Us, the people

People are fascinating. If I were to consider a grain of sand or a drop of water, I would probably find these as fascinating, but, I like observing people. And there is such diversity here in Thailand. From the street hawkers enticing the pedestrians with the aroma of food, to the transvestites (called “lady-man” in English by the locals), the prostitutes, the tourists – bag packers, hippies, divers, rich tourists, and single men who come here looking for some sexual company, I can sit for hours in a coffee shop, just observing.



The man with his twin kids enters a coffee shop and speaks on his mobile and leaves his children to linger in the airport. He comes out of the coffee shop, and they have disappeared. He spends 10 minutes looking for them, finally finds them.

The Brit checks out the legs of a Thai woman, works his eyes upwards from the legs to the face, and then exclaims “Oh shit, that’s a man!”

The Tuk Tuk driver in Bangkok, keeps looking in his rearview mirror and smiles at us, and then speeds away in zig zag as he overtakes every other vehicle on the street. And then, he laughs as he overtakes them and then looks at us again.

The woman Tuk Tuk driver in Chang Mai tells us, “yes, I’m a lady and I ride a Tuk Tuk. But I’m no lady-man!!” When I ask her if she can drop us at 7am to the airport the next day, she exclaims “7am???? I sleep! I start work at 11am and finish at 5 or 6pm”.

The tourist looks at his transvestite partner and indicates by gesturing with his mouth that he wants a blow job.

The pissed waiters and waitresses, the wonderful hosts of the 3 sis Bed and Breakfast in Chang Mai, the weirdly nice host of Alis hotel in Krabi, the horrible hosts in Phi Phi Paradise hotel, the nice boatmen and their kids, one of whom was sleeping in a hammock inside the long-tail boat, the nice waiters and waitresses, the transvestite waiters, the sellers with their nasal “Chip Chip fa youu” (Cheap Cheap for you!)…. I love people.