Free Miss Bangkok: Memoirs of a Thai Prostitute by Bua Boonmee Page A

had been unfaithful. I came to conclude that his interest in me was fuelled by his obsession with my virginity; he was still blissfully unaware of the fact that I had lost it long ago.
    Sometimes, when I was feeling daring, I would ask Hiroshi why he continued to pursue me.
    ‘Why do you come here everyday? I want to talk to other clients, too, you know.’
    He would smile at me dismissively, as if dealing with a spoilt child. He wasn’t accustomed to hearing a girl talk to him in such a disrespectful way.
    He showered me with gifts of Japanese jewellery. In the beginning, I assumed that these were precious gifts he wished to bestow on his precious girlfriend. But in time I discovered that he was hesitant to give me Thai jewellery in case I sold it—foreign gold commanded a poor price in Bangkok.
    Like all Japanese men, Hiroshi was careful to adopt a long-term strategy for success. This is perhaps why he waited three years before asking me to accompany him on a holiday to Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, for three days and two nights. I suspected that he wanted to consummate our relationship and, even though I had no desire to be physically intimate with him, I agreed to go. Besides, I had come to the gradual conclusion that Hiroshi enjoyed the chase more than anything else.
    We had to take a flight to Chiang Mai, a city surrounded by tall mountains. Once there, Hiroshi was keen to visit as many mountain temples as possible, whilst I, on the other hand, was content to visit just the one—a temple called Wat Prathat Doi Suthep, which overlooks the city of Chiang Mai. It is situated on the top of a mountain and accessed by endless steps. Two magnificent, seven-headed naga (serpents) slide down the sides of the steps, serving as banisters.
    At the summit, there was a chedi , which contained the relics of Buddha, but no woman, regardless of her status, was permitted to enter its inner sanctum. This was because the relics rested below the baseline of the chedi , and the monks feared menstruating women would taint its holiness.
    Despite this, the visit proved a very special and memorable one. Had it not been for his age, I might even have fallen in love with Hiroshi.
    When darkness fell, a chauffeur collected us and drove us to the hotel.
    I pretended to be unaware of his intentions on the first night, so when Hiroshi took me to a club and spent the evening buying cocktails and champagne, I made sure to pace my drinks, so I was still quite sober when we returned to the hotel.
    I accompanied Hiroshi to his room. He closed the door behind me with a satisfied grin. This was the moment he’d been waiting for. He moved to touch me, but I slithered free from his grip with the agility of a snake.
    ‘ No, leave me alone,’ I said to him.
    ‘Don’t be so ungrateful Bua.’
    His face fell as I resolutely grabbed a blanket and lay down on the floor.
    ‘What are you doing? Don’t worry, I’ve got condoms. I’m prepared.’
    ‘I’m not,’ I replied. ‘I’m drunk and tired. Do not disrespect me again! Goodnight.’
    And with that I went to sleep.
I awoke the following morning to face a disgruntled Hiroshi. His hopes of taking my virginity had been dashed. I didn’t expect him to take rejection well, but he surprised me by quickly returning to his normal good-humoured self.
    That evening, after visits to more temples, he took me to another club where I made a point of befriending a girl whom I urged Hiroshi to entertain. I was hoping that she would serve as a distraction and I wouldn’t have to fight Hiroshi off if we spent the night drinking with her.
    In my reckless insolence, I invited her back to the hotel with us. At first, Hiroshi didn’t object and the girl accompanied us back to the room. But as Hiroshi began to sober up he realised that I had been leading him on all these years, with no intention of ever sleeping with him. He was furious. He raised his voice to me for the first time and accused me of embarrassing him