It’s 2 am on a Tuesday. We are driving through Kingston. One right turn and the eerie after-hours stillness of the city’s business district erupts with life. On Ripon Road, home to the Palais Royale Exotic Nightclub (& Guesthouse), parked cars straddle the sidewalk and vendors occupy any real estate left unclaimed. As we crawl through the congestion, streetwalkers descend on the car. With twice the stealth of the Scavenger Smoker, a literal parking-lot pimp materializes out of thin air to lead us to a corner quiet enough to talk business. Once he realizes we are not sporting gentlemen, however, our ersatz valet recedes into the shadows almost as quickly as he appears. But a few ladies remain, and casual conversation leads to an impromptu photo shoot in the street, a stone’s throw from the spectacle behind us.

words: Sean Stewart

images: Alexander Richter

design: Anthony Harrison

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