I was tempted to visit Thailand multiple times, but each time something happened and my travel plans got cancelled.
I decided to give it another chance.
January is the coldest and snowiest month here in the upper Midwest, but it's a good time to go to Bangkok - The average mid day temperature is 'only' 88 degrees and rains are rare!
I talked to a friend of mine. He was a computer nerd who travelled to Thailand many times for both business and pleasure.
He suggested to visit several attractions, including The Grand Palace, The Temple of the reclining Buddha, The Chatuchak weekend market and Damnoen Saduak floating market. He marked on a map of the city & nearby area the places that impressed him the most.
For lodging places, he recommended to stay as close as possible to the main attractions. Good hotels were not expensive. However, if I was interested in a 'different place to stay'... he winked at me and then scribbled the name, address and phone number that he kept in his pocket.
His endorsement of an unusual place to stay intrigued me.
I called this place on several different occasions, until a young woman answered on the 3rd try. She had a distinct oriental accent, "Yes mister, what do you want?"
"I heard from a friend of mine about your hotel and I wanted to have a room for 3 nights."
I gave her the dates and she said that it was OK, but she added something that wasn't clear to me at the time, "Mister, for your information, this is not a hotel. This is bed, breakfast and beyond... It is a full service place!"
I had no clue what she was talking about, but the location was perfect and my friend recommended it. The price was not cheap comparing to other 4 stars hotels in the area, but still less expensive than big hotels in America's cities.
A week later, after a long and tedious flight, I arrived to Bangkok.
As I set foot outside the airport, the heat and humidity were overbearing.
The taxi drive to the lodging place (The Thai name was too long to remember) took 40 minutes. It passed through downtown crowded and smelly streets, lots of food stands and small clothing stores. Several temples and shrines displaying gold covered walls were seen along the route.
We arrived to an area surrounded by a fence with a 2 story house and 3 separate cabins.
The reception area was small and... hot. There wasn't an air conditioner. Only a large fan that worked hard to move the air around.
A young girl who looked about 13 years old smiled at me.
However, I've met before many young oriental women from Korea, Cambodia, Philippines and even from Thailand.
They often looked younger than their chronological age...
I assumed that this girl was at least 18 years old.
My thoughts were interrupted by her, "Mister, have you been a guest here before?"
"No lady, it's my first time."
"It's OK. I'll accompany you to your room and then explain to you everything about our facility."
She led me to the second floor.
My room was spacious with a king size bed, a large LG TV screen and... a working air conditioner! There were also a coffee machine, a fridge and few plastic water bottles.
I checked the bathroom area. It had a combination of tub for 2 and a modern shower.
Everything looked great!
She saw the smile on my face and said, "Over here we attempt to satisfy our guests. Any wish they have, we really try our best to make it happen..."
I stared at her, "What do you mean ANY WISH?..."
Her eyes glistened, "Unfortunately, we do not have a pool, but anything else that exists in Bangkok you can get here." And then she winked at me...
I wasn't sure that I understood completely what she meant, but I started to get an impression that the services included more than room cleaning and meals!
She chuckled, "My name is Hathai. Foreigners think that I am a child, but I will to be 20 next month... Except for you, today we have here another single guest from Australia and a couple from England. We will have an afternoon tea gathering at 5 in the decorated guest room. I suggest that you be there. You will meet the other guests and my extended family."
"Hathai, I will be there. And my name is Rodney..."
She displayed a million dollar smile and then left.
I was tired, dirty and stinky after the long flight.
I took a refreshing shower - It was wonderful!
Then I relaxed in front of my TV. Most of the programs were in Thai language, but some were in other languages. Seven channels were in English. Nice!
Going through the different channels, I found 2 porno stations too...
At 5 pm I put on a pair of clean short pants, nice sleeveless shirt and sandals.
I waited 10 minutes in my room. I didn't want to be the first one there.
When I arrived, I saw 3 guest tables.
The single guy and the English couple were sitting each in a different table. The third one was obviously for me.
There was also a larger table for 6. Around it were 6 women, each dressed in colorful robe. My guess was that their ages ranged from 20 to 50s.
The women glanced at us. they were chatting in Thai and laughing.
Hathai approached my table and said, "Rodney, we serve each guest tea with local cookies. While you enjoy our drink, you can choose any one of the women you see around the table. She is yours for the evening. You can stroll outside with her, shower with her, have sex with her, or anything else you wish, as long as you do not hurt her. She can give you a massage if you want. You decide..."
"Hathai, who are these women?"
"All of them are women of my extended family. My mother is the second from the left, my older sister is the one with the pearl earrings and the others are cousins and aunts."
I was stunned!...
Hathai mentioned her family members as if introducing them to a friend in a party.
But each one of them was offered to us guests as an escort... with benefits!
I was curious to see what the other guests would do.
The Australian guy sipped his tea and gazed at the giggling group of ladies. Then he signaled to Hathai's older sister to join him. She approached the table and smiled, "Thank you Robert for choosing me. Can I bring you another cup of tea?"
"Yes. Thank you Anong."
The British couple were whispering to each other and then the guy called an older woman to their table. She had a more mature beauty. She sat next to the guy and mumbled, "Larry, I knew that you will ask for me. After seeing me with Jane last night, you want us to enjoy together. Right?"
"As usual Malai, you are right. But this evening we wish you to massage Jane, while I play with your amazing body!"
She grinned, "Larry, you are so naughty... Jane, is it OK with you?"
"Oh yes. Your massage is so sensual, that I am sure to get aroused by it. And then I'll join Larry and you..."
"Jane and Larry, I like both of you. You are good to me and it is a pleasure to have a threesome with you."
I looked at the other 4 ladies and I wasn't able to decide.
After 5 minutes Hathai came to my table and asked me who I would like as a companion for the evening.
"I am not sure... Can I have you?"
She chortled, "Thank you for the compliment, but I'll have to decline. You see, tonight it's my turn to answer phones, check that there are no problems and take care of the food and drinks, so you should take somebody else. But if you want me tomorrow, I'll be happy to serve you."
I looked at the family table and saw a woman of about 40 years old that had a tiny smile on. For some reason her mysterious smile reminded me of the Mona Lisa...
"Hathai, will you please ask that lady to join me?"
"Of course. Her name is Noi and she is my aunt."
Noi came in my direction and sat by my side.
I gazed at her, "Noi, my name is Rodney. You are very pretty."