A special meeting in Bangkok
Anyone who sets foot in Bangkok, whether it is the first time or the umpteenth time, will again and again come into contact with interesting types in this densely populated metropolis, whether it is someone from the local population or a former member of the colorful Thai community. .
As one withdraws more into one's own family life, these new encounters will of course decrease somewhat in number, but even then you suddenly find yourself talking to a fellow passenger on the Songtaew (although this is usually kept silent in all languages), a merchant on the local market or just someone on the street who speaks to you curiously. Today's meeting took place at the bar of a bar in the nightlife area of Sukhumvit Road.
Commercial film really shoots itself in the foot
We have recently seen once again that an entire nation can be offended by a funny advertisement that thought it should put too much emphasis on nostalgia, on how things used to be arranged and then drizzled it with a funny sauce of humor. and rounded it all off with a big wink. Apparently, in the eyes of 'all' Thais, that point was badly missed with a cinematic creation that left both shareholders and local producers and sellers of the products of this generally intelligent manufacturer reaping the sour fruits. Items already purchased spontaneously disappeared into the Chao Phraya river or a local pond in the village for lack of more drama, unfortunately without the corresponding credits, but national pride has its price. The Android version of such communication tools will probably benefit from this gigantic misstep that will cause billions in damage somewhere, regardless of the currency. While until that moment it was so cool to be 'different' and adorn your electronics with a eaten apple.
I had to be reminded by my wife how reprehensible and untrue this scandalous video clip was, because in my uninformed innocence I had dismissed it as a funny, nostalgic-looking and neatly put together video. I actually didn't think it was much of a departure from the way our favorite holiday destination is usually depicted in silly films, not least by the national and widely supported film industry. Especially by the masses. Fortunately, my wife corrected me and I was able to reconsider my incorrect view. I didn't say anything else about it and thought internally about making my opinion known now. Please agree or disagree if you wish.
I found it remarkable in this entire earth-shattering affair that some of the main drivers of this popular hype against the former prestige brand were not even Thai nationals, but a few vlogging outsiders who felt they had to present themselves as defenders of Thai interests. While the Thai government previously saw the misplaced humor, if it was such, as a potential threat to the unchecked growth of the tourist industry, one may wonder what motivation lay behind the instigation of these vloggers. Clicks, likes, fame (even I'm writing about them now, for example) and ultimately financial gain? While they secretly laughed at the humor? I don't know and I don't expect to ever find out, nor do I have to. Who cares what goes on in the minds of such sensation-seeking people. But it's still funny that a few exponents of social media can point the noses of an entire nation in a direction of their choosing. The (sincere or not) opinion of a few thus becomes the opinion of many millions of readers and ultimately an entire nation.
However, I only report about it indirectly because our Thailand blog is actually a microcosm in which similar situations occur on a Lilliputian scale (excuse this pre-woke name). Moreover, I was looking for a slick introduction to my own 'post'. As my regular fanboys know, I hardly pay any attention to the ubiquitous social critics and they often drive me to the brink of despair when, on top of my writings (which are always completely innocent entertainment), they jump into the breach on behalf of third parties, for which they usually feel guilty. not interested in a whit.
I'm already trembling at the thought that there will soon be negative reactions to what I actually want to share below exclusively with readers who want to take my writings to their eager lips with both hands. But let me not raise expectations to unmet heights and then not be able to deliver sufficiently.
The meeting with Max (real name known to the author)
Last week I let the valued readers follow my first steps in Thailand. But of course there was not much to experience in this story, as I concluded upon rereading it. As my Dutch teacher used to say, shaking his head: a lot of nice words, but in terms of substance it doesn't really add up. Lots of shouting but little wool on it. I have learned something from that: I now recognize this shortcoming in my texts myself, even without Mr. Heuvelmans, who still reads unsolicited but now only virtually over my shoulder.
It was not the case that my traveling friend chased the skirts of immoral or even immoral ladies all day long with me in tow. No, we sometimes sat at a bar somewhere, quietly drinking a glass of coke, just the two of us. Sometimes people were happy to be approached by a guy and not to be lewdly groped somewhere low on the bar stool by a working girl, which they could do with impunity at the time. After all, Meetoo had not yet made its debut, although of course older cases of such misconduct (which I did not experience as such) are still generating news at the moment, but probably not if that happened 20 years ago in an obscure bar in Bangkok and also was committed by a beautiful young and professional woman. Don't worry, I'm not an active participant in the war against immorality.
The guy in question who did approach us was an elderly German. I don't remember his exact age, but let's put it at 65. Not yet very old, but I had just passed 40 myself and the good man looked quite worn out despite his years. I do remember his name, but although I cautiously estimate that he must be deceased by now (age + physical), I will call him Max here to protect his privacy somewhat. For the same money, he still happily hops or rolls around in Bangkok or even within this blog and recognizes himself in this anecdote.
Max was a tall, thin guy, wiry with a somewhat gray, narrow face and the typical yellow fingers of the butts. He was dressed like a businessman, the summer version, and his story showed that he was, or rather had been. I forgot in which sector he had amassed his capital, but I do remember that he had owned a large company with many employees and, he was proud of, had driven a Mercedes S-class in Thailand, which may be an indication was of his business success. A self-made man. He never explained how he ended up in Thailand. However, the infamous crisis of 1997 had destroyed him and his company and his wealth and the Mercedes had gone up in smoke. However, he had been smart enough to withdraw (of course completely legally) a small amount of capital from the ailing company that would enable him to spend a monthly amount of 1000 USD in Bangkok for the rest of his life. We learned from him that you could make a living from that as long as you didn't do anything too crazy. Even a beer and a cigarette could be had for that amount of money. Changing contacts within the love industry, on the other hand, were not budgeted for. But he had made a change there through a steady girlfriend, more about that later.
For those who now want to shout indignantly about that 1000 dollars; Remember that back then you got more than 50 baht for a euro and the dollar was not much different in those years. Moreover, the information regarding this came from the man who lived life exactly that way. So no second-hand tendentious gossip but real first-hand experiences.
Max was actually quite a nice guy despite my description of his appearance above. Not a guy you lovingly put your arm around, but an interesting expat, with the same stories. To supplement his budget, he had set up a small-scale business in baby clothes, where he would wrap a nice set as a present and send it to Europe for a tenner or two to earn 5 bucks. Remember, this was before the rise of the Chinese big grocers and exotic items were still relatively out of reach for the masses. So this is how the (marginal) gap in the market that Max had very cleverly identified could also exist. Nowadays, of course, completely unthinkable, because every mother or grandmother can now get behind the laptop or order knick-knacks from all over the world via the telephone or pop into Action. Financially, Max's business model did not seem like a resounding success to me at the time, a lot of effort and begging to add a few tens of euros per month to your income if that was possible. I do remember that he already used the internet to deliver his gifts to the man or in this case to the baby. In my opinion, quite energetic for 2001. But he had also been a successful businessman, who could now capitalize on his still present talents on a smaller scale.
He also had a friend or brother living somewhere in Germany who ran a shop selling Asian trinkets there and for which he occasionally bought some items in Chinatown and other wholesalers, which were then shipped home on a small scale by Thai mail.
Contraband in the travel bag?
Somewhere during the few days of our friendship he asked us if we could take two bags of 'mobiles' (ceiling hangers) with us to Germany to save on the costs of international shipping. The things were made of squid shells with strings between them that, when hung in the wind, sounded cheerfully and created cheerfulness. We both smuggled a bag of about 2 kilos in our sports bags back to Europe without really knowing whether the export of those things was legal or whether they were perhaps even made from pressed cocaine. I was allowed to keep one for myself as a reward (see the photo), and I have also licked it without getting high, but looking back on this favor to friends, we might have been a bit naive. I still remember that we wanted to dump them in the trash at Don Muang, but we decided against it out of solidarity with good old Max.
Despite his somewhat limited budgetary options, our new friend knew the red-light districts around Nana 4 like the back of his hand, not only the infamous Nana Plaza, but also other corners, often side streets of Sukhumvit Road that had disappeared during visits in later years. perhaps after attempts by the government to clean up the area or simply because a construction-hungry tycoon wanted to build another skyscraper there and razed the bars to the ground for that purpose. One of his tours has stayed with me. A bar like many others, but with a transparent plexiglass ceiling. In order not to expose any underage readers to explicit images, I will leave the guessing about the function of that transparency to the adult types here.
Birthday party with a surprising ending
No, more memorable was another achievement that belongs to Max. On the occasion of the birthday of the friend just mentioned, a party had been organized to which Max cordially invited us. We thought it was a nice change from our otherwise not very amusing evenings in Bangkok. After a taxi ride with the three of us quite a bit outside, we got out on a busy street where there were all kinds of garage door-like businesses, including our destination, a kind of bar that was extra decorated for the occasion with streamers and balloons. The lady turned 40 years old and it was therefore a special birthday. I was just sitting there nibbling on my coke with my friend and Max also came to visit us every now and then. He had not introduced the girlfriend in question to us and we had therefore not congratulated her or given her a gift. Later I learned that birthdays are not such a big thing in Thailand, but more something that the farangs have implemented and that is how it turned out in this case: Max would sponsor the party as an expression of his love for the birthday boy or girl, but for an agreed maximum amount. I vaguely remember 3000 baht, but it could just as well have been 5000.
In any case, in those years it seemed a bit on the meager side for a party of 20 people with food and drinks in a bar. After having 'partyed' for an hour or so, Max suddenly rushed towards us and announced that we had to leave immediately. Because we, as latecomers, had settled near the exit, a hasty, sneaky retreat was easy to achieve, although we wondered why the sudden haste. Within a few moments, Max explained to us that he didn't feel like paying the bill and that he didn't have enough money in his wallet. The agreed budget had apparently been multiplied by the enthusiastic spending behavior of his sweetheart. In the meantime, the taxi that had been secretly called for that purpose stopped in front of the door and Max really wanted to leave immediately. My friend jumped into the vehicle with him, leaving me slightly bewildered at the party because I was just involved in an interesting conversation with one of the waitresses. As if chased by the devil, the taxi sped away from me and the revelry.
Lab Technician / Shutterstock.com
A 40 year old devil with bloodshot eyes
And that devil soon appeared in my sights in the form of the slightly tipsy, but no less furious birthday friend. A bit of an ordinary type with a matching face, although I could imagine her indignation in this situation. I had to do everything I could to convince her that I was not part of the plot when, moments after her Max's cowardly flight, she stared at the speeding taxi, fuming with anger. Fortunately, I was able to convince her of my innocence, so her boyfriend's obligation to pay did not automatically transfer to me. I was sweating for a while, because some of the sturdy male owners of the establishment came to me longing for handfuls of baht. I also explained to them that I knew nothing about the arrangement that Max had made with his bride and that we actually did not know the good man as well as they thought. After all, we had only met him today, which was only a day or two of yoking. Fortunately, those types also meekly dropped off. Nice people, those Thais, but you shouldn't argue with them and certainly not about money matters in a bar.
However, the birthday girl wanted to know from me where her frugal boyfriend had fled to. Running past me on the way to the taxi, Max had shouted at me, 'just tell me we're going to Thermae!' I knew Thermae, the infamous basement bar on Sukhumvit Road, once founded at another location as an R&R for battle-weary GIs, but now a Sodom and Gomorrah for the ordinary tourist looking for a short-lived adventure. I had asked my friend whether they were actually going there, but looking over his shoulder he shouted that it was only a misdirection for Max's lady. Mobile phones had already made their debut in the Netherlands at the time, but I don't remember that I already had one of those in my pocket in Thailand, so I was left contactless by the fleeing companions, while my very own friend actually had no contact. had reason to choose the hare path together with Max. But he did it anyway.
Taxi to Thermae
The birthday boy was, as mentioned, somewhat furious and could drink the blood of her German Max. In a way it was understandable, because as often happens, she had of course left her purse at home, assuming that her sweetheart would pay the bill.
Apparently she was no stranger to the bartenders at the party bar, or perhaps even family, because they allowed her to hunt down Max without leaving any collateral behind. I had to come along and left the party with her in a taxi. She brought along another reinforcement in the person of an equally tipsy and also angry lady, with whom I would not have wanted to argue. But luckily they had now understood that I was just as much a victim of that 'filthy' Max as they were. The taxi took us to Thermae in no time, where the three of us got out and I kindly thanked myself for the fun and decided to walk the last few hundred meters back to my hotel. The ladies disappeared down the stairs into the pub, where they thought they would catch Max in the act, which unfortunately was not the case. By the time they found out, I was safely back in my room to recover from the shock. To be on the safe side, I didn't tell you which hotel I was staying in.
The next morning I found a broadly smiling friend who told me that he and Max had had a nice evening without me, but especially without the irritated ladies. His German drinking buddy had (now) paid very generously after the two-person drink, which my friend really appreciated. I also spoke to Max himself afterwards and he was proud that he never contributed a single baht to the costs of the party. Nothing to be proud of, of course, but it was fun to see a sixty-something, former successful businessman, with his legs wrapped in a smart suit, taking the plunge to get out of a bar bill. Unfortunately, the milestone in her life ended less festively for his sweetheart. I don't know if that would have put an end to their fleeting love. But it is sometimes surprising how some relationships can rise from the deepest depths alive and well. So you never know and we will never know.
Farewell to Max
Shortly afterwards we said goodbye to Thailand and also to Max and left for home with both a bag of home decorations in our luggage that worried us quite a bit, but fortunately that story also had a happy ending. Back in the Netherlands I exchanged an email or two with Max and then it became quiet and I never heard from him again. I've sometimes wondered how things turned out for him. Suffered from his alcohol or nicotine use? Killed by creditors or a jealous girlfriend? Or is he still enjoying his exciting life in the heart of Bangkok on 1000 dollars a month? Today, with that amount of money, he would of course not get as far as he did 20 years ago, but as a shrewd entrepreneur he would certainly have found a solution for that. A short meeting of a few hours spread over a few days and you are still writing about it 20+ years later. Fascinating.
Next week I will review another German expat if the reader is interested. Very different story, but no less fascinating.
About this blogger
- Khun Rick dates from 1959 (currently 65 years old), grew up and still lives in South Limburg. After 40 years in the civil service, now almost 5 years with early retirement. Since 2001 he regularly visits Thailand as a tourist, but met his wife in the Netherlands and can often be found with her at his mother-in-law's in Udon Thani. Traveling together is his passion, eating (unfortunately) too and sports a necessity. And of course writing: used to be serious and now more light-hearted.
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