If you are looking for a good time in Thailand, it is essential to learn the distinction between Thai women who are potentially looking for a longer-term attachment and Thai bar girls (or working girls).
Thai bar girls can be fun and very flirtatious, so it’s easy to get the wrong idea – while a Thai bar girl may be thrilled to go out on a casual date with you, she’ll expect to be paid at the end of it.
Here are my personal top 9 signs to distinguish a Thai bar girl from a regular Thai girl:
1. She came up to you. Because of cultural norms, most nomal Thai women will not approach foreigners – especially not on the streets – unless they are prostitutes. It happens that a normal Thai girl approaches guys (think Khaosan Road, etc.) but it is certainly not the normal when when it does happen, it is usually in a subtle way. If a Thai girl who is all dressed up comes up to you and starts flirting, especially if you are in a bar, chances are she is a bar girl.
2. She asks for a ladydrink. Again, this kind of forward behavior is often times indicitive of Thai working girls, but rare with normal Thai girls. The “lady drinks” purchased by patrons for Thai bar girls is an integral part of the bar culture there.
3. She is by herself. Thai people are very social people, and it is not typical for non-working girls to be out socializing at a bar or club alone. If you see a Thai girl in a bar alone all dressed up without any company, she is probably a bar girl.
4. She is very touchy. Traditional Thai women will not be kissing and touching all over you moments after meeting you – in many cases not even if you know them well. So if you have a girl at the bar placing herself on your lap, you are most likely interacting with a Thai bar girl.
5. She is in the tourist or red-light district. Your chances of running into a Thai bar girl are much higher at infamous nightlife spots such as Soi Cowboy/Nana Plaza (that’s for Bangkok), Walking Street (Pattaya), or Bangla Road (Phuket). Thai girls are highly unlikely to be caught hanging out in these areas if they are not working girls.
6. She is always on her phone. While many women in Thailand (and elsewhere in the world) are attached to their cellphone, Thai bar girls use it as their central way of conducting business. This isn’t a super clear sign of a working girls as many many normal girls are always on their phone a lot and might be talking to guys from online dating. Hell, you’ve probably messaged with a girl WHILE she was out at the club.
7. Tattoos. Normal girls have tattoos as well, so this is just one indicator. Don’t read too much into it – instead use it in combination with the other signs mentioned.
8. Revealing Style. Again, how she dresses, how much cleavage she is showing doesn’t mean much by itself but in combination with some of the other signs mentioned it can be a pretty good indicator as to whether or not she is a working girl.
9. She asks where you stay. Again, normal girls will also ask this; the difference here is that working girls tend to ask where you stay very early in the interaction perhaps after only exchanging a sentence or two. A normal (non-bar girl) will usually only ask where you stay after you’ve talked for a while.
Chances are if you are in a bar in one of Thailand’s red-light district, any of the beautiful women around you can be yours—for a price. It can be a little less nerve-wrecking to meet up with a Thai bar girl if you know what you are getting yourself into.
Needless to say, multiple signs can apply to normal girls as well. There are normal girls who approach guys. There are normal girls with tattoos who go to touristy areas or even spend a night out in a Red Light District. It is more so the combination of multiple signs that give an indication as to what a girl is up to.
A lot of these signs can be used as guidance both when you are out and about and also while you are scouting girls on online dating platforms.
In any case: Whether you want to know if a girl is working, whether a girl a a real girl – the best way is to always ask directly! You will not be the first guy to ask anyway, so don’t worry about being rude! Girls are used to these types of questions.