The Lisboa Hotel Racetrack Ladies

Prostitution goes on all around the world, even where it’s outlawed. Prostitution is frequent in gambling cities. In Macau, which is a casino city where prostitution is legal, the sale of sex abounds.

You can find prostitutes casually hanging out in casinos around the world, from Caesar’s in Atlantic City to Naga World in Phnom Penh. In Macau there is widespread legal prostitution in huge sex saunas. Many of the big hotels and casinos have saunas in their buildings. It’s not as common to see a freelancer roaming around the poker machines looking for someone to poke her machine.

Nowadays, a lot of people look for women online. It makes sense when it is so easy. All it takes is a couple of clicks. And you can even see their pictures and read their statistics and reviews. But old habits die hard. So some people still shop in person.

The Lisboa Hotel in Macau (not the newer and bigger Grand Lisboa across the street) is one of the original five star hotels in the city. It’s not maintained to pristine conditions but it’s pretty damn nice. And in my opinion it has more character than some of the newer more sanitized hotels being put up by people who would probably be happy if Macau would be rendered totally “family friendly” like the new Las Vegas where adults drag their kids along to watch the Blue Man Group in between bouts of blowing their college funds away at craps tables.

There’s no sauna in the Lisboa but it’s still a good place to stay. There are a dozen saunas in walking distance and the hotel is very nice. It’s so nice that it has attracted a lot of freelance working girls from mainland China to come shop for customers on a regular basis.

The most famous place for these women to prowl is the so-called racetrack in the basement. For whatever reason the hotel management doesn’t mind if they hang around but they’re not allowed to stand in one place. So, they walk around in circles at a pretty high speed considering that they’re dressed in sexy outfits and high heels.

These women are hot. They’re nothing like what you’d see on any “track” in a major American city. Most of them are in their 20’s, few of them use any drugs and a few are even very educated. It’s simply a good way for them to earn quick money. When I say quick I mean it. The women are mostly looking for short timers who will give them several hundred Hong Kong Dollars for a blow and go. Many of them even have their rooms in the hotel that they can use.

There are issues for foreigners. Even though Macau is a casino and tourism town most of the tourists come from mainland China or neighboring Hong Kong. Foreigners who aren’t from Asia are obvious and few. There’s no discrimination or danger for foreigners in Macau. I’ve heard that dark skinned people can be refused entry to some saunas but that’s about it. I’ve never experienced any problems and I’ve never been turned away from a place on account of being a foreigner (which is something I have unfortunately experienced many times in Japan and South Korea).

In fact in more trips to Macau than I can count (or afford) I only ran into trouble once. That was the first time I tried my luck with some of the racetrack girls. The problem is that most of them only speak Chinese and they don’t have the time or energy to dick around with a Western guy. They aren’t rude or anything but they won’t give you the time of day if they sense even a hint of a problem.

It took me a while but out of sheer drive I finally had some fun with a few freelancers thanks to the use of some Chinese I picked up in my travels. I didn’t have any really bad experiences but I do have to say I was let down after all of the build up. It’s so much easier to visit a cheap place like Darling or Hou Va or one of the walk up brothels.

Still a lot of guys like the racetrack girls and I can see why every time I look at the ladies. Even though I’ve been with a couple I can’t help being enamored by them to this day. Chinese guys in particular love these ladies but that’s not really saying anything that couldn’t be said about anything else in Macau since it’s a Chinese city filled with Chinese people.

Some people have suggested that freelancers in Macau may work solo because they have diseases and thus can’t pass the screening in the saunas. I have no clue whether or not that’s true. I think it’s just as likely that they are temporary visitors from the mainland looking for quick cash like the Vietnamese women who work the Beach Club in Kuala Lumpur and they just don’t have time or the ability to apply for a long time sauna job. I’m not saying anyone should or shouldn’t check out the Lisboa ladies. I’m just saying what I’m saying. Thankfully I’ve never picked up as much as a sniffle in Macau.

And keep in mind that I first published this while the racetrack was still in full effect. In 2015, there was a big bust at the Lisboa that changed everything. The racetrack no longer exists as such. But everything else in Macau is still pretty much the same.