This is an education piece about Bangkok Freelancers for dummies.
What is a Bangkok freelancer?
A Bangkok freelancer is another term for a freelance escort.
Unlike bar girls or girls in massages, they do not work for anyone.
They are independent and choose their own clients. This means they can say NO to you.
The truest form of capitalism.
There are two types of Bangkok freelancers, they are:
Full-time - these are girls who make their entire income from freelancing in Bangkok.
Entrepreneur - a girl who has a regular job and needs to make a little extra money for whatever reason (pay rent, buy something, etc).
These girls may do it once a week, a few times per year or a single time only.
Why do girls freelance?
There's not enough well paying job they can do or are qualified to do in Thailand.
Where to find Bangkok freelancers
People who have never been to Thailand assume that these types of services are everywhere.
When I tell people I've lived in Thailand for 7 years, their eyes go wide and they start asking questions they think are funny like how many ladyboys I've had sex with (answer is 3.5) and how many happy endings I've had (lost count).
These types of services are not everywhere.
If you added all the streets in Bangkok up, you will find freelancers in less than 0.1% of them.
Freelancers in Bangkok are limited to a few areas, specifically tourist areas. You'll find very few freelancers near the backpacker areas like Koh San Road because backpackers are cheap.
If you're looking for a Thai Bangkok freelancer, you'll find them in the area I've marked in red after sun down for western tourists.
If you've never been to Bangkok the area I have marked is Asoke and Nana. It's the place you're most least likely to get a metered taxi.
Asoke and Nana are safe areas to visit in Bangkok. Apart from a few bad taxi drivers who are trying to make 500b from you, you should not experience any trouble if you use common sense.
You'll meet Bangkok freelancers in the following venues in these areas:
On the street - if you see a Thai girl standing alone wearing going out clothes, she's either waiting for a friend or she's a freelancer.
There's quite a few bus stops in the area above, so don't go up to a women waiting by a bus stop asking for rates.
Bangkok Freelancers give a lot of eye contact and stare at you. As you make your way into Nana there will be ladyboy freelancers too.
If you like someone you can go up and talk to them.
Yes everyone can see you talk to them, and yes most people will judge you. But do you care?
Bars - are littered along Asoke and Nana. You can meet freelancers in them, they'll usually be drinking a bottled beer on their own, or be in a small group drinking beers or Bacardi Breezers.
You'll also meet normal Thai girls in these bars with their friends, although rare. In 2012 there were quite a few normal Thai girls going there to have a drink, in 2018 that doesn't seems to be the case as much.
You can tell the difference from their clothing, freelancers are much more revelling. And give lots of eye contact.
By bars I mean bars like you have in the UK or US, not go go bars. Go go bars do not have freelancers, they work for the bar.
Clubs - you can meet Bangkok freelancers in pretty much every night club in Asoke in Nana. The clubs don't get busy until until midnight- 2am.
There are lots of nightclubs in Bangkok that aren't visited by freelancers and are full of locals, but you won't find them in Asoke or Nana.
At 2 am when the go go bars close, girls who haven't been picked that night MAY go visit a night club.
As they are not working in the bar no more, they are freelancing.
However, some go go girls with with a mamasan (pimp) and they take a cut.
Here's an example of this happening:
The women in the red jacket is the mamasan.
She was wearing clothes you'd wear when watching Netflix, while the other two were dressed up nicely. She was also telling them who to speak to.
What are the going rates for a freelancer in Bangkok?
Anywhere from 1,500b to 10,000b+.
Recent quotes I received:
8,000b by an South American freelancer, hot.
A ladyboy told me it was 16,000b, and I could see why, she was by far the hottest person in the club.
Typically the range is 1,500-5,000b, based on looks and age, you'll very rarely be quoted above that amount.
You can negotiate but it's a fine art to negotiate without looking like a cheap skate. If you do come off as a cheap skate the experience isn't worth having in my opinion.
Is it safe to go with a freelancer in Thailand?
I never thought I'd be writing the following sentence, but I think Thai freelancers are by far the friendliest and nicest nationality of freelancers I've met.
If you're the type of person who gets black out drunk and makes lots of bad decisions then for sure you'll attract the Bangkok freelancers who will rob or scam you.
But if you're someone who can handle themselves drinking, is polite and has common sense, you're not going to get scammed or tricked.
If you're a nice person, they'll be more than nice back. If you're a piece of shit, then they'll mirror you.
Thai freelancers are safe in the sense that you should not worry about being robbed if you follow the advice above.
Most are sweet as a button, but if any are rushing you, being forceful, aggressive or something seems off, walk away.
Are they clean and free from STDs? I'm sure people in the comments will quote statistics of how unlikely it is to catch anything, but I'm not going to tell you it's safe.
I found nothing exciting in life is ever safe.
Why choose a freelancer over a go-go girl?
The benefits of going with a freelancer is that she gets all the silver.
When I go Asoke or Nana and pop into a bar (not a go go bar), sometimes me and my friends will sit and have a chat with a freelancer, get them a beer then move on.
They are friendly and some have good banter.
A girl in a go go isn't always so nice, maybe it's the loud music, maybe they don't like to dance or they see everyone as a mark, but you're more likely to get a girl with bad attitude.
The downside to Bangkok freelancers is if you're the type of guy who gets black out drunk, when she takes your money and phone you'll have nowhere to go back and complain.
My one pro-tip when visiting these areas is to give a Bangkok freelancer 2,500b and tell her to take the day off. You'll feel great!
If you're thinking about moving to Thailand and need help or advice, check out my Online Nomad Group by clicking here.
