Mai Kow Jai
I didn’t know that Thailand could remind me so much of Creedence Clearwater Revival but there I was, lookin’ out my back door and wondering WTF is going on here? Midnight at the Morning Night bar on Soi 4 is the catbird seat for all the action in the Nana arena, rivaled perhaps by Big Dogs, only a short stroll down the block. There weren’t any tambourines I could see or hear, but there was an elephant doing curtseys and a statuesque katoey wearing high heels, a wondrous apparition provided by a surgical magician and a pulsing mass of happy creatures gamboling, if not outright dancing on the asphalt lawn we know as Nana parking lot.
Enter a Thai man of 30-something carrying a plump, naked young boy of perhaps 3 or 4 years old, maybe younger. It was difficult to tell given the relatively large size of the lad. Yet it was his general mannerisms and behavior that led me to believe he was that young. Neither man nor boy displayed any shame from the scene they were central in creating. Let’s assume the man was the boy’s father or older brother. Perhaps he brought him out to attract attention from the locals working in sex trade support, bar girls, manicurists, snack vendors, doormen, you name it. Or perhaps this is just the normal way of life for residents of one of the most densely populated hooker hang outs on this island earth.
First, the naked baby is brought to a woman who is squatting on a stool below our elevated perch above the sidewalk. He is covered from head to toe with white powder. Next, He is carried away by a woman who appears to have just been walking by. She brings him to a food cart where she buys him a meat stick of some sort. The baby boy is munching contentedly as random passersby pat and pinch and greet him. Next, he is put back down and wanders up the stairs into the bar where several of the working girls come cooing and fondling his genitalia. This all seems normal, judging from the boy’s facial expressions. Suddenly one of the bouncers snaps a kick off on his big naked bottom. He simply smiles and works his way back downstairs and waddles over to the manicurist, placing his hand on her table and rolling his fingers over it until she interrupts the service she is giving to her customer and quickly paints the boy’s nails pink. All of this against a backdrop teeming with whores, johns, ladyboys, shoeshines, flower girls, elephants and a life size stuffed teddy bear that has most likely been on sale for months, if not years.
Perhaps one day I will come to understand the significance of this scenario. It is certain that I’ll never forget it, whether or not I ultimately comprehend it’s meaning. Until that day all I have to say is Mai Kow Jai!
Tags: Bangkok, oddities, Thailand
