Seventh addition to Bangkok days and Nights

30th June
Yes I did get the correct version and it was much enjoyed by us all, though Rosalind missed the last ten minutes because she was so tired that she had to go to bed.
In morning, I was reminded of the fact that Sheila had purchased a tin of rolled oats at the supermarket as she stated that she was going to get up and make some porridge.
Sheila brought me a mug of tea and I enquired, “How is the porridge going, do I need to get up?”
“The porridge is fine, no you stay in bed and just come through when you are ready”.
I had a couple of sips of tea and then a few more zzz’s, but the thought of the porridge kept intruding my slumber. I rolled out of bed, made the bed and had a slow shower and shave, to ensure that I was ‘ship shape and Bristol fashion’ for my breaking fast with an elegant bowl of porridge.
Adam was in the kitchen, dressed in his ‘jeans for genes’ ensemble, and I remarked that it must be Friday and the end of the month. Adam confirmed this, and I don’t think he is all that enthusiastic about the casual dress charade.
I witnessed Rosalind completing her breakfast, and Sheila having ANOTHER cup of tea. I glanced around in search of the porridge pot.
Sheila noticed my inspection and enquired, “what are you looking for?”
“The porridge my love, the porridge, that is why I am shaved, showered and ready to feast”
This statement was quickly followed by gales of laughter from Sheila, followed by the explanation, “Oh I didn’t know you wanted any, I just made enough for myself.”
My exasperated cries of “you must be joking, where have you hidden it?” Only brought forward more gales of laughter and no I repeat no porridge.
“If you would really like some I will make some tomorrow.”
“Yes I would really like some, like today I would have really liked some.”
Rosalind also indicated that she would be keen to have some porridge, given the opportunity.
I resorted to my usual Weetbix soy milk and banana, before the day could progress.
Rosalind went with Adam on his way to work, so that she could get some fish for dinner.
Before she left Rosalind said that she would like to watch the last ten minutes of ‘Narnia’ when she returned. I said that it would be no problem and I thought that I still had a day to go on the rental before late fee would be incurred
I organised a reading lamp in the sitting area for Sheila so that she could start to do some embroidery while I read for a while.
It became clear that Rosalind was going to take longer to ‘catch her fish’ than anticipated and I rethought my strategy on the DVD. I decided that I would take it to the shop check on the day it needed to be returned, get my paper, post a card, and get another couple of items from the local shops.
On the way out I visited the dogs taking with me some dog ‘biscuits’ that I had bought at the supermarket. There were various options and I selected the beef flavour rather than chicken as I thought that the beef would be stronger and more desired by the dogs.
The dogs ambled over to me as I emerged from the entrance and I broke the long biscuits into four even lengths to ensure that they each got the fair share. They sniffed the biscuits, gently ingested them, rolled them around their mouths, and then ejected them at my feet. This caused the gate guards some amusement, and me annoyance.
Rosalind told me later that it is rare for any Thai to eat beef as chicken and pork are the staple meats. I guess the same goes for the dogs.
I was not about to give so easily and I smeared a little of my saliva on each biscuit, a trick that I have used in the past with other dogs. All four dogs picked up their saliva smeared piece of biscuit, rolled it around their mouths, rolled their eyes and dropped the biscuit pieces by my feet. I admitted loss of this battle, and retreated, but vowed to continue my struggle for their hearts and minds.
It was very humid and hot and I did find that I was a little breathless, but slowing down and taking big breaths helped, though I did think about a television program featuring an expose of the very toxic heavy metals that are inhaled within ten feet of busy roads. I decided that if I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth some of the pollution would be trapped in the hairs up my nose. But where they go from there? I stopped pondering.
At the post office I gave the lady, who has started to recognise me one five baht coin and ten one baht coins to cover the cost of posting a card to Australia. I felt stupidly pleased with myself that I was able to complete a simple purchase without proving a large denomination note and leaving it up to the retailer to sort out the requisite change.
I had also written a little note for myself featuring the Thai word for tomorrow (prung-nii, pronounced “proong-nee) as I thought it might be useful at the DVD video store.
I was pleased to see that the young chap who had served me and enrolled me as a member was serving at the desk. I proudly placed the DVD on the desk, with my member ship card:


“Proong-nee, ok, chi krup?”
Which I think means ‘tomorrow ok yes mr?’
It seemed to be understood as the reply was “proong-nee twenty baht ok” delivered with a very broad smile tinged with a little concern. My quick calculations delivered the result that it would cost me about eighty cents Australian if I kept it another day.
“Mai pen rai”, (no worries mate) I replied as I retrieved the DVD and my members card. Flushed with success I asked “do you have a list of DVDs that you have in stock?”
The young man stopped smiling and started to look very worried. Luckily a Thai lady who spoke excellent English approached us and joined the conversation. She explained to the assistant what I had asked, then told me that there were no lists I just had to look on the shelves. I looked in the English language section but did not see anymore that I thought might be good. I intercepted the Thai lady on her way out of the shop and enlisted her help in finding a film called ‘Nanny Macphee’, one that we had seen recently and thought it would be appreciated by Rosalind. “Yes they do have, I have seen it hear recently” she proclaimed. She helped me search the racks to no avail and when she interrogated the assistant this also drew a blank. The lady and I then cast our eyes down another rack of video discs.
With triumph she withdrew a disc from the rack and pushed it towards me, “Nanny Macphee” with a sound and look of triumph.
Another movie came to mind ‘Lost in Translation’, the disc that she was holding was called ‘Keeping Mum’ starring Rowan Atkinson.
“This is not ‘Nanny Macphee’”, I explained. “Who is star of this ‘Nanny Macphee’? she responded. When I admitted that I did not know who starred in ‘Nanny Macphee’ she threw up her hands in exasperation and obviously decided that it was all my own fault as I did not know what I wanted, she left.
I decided that the Rowan Atkinson DVD might be good, (maybe knowing the star is a good ploy), I took it to the counter and presented it to the assistant with my member’s card.
“VCD ok?”
“DVD ok!” I responded, VCD being an unfamiliar concept for me. Rosalind explained later that VCD is a format that is common in Asia and preceded DVDs. It never appeared in Australia as it was an inferior system and often needed to VCDs to play what would fit on one DVD. I shook my head and declined the offer of a VCD, not knowing if Rosalind and Adam were able to play that format.
“DVD ok!” I persisted,
“DVD no have, no can do” was the riposte. Defeated in another battle I withdrew from the field and headed home.
On the way home I went via ‘Follies’ a Thai bakery shop that specialises in French pastry, this was to satisfy Sheila’s craving for an almond croissant. I was too late for the almond croissant, but selected four other ‘disgusting’ pastries: a couple of ‘snails’ and a couple of fruit and custard ‘Danish’ pastries.
I also went into ‘Tops’ supermarket to get a tub of ‘Panna cotta and Raspberry’ flavoured Haagen Dazs ice cream. When Sheila and I had selected some a couple of days before I had suggested to Sheila that she get a tub from the back of the ‘Panna cotta’ row so that it would be colder. Yes it had kept colder the only problem was that on the way home it had ‘morphed’ into a macadamia nut variety. We still managed to eat it ok, but resolved that we would obtain the holy grail of the ‘Panna cotta and Raspberry’ variety.
The Haagen Dazs cabinet was full of all the varieties and I took my double checked selection to the checkout and wandered home through some slight rain.
When I got to the entrance I scanned the soi for any evidence of the dog biscuits, there was none, but I don’t know who what or how they disappeared but I will check on the dog’s appetite for beef biscuits tomorrow.
As I entered the lift a gentlemen was exiting it saying to me, “how you going?” in an American accent. Without hesitation I responded “Sawasdee Krup” and as the lift door closed and whisked me up to the seventh floor, I reflected on what a dope I must have seemed. Apparently the ‘quiet American’ lives in the only other apartment of the seventh floor and he ‘has’ many young Thai boys as house guests.
Rosalind had returned after many hours in Bangkok traffic pleased that she had managed to get her fish. The rest of the afternoon Rosalind used to convert the fish into ‘bouillabaisse’ a long term favourite of mine that I used to order at the ‘Drunken Admiral’ restaurant on the docks in Hobart. Sheila did more embroidery while I read until Rosalind completed her first stages of coking and then watched the last bits of the ‘Narnia’ movie. I decided that I would return the DVD and save myself the twenty baht extension fee.
As I re-entered the shop for the second time that day, the same young man was behind the counter. I picked up the VCD of ‘Keeping Mum’, starring Rowan Atkinson and placed it on the counter with the ‘Narnia’ DVD, plus my membership card.
“You no finish, not have DVD” he declared with a very worried frown”.
I picked up the ‘Narnia’ DVD stating “finish ok” placed it back on the counter, then picked up the VCD of ‘Keeping Mum’ stating “VCD ok”. The deep frowns disappeared, replaced by a huge smile.
“Three days thirty baht ok”
“Thirty baht ok” I replied giving him my members card to record my loan and leaving the shop feeling a little victory was mine, of course the victory was a slight one over my own ignorance.
When I returned to the apartment proudly recounting my success and explaining that I had a VCD for three days for only the equivalent of ninety cents Australian., my membership was paying off. Khun Noy scoffed telling Rosalind that she knew a place where she could hire three VCDs for three days for only 100 baht. I was puzzled as to Khun Noy’s math, figuring that mine at 30 baht for three days was a better deal. I could get three for three days for ninety baht. But Knun Noy was not to be gainsaid and responded that if she rented three for 100 baht then she would get another one free. I retreated from her implacable belief that she knew the better bargain.
Rosalind was in the process of extracting some of the mussels from the ‘bouillabaisse’, the ones whose shells had not opened. A couple of thoughts crossed my mind:
“Were these fish from the water that even Khun Noy would not drink?”
“Khun Noy will not drink water from the tap in the house.”
“Was this evening meal to be like the Japanese eating the very toxic ‘blow fish’?” if not prepared correctly will result in an agonising death from a neuro toxin.
Sheila embroidered and I read some more of the Bangkok Post.
Adam returned from work and assured Rosalind that she had done the correct thing by scooping out the shell fish who had not opened their shells in the cooking process and just to cook the ‘crap’ out of the rest.
Dinner was excellent accompanied by a great white wine and followed by a selection of ice-creams. Over dinner we discussed our opinions about the ‘ten best movies ever made’ and found that we agreed on many nominations. Of course as the evening progressed the list went far beyond the ten as we reminisced.
We finished dinner about 2220 when I stated to fidget an asked to be excused to catch up with the world cup as the Germany vs Argentina match had commenced broadcasting at 2200. About fifteen minutes had elapsed before we saw that the score was nil all. The broadcast only has a Thai commentary so is not a great help, but Adam likes to have the sound up to hear the noises of the crowd. It was another long night as Adam Sheila and I watched extra time and the penalty shot-out. Adam and I made a prediction that Germany would win the penalty shoot out based on the belief that Germany would just me methodical and mechanical and get the job done, while the Argentines would go a bit ‘continental’, get emotional creative and fluff it. “Yup we were correct on that one!”
Next morning I awoke very refreshed from a great nights sleep and Sheila announced that she would go into the kitchen, make me a mug of tea and some porridge for Sheila, Rosalind and I. The mug of tea was brought in and deposited by my bed with the admonition that there was no hurry for the porridge as it needed time for the correct result. I could not go back to sleep as I was already salivating (for porridge I must be crackers), I showered, shaved, made the bed and opened the door of the bedroom to go to the kitchen. Sheila was on the threshold of he bedroom. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“Nothing, just getting ready for breakfast!”
“Well it is not ready yet, and I am coming back to bed, and I like to ‘air’ the bed before it is made.”
“But it was aired”, I protested as Sheila climbed back into bed.
Any further attempts at protest were abandoned and a lay on the bed while we shared a nice chat.
At last my stomach was allowed to surround a bowl of porridge and while it was good it was not great as it did not have the large oats that I like in my porridge, but at least Sheila had stinted a little on the salt, my preference.
Adam went to work (on a Saturday, as usual) I went for a walk to get the paper and declined an offer from Sheila and Rosalind to go out with them for lunch. I believe that the girls need time for their ‘chick chat’ that complements their ‘chick flicks’ and ‘chick lit’ (I don’t think women’s magazines have the right to the term literature, unlike FHM and other male literary masterpieces).
Khun Noy is preparing a Japanese banquet for dinner tonight as Rosalind did dinner last night and Khun Noy wants to ‘make up’ for the week night that she did not do. It is not something Adam and Rosalind require of Khun Noy, rather it is her wish to fulfil what she feels is her obligation as the housekeeper. I will post more tomorrow I hope.
Bother the pictures did not copy across I will try and insert them agin but they may go to the front of the text and you will just have to fgure out where they should be in the text.