”
She laughed but felt right away I teased her. And, more importantly she knew the tease was meant to ease off the tension between us. She moved in embrace and kissed me on the cheek then playfully said:
“You, I, we good together!” and stressing the fact she kissed me on the lips. We kissed very gently, much in a way like it was our very first kiss, a shy one because only now we were really certain that our words had to be true, true to what we thought.
“I will go then. I never thought I would meet you here,” I said; this especially when all girls when talking outside were having fun about me for having a big dick. In fact you were afraid of me. So, I was truly surprised you like me Ling.”
“Fun with foreigner, no problem. I know you no big dick, so easy for me to say you come with me to prove it is so.” she laughed, “just fun, but now when I close to you, different, now I like you too much!”
“We will see about that tonight then,” I said smiled and reached for my underpants.
“Your stick already dick again. Talking not make you sexy,” she laughed, kissed my cheek again and gently squeezed my nipples. I put on shirt and underpants then looked at her as she smiled doing the same..
“You like striptease,” she asked, laughed and explained, “this striptease other way around, putting clothes on not off.”
I took her in my arms; teasingly squeezed her bottom as she eagerly kissed me before she walked me to the door to let me out. Standing in the open door she said:
“You give number room and then go. I must make room look good, okay?”
“Okay,” I said and gave her the number. She wrote down name of hotel, street and room number and this was a vivid reminder about the profession she had for soon another man would be in this room and have sex with her. I shot through me that I found that practically unbearable and she noticed.
“What is it?” she asked, but on her face I saw she knew and she had no reservation telling me what I thought:
“You know I do this. You no like, I know. When I see you in hotel, we talk, I will tell. You trust me, I tell,” she said with her eyes more than with her words as she begged me not to reject her. Quite feeling strange I kissed her cheek again. She smiled as I turned around to leave. In the corridor I passed the rooms, some of which were open, a girl inside cleaning up after the act. Though I felt compelled to talk about how the place was run, what role or position the women had, I walked on knowing I could ask Ling. The girls hanging around outside soliciting customers recognized me and in passing by made cheeky remarks. I smiled for though cheeky; they were friendly and kind of warm even. Too warm perhaps for, like a hawk, Ling had followed me from a distance but now jumped the girls and blasted them. I had no idea what she accused them of but it was certain that she was angry with their behavior towards me. When her tirade had ended she turned and went inside while I hit the busy street to see men standing to observe the commotion. I merged with the crowd and walked through Snake Alley, now a familiar sight. More and other hawkers were shouting now, putting up a show with their snakes killing them while jesting and praising the blood as a potent potion for a man’s virility. The street was on rush hour it seemed for the restaurants were now packed. I took a few pictures of hawkers, snakes and spectators and sniffed up the odors of spices and cooking. There were other stalls too now with hawkers offering all kinds to me unfamiliar herbs, ointments and ready made potions. Most of those had to do with reinvigorating the blood and they should how whip up the ingredients to make the male organ perform as desired. I wondered if Chinese men had trouble with their virility or that it was used to enhance endurance. I made a mental note to ask Ling about that. The smell of the street was heavy and now that it was busy and the restaurants at capacity it looked like a frenzy of activities, yet a contained, organized, frenzy it was, like a buzzing beehive. There were men who had brought their women along and they indeed proved to be more impressed, if not more ecstatic, about what they experienced than the men. Drawing attention they giggled out loud, but still contained too. Respectfully no one would remark but would only look with understanding. For this was a man’s place really, a street where men prepared themselves to be physically good with their or yet unknown women. At the end of the street I turned left to slowly walk out of Snake Alley and into the normal mayhem of Taipei. Again I passed the antique shops. Some were open late and still had some objects on the pavement in front of them. About a hundred meters away from Snake Alley I stopped short at a shop which had a statue in front which strongly drew my attention. It expressively and explicitly showed a man and a woman in beautiful ballet like position b in each t into each other. It was beautiful and yet simple in its message, but not in its art. Quite intricate in detail it was the act of merging being part of the statue, almost casually but so lovingly displayed, that looked so very normal, the couple, the apex of all their moves for one thing only, the joy of intimacy expressed; the intricacy of musculature in both man and woman was exasperatingly fine tuned. But, there were no faces to be seen. The statue had more than the more commonly known Chinese and Japanese drawings, for in contrast to those explicit depictions, this statue portrayed the core of being so just one thing, intimacy!! Standing in front of the shop I was fascinated by the design. Then the owner came out to see me. He remarked:
“If you like it is yours, it is not expensive!” he smiled as he talked in broken English, like he was singing.
“Yes, it is beautiful, it expresses a very dynamic union, the essence of man to me it is Sir!” I said.
“You see it, not may do, it is very subtle. Many see porn or sex in it!” he smiled.
“I can’t really buy,” I revealed to him, “not enough money and I am sure and I cannot bring it with me, it is too big and fragile.”
“We can have it posted to your home,” he insisted.
“That would be nice,” I said in surprise when he mentioned the quite tempting a price. Being a poor as a church rat, of course not as poor as those living in slums, but only to own this kind of art, I had to decline. The friendly shopkeeper kept on pushing though and offered tea or coffee, even had his wife come to see me, who said:
“Look what I have done to my husband and he to me all because of this statue,” she exclaimed. It was obvious the man was at least 20 years older than her but as she was beaming about his sexual prowess. I teased them:
“So you do not need the snake’s blood or other herbs to get you going then?” I asked.
“It is purely a mental thing and my wife here is a true initiator,” he smiled.
When even after coffee I still declined the indeed quite attractive woman said conspiringly:
“I can see you do not need that now, but when you are together for quite a while and you see this elegance, you will be inspired. You need no kink to keep the boat floating and taking to the highs seas of passion and desire. Are you married?” she asked.
I told them all they wanted to know and finally, it must have been an hour later, I left to stroll back to the hotel.
Realizing that a date with an unpaid prostitute was not a safe bet I still hoped Ling would be coming and so I did not want to be back too late. Since there was not much out of the ordinary to see, I walked to reach the hotel about 15 minutes later. Getting my key from the receptionist I was surprised when she handed me a note. Who knows I am here, I wondered when I unfolded the piece of paper which stated:
‘I phone hotel so give you message. I want sure you there. People tell story. Now I know you okay and name have Frans. I am on time, you be there.’
That felt good. I smiled and thought I must have inspired her. I thanked the receptionist who told me that this girl she had spoken to wanted to know all about me. She apologized that she told her my name:
“I am sorry Sir, a slip of her tongue!”
I reassured her that in this case it was certainly no problem, but indeed it could be a bigger matter if it would have been stranger with bad intentions I took the note up to the room, thinking, smiling then took a shower and hurried because the time for Ling to knock on the door was near. I had been with the art/antique shop longer than I thought. Fully dressed and refreshed I watched a bit of Taiwanese television and saw that, even here, Americans series were en vogue. While watching I was checking on camera’s and tried to make what was said. It was all in Chinese of course but for one station that had English news at certain times. Then there was a soft the knock on the door. So soft that I checked if I had heard well but I had for there she was and already apologizing:
“I sorry, I ten minute late Fran,” she said her head down somewhat.
“Never mind dear, I am glad you are here. Never really thought you were going to come for sure. Come in,” I said and I swayed the door wide open. She quickly passed and pontifically posted herself in the one chair. I noticed she was not wearing the same clothes. No longer in white and high heeled she was wearing casual jeans with the nice top and had sneakers on.
“Good room,” she said when looking around, “not small like work.”
“Make yourself comfortable,” I invited her and went over to the fridge where I had stored some ice cubes with some soda and a bottle of local liquor, “care to share?” I asked holding up glass and a bottle.
“Yes please,” she answered softly. I filled the glasses and put some ice then handed it to her. I posted myself on the bed but it still felt formal to sit like this, like we were going to do some sort of interview. She sipped
I sipped. We looked and I thought because she, being out of her own environment, was very shy now. I knew I had to do something about that:.
“Ling oh Ling, it is so nice to have you here. I do like to talk about your work a little if you don’t mind.”
“I no want, I no work now,” she said shyly. Clearly she was here of her own account and because she wanted to, she did not want to be reminded of something I was to learn she did not like at all.
“Of course,” I tried to say emphatically, “but I want to know you Ling. How you did end up working there, what you like, desire, where you come from.”
“You can know everything about me Fran, I not like to work that, I have to.”
“What time do you have to go home?” I asked.
“I no go home if I no know you.” she answered.
“You do not have to report back for work? They are not checking on you what you do and with who. May be only for your own protection?” I asked.
“No, not that, girl get room and pay money for working do men. Eating, room, clothes, make up is cost. Rest of money if make more I sent to family inside mountain. No people look after girl, only money pay to owner.”
“Aaahh, that is the set up then,” I understood, “what protection do you have against bad men, men that do not pay or want things you do not like or worse want to hurt you?”
”Some men there, inside, men take care only of girl, men cannot touch girl, cannot take money, men work for owner.”
“So, the girls are really free then, I see.”
“Yeah, girl free, work for herself, nobody look after girl” she nodded.
“I was thinking Ling, when the men drink the snake blood they think they are sexually very powerful right.”
“Many men scared, don’t know how to be with woman. They drink blood of snake to think they can do. No good, two minutes already finished. No lady like that and is good, so only two, three minutes and man can go. Many girl have customer come back all the time. One time a week, two time a week, work boring much, no feel sexy. No like men, must show girl like men.”
Though she was shy and reluctant talking about her work in the brothel, she had no reservation showing how she detested it. She was very outspoken and I found it quite impossible that she just acted this kind conviction. If acting, I thought, what would be her purpose. After all she was not really here with me to get anything, no money for instance but either to have fun or to have some friendly respect. Perhaps that was just what she felt like. Realizing the delicacy of the situation I was nevertheless determined to find out how she felt and what she otherwise might be after. I did not want to take advantage of her and seduce her. To me it was clear that she was really quite willing to share bed and night with me, which still had not yet completely gone into me why she wanted that. And, indulging in that made me feel like I would take advantage of her.
As if she had heard me thinking, brain grinding, Ling looked a little worried that after all she had done, like coming over to see me, I still might reject her. I did not like the look on her face so I broke silence:
“Ling oh Ling, you are such a spontaneous girl, I find you ravishing, attractive, gentle, feminine, but I do not know what to do, except for knowing you very well of course. So, please relax, stay the night if you like, but let’s talk, make love anything that makes us feel close? The only thing I cannot promise is that I can stay long.”
“Is okay, I want know you too,” she said shy still.
“What you do in Taiwan,” she suddenly asked with genuine curiosity on her face.
“Oh, I work for a travel agency and do photography work. I like to see the original peoples of Taiwan,” I began and told her the story in short to begin with. She listened very carefully, but because I used words she might not know, I was impressed with what she did understand from this, for her, alien language. I told her to not feel shy to ask and so I could explain a word she did not know.
“I do that,” she nodded vigorously, “you in Amsterdam? I hear about country, milk and flowers many?” she asked with a smile now. She smiled innocently and I could not resist her and smiled too.
“You tell me Amsterdam,” she practically ordered and added, “you have girl houses like Snake Alley?”
“We have no Snake Alleys, but there are Chinese people there too and yes we have girl houses too. The only difference may be is that you need to work in a girl house to live but in my country women do it to get some extra money, or to buy drugs. Normally all people can have some money when they cannot work, or do not have ordinary work.”
“Really? And girls do that?” she asked as she looked up not sure to believe me, “why these girls do that?” she asked in bewilderment. Aye, I thought that is not an easy one but I tried:
“You see when people spend more than they have, because of bad luck or not being able to count properly, or are greedy, they have debts. Some women get used to have some money and get it from that type of work. Other women for all kinds of reasons are hooked on hard drugs and have to have that drug every day. One way of getting that money is to sell themselves. There are the higher class women who do it for fun and for money. They like to be pampered by men.”
“What is pampered,” she asked, “I know Pampers for babies of rich people, girls use that?” she asked seriously.
“No, no, no, that is a trade mark of a company making and selling diapers for babies,” I laughed, “to pamper is to spoil someone, being very nice too nice to that woman, in this case a man giving a lot of money and presents.”
“Men don’t do that here,” she replied.
“Oh, they do,” I smiled, “but not in the brothels where you work. I am sure here too you can find them. They are high class, students at university even and who can speak several languages.”
“Oh, here too,” she asked like she could not believe. I remembered seeing some tourist magazine and said to her that I would get it.
“Drink, I will be back in a minute,” I said to her and left the room but taking the key with me, ran downstairs, asked for a magazine to borrow and came back up again. I found her sitting in exactly the same way as I had left her, like she had not moved.
“Look,” I showed and leafed through the pages till I found one with some ads on hostesses to accompany businessmen, “this is an advertisement for high class prostitutes. Of course it is not stated there, but to pay a girl something like twenty to fifty fold and take her out to be among high class business men is what is done. Usually it is paid by the company even when a deal is closed.”
“You know too much,” she said in amazement, “you not afraid here, people no like that, when they see what they do!”
“It is all right, it is advertised, when I phone now I can have a girl within an hour for the night. I have to pay big money though Ling. But tell me how did you get into that brothel, your work?”
“I don’t like to talk about it. I only say to you now, I am shy to say. My family stay in mountains, I half Chinese, half Taiwan. All family in mountain, one time because of big rainstorm and trembling of earth, house gone. Many problem, cannot go to school also. Slowly family built again, big problem water washed harvest. No eating, I oldest girl. I go Taipei to work. No many people like native, look down. I no schooling cannot go work somewhere. Now I work here. Cannot do something else,” she explained.
I stood up and walked over to her, took her in my arms gently, held her for a while when she sobbed silently, I only felt her moving when she sobbed on my chest. She felt ashamed and did not dare to look at me, but then I took her face into my hands like I had done before, in the brothel and looked at her, kissed her on her lips very gently.
“Wait, I want look good, nice, no with crying face,” she said stopping me and quite determinedly in her moves she slipped out of my arms, faintly smiling, grabbed her bag and walked over to the desk with mirror. There she sat inspecting her face and applying some make up. She peeked at me from the mirror as she was very much aware of her reflection, her mirror image. When she decided that she looked good enough, she jumped up, smiled broadly and danced back to me to reach out for my hand. She led me to the bed which suddenly looked much more inviting than before now that the tension of questioning her was over. She laid me so that my legs from the knee were bungling outside it. She pulled up a pillow and put than under my head. It was obvious she had a scenario in mind. My thoughts drifted to what she had said about her family in the mountains and I decided to talk to her about visiting there, while she decisively was pulling off my trousers. Getting excited just by the way she did it and that she did that I tried to stay calm and thought asking her to come with me as my guide and meet the people of the indigenous villages. This I happily thought, would serve two purposes first we would be able to spend some more time together and secondly I could have her as my expert on tribal affairs and interpreter. Perhaps when trained she could become a tourist guide even especially for visits to tribal peoples, I thought. But these thoughts were easily deflected when she took of my shirt as well to leave me with only underpants on while she was yet fully dressed.
She smiled dangerously when standing before me and looking quite happy now. Then she began to move and kept her eyes locked on to me, never leaving them but for involuntary blinking. Her eyes both warm and full of vigor showed she wanted to entice me, to please me wonderfully. I laid back and looked at her, her lean body slowly wriggling itself out of her clothes, the body I had seen before, her attractive body, slender and so well proportioned. She danced a little as she threw her blouse off and now revealing her form that was only covered still by a black bra and matching high cut panties. She threw her hands in the air then and turned around full circle then stopped and now motionless asked:
“You like take off all now?”
A smile I could not suppress and I just nodded for an answer. She came towards me like a panther on her hands and knees and then hovered above me. Effortlessly she stopped and locked eyes with me waiting for me to move. I clipped off her bra from the back and slipped it off her, freeing her breasts. She smiled and wiggled them a little, my fingers on her hips then the rim of her panties. I very slowly took it down as we both smiled now.. Whipped up with desire and still on her knees the panty stopped right there as our passion was raised towering high. Then without reservations she dropped to hit me with smothering kisses. She moved lustily me and I felt the same surge coming as I had felt before, but the same caution came over me to master me again and while we kissed passionately feeling every fiber and cell in my body jumping into action, she felt the apprehension too she stopped, looked and whispered:
“No worry, I have condom Frans. I not stupid.”
This was such a nice way of explaining herself, almost an anti climax that shot out in laughter and hugged her at the same time. Still with her panty on her knees, I came out from under her, left the bed and walked around so I was behind her. She remained in that position trusting that what I was about to do would have meaning for both of us. I reached for her knees, lifted them and slipped the panty off her buttocks. Now from behind her I took the panty from her legs and in doing so looked straight at her vulva, her femininity, partially covered in black pubic hair. She must have noticed I stopped a moment for she moved her muscles as her vagina with the twitch slightly opened. A marvelous sight it was. I stroked her buttocks and in response she laid her head down to look back at me. Stroking her soft flesh, she sighed, moaned and as I felt the passion in me rise too fast I broke the spell to ask her: