The reverie was briefly cranked up a notch or two one afternoon when a new ‘Ladyboy’ was transferred to building 6 from another building. For those of you that don’t know, Thailand is notable for, amongst other things, having an unusually high percentage of transvestites and cross dressers per capita and to the Thai people they are accepted as the ‘Third Sex’. It is not surprising then, that some individuals from this cross-gender community would end up in Bangkwang just as ordinary Thai  citizens do. Building 6 is home for about 7 or 8 of these ‘women’ who mince about the place in women’s clothes and underwear, costume jewelry and heavy layers of make-up, and who are the answer to hidden prayers. The opportunity to have sex with them is bartered for openly between them and their prospective customers who are mainly young Thai men.

It must be understood that none of these ‘Ladies’ have yet had any kind of sex change operation, but one has had breast implants and commands a high price for oral and anal sex, leaving the rest to squabble and bitch over the less affluent punters. The arrival of this new addition to the clutch certainly set hearts-A- fluttering in some quarters and business was booming even though to most of us the sight of a 6 feet, 190 pound Asian version of Ken Livingstone in a dress was only a passing diversion and became an amusing sidetrack for barely a morning. Curiously, there have been six ‘Free Condom’ machines screwed to the wall of the hospital waiting room for as long as anyone can remember but none can recall a time that they actually contained condoms!