Yesterday was the start of Songkran and Thavorn, Jaidan, Thai, and Dun started out at 11 am and it was pretty quiet. By 1 pm things were humming and people were partying and getting soaked. It was time to send Jaidan, Thai, and Dun home so Thavorn and Jaidan, Thai and Dun all took motorcycles (2 to a bike) home.
It was the usual kickoff to Songkran with lots of unsuspecting tourists getting a little surprised (and sometime ticked off) by the soaking. Ice cold water was more more in evidence this year with lots of huge 50 gallon tubs set up with trucks replenishing the ice at regular intervals.
In Bangkok, it is hard to pull out into the busy traffic ways so parking attendants with whistles step out into the street and stop traffic so a motorist can pull out. This tactic was used to ambush trucks and Tuk Tuks on Soi 22. A Tuk Tuk driver with a load of tourists would be forced to stop and 10 water guns and buckets of water would be directed at the Tuk Tuk before being allowed to proceed. I lost track of the number of Tuk Tuks we scored.
I really dislike the bar girls that beg you to buy them drinks. The price of drinks is inflated to 250 Baht for a beer (during Songkran, and no happy hours) and I hate to say no when I know the girl ... I usually buy one and then move to a bar where girls leave you alone. Again it reinforces the notion that Thais do not know how to run a business as they discourage people from staying for more than 1 round. If a girl sits down with me and chats for 30 mins and is interesting then I have no problem buying her a drink. If the first thing out of her mouth is Happy New Year ... buy me a drink ... I feel fleeced ... baaaah!
After a while Thavorn and I moved on to Soi Cowboy and it was pandemonium but lots of fun. Some farangs even got into a fight when a man who was snapping a selfie on a stick had his iPhone drenched ... What an idiot ... more so when he attacked the person who inadvertently drenched his camera. The fight was quickly broken up by other farangs who realized the stupidity of the whole thing.
I wore out my year old water gun and had to buy another at the inflated prices of 500 Baht which is the going rate during Songkran.I did buy it from a middle aged lady walking around carrying about 10 guns but insisted she wait to get paid while I tested it out. She had no problem with that and the transaction ended satisfactorily for both of us ... caveat emptor ... I try to learn something new everyday.
BTW, did you know today is the 155th Anniversary of the Pony Express. Little did I know that when I mentioned Jabba's old purse looked like a Pony Express Satchel ... must be some sort of convergence happening here ...
I was feeling chilled by about 7 pm and decided to head home to check on Jaidan and Thavorn's family. I stopped at Dominoe's pizza and picked up two 12 inch pizzas, spicy chicken and extravaganza. When I arrived back at the apartment I placed the pizza slices on plates and handed them out to Jabba and the kids. As usual, there was no thank you (in English or Thai) which is beginning to piss me off.
I grabbed Jaidan and headed off to peace and quiet (and to warm up) in a 30 min bathtub soaking. When done, I fed Jaidan and myself and headed off to sleep.
Thavorn had decided to stay for a while longer on Soi 22 as she was with lots of her friends from the local bars. She really likes the 'twins' and I must admit they are lots of fun and really know how to party hard. They are in high demand by the punters who frequent the bars. Apparently it is kinky to do twins. It is right up there with mothers and daughters. To each their own ... it is easy to judge ... and I must admit the scenario that causes me the most problem is the Thai boyfriend who drops his girlfriend off at the bar at 5 or 7 pm each night and asks her how much she made when she arrives home at 3 or 8 am the next day. A first class pimp in my mind but yet the Thai girl still seems to love him. Don't really get that at all.
Today I woke up and was pissed to see how dirty my apartment was after leaving Jabba, Thai, and Dun alone for the day. I have been cleaning up every couple of hours, doing dishes, sweeping, mopping up, etc. They really are village people in many ways. In the village they simple drop garbage all around their house, where the free range chickens and dogs get rid of some of it, and when it starts sticking to their feet they sweep it into a pile and burn it. This is the environment most bar girls come from.
So I woke Thavorn up and told her to tell Jabba, Thai, and Dun to get off the floor and sit on the couch while I cleaned. For the next hour I swept, mopped, cleaned tables and counter, the tub and sinks while they watched. I don't know if I embarrassed them or not. They probably just thought I was a crazy farang. However, I have imposed some rules.
If you go outside ... wear shoes ... take them off when you come in ... that should get rid of the footprints on the floor and the toilet seat ... Dun likes to squat and shit ... not unlike many Asians.
If you have garbage it goes in one of the two garbage pails I have for that purpose. Now, if only I can get them to understand that at some point, it is full, and they have to empty it, refill the bag, and take the garbage downstairs. No reason to get upset ... Thais not go moon ... this is their small step for mankind :-)
Sorry, I only took one pic ... I already posted pics from the net that shows what goes on during Songkran and yesterday was more of the same. I kept my Note 3 safe and dry. However on the way home the pizza boxes juggling against my phone switched it on and Meatloaf's 'Waiting for the end of Time' baseball song started playing and thoughts of convergence or karma where once again in play. 15 more days and Thavorn, Jaidan and I are once alone and my life returns to normal.
Now, I am off to Big C to replenish the larder raided by the villagers loose in my apartment.
TTYL
Quite a difference experience with a Malaysian Chinese, I was often getting scolded for uncleanliness. It was a good thing. I hope your village people go to the ymca and leave you with Thavorn and son soon.
ReplyDelete