The beginnings of a gay wardrobe

Yesterdays taxi journeys were a significant improvement on previous days. Only a few near misses, and no very near misses! The technique seems to be to get the taxi driver talking, and their driving style improves. This is quite difficult with my limited Thai, but the trick is to pick a topic that they can talk about that you can just agree with — without having to understand what they are saying. Here are my suggestions:

1. English football — Generally all Thais know more about English football than I do, but the trick here is to mention a team (starting with a big team like Chelsea) and then the taxi driver will automatically start saying the names of some famous players in that team. It doesn't usually matter if you have never heard of that player, just agree with enthusiasm and say 'dee dee' a few times to mean that he is a good player. Now once you have exhausted one team, just move on to another. Just sit back and watch your taxi driver relax, he will get you to your destination quicker and without incident. The next trick is to switch to a lesser known team, and then when your driver doesn't know, start reeling off a list of random names of players. No doubt he will agree with you that these are great players too!


2. English taxi prices — One of the favourite questions asked by the driver is how much taxis cost in England. They are amazed at the price of things in England, and this conversation can be continued on the price of other things. Be careful on this topic as your driver might expect a big tip.


3. Temples (for advanced passengers only!) — If you manage to get on to this topic with the right driver then you can get him talking the whole journey. The conversation starter is to ask about any photos of monks in the taxi — there are always some. With the right words you can ask where the monk comes from and then you are away. Yesterday, I had a 45 minute ride across Bangkok and the driver didnt stop talking about monks the whole way. I just kept agreeing! He drove superbly!

Back to yesterdays activities, I went to the Chatuchak weekend market. For those of you that have never heard of it, I think it must be the biggest market in the world. I get lost after being there for five minutes. However, I did manage to buy a few t-shirts as I didn't bring too much with me. The only problem was that, Thais being a little smaller than Westerners, the sizes are a bit small. I bought a load of t-shirts anyway, and now I am thinking they are a bit tight. Well, they fit ok, but only the way gay guys wear them! This is much more acceptable in Thailand though, so I should be ok.

Right, I've got to fly. It is nearly time for the next meal. :)