The medium is the massage

While on my way to the office (a journey of an hour at best), I (try to) do the Sudoko and crossword puzzles in the Jakarta Post. On the rare occasions that I finish both, I often turn to the Classifieds. The section headed Massage; it rarely has less than 20 small ads, offering massage by females and males in about equal quantities.

There used to be one or two that are offering a 'real' massage, but these clearly didn't do much business. The females now are almost all 'models', offering 'fantasy special massage for expats.' with 'sensational females to your hotel' - 'One Look & You're Hooked' - sounds like a real hooker!

The males increasingly describe themselves as 'boys' (although I'm sure the Post would not abet under-age sex - not so difficult since the definition of 'under-age' here is anything but clear!). Several have taken to adding 'See website Utopia' - you don't have to look very long at the result of Googling that keyword to find that it refers to a gay and lesbian site - I doubt it's referring to the Utopia Bathroom Furniture Group.

All good clean fun, I'm sure. But having worked for a large Mid-Western multinational company (Caterpillar), I know how frequently 'wet-behind-the-ears' visiting 'firemen' are sent by such companies on brief visits to this part of the world. What would not play in Peoria can easily happen in Jakarta. First night in the hotel, there's a knock, and they are offered service by someone who looks a lot more attractive than their spouse. But most of these 'kids' (and they're not only men) have never even seen a condom and would have no idea where to find one in Jakarta even if they had. I often wonder how many take back an 'oleh-oleh (souvenir).'

Before they leave the US, they are provided with a medicine box, including meds for diarrhoea and the like. I once asked my boss here (who is now the top man in Caterpillar) if the box included condoms. 'No,' he said. 'Should it?' I asked. 'Probably.' 'Could it?' 'No way' was his answer.

Babé