Hong Kong's Go-Go Dancers
Yesterday we posted part one of an email from "Spike," whose now-defunct blog covered the goings-on in the vice-filled Hong Kong neighborhood of Wan Chai. Yesterday's entry was about the "freelance" prostitutes who approach you in bars and try to get you to buy them a drink -- today's Spike looks at the flashier go-go bars, where "model dancers" sell hundred dollar handjobs.
Even if you haven't been to Wan Chai, you've probably heard about the many go-go bars that line Lockhart Road. They have bright neon signs advertising "model dancers." Girls and mama-sans sit out on the street, asking you to come in for "just one drink," or telling you it's happy hour and asking you to "just take quick look." The names include San Francisco, Show Biz, Cock Eye (used to be Popeye till they were threatened with a lawsuit), Venus, Firehouse and so on.
These places date back to the 60's in one form or another. At one point, they featured topless dancing, but the government put a stop to that by stopping to issue licenses for topless. As places came and went, bought and sold, nude dancing became a thing of the past.
The bars used to feature Chinese girls, but now they're mostly from the Philippines and Thailand. If it's their first time in Hong Kong, they were almost certainly brought over by a pimp in their country, who may or may not have told them what they were getting into. Sometimes, they are told the truth, other times they are told they'll just be dancing or working as a hostess. At any rate, most of them are quite lovely, often better looking than most of the freelancers you'll find in the discos. When you walk by the bar and they call to you, it's not the easiest thing in the world to resist.
When you go inside, you'll see several girls, usually in lingerie, on a small stage with poles. They'll be listlessly shuffling their feet in a vague attempt at dancing. You sit at the bar and you're surrounded by women who aren't currently dancing. They'll ask the standard questions -- your name, where you're from, where you're staying, your reason for being in town. Part of this is to size up how much they think they can get from you -- if you're at a five-star hotel or a three-star, an expat banker or a starving writer.
After a few minutes, the mama-san will come over and ask if you want to buy drinks for the girls. The drink you buy for yourself is the normal price, or sometimes a bargain price. There are three levels of "ladydrinks," the top one running HK$350 or so. That's about US$45 for a glass of coke or fruit juice. For each drink you buy, a ticket is placed in a cup. At the end of your visit, they figure your bill by adding up the tickets.
Once you get to the second or third drink, the girl will go to work on you. Most of these bars have semi-private areas with booths. Because they are often surrounded with plastic flowers and bushes, these areas are known as Jurassic Park. Buy a few drinks and you can get a handjob or a blowjob. You'll end up spending over HK$1,000 (US$125) for a handjob here.
If you're really in love, you can take your newfound friend out, but usually, you'll have to pay a barfine of HK$2,000 (US$25) or more (the later it is, the more negotiable they are) plus a thousand or two to the girl. Years ago, guys worked out a deal where they'd go to a go-go bar, buy a girl they like a few drinks, and then arrange to meet her afterhours at the Strawberries club to avoid paying the barfine. The mama-sans got wise to this and started going to Strawberries themselves, keeping an eye on the girls and not allowing them to go off with guys.
Who goes to these bars? People on expense accounts, tourists who don't know any better, and people who are so rich they don't care about the price. Back in the 90s, when I worked for a bank and the freelance scene wasn't so well developed, these places were a big hangout for us. I don't set foot in them anymore, though some of the mama-sans still remember me. They'll chat with me on the street, even though they know I don't go in anymore.
The mama-sans have astonishing memories. They not only remember customers, they also remember what the customer spent the last time he stopped by. Their goal is to always get you to spend the same amount (or more) as last time, never less. As I said, the girls are often quite lovely. They know how to keep the conversation moving because that's part of what they do. They can appear to be as sweet or as naughty as you prefer.
Last thing for now -- every night, if you pass by early enough, you'll see all the mama-sans and girls engaged in the same ritual, burning an offering on the street, shaking incense sticks, and praying. Most people and businesses only do this on holidays, but these places do it every night. It's because they know they are in an evil business -- promoting prostitution and ripping off customers when given the chance - and they are doing it to keep angry ghosts and evil spirits away.
