They Started As Strangers
-- Part 4
They Started As Strangers -- Part 4
Somewhere beyond the sea
Somewhere waiting for me
My lover stands on golden sands
And watches the ships that go sailing
Somewhere beyond the sea
She's there watching for me
If I could fly like birds on high
Then straight to her arms I'd go sailing
It's far beyond a star
It's near beyond the moon
I know beyond a doubt
My heart will lead me there soon
We'll meet beyond the shore
We'll kiss just as before
Happy we'll be beyond the sea
And never again I'll go sailing
It's going to be a busy morning… We have to eat breakfast, pack
our stuff, check-out of the Nana Hotel, and get to the airport for our
flight to Phuket.
After the late night last night, Rama and Reeb were concerned that they
wouldn't be able to wake up so I agreed to call them and make sure they
were conscious. It was good to hear they were already up and getting
ready, so it was one less thing to worry about.
We were able to snag the big table in the back again, and all settled
in for a big breakfast. While Antman was at the buffet filling his
plate, Wifey took what appeared to be a blister pack of azithromycin out
of her purse and popped one in her mouth. When Antman joined us, she
gave one to him and he washed it down with water. Antman refused
comment on the subject, so we can only speculate. But it looks like
Wifey may have given Antman a little more than just a welcoming hug upon arrival…
Some people will never learn…
Because there were seven of us, we had to take two limos to the
airport. Just to make things interesting we challenged the other car
to a race. Our car tore out of the Nana Hotel parking lot only to
come to a dead stop in Soi Sii. The other car was right on our
bumper.
Stuck in traffic the way we were, the land speed records were safe that
day. But that didn't stop us from hurling insults at the other car,
and urging our driver to go faster. Reeb tried to bribe the driver
to beat the other car, but it was beyond our driver's grasp of English.
Our car was first to make it to the expressway entrance, and we took
off like a flash. But our lead was short-lived because Antman's car
soon passed us. He had the benefit of Wifey as a translator, and our
driver just didn't understand we were racing. That is until we were
passed; there was such an uproar from the backseat with shouts of
"leow leow" the driver finally put two and two together, and put
the pedal to the metal.
It took us a while to catch up to Antman's car, but we did just before
the exit for the Domestic Terminal and triumphantly pulled up to the
terminal. We rewarded our driver for being the champion, grabbed our
bags, and made our way inside.
We were looking for Thai Air's Orchid Class check-in. We had been
there a couple times before, but something just wasn't right this
time. Stumbling over an airport map, we discovered we were at the
wrong terminal. We all had a laugh over that, and made our way to
the correct terminal. It wasn't really that far away, and we found a
few counters where we could change some money as a few of us were in
danger of bottoming out.
Some of the guys were flying Coach, so we split up with a promise to
meet up again at boarding time.
Orchid Class check-in was a breeze. IMO it's worth a few extra
baht just to be saved from the Coach cattle queues. Orchid Class
also has their own lounge where one can wait for boarding to begin, and on
top of that Orchid Class passengers also enjoy their own special security
line.
When we were all checked-in, we took turns watching each other's bags
while those that had to changed money did.
I was in the process of changing money with Reeb standing patiently
behind me, when a Japanese woman tried to squeeze in front of me while
waving a fistful of dollars in front of the teller's face. We had
all waited politely until this point, and now was no time to change
things. Moving her aside and pointing to the back of the line worked
wonders. Reeb thanked and congratulated me for standing up for all
the people waiting in line, but I was just doing my small part to spread
civilization around the planet.
As First Class lounges go, the Orchid Class lounge in Don Muang's
Domestic Terminal isn't the best in the world, but it's better than
waiting at the gate. There was no free booze that I could find, but
they did offer juice and soft drinks, and a selection of small samiches,
fresh fruit, and desserts.
When the boarding light for our flight started flashing, we grabbed our
carry-ons and made our way through Orchid Class security and to the
gate. The hadn't actually started boarding our flight yet which
meant Bubbles, Doozy, and Rama should have been at the gate but they
weren't. As time passed, we started to get a little more worried
about them. Antman thought someone should go looking for them but as
usual, wouldn't volunteer. Reeb and I ribbed him a little to go
searching for the boys, but Antman refused to budge and just held Wifey
tighter and tighter.
As they were opening the gate to board, Bubbles, Doozy, and Rama
wandered up. It seems they found a Burger King and couldn't pass it
up. Well, they're growing boys and need their nourishment.
It was a short flight and uneventful flight to Phuket. Reeb spent
the flight looking out the window, I tried to catch up on my trip report
notes, and Antman and Wifey sat the entire trip nose-to-nose staring into
each others eyes with idiotic grins on their faces. I don't know how
those two do it; I couldn't do something like that for that long even if
my life depended on it. Thank God, it doesn't…
Final approach to Phuket International Airport
Photo courtesy of Doozy
Photo courtesy of Doozy
Rama checked his luggage, and the guys waited with him as Reeb and I
went to figure the best way to get to the hotel. Our choices were
either hire two limos, or one minibus. The prices were pretty much
the same so it really came down to whether or not we could stand to be in
the same car with Antman and Wifey for the 30 or so minute drive to our
hotel. A big last-minute discount tipped the scales in favor of the
minibus, and we figured if Antman and Wifey sat in the last row of the bus
they wouldn't bother anyone.
As we were going through the paper work to hire the minibus, a
middle-aged couple came up to the counter and started going through the
same routine. Since their hotel was only a block away from ours and
there were a couple seats available in our minibus, I invited them to join
us for the ride to Patong Beach.
The husband seemed relieved to not be at the mercy of the touts any
more, but the wife was a little skeptical about it all. She didn't
know who we were; we could be mother stabbers, or father rapers!
As a couple, they were still undecided. Sensing that, I pointed
to where the bus would be leaving, said there was a seat for them, and
left it at that. I was happy to help, but I wasn't going to lose any
sleep if they didn't join us. Reeb is the nice guy of the group, and
set about to address the wife's fears. After a short chat, they
agreed to come along.
Reeb would make a really good mother stabber, or father raper if he
weren't such a nice guy.
The husband tried to give us money for the ride, but we told him to pay
it forward. The wife got a quizzical look on her face and asked what
that meant. We told her if someone does her a favor, instead of
paying that person back she should pay it forward to someone else that
could use a favor. And if everyone did the same, the world would be
a better place.
The 'Pay It Forward' theme would occur many times this trip.
Maybe it'll be some time before we see a change in the world, but we're
doing our part. If the idea interests you, have a look at http://www.payitforward.com
The minibus company tried to hurry us out to the bus, but I told them
we had to wait for our friends. I knew it would be a few degrees
warmer outside, and wanted to stay in the airport instead of baking in the
minibus.
The rest of the group finally joined us, and we went out to load up the
minibus. Luckily Antman and Wifey went straight to the backseat; we
all breathed a big sigh of relief at that one.
As soon as the minibus hit the streets, Bubbles started saying that he
was going to rent a scooter and go exploring on the island. We gave
Bubbles some good natured ribbing about the life expectancy statistics of
scooter riders on Phuket, and the wife started looking a little scared
again. But Reeb did a good job of comforting her. Just knowing
us a few minutes, the couple wasn't really prepared for the madcap banter
that took place on the way to Patong Beach, but after a while I think they
began to enjoy it.
Photo courtesy of Rama
Photo courtesy of Rama
The wife actually got up the courage to ask about things to do on the
island, and we told them of the trips we've taken in the past. When
she asked about what to do at night, I wasn't sure how much to tell
her. She really didn't look like the wild and crazy kind of girl,
but you never know. Looking for reactions from the husband didn't
help much. Since their hotel is just off Bangla Road, I'm sure
they're going to find out about it sooner or later.
Photo courtesy of Rama
The traffic to Patong Beach was pretty light until we got to Buddha
Hill. My experience is that traffic is always bad there anyway
because so many vehicles must slow to a crawl just to make it up the
hill. This day they were working on widening the road, and that made
the traffic really bad. But it should make getting to Patong Beach a
little better in the future.
Photo courtesy of Doozy
Photo courtesy of Doozy
Photo courtesy of Doozy
I enjoyed the slower than usual ride entering town as it gave me a
chance to see a lot of shops that I might not normally see.
Photo courtesy of Doozy
When the minibus stopped at the Thara Patong Beach Resort Hotel, we
spilled out and started sorting the bags. Because Reeb was being
such a nice guy helping the strangers and all, I hid his bag under mine
and started asking the others if they'd seen it.
"Well, when did you see it last?"
"I think I saw it at the airport."
"You think you saw it at the airport? You don't sound very
sure."
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."
"Well, that's a long way back…"
About then, Reeb noticed the commotion and came over to see what was
going on.
Feeling satisfied that the wheels were in motion, I grabbed both bags
and left the confusion to go and check-in as Reeb frantically searched the empty
minibus for his suitcase.
Oh, sure… Some may say that was a dirty trick, but I did it in
self-defense I say. I've known Reeb long enough to know that if he's
not playing a trick on me, he's planning one.
Check-in for some of us was painless, but for others it was a bit more
confused. It's hard to say what the problem was. Maybe there
were too many of us and the rooms weren't cleaned yet. It's hard to
say. The Thara
Patong has a nice travel desk, and I took the opportunity to pay it a
visit.
Thara Patong Hotel grounds
Photo courtesy of Reeb
Slowly but surely the rest of the guys joined me at the travel desk,
and we started discussing what we should do for the next couple
days. MikeM wanted to visit Phi Phi Islands, so we decided to wait
until he joined us to go there. And we would visit James Bond Island
tomorrow. The girl behind the counter wasn't happy about everyone
(about 8 of us) wanting to pay for their own tickets individually, so one
of us collected the cash and paid for all the tickets with their credit
card.
Photo courtesy of Reeb
With the excursions ticketed, we split up with a promise to meet in the
lobby for dinner.
Photo courtesy of Reeb
After dropping off the bags, Antman, Bubbles, and Wifey went to the
go-kart track, Doozy and Rama went swimming in the Andaman Sea, and Reeb
and I walked down Beach Road looking for a snack.
Bubbles had a lot of fun at the track. He was able to pay a
little extra and get a go-kart with a few extra horsepower. Antman
found a go-kart built for two, and he and Wifey hit the track. That
was prolly a lot of fun for her…
The lack of safety features thrilled Bubbles at the track until he was
getting out of his go-kart and suffered a pretty nasty burn on his arm.
Reeb and I found an Irish Pub and had some decent food to eat. It
wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst I've ever had. Still, it
wasn't memorable enough to remember the name of the place.
After our snack, Reeb and I returned to our rooms for a 1-hour nap
before we had to start getting ready for the night out.
A few days back, Bubbles and Reeb got haircuts at August Styling Salon
and they weren't 100 percent satisfied. Reeb got a haircut in LOS
before so he was ready for anything, but Bubbles just told the girl to
make him a handsome man and in my opinion she did her best. I really
don't know what Bubbles was complaining about; I think his haircut was a
big improvement. Reeb's on the other hand, was a little short.
A cowlick on the back of his head now made him look a little like Alfalfa
from Spanky and Our Gang.
I'm not sure if it was out of sympathy or too little sleep and too much
booze, but as I was getting ready for dinner that night I accidentally
shaved off half my beard before I could stop myself. I really do
need a keeper…
We met in the lobby as promised and no one said a word about my newly
styled beard, which I took as a very bad sign.
Reeb and I were really beat, so we ordered a couple iced coffees while
we waited for the rest of the guys to join up. The poor bartender
acted like he never heard of iced coffee before, so we showed him how to
make it. He got the hang of it after the first one, and made them
for us every time we waited in the lobby for the rest of our stay at the
Thara Patong.
The rest of the guys showed up, and we walked down Beach Road looking
for a place to eat.
A short walk from our hotel, I found a small stall selling
paintings. I liked one of the paintings and wanted to buy it, but I
really didn't like the idea of carrying it with me as I hit the bars and I
didn't want to ask everyone to wait as I took it back to the room.
The girl that worked in the stall was a deaf-mute, so we had to haggle
using the calculator. Some how we were able to work out that I would
be back to buy the painting, but she wanted a deposit to hold it for
me. Fair enough… I'm sure if she had a baht for ever person
that told her that they would be back… Anyway, the deposit was
small, and I really wanted the painting.
Wifey wanted seafood, Antman wanted rock lobster, and Bubbles was a
vegetarian; other than that, we didn't care where we ate. Before
long we found a nice looking place, and the waitresses ran to prepare a
big table for us.
As often happens with large orders, either a couple orders got screwed
up or we couldn't identify what we were being served. We tried to
sort it out with the waitresses, but they weren't much help. But the
food was good and there was a lot of it, so we all left feeling stuffed.
Photo courtesy of Rama
After dinner we hit Bangla Road to introduce the newbies to some beer
bars. Bubbles, Doozy, and Rama were the youngest of the group, and
the ladies just wouldn't leave them alone. Rama was really into the
swing of things, and Doozy was warming up to the nightlife, but Bubbles
was still a BG virgin.
Photo courtesy of Rama
We settled into U2 Bar on Soi Gonzo, and started playing that game to
see who can drive a nail all the way into a giant piece of wood in the
fewest number of strikes. There were only two girls working there
and they did their best to keep us entertained, but they really had eyes
for Bubbles. They were pretty cute, and they were sisters…
The mind boggles…
Photo courtesy of Rama
There was a Finnish guy sitting at the bar who had brought his own CDs
to play. He thought it was great fun to hear the worst music ever
recorded blaring from the bar's PA system. I finally couldn't take
it anymore, and told the mamasan if they didn't stop playing that music we
would all leave.
Deciding on shotz
Photo courtesy of Rama
Of course the Finnish guy was pissed, but not half as pissed as I was
having to listen to all that crap. He wanted to argue that he should
be able to hear whatever he wanted, and I said it was up to the mamasan;
after all, it was her bar.
Photo courtesy of Rama
Thankfully she handed the CDs back to the guy, and she came over to
thank me for complaining. According to her, she really didn't like
the music either but he was a customer and she didn't want to upset
him. Well, she might have had a few more customers if they weren't
playing that crap in the first place. Anyway, I bought the mamasan a
drink and she bought me one. All was okay now, and the bar was
spinning in greased grooves.
Photo courtesy of Rama
But as bars do, after a while it began to get a bit routine for
us. There are a lot of bars on Bangla Road, and we owed it to
ourselves to sample a few more. As I checked bin I talked to Bubbles
about the sisters. He liked them, but was afraid to barfine them
because they might be infected. Poor guy. I don't know what it's
going to take to shake him of that fear.
The gang moved on as I passed out tips to the staff. When I came
to the sisters, I asked if they liked Bubbles. Of course they said
they liked Bubbles too much. So I BFed them both and said Bubbles
was shy too much. Sometimes Nature needs a little kick in the pants
before it can take its course…
We made our way down the soi and stopped at another bar. One of
the girls was having a birthday party and had a few baht pinned around her
neck, so I took a purple and gave it to her. Before pinning it to
her necklace she pat it all over her body to bring her good luck and more
purples.
This bar had a table full of food, and the mamasan dragged me over to
eat. She said she made all the food herself. Even though I was
stuffed, I didn't want to insult her so I didn't have to be invited twice
to try a few things. The friend chicken was pretty good, and the
sweet and spicy dipping sauce was delicious. In addition to the
fried chicken, they had spring rolls, meat from an unknown animal, and a
few different dishes of cooked vegetables.
The bar had a couple girls that were more my style, but I was enjoying
myself with the mamasan. Bubbles was off in a corner playing Connect
4 with the sisters, and the rest of the guys were taking turns playing
Connect 4, the dice game, the game with the blocks, and the nail
game. It was a good time.
Sometime around then, Antman and Wifey disappeared. Something
good must have been on TV.
The walls started to close in on us again, so it was time to move
on. I was tempted to BF the two nastiest girls in the bar but
thought I might have a chance with the mamasan in a day or two if I played
my cards right.
More bars and more games. Bar after bar, and game after
game. Then the guys saw the disco. I can't remember if it was
Dragon Disco or Crocodile Disco, but it didn't matter to me as Thai discos
don't impress me much.
The gang all went to the disco, and I was left to wander Bangla on my
own. No problem; I will survive... As I walked down Bangla
Road, I wondered if I should stop into Rock Hard Ago-go. I had a lot
of fun in that place and had a couple friends that worked there, but
that's also the bar where Sip used to work. If I stopped in, word
might get back to Sip on the BG grapevine. Or worse yet, she might
be working there again.
I didn't know if Sip was back in Phuket or up in Korat where she said
she wanted to be, and I really didn't want to find out. Maybe I
tempted fate just a bit by walking past the Rock Hard, but I didn't stop
and nothing happened.
Rounding the block, I walked for a while but nothing stuck my fancy so
I turned around and set course for Bangla Road again. When I got to
the Tiger Bar Complex, I turned in and looked for a girl I met last
trip. The odds were low, but I enjoyed talking with her last trip
and felt it was worth a shot.
Of course she wasn't there, so I found a bar that wasn't too crowded
about halfway down the complex, and made myself comfortable on a
stool. I sipped my beer and scanned the other bars; some had more
punters than stools, some bars were empty, and it was impossible to figure
out why. They all played the same music supplied by the Tiger
Complex DJ, and all had a reasonable mix of girls.
An attractive girl waved at me from the other side of the bar, so I
waved her over and bought her a drink. Yin was a little older and
wiser, and had a wonderful nasty aura about her that I enjoy; my kind of
girl indeed.
As I sipped my Singha and Yin drank her Spy, she wasn't shy to show me
how much she wanted to close the deal. Throwing caution to the wind,
I told Yin I would BF her and she ran off to get her stuff. Yin
wanted to go the moment she got back, but I didn't; I wanted to sit there
enjoying another beer or three, and watching the world go by.
Yin downed a few more Spys, and started acting a little weird.
Perhaps she was just a little drunk and off her good behavior, but I
started wondering if I had secured the valuables in my room well enough
before I left. Maybe I was just paranoid; still, I was starting to
question if it was such a good idea to bring Yin back to my room.
I asked her if she knew of any hotels in the area, and Yin said I could
stay with her since I did not have a room. Yin grabbed my hand and
tried to pull me off the stool to her apartment, and I pulled her back
saying we had to check bin. Yin giggled at the thought of leaving
before paying, and waited patiently as the bin was settled. The
mamasan made change and smiled goodbye to Yin as we turned to leave.
Yin took me by the hand and led me to the back of the beerbar
complex. Along the way, she would stop to say hello to a friend here
or there, including a topless ladyboy with surprisingly large and natural
looking jutters.
When we reached the end of the complex, we turned and walked into a
small soi with a few street stalls selling food. It was only a few
yards off Bangla Road, but it seemed to be a place few farangs
ventured. Most of the people eating at the stalls ignored us, but a
few turned to watch us make our way down the soi. I always waved,
which usually got them interested in their noodles again. Then we
made our way through a parking lot of scooters. It was quite a maze,
but Yin expertly picked her way through the sea of scooters. Another
darkened soi, bending down to pass through a hole is a cyclone fence, and
we were in the courtyard (for lack of a better word) of her apartment
building.
It was a no-frills building made of poured concrete that looked like it
never had a coat of paint. The building was three or four stories
high, and the external iron spiral-staircase looked like it had been
tacked on to the building as an afterthought when the residents of the
upper floors realized they couldn't get in to their apartments.
Yin lived on the top floor, and I was a little concerned that the
rickety staircase wouldn't hold our weight as we made our way up but it
did. It seemed to my drunken senses that it swayed a little, but it
held.
She waited for me at the top, and then took my hand as she led me down
the hallway to her apartment. The apartments we passed had their
doors open, and I could see Thais sitting in chairs and on the floor,
drinking whiskey, and listening to loud Thai music. A few were
curious why this farang was there, but not enough to say anything.
Yin unlocked the door to her apartment and led me inside. Her
apartment was small; my guess is that it was much less than 4 by 4
meters. Above is a simple drawing of Yin's apartment. Going
counter-clockwise from the bed, Yin had a small table with a fishbowl on
it, a dresser, the entrance, a clothes rack, and the bathroom.
She said she paid 4,000 THB rent, and I wondered how much more it would
cost to put an air conditioner in.
The fishbowl was homemade out of a 2-gallon water bottle. It
looks like she laid it on its side, cut the top out, and then filled it
with water and some colorful rocks. She didn't have a lot, but it
seemed nice that she had a couple pets to care for.
Yin motioned for me to sit on the bed, took off her top, and then knelt
to remove my shoes. She asked me if I wanted a shower, and pulled me
up from the bed to disrobe. As I was taking off my shirt, I found
out just how low the ceiling fan was; I'm 6'1, and the blades of the fan
flew by just over my head.
The bathroom was pretty small. There was a sink, a toilet with no
seat, and a hose leaking into a big bucket. Yin took a pot filled
with water out of the bucket and poured it over me as we stood in the
small bathroom. Phuket was hot, but the water in the bucket was
not. Even though the cold water sent a shock through my system, that
coupled with the slowly revolving fan made the small stuffy apartment
bearable.
Then it was off to the bed.
The apartment was small, the bathroom was small, and it was no surprise
that the bed was also small. It was hard to lay on it without my
head hitting the wall, and my feet hitting the wall to the bathroom at the
same time.
Somehow, I managed to enjoy myself…
After the dust had settled, Yin decided I should have a massage and
began to give me one. It wasn't the best massage I ever got, but Yin
gets a gold star for effort.
I felt pretty good. Pretty good, indeed. Right up to the
moment that someone started pounding on the door. It turns out that
Yin has a chubby little roommate, and she was now home from whatever
chubby little roommates do for the evening. Yin hopped up to open
the door and as soon as she was in the room, her roommate went right for
my wedding tackle and didn't want to take no for an answer.
I told her I had no power but it didn't make a difference to her; she
was going to use every trick in the book to get me fired up. But I
really was spent, and finally got her off me.
The roommate went into the hong nam to do whatever chubby little
roommates do in there, so I saw that as my chance to escape. I threw
some baht on the pillow, and asked Yin for her phone number. What
the hell… It might be nice to have a return engagement with a
little more room to play…
Before Yin's roommate was out of the hong nam using her lips to put
another death grip on my johnson, I was out of there. Yin hurriedly
dressed behind me, but I was gone by the time she finished.
Shutting the door to Yin's apartment behind me, I made my way down the
dark hallway. The other apartment doors were still open, and the
occupants all looked like they were stupefied in the same position; they
had nothing to do, nowhere to go, and were in no hurry to get there.
I carefully made my way down the spiral staircase, holding on to the
railings as tightly as I could. As I walked through the courtyard, I
could hear Yin running down the stairs. She caught up to me as I
passed through the hole in the cyclone fence. Yin wanted to go back
in the direction of her bar, but I was headed to the light and blaring
music of the distant beerbars.
Things began to liven up as I neared; girls noticed a customer in their
vicinity and began their calls and invitations. "Welcome,
please. Hello handsome man." I had enough to drink for an
evening, and I wasn't interested in any more companionship for the evening
so it was easy to pass all the girls with a spring in my step.
I made it to Beach Road and turned right toward my hotel. A girl
at the last beerbar figured she could drag me in, and ran out to do so.
"Come to my bar, please."
"I don't want to."
"Why not? Hab beer!"
"I'm finished for tonight. No more power."
"No pomplem for me. I gib you more power."
I stopped for a moment and wondered if this lovely girl really could
give me more power. What the hell… The BF was only a couple
hundred baht, and she looked like she could be fun…
"You give massage?"
"Yeah, sure. I give massage good!"
"Okay, pay bar."
I gave her a purple, and she hugged me before running off to pay bar
and get her stuff. Yang ran back and gave me the change asking,
"Where you hotel?"
"The Thara Patong; right next door."
Before we started the trip, there was another rumor going around that
the Thara Patong was charging joiner fees. There was a guard sitting
in a chair by the Beach Road entrance when we got there, and as he sprung
to his feet to give me a salute, I handed him 100 THB ensuring many future
salutes complete with heel-clicks. And never a hint of a joiner fee.
Yang was a lovely girl; just the way I like them, a little older and
wiser. And she wasn't kidding about her ability to give me more
power.
All things considered, not a bad way to end the day.
---------------------------------------------------
