Gay Boy Thailand

Bye bye

I sent my film cameras to America today. I had stopped using them. No, digital isn’t better in terms of picture quality. Digital schmigital. The whole thing is a fraud since many digicams take worse photos than the older and cheaper film cameras did.

But digital is faster and more convenient, giving instant results. I reach for a digital camera instead of film which would take processing in a lab and then scanning. Digital won not because it is superior but because it is easy.

My film cameras were high-end stuff. I didn’t think I could sell them in Thailand. Better to send the gear to a place where collectors and film buffs would want it.

Chalerm was worried that the camera buyer in America would cheat me.
- What if him not send money? asked Chalerm.
- I know these guys, I said. - I visited their shop in New York. They are honest.

Honest types

This camera store is run by orthodox Jews. They wear black hats and have curly hair. If they say they are going to send money the money will come.

—

I went to FedEx on Silom road. At Silom Galleria I asked a female security guard for directions. I saw her eyes go large with fear as a foreigner rolled down the window of a taxi and spoke to her. She thought she had to speak English. But I asked her in Thai and she (to be on the safe side) replied in Thai to the taxi driver instead of to me.

At the Holiday Inn Hotel a discussion erupted between my taxi driver and a guard. They debated how they could get me to the fitness club.
- Not fitness, I said. - FedEx!
- Fitnet, said the driver.
- FedEx, I said.
- Fitnet, said the guard.

I paid the driver and left the taxi lest the driver forced me to visist the fitness centre. The guard tried to get me to go back inside the car. They were eager. Do fitness centres pay commission to these people?
- He can take you to the fitness, said the guard.
- Fed-Ek! I said.
- Oh, said the guard. - Fed-Ek is over there.

—

The FedEx office was in the basement of Silom Galleria, a shopping centre I had never been to before. I could see why I had missed it. But Indian tourists liked it and gold-dealing Africans seemed to enjoy themselves.

Federal

The FedEx office was messy and gloomy. I know I am not supposed to go to a FedEx office. I am supposed to have them pick up the box at my address.

But I had tried that online. The FedEx website said I had to register first. I registered. I answered the questions honestly. What was my company? I don’t have one. How many packets do I expect to send per month? On average, none. Please allow two business days for processing, the web site said. That was last week. I haven’t heard from them since.

The FedEx staff and I went through a series of oops.

Oops. Forgot to include insurance in the price.
Oops. Forgot to put the letter from the camera shop inside the box.
Oops. Forgot to bring cash.
Oops. Forgot the ATM pin code.
Oops. Is that US dollar instead of Thai baht?
Oops. The value is over 2,500 USD. Need extra insurance.
Oops. Have to charge your Master card again.

When we had solved the oops’es the packet was on its way to New York.

I have a tracking number. Half the fun of using FedEx is to track the shipment. Your packet is now in Reykjavik, Iceland, the website will say. Or in Quito, Ecuador. I hope they misdirect my shipment to some exotic locations so I get value for money. But I don’t want them to lose my box. The guys in New York are expecting it.