[hankhavelock]

Ladyboy is a broad normal term used here in Asia for a transgender woman or feminine gay man - it is not really considered derogatory and is in general a de facto term here.

Shemale is less used and implies a trans woman who has both female and male "attributes" - implanted breasts and penis. Though not considered particularly derogatory here in Asia it does have an air of pornography about it, so I generally don't use the term.