European Gentleman Cruising Khao San Road in the Bangkok Night

"European Gentleman Cruising Khao San Road in the Bangkok Night" - Chris Coles

He's looking for female western backpackers fucked up on drugs and alcohol, burdened with low self-esteem, living idle lives as they move aimlessly around the SE Asia Lonely Planet circuit.........

Phnom Penh Noir - Freelancer Girl at Heart of Darkness Disco

"Freelancer Girl at Heart of Darkness Disco" - Chris Coles

Heart of Darkness Disco, Street 51 in the hot Phnom Penh night...male and female Western backpackers in their 20's, unwashed, unshaven and mostly stoned on cheap weed, dancing their hearts out, some NGO-types in Cambodia to "do good", a motley collection of lo-end Sexpats and Expats with jobs, from low-pay, low-status teaching English to managers for Western multi-nationals......outside the entrance door, tough Khmer security guys, off-duty police and army, patting everyone down for drugs, guns and knives.....inside Khmer Freelancer girls moving slowly through the crowd, looking for customers, like colorful fish hunting for food  around a coral reef.........

Phnom Penh Noir - Beer Garden Girl Street 51

"Beer Garden Girl Street 51" - ChrisColes

The Street 51 Beer Garden attracts hundreds of people every night, high to low to homeless street kids.....Expats, Khmers, backpackers, NGO-guys....hookers, ladyboys, staff and food vendors...no rules, no boundries, Premier League on plasma tv's, multiple music tracks, pool tables....it's funky and fun......but beneath the surface, there's a river of noir.........

Buddha Visits Koh Samui in Year 2555....

Buddha Visits Koh Samui in Year 2555 - Chris Coles

Spiritually exhausted from his discouraging visits to the Bangkok Night, Pattaya Walking Street and Hat Yai, the reincarnated Buddha retreats to Thailand's island paradise, Koh Samui where he hopes to bring his teachings to the island's tens of thousands of youthful visitors from Europe, Israel, Australia, Iran and North America.

But after 24 hours on the island, he's in shock, speechless and feeling lost in the face of the ongoing spectacle of extreme drunkenness, debauchery, gluttony, sexual abandonment, sensual indulgence and rampant use of drugs and stimulants.

The entire island archipelago appears to have been transformed into an offshore platform whose sole purpose is to generate enormous amounts of cash for its Thai owners by providing an international zone of hedonism where the cravings of an infinite river of young farang, both male and female, can be played out without restraint.

What happened to good intention, mindfulness, compassion, the Middle Way, the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Marks of Existence.....the ideals of virtuous behaviour, ethical existence, morality, the relationship between desire and suffering? And why does no one seem to care.........