Boat parade and Thai happiness
They're too cold, those cherries, right out of the fridge. They must be hotter, then have more flavor, he thought. He hadn't eaten anything all day, but now he's a little hungry. The sun, which spoiled him all day, has just disappeared behind the house and it is actually too cold to sit outside naked any longer.
The book he reads The Eternal Source by Ayn Rand, is beautiful. He's been reading it all day, grabs it by the throat. Yet the transistor radio on the table, with the occasional live gay pride report on Radio 1, now distracts him to such an extent that he occasionally loses his concentration. His mind wanders to two years ago, her first time in Holland.
They would grow old together
Nok, his ex Thai happiness, has been haunting his mind for as long as they have been apart, now more than a year. Already in the morning, squeezing his oranges and preparing his bowl of yogurt with muesli, he sees himself in the kitchen of the beautiful house in Hua Hin. The beautiful house, almost on the sea, the large garden with palms, the beautiful terraces. He bought it spontaneously and in cash for them together.
Now she lives there alone, he doesn't come in anymore. In the beginning, Nok made his breakfast before playing golf. Unbridled and, more importantly, unfounded jealousy in combination with loss of face, sometimes resulting in fights, destruction of household goods and personal belongings, ended the relationship after a year and a half. They would grow old together but her fear of losing him caused her to lose him.
This week, after weeks of no contact, he received a text message: do you know that I have no work and no in come I have to pay the bank every month two months now not pay yet so if this happens I'm going to lose the house just want to tell you this. No periods, commas, spaces, capital letters. Tenglish. He responded laconically; that he offered her enough money when she put the house in his name through a construction. A few million baht.
She didn't think about it and reported 'en passant' that she didn't borrow the money from the Kasikorn Bank, as he quietly hoped, but from the mafia. His heart then, as far as that was possible, sank even further into his shoes. The mafia, that's exactly what he had been so afraid of, that that would happen! Usury, murder and manslaughter ran through his head. She has already borrowed more than a million, she wrote earlier. When and how will this end? But, that's not what it's about now….
kavalenkau / Shutterstock.comScreaming football players and ministers
She had to go there. That was already established in Thailand. She had read about it in some Thai glossy. Nok is not a woman of many words. I want to go! The trip to the Netherlands was already planned and booked. She had also discovered the Keukenhof and fixed it in her head. There was little that could be done about that. Well, that Keukenhof there was manageable, but the gay pride?
He thinks it's reverse discrimination, you explained, such a manifestation. Not necessary in the Netherlands either, because same-sex unions have long been established and accepted. For many people, gay pride is more of a mistake than a good accent, he added.
In fact, he finds the whole thing downright vulgar. This year there is also a boat from the KNVB and four ministers are sailing along, says the news. Well yes, blaring holladijee football players and ministers, it shouldn't get any crazier, he mutters to himself. Is there no other news? Anyway, that was a bit too complicated and not important according to his Thai luck. I want to go! And he couldn't finish his Thai luck at that time and was willing to do it. He went.
Going into the city by car is hardly possible on such a day. They take the subway. On such a day, Amsterdam degenerates into a rubbish dump in no time, comparable to the mess on Queen's Day. With difficulty they find a spot on the Prinsengracht, which is already littered with broken plastic cups.
The ridge is not large and has only a limited view between strange shoulders on the canal parade. She can't stop shooting. Her enthusiasm is boundless. His mood has now dropped below zero. When Nok asks him to take pictures of her with the floats in the background, she notices his reluctance and goes berserk. A silent fight ensued. She gives her camera to a random passerby who willingly shoots a number of pictures of her.
Khun mai chohp!?, they say in surprise
The weather, fortunately for him, proves unreliable and a huge downpour causes them to end up in a crowded cafe. After a few glasses of red wine, communication slowly starts again. A meeting in the café with two girls from Thailand, who are also overenthusiastic, makes the mood downright cozy.
But a little later he completely disappears when the ladies chatter in Thai. He senses that Nok is speaking about him in the third person. That one there, he doesn't like the gay pride at all, do you understand that? Khun mai chohp!? they say in unison in surprise. He just sighs.
The ladies have been in Amsterdam for a while and have discovered a Thai café. Nok is unstoppable. After a brisk walk they arrive in the Red Light District – that's how you get somewhere, he thinks – and yes, a little later, sawadee khrab, a bar full of Thais, he is fortunately back in Thailand and the gay pride is completely out image. Everybody happy, yeah!
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