N. showed up at my apartment on Friday morning bearing gifts. The first surprise was that he’d made breakfast for me at his house, then brought it to my apartment. He remembered my favorite things to eat and had made tod mun for me; the amount of garlic and pepper was perfect. That first bite brought back so many memories of him cooking for me. His second surprise was a local cell phone. After he showed me how to use it, I tried to turn it off, worried that the battery might die quickly. He assured me that, since there was nothing on the phone other than texting capabilities (no apps whatsoever), the battery should last 2 or 3 days without any problems. Awww, he was still the sweetest.
Although I’d been expecting to see either Wat Arun or the Chatuchak Market that day, his younger sister had suggested that he take me to a temple some ways outside of Bangkok that had the biggest dragon (in the country, perhaps). Just driving out of the city took awhile, but he drove while I napped intermittently. I’d fallen asleep, then awoke to discover that we’d stopped at a 7-11 (of which there are MANY in Thailand!). N. said that he was thirsty. When he returned to the car, he had a Coke for both of us and, because he also remembered that I love potato chips, FOUR bags of chips! I had no complaints and immediately began munching on probably my Number 1 Vice! He made another stop at another store further along, one that his parents used to take him to. We went inside because they sold some type of sponge cake in various flavors. He bought one in every flavor for his nieces, asking if I wanted some, too, but I declined. Outside the store, vendors were selling fish. He picked up some type of fish as well because his younger sister liked it.
By the time we made it to the temple, it was very, very hot. While there was a truly large dragon there, it seemed more like one from a Disney movie rather than a serious one! In fact, either he or someone else mentioned that the temple was built by a local politician, as opposed to being some timeworn traditional one. I don’t have much to say about the temple; it was fine. We wandered about taking pictures. I was just enjoying my time with him.
On the way back to Bangkok, we made another pit stop for food. This time he picked up a dozen large river prawns for his sister, at the bargain price of 200 Thai baht. We then stopped off at his house to drop off the food for his nieces and sister. We also made a stop at his condo because he wanted to show me the view from there.
I actually had another appointment to meet up with D. and a friend or two of his for dinner at Le Isaan, the restaurant directly across from my apartment. Because of the traffic, I called D. to say that I’d be running late and that N. might join us for one drink. See? That cell phone had already come in handy! Although N. stayed for one drink with D., D’s friend and me, he has a tradition of drinking on Friday nights with HIS friends. He left us to join HIS friends at their usual drinking spot. (He told me later that, due to the horrendous traffic and it being Halloween, it took him two hours to get there!) In the meantime, D., his friend and I had a tasty dinner and proceeded to get toasted. D.’s friend DID give me some Halloween candy, though, lest I was missing that U.S. tradition in any way!
Fish for his Sister
The Cartoonish Dragon
River Prawns
View From the Pool at His Condo
D’s friend, Me and D. at Le Isaan