Sideliners in Chiang Mai

Some people think there is very little prostitution in Chiang Mai. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Some western tourists might see the pathetic Loi Kroh beer bar strip and long for Walking Street in Pattaya. But there are actually tons of places and people all over the city doing various sex services for cash. Most of them are set up for Thai guys but none of them turn away foreigners. Except maybe some sideliners. And there are a lot of sideliners in Chiang Mai.

Sideliners are basically just regular women who sometimes do stuff with guys to get extra money. Most of them only speak Thai and normally only get Thai customers. Chinese customers might be a little more common. But westerners are rare. So much so that a sideliner might simply reject a customer who contacts her in English. Or even a Thai speaking farang.

On the one hand there are independent and agency escorts in many countries around the world. Most of them also use the internet these days. At the same time there is a more peculiar way that the whole sideliner deal is organized in Thailand. There are sideliners all over Thailand. But Chiang Mai in particular seems to have a ton of sideliners. Maybe it has something to do with all the universities there. Or just the Thai idea that northern Thai chicks are the hottest women in Thailand.

What is a sideliner in Thailand?

Sideliners are called “sideline” in Thai. That’s ไซด์ไลน์ if you read the language. You can think of sidelining like a sexual side hustle. Sideliners can be office workers, university students or even nurses. It is basically any adult women who wants to make more money without doing prostitution as a full time gig. Though even that isn’t totally accurate. Because there are some full time escorts who pose as sideliners too. It’s not a black and white thing.

They are not exactly sugar babies either. Sure some of these chicks will find a sponsor. Or more likely a few suckers to sponsor them. But that is not really the name of the game here. Most of these chicks will meet a guy and fuck in a short time hotel for some amount of money.

Some of the chicks will post a set fee. But others are more amateur about it. They might meet a guy and tell him it is up to him to pay what he feels appropriate. Or they might chat almost like they are setting up a date and only talk about the money as an after thought. Like I said, it is not all black and white.

How does it work?

Sideliners post ads on specific websites set up for this purpose. Or they make a tweet with the sideline tag. These sideliners will usually post some kind of picture and say what they are looking for. Of course this is all in Thai. If a guy is interested he will contact the chick. Usually this is done on the Line app which is by far the most common way to communicate in Thailand. But it could also be done on WeChat, Whatsapp or even Facebook messenger.

Real sideliners might not accept every guy who hits them up. Genuine chicks who are only looking for a few gigs might actually be selective. This can all seem kind of funny when we realize that some sideliners screw dudes for as little as 800 Baht. That is just under $25 in American money.

But it is up to these women to do what they want to do. And that is why some of them won’t even engage in foreigners. Maybe they don’t like them. Or maybe they have never been around a foreigner. It could even be that they have heard bad things. It doesn’t really matter. The fact is that a bunch of these chicks won’t deal with guys who aren’t Thai or maybe at least Asian.

That doesn’t mean that none of them will though. While it takes a lot of time and effort I have actually met with a couple of nice sideliners in their twenties while in Chiang Mai. It cost me very little and I had a good time. But with so much else on offer from easy dating with Thai chicks to all the soapy massage parlors and straight up brothels I find it hard to justify.

Still I have to admit that is a pretty unique and vibrant scene in a city that all too many guys claim is lackluster or at least lacking in sex. I have never been bored for a lack of booty in Chiang Mai. I still find it difficult to fathom how many dudes come away from the place thinking it is no good for guys. Sure it is not Soi Cowboy in Bangkok. But if I want a street filled with go go bars that is where I would go. Chiang Mai has its own stuff going on. Including lots of sideliners.