24 Minutes

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Mature Subject Matter

Thailand is a magnet for travelers.  Each week, 10,000 people travel from Britain to Bangkok, the gateway to Thailand. The country's beautiful tropical beaches are contrasted with a dark underbelly of sex tourism. This new six part series Bangkok Bound, takes a closer look at the personal stories behind these journeys to reveal some startling and at times, truly remarkable experiences.

In the first program of the series, we meet a former London cabbie turned transsexual bar owner, a pioneer of gender reassignment surgery, a former dancer who now is a diving teacher and a single mother who travels to Bangkok to take part in the tense world of Thai boxing. Mark, a former London cab driver, left his wife and children behind four years ago to head to the East and begin a new life in Thailand. There, he met and struck up a relationship with a prostitute Christy, who he discovered was a ladyboy who had the full operation. Two years later, they are still together and running a successful ladyboy bar called Christy's. They are now about to open Christy's 2.

Dr. Preecha Tiewtrannon has pioneered gender reassignment surgery (sex changes) in Thailand. Over a 21 year career, he has performed almost 1,000 sex change operations on patients from around the world, including a number from Britain. The full sex change operation (from male to female) at his Bangkok clinic costs $5,000 and can be performed in around 2.5 hours.

Anthony, a former dancer, decided there was more to life than embarking on a nine-to-five existence.  He left Britain behind and headed to Thailand to begin a new life as a diving instructor. He's now happier than ever with the sun, sea and a girlfriend who he hopes to marry and have children with.

Jackie is a 24-year-old single mother who lives in Carlisle. She has been training as a Muai Thai boxer for the past three years and is on her way to Thailand with her trainer, Mike Haslam, to fight for an Inter Continental Thai Boxing title. In Bangkok, she trains in a tough, traditional outdoor gym as she prepares for the big fight. Despite her opponent looking much heavier, Jackie appears to have the upper hand during the fight and the passionate fans mark her down as the winner. But will the judges think the same?

For Mature Audiences