Showpark

Presenting, Showpark. It's supposedly the largest brothel of its kind in Europe, but it operates more like a flesh mall. The girls pay about 4000 kc (a little over $200) per day to rent a tiny, 120 square foot room with an elevated bed, tv with music and erotic channels, and a minifridge (minibar). There are 62 rooms, spread out in the entire floor of a renovated warehouse. Imagine if the Distillery district had a brothel and you get the idea. The area is up and coming like the Distillery 10 years ago with other trendy lounges, restaurants, and bars, mixed in with sex shops and a daily outdoor flea market populated by Vietnamese booths selling knockoffs, cheap Chinese stuff, and pirated wares.

I'm all over the place because I'm tired so forgive my lack of narrative direction.

Showpark is a must for every male tourist. The experience is surreal. Stepping in, you are greeted by friendly, university-age employees in uniformed polo shirts and casual pants. It costs about $10 to get in, but I bought a pass that's good for 10 admissions, for $30. The surroundings have a night club/strip club feel with dim lighting accented by neon or coloured halogens here and there. Winding corridors are lined with the rooms mentioned before, with a little light above each room. If the light is on, it means the girl is with a client. There are about 62 rooms, with the floorspace divided in the middle by administration and the cafe/lounge I mentioned in my last post. The girls can set their own prices, but because of competition, pricing doesn't vary much between the hottest girls. The older whores and the ones working in the afternoons are a little cheaper. The rent covers an entire day, but attractive girls can easily break even and then some, with a few hours of work. It costs about $60 per half hour session and trying to negotiate with one of the girls, the hot ones weren't budging much for longer periods because they know they can easily get another half hour at full price with another pervert.

As luck would have it, I came during the opening of an erotic art exhibition. It's one of those art shows rich yuppies put on because they either have the money, or they're blowing a dude that is. I think this is the latter because one of the artist was female. There were a few photos and drawings, all available for sale, but NOTHING was good enough to buy. Art is subjective, but do you expect anything showcased in a brothel to be good?

Whatever the case, this art exhibition was a big deal. The brothel turned into a yorkville-like lounge. People dressed smart casual, with the artists dressing bum-chic. Champagne and cigars was everywhere. Guests mingled with hookers and each other. The cafe/lounge area was the busiest because that's where the bar is, but there was action around because the artwork was posted all along the corridors. Perhaps this night in particular was more surreal than normal because of the strange company of yuppies and artists, with hookers 5 feet away from them trying to work. If you were remotely interested in the art, you'd have to walk along the dim halls, stopping and looking at the pieces, passing half naked women as you go along. I can read the artists minds now: "the exhibition itself is an art piece. you are looking at eroticism, while being immersed in it". Fucking yuppie-speak. If I were a hooker, I'd be pissed, seeing these rich kids showing off their stupid hand-drawings, while I have to sell my body to make enough money to pay the mortgage or my mother's medication. The worst part is, these yuppies are just sitting around drinking and smoking, not hiring any of the girls and helping them make a little money.

Like I mentioned in my last post, I thought showpark may be a good place to score free wifi and work on porn. The internet connection was quite good and it was a blast watching the hookers walk by, start work, grab a coffee or drink from the bar, or play a little in the mini casino just off to the side. It was a trendy place to chill.

The girls were hot. Speaking with some of the staff earlier, I learned thursday and fridays around 9 were the best times. Here's the freakonomics of it: most girls would probably have day jobs or school so weekdays are mostly a wash. They'd want weekends to themselves to do their own thing too, so the best time to work would be thursday and fridays. Most wouldn't be driving there and take the transit system. Because of their regular day jobs/school, they wouldn't work late anyways and with the transit system shutting down at midnight, most would work till 11 at the latest. This analysis was proven true while I was there. I took a walk through when I came in, and a walk through when I left and most of the hottest chicks were gone by then. It's definitely better to go earlier, even close to the end of work hours. Not only are there less customers, the girls are also fresher.

Speaking of customers, I didn't see a lot of white-trash, truck-driver types. The company that runs showpark tries to present an upscale image and it must be working because most of the punters were young, decent-looking men.

The girls were also a surprise. I expected more slave-traded, eastern european girls, old ladies, moms, with the occasional hot, young chick, but most of the girls were 24 and under with rocking bodies. Walking around Prague, you don't see many fat people like you do in America, so all the chicks are in good shape. Even the few old ladies and moms at Showpark, were in good shape. Up close, you start to see a little wear on the faces. You could tell the girls were young, but some exhibited the ravages of too much partying and smoking. Smoking is probably the most likely cause as I've seen girls in Prague smoke way more than the men. At showpark, the girl sitting at the next table went through half a pack in less than an hour. At the restaurant I went to last night, the two bitches sitting at the table next to me, finished a brand new pack between the two of them during dinner. WTF.

As the evening drew to a close, I ran out of time and couldn't try any of the girls. Well, that's not true. There are plenty of cabs available so even if I didn't make the subway, I could cab back to the hotel. If there was a chick hot enough, I probably would, but you can see how the pricing warps your sense of values when a lay with a girl costs $60 and a taxi back to the hotel costs almost the same. :)

On my way out, I walked by a hot blonde who had Paris Hilton's body, with Nicole Richie's face..and bigger breasts. She was a looker. Maybe 5'9 at least. I was really considering her, but when I asked her the price and if she spoke english, the minor attitude put me off enough to decide to go home.

11:30 and hungry as hell because I haven't eaten all day. So what's a guy to do when you're downtown, just came from a club, and need a quick bite? A street sausage of course! Not like what you think here. They have huge, self-contained stands and clean cooking grills. I ended my night with a jumbo, Wenclasas special for $1.75. The great thing is, these stands also sell beer, but I wasn't in the mood. The lady selling the dogs did give me a free sip of their famous hot wine, which was really good on this cold night.

Kind of gay I end this night eating sausage though.