Various Jun 2017

Various Jun 2017

Shirtless boy of the month

ChristianPFC strives for original content, over 98% of the text on this blog is written by me, and over 95% of pictures are taken by me, so are the following (either I asked them to take their picture, but often walking around with a camera around your neck is enough for them to ask me to take their picture).

N.b.: these pictures are filed as “shirtless boy”. I did not ask about age, sexual orientation, availability and take no responsibility for whatever my readers’ dirty minds make up. If you recognize yourself or someone you know in these pictures, and disapprove of the picture being published here, provide pictorial evidence and I will remove the picture.

Kitchenware as a pawn

One fine day I’m in my room and hear an old friend M calling my name  from below my window. I open the window and say hello, and as he doesn’t ask me to open the door downstairs, I assume it’s open and go back to my business waiting for him to come up to my room. But nothing happens, he is gone! Then 10 minutes later, again M calling my name from below my window, now with a big bag with a box. I let him in and he tells me about his problem: he needs 1000 Baht for hospital, and the box contains kitchenware as a pawn! He has a Farang boyfriend, but sending the money would take too long and cost too much fees, so I relent and give him 1000 Baht (well knowing that it will take ages and many reminders to get the money back).

Update 4jul2017: despite several reminders and many promises, I haven't got the 1000 Baht back. Worse, he came again today, asking for 1000 more, and as he had medicine to prove that he is sick and was in hospital, I saw now other solution than lending him 1000 more. M says his Farang boyfriend sent him money online, and I contacted his Fbf (whom I have met when he was in Thailand) and asked for confirmation. This is getting out of hand!

Advice to my readers: never, ever, lend money to anyone in Thailand! Over the years, I have lent about 5000 Baht to 10 people and got less than 500 back, after multiple reminders.

Cat of the month
In Samut Sakorn while waiting for songtheo.

Funny cat video of the month

source: internet

English homework

A Thai friend sent me this picture of his English homework to translate:

Who comes up with such odd stories? The story in itself is weird, and not at all adapted to my friend’s level of English.

Public toilets mystery

Traveling in Samut Prakarn province, a Farang friend FF and I stopped in Big C for toilet and lunch. I pee at the urinal, and FF waits for a toilet cubicle to become vacant. After about 5 minutes wait, one person comes out of one of the 5 cubicles, but there was another one waiting before us. FF loses patience and despite now being first in queue, insist on going to another toilet in Big C.

On the way there, I wonder: there cannot be 5 people in 5 cubicles, and after 5 minutes one emerges, something is wrong and I suspect staff uses one or two cubicles to store personal belongings, or cleaning materials, or just lock them from outside so they have less to clean.

On the other toilet, FF gets an empty cubicle at once and I wonder what’s going on in the other 4 occupied cubicles. There are others standing around, so using my phone as a mirror to look under or over the door, or taking picture under or over the door, would rouse a lot of suspicion. But I can get my knees on the ground and look under the door (without touching floor with hands or head) and as I suspected: only 3 out of 5 cubicles have feet on the ground, two are locked but not occupied!

I take out a coin to open one unoccupied cubicle: nobody in, but water level in toilet bowl quite high and last user didn’t flush, so I assume it’s blocked and repair takes long time. Then continue to the next, but a Thai man interrupts me and tells me his son is in (boy, hence feet do not reach the ground). Shortly after, cleaning lady comes and asks herself aloud who opened the cubicle with the blocked drain, and locks it from outside.

Public toilet mystery in Big C Samut Prakarn solved!

BTS Samrong open
Without much ado (at least I learnt of it by chance from a friend and not from internet/news), one station of BTS extension to Samut Prakarn has been opened and is in operation. That makes Imperial Samrong and nearby State Cinema and Safe House sauna easily accessible by BTS. 

Tourist boats on Saen Saep
I spotted new maps at Pratunam pier, and the link on the maps even works: http://www.bangkokcanal.com/:

Sightseeing in Bangkok without the Traffic. Visit New Town & Old Town with One Day pass through 6 piers Pratunam to Klong Banglumphu. Special soft opening ticket 200 ฿/each (5-6 US Dollars) Comfortable, safe and happy. Starts at 10:00 am. to 06:00 pm. The boat leaves every 30 minutes, interchanging every 15 minutes. See you.

Not only do they have a working website, it's even quite good! I saw the boats, clear plastic foil for roof and walls (to allow view out of the boat, however the canal is too low to get a good view of anything). Interestingly, it goes beyond Panfa Bridge to Banglamphu, and thus almost* connects Saen Saeb boats to Chao Phraya boats. To try this and to get my hands on printed (?) flyers, I have to ride it some day. 

*Thailand is world champion in "missing links", a subject I have written about before: http://christianpfc.blogspot.com/2017/04/mrt-purple-line.html

Copyright 2017 ChristianPFC