Stickman Readers' Submissions July 29th, 2004

Tales From Thailand But Written In England (Part 3 Phuket)

Tales From Thailand But Written In England 3 (Part 3 Phuket)


Day 10


I got a couple of text messages in the morning. My phone was next to my bed and although I didn’t answer them and although I didn’t wake up when I got them, they still managed to get into the dream I was having. I dreamt I was getting text messages.

He Clinic Bangkok


We woke up around 2pm. The cleaner rang the room (regular as clockwork) to ask when it would be ok to clean our room. We said around 4pm would be fine.


I read the text messages. They asked me how I was today, what was I up to today. I still didn’t know who they were from so I sent a message back asking who it was. I had about 10 minutes to wait and just as the message came through; it dawned on me who had sent them. It was the Malay girl. I gave her my number that night and now she was sending me text messages. The message she sent confirmed who she was. She asked what we were doing that night and asked if I wanted to meet up with her and her friends, she said she would be in Soi easy at around 11.30 PM.


I asked Neil what he thought and he didn’t have an opinion either way. So I sent her a message back saying I would be there. It then dawned on me that I would be seeing the female DJ in there and also, I would bump into T as well. I had visions of all three of them seeing me at the same time and it kicking off with me in the middle.

CBD bangkok


The rest of the afternoon was spent in the sun on our balcony. When the cleaner came I decided that I would give her one of the England kits I had been giving out as presents. The reason for this was because she was really nice and friendly and she was putting up with a lot by cleaning our room so late, she obviously had to wait around for us. When I gave it to her she seemed generally surprised and happy to be receiving it. I had to sign something to say I had given it to her and it wasn’t something she had stolen from the room. She asked when we were leaving and I told her in a few days.


About 6pm we went out for something to eat and by the time we were heading back to the hotel, the sun was setting and it looked amazing. We wanted to get on the beach and get it filmed. Neil rushed back to the hotel to get the camcorder and I waited just by the beach for him.


He was back in 5 minutes and we spent about 30 minutes on the beach filming little bits and just enjoying the great view. It was a great time for people watching. Children were playing with their parents, lovers were strolling along the shore line and people were going for runs. It was great to watch and felt great to be part of it.


Heading off back to the hotel, the massage girls said hello to us, crazy lot that they are. Back in the room we had a couple of Vodka & Red Bulls, listened to some music, had a chat and got ready to go out.

wonderland clinic


We left around 9pm and, you guessed it, we hit the internet café and Margarita bar. On our way there we bumped into the Indian woman suit seller. We’d talked to her a couple of times and she was really nice. She kept on telling me she loved me. She liked Neil but loved me and wanted to marry me. I told her to join the queue. Once 10 PM rolled around we made our way to soi easy to meet the female DJ (or so I thought) once we got in there she was no where to be seen. Walking past the bar we usually sat in, we told the girls we just had to see someone and would be back, I also said hello to T.


We walked round the soi and she wasn’t there. In a way I was glad and in another way I was disappointed. I was glad because of all the people we were going to run into tonight and disappointed because I wanted to see her.


We sat at a bar just near where we saw her the previous night and sat down. There were about 6 girls in this bar. A couple of them, in particular 1, were gorgeous; the others were just your average run of the mill bar girls, one of them was quite old though, perhaps late 30’s, but she was nice to talk to.


One of them tried telling Neil and me their names; I stopped her and asked for a piece of paper. She didn’t have one so I went to another bar and got a piece of paper. I went back to the bar and asked for a pen. One of the girls behind the bar (the gorgeous one) gave me a pen. I then asked every girl in the bar to write down their name on this piece of paper. They did just that and I remember who had written what. I then turned over the piece of paper and wrote down my name and then Neil’s name. I then went round to each girl and introduced myself and said hello to them by using their name. Great tip for you there if these names confuse the hell out of you and, it creates a good friendly atmosphere and breaks the ice.


After a couple of drinks in there and having a laugh with the girls (I ran around the bar a couple of times being stupid) we decided to go back to the bar we always go to. The gorgeous girl behind the bar thought I’d entertained her and made her laugh so much, she gave me 20baht as a tip. I thanked her and asked if she had a charity box anywhere, she didn’t know what I was talking about, so I just gave it back to her. We said our goodbyes and left.


We got to our regular bar. On the way there I had a quick chat with the guy who looks after the toilets, we always had a chat and laugh together, he was a great guy.


Back in our regular bar we had a couple of drinks. One thing I noticed this year was that these girls always had a bottle of whiskey on top of the bar that they all shared every night. I had a few shots with them but too much was likely to put a hole in my stomach.


I went over to see T and gave her some flowers that were in a little pot on her bar. I noticed a bracelet on her ankle and she noticed me admiring it. Either that or she thought I had an ankle fetish. She asked me if I wanted it and I said yes. So she took it off and put it on my ankle. I sounded like a cat when I walked as it had a little bell on it.


We left about 11pm to get something to eat and we said we’d be back in later as we had to meet someone. We said our goodbyes and left.


We found the pizza place and sat outside and had a pizza each. I really love Thai food; I can’t get enough of the stuff.


I got a text message off Malay girl saying she would be in Easy bar with her friends at 11.35pm. I said we’d be there.


We ate our pizza and went back to Soi easy to meet Malay girl. We walked past our regular bar saying we just had to meet someone, all the time looking at the names of the different bars and looking for easy bar. I said hello to T again. We walked down towards the end of the soi and found easy bar, which just happened to be the bar across from the bar we were at before where I got the 20baht tip. I said a quick hello to the girls in there.


We saw Malay girl and sat down with her. She was with four of her friends and they were all drinking whiskey and beer (not at the same time) we had a chat and she introduced us to her friends. One of them kept on looking at me and smiling. There was some dance music playing in the soi and not the usual RnB shite so I went over to the DJ booth and saw that the male DJ was there. I went in the booth to have a chat with him and asked him to write down the name of the club he was a DJ at. It was called the Jungle House and again he asked me to go so I could DJ there. I said again that we would find it and go. I said goodbye and went back to Malay girl.


I showed Neil the name of the club and asked Malay girl and her friends if they knew where it was, none of them knew where it was. I then went to the 20baht tip bar and asked them, none of them knew where it was. I then went to the bar next to that and asked the same question, none of them knew where it was. It seemed that everyone I asked only knew places on Bangla road, it seemed like it was the centre of the universe. I decided to go and ask the DJ to write it down where it was and he drew a little map. I thanked him and went back to Neil, Malay girl and her friends.


After a couple of drinks Neil and I were getting restless and wanted to move on. Malay girl asked if we were going to L’s bar later and we said yes. We told her we would see her in there. We said our goodbyes and went to our regular bar for one more drink.


As we were sat in the bar the female DJ came in and came up to me and said hello. I asked where she had been and she said in Phuket Town watching the Thai Boxing. We had a short conversation and then she moved towards the back of the Soi. That was the last time I saw her but boy, she gave me some great memories, she was stunning.


After our drink we left. We wanted to see what the new bar below rock hard was like. We made our way there and went inside. The music was shit, firkin RnB yet again. The place was very cool though. A couple of pool tables, very nicely decorated and the air con being a great relief from the sweltering heat outside. We didn’t like the music though, and another thing we didn’t like was the very loud Arab guys that seemed to all over this place. I heard it was actually owned by an Arab guy so it made sense really. These guys are always very loud and very rude and arrogant. I’ve got no problem with any race or creed but when it comes to loud mouth, arrogant and rude people, regardless of where they are from, it gets my back up. We had one drink in this bar and left, never to return.


We went to L’s bar and Malay girl and her friends were there. The girl that smiled at me before was smiling at me again. I went over and talked to Malay girl and miss. Smile didn’t seem happy at all about it, in fact, she then argued with Malay girl and left. Me and Neil looked at each other and smiled.


20 minutes later and Miss Smile came back and sat down, looked at me and, well, smiled. I decided to go and talk to her. She should have had “brick wall” tattooed to her forehead because that’s exactly what it was like talking to her. She never said a word, just smiled. She was pretty though and her smile was kind of nice.


At 2am we all left L’s bar and went to Crocodile disco. There was me, Neil, L, Malay girl, Brick wall and her cousin. We all sat down near the pool table and I had a few games with L and the girl who worked in there. L used her VIP card again so drinks were 50baht each. Brick wall kept on looking at me and smiling and again, I went over to speak to her (why the hell did I bother) she then started holding my hand and smiling. Her cousin, who had had one too many Whiskeys, saw all this going on and came over to speak to me and brick wall. She started shouting at me asking what my intentions were for her cousin. I didn’t know what to say other than “chill out, nothing will happen” she seemed happy with that and went back to her seat and started falling asleep.


Malay girl, who was starting to act pretty weird, flitting from me and then to Neil (she told me she was on holiday in Phuket, she’d been here for a month because she knew some people here. I took it to mean she was freelancing) she told me she liked both me and Neil. She took Neil to dance with her on the stage. She was all over him but you could tell Neil wasn’t happy, I’m not surprised really, she was quite the silly bitch. They came back after about 10 minutes and then she came over to me and started rubbing her hands on my shoulders and blowing in my ear. She then went back to Neil and sat on his knee.


L, Neil, brick wall and I left at 4am to go and get something to eat. We said goodbye to Malay girl and brick walls cousin who were following us out but had other plans.


We went to the place where the French guy was. He was there, loud and obnoxious as ever. We all ordered some food and drink and had a chat (Neil, L and me had a chat; brick wall just smiled and said nothing)


When we left we said goodbye to L at the corner of Bangla road. She told us that her boss was having a buffet at 9pm in her bar and she wanted us to go. We said fine and said goodbye. As we crossed the road we heard a girl shout “English bastards” we turned round and saw a couple of Thai girls and a group of Thai guys eating from one of the stalls. We just kept on walking.


At the top of Bangla road I told Neil I would be back at the hotel very shortly and to leave the door open, I just needed to say goodbye to brick wall (that’s if she understood) Neil left and told me to give Niki one ring so she would see it as her queue to call the hotel room. We crossed the road to the beach and sat down at a bus stop. For the first time ever brick wall said something, her words were “I go with you” I looked amazed because she could actually speak but I told her “I go alone” she then went to kiss me but I turned away. I told her I had a girlfriend (she didn’t understand)


We sat there in silence for what seemed like 24 hours. I eventually got up, told her it was nice meeting her and I was tired and that I was going to go to my hotel and sleep, alone. She smiled, held my hand and then I saw a taxi bike and flagged it down. I gave her 20baht and sent her on her way. Thank god that was over. She was a very pretty girl, but looks aren’t everything.


I went back to my room and Neil was still talking to Niki. After a few minutes he said goodbye and asked me what happened. I told him and then we both went to sleep. Just as I was drifting off, Malay girl sent me a text saying she liked me. I sent her one back saying it was nice meeting her, but I was going to delete her number. I wished her luck and said goodbye.


One thing I forgot to mention which happened the previous night. Neil, L and me were walking home and going up Bangla road. There was a Buddhist monk praying to some bar girls. The bar girls were all on their knees and had their heads down and were crying. As we walked past this monk L said to wait. Neil stood with L and the monk stared praying with L and Neil. A bar girl started to ask for my help in tying a band she had in her hand. She wanted it tying round her wrist, the monk had given it to her and she couldn’t get it on. I tried to help her but she was drunk and emotional and wouldn’t really listen to what I was trying to tell her. Just then, L came up to me and told me to get down. I knelt down and the monk started to pray over me. He then touched my shoulder and I got up. He put a band on my wrist, said another prayer, blew something on this band and then tied it. I thanked him and he left. Neil had also gotten one. L said to keep the band on for 7 days and then take it off. Every time someone saw these bands on our wrist, they were always shocked and asked where we had got them from, where we had seen the monk. Strange.


Roll on day 11.


Day 11


It was another late start for us. Our plans for elephant trekking never came to pass yet again. The canoe trip never happened either, damn.


I got a text off L reminding me of the buffet at 9pm at her bar. Malay girl also sent me a text saying she liked me and wanted to see me again. Either she was brain-dead or had short term memory loss. I didn’t reply back.


We went out for something to eat and spent a couple of hours in the sun. I got chased by a giant bee. I actually saw it turn in mid air, look at me and wink and then come for me.


We watched the sun set, had a couple of drinks and got ready to go out about 8pm.


By 8.45 we left and as we had 15 minutes to kill, we went to the margarita bar. We had a quick drink in there and noticed that the female singer from Tai Pan the previous year was there and would be singing there tonight. We said we would go back after the buffet and get her on camera, her voice is just amazing.


We left and went to L’s bar. The buffet was fantastic. We didn’t expect so much food to be there. Thai food, Chinese food and western food was all on offer. L’s boss came over to me and gave me a hug and said hello. She told us to get what we wanted and she bought us both a drink.


We stayed for about an hour. The bar was very busy because of the free food. We had a few laughs with L and the girls in the bar and L’s boss. We told L we would be going soon as we wanted to check e-mail’s and go to a few bars, but we would be back a little later.


We said our goodbyes and made our way to the internet café and then back to the Margarita bar to film the Thai singer. She was great and just how we remembered from the previous year.


We then made our way to Soi easy and to our regular bar. On the way in, I bumped into one of the girls who wrote down her name on the piece of paper. She asked if I still remembered her name and I told her yes and said her name. She laughed and then went out of soi easy with her friend.


Just before we got to the bar, one of the girls was stood up and looking at us and smiling. There was another girl stood next to her and was smiling as well. They said hello and it turned out to be the girl Neil had told me he liked. She was very pretty and seemed really happy to see Neil. Neil was happy as well. They sat down next to each other and had a chat. I spoke to some of the girls and then went to speak to T. I had a drink in her bar and then went back to the other bar.


I decided to go for a wander around with the camcorder. I filmed a lot of the action and bumped into some girls at a bar near the toilets who had seen me quite a few times. One of the girls liked me (according to some of the girls) she was pretty nice and very friendly and seemed happy to see me. I wanted to move on and I told them I’d have a drink in their bar before I left for the UK.


As I was walking back, I was stopped at a bar called Manhattan. One of the girls was having a birthday and they asked me to sit at the bar and have a drink. They told me they had seen me walking around all the time and being silly and they thought I was funny. I sat at the bar and had a couple of shots with them. T came over and wished the girl happy birthday and also had a couple of shots. I thanked them for the drinks and I went back to Neil and his new friend N.


Neil and I wanted to move on. Before he left he invited N to come to L’s bar (she knew her) at 2am and she could come out with us all. She agreed. I also asked T if she wanted to come out with us and told her where we would be at 2am. She said she would like to meet me and said she would be there, I said I would look forward to seeing her.


We went to soi ladyboy and went to the bar we had been in before. They remembered who we were and we sat down and had a drink. We’d been in this bar before but there was a girl in there who I’d never seen before. She was very tall (for a Thai girl, no she wasn’t a lady boy) and very pretty. She sat down next to me and we started talking and introduced ourselves. Her name was G. She told me her friend worked at this bar and she always came to see her. She worked at another bar, a quiet bar away from Bangla road. There was something about this girl that I liked.


We had another drink and then went back to L’s bar. I said goodbye to G and said I hoped to see her again. We left and when we got back to L’s bar, N was there waiting for Neil, so were half of the girls from her bar (not waiting for Neil but they were there) we all had something to eat and drink and by 3am, Neil, L, N and me went to crocodile disco for a few drinks. T never showed up.


L and me played pool and so did the girl we knew who worked there. Neil and N spent most of the night talking on the couch just near the pool table.


By 5am the place was closing so we all went for something to eat at the Frenchman’s place. They had a snooker table in there with pool balls so L and I played a game. We had some food and drink and by 6am we made our way back to the hotel. Neil told N he would come to her bar that night to see her again. We said goodbye to N and L and walked up Bangla road. It was weird seeing this road at dawn, it just seemed really strange.


The woman drink seller was there with a few girls and we had a chat with them. I needed some smokes so I asked one of the girls where I could buy some. She took my hand and led me to the sea dragon hotel, which just happened to be the hotel I stayed at with T (from Bangkok) the previous year. It felt weird being back in there. I got some smokes and we made our way back to where Neil was with the drinks seller and the girls. The girl who took me for the smokes asked for a kiss. I told her no, she told me to go fuck myself (all in the name of fun) we started walking back to the hotel and I turned round to the girl and said “one kiss” she said “ok, you kiss my arse” I thought it was hilarious.


One the main beach road we were stopped by a Thai lady on a bike. She was in her 40’s and saw our camcorder and said she would take us around on her bike so we could get some shots. We declined her offer. She then decided to serenade us with a song. She had a great voice I must say. We thanked her and said goodbye.


It was nearly 7am and we went to sleep. I had another message off Malay girl saying hello. I just ignored it.


Before sleep took me. I thought of G, the tall Thai girl and I smiled.


Day 12


The day started off by us eating at about 5pm. We got up around 3. Neil was looking forward to seeing N again that night; he liked her, quite a lot.


On the way back to the hotel after eating, I ran up to the massage girls sitting outside the shop and took hold of one of the girl’s hands. I started to massage her fingers and when I had finished, I told her that this time my services were free, but next time it would cost her 100baht for each finger. The girls laughed and she hit me with her little pricing board.


We got ready and had a couple of Vodka & Red Bulls, finishing off the last of the vodka. We left around 9.30 PM and went to the internet café and then the Margarita bar. On the way down Bangla road the Indian woman asked me to marry her again, I said maybe one day.


After a couple of drinks in the Margarita bar we went for something to eat at the pizza place. We sat outside and watched all the weird and wonderful people walking past. There were lots of Chinese tourists walking around and also waiting for coaches to take them to their next destinations.


After our food we went into Rock hard for a drink. A couple of the girls were smiling at us on the stage, doing little sexy dances for us and shoving their arses in our faces. I got up to go to the toilet and as I was walking in, a girl stopped me and asked me to meet her at 2am across the road. I declined her most generous offer.


After Rock Hard we went to Soi easy and sat at our usual bar. N was there and Neil and her sat together talking. N had Neil turned towards her so Neil had his back to me which made it hard for me to talk to him. N kept on looking at me and not giving me the best of looks.


I went to see T and said hello and asked her why she didn’t come the previous night; she said something about drinking too much and being tired. I then went towards the toilet area where I knew some girls in a bar just near there. A felt someone link arms with me and I turned to see who it was. It was brick wall, she was back. I said hello, just smiled and said nothing but followed me all the way to the toilet. I was pretty cold towards her and I think she got the message. She said something about waiting for me outside the toilets but when I went in and came back out, she was gone. I went to see the girls in the bar near the toilets. One of the girls who liked me saw my England top. She was sat with some fat old man and she came over to talk to me with a few of the girls. She told me she was buying an England top the next day and asked me to come in and see it. I told her I would.


I had a quick conversation with the toilet guy and then said hello to the girls in the bar where I asked for them to write down their names on a piece of paper. I had a quick drink in that bar and went back to where Neil was. I told him I was getting a little restless and asked if he wanted to move on. He said yes. N wanted Neil to meet her in this bar at 2am and from there, they would move on to L’s bar. He said he would be there.


I went over and spoke to T again and said to her that we would be going to a club after 2am, the one where the male DJ worked and I might get to DJ. I said I’d be back in here at 2am with Neil to get N and asked her if she’d like to come with us and I’d see her at 2. She didn’t look in the best of moods and I asked her what was wrong. She said she saw me with Brick wall (she didn’t call her brick wall) I told her not to think anything of it. Because of my personality, I like to get about and meet people and make friends and sometimes people got the wrong impression and latch on to me. I’m not sure if she understood or not. I said I’d see her at 2 and asked again if she wanted to go with us, she smiled and said yes. I told her I’d see her later.


We went to Soi Lady Boy and went to our usual bar. G was there and she smiled and sat with me. We had a chat, Neil played the blocks game with a couple of other girls. One of these girls worked behind the bar and I don’t think she liked me or Neil. The first time we met her she was fine, but after that she seemed to change.


I told G I might be DJ’ing tonight and told her where the club was. I also said we might be in Crocodile disco later as well. I asked her the name of the bar she worked at and she wrote down the name for me. Saying she worked from 9pm till 1am. I told her we would go and see her after 9 the next night. She didn’t believe me but I promised her that I would.


We left about 1.30 and I said goodbye to G saying I might see her later, if not, I would see her tomorrow at her bar. She smiled and said goodbye.


We went back to soi easy and sat at the bar. We had a drink and I noticed that the bar T was working at was shutting for the night. So was the bar we were at. I looked at T but she didn’t seem to want to look at me. She glanced at me every now and again. I kept on looking and when the bar was all closed up, she just walked out without a word. I couldn’t believe it. Had seeing brick wall link arms with me affected her that much? Neil asked what was going on and I said I didn’t have a clue, and it was the truth. N told Neil that she would meet him outside because of the bar fine situation. So we finished our drinks and went out of soi easy and waited out front. I then had an idea of seeing if G was still in soi lady boy. I don’t know why I thought of it but I did. So I told Neil I would meet him in L’s bar as I wanted to see if she was still there. I left.


I got to the bar but I couldn’t see anyone, the place was shut. Damn. I made my way to L’s bar.


I got to L’s. Neil and N were already there. I told L about the Jungle House club and asked if she wanted to go, she said she would. At about 2.20 AM we left and got a tuktuk to the jungle house. L had to explain to the driver where it was. I showed her the map I was given.


It took about 10 minutes to get there. It was in a very quiet and of the way area. The club itself was on top of a hill and you had to walk up some very steep metal steps to get to it. The place was all open air. Lots of mood lighting and the music was pumping tribal beats and progressive trance. It was a very nice place. There weren’t many people there. Groups of westerners were dotted here and there. L went over to the DJ and asked him about the other DJ. He said he wasn’t playing tonight (just my firkin luck) we decided to stay for a drink anyway. We found a table and soaked up the atmosphere and had a chat.


A westerner girl came over to me and asked for a light. She was from South Africa and it was here and her friends first time in Thailand. She also told me she was a princess in Scotland. I told her I was a Prince in Manchester. She then asked about L and N and said quite loudly “are these two girls prostitutes” well that did it for me. I thought and was about to say to her “who the fuck do you think you are, you fucking rude obnoxious bitch” I held my tongue though. But I did give her some good advice. I asked her if her and her friends smoked weed. She said yes but didn’t know where to buy any. I just told her that she should go to the beach and wait for someone to ask her. With any luck, she would buy some off the wrong person and get arrested for drug possession.


L, who heard what the girl said, started getting angry, but getting angry in a subtle way. Making little comments here and there and being silly. We decided to finish our drinks and head off to Crocodile.


We got to the road and lucky for us a tuktuk was coming past. I had visions of us walking because it was such a remote area.


We got to Crocodile and had a couple of games of pool. I went to the toilet and as I came back I heard someone say my name. I turned around and there was G. She was with a couple of her friends. I said it was nice to see her and I told her I was going to see if I could DJ in here tonight. She said she would watch me. I said I’d see her a little later; her friends were calling for her to go over to them. We stood there for a second just looking at each other, then we both moved away to our friends.


The girl who worked in there came over and we spoke about me DJ’ing. She took me up to the DJ and we had a chat. As his music selection was limited, I had one of my mixes for him to play and he gladly put it on. He introduced me and he played my mix. I played around with the mixer and manipulated the sound a little. People were cheering, girls were screaming, Neil got it all on camcorder. It was great being up there watching everyone dancing and having a good time to something I had put together. A great time was had by all. When it had finished, the DJ said my name again and everybody cheered and I got down off the stage and went back to L, N and Neil by the pool table. As I walked through the people I got pats on the back from guys, I got offers from girls and comments of “I like you” “that was cool” “you’re a great DJ” it was a great ego boost. I tried looking for G but I couldn’t see her. There were too many people around me and in the club to see her.


Around 4.30 AM Neil told me he was going to get a hotel with N. I wished him look and told him to give me a call from reception when he came back to the hotel and I would open the door for him. He said goodbye and off he went with N.


L and I left about 5 and went to get something to eat. We went to the place with the Van Damme picture on the wall. The owner saw me and shook my hand, then put my mix on that he’d copied to his laptop.


The place was very busy again. L spotted some friends and after we ordered our food and some drinks, she went over to speak to them. A girl was sat with her friends on the table next to our, she kept on looking at me and smiling. She offered me a drink and asked if this was me playing through the sound system, I said it was.


L came back and our food arrived. We ate, drank and chatted. I looked up and towards the front door and Malay girl came in. She saw me and smiled, she said hello to L and spoke to a couple of girls just behind us. She then came over to me and sat next to me, saying she was sorry about what had happened. She then stood up and sat on my knee and put her arms around me. I looked at L and shook my head. Malay girl finally got the message (I think) and got off me and went for a wander around. L and I sat there for a while talking and then Malay girl came back again and sat just near L and kept on looking at me. A guy of about 55 came walking in the door, Malay girl turned round and saw him, she stood up and put her arms around him and said hello and where are you from. I looked at L, L looked at me and I said “she really is quite desperate isn’t she” L just laughed. It really was quite freaky to watch. This guy was very skinny, bald and had white socks and sandals on. His lime green shirt open at the front exposing his skinny, sagging chest.


We finished our drinks and before we left, I said goodbye to the owner, the girl who was sat next to me and I just ignored Malay girl. We walked up Bangla road towards my hotel. I saw the drinks seller and some of the girls who always sat with her and said hello.


L and I decided to stay out for a bit longer talking. We sat at one of the open air bars on the main beach road. The sun was rising but everywhere was closed. The only people milling around were the early morning workers cleaning up the rubbish and the bike riders who just seemed to stay up 24 hours a day zipping up and down the road.


We spoke of our lives; I spoke of my girlfriend and our plans to go to China, my thoughts of meeting her family. L told me about T, her Swedish boyfriend who sent her 30’000 baht every month. I remember the previous year he was sending 20’000. She told me about her trip to Sweden earlier in the year to see his family. They all liked her and told her that she was the first girlfriend he had had. He’s 38 by the way. She said she didn’t like Sweden, she could never live there. She said it was too cold, she didn’t like the food and she missed her family and friends in Thailand. She still claimed she didn’t love him and I believe her but she said he sends her money and treats her well so she has no complaints; it’s all about the money for her and nothing else. But as long as they were both happy with that, why spoil it. As I said the previous year, she has her head screwed on. Having all these girls as friends is great because once they trust you and know you aren’t some tosser after a shag, they open up to you, they let you into their world and way of thinking. It makes very interesting listening.


We said our goodbyes at about 7.30 AM. I really enjoyed that talk with L and I was sorry that I was too tired to carry on, I’m sure L would have stayed out longer, it was me that said I wanted to go.


Once I got back in the hotel room, I had a final smoke and went to sleep. I was looking forward to seeing G again and going to her bar.


Day 13


The ringing of the phone at 12.30 woke me up. It was Neil; he was back from his night of fun with N. I opened the door for him and got back in bed.


When he got in he told me all about his night. I won’t go into details of what happened as you can probably guess anyway, although I will say he didn’t have full blown sex due to, well the mood being ruined by N’s Italian boyfriend calling her on her mobile all the time. Instead of switching it off, she would always answer, telling him that she loved him and missed him and all the time she is in bed with another guy telling him how much she likes him. This guy was probably one of her sponsors, sending her money every month, thinking he is the only one in her life, thinking she is tucked up in bed with a cup or horlicks waiting for his return. They say there is a fool born every minute, I think when it comes to western men and Thai bar girls, it’s every second.


We had a couple of hours of sleep and then went to eat around 4pm. The day was hot, very hot and after eating, we went to the beach to do a little filming. There were a couple of gorgeous girls walking up the beach. We looked at them, they looked at us, we got them on camcorder, and they waved and showed off in front of it. Perfect.


When we left the beach, Neil wanted a paper so we went to the book and magazine shop at the top of Bangla road. I waited outside. While I was stood there a girl walked past me. She looked at me, I looked at her and at the exact same moment, we recognised each other. It was the Massage girl from the previous year. I couldn’t believe it, she couldn’t believe it. There were smiles and hugs and how are you’s all round Neil came out of the shop and said hello to her as well. She told us she left the massage shop she was at and her and her friend opened up their own shop. From what she said she was doing pretty well for herself. Looking at her again I’m not surprised. She’s a very pretty girl and very friendly. She gave us her card and asked us if we wanted to go with her now in her car for a chat and something to eat with her at the shop. We declined as we were very hot and had just eaten. But we said we would try and get to see her before we left. She walked with us towards the hotel and we said we were going in the 7/11 for some water. We said our goodbyes and off she went.


Inside the 7/11 I saw one of the massage girls from her old shop. She looked at me and smiled and slapped me on the arse. Cheeky cow.


We got our water and bought an ice cream each and went back to the hotel to cool down.


We chilled out for the rest of the day and talked about what we were going to do that night. There was a Thai Elvis on at a bar just near the hotel and we wanted to see him and get him on camera. Then we would go to G’s bar and see her and have a drink.


We got ready and left at 9pm. We got to the Elvis bar and sat down for a drink. The Elvis guy was on and he was a funny guy and he made a pretty good Elvis. We only had one drink but we got plenty of camcorder footage. We left and made our way to G’s bar. We had to ask for directions because it wasn’t on Bangla road. It wasn’t too far and we walked in and G saw me straight away and smiled. We sat at the bar and L’s friends that we met in happy days were there. It looked like they actually owned the place. We said hello to them all and had a drink. Another girl in the bar, a stunning girl latched on to Neil. She was very very pretty and very forward. She kept on asking Neil if he wanted an oil massage when she finished work. She took a shine to him and him to her, but because of N (who he was now losing interest in because of the Italian boyfriend drama) he had to refuse her advances. I had a nice chat with G and I said I would like to see her later and I would go in soi lady boy to meet her after 1am. She seemed happy and said she looked forward to seeing me; she said she couldn’t believe I’d kept to my promise and come in the bar she worked at to se her.


We finished our drinks, said our goodbyes and we went to the internet café and then to margarita bar. After our drinks in there we went to get a pizza. It was raining so we sat inside. There was an old America guy shouting and arguing with one of the service staff in there. He was drunk and being a complete twat. He made himself look pathetic in front of everyone. Eventually he calmed down and tried sitting next to some young Thai girls saying something to the effect of “you girls sure are pretty, I will sit with you” they didn’t know where to look and they looked very embarrassed, he seemed to change his mind and sat somewhere else.


After we finished our food we went to Soi easy to see N. She wasn’t happy at all, in fact, she was so unhappy that she ended up running to the toilets crying. I left Neil to it and went to see the girl who was buying the England shirt. She was with the fat old bloke again but when she saw me she ran over to show me the top. It was a fake but a pretty good fake. A couple of things give it away but it was still top quality. She told me she paid 400 baht for it. She went back to fat bloke and I had a drink at her bar and talked to a couple of the girls. After the drink I went to see the girls whose names were written on the paper. I had a quick drink at that bar and went back to see Neil. He didn’t look happy at all. I saw T but didn’t say anything to her. She looked sad when she saw me, I just smiled at her and she smiled back.


I went around the soi with the camcorder and everyone said hello and waved and danced in front of me. When I got back to the bar, Malay girl, Brick wall and some other girl were sat down at the bar. I just nodded my head at them and they smiled, but I didn’t say anything to them.


It was now after 1am and I asked Neil if he was ready to go. N heard this and didn’t seem happy, but you could tell Neil was glad to be hearing it. He wanted to leave. He told N he would meet her at L’s bar at 2. She didn’t really seem interested.


We left and as I walked out I smiled at T, she offered me some flowers and I took them, smiled and then offered her the flowers, she took them, smiled and kissed me on the cheek. I said goodbye and we went to Soi lady boy.


G was there and we sat and had a chat. Neil was chatting to another girl who we had got to know in the bar but was hard to figure out. One minute she was all moody and insulting, the next she was all happy and loving us. I asked G if she wanted to come to L’s bar with us as we would be going out to a club at 2am. She said yes and I asked if she wanted to come with us now, or if she wanted me to come and get her at 2. She said she would come with us now. It was now 1.30 AM. We finished our drinks and made our way to L’s bar and that’s when the fun began.


We got to L’s bar and I sat down with G and Neil. L said hello but blanked G. We got some drinks and I talked to G, Neil did some filming. About 1.50 AM N came to the bar and Neil sat with her. I carried on talking to G. L would come along and take one of my smokes and then dance behind the bar with another girl who worked there. This went on for a while. L’s boss was there and she said hello. But I noticed there was a bit of an atmosphere. I could sense it and I think G could too. I told her so much about L, saying how we were great friends, how we had known each other for 3 years. But that night, L seemed like a stranger.


At 2am, N walked out of the soi. I asked Neil what was going on and he said he told her he didn’t want to stay with her tonight in a hotel; he wanted to stay in his hotel room. She wasn’t happy about this and walked out. The reason why she was crying earlier was because Neil was late meeting her. Even though he hadn’t told her what time he would go to her bar, she just assumed that he would be there at 9pm like he was the previous night. She also assumed that he would stay in her bar, sitting with her all night and because none of that happened, she drank too much beer, got upset and cried. And now that he didn’t want to sleep with her that night, she got mad and went home.


I got up and talked to L. Neil talked to G. I asked L what we were doing that night and she said “we go to Jungle house, if you go, the girl you are with doesn’t come” I looked at her and said “what, what’s wrong with you” she just walked off.


The bar closed and all of L’s bar, including the boss, made their way to the car park at the back of the Soi. I grabbed L and we were face to face. I asked her what was going on and why was she being like this, she just said “we go now” Neil followed and I walked with G. She knew something was wrong. She said “maybe its better that I don’t go with you” and I just told her that it would be ok, L was acting weird and I told her not to worry.


We all got to the car park and I asked L what was happening. Everyone was either getting on a bike or getting in the boss’s car. I asked L who could we go with and she told me to go fuck myself. Neil, who by now was halfway in the boss’s car, didn’t hear this. I shouted that I wasn’t going. L then said to Neil that if he wanted to go, he had to pay. Neil got out of the car and looked at me as if to say “what the fuck is going on” L the told Neil to go fuck himself.


They all left and we walked down Bangla road to a bar on the corner. I didn’t know what to say. What the hell was going on? I felt really sorry for G, she hadn’t done anything wrong and didn’t need to see any of that. She said she was ok and told me that maybe L saw me as more than a friend. Neil said the same thing. We got to the quiet bar and had a drink each. I kept on saying sorry to G for what had happened. I felt so bad for her.


Some of G’s friends walked past and said hello. I told G that if she wanted to go with them, then she was more than welcome to. I didn’t really feel like staying out and neither did Neil. I got G’s number and said I’d text her. I told her I was sorry once again and she left to go with her friends to eat, giving me a kiss on the cheek and said to call her.


Neil and I walked back to the hotel. At the top of Bangla road, a girl shouted to us. We looked over the street and saw it was one of the girls from the soi lady boy bar, the one who took a dislike to us. We said hello and walked back to the hotel.


Once inside the room we talked for a few hours about the night. I sent G a text saying I was sorry again. She sent one back saying it was ok and that she would like to see me again and asked what I was doing during the day. I said when I got out of bed; I would send her a text. L also sent me a text message saying she was sorry. Neil, L and me had said that on our last day, we would hire a jeep and go around Phuket. That was supposed to happen tomorrow but it looked like those plans were now scrapped. It was such a strange night and upsetting as well. L was a good friend, but seeing her do that tonight was horrible. We just hoped that it would be sorted out before we left. It was our last night tomorrow and we didn’t want to go home without working things out with L. But first she would have to say sorry to us in person, but this being Thailand, would that actually happen?


It was 4am and we went to sleep. It was the earliest we’d been to bed since getting to Thailand.


Day 14


We woke up around 12. L had sent me another message saying she was sorry and it also said she couldn’t remember what happened last night as she was drunk, but she did remember something bad happening. I said I’d call her later.


G sent me a message about 1.30 and asked what I was doing and if I wanted to meet her. I gave her a call and we arranged to meet at 4pm outside the hotel. Neil had said to N the previous night that he would call her today; this was before she went off in a huff. He called her and they also arranged to meet at 4pm outside the hotel.


We went out for something to eat and got back around 3. We sat in the sun for a while and at 3.50, we went down to meet N and G.


Surprisingly, they both turned up on time. We went to a quiet open air bar on Bangla road for a couple of drinks and a chat. It was very hot and the owner of the bar turned on the fans for us which gave some light relief. G was teaching us some Thai words. After a couple of drinks we went to the beach. Neil and N got a couple of sun chairs and G and I went for a walk on the beach for a chat, not straying too far from where N and Neil were. We talked about our lives a little. G knew I had a girlfriend and she asked about her. She told me how she use to work in MBK before coming here (great career move) and she told me what part of Thailand she was from (Udon Thani) I liked G, she was very easy to talk to, very honest and funny. She had a sarcastic streak which I found hilarious.


We spent a couple of hours on the beach and decided to leave and go back to the hotel. I told G we would go to her bar just after 9; she smiled and said she was looking forward to seeing me. Neil said goodbye to N and told her he would see her later.


When we said goodbye to them we went to the 7/11 to get some redbulls and then it was back to our room for a chill. The sunset was perfect and instead of watching it on the balcony, we went back to the beach with the camcorder and got some great footage.


When we got back to the room I called L. It sounded like she was driving and asked me to call her back in 10 minutes. I had a quick smoke and called her back. We talked about what had happened the previous night and again she said she was drunk and couldn’t remember but she said sorry. That was good enough for me and I told her we would see her later.


We had a couple of redbulls, got ready and left around 9pm. We got to G’s bar and had a drink in there. Neil got talking to the girl he’d met the previous night at that bar and seemed to be enjoying her company once again. She asked him to meet her again. G knew it was our last night and said she would miss me when I went and wished she’d met me earlier. We got some camcorder footage of them both.


After our drink in there I told G I would see her at soi lady boy later. She smiled and said she was looking forward to seeing me again. We said our goodbyes and left.


On the way to Bangla road, Neil got himself a couple of DVD’s which were about £1.00 each. Once we were on Bangla road we went in Margarita for a couple of drinks. We told the friends we had in there that we were going home tomorrow. They wished us luck on our trip. We then went to Soi easy. The manager behind our regular bar was feeling ill and I’d promised him the previous day that I would bring him some medicine out to make him better. My girlfriend had given me some Chinese medicine and I gave him some of that. Neil sat with N.


I went round to the different bars and said goodbye to the girls that I knew in them. It was good lucks all round. The girl who bought the England top was sat with the fat old guy again and she game over and gave me a hug. She actually had tears in her eyes. Whether that was because she had to spend yet another night with fat Italian man or whether it was because I was leaving is anybody’s guess.


I got lots of pictures of the girls in the bars that I knew and that I’d met. It was quite touching really.


When I got back to the bar I asked Neil if he was nearly ready to leave. He said he was but told N he would meet her at 2 at L’s bar. I went over to T and told her that I was leaving the next day. Her face seemed too change, her face seemed to go white. I asked her if she was ok and she nodded her head. I said that I was sorry we never got a chance to go out away from the bars and that I was sorry she never got to see me DJ. I told her I liked her (I did like her) and that I wished things could have been different. I said I was just going to say goodbye to the girls at our regular bar and that I would be back in a minute.


I said goodbye to all the girls and both Neil and I got lots of hugs, kisses and hand shakes. I got some Photos of everyone together; I also got a Photo of T. It was quite emotional really.


I went back over to T, Neil was waiting to leave. I said it was great meeting her and that I thought she was really nice. I wished her luck in what ever she did. Suddenly, tears started to roll down her cheeks. I wiped one away and smiled. I gave her a hug. Her cousin was stood just near her and she seemed to have a look of understanding on her face, like she knew this would happen. I started to walk away, looking over my shoulder. I turned around again and held up my hand. The tears were streaming down her face and I said goodbye and smiled. That was it for her; she jumped into her cousins arms and cried like a baby. We walked out and just before walking down the steps, I turned around again. T and her cousin were both looking at me. T was in the arms of her cousin. I held up my hand again and she managed a smile. We then walked out.


We went to get something to eat. During out meal Neil said he wanted to check out the gay area of Phuket, just to see what it was like. He’d mentioned this before but I was never keen on the idea. I had visions of beer bars full of men asking for me to pay their bar fines so we could do the nasty and listen to the back street boys. As it was the last night I thought “what the hell” and we finished our food and left.


We knew the area was near the Paradise hotel and you could see this hotel quite clearly from Bangla road. We made our way there. We went down some seedy and dark back street. I saw a cockroach scuttling across the floor. We turned down another street and there were a few bars down here. We went through and it was some of the gay bars. As with the “I want to look like Beyonce” lady boy in Bangkok (who I’d seen numerous times in Phuket, she/he seemed to be following me) and those words “you like” that will haunt my dreams till the day I die. I now had some new words that would haunt me till my dying days. We walked past one of these bars and there was a young Thai guy in a see through shirt stood outside the bar, he looked at me, smiled and said “hello handsome, you want mad tonight” that was it for me. I said to Neil I wanted out of here straight away. Neil seemed to be in agreement.


We left the area and sat at a quiet bar on the corner on Bangla road. Just as we walked to it, I saw Beyonce yet again sat with her Lady boy friends. She said hello and smiled, I did the same.


After a drink in the quiet bar, which was quite pleasant and we spoke to a few of the girls in there. We went to Rock hard for a quick drink and then we had a quick drink at one of the bars in Tiger. After that we moved on to soi lady boy and we met up with G. The people in this bar knew us now and all of them said hello and wished us luck for our journey home. G asked me what I was doing later and I said we would probably go to a club, maybe Jungle house again to see if the DJ I knew was there (I’d seen him earlier in soi easy and he told me he would be there later that night) I asked if she wanted to come with us but she was a big stand offish because of what happened the previous night. She said she wanted to see me. I asked her what she wanted to do and then she said that she would meet me about 2.15am in the bar we were in as she needed to go with her friend for something when her friend finished work at this bar at 2am. I told her I would be here at about 2.10 AM.


Neil and I said our goodbyes to everyone and I told G I would see her later. We made our way to L’s bar. L said hello and she had had her hair cut. It looked very strange really. She said she did it herself and from the looks of it, I think she was telling the truth. I asked L if she wanted to go to Jungle house after she finished work and she said ok. N arrived and I also noticed that brick wall was sat at the bar. She kept on looking at me and smiling. It seemed she’s had a lot to drink and at one point she ran to the toilet to be sick.


At 2.00 AM I went to go and meet G. I told L I would be back shortly. I got to Soi Lady Boy and went to the bar. The male owner was there, a couple of other girls and the girl that had taken a disliking to Neil and I. This girl asked me what I was doing back and I told her I was meeting G. It was at this point that she snapped and got angry. She started shouting “why you come here, she not work here, why you come here and meet her, what you want” The owner came over (he was Thai) and asked me what was wrong. I told him that I was meeting G, he then said (the girl was still shouting at me while he was trying to speak, I told her to shut up and held my hand up) “she doesn’t work in this bar, she bad girl, has Thai boyfriend” I said to him that we were just meeting as friends, I had a girlfriend so it really didn’t bother me if she had 100 Thai boyfriends and a few westerners to boot. He walked away, the girl was still shouting and I was about to snap, remembered where I was and just walked out. I sent G a text telling her that if she wanted to meet me, she would have to come to L’s bar and I told her about the little episode in soi lady boy. I said we would be there till 2.30 AM.


I got back to L’s bar and told Neil what had happened. I didn’t know how I felt really. I did like G, I wasn’t really bothered if she did have a Thai boyfriend, and most of these girls do anyway. It was a case of whether to believe what I’d just been told or not.


Brick wall latched onto me at this point. I was sat next to her at the bar. It was now 2.20 AM. We were ready to leave and go to the club. Brick wall came with us. On the way out of the soi I met some guys from Manchester. Neil had spoken to one of them in the toilet. It was their first time in Thailand and they loved it. Brick wall suddenly decided she was going to be sick again and I took her to the toilet. She came out a couple of minutes later and we were ready to leave.


We all jumped in a tuktuk and made our way to the club. Once there we couldn’t see the DJ and L asked one of the bar staff. She came back and said that he would be here in about 2 hours. We didn’t really want to wait so we left. We went back to Bangla road and went in Dragon above soi easy. We went into the club and it was a quick 5 minute visit as the prices in there were on par to UK prices. L said we would go to where he boss was and some of the girls from her bar who we knew. We jumped in a tuktuk and got to the place. Neil and I thought it would be a club but it turned out to be a Karaoke bar. It had lots of private rooms where people could sing to their hearts content. It was the first time Neil and I had seen a place like this. We had our own private waiter who handed out the drinks and sorted the music out. We had a couple of bottles of Whiskey. There were eight of us in total.


I went to the toilet and when I came back, I looked at L. Her new haircut turned out to be a wig (thank god, it really did look a mess and I found it hard looking at her without laughing) she put the wig on me and everyone laughed. All the girls got out their camera phones and took photos of me. We got some camcorder footage and I got some Photos as well. Neil and I didn’t sing as they were all Thai songs and Chinese songs, plus a few Japanese ones as well. We had some Thai food which was very nice and a fun time was had by all.


I noticed I had a few text messages off G. She asked me where I was, she told me she had gone to L’s bar at 2.30 but I’d already left. I really wanted to see her but I didn’t know she’d sent me any messages until it was too late. I replied and told her what had happened and where we were and that we were leaving shortly. She sent me one back saying she wanted to say goodbye to me and would come and see me before I left. She was in bed at that point. I told her I would text her and tell her what time to meet me.


When it was time to leave (around 5am) the boss paid half of the bill and Neil and I paid the other half. It cost us 700baht each. We saw the bill and it was 2900 baht.


Once outside we said goodbye to everyone, except brick wall and N who were coming with us to the beach. L said she would come and say goodbye to us when we were leaving. I gave her a hug and she got in the boss’s car and they left.


The walk back to Bangla road seemed to take forever. N was talking on her phone to her Italian boyfriend, Neil didn’t seem happy. Brick wall didn’t say a word. Once on Bangla road we saw the monk across the street and brick wall said a prayer. Half way up the road we saw some of the girls from Soi easy. N stopped to chat with them and also talked on her phone. Neil decided at this point to call it a night and said goodbye to N. I told him to leave the door on the latch as I wouldn’t be long.


I got to the beach with brick wall and she wanted to go with me to my hotel. Yet again I told her no. I told her it was nice meeting her and I was going back alone. I had to pack and sleep. She didn’t seem to understand. We got back to the main road and I hailed a taxi bike and gave her 100 baht to get home. I would have given her 20 but I didn’t have a note. She went and she turned round and smiled. I waved and smiled and then she was gone.


I got back to the hotel and Neil was still awake. He was speaking to Niki. After he put the phone down we talked about the night. He told me that N wanted to see him and say goodbye before he left, he told me he wasn’t really bothered. I told him G wanted to do the same thing. We chatted for about an hour, talking about the holiday and how we didn’t want to go back home and back to reality. I missed my girlfriend and wanted to see her. But when I got back to the UK she would still be in China seeing her family. I wouldn’t get to see her for about 8 weeks more.


We went to bed. Looking back on the holiday before sleep took me. I thought of so many different things. I’d had a great time. It certainly started out as an emotional rollercoaster of a ride but settled down and became a lot of fun. I was looking forward to saying goodbye to G, I knew I would be sad to say goodbye.


Before sleep took me I thought of my girlfriend and she was in my dreams that night.


Day 15


The hotel phone woke us up at 12.30 PM. It was reception telling us that check out was at 12 and we hadn’t checked out( pretty obvious really) we told them we didn’t know about the check out time (true and not true) we said we would pack and check out as soon as possible.


After having a shower we rushed to pack our things. Neither of us liked this. We were being picked up at 5pm and on your last day you don’t want to rush around like idiots to get things done. We were sad enough as it is because of leaving without this little problem making things worse.


I finished my packing. G sent me a text asking what time I was leaving and that she wanted to see me before I left. I sent her one back saying to meet me at 3 outside the hotel. Neil had told N what time he was leaving and he called her to see if she was coming to meet him. He wasn’t really that bothered anyway. She said she would be there.


At 2 the hotel rang again and we were ready and asked for someone to come up and collect our bags (we were lazy bastards and couldn’t be arsed doing it ourselves) 5 minutes later there was a knock at the door. It was someone to collect our bags.


We got down to reception and checked out. As we were being picked up at 5, they kept our bags in a safe place. I sent L a text asking to be at the hotel by 4.30.


We went to get something to eat and I bought some smokes off one of the street sellers. 1000 for 2400baht which is about £35 in the UK. If I was to buy the same amount in the UK, it would cost me about £400 more.


It was now nearly 3 and we walked back to the hotel. Just before we reached the street we turned down. We saw N getting off the back of a bike and she shouted to Neil. He went over to see her, spent 5 minutes with her and she got back on a bike and left. He came back and told me she still hadn’t been to bed. After he left her last night she had gone to Tiger disco with some of the girls from her bar. She obviously picked up a guy and they’d had some fun together. He wasn’t bothered.


We got back to the hotel and waited for G. We didn’t have to wait long. She saw me and gave me a hug and we all went to a beach bar for a drink. It was as hot as hell. Once at the bar we all ordered a coke. We chatted for a little while and Neil said he would go and do some shopping and be back at the hotel by 4.30. He left, leaving G and me alone.


We talked quite a bit, she said she would miss me and asked me when I would be back in Thailand. It was a question I couldn’t answer. My plans for next year would be China with my girlfriend to meet the family and to travel around. I did like G, a lot. There was something about this girl (isn’t that the case with most of them?) that I really liked. She was very easy to talk to; she always had something to say and was very funny, tall and gorgeous. There was definitely a spark there between us and if I didn’t have a girlfriend who I loved very much, I would have done something. But it wasn’t meant to be, some things just aren’t. Maybe in a different time, a different place or a different life, perhaps something would happen. But right here right now, we were just two people passing each other on the street.


I told her about the incident in her friends bar the previous night. I did mention the Thai boyfriend but I didn’t ask her about it. I didn’t think it was really worth asking about it.


At 4.20 we left and walked back to the hotel. Neil still hadn’t come back. We sat and talked and it was nice. I was sad that I was leaving and if I’m honest, I was sad that I had to say goodbye to G, I didn’t want to say goodbye to her, not just yet, but time was running out, we both knew it.


Neil got back about 4.35 and then L came about 4.40. I gave her one of the England packs I’d brought from the UK. We said our goodbyes. I would miss L very much. She was such a great friend. She really looked after Neil and me, always looking out for us and sticking up for us. I was sad to be leaving her. But I think with L, I’ve got a friend for life and I’m sure when ever I go to Thailand, she will be there waiting for me. She brought Neil and me a T shirt each from her bar. They had Phuket Bikers Club 2004 printed on them.


L left after 5 minutes. She had come on a bike with one of the girls from the bar and who was also at the Karaoke place with us the previous night.


I went back to G. it was now 4.50 and G said she would go. Neil got a photo of us both together and she gave me a hug and kissed me on the cheek. She told me not to forget her; I said I wouldn’t and that I’d keep in touch. She didn’t believe me; she thought all farang men were liars. I told her that if I made her a promise to keep in touch, I’d never break it; she just had to trust me. She said she hoped one day I would return and she would get to meet my girlfriend. We had one last hug and she was gone. She walked up the street and kept on turning round and waving. I wanted to run up to her and tell her to stop, give her another hug. I had visions of doing it, but it was best leaving it how it was. Her walking away, getting further and further away from me will always be in my memory.


The bus came for us and we got in. Two Italian guys were also in the bus with us. They knew the massage girls and said goodbye to them.


At 5.pm we left Patong and made our way to the airport for our 7.50 PM flight to Bangkok. We both said a silent goodbye to Phuket and Patong as we left.


In the bus Neil told me that when he was out shopping, he saw the Indian women and she said goodbye to me on camcorder and was sad that she didn’t have a photo of me to remember me by. He also bumped into T. She was sad I wasn’t there and asked where I was. She also said goodbye to me on Camcorder.


We flew out of Phuket on time and landed in Bangkok an hour later. I got a text of G and L, both wishing me a safe journey home. G told me not to forget my promise. T (from Bangkok) also sent me a text wishing me luck for my journey and hoping I had a happy life with my girlfriend.


I had a quick smoke outside the airport. We were stood at a smoking part and a Muslim woman in a Ninja outfit asked me to move away. She was sat on a smoking bench and asked me to move away because the smoke was coming near her. I told her that she was sat in a smoking area and drifting smoke was part and parcel of sitting where she was. She got up and moved.


We flew out of Bangkok at 12am. The flight back to London was ok. We flew over a storm and seeing the lighting in the clouds below us was an amazing sight. We slept for most of the flight and watched a couple of films. It went ok.


We got to London at about 6am UK time and flew out from London to Manchester at 8.30 AM. When we got to Manchester and got our cases, Niki was there waiting for us. I was a little sad because my girlfriend wasn’t there waiting for me. It would be another 8 weeks before I would get that pleasure.


Back home in Manchester and the first few days are always hard. Your body may be at home but your spirit and your mind stay in Thailand. It’s always the worst part about a holiday in Thailand, getting home it always knocks you for six for a few days. The come down is very bad. Not knowing when I will be back in Thailand again to see my friends and see a country I love is quite sad to think about. China here I come. I still keep in touch with G, L, N and A. T from Phuket has sent me a few text messages. P from Bangkok also keeps in touch. Neil hasn’t kept in touch with N.


The holiday this year was amazing. Perhaps I didn’t eat much Thai food, see a few more sights, sleep with bar girls and do the usual touristy things, but it’s not something I regret. Each day for me was an adventure and a lot happened and I saw and experienced a lot of things. It was an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. I don’t regret a second of it. People are different; they enjoy doing and experiencing different things. When I go to Thailand, it’s all about having fun the way I want to have fun and if that means sleeping all day and staying out all night, then so be it. I just do what ever I want to do and what feels right to me at the time, and everything I did this year felt right to me.


The day L and I sorted out what had happened the previous night (the argument) she had actually rented a jeep that day for us to go and travel around Phuket. She paid 1000 baht for it. She wasn’t happy and hit me on the arm. I simply told her it was punishment for drinking too much.


Thanks for reading.


no1dejay@hotmail.com

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