Into The Night
In 2012 Rolling Stone magazine writer and author, Jerry Hopkins, whom I had known since 1993 after he first arrived to Thailand, explained he was working on a book project on the transgender lifestyle in Bangkok and asked if I wanted to take the photos for his project.
Known as ladyboys, they have grown in number on the streets and bars over the years and have been accepted into Thai society more so than in the US or Europe.
In most bars areas of Bangkok, namely Nana Plaza, there are numerous bars with just ladyboys and others that are a mix of girls and ladyboys.
We first began the project at a sidewalk street bar known as the Check-In Bar, located on Sukhumvit Road, near to a McDonalds and Starbucks. The owner, named June was a transgender lady who used to work in cabaret shows in Bangkok before becoming a bar owner.
Tables and chairs were set up on the sidewalk and a rolling cart was the bar. Tourists and locals would walk past, the single men getting propositioned as they squeezed by the narrow pathway, often sitting at the tables and sharing a drink with “the ladies.”
There were often comical moments with the interaction of the ladyboys with each other and the customers who sat, drank beer and talked to them.
Several months later, June opened a bar in a narrow pathway known as the tunnel. The number of customers grew as did the number of ladyboys she employed.
The annual Ladyboy Volleyball Tournament, held in Pattaya, brought together ladyboys from various bars in Pattaya and Bangkok for a one day event at a hotel in Pattaya. The proceeds raised were donated to various child charities in Pattaya.
As Jerry’s health declined we decided to stop working on the project but did accumulate some interesting stories and photos over the 3 years we worked on the project.
Jerry passed away in Bangkok on June 3, 2018.
