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The year is 1997, and Vicky is sitting in a small internet cafe in Bangkok. The air in the white-walled room is icy-cold and makes her shiver. On her left shoulder is a new tattoo - a large blue and red gecko. Her skin is dark brown from spending many months in the strong tropical sunshine, her hair is long and blond. She has a nose-stud and many silver rings. Her clothes are the typical ethnic look that backpackers prefer. Vicky is waiting. Waiting because sending e-mails from Bangkok takes such a long time. The computers are so slow and the connection is so bad that each mail takes fifteen minutes or more to complete. Vicky thinks the Thai internet cafes slow things down on purpose, to make more money. She thinks that making money from travellers and tourists is something the Thai's do very well.
The door opens and a gust
of
hot humid air rushes in. It hits Vicky in the face and fills her nose
with a sickly-sweet
mixture
of scooter
fumes and street-food smells.
For her, this is the distinctive
smell of Thailand, and she loves it.
She coughs and wonders whether her shivering and coughing is due to the
air, or has she caught malaria? Vicky hopes not as malaria is a
terrible
illness to have in the heat and humidity, and she doesn't want to go
home to England - not
now, not ever. A young man writes his name and start time on a small
piece of
white paper and sits at the computer next to Vicky. He seems to be
trying to get
her attention, but she
doesn't look at him. 'Hi!' he says
cheerfully.
Vicky doesn't say anything, but nods to show she heard him. She doesn't
want to chat.
Alex says hi to the
pretty girl with the gecko tattoo, but she doesn't respond. He is
soaked
with sweat. Sweat drips off
the end of his nose
and splashes onto the keyboard in front of him. It takes him ten
minutes just to log onto Hotmail,
so he looks through his guidebook
while he's waiting. Halfway through writing his first e-mail, he notices
that the girl next to him seems to be frantically
searching through her
bag for something. He
glances
at her and sees that she looks upset. 'Are all right?' he asks,
'Do you need some help?'
Vicky looks at him. 'It's okay, it's not your problem.'
'What's happened?' he asks her, 'Lost something?'
'I seem to have lost my purse, but it's not your problem, so please
don't worry.'
'Lost your purse! Was it stolen? Is there anything I can do?' Alex
looks concerned.
'My passport is gone too...' Vicky begins to cry.
'Listen..' says the handsome young traveller, 'Let me pay for
your e-mails and help you sort it out.
I have a lot of experience in
Asia.'
'That's kind of you, but you needn't worry. I'll sort it out myself.'
'No, please.. let me help you,' Alex insists,
'Where are you staying?'
'I just arrived in Bangkok from Chang Mai I don't have a room yet.'
'Then come back to my guesthouse. I'm in a twin room. I promise you can
trust me, I won't try anything. But I can help you get things sorted.'
'Well... that's very good of you. Okay then. I do need to report it to
the tourist
police and the embassy.
Thanks, you're very kind. I'll pay
you back as soon as I can, I promise.'
Alex is staying in FP
Guesthouse in a soi
just off the Khao san road. It's a cheap concrete
building with ceiling fans and dirty mattresses. There is a cafe
downstairs serving food and playing all the newest Hollywood movies.
The tables are full of tired-looking backpackers, dressed in
similar ethnic clothing, or Red Bull and Diesel T-shirts. Alex and
Vicky walk through to the back and climb the stairs to the third floor.
Alex's room is facing the street and very noisy. 'Welcome to the presidential suite'
he
jokes. Vicky puts her backpack on the spare bed. 'Listen, Alex... I am
so so grateful. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't
been there.' Vicky smiles and Alex blushes.
'That's okay. And anyway,
we still have to get you some money and report
your stolen passport.'
'Alex, I'm so tired, do you mind if I have a shower, and a little
sleep?'
'Of course not. Take it easy. I'll go out for a while and give you some
space, and you can rest. We
can go to the police when you're ready.'
'Thanks again.' Another smile, another blush.
Vicky watches as Alex unties the money-belt
from under his shirt and
throws it on the bed. 'That's better! It gets so hot wearing that
around my waist all day. Still. if you'd had a money-belt, maybe you
wouldn't be in trouble now! I always keep my money and passport with me
when I travel alone.'
'It's too late for me, but it sounds like a good idea!' Vicky tells
him. 'By the way, why don't you
have a shower first, before going out. You look like you need
one more than I do!'
'Do you mind? I am rather smelly. Thanks, Vicky. I'll be quick.
'Please take your time.' Vicky smiles again. And this time keeps
eye-contact. Alex can feel their relationship might be developing into
something physical. He picks up his towel and clean clothes and leaves
the room. The communal
bathroom is at the end of the corridor. As he
washes, he imagines what it will be like to kiss her. This is a good
day for him. The cool water makes his skin tingle.
This is definitely a
good day.
Vicky walks out into the street
and stops a passing tuk-tuk.
'Bus station. How much?' she asks the
driver.
'Thirty baht.'
'No. No. Ten baht.'
'Twenty baht. Cheap, cheap.' the driver tries to persuade her.
'Okay, okay.' Vicky agrees the price, climbs into the back seat and lifts her
backpack in next to her. 'Go, go!' she shouts.The driver drives out
into the
heavy Bangkok traffic. Vicky knows she could get a lower price, but
she's in a hurry.
Alex still has wet feet as he opens the door to his room. 'Vicky?' he calls out. But then he sees his empty money-belt on the bed. His passport is missing too. He has been robbed. First, he worries if Vicky is all right, but slowly realises that it was Vicky who took his money. 'Stupid idiot!' he shouts at himself, 'stupid, stupid idiot!'
In the toilet at the bus station, Vicky looks in the mirror and rubs off the fake tattoo from her shoulder. The nose-stud has gone too, and so have all the silver rings. She ties her long hair up and puts on a straw hat and sunglasses. She looks like all the other backpackers travelling through Thailand; everyone looks so similar, she'll never get caught. She can do this for years. She'll never have to go home. Never, never, never.
Adjectives
icy:
Very cold. Like ice.
typical:
Usual for a particular situation or group of people.
ethnic:
Here meaning 'simple Asian style'.
sickly-sweet:
Too sweet, so it makes you feel bad.
distinctive:
Easy to recognise.
communal:
Shared by many people.
fake:
Not real.
Adverbs
frantically:
To do something in a hurry because you are very worried.
Verbs
shiver:
When your body shakes because you are cold or scared.
get
sb.'s
attention:
To make somebody notice you but saying something, or moving, or waving
at them.
be
soaked with sweat:
To be very wet because you have been sweating very much.
glance:
To look at something quickly, for a short time.
sort
sth.
out:
To make a problem better.
insist:
To make sombody realise that you really want to do something.
blush:
When your face goes red because you are embarrassed.
report:
Here meaning 'to tell an official person' some information.
give
sb.
some space:
To make somebody feel more relaxed by moving away from them.
tingle:
Here meaning 'to feel excited'.
be
robbed:
When someone takes your valuable things.
rub
off:
To remove something from a surface by backwards and forwards movements.
get
caught:
When someone catches you for doing something bad.
Nouns
a
gecko:
A type of lizard that can walk on the ceiling because it has special
feet.
a
nose-stud:
A small round pice of jewellery like a ball that you put into a
piercing in your nose.
a
backpacker:
Someone who travels independently from place to place, carrying a
backpack not a suitcase.
a
connection:
Here meaning the telephone line speed.
a
gust:
A sudden and strong wind for a very short time.
a
mixture:
When two or more things are put together in the same place.
scooter
fumes:
The bad-smelling gases that come from a motor-scooter (small
motorcycle).
Hotmail:
An e-mail system.
tourist
police:
Police who are trained to help tourists.
an
embassy:
A government office in a foreign country that can help its own people.
a
presidential suite:
A very large hotel room with many facilities.
a
money-belt:
A purse that you tie around your body to keep safe.
Thai words
soi:
A small road. 'A lane' in English.
tuk-tuk:
A three-wheeled, open-sided taxi made from a motorcycle.
baht:
Thai money.