Needed a Break

Well, Jabba and the kids have now been here for over a week and I told Thavorn and I needed a break. I am also working hard to get them to talk in a normal voice and not yell. They don't have the concept of an apartment building being shared with other tenants who may not appreciate Jaidan yelled all day long in a loud voice. Ditto for me.

So I headed out to Hustlers, a great pool hall that is usually empty during the day and happy hour is on and the tables are cheap. I walked the usual 25 mins to get there and told the pool girl assigned to my table to leave me alone and not worry about resetting the balls as I was just practicing.  That was more than okay with her as she could go back to using Facebook on her phone. Before she left I ordered a Singha beer at 70 Baht.

I really enjoy practicing my pool. I worked on my bank shots and on-the-rail shots. After an hour or so I was done and decided to walk to Nana, soi 4. On the way to Nana, I overtake a young lady with the usual 'greyhound' Thai body shape and as I pass her she asks, 'Where are you going?' which roughly translate into ... I am a working girl and I am available if you are interested. Being in no hurry and frequently propositioned, I chat with her for the next 10 minutes. She asks where I am from and I tell her Bangkok and she replies, 'So you have a Thai girlfriend?' and I reply yes. We have a nice chat and when she reaches her spot on the street where she and her friends work, she says 'Nice chatting with you, but here is where I work.' I reply, 'Have a good day!' and then begin to wonder what a good day is for her.

Nana is probably the 2nd most popular 'naughty' zone for tourists and even at 12:30 in the afternoon the bars are filled with 'punters' looking for fun. There are also lots of bar girls around to entertain them but the day shift features the older ladies in the 35 to 45 age group. I usually like to sit at the rail of Hillary 4 because the girls leave me alone because they know Jaidan and Thavorn. They do however ask where Jaidan is and when will I bring him back for a visit. I show them a video of Jaidan splashing in the tub and that brings a crowd with lots of laughing. Thai women really like babies for some reason.

I nurse my one beer and after an hour of watching the bar girls fleece the farangs and the free lancers working the street I get a little bored and decide to walk back to Soi Cowboy to play pool at Country Road. Along the way I see the girl I chatted with earlier and she gifts we with a beautiful Thai smile and I smile back and continue to onward.

Soi Cowboy is probably the most popular 'naughty zone' in Bangkok and was started up in the late 70's and early 80's by Vietnam vets returning from the war. During the afternoon there aren't many gawkers (tourists looking to be shocked). It is kind of like Bourbon Street in New Orleans but definitely on steroids and more naughty. It is quiet in the afternoon with many food stalls serving meals to the girls who live upstairs above the many bars. The food stalls are usually run by retired bar girls in their late 40's and early 50's. I know one of them named Sa and when I see her I like to buy her a beer as I knew her from 5 years ago when she was a greeter (try to pull you into a bar).  More on Sa later in another post.

Today though, I stop in Country Road which is bit of an eclectic bar. It features 6 decent pool tables, and live music from 6 pm to whenever. Inside are bar girls disguised as waitresses and pool girls. The waitresses are more than happy to serve you a beer but are happier to have you buy them a drink or 2 or 3 and then hopefully take them out of the bar for a night of entertainment. The giveaway is the number of waitresses is about 25-30. By the end of the evening the bar may be down to 10 waitresses.

The pool girls are different. Their job is to set the tables and serve drinks. They joke with you but they don't go with you. I have a favorite whose name is Bee. She is quite a good pool player and is ranked number 2. These girls gets pretty good as they have nothing to do all day except play pool. Bee sees me coming and is already setting the table and selecting 2 cues. To Bee's dismay I win the first 6 games and I am dissing her pretty badly asking her if she has played since last time I was there. When I ask her if there is anyone better (joking of course) she replies number 1 is watching us. I said 'Bring her over' and number 1 takes me down to one ball but I win so I now proclaim myself as the new number 1 and play Bee 2 more games (which she wins ... probably due to the 3 vodka and Redbulls I imbibed after the 2 beers at Hustler and Nana.) and then decide (now that it is 4 pm) to head home.

Twenty mins later I am home and I decide that Jaidan needs a break as well, so into the kangaroo pouch he goes, and I head off to Rendezvous Bar for a vodka and orange juice. I meet a nice Australian (lots of Aussies in Bangkok) and we chat for about an hour and then a newbie arrives (about 25 year old guy) and we start chatting with him. He is from England on a bit of a gap year and has no return ticket, which is definitely the way to arrive in Bangkok. Paul, the Aussie, like me, lives in Bangkok with a Thai wife and between us we inform Thomas about what he aught to be doing for the next week. He is lots of fun and has a great sense of humour.

Thavorn arrives after about 2 hours later wondering where Jaidan and I have got to. Jaidan was tired of all the bar girl attention and had retired to the kangaroo pouch for a much needed nap. Jaidan travels quite well for an eight month old baby. So, it was time to say goodbye to my new friends and I exchanged numbers with Paul so we could get together again.

TTYL