21 February
Today is Makhabhucha Day – the day in which, roughly 2,600 years ago, some 1,200 enlightened monks decided spontaneously to visit the Buddha. They all arrived at the same time and gathered in the light of the full moon.
I had to teach my Harrow student at 10.30am so I hailed a taxi outside my apartment. The driver was a pleasant, middle aged man and when I first got into his cab, I was struck by the fact that pretty much the whole interior was plastered in money. The headlining, the dashboard, the A pillars, the B pillars….everywhere, in fact, except the seats and actual windows.
There were banknotes and coins of pretty much every country you could think of. There were old faded notes and shiny new coins. It was really quite extraordinary. I asked him where he got it all from.
“My customers,” he said. “I have been working as a taxi driver for 25 years and I often go to the airport. My customers give me tips and I stick their money up in here. When foreigners see all this then they usually give me more to add to my collection.”
I asked him if people ever stole the money.
“No, never. They just want to add more to it.”
He seemed a happy and contented man. He told me that he owned the car and therefore could work as often or as little as he liked. Most taxi drivers in Bangkok work for someone else and usually earn between five to seven thousand baht per month. He, however, had managed to put aside money every month over the years until at last he could afford to buy his own car outright. Now everyday he worked until he had earned 1,000 baht and then went home.
He seemed to have done very well for himself compared to most taxi drivers. He had bought his own house, sent his three children to university and now they were all in good jobs. I asked him if it was sometimes dangerous driving a taxi in Bangkok. I had heard many tales of taxi drivers been beaten and robbed. He shook his head.
“I only think about good things so I only get good things,” he said. “Yes, bad things can happen to taxi drivers during the day or night but if one always thinks about good things then one will attract good things. See, my money everywhere in my taxi. People never steal from me. They just want to give me more.”
He was good cheerful company and I was sorry when we arrived at my Harrow student’s mansion. I gave him a tip, wished him good luck and when in to do my mornings work.
Nong Amy had not got up yet. Her mother told me that everyone was still asleep and took me up to the movie room. There, I was fed coffee, fruit and biscuits and a Kylie Minogue DVD.
After a while, Amy appeared and we had the lesson. We worked on a story she was writing about a girl called Googee who lived in a castle with her dog Memama.
Today is Makhabhucha Day – the day in which, roughly 2,600 years ago, some 1,200 enlightened monks decided spontaneously to visit the Buddha. They all arrived at the same time and gathered in the light of the full moon.
I had to teach my Harrow student at 10.30am so I hailed a taxi outside my apartment. The driver was a pleasant, middle aged man and when I first got into his cab, I was struck by the fact that pretty much the whole interior was plastered in money. The headlining, the dashboard, the A pillars, the B pillars….everywhere, in fact, except the seats and actual windows.
There were banknotes and coins of pretty much every country you could think of. There were old faded notes and shiny new coins. It was really quite extraordinary. I asked him where he got it all from.
“My customers,” he said. “I have been working as a taxi driver for 25 years and I often go to the airport. My customers give me tips and I stick their money up in here. When foreigners see all this then they usually give me more to add to my collection.”
I asked him if people ever stole the money.
“No, never. They just want to add more to it.”
He seemed a happy and contented man. He told me that he owned the car and therefore could work as often or as little as he liked. Most taxi drivers in Bangkok work for someone else and usually earn between five to seven thousand baht per month. He, however, had managed to put aside money every month over the years until at last he could afford to buy his own car outright. Now everyday he worked until he had earned 1,000 baht and then went home.
He seemed to have done very well for himself compared to most taxi drivers. He had bought his own house, sent his three children to university and now they were all in good jobs. I asked him if it was sometimes dangerous driving a taxi in Bangkok. I had heard many tales of taxi drivers been beaten and robbed. He shook his head.
“I only think about good things so I only get good things,” he said. “Yes, bad things can happen to taxi drivers during the day or night but if one always thinks about good things then one will attract good things. See, my money everywhere in my taxi. People never steal from me. They just want to give me more.”
He was good cheerful company and I was sorry when we arrived at my Harrow student’s mansion. I gave him a tip, wished him good luck and when in to do my mornings work.
Nong Amy had not got up yet. Her mother told me that everyone was still asleep and took me up to the movie room. There, I was fed coffee, fruit and biscuits and a Kylie Minogue DVD.
After a while, Amy appeared and we had the lesson. We worked on a story she was writing about a girl called Googee who lived in a castle with her dog Memama.
Presently, Amy’s mum called us to lunch. She had ordered vegetarian pizza for me from Pizza Hut. After lunch, it was time for me to go to my next student at Thong Lor.
My Thong Lor student had just returned from a weekend in Hong Kong and was anxious to show me his purchases from Toys R Us. He got out a laser gun set (Two laser guns with strap on electronic shields that flash, beep and give you a mild shock when you are hit by your opponent’s gun) and insisted on trying it out with me. I managed to convince him to wait until the end of the lesson and then we ran about the big garden, shooting at each other.
It is perhaps not every 32 year old man’s cup of tea but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. In the end, I got behind one Mercedes limousine and he got behind the other and we spent a happy time blasting away at each other until finally his electronic shield malfunctioned and refused to accept any more hits.
I decided to call it a day and took the skytrain home to my apartment. I came out of the subway station and the usually gaudily neon lit massage parlors opposite were strangely dark and silent. They were closed for Makhabhucha Day. Although Thailand often seems overwhelmingly materialistic, it is still a Buddhist country.
As I was walking to my soi, I saw the full moon hanging huge, low and yellow above skyline. It suddenly struck me that this was the very same moon that the 1,200 Enlightened monks had seen 2,600 years ago. Despite the balmy heat, I got the goosebumps and every single hair on my body stood on end.
When I got to Pi Baby’s café, I found the Essex Boy and Mario the Italian sitting down with a beer. Pi Baby’s nephew Nong Noom was sitting alone at a table behind them. He was 23 years old and had just started working in Patpong. He specialized in Asian men.
“Hello Ben,” said the Essex Boy. “You been working hard?”
“Not really,” I said, sitting down. “Just been running round shooting toy guns with an eight year old. Usual stuff and all that.”
“Good. Hey, did you hear what happened at VIP Place on Friday?” The Essex Boy leaned forward, his face serious. “Korean guy committed suicide. Hanged himself. I mean, bloody hell…”
“Wow,” I said. “He must have been depressed!”
“Yeah.” The Essex Boy added more beer to his mug. “Mind you…” A thought suddenly struck him. “Can’t say I blame him. I’d top myself if I was Korean. I mean, not much point living if you’re one of ‘em is there?”
“My students are not so bad,” said Mario gloomily. “They are sometimes a little naughty and they never listen to what I say…”
“Pi Ben, I need to improve my English,” said Nong Noom to me in Thai. “Because sometimes my customers book me in advance on the internet and I need to lie to them that I am away somewhere on business so that I don’t get a double booking by mistake. I don’t want to let my customers down. Last week, a Korean guy took me to Pattaya for three days and gave me 100,000 baht.”
Just then, his mobile phone beeped and buzzed on the table. He picked it up and frowned thoughtfully at the screen.
“Pi Ben, what does it say? It is a SMS from my Malaysian boyfriend but I don’t understand everything about the English.”
He showed me the phone. I glanced at it. It was written all in capitals.
HELLO SEXY DARLING NOW I HOSPITAL TWO DAYS BUT SEND YOU MONEY TRANFER TOMORROW LOVE DADDY
“He’s going to send you the money tomorrow,” I said.
"Ah, good," said Nong Noom and went outside for a cigarette.
“I tell you, Ben,” said the Essex Boy. “I’m getting horny sitting here and watching all this totty walking past. I think I’m gonna have to go out tonight and bag something…”
Mario slipped moodily at his beer. “It is no good,” he said sadly. “I cannot tell a joke. Not after last night.”
“I tell you, Ben,” said the Essex Boy. “I’m getting horny sitting here and watching all this totty walking past. I think I’m gonna have to go out tonight and bag something…”
Mario slipped moodily at his beer. “It is no good,” he said sadly. “I cannot tell a joke. Not after last night.”
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