I am a member of California Wow fitness center here in Bangkok, but I haven’t made use of the membership in several months. It was originally a 3-year membership and it’s now due to expire in December.
With Penfold planning to return to Bangkok next month, he and I have been discussing getting into the gym together. See, Penfold is a gym-junkie, and I usually need to work out with someone (friend, trainer… doesn’t matter) as part of my motivation to go regularly. In Australia, I paid a personal trainer and spent about 6 hours a week for more than five years in the gym.
Here in Bangkok, in spite of having a membership, I’ve been sporadic about my workouts. Last year I started working out with a friend, but he gave up on Thailand and moved back to the US about a year ago. Since then my visits to the gym have been few and far between.
The end of my membership at almost exactly the same time as Penfold’s return has had me thinking of renewing.
So, the girl was in luck when she called me tonight.
This is an anecdote, not an essay. It’s a true story; a parable if you will, which, while specific in its content, in my opinion, points to a greater general truth.
Today is Wednesday.
I haven’t been on the internet for two full days, which is unusual for me. The reason is because I’ve been both busy and sick.
There are some things that can seem unusual about the experience of taking a bar girl home in Bangkok. One of the unusual things is that girls — even go go dancers who’ve spent the entire night dancing naked on-stage — typically come out of the bathroom dressed in a towel. Many of them are so shy that they won’t take off the towel until the lights are off.
