They Started As Strangers
-- Part 2
They Started As Strangers -- Part 2
They say that money can't buy love in this world
But it'll get you a half-pound of cocaine and a nineteen-year old
girl
And a great big long limousine on a hot September night
Now that may not
be love but it is all right
One of the nice things about Hoover is that mornings are never a
hassle. She understands I've got things to do, and she prolly has
her own things to do as well. Anyway, she's always happy to hit the
showers and hit the road, which is perfect for me.
Photo courtesy of Bubbles
The view from Stoney's room
Everyone made it down to breakfast at the appointed time (9 AM); even
Antman and Wifey. We didn't really have a lot of structure to our
days in Bangkok but we all promised each other no matter what we got
tangled up in, we would meet for breakfast at 9 AM, and at Bully's Pub at
8 PM.
It was good to fill up at the Nana breakfast buffet while being
entertained by the first night stories of Doozy, Stoney, and Rama.
After breakfast, a few of us wanted to brush our teeth and others
needed to change money. So we agreed to re-group at GBB before
heading to our favorite travel agent to buy tickets for Phuket and Siem
Reap.
As I left my room after brushing my teeth, I grabbed the welcoming
fruit basket the hotel always gives me. The maids were sitting on
the floor of their room reading the paper and listening to the radio as
they ate their breakfast of rice. I presented the fruit basket to
the eldest maid and was rewarded with a round of wais from the rest of the
girls.
I breezed through the lobby on the way to drop off my key, and zagged
over to the Cashier's counter to pat Doozy and Stoney on the back as they
were changing money. There was a new face behind the counter today,
and the rest of the staff was happy to introduce Jaruwan to me.
Jaruwan and I had been emailing for years. Ever since my first trip,
she has taken care of all my Nana Hotel reservations. And with our
crazy schedule of a few days here and a few days there, I'm sure it hasn't
been easy for her. On top of that, I usually request my favorite
room and she always has it waiting for me. She's done such a good
job that friends don't bother to ask the Front Desk which room I'm in,
because they know I'm always in the same one. There's nothing like
having a home away from home, and Jaruwan makes it all happen for me.
I had thanked her by email many times before and wrote her a little
note after my last stay, but there's nothing like thanking her in
person. I'm sure she appreciated the kind words said in front of her
colleagues.
When I got to GBB it was sad to see that Angel (my favorite GBB girl
for a few years) wasn't around. There were a lot of new faces there,
and none of them knew who I was talking about when I asked about
Angel. I guess one shouldn't think the girls will hang around
forever, and it was bad enough that Hammers, Gooner, and PommieBruv
weren't around this trip but I felt like GBB just wouldn't be the same
without Angel sitting at my table.
Photo courtesy of Doozy
Having known her for a few years, she knew when to get me another
drink, she knew how I liked my noodles (nit noi pet), and she knew when I
could use a refreshing towel. They don't seem like big things, but
Angel was one of the few girls that cared to remember and got it right.
I must have really missed her… Two paragraphs in my trip
report, and she wasn't even there!
We only had time for a drink or two before everyone showed up, and it
was time to visit our favorite travel agent.
Doozy and Stoney were prepared for a big adventure, and were surprised
to learn the travel agent was only next door to GBB. The travel
agent, on the other hand, wasn't quite prepared to see Antman, Doozy,
Rama, Reeb, Stoney, Wifey, and myself come walking through the door to buy
tickets. And just to make things more difficult, some of us were
flying Orchid Class and some Coach, some were returning on different
dates, some were going to Siem Reap and some weren't, some of us were
buying tickets for guys that hadn't shown up yet, and we were all paying
for our own tickets.
Photo courtesy of Bubbles
The poor girl was swamped, but she did a good job of writing down all
of our information and then got to work on the phone as her fingers
punched at her keyboard. I could picture dishes spinning around on
the roof as satellites linked up far overhead. And as if the
Herculean task of sorting out our travels wasn't enough, other customers
soon joined us in a line going out the door.
The girl checked our information one last time, and when everyone was
satisfied that the correct tickets were being ordered, she told us the
tickets would be ready at 1 PM. She offered to leave them at our
hotel, but I thought it would be better to pick them up at the shop in
case there were any problems.
Photo courtesy of Bubbles
Photo courtesy of Bubbles
A lot of guys ask me, "Jai, at your advanced age just how do you
keep your Tom Cruise good looks?" Well, I can say with all
those doughnuts and lack of exercise it's not easy. But the girls at
the August Styling Salon on Sukhumvit are always there to lend a helping
hand.
The band of merry makers marched their way down Soi Sii to Sukhumvt.
As we passed Morning/Night, one of the girls recognized me and gave me a
hearty wave. "How nice it is that she remembers me," I
thought. But I had absolutely no idea who she was. That is,
until I got a shop or two away. Lady!! MikeM's girl from the
previous trip!!! I asked the guys to wait a moment while I ran back
to say hello. I think she understood MikeM was on his way, but
wasn't really sure when he would get there. I knew when MikeM would
roll into town, but I didn't want to let the cat out of the bag in case he
was out for a little strange before meeting up with Lady.
Photo courtesy of Bubbles
Photo courtesy of Bubbles
We met up at the corner and waited for the light to change before
rushing out to cross Sukhumvit. Doozy and Stoney looked a little
concerned, but they did a pretty good job of keeping up with
everyone. August Styling Salon is only a block or two up Sukhumvit,
so we were there in no time.
The girls at August were no less shocked than the travel agents to see
our group walk through the door. A Middle Eastern woman was the only
other customer in the place, and she was quickly forgotten as the girls
rushed to find us seats and got our orders sorted. For some reason
the Middle Eastern woman decided to focus her attention on me, and stared
at me with her mouth agape. Well, that's not going to do her any
good. I just politely smiled, and waved my fingers back at
her. She was pissed big time. It was easy to see she was
seething…
Of course, there weren't enough girls to go around so they had to call
in reinforcements. Girls would run in and quickly change into that
day's colored shirt before sitting down with us. The Middle Eastern
woman didn't say a word; she just stared at me the whole time. I
wish I would have taken her picture. The last girl to come in must
have drawn the short straw, and got to finish off the Middle Eastern
woman.
When it was time to pay her bill, the Middle Eastern woman exploded
into a tirade of complaints and insults. I couldn't believe
it. If I had it to do over again, I would have ripped the bill out
of her hand, paid it, and then given her a ride out the door on the toe of
my boot.
Photo courtesy of Doozy
Most of the guys ordered the works; facial, manicure, special ear
cleaning, and foot massage. Stoney was having problems. He
would complain that his girl was hurting him as she gave him a
manicure. Reeb just stared at Stoney with a raised eyebrow.
During the special ear cleaning, Stoney complained that the girl was
poking out his eardrum as Reeb's eyebrow arched higher and higher.
The last straw came when Stoney started complaining that the facial goop
the girls were using was burning his face. Finally Reeb had to ask,
"Do you live in a bubble, or what?"
Photo courtesy of Doozy
Stoney's nickname was instantly changed to BubbleBoy -- Bubbles for
short. We all had a great laugh at that. Bubbles continued to
complain about his burning face, but no one was buying it as they all had
the same goop on their faces and seemed to be doing okay.
Photo courtesy of Doozy
None of us were finishing at the same time, so we all agreed to regroup
across the street at World Coffee. That would give us a chance to
check email and enjoy a cool drink while we were waiting. Even
though we only ate breakfast a couple hours earlier, it was tough to walk
past the Subway without getting a samich. The smell of the freshly
baked bread gets me every time.
With everyone stuffed and all shined up, we made our way to pick up our
tickets. As promised, they were ready on time. We all took a
moment to make sure all the dates, times, and flight numbers were correct,
and then we hit the road.
MikeM would be joining us in Phuket, but I arranged his ticket for him
just to make sure he got good flight times. We debated whether it
would be better to leave the ticket at the travel agent, but decided to
leave it with the front desk of the Nana Hotel. I sealed the ticket
in an envelope, and handed it to one of my favorite counter girls along
with a little tip.
For some reason everyone wanted to do a little shopping at Siam Center,
so I led the excursion to the Skytrain and explained how it all worked.
After a short time of wandering around Siam Center, I decided it was
time for a nap. Some of us agreed to meet in the Nana Lobby for
dinner at Gulliver's, and we were off.
It's amazing how good a 90-minute nap can be; I felt like a new person,
and ready to go again for hours.
Gulliver's really isn't my favorite place, but I had promised to meet
Kuhn Sanuk and Gulliver's was the place. The food there really isn't
bad; it's just that Thai food back home tastes more Thai than the food at
Gulliver's. The rest of the guys looked like they were enjoying
everything, so no harm done.
One of the guys that got there a few days ahead of us related the story
over dinner of his bareback adventure earlier in the week, and the nasty
case of NSU he picked up. He said he knew better, but he excused it
by saying accidents can happen when one has a little too much to drink now
and then. He was following the doctor's orders and everything was
responding nicely. The story should have served as a warning to
Doozy and Stoney to slip on a jimmy hat any time they unloose their great
trouser snake, but instead the story took a little of the glow off the
newbie aura that surrounded the boys. Nothing that a couple beers
and a couple bargirls couldn't restore, I'm sure…
Everyone enjoyed their dinner (even Bubbles (he's a vegetarian and very
picky about what he eats)) and we made it to Bully's Pub just before the
stroke of 8. We grabbed a couple tables and got comfortable. A
very short girl came over to take our orders. Because she got mine
right, Shortstuff was rewarded with a drink. She seemed a little
surprised to be offered a drink, but ran off to get herself one
nonetheless.
Shortstuff spoke English well enough, and was a joy to have
around. She made sure no one went without a drink for long, and was
rewarded with a drink any time she was dry. Shortstuff wasn't really
my style, but I was tempted to BF her just because she was so much fun,
until I remembered that Bully's was my home bar and BFing a girl from my
home bar was a no-no. And on top of that, we were told that BFing a
girl from Bully's was not allowed.
We stuck around for obligatory round or two, and then started
discussing where to go. It was the first night in the bars for
Bubbles and Doozy, and we figured things might be a little more fun in Soi
Cowboy.
We crossed Sukhumvit and split up into a couple taxis. Shotover
was great to have around, and really helped take up the slack with the
newbies. That made it a lot easier to get around. Antman could
usually get a taxi to go where he wanted but because he was spending all
his time with Wifey, one couldn't rely on Antman being around.
Baccara -- more crowded than I've seen it in a while. We walked
in and made a tour of the bar, but hit the road when we couldn't find
enough seats together.
We made our way to the back corner at Midnight, and Bubbles and Doozy
were finally introduced to bargirls. A half-dozen guys and a dozen
girls were squeezed into that corner, and what fun it was. We made
sure to keep the girls fueled with ladydrinks and shots, and we all had a
lot of fun.
When Doozy started to look like he was getting serious about his girl,
I suggested he not BF the first girl he sits with.
"Why not?"
"The night is young, and you might find a better one."
"Yes, right… I could find a better one…"
We crossed the soi and stumbled into Suzie Wong. The guys found
seats together at the stage, but I preferred to watch the action from the
bleachers. Sitting at the stage just gives me a sore neck…
In no time at all, the girls were dancing in front of, on top of, and
all around the guys. A song or two later the girls were jumping onto
the guys and then sliding down them to join them for a drink.
A few girls that remembered me from past trips stopped by to say hello
and collect a ladydrink. Even the mamasan got in on the action.
Suzie Wong was off the hook that night. It was a good start of
the trip for the newbies. But all good things must come to an end,
so we decided to pay a visit to the Asoke beer bars for a little change of
pace.
We stopped at a beer bar here and there along the way, and finally
settled in for a few drinks and a few games of pool at a beer bar owned by
a friend of Shotover's. I was surprised to learn that the owner of
the bar was also the owner of one of our favorite beer bars located in
Sukhumvit Square before it was torn down in the middle of the night.
I'm sure it wasn't easy, but it was good to see that she was still in
business.
We did our best to support her business by drinking more than our fair
share, and giving away ladydrinks like they were going out of style.
But something was wrong in paradise tonight. Even though the
bar's best-looking girl was throwing herself at Bubbles, he was having
none of it.
I went over to congratulate him on his good luck, and explain again how
the BF system works.
"I don't know, man. All these girls are infected."
"Don't be silly; the British won't be here for another month…"
"Yeah, but look what happened already; that guy got NSU."
"Shit happens. He went bareback. Don't go bareback and
you don't have to worry."
"You can still get stuff if you wear a condom."
"Really? Like what?"
"I don't know, but I bet you can get something."
"Maybe you can get hit by lightening wearing a condom too, but
nothing bad ever happened to me when I was wearing a jimmy hat."
The poor guy; he was really spooked. That girl was quite a
looker, and I was surprised he could pass her up so easily.
The beer bars were fun, but we wanted to see the end of the show at
Angelwitch and checked bin.
We gathered in the walkway as a few of the guys finished their
drinks. Unfortunately, Reeb stepped into the over-flowing gutter
wearing his tennis shoes - man, that's a pretty bad way to start a
trip. Unless he buys some new shoes, he's going to have the
stink-foot for weeks!
We split up into taxies again, and made our way to NEP. The
newbies couldn't contain themselves with everything going on; all the neon
flashing as they rode by, kamikaze tuk-tuk drivers whizzing past them, the
smell of the food stalls, and all those girls. All those girls…
Bubbles was sure that no one back home would ever believe him.
We made our way into NEP and found the group waiting at Pharaoh's;
everyone except Doozy and Shotover. It wasn't really clear where
they went, but everyone agreed we were supposed to wait for them.
Everyone finally regrouped and we made our way to watch the end of the
show at Angelwitch. We missed a considerable portion of the show,
but we got there in time to watch the Issan dancers, which was perfect for
me because that's my favorite part of the show.
After the show, Shotover led the party to Soi 1. I knew a friend
that just got a job in one of the bars there as a mamasan and I wanted to
say hello, but I saw GoodGirl in Morning/Night and stayed behind to talk
with her.
I got back to my room at 2.30, and decided to rest for an hour before
giving Hoover a call. Hoover is service oriented, and takes pride in
doing a good job. So I don't mind giving her the business.
At 4:30 AM the phone rang, and it was GoodGirl. I was a little
worried how Hoover would react, but she didn't mind a bit. GoodGirl
and I talked about this and we talked about that, but what was really on
her mind was what kind of future we could have together.
That's hard to say… I don't mind saying my intentions are
honorable (more or less) or could be if needed, but it didn't make a lot
of sense to make commitments about the future when getting to know her
better was proving to be so difficult.
And the truth is I had written GoodGirl off, and had absolutely no
plans to spend any time with her this trip. But as she was
attempting to communicate, I was more than willing to meet her
halfway. And if the opportunity did present itself to get to know
her better, I would definitely take advantage of it.
I guess we'll see…
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