San Diego men arrested for allegedly exposing themselves at Buddist temples in Bangkok

A San Diego couple were arrested Tuesday at an international airport in Bangkok, Thailand, after the two men allegedly exposed their buttocks at Buddhist temples while posing for pictures they later posted on social media.

Joseph and Travis Dasilva are known to pose at landmarks across the world, with their pants or shorts pulled down and their bare bottoms exposed. The photos would appear on the couple’s Instagram account, which has been taken down.

“That’s how they express themselves artistically,” said M.G. Perez, a San Diego friend of the married couple.

Perez said the pair launched their Instagram account, named “Traveling Butts,” a couple of years ago.

Their most recent pictures were apparently taken at Temple of Dawn, or Wat Arun, in Bangkok.

On Tuesday night, immigration authorities arrested the 38-year-old men at Don Mueang International Airport while they “were trying to depart the country,” the Bangkok Post reported.

A spokesman for immigration police told the English-language newspaper that the couple admitted to posing for the photos at the temple. The pair was taken to a Bangkok police station to await a court hearing.

Arrest warrants accused them of indecent exposure, a criminal offense that carries a fine of up to 5,000 baht, or about $150, according to the Bangkok Post.

Perez said he and other friends are concerned about the couple’s safety and that he fears the pair may have to serve jail time in Bangkok.

Perez said his worries began Tuesday morning after Travis Dasilva made a vague inquiry on Facebook: Anybody know any diplomats in Bangkok. Or know any lawyers in Bangkok….”

“Or anyone from the U.S. who can help,” Dasilva later commented on his post.

Then, he added: “We are stuck at a polixe station.”

And lastly: “Call a senator or something. I dunno howuch longer I’ll have my phone.”

Perez said Tuesday night that he had texted and messaged the couple via Facebook and was anxiously waiting for a reply.

“We are all humans, and we all make choices, and there are consequences to our choices. Travis and Joseph are men of integrity who will face those consequences,” he said. “It is not about judgment. It is about their safety and figuring out how to get them back home.”

Friends of the couple have reached out to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to ask for help, Perez said.

Hernandez writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.