Remember my five minute friend? He was the one who said I should go ahead to my hotel and he would come in five minutes. He didn’t show up.
I met him on the street three days later. He offered no explanation to why he changed his mind, and I didn’t ask. But I foolishly told him that if he wanted a cup of tea the offer still stood. He accepted. This time he would be with me in ten minutes.
He didn’t show up this time either, of course.
But at 11.30 pm I was in my hotel room, reading a book. I heard some commotion in the corridor. Suddenly the door to my room swung open. I had forgotten to lock it.
Three young men entered.
They were my Philippino five minute friend and two others, the one who had “borrowed” my mobile phone and his brother. The five minute friend was cute with curly hair. He was Philippino. The brothers were from the Kadasan-Dusun tribes. The one with the urgent need to own my phone had changed his hairstyle since I last saw him. It was highly fashionable, with spikes. I had not seen his brother before. His head was shaven like a monk.
The lads had knocked on the wrong door before entering my room without knocking, and disturbed my neighbour who then came over to stare at me. He was a tall Chinese man.
The mobile phone thief was clean, well dressed and attractive. He did not look down and out. But he smelled strongly of some chemical. Maybe it was paint thinner.
The curly Philippino boy explained his master plan. He had decided he would pair up Spiky Hair with me. The brother had tagged along. They are social people. Three is the bare minimum of people needed to do anything.
I was didn’t agree with his plan. It is like asking for pizza and they give you hamburgers instead, thinking you will be just as happy with that. I was annoyed they showed up unexpected and embarrassed about the fuss they were making in the hotel.
Spiky Hair spoke excellent English. He had been told by Curly Hair that he was wanted in my room. When I told him Curly Hair had re-arranged things a little Spiky got angry. A loud argument in Malay developed between Spiky and Curly. I had to hush them down.
As a bonus the curly Philippino made it clear that he was disgusted by this gay stuff.
Spiky’s brother, the one with the monk hairdo, used the opportunity to slip behind Curly’s back. There he pointed to Curly, rolled his eyes and did a cut-throat gesture. He wanted to tell me that Curly was crazy and dangerous.
Curly’s friends, meanwhile, had already told me that Spiky was feared as a thief by every security guard in town.
Who were right? Maybe all of them.
I kicked the trio out. I put some money in their hands to get rid of them, thinking I had to stop telling these people where I stayed.
How to make a mess out of the simplest matter. They were attractive candiates seen in isolation. It was all the fuss and the needless problems that ruined things. One should almost think they were Thai.
Tags: Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, Sandakan
July 29th, 2007 at 11:21 am
You’re lucky you weren’t assaulted and robbed or worse. Take better care of yourself and lock your door. And you’re right, stop telling street boys which is your hotel.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:43 am
That was a close call, SF. I would hate to see anything happen to my favorite blogger, especially when he was going beyond the call of duty to do some “research” for his next blog.
July 29th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
I don’t think I was in danger from the trio. Here is my assessment of them:
The curly Philippino is not dangerous by himself. The danger comes from the Philippino gang he belongs to. There are some people among them that make me shiver just walking past them in daylight. They remind me of pirates. They do video sales, drugs, robberies, whatever. But Curly is just a hanger-on, a younger relative of the big bad guys.
The Spiky boy is not violent, but he is a notorious thief. I watched him walk through a shopping centre and saw the hostile looks he got from guards and shop keepers. The cops beat him up if they come across him, which has forced him to keep out of sight and move in the shadows.
It is a shame about Spiky. He is gay and good looking, but obviously messed up.
Spiky’s younger brother is harmless. He stays in the background and stares at everything that happens with big, worried eyes.
Even so I will keep my distance to these people. I would not like to have any of the really bad ones show up in my hotel. This was enough.
July 29th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Could it have been glue rather than paint thinner?
July 29th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
Quite possible. I smelt something similar at the airport where carpenters were installing a new shop interior.
July 29th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
The boys are supposed to perform some street scenes, not invade your room. They went a little beyond what the authorities trained them to do. Sorry.
-Former Farang
July 29th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Silom, as is the case with many others, this is my favorite blog, I read it before doing any real “work” or surfing the net. Please take better care of yourself and reconsider letting young men from the street know where you live. The glue-sniffing thing is fairly common and produces erratic, unpredictable behavior. You certainly have every right to do exactly as you choose but there are many of us whose internet lives would be much less engaging without your (safe) adventures and gifted storytelling. ‘Nuff said on that. How long do you have to stay in Malaysia? Is there a certain time limit before you can receive your new visa? Hope you have a good trip home.
all the best.
July 30th, 2007 at 3:55 am
dangerous or not, it’s good that you were able to get rid of them. you’re on their territory anyway.
July 30th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Thank you. I will head back to Bangkok soon.
I am in a country I don’t know well, so currently I am in the trial and error phase with regards to the local boys, who are good and who are bad. With more experience I hope to be more sure-footed.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
I think you should have gotten their photos and then you could start another blog and post the photos of all the hustlers that travelers should stay away from.
Look at it as a public service…