to never, ever go to the Maldives on holiday

[Sallyingforth]

after reading this report...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21595814

Sex tourism is not just the preserve of males.
Older western women have been going to places like Egypt, The Gambia ,Kenya and Turkey for years to get themselves a bit of young flesh. A few fool themselves that their 18 year old lover loves and wants to have sex with them but the majority know exactly what they are buying.

Know a few Thai and Filipino women who married western men. Subservient isn't how I would describe them plus it's not always nice to jump to conclusions as you don't always know the circumstances of how they got together and whether they are happy.

I have an Indonesian friend married to an English guy. She is small but very unsubservient. People often assume that she is a bought wife which is a bit

Well I have just got back from Chiang Mai and Koh Lanta and I saw nothing of this. Sorry but I did not book myself into the middle of the Thai Soho, pardon me. Obviously I am more classy and also I can use TripAdvisor. Try it and you might have better holidays. Jeez!
bloody hell, ignore it and it does not happen then?

I am not jumping to conclusions as i SAID this isn't the problem. However, the men i encounter are mainly in their mid to late 50s, haven't lived in the UK since the good old days when you could drink drive and be a racist and have nicknames for their wives like "the bitch, the cleaner and the hired help".
It is jolly silly to take umbrage and accuse someone of stereotyping in this situation, it is obvious and doesn't need saying that not ALL middle aged men who pay someone to marry them are vile beings who expect their wives to be subservient. I am, however, allowed to note that the particular group of engineers I encounter behave in a certain way. Sometimes posting on MN is like teaching year 8 PSHE.

I don't think these men are paying these girls to marry them you know. No more than any Western woman who marries a wealthier husband does anyway.

Thanks for the link Bubblegum.

Yeah, I really don't understand the point of PessaryPam's first couple of posts, but she did see to realise how they made her look, and backtracked as the thread progressed.

Bump

Those people who won't go to Dubai (is it just Dubai, or all of the UAE?) because it was built using slave labour, I assume you are also never going to travel to the rest of the Arabian Gulf countries either. Because workers are treated absolutely no better in Oman, Kuwait and Saudi, and the idea that women are treated better in Saudi than in Dubai is laughable (although there's nothing funny about it).

I was only saying what my personal experience in Thailand very recently was. I am so sorry it didn't match what you would want it to be. Thailand is like the curates egg, good in parts. This hysterical overreaction is one of the major frustrations I have with soem on MN, and I'm looking at you theodora.

I went to Koh Samui recently, and had a fantastic time. Superb hotel, great pools, amazing restaurants all quite cheap compared to here. Incredible beach, with sea extremely shallow a long way out. Didn't see many ladies of the night, but I assume they hang around the Charweng area.

Don't BadLad, you will parceled up as an apologist for the sex trade whatever you say. I think it is concentrated round Charweng which is like a small outlier of Hell from what I remember.

I think English Comprehension is a subject that should be taught more rigorously in schools as I have been repeated attacked for thing I just didn't say on this thread.

"The Dubai government is aware, and doesn't really care about abuse."

Complete bollocks - there have been lots of changes to welfare laws in Dubai after international criticism. Here are three examples.

Camel racing - used to be done by children tied to camels! After the outcry, they have now switched to robot jockets.

Working during the summer - construction workers now do not work outside during the hotest hours of the day during July and August.

Transportation of workers - it used to be the done thing to transport labourers in the back of the trucks, without even a covered roof or seats. You would see them in tipper trucks. Now they have to have adequate covered seating.

Obviously they are a long way behind the west, but things are getting better.

PessaryPam, you were pulled up for the likes of this post...

Well I have just got back from Chiang Mai and Koh Lanta and I saw nothing of this. Sorry but I did not book myself into the middle of the Thai Soho, pardon me. Obviously I am more classy and also I can use TripAdvisor. Try it and you might have better holidays. Jeez!

...and rightfully so. The faux injured routine you're trotting out now is just silly.

Wow, PessaryPam. That was one silly post you did there. I mean this one:

Well I have just got back from Chiang Mai and Koh Lanta and I saw nothing of this. Sorry but I did not book myself into the middle of the Thai Soho, pardon me. Obviously I am more classy and also I can use TripAdvisor. Try it and you might have better holidays. Jeez!

Bad stuff doesn't not exist just because you personally are able to avoid it.

What always saddens me about the workers in Dubai etc is that is probably a preferable life to what they lead at home.

I got involved in a thread last year about Dubai and a few posters were involved in or supportive of local committees and projects to improve workers' conditions and rights, and accepted that this needed tackling.

Some had the blinkers on, though.

(i.e. posters living in Dubai were involved in things.)

Life in Dubai is preferable to back home only if you are paid properly and not abused.

People get trafficked on the basis of appealing promises, it doesn't mean that the resulting life of prostitution or whatever is better than what they had previously, it just means that it seemed appealing.

I don't know filly I believe most are Indian. The people I saw who were working in factories in India slept on the pavement. They had no toilets or running water. They looked pretty miserable to me.

I appreciate that workers' rights are poor in Dubai, and that women's rights are a long way behind the west.

But why is Dubai singled out for so much criticism, when other parts of the Gulf, and indeed some of the other Emirates in the UAE, like Ras Al Khaimar are worse in these regards?

Take this post:

"Would never set foot in dubai either because of how women are treated there."

Why mention Dubai and not Saudi?

Saudi Arabia is not promoting itself as a tourist destination to Westerners.

The UAE are not the only countries who do this. Who do you think is building the education City in Kuala Lumpar? There are few countries who don't employ migrant workers to save on cost. I am not excusing the human rights in the Gulf (I live in Qatar) nor would I seek an opinion that I don't live here for any other reason that the money, good lifestyle and weather. However, until we look at why it is preferable for people to work for £200 a month as a cleaner in Saudi or Dubai, we need to look at why this is preferable. My cleaner is from Nepal, he goes home once every 3 years and believes he is lucky to have been given the opportunity to work here as a road worker. He sends enough home to support 3 families in his village, they absolutely depend on him. Recently one of his family was ill and he needed extra money to pay for the op (and, no, he wasn't ripping me off, he has lived with us for 6 years and we have visited his family twice).
My point is, why are there still villages where men have to leave their families for years at a time and work for peanuts, villages where weather and poor roads mean they still have an appalling mortality rate and a young man is burdened with being sent away to pay for the schooling of not only his own children but all of his sisters and cousins children. Why is it that they all have Blackberries and Skype to keep in touch but no access to a dentist? The balance of wealth in the world is not just down to the oil rich countries, we are ALL guilty of buying knickers made in Bangladesh, Primark throwaway clothes made in Sri Lanka and we don't really spare a thought for the invisible poor.

Pessarypam, please don't take it personally. I too get frustrated with MN and while I don't really agree with you, I don't want to upset or frustrate people. In the end, there is little to disagree on in this matter. So, please accept my acknowledgement of your feelings and apologies for any ill feeling, I think we were fairly evenly matched in our difference of opinion but I am so massively opposed to the culture of belittling and bullying on MN I am more than happy to accept criticise and concede if needed. have a lovely day.