The wedding

The day of the wedding I went to nearby Pitsanulok with some of my friends. We arrived at a one-storey hotel complex that provided a large room for the festivities. The people were seated around large round tables in groups of same origin. There was no real opportunities to mingle and get to know more people. We sat around the table drinking and eating round after round that was being served. On the small stage in front, speakers would praise the couple, tell stories about the bride and groom, or perform dances or songs. Of course some important local politician was present to give his blessing and so underline the couple's social status. Finally, a professionally made animation movie and a music video were screen before the festivities ended and everyone moved on to a short photo shoot before leaving.

But we were not quite done, yet. Integrated into the hotel complex was the city's biggest night club and discotheque and as the older generation and their younges retreated towards their homes, we went to extend the celebrations there. As in one might have expected in Thailand, the groom joined us along with his closest friends. A couple of bottles of 100 Pipers Scotch whiskey made it with us into the club and as soon as they were emptied new ones were ordered inside. With probably more than thirty people we formed the by far larges fraction in the club that can by no means be compared in size to clubs in Bangkok or any major cities in Europe, but could hold well up in style. A live band was playing and the crowd was going wild. Half-naked gogo dancers were swinging their skinny bodies on tables lining the bars and the stage. The glasses seemed to go never empty, however much everybody kept drinking.

It must have been easily 3 o'clock when I went out for a break and some fresh air, following Best. We were sitting in the garden like table arrangement in front of the club when I spotted a lone girl sitting in a swing not far from us. Far from drunk, but in a very good mood, I spontaneously decided to test my Thai skills and approached her. Soon I was sitting with her in polite and simple conversation. She spoke no English whatsoever, but she seemed to understand the essence of what I was saying. Still, I soon ran out of things to say, in her language. I left her with my number on a post-it note she had handed me to write it on and rejoined my friends. They were about to move on and a couple of minutes later we sat in the V.I.P. room of the karaoke club next door where we spent some more hours before retiring in the hotel next door.