Chalerm was in Laos. He called from Nongkhai and talked about taking Air Asia to Bangkok but ended up on the bus anyway. Someone stole his suitcase (my carry-on size Pilot with wheels) from the bus and Chalerm called from Mochit to tell me this.
Chalerm said the bus people had promised to call him if the suitcase was found. To my surprise they called shortly after Chalerm came home and he went to collect it. The suitcase had been opened and abandoned, probably by someone who were looking for money and valuables instead of Chalerm’s dirty socks. None of the laundry was missing.
What kind of manners is this? When people steal a suitcase the least they could do was to run the contents through a washing machine, iron and fold before giving it back.
Chalerm’s friend got ill from the food in Laos and Chalerm was afraid of eating there. He said there were no gay people in Vientiane, no 7-Eleven, no DJ Station, no shopping centre and the farangs spoke French.
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I tried to look up Tourist Authority of Thailand arrival numbers for 2008 but they suddenly stopped publishing them. They did however have this quiz on their web page:
1. What is your favorite Thai fruit?
2. If you come to Thailand where would you like to go for Songkran festival?
3. What is your most favorite Thai dish?
4. What do you enjoy most in Thailand?
I can think of several politically incorrect answers.
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We have a ladyboy staying with us overnight. I am not sure if this is the one who used to work in Patpong or if she only looks the same. In a show of trust Chalerm left me home alone with the ladyboy when he went to Klong Toey market to buy fish. Maybe the ladyboy is post-op.
Now they are cooking fish in the kitchen. I showed Chalerm how to eat kiwi with a spoon. I like to think I have a civilising influence on him.
Tags: gay boy, gay Thailand, Thai boy
xxx
August 14th, 2008 at 10:16 am
“I like to think I have a civilising influence on him. ” what a neocolonalist you are :p.
I love the description of Ventiane by Chalerm and it make me think there are 7-eleven all over thailand not only it not too small town?
August 14th, 2008 at 10:50 am
There is an officially not gay sauna where all the gay students from the National University go and a ladyboy bar near the Novatel Hotel. But that is about it so Chalerm was not that wrong.
However, there are lots of lovely gay boys working as waiters in restaurants and as masseurs in the officially not gay massage parlours.
August 14th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Friends tell mem there IS a gay bar in Vientiane: Pack Luck Pub and Massage, Nakham Village, Sikhttabong District, tel. 020-780-9341.
Hey, Ironbark, you have to tell us more! What’s the name and address of that “officially-not-gay” sauna in Vientiane?
August 14th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
It is just the local village sauna. They have a wood fired boiler and place herbal baskets into the the steam room. It very small and things can get very intimate if there are more than 10 people at a time in there.
Its very popular with students from NUOL and the local labourers who come there after a hard sweaty days work and they want to clean up a bit extra before going out. Even the odd ladyboy wanders in from time to time. They always use the male steam room but wash in the females tub.
It is really the local bathhouse for the locals that dont have proper modern bathrooms. The boys love to shampoo their hair and spend ages scrubbing themselves with various skin whitening lotions. Friends and buddies help each other out in those hard to reach places.
One popular treatment is this doggy doo looking pudding which they soak in milk and then rub it all over their skin.
Another preparation is this luminous orange paste that they plaster all over their face. They then sit around gossiping like housewives an a 70’s sitcom while it cakes on them. Some spend the time sitting in front of the mirror carefully inspecting every square millimetre of their face for blemishes or spots they can squeeze or rubb out.
After it has dried to a cracked plaster they then go back into the steamroom where it melts and turns into this orange oil that streams down their hairless shoulders and back before going back to the water tubs to splash buckets of cold water over themselves.
Now this is just the straight boys, don’t get me started on the ladyboys.
About half the patrons are boys under 25 and the rest split between older guys and women. The occassional farang wanders in but most times I am the only one.
The owners son seems to be taking over management lately and he has been busy “upgrading” the facilities. I’m glad he did the toilet, it really was bad, but I hope he stops soon, he is spoiling the place and the idiosyncratic charm it had.
Sorry, the name is in Laos and I cannot read it and the street has no name.
August 14th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
> … Chalerm’s dirty socks. None of the laundry was missing.
I hope this is not too politically incorrect, but am I right in thinking that the thieves may have mistaken his gender had they found his undies ?
August 14th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
I’ve been reading your blog for months now. Thanks for sharing your life…
HOWEVER - as a New Zealander I am rather concerned about you showing Chalerm how to eat Kiwi with a spoon. Who was the poor kiwi tourist to be sexually molested in this sadistic manner? I’m sure that many Kiwis would simply love to be eaten by your beautiful boyfriend but if you REALLY want to have a civilising influence pleas be aware thaat spoons are best left in the cutlery drawer. We prefer to be eaten with the assistance of fingers only and please, for God’s sake, be aware that we consider it the height of rudeness for our consumer to chew when his mouth is full!
:-)
August 15th, 2008 at 7:46 am
The sauna is on the grounds of Wat Sok Pa Luang. My Thai BF and I went there in June. It was a 15-minute tuk tuk ride from the centre, and the driver knew exactly where it was. The Laos Lonely Planet explains the location quite clearly.
The BF complained afterwards that the place was not clean (mai saat), but the price is right and the sauna’s really, really hot. The male employees looked gay-ish to me.