The Travelling Fairy DancerThe Land of Smiles - and Trials
April 20th 2008 12:10
Our eyes kept drifting towards the crotch of the tight, gold hotpants in front of us. Music blared from a nearby bar and the night was sticky with humidity.
I stood in the middle of two sets of hotpants and watched in awe as two pairs of abnormally large hands stroked my hair and wrapped around my shoulders.
The flash went off and I said thank you as I stumbled, blinded, towards my camera and the friend holding it. We giggled and began to walk back down Soi Bangla, in Phuket, Thailand.
Saturated in neon lights, raging bars, boxing rings and shops, 'Bangla' is the night time hub of Patong Beach, coming to life as the sun goes down.
Behind us we could hear shouting, but having been there for a week, we were used to all manner of strange, loud noise and it was several minutes before we turned around to see what was happening.
Platform boots and stiletto heels clattered on the pathway and long wigs tangled and stuck to red lipstick as four drag queens ran towards us, angry scowls highlighted by bright, blue eyeshadow.
It wasn't until a long, stiff finger pointed our way, that we realised who they were running after.
Barging through a group of tourists haggling over fake Louis Vuitton bags, we bolted towards the ocean.
The beach was well lit and busy with night time strollers. We ran in the sand as far as we could before my thongs broke and my friend's bad ankle gave way.
Back up on Beach Road, we walked warily into the Irish Pub and found a dimly lit table in a corner. Out of breath and sweating profusely, I asked the obvious question. "Why on earth were they chasing us?"
A man at the next table laughed loudly and glanced around at his mates. "Lucky they didn't catch you! You put on a good show for us though, running past like bloody maniacs."
We looked at him in complete bewilderment.
He rolled his eyes. "You got a photo with them, I bet."
"Yes," we said in unison, "so?"
More eye rolling. "Did you pay?"
"For what?"
"You have to pay them for posing with you." The much-amused Australian man could barely contain his laughter in order to talk.
"No one told us." I said and the table of men, Aussie expats we later discovered, dissolved into more laughter.
Later than night, we braved Soi Bangla again, reluctant to lose a night of fun in the friendly bars with benches over-looking the street, the monkeys and mini crocodiles perched on shoulders for show and the street vendors peddling their wares from tiny wheelbarrows.
Paying for a smile, in the 'Land of Smiles' - classic Thailand.
Reasonably priced but nice hotel tip - Horizon Patong Beach Resort, www.horizonbeach.com
I stood in the middle of two sets of hotpants and watched in awe as two pairs of abnormally large hands stroked my hair and wrapped around my shoulders.
The flash went off and I said thank you as I stumbled, blinded, towards my camera and the friend holding it. We giggled and began to walk back down Soi Bangla, in Phuket, Thailand.
Saturated in neon lights, raging bars, boxing rings and shops, 'Bangla' is the night time hub of Patong Beach, coming to life as the sun goes down.
Behind us we could hear shouting, but having been there for a week, we were used to all manner of strange, loud noise and it was several minutes before we turned around to see what was happening.
Platform boots and stiletto heels clattered on the pathway and long wigs tangled and stuck to red lipstick as four drag queens ran towards us, angry scowls highlighted by bright, blue eyeshadow.
It wasn't until a long, stiff finger pointed our way, that we realised who they were running after.
Barging through a group of tourists haggling over fake Louis Vuitton bags, we bolted towards the ocean.
The beach was well lit and busy with night time strollers. We ran in the sand as far as we could before my thongs broke and my friend's bad ankle gave way.
A man at the next table laughed loudly and glanced around at his mates. "Lucky they didn't catch you! You put on a good show for us though, running past like bloody maniacs."
We looked at him in complete bewilderment.
He rolled his eyes. "You got a photo with them, I bet."
"Yes," we said in unison, "so?"
More eye rolling. "Did you pay?"
"For what?"
"You have to pay them for posing with you." The much-amused Australian man could barely contain his laughter in order to talk.
"No one told us." I said and the table of men, Aussie expats we later discovered, dissolved into more laughter.
Later than night, we braved Soi Bangla again, reluctant to lose a night of fun in the friendly bars with benches over-looking the street, the monkeys and mini crocodiles perched on shoulders for show and the street vendors peddling their wares from tiny wheelbarrows.
Paying for a smile, in the 'Land of Smiles' - classic Thailand.
Reasonably priced but nice hotel tip - Horizon Patong Beach Resort, www.horizonbeach.com
| 51 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
