The other day I was heading up river on a water taxi.  One of the stops it made also happens to be the location of a ferry boat crossing.  As we were pulling out I noticed about 10 boys using the ferry as a platform to swim in the river.

When the ferry departed most of the boys road along, presumably to swim again on the other side.  One of the younger guys dropped into the water and hung on to a tire for the ride over.

It was a fun sight to witness, but I couldn’t help thinking that between safety regulations and the risk of liability this would never happen back home.

I just wanted to call your attention to a new blog I’ve added a link to in the side bar.  Bao Bao’s Blog is by a RQD reader.  In the past I’ve referenced some of his writings on one of the forums.  Now he’s decided to share even more, including a great story about his home made sex DVD cards.  He gave me one of the cards during a recent visit to BKK, and told the story you can now read on his blog.   A few days later I flashed the card at Princess and he busted out laughing.

I’ve just added this to the Washing Clothes page…

I realize most homosexuals wouldn’t be caught dead storing their clothes on wire hangers…it’s a “Mommy Dearest” thing, I think. None the less, they are commonly used here in Thailand. In many homes, storage space is limited, and the nicer hangers take up more room, which is one reason why I use them. The other reason is they are easier to acquire when more are needed.

As I mentioned earlier, air drying clothes is the most popular option in Thailand. A practical way to dry shirts this way is to hang them on a wire clothes hanger. One of the problems associated with this is the hangers come in a variety of colors and some will bleed into the wet material when drying. Not all do this, but there is no way to know until it’s too late. However, I’ve found white hangers never have this problem. Of course, this can be avoided by simply using the larger plastic hangers, but they won’t solve another, even greater, problem.

When a shirt is wet it weighs more, so hanging it on any standard clothes hanger will, over time, cause the material to stretch where it drapes off the ends of the hanger. This results in a bump on each shoulder that can not be removed. If you are only here for a short time, and have a service wash your clothes, I doubt this will be an issue. The process is slow, and develops over numerous washings. For those that live here, and use hangers to dry their shirts, there is a solution.

At Big C I discovered a product made specifically to address this problem. As you can see in the photo, they took a standard wire hanger and added plastic pads on each end to better distribute the weight, and it works! It’s not practical to outfit your entire closet with these hangers. I just purchased 6 and use them for drying, then transfer the garment to a standard hanger when done.

Of course, all of this can be avoided by hanging your shirts without the use of a clothes hanger, but that takes up a lot more room. Most places have a very limited space for air drying clothes, so this option is often not feasible. If the laundry near you has coin operated dryers, you can avoid air drying completely, but who wants to spend that much of their day doing laundry? If you have a boy staying with you that does the laundry, odds are good he won’t want to use a dryer. His preference will be to wash the clothes at the laundry and then bring them back to the room for air drying.

Some laundry services use dryers, while many do not. If using a service, its best to investigate how they are drying your clothes. Anyone that’s stayed at Two Guys Guesthouse in Pattaya has probably noticed all the clothes drying on hangers in the vacant lot across the street. Those clothes are being washed by a service located a few doors down from the guesthouse.

While I’m sure things like this happen in any big city, I have to laugh a little when I see them.  My question is what came first, stripes on the street or planter at the curb?

Taai Hong , the feature film Leo was working on, will hit Thai cinemas on the 28th of this month.  This is actually four short stories combined into one movie, and all are based on accounts published in the newspaper.  As I understand it, the title of the film translates to something like death by other than natural causes.

Second Director

Leo was second director and assistant script wrier on one of the four.  He also worked part time on another, assisting actors with wardrobe changes.

Wardrobe Assistant

Shortly after filming was complete they had the customary wrap party, which Leo attended.   He didn’t say much about the evening except there was a lot of press and everyone got very drunk. About a month later he had some digital photos printed.  I thought he was just getting prints made for his brother’s university graduation ceremony. As it turns out, 75 of the photos were from the party and there he is rubbing elbows with all the actors.

On the 26th they will have the premiere showing of the film.  This is where all the cast and crew, press and VIPs are invited.  Leo will certainly get one ticket, but it’s not clear yet if he’ll be allowed to bring a guest.  He thinks its very unlikely, which is just as well, because I have NOTHING to wear.

While out taking photos today I spotted these calculations written on the concrete pillar of an overhead expressway.  I failed math early in life, so I’m not exactly sure what it is trying to say.  I can deduce it has something to do with both Thai and Gregorian dates. From the =5555 in one calculation I’m guessing it is intended as humor.  I’d ask one of the boys, but none are here today.  Can anyone offer an explanation?

I came out of the bedroom last night and this is what I found staring back at me…

At a little after 9 this morning there was a fire in my condominium building.  At first I didn’t realize exactly what was going on.  I could hear a strange high pitched noise that sounded like the alarm when electric is turned off, but power was still on in my room and the outside hallway.  Even so, things didn’t seem quite right.  Soon I heard sirens and several people speaking loudly, so I decided to take another look in the hallway.  This time I saw someone pulling out the fire hose at the far end of the corridor and taking it upstairs.  There was still no smoke smell, but I decided to wake Leo as I was reasonably convinced there was a fire burning on an upper floor.  By the time I had Leo out of bed someone was yelling something in Thai outside the room so Leo, still half asleep and in a daze, looked out into the corridor and confirmed there was a fire in the building.

My father was a fireman for many years and taught us kids well, so I was able to quickly determine we were not in any immediate danger.  None the less, we didn’t waste any time exiting the building.  Leo and I swiftly grabbed a few important items that were out and easy to take without creating any delay.  As we exited the building I could begin to smell some smoke, but only very faint.  After we got outside I learned the fire was up on the fifth floor, at the other end of building from our room, which is on the second level.

One of the items I grabbed was my camera, so shortly after getting outside I started taking photos.  I was very impressed with how the situation was handled.  About 15 emergency vehicles had responded, mostly fire, and there were at least 50 emergency workers on scene within a few short minutes.  Then a truck load of soldiers arrived from the near by base to offer assistance.  Everyone was serious, but calm.  The firemen went right to work on the blaze and had it out in just a few minutes, but not before it spread to rooms on the two floors above.  No doubt many others suffered smoke and water damage, but our room was far enough away to escape any harm.

Just a few minutes after exiting the building I got a call from my landlord, wanting to know if we were aware of the fire and had gotten out.  I had already run into his maintenance man who also wanted to know if we were ok.  It was a good feeling to know the man I’m renting from cared enough to personally check on our safety and wellbeing.

I can not stress how impressed I was with the way this emergency situation was managed.  Everyone had a job and they each did it efficiently and professionally.  It was like watching a well oiled machine in motion.  As some of the emergency workers began packing up, a group of fire, police, medical and army gathered for a group photo.  When they noticed I wanted to take a picture everyone was cleared away for me to get my shot of the group.

We were allowed back into our rooms one and a half hours after the fire started.  The power was off and wasn’t expected to be restored until early evening.  Leo and I decided to make the best of it and went out for lunch and an afternoon movie.  By the time we returned the power was back on.

Rarely a dull moment in Thailand.

Last week Leo went home for a few days to attend his younger brother’s university graduation.  The ceremony was held at a location 6 hours from Korat.  In route, the family stopped at a road-side gas station for a toilet break.

It was then that I got a phone call from Leo telling me about the gay toilet he’d happened onto.  When Leo returned to Bangkok one of the first things he wanted to do was show me the photos he had taken.