Next to me is Travis — a gorgeous German editor I picked up on Tinder a few weeks back. It may be my last — but I try not to think about that. A woman who sounds like she gargles broken beer bottles opens the door in her negligee. She leads us inside the club with boredom, and a dash of disappointment. Wading through the darkness, I smell the heavy incense and bump up into Buddha statuettes sitting around.
This is pretty much what all spas in Pakistan look like! He laughs as he takes the white towels and locker keys for us. In the changing room, he struggles with a tiny towel then gives up midway and stays in his boxers. I clumsily strip down to the cheap lingerie I bought a few hours ago when I found out I had to be nude for this experiment.
This is the first time I have ever been this naked in a public setting. Is this what body acceptance feels like? Our lack of complete nudity does not please the barmaid. I spot swinging leather beds facing mirrors, gynecology examination chairs, sexy whirlpools, and steaming jacuzzis. Of course, there are also places to be hung or chained while you are whipped, paddled, feathered or licked.
Everything here is eerily quiet and clean. Ironic that a sex club here is quieter and cleaner than a public bus in Karachi.
The eeriness is broken by porn — lots and lots of porn — playing on every screen in the establishment. Travis pretends to do a sexy pole dance for me when the barmaid looks away. I whack him with the towel, trying to make him take my project seriously. We find some action in the main room where the barmaid serves drinks to a young German couple drunkenly making out. I love how boldly she shows her interest fo r a man while sitting in the lap of another.
