Prostitution is illegal in Thailand although it is somewhat tolerated.
From Wikipedia:
"A 2004 estimate by Dr. Nitet Tinnakul from Chulalongkorn University gives a total of 2.8 million sex workers, including 2 million women, 20,000 adult males and 800,000 minors under the age of 18"
The total number of people in Thailand is over 63 million so that means that the vast majority of the population is not involved in prostitution.
The movie does not represent the whole of Thailand anymore then the movie Trainspotting is a full representation of Scotland. I have being to Thailand twice and have never met or saw any prostitutes while I was there. It's easy to avoid if you want to. There are plenty of nice women there working normal jobs and who are financially independent. Not that I was seeking women out, I was in a relationship at the time.
I hate the idea of anyone being forced into prostitution and certainly sex trafficking needs to be stopped. I think it's good to be aware of issues so that things can be done.
However I have seen a beautiful side of Thailand where people are generally open, warm and caring. Of course I'm not going to assume that every woman in Thailand is like Palmy, or like my ex, that would be silly but I prefer to focus my energies on what I want in life.
Also from Wikipedia:
"Child sex tourism is a serious problem in the country. Thailand, along with Cambodia, India, Brazil and Mexico has been identified as a leading hotspots of child sexual exploitation."
As you can see there are a number of other countries that have poverty issues as well as problems with Child Prostitution. But does child prostitution represent the whole truth of India, Brazil or Mexico? No. There are plenty of Brazilian, Mexican, Thai and Indian women who are over 18 and financially independent. Also Thailand, India, Brazil, Mexico and Cambodia to all have rich cultures that have nothing to do with prostitution or exploiting children. I think that making out that the movie represents Thailand is blowing things way out of proportion.
And as for finding Palmy's there, I met plenty while I was there but obviously didn't pursue anything being in a relationship and all. I meet plenty of Palmy's here to. Some Thai, some Japanese, some european (Belgium, Poland, Ireland, Czech republic), my current girlfriend who is half european and half african.
I used to go to San Francisco on a regular basis to meet women and a I met a lot of Palmy's there to.
So I think there is another side of Thailand that is beautiful and I prefer to focus on that.
Ok but where did you see me say that the movie represents all of Thailand?
I never said that all or Most Thai women are prostitutes...
I have also met people who are generally open, warm and caring in Thailand and I also met some nice women who have good jobs. I just pointed out that there is also a dark side to Thailand that most people are not aware of...