Her lips were soft just as I dreamed that they would be. We kissed gently at first almost nervously like a couple of teenagers on a first date then I felt her tongue flick my lips as if looking for permission to enter. I accepted with alacrity and her tongue slipped into my mouth to find mine. I slid my hands under her shirt and up her warm naked back and pulled her into me. Our kisses became deeper and more passionate. On every level this was wrong... I was in a relationship, this was my girlfriend's friend and also my student but I just couldn't stop now. From the first day I had met her I had desired this woman and now my fantasy was becoming reality.
I had been living in Thailand for 9 months. I had just turned 41 years old when my 20-year association with a world famous Irish brewery ended with a golden handshake and a cheap gold watch. It was a nice little pay off and I reckoned I could go and lie on a beach somewhere for a while to ponder my future. My marriage had long ended in divorce. We were both so career focused that we never made the time to start a family and the last I heard my ex-wife, Carol was living with someone with tattoos and a lot of body hair... Her name was Tina. I was about to do the typical package holiday to Spain when 2 married friends suggested that I travel a bit further afield.
"Go and teach English in Thailand, China or Vietnam." Anne added. "You can earn money and not eat into your pension then you can holiday during school breaks."
I had no teaching experience but in a whirlwind space of 6 weeks I had taken a TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) course, tied up any loose ends and I was leaving for Thailand. I think I emailed my CV to every school in south-east Asia but the highly efficient Mister Paradorn at the south Bangkok language academy was first to reply to me. He posted me a copy of a contract and all the documents needed to get my visa and work permit and I was away. Nerves gripped my stomach muscles as my plane touched down in Bangkok airport on April 25th 2005. I made my way through a sea of eager taxi touts till I seen the sign with my name on it.
"Welcome to Bangkok." Said the waiting Mister Paradorn, a small thin man with a large grin and a bone-crunching handshake.
Bangkok is an incredible city, from the stunning beauty of Wat Phra Kaow (an ancient temple) to an ultra-modern shopping precinct like Siam Paragon. I couldn't believe that it had taken me all these years to explore somewhere more exotic than Majorca. On my days off I loved just walking around at a nice leisurely pace. I felt I had put in my time in a highly stressful career and now I reaped the rewards and just wandered about as the locals frantically went about their business. The local women were stunning. I have to admit having a penchant for Asian ladies and this was heaven.
I sometimes wondered if I was the only man that had lived in Bangkok and never sampled the delights of the bar (red light) scene. One night I went to the notorious Patpong road. I went into the "Runway" bar and was joined by two girls. They were very young and one told me she was 19 and the other told me that she was 21. I think I would have taken 2 years off both of them. They were sweet girls with lovely pretty faces. They had been dancing around a chrome pole but when the music finished the mamasan (boss) instructed them to join me. Both of them wore the same bikini and both of them did not have breasts. They tried to talk me into paying a 500 Baht bar fine (a payment where you take a girl away from the bar) each and 2,000 Baht each to take them to a short-time hotel. It was not about the money. A mere 100 Euros would have got me an hour of undoubted pleasure with these 2 sweet girls but that is all they were... Girls! I wanted more... I did not want a girl for 1 hour or 1 night. I wanted a woman for life.
I lasted 5 months in the south Bangkok language academy. The children were just too young for me. They shouted and played chasing and I was popping Tylenol to stop the riot in my head. A Thai teacher would leave her class to help me regain control but in truth I was ill prepared for this and a course with SWAT would have been better preparation than a TEFL course. One hot Monday morning, 20 minutes into a class I calmly gathered my things, walked out the gates, went back to the apartment that the school provided and packed my bags ready to go back to Ireland. I knew Mister Paradorn would come looking for me so like a fugitive I went underground and by 2pm I had checked into a central Bangkok hotel.
It was an irony that I spent 20 years in a brewery but never really indulged in the products. I only had a beer once in a blue moon. Early that evening the blue moon shone over Bangkok. I had enough of the depressing news on BBC World and I just couldn't watch Die Hard even one more time in my life so I headed to O'Brien's Irish bar to ponder my next move. With The Dubliners blasting out "The Irish Rover" in the speakers overhead, I sipped my ice-cold Singha beer looking out onto Sukhumvit Road and smiled watching tourists haggle with street vendors over the price of pewter souvenirs, t-shirts, pirate DVD's and fake Rolex watches.
"How'ya." A voice boomed in my ear making me jump. I turned sharply to see a giant standing beside me. He parked himself on the padded seat beside me with a force that nearly sent me skywards. His name was Frank. He was 47 years old, about 6 feet 2 inches tall and the wrong side of 300 pounds. His white shirt had 3 buttons open revealing black bushy chest hair and an enormous gold medallion. His hair was long black and greasy making him look more like a Greek Elvis impersonator than any Irishman that I'd ever known.
"The wife is gone shoppin' with her sister for t-shirts and stuff for the nieces and nephews." He informed me in a County Kerry accent so strong that he was harder to understand than most Thais.
"I thought I'd drop in here out of the heat and sample the Thai Guinness." He went on, drawing a big paw across the sweat on his forehead.
We exchanged stories and it transpired that he lived with his wife in Khon Kaen in the northeast and they were just in Bangkok for a 3-day break. After about 30 minutes his wife came in with her sister, they planted bags on the floor and slumped on to the seat opposite in mock exhaustion. I shook hands with Ped (his wife) first then her sister Noi. My miserable day had just become considerably better as a guy from home; his wife and her extremely pretty "little" sister joined me. I remember just locking onto Noi's gorgeous dark eyes.
Noi was only 28 years old. She was a mere 5 feet tall and of slight build. Her skin was typically Isaan, (North-eastern Thai) very dark brown. She wore her black hair tied back off her face in a ponytail enhancing her lovely facial features. She was friendly and her smile absolutely knocked me out. She spoke very good English and we hit it off straight away.
"You come Khon Kaen with us tomorrow and teach me English more." She said with a laugh.
Within 24 hours and impetuous as ever that off the cuff remark became reality as I pulled my suitcases from the back of Frank's Ford Ranger and checked into the KK Mansions apartment complex. That night there was a knock on my door. It was Noi with a small silver suitcase in tow.
"I stay with you tonight?" She asked.
I was delighted that she was here and I let her in secretly chuffed that my flagging self-esteem was boosted at having a new girlfriend that was 13 years younger than me.
Our first night together was not the hot exotic encounter that I imagined it would be. We showered separately and Noi slid into bed beside me with a large towel around her. As she removed the towel she half jokingly told me that she wanted to get a breast enlargement operation but I tried to reassure her that it did not matter. I was lying and I remember that I was disappointed that her bra had been padded and her small breasts were practically non-existent. Physically she had the body of a girl. She was rather timid in bed and did not really like oral sex, either giving or receiving. She also did not like rear entry as she said that it hurt. We had a great relationship outside the bedroom. Noi was funny and a really great girl but after a while our sex life really did bother me and it was usually missionary position with the lights off.
I loved life in Khon Kaen. I was teaching English to some university students privately. They did not play chasing and I hardly ever needed a Tylenol. I was also teaching a nice 45 year-old lady that was going to the USA. As far as women are concerned I was still in heaven. Khon Kaen is light years from Bangkok but the women were no less beautiful. I walked around the markets or the supermarkets and just looked and admired these gorgeous women. I would just sit drinking a cappuccino thinking how lucky I was. 41 years old and living with a really cute Thai girl. I worked a maximum of 4 hours per day then would go to the Angel Plaza and just wallow in my surroundings. You stand out as a foreigner up here so you get a few smiles from really pretty girls. I am no Brad Pitt look-alike but I am 6 foot tall and I always managed to keep myself in good physical condition. I have a good head of hair even if the gray is taking over. My best description of myself is easy on the eye. Your imagination can run riot but I had a nice girlfriend so I was happy enough to just look. I would never touch.
