Part One; Chapter Two.3
Chris scratched is head as he proceeded towards the customs sign 10 yards ahead, Jenny pacing with him. “It’s an ok school. I mean it’s not necessarily challenging as far as academics, but socially, it’s great. There is a large international population. I got friends from all over the world that study there. There are several other mixed kids like you there, but they’re more like the real Thais cause they can speak Thai.”
It was something about Jenny’s words that irritated Chris. On top of the exhaustion from the long flight delays, Jenny’s remarks triggered some deep resentment in Chris:
In his elementary school days, he was made an outcast—labeled a gook and chink by the white kids, yet a honky and cracker by the Asian kids.
He repeated her words with a firm tone, “More like real Thais?” he snapped, “Are you implying that I’m some kind of fake human or something, that I’m not real or what? I don’t know about Santa Cruz, but where I come from…”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. It’s Santa Barbara, by the way.”
“Santa Monica, Santa Claus, whatever, it’s not the point!”
“It’s been a long flight I can tell.” Jenny gave an empathetic puppy-dog look before competently changing the subject. “You have anything to claim?”
“I don’t think so.” Chris gathered himself suppressing his emotions back into his gut.
“Me neither. Don’t bother reading all that,” Jenny pointed
to the immigration form. “They’re not likely to hassle you. Just check the ‘nothing to claim’ box.”
This girl is a veteran, thought Chris feeling slightly embarrassed for loosing his cool the moment before.
Customs was even swifter than immigration. In and out.
Chris wasn’t sure what to expect next, but certainly not what awaited him in the welcome lobby.
“You, you! I take you hotel. You want lady massage? Where you go?” It was a question but the taxi scout didn’t wait for an answer. “I take you. You go with me” He was shouting from the other side of the exit tape. There were dozens of them competing, some holding airport-pickup signs for travelers with reservations. Many of the scouts were clearly lacking any formal appointment, preying on their targets—first time holiday tourists. “Come on, I know good place for you. You go taxi wit me, ok?” the dark man with a rough face reached for Chris’s luggage, determined.
“Well, a, I’m a..” Chris hesitated
“He’s with me, mai pen rai, kao yuu gup chun laew ka, mee krai ma rup yuu laew ka.” Jenny cut in from behind. And like magic, the scout lost interest in Chris turning his attention to some other passengers.
“You can speak Thai pretty well huh? What did you tell him?” Chris was beginning to form his own impression.
“I just told him that someone’s already coming to pick us up. You should be careful about those scouts. They’ll rip you off in a flash. If you want to take a taxi, you should get one from the taxi queue right outside here. My friend is really coming to pick me up though. You are welcome to come with us. Where are you staying by the way?”
“I’m not sure yet. I was gonna go to this Kao San road I was reading in my guidebook. I hope there’ll be a room still.”
As the two exited the airport doors, the unconditioned Bangkok air made its first impact on Chris. The smell and humidity assured him that he was on a new continent.
Prepared for Bangkok’s heat he was, for Denver’s mid summer sun has been known to bring the wrath of heat stroke annually. It was the humidity that caught him by surprise. On the Great Plains, this hour of the night would have been cool. Chris was sure that his guidebook read January was in the height of Thailand’s cool season, but as a drop of sweat emerged from his temple, Chris accepted his first lesson in Southeast Asia: Expect the unexpected.
