Gay Boy Thailand

Thank you

My boyfriend has gone to Laos. This is his first trip abroad, if you count Laos as abroad, it is an independent country but when I was there it felt like an extension of Thailand.

Chalerm is on a field trip and will collect information and write a report for his university studies. He is going with a female friend.
- What if thief steal my money in Lao? asked Chalerm.
- I guess you have to stay in Laos then, I said.
- Can, said Chalerm.
- Hide a thousand baht bill somewhere, I said. - Like in a shoe. Just so you have enough to get back to Thailand.

I guess I could send him money via Western Union. Even Laos has Western Union. But I hope he does not get stranded like that.

—

The day before Chalerm and I had gone to see his aunt in Bangkok. The trip was announced and dropped a couple of times by Chalerm. I was supposed to meet her at the bus station. That did not happen. I have been to long in Thailand to bother asking why.

The aunt stayed with Cousin When, her daugher. I have never been to visit Cousin When before. She lived in the suburbs, down a terribly long and narrow soi.
- Here no taxi, said Chalerm.
- How do we get back?
- Must walking, said Chalerm.
- Should we ask the taxi to wait for us?
- No need. But now you know why I can not go home if I stay here and it raining.
- Are you kidding? How do we get a taxi back?
- Motorbike.
- I don’t want to get on any motorbike.
- So we walking.

Cousin When, her mother and a sister were waiting for us. Cousin When’s room was bright and modern. The building was new. She paid 2,500 baht for the room, she said. It would have cost a lot more if it had been downtown.

The temperature in the room must have been over 30 C when I entered. They turned on a fan and the air condition for me. It seemed they never used the air condition. It cost too much. Somehow Thais can endure baking temperatures without sweating.

They let me sit on the edge of the bed. This was special treatment. The others sat on the floor. They had no chairs and only a tiny foldable table. Chalerm fished out some food he had brought and the aunt gave him rice from a cooker. He ate alone by the small table. The dirty dishes ended up in the sink in the bathroom.

They had no television in the room, only a portable stereo radio.

The sister was shy and went outside. Her excuse was to talk on the phone with a boyfriend.

The aunt was dark from working outdoors in the village, but otherwise looked like she had five years ago when I last met her. She had kind, warm eyes. She and the daughers are good people in that innocent way of Thai villagers.

The aunt had been to the heart hospital, said Chalerm, but he could not explain in English what the problem was.

Cousin When showed me photos of the children she looked after in kindergarten. They looked Thai-Chinese. We joked I could get a job like that too. I asked how much it paid per month. 7,000 baht, said the cousin.

I sensed tension when we mentioned money. They have never demanded anything but they must have thought or spoken about this rich foreigner Chalerm lives with.

They have never thanked me for the monthly stipend I give them. Not that I expect any great display of gratitude, I don’t want them to throw themselves to the floor at the sight of me, it is just that they never mention it at all. From a Western perspective this silence is strange.

But given the unspoken tension I guessed that any discussion about the subject would involve them asking for more.

All right you in-laws. What have you done for me lately? Nothing. I don’t even see them. But from the Thai perspetive I/Chalerm have a duty to support them. I am the one who should thank the aunt, now the female head of the clan, for the honour of supporting her.

It was interesting to see Chalerm interact with his family. He played the cheeky joker and was a bit dominating. I have limited patience for this game but the females in the family let him do it. But my presence upset the balance and after a while Chalerm hinted about my need to go home. He would stay with his family overnight.

I made Chalerm take pictures of us. Cousin When is pretty, if slightly chubby. I am amazed how light her skin is now that she lives in Bangkok and avoids the sun.

Cousin When lived with us for two weeks once. This must be why there was no ice to break with her. She was trusting and friendly while the other two females were awkward around me. I had the feeling of disturbing something private.

I said the family members should come over to The Mansion to visit us. But don’t stay for months, please. The grandmother drove me crazy once by staying forever and got offended when I suggested she should try the fresh air in the village. Since that episode I have hardly seen any of the relatives in our home. How about doing visits with moderation? Must it be all or nothing?

Chalerm had only joked about the hardship involved in getting out of the soi. He showed me a shortcut to another road. His two cousins came with us. They wanted to go shopping and used the opportunity to cross a dark empty parking and school area with Chalerm and I as bodyguards. Wisely the girls don’t like to walk alone in such isolated spots after dark.

- Got any money for the taxi? I asked.
Chalerm gave me three 100 baht bills. I gave him a 500 baht bill in return. I joked that this was a good exchange rate. Again I felt tension from the girls about the money subject. They must envy Chalerm his lifestyle. They were like children who go silent while staring at candy belonging to someone else.