De Wallen, Amsterdam, Netherlands
De Wallen is the gold standard of red light district in the world. Under strict management of local government, this area is more safe, clean and operates more efficiently than any other red light district in the world. This is a popular tourist attraction, always crowded with visitors.
The prostitutes will stand behind the glass door, dress sexily to attract guests. Starting price for 15 minutes is about $69. Amsterdam is the only place in the world built a iconic bronze statue named Belle for the girls working in the field of sex. Besides the statue is a message: "Be respectful of those who work as prostitutes in the world."
Villa Tinto, Belgium
Prostitution is a legal profession in Belgium. The red light district Villa Tinto opened in 2000, strictly managed by government, became one of the most clean and safe prostitution activities operating places in the world. Similarly to Amsterdam, the prostitutes welcome guests through glass windows.
The difference of Villa Tinto is, this area includes 51 suites, with biometric scanners to identify personnel, police station working day and night, and there's alarm button under the bed to protect the girls. In addition, there are massage rooms and clubs for visitors. About 70% women working as prostitute in Belgium are Bulgaria.
Pascha, Cologne Germany
Cologne is the first city in Europe where they build high-rise buildings. There, prostitute girls rent private room and welcome guest at the hallway. The cost for a 'fun time' of about 15 minutes is about $69. For visitors who are men over 66 years old, they only have to pay half the price at the afternoon.
Patpong, Thailand
The famous red light district of Thailand - Patpong is mainly for tourists. This is an entertainment location under administration of government, open until 2am. Patpong also is an exotic location where they combine sexual service and selling 'adult toys'. Compared with another famous red light district of Thailand - Soi Cowboy, the price at Patpong will be more expensive. Before coming here, tourists are also warned to stay away from drugs.
Reeperbahn, Hamburg, Germany
The red light district Reeperbahn is a first grade nightlife location with restaurants, strip clubs, cinemas in the city of Hamburg. However, activities related to sex are limited in certain time of day. There are around 400 women working at Reeperbahn. This number is 50% lower over the last decade. A ticket to erotic massage salon cost around $69-207 per hour.
Soi Cowboy, Thailand
Soi Cowboy is the most visited red light distirct in Bangkok. However striptease performance is considered illegal activity here. The costs for one 'fun time' is about $45/hour and $125 overnight.
Kabukicho, Japan
Unlike normal red light districts, Kabukicho mostly serves the locals and a few tourists. The bar, club here usually has a theme with girls dressed as secretaries, nurses, assistants, students... Some bars in Kabukicho are underwritten by mafia.
Pigalle, France
Pigalle red light district located right in Paris the magnificent capital of France. Here gathered may striptease clubs, nightclubs, adult toys shops. Ticket to a sex show is around $28. Some visitor come here because of curiousity, only watching without buying anything.
There also is someone said that Onsen, like Sentou, is to bath very clean before soaking in the tub, except that it's done outdoor.
In fact, they are not the same, just a bit similar in form. Sentou is heated water being poured into the basin, while Onsen is natural hot springs formed by no longer or still active volcanoes. The water is pure mineral water, it's very good for health. Therefore, Japanese come to Onsen not only to relax or foster the spirit, but also for healing and body care.
Traditionally Onsen often left exposed (outdoor bath house in Japanese is rotenburo or notenburo), but nowadays indoor bathroom is very prevalent, operated under the management of local authorities or private sector (uchiyu) - usually hotel, ryokan or private inn (minshuku - only serves sleeping space and breakfast for guests), a characteristic of this kind of inn is that the owner often is landlady called okamisan.
Onsen mainly is in rural areas, so lovers, spouses and children or a whole company after a working day, or simply looking for a new and romantic place, take a train from the city to remote rural areas to relax and chat in the warm water.
Before soaking in the hot water, everyone would wash themselves clean with a shower, then get into the basin. In onsen bathing area there is a rule that visitors can't be dressed when taking a bath and should wear a thin kimono called yukata when moving to the bathtub.
Japanese people believe that communication in nude make people become more equal, empathetic and close, break down any barriers in position, title and occupation.
For foreign tourists, the tour instructor will explain very thoroughly about how to bath, dress and behave in the bathroom. Entering onsen space, one does not just lift off the costume, but also shed off all preconceptions about ethics and gender.
When the body is submerged in the hot steaming water with outdoor temperature below 10 degrees Celsius, the hand can touch trees' leaves, the nose can smell exotic flowers, the ear can hear river roaring like a waterfall - between human and human, human and nature there's no longer separation, even if it's just a thin layer of clothe or a little embarrassment.
Besides, there also are additional services like: sauna, swimming pool, restaurant, motel... some become a resort with all kinds of services such as: meeting room, hotel, internet, tennis courts, table tennis, or even golf courts.
This is the latest move of Thailand government, where is famous for its sex tourism. However, how the law will be enforced is still unknown, when many photo taken has no face in it.
Thailand authorities also acknowledged the difficulty in prosecuting people who performed such acts. Anandha Chouchoti, spokesman of the Ministry of Culture of Thailand, said: "The selfies show only under the chest, with no face exposed. That just encourages others to take photos like that"
The warning was made in order to prevent a trend on social media today in Thailand, which is posting selfie photos that show underboobs.
Along with that, recently Thai government recommended, who takes selfie with beer bottle can be imprisoned up to one year. The law was enacted after many stars in Thailand posted on Instagram photos of holded beer bottles as a marketing campaign for a famous beer brand.
Earlier, Thai gorvenment also warned teenagers not to drink alcohol.
Luckily we're not in Thailand, so enjoy
One thing for sure is when someone comes to that country of friendly smiles is that Buddhism is everywhere. From the people to landscape, Buddhist cast its light on everything. In Thailand, wherever the people are they put a Buddha statue and pray with absolute respect. And only by experience it in this country and feel the human nuance that you believe it's true.
Many visitors arriving to Thailand asked to go to sex show spots, while the Thais never acclaim or do marketing for sex tourism.
For example, Patpong is a popular neighborhood dedicated for sexual activities at night. But there isn't any promotional material here, that proves that sex show isn't what Thailand wants to widely introduce to tourists.
Do you know that on the streets of Bangkok for every 10 people there were 4 people are tourists, and in Pattaya 7 of 10 are foreigners.
About the name 'sex tourism' city Pattaya, it's because sex is a widespread public activity for people over 18 years old. Pattaya has numerous erotic shows, strippers' shows of Thai or Western dancers... and most of them are exclusive for tourists.
In fact, all the tours to Pattaya bring tourists to sex shows, and if you pay close attention, there's not a single Thai people coming the these shows as a visitor.
Actually, coming to Thailand, if you want to find that kind of entertainment you have to prove yourself a foreigner, only then they will accept to carry you in with 3 times the fee and they'll leave as soon as you get off the vehicle.
A country with more than 90% of the population devout to Buddhism, do you think they would be proud of that kind of lustful tourism form?
Also throughout the way from Bangkok Center to Patpong on the taxi, i was pull over 2 times by police and had to prove that i'm a foreign visitor to Patpong before they let me go.
Thailand tourism also attracts tourists thank to the very professional service, they always treat their customers as kings, and not simply as sex addicts. Thai people always has a inviting smile on their faces. In Bangkok, even a tuk tuk driver can talking to you in English stylishly.
The stories from perspective of someone who works in Thailand tourism industry and Patpong's girls somehow suggest that, is only the tourists who see that country as a 'capital of sex'.
Fukuoka Art Museum is located at Oshori park witih very beautiful scenery. The museum has several thematic exhibits from time to time, at September 2015 thery already announce the topics for 2016. Along with paintings there also are ceramics, needlework,... Especially in this museum they also sell prints of famous authors' works. But perhaps the Chunhua room is getting most of the attention.
After i just finished watching the ancient paintings in the 2nd floor of the main building and came out, a museum staff invited me into a room with the hanging curtains that have a (春) character on it. This is a gallery for visitors over eighteen only.
The first time i look at pictures displayed here i was starled. A world of paintings that describe sex scenes very specifically, with all kinds of styles, positions, even more than sex scenes that sometimes pop out on Internet. There are scenes with one male two females, two males twho females and even more so, the gay sex scenes and the most extreme is the picture of an octopus having sex with a woman.
Taking picture is not allowed in the gallery, but as soon as you walk out, typing Shunga (spring picture) in search engine will results in many illustrations. Shunga is a kind of wood carving picture in Japan, use the theme of heterosexual relations as inspiration back from 17th century. But learning about this art form you can see that it existed in China before that thousands years and developed quite prevalently around 10th century in large cities like Suzhou, Hangzhou, Guangzhou. Because it's the entertainment for kings and principalities, it's named Spring palace painting, the very specific sex scenes were not only drawn on paper but also printed on porcelain dishes, teapots, vases...
Shunga portrays quite detailedly sensitive parts of male and female body, the pleasure facial expression and all kind of making love positions. Artist Hokusai's painting 'Dream of fisherman's wife' describes the image of a woman being eated out by an octopus seemed totally alien to the mainstream of tradional art. However, this is one of the most famous paintings of Hokusai, many researchers consider him the greatest woodblock artist of all time in Japan.
Shunga paintings are given as 'wedding gift' to bride to bring to her husband's home, and as a luck charm to samurais before the battle.
Although causing many controvesies, ancient sunga paintings are still displayed in major museums and Japanese shunga paintings are brought to British Museum in London and even to US.
Most unique and impressive pools in the world
Underwater sport center was built for London Olympics 2012, it's the work of the architect 'wizard' Zaha Hadid. The work includes 2 standard swimming pools and 1 dive pool. The curving dome part simulate the small waves in space. Recently, the sport center has opened to public.
The oldest public bathroom is from the ancient town of Mohenjo Daro, built around 2600BC. It was first detected in 1922.
One of the hot water pubic bathroom that has a design with strong Nouveau Art style (new art) belongs to Gellert Hotel, Budapest, Hungary. It was completed in 1918 and was opening through the World War 2 period.
Caracalla's Bathhouse is a famous pubic complex about both the facilites and the second biggest scale of Roman Empire, built in the period from 212 to 216. This is a massive structure located on a total area of 14,000 hectares, with spacious rooms, thick walls which are 35m high reaching the dome.
With a structure consist of the filing room, the warm water bathroom, hot water bathroom and cold water bathroom. Inside, the bathroom was decorated with mosaic marble on the walls, the fountain, statues of Greek gods. Currently, there's only remnants of Caracalla bath house, but it's considered an everlasting culture construction of the world.
Underground pool specialized for gentlemen is a work of RAC club, located in Pall Mall area (London). Its sophisticated design reminds of luxurious bathrooms from ancient Rome.
Clean with a modern design is the first impression visitors have when arrive at Kildeskovshallen pool in Denmark. Those are factors that bring to this pool Mies van der Rohe nomination - one of the most prestigious awards in architecture field.
The prominent British architect Nicholas Grimshaw is author of the Royal pool located in a building built from the 18th century. The pool is on the rooftop, overlooking the entire city.
