5 reasons why you should travel to North Korea this year

Officially, it’s called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. In a country where the voting form only states yes or abstain, the word democratic sure seems like a pun. Theoratically, every citizen gets to vote. And yes, everyone voted yes. This hermit kingdom has been reclusive, but yet wrongfully represented in the media. With the succession of the new leader Kim Jung Un (or Marshall Kim Jung Un as he would like to be known), the country is going through a major change since 2011. Personally, i would prefer to call him Kimi, sounds more affectionate doesn’t it?

1) With the succession of the new leader Kim Jung Un, there has been many changes in the political, cultural and infrastructure in the country. Rumoured to have been educated in Switzerland, Kimi the 3rd probably has a more western view than his father and grandpapa.

Kimi and his grandpa

 Tourism seems to be on the rise in DPRK (as it is officially known), with a new water theme park and a ski resort opened in the last couple of years. Hell, you could even buy a SIM card at the airport when you arrive. There have been revamps in some of the important sites like the Mausoleum, War Memorial and the Kim Il Sung square since the succession. So yes, you get to see shiny new bronze statues and floors covered in marble.

Themepark in DPRK

Restrictions are getting more relaxed in recent years. Mobile phones and DSLR cameras are allowed. We are now allowed to take pictures out of the bus. I can stray a floor away from my North Korean tour guide and not get shot. Inspection at the airport is less stringent, and we are able to bring magazines and other ‘anti-propaganda’ stuff in. Shots of photos and videos are aplenty during the trip, and we only had a couple of incidents where we were told to delete the photo after it was taken.

2) The DMZ has a better view in the North than in the South. You get to dress in jeans and walk on the steps towards the main building in the North. You do not need a telescope or bino to look at the south, because it’s all in plain view at a stone’s throw away. You can literally throw a rock and hit the South Korean guard on the head, although it’s something best not to be done… Somehow, the South seems more intimidating and ruthless than the guards in the North.

DMZ view from the North

To top it off, you get to go to the top of the North’s building and have a bird’s eye view of the area, all without the protective tinted glass. I have not been to the South’s side of the DMZ, but i’m certain that the view in the North is much better.

3) It is becoming more commonplace to travel to North Korea. Tour groups like Koryo (which i went with) have opened up tourism in DPRK. They were the first tour company to organise a marathon for foreigners in 2014. There are cheaper options, but it is always better to go with a well established company like Koryo. The guides are experienced and they have a wealth of knowledge about DPRK. They can provide you with answers or opinions to your questions that you wouldn’t dare to ask your North Korean tour guide. And yes, Americans can travel to the North. My tour guide from Koryo is an American who has been to North Korea for the 34th time. Myth Busted.

Me and my American tour guide

With only 3,000 to 4,000 tourists visiting the North every year, it makes places like Bhutan (28,000) and Sao Tome and Principe (12,000) sound like they are flooded with tourists. It is getting more commonplace, but still is a reclusive place to go to.

4) There are sights to die (pun intended) for in the North. You might be exposed to only the best that the country has to offer, but isn’t that what tourism is all about? The last thing i want a tourist to see when in Singapore would be where i live, duh. The monuments are huge beyond imagination. The very first advice I had was that no matter how you take the picture, it would make the monuments look small. Nothing beats being there in person in front of the Kim Il Sung statue, or the Arc of Triumph (as they all it). The War Memorial has bronze statues that makes the Merlion seem like a toy, and the towers can easily rival most of the western monuments. Ryugyong Hotel stands at 330m and 105 storeys, much higher than anything you can find in Singapore.

The war cemetery… i think.

The Arc of Triumph

Juche Tower

5) There are real, friendly and accomodating people there. Not everyone behaves like a militant bent on killing every caucasian in sight. We had laughs with everyday adults, frisbee sessions with kids, selfies at the monuments, dances at the mass dance (yes, we danced WITH them) and just about anything else you expect of a normal human being. My North Korean tour guide has a dog at home and no, arranged marriage are not commonplace. They get to eat at restaurants, hang out with friends at their houses, have a real job (unlike me), go bowling at the entertainment centre and even have a day off at the ski resort. Yes, there are restrictions in place but don’t every country have them? You don’t see couples holding hands or displaying PDA in public. You don’t see people littering or spitting in public. Theft is not common and vandals are usually foreigners (the daring ones). And unlike some countries, conscription is not even mandatory.

Mass Dance in DPRK

A crowd during their National Holiday, the Army Day

Typical picnic food

Propaganda is a huge thing and it does affect the people. Most believe in all the crap but those who do not rarely speak up. You can hate the country’s leaders, but you can’t hate every single one of the people living there because they are real human beings like you and me. If you were trapped in their situation, you would probably be doing the same as them. They are just people trying to make the best out of the situation they are in.

In the end, the trip to the North could bring mixed feelings, just like the mixed facade that they are trying to portray. You have huge hotels and wonderful monuments, but there might not be running water. The people in Pyongyang might be living the life, but there are millions that are starving further in the North. The thought of travelling to the North might bring ethical issues about contributing to the regime, but how much can a few thousand tourists actually do? The hotel itself would have cost much more than the tourist revenue it can bring in years. You can hate the leader, but you sure can’t hate the sights and friendliness North Korea has to offer.

The backbone of the Juche Philosophy. The brush, the hammer and the sickle

Borobudur and Merapi

A short two hours flight away from Singapore, Yogyakarta (aka Jogja from the Dutch influence) is a tropical haven for slight seeing. The town centre is an hour away from two of their biggest attraction, the Borobudur temple ruins and Mount Merapi. Oh, and you get to experience the Tarmac walk on arrival. The allure of the ground, the empty space between you and the plane and the runway in your face adds to the experience.

Borobudur is about 70km away from town. In the Yogyakarta traffic, that would translate to one and a half hours of drive. The sunrise at Borobudur is to die for, but only if the skies are clear.

As the largest Buddhist structure in existence, Borobudur is a sight to marvel. Surrounded by mountains and forests, it easily beats the view at Angkor wat.

Like all historical monuments, Borobudur has stupas and carvings that has been ravaged by time, but are nonetheless breathtaking.

50km away stands Mount Merapi, the location of the closest volcanic eruption to Singapore in 2010.

Lava was spewed out of the volcano and engulfed the surrounding villages. Most of the houses were burned and items laid to waste.

Nokia 3310, I think you met your match.

WTH are these TV screens made of?!

The site of the bunker where 2 died while trying to escape from the eruption.

And Batu Alien, the rock formation that was thrown out of Mount Merapi and resembles an alien… or does it not?

The city of Yogyakarta is less charming, with the constant sound of bikes revving their engines. It’s even worse during the election period (next month).

And here’s the part that I don’t get about getting votes in Yogyakarta. Masked walk on the streets with bikes revving their engines to sound like cheers or drums beats while holding huge flags and look like they are high on drugs. Not to mention the menacing looking political party flag which is blood red and has an angry bull all complete with horns. They walk along the road and block the entire traffic, taking their time to stroll along every street. They walk around dancing and cheering, high on what not and seems to be on the borderline if taunting passerbys.

Angsty much? Yes. Because they start at 8am.

Political aside, Yogyakarta is a city to visit. Cheap food, better sights than Angkor wat, majestic mountains and more importantly, friendliness and service that rivals the Thais. Add in 2 flights a day and under $150 for a return, Yogyakarta has just become one of my favourite cities in Southeast Asia.

Hangzhou to Tianjin

Hangzhou -> Tianjin
Cost: S$90 (S$64 if bought over the counter)
Time spent travelling: 15 hours

The Hangzhou to Tianjin train ride was a 15 hour, 1485km long ride. I finally got to sleep in the middle cabin. Tic tac toe completed! But i’ve got to say that the middle cabin was the worst. It’s too high to climb straight into bed and the ‘sitting up’ space on the bed is the smallest.

The T32 train is runs from Hangzhou to Beijing directly, with Tianjin along the way. It is not the fastest train available from Hangzhou to Tianjin, but definately one of the cheaper options. For a much faster ride, the G52 train runs the entire journey in about 5 hours, but at 3 times the price and without a sleeper option. A single route between cities has between a couple to dozens of trains running between them. The flexibility it offers is great, but tickets for sleeper trains tend to run out a few days before the departure date. It is rare to see a single bed unoccupied on these sleeper trains.

Just a couple of  hours away from Beijing, Tianjin is Beijing’s sister city with much to offer as well. In essence, it is more developed than the other Chinese cities, it is windier than Beijing, and the streets are typically cleaner. Food is influenced by the north-eastern part of China and the cuisince differs greatly from those in the south.

Flights from Scoot fly the Singapore – Tianjin route twice a week and is a distinctly different flight from other budget airlines. The Scoot flights mainly uses the old SIA planes and are larger with more leg room for the passengers. Also, it’s relatively cheap. You should be able to get return tickets under S$450 to have a taste of somewhere cold (read: very cold). It’s towards to end of winter but the temperature drops to about 2-3 degrees at night. Oh, and hope you get to sit on one of Scoot’s latest plane, the Bo-Eng!

Guangzhou to Hangzhou

Guangzhou -> Hangzhou
Cost: S$96 (S$64 if bought over the counter)
Time spent travelling: 18.5 hours

By now you would have noticed that there are 2 prices for the tickets, one is the amount that i paid and the other if it is purchased over the counter. As a foreigner, it would be impossible to purchase the ticket over the official Chinese website (www.12306.cn) for trains. It requires a verification of your ID and sadly, they only accept Chinese IDs. Hence, tickets have to be purchased by an agency in China. They would proceed to enter your passport details into the Chinese website as a foreign guest and the collection of tickets can be done at the train station itself when you arrive in China. After a short verification of your passport at the train station counter, they will print your tickets for you (at a minimal fee of course).

The train was similar to the one i had from Nanning to Guangzhou. I got the upper berth this time and it was a hassle. A huge backpack, your day bag, food, water, ipad, portable charger etc, it all adds up to quite a bit to carry espcially when it’s 2metres off the ground.

There is barely enough space to sit upright on the bed. It’s a mix of squirmish moves and curling to get comfortable. The actual train ride is from Guangzhou to Ningbo, but I alighted at Hangzhou.

Hangzhou is famed to be one of the most beautiful cities in China and it is easy to see why. Except for the constant spit from the locals, the area is free of rubbish and the sidewalks are clean. It is a common sight to see a road sweeper in the area, unlike the other parts of China.

The city’s roads are surrounded by trees and plants, standing amidst the Chinese traditional styled houses. From the west lake, you can see the high rise buildings that power this city’s economy from afar. As per various Chinese sayings, the view is supposed to be prettier in Spring/Autumn but i don’t really see how much better it can get. Definately a place that i would go again (I can’t say that for most Chinese cities). And yes, the sunset is one of the best in the world.

Nanning to Guangzhou

Nanning -> Guangzhou
Cost: S$64 (S$40 if bought over the counter)
Time spent travelling: 13 hours

Having not spend the night in Nanning (which translates to not bathing for 2 days), I took the overnight train from Nanning to Guangzhou.

The beds are much smaller than anything I’ve ever slept in Southeast Asia. They consists of 3 rows of beds on each number. Formats on the ticket would state the train number, the carriage, the bed number and the berth. Adding to the confusion is the fact that most of it are written in Chinese. I had the lower berth for this trip and it was probably the most convenient.

Tickets are relatively cheap, but the proximity of it all does create some problems. Other than the constant chatter of people, kids running around, bumping your head on the berth above, you also have to battle the chorus of snores. Mind you, girls do snore as well (and as loud). The air is well circulated which means that it is constantly freezing. Blankets were issued and it did help, but can be a little too much at times. Either you freeze without your comforter or you sweat under it.

Meals were served (at a price) during the trip and it’s cheap for ‘transportation food’ (think food on airplanes). However, most locals bring their own cup noodles and snacks. There is even a hot water dispenser for their convenience. The trip was uneventful and the view wasn’t great as it was mostly through the night. Well, at least i made it to the station in Guangzhou.

The train ride might be mundane, but Guangzhou city made up for it.

It was foggy/hazy like any other Chinese city and Guangzhou wasn’t known for sights. There’s this Chinese saying: Be born in Suzhou, live in Hangzhou, eat in Guangzhou and die in Liuzhou. Well, Guangzhou certainly didn’t disappoint. I ate most of it without taking any pictures (yes it’s that good) so here’s one for the money!

I stayed in the electronics area of Guangzhou where powerbanks were sold openly in boxes of 10 and cables were lying all around. My dorm mate traded in powerbanks by buying them from China and selling them to US. At 10USD each, these 10000mAh powerbanks can be retailed at 60USD. Sell them to the retailers at 40USD and you would still keep a neat profit of 30USD. Oh, and he sells them in the hundreds. Business idea eh?

Guangzhou’s a place that I really felt at home. I can understand the English signs, the Cantonese stallholder and the lady at the Metro who spoke in Chinese. Finally somewhere in the world where I understood everything. Looking for a perfect blend of cheap eletronics and food? Look no further than Guangzhou!

Hanoi to Nanning

Hanoi -> Nanning
Cost: S$ 57
Time spent travelling: 12.5 hours

The crossing of the border from Hanoi to Nanning was quite unlike the other borders. The main train that runs from Hanoi to China (Nanning) only consists of an overnight train that departs from Hanoi at 21:40. Ga Gia Lam station is not the main station in Hanoi, but is the only station that departs to China. A good 6km away from the city, this seperate station is necessary as the trains that run in Southeast Asia is different from the ones in China. China uses the international standard of trains and run on slightly larger tracks. Having said that, the station in Ga Gia Lam is smaller than the main Hanoi train station.

The 4 bedder is pretty comfortable in the small cabin, but big enough to sit around and have a chat.

We did felt like refugees during the border crossing. It was cold, windy, dark and we were constantly surrounded by Vietnam or Chinese soldiers holding automatic rifles (no pictures of them though, wouldn’t be alive if i took any).

 The Vietnam immigration counter was open solely for our train in the middle of the night at 2am.

12 and a half hours later, China!

The air’s bad and the weather is freaking cold but I’m glad that i made it to China!

Nha Trang to Hanoi

Nha Trang -> Hanoi
Cost: S$142 (S$94 if bought off the counter)
Time spent travelling: 26 hours

Known as the reunification express, the entire span of the railroad is from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. The train brings you through the countryside, the mountain, main cities along the coast as well as paid fields. Nha Trang is one of the smaller towns in which the train (code name:SE8) passes.

Boarding the train was quite a squeeze, with people trying to get on the train while people are still alighting. Of course, the fact that the train was a couple of tracks away from the platform made the boarding even more interesting.

The sleeping cabin was small, barely enough for 4 to squeeze in a single cabin. The walkway and toilet was clearly made for petite Asians like me. Small, but well equipped nonetheless.

The torment of a 26 hour ride can never be underestimated. Yes, I’m done with half a season of the vampire diaries on one train ride. The station at Hanoi is busier, with trains moving pass you as you are getting out go the train. Well, at least the platform is bigger.

I’m so not looking to the train ride all the way up to Tianjin. =(

Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat to Nha Trang

Ho Chi Minh City -> Da Lat
Cost: S$15
Time spent travelling: 6.5 hours

The only mode of transport from HCMC to Da Lat is by road, either by bus or taxi. I opted for the cheaper version and took an overnight bus.

The seat was barely big enough for me (pint sized Asian) and it was really a sight to see large Caucasians squeezing into these sleeper cabins. Most of the customers were locals though.

The initial plan was to travel straight from HCMC to Hanoi but when I read about the Crazy House hotel in Da Lat, I knew I could not pass up on it.

Construction was ongoing during my visit and we were allowed to walk freely amongst them. Not quite the sight you have in Singapore with all the BCA regulations etc.

The stairs were winding and a couple of storeys high. Yes, it did felt like Disneyland. But one wrong step and that’s it…

All these height in a small city did bring about some spectacular sights at the top.

Mind you, I arrived at 5am when the lights were out. Naturally my first impression of the place wasn’t good as it felt like I was stepping into some haunted mansion. Also, be prepared for an early morning as the place is open to the public for about S$3. It opens at 8.30am so be sure to keep your curtains closed, or be exhibited like one of the rooms around.

Da Lat -> Nha Trang
Cost: S$15
Time spent travelling: 4 hours

Had to transit over to Nha Trang, the closest town with a direct train to Hanoi. The only memorable part about the bus ride over from Da Lat is the mountainous terrain that you would have to pass. Gives you the creeps about all the horror stories of buses going off the cliff.

Nha Trang is a beach town and rather touristy. Gawk at half naked men or women in bikini along the beach, or even a couple of streets inland. Apparently it’s a diving haven so do try out the dive sites when possible.

Next stop, Hanoi!

Prostitution in Southeast Asia

We say that slavery has vanished from European civilization, but this is not true. Slavery still exists, but now it applies only to women and its name is prostitution. – VICTOR HUGO, Les Misérables

Background:

Our concept of prostitution is what we get of the media, the westernised version of why and how prostitution came about. It is wrong to think that prostitution in Southeast Asia is similar, like how MacDonald’s tastes the same all around the world (that’s a debate for another time). The views of many reports and stories illustrate that prostitution is different and does evolve. The situation in a first world country is always different from other parts of the world, and the same can be said about prostitution. At the bottom of the group is the South Asian where it is in its primitive stage. In Southeast Asia, it has evolved somewhat and this is the focus of the article. Particularly in Singapore, we are considered a first tier country (similar to Japan) where women are usually imported and not exported. It is quite like the apex of the food chain, where women flows in freely and we get to choose. Naturally, the understanding of this culture and how I can make an impact inevitably made me write this.

Unlike the western counterpart, the Southeast Asia’s sex industry is less reported and documented. Part of it is due to the standard of education, and the other significant part the Asian culture of being less outspoken. Throw in the stigma of prostitution and poverty and it creates a perfect storm for fuzzy information in this part of the world. Books are written and statistics are done, but none are as comprehensive and no one solution is able to combat the issue at hand. Studying this issue has been a tedious journey of reading different sources to get a clearer picture of the matter at hand.

My Story:

During my short-lived trip in Southeast Asia, I had the honour of staying in the red-light district of almost every city. Chulia street, Silom (aka Patpong) and District 1 are the sites of where my hostels are located. The cheap lodging undeniably had to do with the location of the red-light district. In one of my stays, I had a conversation with the staff at the hostel who is a transsexual. We were treading on lighter topics when suddenly his history popped up. He was born in a poor family and was simply feminine. To earn money for the family, he started prostituting himself. Slowly, he came to realise that white men were willing to pay more for sex with a transsexual (probably cause it is more exotic). He went to have his operation in a bid to earn even more and fulfil the desires of these white men. Sick. Bastards. And that would be an understatement.

In Thailand, I stayed in a hostel where sex tourism is banned and were strictly not allowed to bring any Thai men/women into our hostel. Lining the streets of Silom, this hostel was the street parallel to the famed Patpong area. A quick chat with the owner of the hostel allowed me to understand the suffering that these women faced. Many were not even from Thailand but were sent here against their will to earn a living for their pimps. They on the other hand, make a meagre amount for survival. The miserable income that they get makes it impossible for them to get out of the vicious cycle.

Classification:

There are 4 main types of prostitutes: willing, lured by monetary pressure, forced by lack of opportunities/options and trafficking/forced/unwilling. There are various degrees of selling the body; from paying to have a drink with the lady to the extreme end of sex. The term prostitution in this sense relates only to one end of the spectrum where it leads to sex.

Scenario 1: The willing. The group of women that are willing to do the deed for money. Primarily women who are of a certain age and would only charge a premium (read: escorts etc.)

Scenario 2: Lured by Monetary Pressure. The group of women who are willing to sell themselves for a better standard of living. This group of women has the basic needs and education, and are not usually associated with poverty nor lacking basic needs. Students and young working adults usually fall into this category. Some might even sell their bodies at a young age to fetch a premium and hence, the group of Virgins at the end of the spectrum.

Scenario 3: Forced by lack of opportunities / options. This group covers a wide range of women, from the young to the old. One common characteristic is the lack of education and options to do other forms of work. Their limited skillsets leaves them with little choice but to sell themselves to sustain a living. Women in this group are usually poorer and should be one of the focus of this article. Women who are transported to a first tier country like Singapore are usually in this group. They lack the qualifications and education to get out of this cycle. Alarmingly, some families even sell their daughters at a young age because they fetch a premium.

Scenario 4: The trafficked, forced and unwilling. Due to strict laws, we are unlikely to see such women in Singapore. However, the extent of trafficking and keeping women under a tight leash is rampant in our neighbouring countries. Women rarely see the light of day and their only form of socialising is with the men they meet to sell their services to. Some are even kept on drugs and the reliance of it makes fleeing difficult. This group varies from young and underaged girls being sold to brothels for a premium to the older women who are kept in this cycle and are unable to leave.

Solution:

Undoubtedly, there are plans to help these women on a daily basis. Millions have been spent to support and improve the situation in which women unavoidably land into prostitution. However other than education, most are temporary solutions and unsustainable. The debate between tactical and strategic solutions arises. Take this for example: targeting men who buys sex using undercover officers. A new form of resolution has to take place and it should all begin with the cause of it: Men. Implement the concept of a strategic solution and the curves of demand and supply and a cost-free solution is formed. Without demand from men, the supply of prostitutes would dwindle.

An almost perfect scenario of a significant decrease in commercial sex demand would not eliminate all the prostitution in the world as there are always the first two scenarios. However, removing demand to a moderate scale would tip the balance in favour, resulting in higher costs from the drop in supply and having the first two scenarios taking over most of the demand. A huge portion would be gone, especially the part on trafficking.

Focus:

Therefore, it would mainly be the groups that are forced by lack of opportunities/options and trafficking/forced/unwilling that would be the focus of this solution. Besides, the other reason would be the fact that I am not Superman and I cannot save the world. Nor am I Batman. Or Ironman.

Education and the 2 Pronged Approach:

Human trafficking usually stems from poverty and the best tool to combat poverty is education. Education -> reduction in poverty -> reduction in human trafficking. Educating people is a costly business and is a multi-layered issue. Add in a dose of politics, money, a lack of infrastructure/technology, you get a problem only strong willed governments can solve. And we shall leave these issues to them.

The other approach is cost free, less time consuming and can be done everyday. It is the educating the educated that prostitution is wrong and it leads to human trafficking. Now how hard can it be to educate well learned people who knows right from wrong? But do they even know what is right from wrong?

The obvious answer would be to stop visiting prostitution, but how many people can see the correlation between prostitution and human trafficking? How do you expect them to see the far fetched link between prostitution and human trafficking when they are not even able to see the direct relationship between prostitution and the dehumanizing of humans?

The purpose was never to eradicate sex as a whole. It is never to be religiously backed, to stop one night stands and consensual pre-marital sex. The desire for sex is hard to diminish as it is a real physiological need. The context was always to prevent women from selling sex and men to dehumanize them.

The Grey Area:
The main way to combat trafficking is to stop the demand for commercial sex. But what about the various degrees of dehumanizing women? Does the KTV that offers sleazy half services differ much from the brothel that does the full service? Women are still paid for such ‘services’ and with such demand comes with the equivalent supply of women.

The dehumanizing of women comes in many forms, some of which we are closer to than the other. We might not have friends that visits brothels every other day, but most of us knows a handful (or more) that does believe in patronizing such KTVs for a similar experience. Some do not like the experience of going ‘all out’, but want to have a piece of the commercial sex industry. This grey area can be combated too, and could well be the backbone of the solution to human trafficking for sex.

The cost of such grey area services are usually cheaper because of the wider demand (and acceptability in our culture) as compared to the ‘full on’ sex industry. But what if demand for the grey area is drastically reduced? The supply would drop in relation to the demand and full-time prostitutes would be drawn into this grey area, facing the fact that women would rather do something less demeaning if given a chance. And what would happen to the sex industry? The supply would drop as well as more women are drafted into the more socially acceptable form in KTVs.

So what happens to the demand when the supply drops and the price increases? Go figure.

Sustainable Actions:
So how do we stop demand? The same way I made you aware of this. Start a conversation with your friends. Get them to talk about it and make them realize that visiting these women in the sex industry/grey area is wrong. As with all topics on women equality, the statements that carries the most weight are those that are said by men.

Stop hanging out at KTVs (or Lup Sup Bars) with friends. Suggest an alternative place to hang out and drink. Be responsible and do not suggest that business meetings should be held in such places (if it is within your control). Even if it’s clean fun without the paid company of women, avoid patronizing such businesses just because the alcohol is cheaper.  When the revenue of such businesses drop, they would have to reinvent their sleazy and pathetic business models for another form of revenue. Think, and treat every women like how you would others to treat your mother or sister.

For the women, make your male buddies aware that this is not right. It is not something in life that is beyond our control. Stop thinking that people are born in different backgrounds and you are lucky enough not to be doing that for a living. Do something about it and start these conversations. And of course, do not turn a blind eye if your man does something like this. It is no longer a socially acceptable thing that men can be out there playing but yet appear ‘faithful’ to their woman.

And why is conversation important? The same way conversation allowed an obese community to lose a million pounds in weight. In that story, a mayor got the city to lose a million pounds because conversations were started in groups and families. Apparently, it works better than incentives given by some other cities. Besides, I do not have money to fund incentives. Conversation is simply cheaper (or free).

The Whitest Shade of Grey -> Thai Clubs:

Now what about clubs where women are the focus but yet not dehumanized in this sense? Yes, they do perform on stage in scandily clad outfits but which movie star doesn’t? The hidden agenda of sex in some form is always present. Money is usually exchanged (for flowers or drinks). Would this be classified as a form of dehumanizing?

These women are on average more talented than you and I. They perform songs and dances for a living, and some might just earn a little more on the side. What impact does it have if the demand for such places cease to exist? To be honest, we will never know. In essence, these are performers and is purely sitting on the fence. So take your pick of which corner to fight for. Or be like me, sit on the fence on this.

How Religion Ties in and is Left Out

Thanks to the diversity of Singapore, we get to interact with people from different religion. All religions in the world promote a better society for everyone, including women. But why do religious people still visit brothels and KTVs? They may be staunch in their religion but are they missing out the part on treating all people equal? Selective religion plays a part, as I do not believe that any religion (read: religion, not cult) actively promotes the sale of women as objects.

To complement that, education is just as necessary to combat these issues. If not, education with the right mindset can at times be sufficient. I have never paid for a woman to touch me in any way sexual, and I have the honour of meeting Atheists who shares the same beliefs as me: that sex should never be bought. It all stems from morals and beliefs, that humans should all be treated equally.

The Future:

We will never know or be able to study the full impact of this course of action. Will the price of trafficking women into the sex industry increase? I certainly hope so. Would this increase in price cause more people to resort to trafficking? Would there be an increase in violence to get women into the sex industry?

Women would be forced to find other alternatives to earn a living. Hopefully, it gets down to something productive and good for mankind. I would rather a woman feed me with her rice than with her flesh. The downside? Unemployment might increase and there would be a bigger scramble for jobs.

At the end of it, it does not matter if there are no scientific research done on the impact of this article. Tens of thousands of women will still be enslaved in this vicious cycle no matter how hard we try. Hundreds of businesses across Southeast Asia would be against this act. But it does not stop us from trying. Even if one woman is saved because of this article, it would still be one more woman than before.

Bangalore galore and the Bangalore Belly

Earn more than S$3,500 a month? Congrats! You’re earning more in a month than what a villager in rural tumkur earns in 10 years. All the internet memes on how much Bills Gates earn as compared to you.. now you’re on the other side of the fence. But it doesn’t make you any happier does it?

This is the situation that many faces in rural tumkur, an area off Bangalore. Starvation might not be widespread in this area, but there is definitely room for improvement in terms of quality of life. Women are still not on equal terms and the caste system is still deeply rooted in the culture.

At the frontline to battle poverty is education. Schools are structures with barely any necessities. You may think that books and a proper shelter are the foundation of a school but even basic things like water is a major consideration. As quoted from a sociologist that we met on the trip, 90% of diseases are water borne.

The teachers and their prized water purifier.

The techniques they use for preserving insects for education may be primitive, but it works just as well. It costs S$10 to purchase one on the streets but costs less than a dollar to DIY.

Construction in this area is an ongoing thing, a constant reminder than progress is always present.

In most villages, the interior of the houses are more appealing than the exterior. Kind of cosy even.

Visits to houses always results in food, food and more food. We had bags of coconuts, bananas, oranges, citrus-sy stuff and others on just a single day of visit. And of course, we had the chance to eat like the locals.

It was great that we had a sociologist who was interested in social work to bring us around. He was patient and enthusiastic about explaining local myths and beliefs. Contrary to what we believe, vegetarian is a by-product of the caste system and not religion. Women contributes to 50-60% of the actual work that drives heir GDP, but is hardly recognized on the same level as men. And this, despite the southern part of India having a higher level of education than the north.

The experience was marred by the inevitable Delhi belly (or Bangalore belly in my case) but nonetheless was an eye opener. It is one of the most impoverished places I’ve ever gone to and it brings you a whole new perspective of money. S$30 for your next meal? It could well be the amount a villager would earn in a month.