Nasiadai

For a week now, the calendar spring has reigned in Central Europe and thus in Germany. It is 4 o'clock in the afternoon - Saturday 27.3.2021 - and I am looking out of the window. A shower of hail and sleet pours over the Hamburg region and for a few moments everything turns white: roofs, streets and paths, yards and gardens. Parked cars turn into poorly built snowmen in a few minutes. Passers-by stretch out their umbrellas to protect themselves against the snow and hail, but the gusty wind blows the umbrellas out of their hands and bends them over. I watch the scenery and I catch myself feeling a sense of Schadenfreude – malicious glee - coming over me. I shiver, I feel cold, I turn up the heating in my living room again. Full blast! Full whack! We are still far from spring, from spring feelings, at least this weekend. The weather forecast promises faithfully that next week it will be warm like spring. Let's hope. I turn away from my window and sit down at my desk and computer. I beam myself into warmer climes. There are only a few vlogs about Pattaya, for example, that one can occasionally watch with pleasure. I mean those videos about Pattaya in which the author and cameraman comment on his video images, his pictorial reportage, interpret them, give additional explanatory information, put his video reportage into a linguistic context. Most video bloggers walk, run or drive through the streets of Pattaya or stroll along the beach streets of Pattaya and Jomtiem without a commenting and explanatory word. Only occasionally is it shown by a superimposed writing where one is at the moment. I am writing here for a predominantly Anglo audience. Here is an Englishman whose vlog I can recommend. Buzzin Pattaya https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQrOEfaV_DpQjryQ_QW7YTg Here quiet good; about the Nightwish Group and their bars on Soi 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNlir5cQYZY For the German-speaking crowd, I state: Mot & Frank in Thailand https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBaZCI4ksJ3vUVTsmMFHVJQ and here the Swiss guy Mario: MyLand Thailand https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCik-aGJX8BQ8QPF8W6X3Hxw My recommendations and ratings are subjective and very invidual. Others like and prefer other video reports. It's midnight now; it's 3 degrees outside! It's freezing cold. I know a place where it is warmer and more pleasant now.

Thank you, Coss, for the compliment, "very Ernest Hemingway" 5555 But the female members of my family object to such a look! They are outraged, they scold and there is thunder. Long hair and a beard have to be looked after. Grooming can be very elaborate and can be very time-consuming. I prefer it short.

"Hairdresser, barber!" scream my hairs! "We have not been cut for almost seven months. We want a haircut, and we want it now!" And my month-old beard is also calling out: "I want to be shaved off." And my head is shouting in desperation: "Charly, you look just horrible with this long hair and wild beard. Off to the barber! That's an order." That was 6 weeks ago in February when we had frost, ice and snow. I had a bad fall at the pond of the river Este. I wanted to take photos of the frozen pond and the wild birds such as ducks, pigeons, seagulls, etc. Two days ago; I look like a homeless person. Hair dishevelled, unshaven, a wild beard. If my family saw me, oh my goodness. My daughter, my sister! There would be thunder and lightning! A great ranting and shouting. But it was the conversation with my Dutch girl, the girl with pearl earring, Meisje met de parel, that tipped the scales. "If you don't go to the hairdresser today and have your hair and beard trimmed thoroughly and short, then I'm no longer your girl, then I'll terminate my friendship with you.” That was the striking argument, the killer argument, and at the same time a terrible threat. She threatens to be no longer my communication partner, my secret advisor and my bosom friend. So I immediately made my way to the hairdresser. Frau Monika - that's the hairdresser's name - was very happy when she saw me. She immediately took out the scissors and the clippers and threatened me with them: “I'm about to activate these two devices and they'll turn you into a real gentleman again." Here is the result. Back to normal.

But now to Soi 4 , Nana.It is a disaster. It's catastrophe, a tragedy. My heart is sick. My beloved Soi 4, my most beloved Nana Plaza. The pubs are closed, restaurants are closed - among them is the "Heidelberg", here you can get the best German home cooking. You hardly see any people in this video. There are hardly any tourists; you can count them on the fingers of one hand. The question is whether the bars, the pubs and restaurants and also the hotels will open up again in the post-Corona period and recover and be able to return to their old turnovers? I don't see any problems on the supply side. The Thais are pragmatic and millions of workers are looking for well-paid jobs. But how will it be on the demand side? Will there be enough (solvent) tourists? And if so, which tourists will they be? The number of Asian men will - as before - continue to rise, while Western men will become fewer and fewer. Slowly, slowly. I have described and discussed this topic in detail here. http://thai360.com/index.php?/topic/65482-my-corona-diary-december-2020-2021/page/5/

John Bingham, 7. Earl of Lucan From the German Wikipedia; an excerpt: Bingham war der älteste Sohn von George Bingham, 6. Earl of Lucan, und Kaitilin Elizabeth Anne Dawson. Als Heir apparent seines Vaters führte er von 1949 bis 1964 den Höflichkeitstitel Lord Bingham. Er hatte zwei Schwestern und einen Bruder. Er studierte am Eton College und diente danach als Offizier bei den Coldstream Guards. 1963 heiratete er Veronica Mary Duncan. Beim Tod seines Vaters erbte er 1964 mit 29 Jahren dessen Titel als 7. Earl of Lucan. Binghams Mutter starb 1985. Er arbeitete als Merchant Banker, aber nach dem Gewinn von 26.000 £ beim Kartenspiel Chemin de Fer in Le Touquet gab er diese Tätigkeit auf und wurde Berufsspieler. Durch seine Spielsucht häufte er erhebliche Schulden an. Zum Zeitpunkt seines Verschwindens war er praktisch bankrott. Zum Kreis seiner Freunde, mit denen Lucan regelmäßig im Clermont Club in London spielte, gehörten unter anderem Charles Saatchi und James Goldsmith. Translation: Bingham was the eldest son of George Bingham, 6th Earl of Lucan, and Kaitilin Elizabeth Anne Dawson. Heir apparent to his father, he held the courtesy title of Lord Bingham from 1949 to 1964. He had two sisters and a brother. He studied at Eton College and then served as an officer in the Coldstream Guards. In 1963 he married Veronica Mary Duncan. On his father's death in 1964, aged 29, he inherited his title as 7th Earl of Lucan. Bingham's mother died in 1985. He worked as a merchant banker, but after winning £26,000 at the Chemin de Fer card game in Le Touquet, he gave up this occupation and became a professional gambler. His gambling addiction caused him to accumulate substantial debts. At the time of his disappearance he was virtually bankrupt. His circle of friends, with whom Lucan regularly played at the Clermont Club in London, included Charles Saatchi and James Goldsmith. Newspaper articles in the German tabloid press reveal that Lucan accidentally killed the nanny in the dark. He probably wanted to kill his wife, who had custody of the children. He was in a desperate situation, he was probably no longer in control of his senses and his mind. A German tabloid magazine "Gala" reports that the son of the slain nanny tracked down the guy in Australia. Lord Lucan Hält sich der mutmaßliche Nanny-Mörder in Australien auf? Is the suspected nanny killer in Australia? https://www.gala.de/royals/briten/john-bingham--kann-der-mutmassliche-nanny-moerder-geschnappt-werden--22215224.html#:~:text=John%20Bingham%20alias%20Lord%20Lucan%2C%20geboren%201934%2C%20war%2C,darauf%20verschwand%20der%20siebte%20Earl%20of%20Lucan%20spurlos. These are stories that only life can write.

"Even in the city's red-light district, which used to be discredited for widespread sex tourism, new business models are needed. Before the crisis, Englishman Bryan Flowers ran two dozen bars in a street full of go-go bars. Only a little more than half of them are open at the moment." "There are hardly any walk-ins any more. But Flowers has found a new source of income. He set up improvised broadcasting studios between the bar and the music system. Twelve hours a day, scantily clad barmaids present themselves in front of webcams for live streams on the internet. Viewers are invited to buy them virtual drinks in exchange for a personal thank-you video - completely G-rated. Flowers doesn't want to risk being blocked by payment processors. In the meantime, he makes half of his revenue from digital. "We wouldn't have survived without livestreaming," he says." As I said before: Necessity is the mother of invention. The success of the webcams proves the bars, the bar operators and the girls right.

"The slump in business is unprecedented: Until the beginning of the Corona crisis, Thailand's tourist numbers were still growing unchecked to 40 million holidaymakers a year at last count. In the meantime, visitor numbers have plummeted by 99.8 percent year-on-year. Economic output plummeted by 6.1 per cent - the biggest drop since the Asian crisis at the end of the 1990s. Every second employee in tourism lost his job. For this year, economic researchers expect at best a slight recovery. Thailand's central bank sees the question of when tourists will be able to return to the country as the main risk for the country's economic future." "The crisis has set Pattaya back decades - even the rubbish collection service is feeling the effects. Before the pandemic, they collected 500 tonnes of waste a day. Of the estimated 500,000 inhabitants, 300,000 have left the city, according to the authorities - mainly people from rural areas who hoped for higher incomes in the city's once thriving tourism industry. "There is almost no one here anymore," says a waitress who introduces herself as Kannika, in what used to be a mostly crowded "walking street". Her basic salary is 110 euros a month - plus just under one euro for each drink sold. What provided a good income in the heyday of the tourism business is now barely enough to survive. "We can't keep this up much longer," says the 43-year-old." I believe that the Thai tourism industry will recover very quickly in the post-Corona period. The Thais are very pragmatic and solution-oriented. My objection, my concern: Many Western tourists will probably not be able to come because of the devastating economic development in many Western countries. Corona is acting as a kind of accelerant for the economic decline of many Western countries. Please do not misunderstand me. Western holidaymakers will continue to come to Thailand and Pattaya, but their numbers will continue to decline steadily.

Now we move on ... An interesting article in the Handesblatt about the Thai tourism industry in Corona times. https://app.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/suedostasien-thailands-wirtschaft-am-boden-im-paradies-geht-die-verzweiflung-um/27005630.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab-global-de-DE&ticket=ST-4119954-09Aedy3T1ffdFyEfHlbB-ap3 Thailands Wirtschaft am Boden: Im Paradies geht die Verzweiflung um Thailand's economy is down: Desperation is rampant in paradise. Von: Mathias Peer Preliminary remark: Handelsblatt is one of Germany's leading and most important newspapers for business, companies, economics. The author of this article - Mathias Peer - probably knows neither Bangkok nor Pattaya. He has obviously written this essay with the help of several well-informed sources as well as public sources. Sure, one notices - as a connoisseur, an insider of Bangkok and Pattaya - that the author has no authentic knowledge of details and specific features. His aim is to show a rather ignorant readership how terrible the effects of the worldwide Corona crisis are on the Thai tourism industry. I translate a few paragraphs and present them now.

Mekong, Let's wait and see how things develop with the webcams. In the post-Corona times, when Pattaya and the bar business are back to normal, we will see how the bars manage the use of the webcams. In recent years, one thing has struck me as unpleasant. When I entered a beer bar, e.g. in Soi 7 / 8, they only paid attention to me briefly, namely when I ordered my drink. After that, all the girls were immediately busy with themselves and their smartphones. Many other guests also had this negative experience. It is up to the bar management to stop this bad habit. An example: At the start of work, all girls have to switch off their smartphones. After about 4 hours, they are allowed to check their smartphones for a period of 15 minutes. After that, they have to switch them off again. It is up to the bar manager to ensure discipline.

Mekong, I anticipated this objection. I wrote the following as a possible alternative for the use of webcams; I quote myself: "Note: the whole bar does not have to be in view of the webcam, but only 2 - 4 square metres (or so), so that a certain intimacy and discretion is guaranteed." I know from reports via Facebook, Youtube and other social media that this offer has been used by many Pattaya holidaymakers prevented because of Corona. Many have laughed, joked, flirted, talked and spent lots of ladydrinks for the bar girls via webcam.

Have I given out ladydrinks via webcam in the past weeks and months? No! There is a very weighty reason 555555 I haven't been to the hairdresser for over 6 months! Corona related. Barber shops are closed. I haven't shaved in over 2 months! I look like the most horrible character in a horror movie. Girls would be scared to death if they saw me on screen. But basically now: I wouldn't do that. No. If I know a girl who has got into financial difficulties because of the Corona crisis, then I help with a money transfer. I did that several times in the past months. I have transferred from 1,500 baht to 10,000 baht to very specific girls whom I have known very well for years (including their personal, family circumstances). Once again: Only to girls I have known very well for years and who don't lead me down the garden path. (ein X für ein U vormachen – in German) So, now I can be flamed by you …

A few shards of thought I would like to add. Check out the activities of Phil Ross of Le Pub on Facebook. All of his activities are born out of necessity, but they seem to ensure Le Pub's survival in austere times of need. He does live broadcasts from his bar via webcam: the girls playing pool the girls at four connect the girls dancing and spraying good humour And the watching men in Farlangland pop a few ladydrinks. That's what I call ingenuity. Phil is innovative and creative. He doesn't sit passively in his bar night after night waiting for customers who don't come. He does something, he develops imaginative activities to get sales and money.

My point of view: The Pattaya bar business is a market and operates on capitalist market principles. Only those bars survive and do well in business that adapt to the ever changing rules and circumstances. I predict: Webcams will be an integral, normal part (not in all) but in many of Pattaya bars in the near future. Note: the whole bar does not have to be in view of the webcam, but only 2 - 4 square metres (or so), so that a certain intimacy and discretion is guaranteed. One thing is clear - whether we like it or not - there are thousands of male Pattaya holidaymakers who want contact with the bar girls via webcam and are prepared to spend ladydrinks. We can insult and despise these Pattaya brothers like some guys do it . However, it doesn't help. They want the contact and they are willing to pay. Case in point: After an exciting and adventurous three-week holiday - we all know what is meant - our Herr Mustermann, Mr. John Smith, John Sample is back home in Farlangland in his daily routine and boring everyday world. He thinks about his three or four girls from different bars he carried on with. He has the names of the bars, their addresses and bada boom bada bing he makes contact with the girls chatting and laughing and flirting and paying a few lady drinks online. It does his soul good and he feels great. Times are changing. While it used to be strictly forbidden to take pictures or videos in GoGo bars, that could soon change. Depending on the spatial conditions in a go-go bar, a (small) dance floor of the go-go could be in the area of a webcam. Men from all over the world can log on to this webcam for a fee, can additionally pay for Ladydrinks for their favourite dancers. What I am outlining here is a possible business idea for gogo bar operators who are willing to experiment. And at low cost. I'm not just thinking of Western men here, but East Asians like Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Singaporeans, etc. It may be that webcams will be a part of the Pattaya bar business. I am sure of it. But: „Making predictions is difficult, especially when they concern the future.“ to be continued

My topic today: Webcams in Bars A few days ago - in March 2021 - an Anglo-American beer bar operator in Pattaya reported the following incident: A couple of young ladies asked him if they could work in his bar. He said yes. Then the girls looked at the bar, discovered after a few moments that this bar had no webcam. The ladies asked if he could install a webcam. !!! They would only work at his place if the bar was equipped with a webcam!!! Background: Some clever, resourceful bar operators have installed webcams during the long months of the worldwide Coronalockdown. Now the bar is connected to the world online via various communication platforms such as Facebook. Men from all over the world can now contact this bar directly. The business idea: these men take part in what is happening in the bar, they can see the girls, they can communicate with the girls, and they can spend ladydrinks online. This offer has obviously been gratefully accepted by many guys, who cannot come to Pattaya because of Corona. Many a bar in Pattaya owes a considerable part of its turnover to this technical facility. And the girls benefit as well, because they get about 50% of the price of a ladydrink. Now there are discussions on the few remaining Pattaya boards; also German ones. Some bar operators also want to install webcams or they already have them in use. Others refuse to do so. On the side of the male guests, there is a large group who strictly reject this and another group who would use this offer or have already used it several times. The discussion is being fought with no holds barred. Some guys do it loudly and with strong swear words: Idiots, fools, assholes are still the most harmless insults. to be continued

A story from Charly's short-time den It's 6.15pm in Bangkok; dusk has set in, soon it will be dark. We - my friend Ott and I - are on our way to the “Brown Sugar” on Phrasumen Road. This place is the meeting point for Bangkok jazz lovers. Ott wanted to listen to a certain band. We left his car in a safe car park and got into a songthaeow that took us the last two kilometres along Thanon Phrasumen quickly and safely. The songthaeow was well occupied; but the inmates moved a little closer together so that there was room for us to sit. We rolled slowly along in the traffic; then a stop at a traffic light, after which the way was clear and the bus picked up speed. I estimated it to be about 60 km. Suddenly there was movement among the passengers. We see an interethnic family, father, mother, two small children of kindergarten age, 4 and 5 years old, a girl and a boy. The family's happiness could not be greater. Suddenly the Thai mother calls loudly and with clear emphasis in her voice (in German): „Wir sind am Ziel. Wir müssen raus! Aussteigen, aber dalli dalli - zack, zack!“ "We are at our destination. We have to get out! Get out, but dalli dalli - zack, zack!" dalli dalli = get a move an! Pronto, pronto! Zack zack = look sharp! Jab jab! Ott and I both look at each other in astonishment and wonder at the barracks court tone with which this Thai woman commands her family around in German like a sergeant commands his company. Her dozing husband gets a strong push with her elbow so that he wakes up, then she grabs the children and off they go. When the family has got out, the father has paid the driver, we bend our way through the bars of the songthaeow outside, and Ott calls out in German with unmistakable irony in his voice: „Familie, stillgestanden! Im Gleichschritt marsch!“ "Family, attention! Forward march!" Now the astonishment was on the family's face. The woman quickly regains her composure and, with a laugh on her face, she says to us: "Yes, sometimes I have to be very German in order to keep our family together in a more or less organized way.” Our Songthaeow slowly started up again, threading its way into the traffic. We waved goodbye to the to the family and two minutes later we too were at our destination. While Ott pressed the bell button causing the driver to stop, he called out to me with a grinning face: „Raus hier! Dalli, dalli – zack, zack!“ "Get out! Dalli, dalli – zack, zack!“ The other passengers - all Thais - looked at each other in amazement, unable to understand what was going on. An elderly man asked a question in Thai, which Ott answered briefly. I only understood the word "Jöraman", which means something like German or Germany. The old man had obviously asked about the language spoken with the family during the exit scene. The concert was great. I only drank water, while Ott was so excited that he drank seven or eight bottles of Singha. Don't ask me how we got home in his Jaguar. It was a hell of a drive through Bangkok at night. Ott didn't drive a car, he was finally flying his Phantom F5, his beloved girl. So what? I always have a prayer on my lips for such situations; the famous 23rd Psalm. “The Lord is my shepherd, I fear no evil; for he is with me. He makes me lie down in green pastures Thy rod and thy staff protect me”

osted just now And here we go with some beautiful and pleasant memories in difficult times. My topic today: Driving through Bangkok with Ott We start in front of his mia noi's house somewhere in the north of Bangkok. Yes, indeed. Ott has a mia noi, a little concubine. She is a stewardess. We spent the whole of last day and evening at her place, spent the night and had breakfast together the other morning. Here is my night's lodging at Ott's mia noi. His mia noi left for the airport to start her service and Ott and I decided to spend the day in Bangkok at Chayo Praya and go to the jazz place "Brown Sugar" in the evening. Every time I get into the car with Ott, it's like: gather up all my courage, get in, buckle up and pray. Hopefully, some guardian angel will keep an eye on us and intervene to help. We drove from Nana Plaza to his home a few times around 3 a.m.; drunk as skunks. Those were crazy rides, pure madness. My dear Ott, you often confuse your cars with your beloved Phantom F5, which you used to fly at supersonic speeds through Thai airspace as a daredevil and swashbuckler. In most cases, however, he is slowed down by the dense, slow-moving Bangkok traffic. Thank Buddha. to be continued ...

We Pattaya / Jomtiem holidaymakers have to accept that the 2020/2021 season is over for us. It is no use running any more. My goose is cooked. This season - thanks to Corona - is a lost season. The great hope that remains for us is that the world will get this pandemic under control in the next few months, e.g. through comprehensive vaccination campaigns. What we are left with is the hope that the world will be spared such pandemics for the next few years, and that as many countries as possible will survive the Corona pandemic and the accompanying lockdowns economically well. As someone who grew up Christian, I would now say, "Let us all pray for that."

Thanks guys for the kins words. The fall at the pond, I told you about, unfortunately had more serious consequences than I had initially thought. The bloody nose has healed; everything is wonderful. But the sternum was badly hit. It started to hurt about two days after the fall. Especially left and right muscles and tendons hurt a lot; especially when I move in bed, like from the left side to the right side of my body. This creates hellish pain along the sternum. I can hardly sleep any more. But I'm tough, like a boxer I have taker qualities. Whoever was so careless and reckless must be punished. I'll survive.

Whenever my camera spots a pretty female creature, it gets all fucked up in its photo bag, sorry, nervous, excited and whispers to me: "Get me out, switch me on, I want to take photos, beautiful, great ones, I also expose correctly, choose a suitable time-aperture combination, you can rely on me. For sure" My camera's blood pressure and heart rate also rise, it seems shaky and excited, but then it suddenly concentrates on its work. Bangkok, Krung Thep, the Siamese Los Angeles, the city of angels, not only has the god Brahma on offer, but also lots of picture-perfect girls; it's to get on your knees; as we say in German. Whether on Thanon Silom or Sukumvhit, whether along the shops and shopping malls of Ploenchit or Ratchadamri, pretty young girls, young women by the hundreds. I'd rather keep quiet about Nana Plaza ... Saint Peter, my dear, when I come, I'll bring along prominent reinforcements, none other than Bob Dylan, and then I'll knock and sing "Knocking at heaven's door ..." together with Dylan. No, I don't need 72 virgins, like the Mohammedan mass murderers, one is enough for me, but then please the right one .... memories, sweet memories ... now I can be flamed ....

This man arrives with the support of dancers and a band, who are to lend unmistakable and distinctive emphasis to his pleas for blessings and intercession. Brahma can hardly say no to that, can he? The music is very shrill for western ears and remains incomprehensible for us. Yes, you have to be able to understand music, you need access to it. Otherwise you just hear sounds that tell you nothing, that do not penetrate our hearts and minds. Here everyone can let his imagination run free, what is this young couple asking for? Healthy children, a happy family life? to be continued ...

The Erawan Shrine - an island of peace, contemplation, prayer, pause - surrounded by modern Bangkok traffic. Above, the crossing of the Skytrain, the elevated railway, to the left and right an eternally roaring traffic with infernal noise and exhaust fumes. Below, the praying, devotional people amidst the traffic noise. What would the god Brahma say? Does he feel comfortable in this place? Is this a place of comfort and concentration? After all, even a god has to listen intently when he is in conversation with his believers; and almost always multitasking, and in several languages and dialects to boot. He must be a real polyglot. And that in such nasty conditions. Well … Here is a view of the deity to be continued

In 1987, the Erawan Hotel was demolished and replaced by a more modern building and shopping centre on the same site, and the ownership also changed; it is called "Grand Hyatt Erawan". The shrine got a new location that is shady and therefore not quite as hot. In this almost all-day shaded area, there is space for worshippers and prayers as well as for professional temple dancer groups and small music bands. Here it is - the attractive sight in Krung Thep - the Erawan Shrine. A visit is a must for every Bangkok tourist. More misfortunes, attacks, bomb terror. My text is a kind of short summary of essays, of information from the English-language Bangkok Post and the nation over the last decades: On 21 March 2006, a deranged Muslim destroyed the statue with a hammer. He was immediately attacked and beaten to death by two horrified Thai men (Buddhists). They were taken into custody on murder charges, but were released the very next day. The destroyed statue was replaced by a new one. (In our country, the Mohammedan would have been given a state funeral, and the two Germans would have been sent to prison, or rather penitentiary, with the maximum sentence until the end of their days; with subsequent preventive detention). On 17 August 2015, there was a bomb attack on the shrine with 20 dead and about 125 injured, some of them seriously injured, scarred for life! Two Muslim Uyghurs were accused and imprisoned, who wanted to draw attention to the oppression of their people by the Chinese government with the attack. I try to describe the Brahma statue and I give a few explanations. The god is seated facing north in a relaxed posture, the right leg bent, the left hanging down. Four heads adorned with crowns and lotus blossoms look alertly into the four directions. The faces with pointed beards are slightly different from each other, but all with friendly benevolent and contented expressions. A fifth crown sits on top in the centre. The figure holds in its eight hands various symbols, each with a positive meaning in Hinduism. A sacred cord typical of Hindu deities leads from the left shoulder to the right hip. There is a hellish noise, above, the trains of the Skytrain - the elevated railway - thunder over the tracks, on both sides along the streets the traffic rolls, the motorbikes, the buses and the trucks roar, in addition to the stench and the dust from countless exhaust pipes. In direct sight of Brahma, the praying and meditating devotees squat and kneel. Behind them, covered, the Siamese dancer groups and the music bands. These professional dance troupes are hired by the supplicants - usually for three to five minutes - to honour the god and thus make their wishes gracious. These dance troupes perform traditional Thai temple dances during the prayer or devotion. It goes without saying that after the god's wishes have been fulfilled, offerings have to be made again in gratitude. Now a few pictures I have taken at the Erawan shrine in recent years. Caution dear readers, some of them could be interpreted as "fully contaminated with toxic masculinity". continued

Background: Many Southeast Asians believe that there is a spirit, a demon, a divine being on every piece of land. When people take possession of a piece of land in order to erect a building, a dwelling house or the like on it, then a ceremony must be held at an auspicious time before construction begins in order to appease the spirits, these (mostly lower) deities who are at home here and who are to be regarded as the actual and rightful owners of this land, this plot of land, and to make them merciful and benevolent. And so on almost every plot of land used by people there is a "ghost house", in Thai San Phra Phum, which are sometimes even - depending on the purse and generosity of the builder - real "ghost villas". Even in the house and even in flats there is a shrine, a kind of house altar, which serves as the abode of the resident spirits. They are also regularly served and provided with all kinds of offerings such as drinks and rice, garnished with burning incense sticks. This is a form of animism that actually has nothing to do with Buddhism and simply coexists with it. Animism assumes that the whole of nature around us is permeated by an all-souledness. Nature and all its appearances and the things and objects that occur in it are said to have an inner spirit, an individual, personal soul. Nature is animated by spirits, demons, gods, etc. Here is the ghost house on Ott's property. This ensemble is looked after by his wife, who also regularly provides the spirits living in it with small gifts such as food and drink. And there are always a few incense sticks on top. Back to 1956 and the construction of the luxury hotel Erawan. During the construction work, serious accidents occurred again and again; also with fatal results. No one could explain this series of accidents. After every further crash or serious mishap, the safety measures were tightened by the builder and in consultation with the construction workers. Nevertheless, the streak of mishaps and disasters continued. To the workers and everyone involved in the construction, this undertaking seemed to be under a cloud of doom. Finally, when a ship loaded with marble destined for this hotel sank at sea, the frightened workers stopped work. The advice of a ghost expert was sought. He said that the spirits of this property had been greatly angered and that the deaths, serious accidents and mishaps were due to the wrath of these spirits. This expert recommended the construction management and the workers to erect a shrine on the plot. The choice fell on the four-faced Brahma god Than Tao Mahaprom. A statue of the Brahma God was cast and gilded; he was given his shrine to go with it and after its completion and inauguration in November 1956, the hotel construction could be completed without any further misfortunes. Here is the old Erawan Hotel, which no longer exists, with the Brahma shrine. to be continued ...

Annotation: It was very difficult for me to translate the German text into English; I actually only know school English. I apologise for grammatical and syntactical errors. (Khun Ott is one of my German-speaking friends; he was a colonel and Phantom F5 pilot. Now he is retired. I have known him for about 25 years from Hamburg from the German military Leadership Academy). Erawan Shrine Together with Ott at Erawan Shrine. We drove one afternoon towards this myth-enshrouded shrine, located at probably the busiest junction in all of Bangkok. There is no parking far and wide. What does my wily Ott do? We drive his Jaguar cheekily onto the grounds of the Bangkok police headquarters, which are close to the shrine. We park and get out. A car pulls up next to us and a high-ranking police officer - you can see it immediately from his uniform - gets out. He looks at us briefly and asks a question. Ott pulls out his service card, shows it and explains to his police colleague that we want to go to the Erawan Shrine. "Oh, well then everything is clear. I wish you and the Farlang a few stimulating and inspiring hours at the shrine. May all your wishes come true." Both gentlemen go into guarded positions and salute militarily. Our parking is thus officially sanctioned. (On the way to the shrine Ott translated the short conversation for me). The Erawan shrine is located at the busy intersection of Ploenchit and Ratchadamri streets in the heart of downtown Bangkok. Above it, two lines of the Skytrain, Bangkok's elevated railway, meet. There is a deafening traffic noise here for almost 20 hours. Nevertheless, thousands of Thais and foreigners come every day, try to concentrate and then ask at the shrine for blessings, fulfilment of dreams, and success in their personal lives and careers. There he is to gaze upon, majestic in glittering gold, impressive and awe-inspiring. The gilded plaster figure of the god Brahma sits on a one-and-a-half-metre high pedestal in a Thai-style shrine decorated with colourful mosaics. Countless legends and myths entwine around this Erawan shrine, and an air of tragedy and misfortune hovers over the four-faced god Brahma, a high deity from Indian Hinduism. It was built in 1956 for the hotel being built right next door. Not to offer guests a retreat to pray, but for memorably more mysterious reasons. To be continued

Let's continue with my golden memory ride In this gogo bar "GOLD" in the LK Metro, a golden creature dances. Slim, petite, a little fragile looking; she weighs barely 48 kilos. But the little one has tits ... absolute world class. Wonderful, slightly swinging, bouncing big breasts with every dance move she makes, boobies, bosoms, hooters ... I'm going crazy, my heart is increasing its frequency, my blood pressure is rising, it's getting restless inside me. I feel the testosterone flowing in, creating that tingly feeling of horniness, I guess that's what we call it. I reach into my left trouser pocket and take out the tube of tablets and take one Metoprolol and one Amlodipine to stabilize the circulation. After a few minutes I feel the calming effect of the medication. I watch the girl on the dance stage, oh no, I devour her with my eyes. The magic of this girl touches me, goes to my heart. I smile at her, she comes to me. After the usual greeting and mutual introduction "How are you?" "What's your name?" "Where do you come from?" I realise very quickly that her knowledge of English is very limited. She calls in her half-sister, who takes on the role of interpreter. "Same father, but two different mothers." She is 28 and thus the pi-sa-u (older sister) to the 3 years younger nung-sa-u (younger sister). I stay in the gogo for over 4 hours. Just because of the girl. They are wonderful hours. After 2 hours - I have used all my charm (do I even have that?), my politeness to please the girl. I sense from her reactions that yes, there is still something there, it works, she reacts increasingly positively and interestedly to my compliments. The half-sister translates. I avoid overtexting the girls. Every now and then I ask a question about her family, her circumstances, etc., so that the two girls also get a chance to talk. I drink one bottle of beer after the other, the girls get their ladydrinks; they have to go to the dance stage for 15 minutes every 30 minutes or so. This gives me the opportunity to look at them, to admire them. Getting off on the sight of them, that phrase would be inappropriate now because it's too objectified. It degrades this sweet beauty queen to an object of sexual desire. However, over the course of 2 or 3 hours, I have created an intellectual and emotional distance from this girl whose father I could be. I'll explain that in a moment. She puts her hand on my arm a few times, smiles at me. "I take care you. Pay bar for me. I go with you." Girl, you tempt me, make it infinitely harder. Luckily, the two ladies have to go back upstairs to dance. That gives me a chance to think for a moment. I have to admit to myself that I am no longer an adequate, equal, coherent partner for this girl. Precisely because of my age and my frailty. I began thinking of all the beautiful girls I have had in the years and decades before. I have dozens of slide boxes with the most wonderful pictures from the analogue time and hundreds of pictures from the more recent digital time. We made love all night and all morning in all possible and impossible positions, so that even the mattress groaned with pleasure. I kept gushing like an inexhaustible Saudi oil well. At noon, around 12 o'clock, room service pounded loudly and insistently against the hotel room door, shouting: "Stop fucking now! I must clean room." (memories, sweet memories) "I can't do that anymore. The stroke has crippled you; the right side of your body is largely paralysed. You can no longer move your right arm and hand. Why don't you face up to it?" "You can only disappoint the girl and make a fool of yourself. Now maybe the girl is a little impressed with you. She realises that I'm not a bonehead like the many other farlangs she's had the experience of "See me, feel me, barfine me, fuck me, pay me." This sets me pleasantly apart from the others, I suspect, I hope. She is so pretty, so overwhelmingly erotic, her daintiness, her fragility, her smile, her luscious, light velvet breasts are overwhelmingly erotic in their appeal, but these qualities of hers also create a certain distance that is heightened by her innocence, purity, virginity. Sure, it would be totally different if I were 40 again, being full of sap, physically trained, with a washboard stomach. (being full of sap = voll im Saft stehend; being strong and physically able to perform) "You old cowboy should keep your hands off such a creature. Besides, you smell like a beer keg. Not very pleasant for such a girl. You're not 40 anymore, athletically trained, successful in your job, bursting with strength and lust for life. Then you would be an appropriate partner for that girl." In the hour that followed, I asked neither about the amount of the barfine nor about her price for longtime. The many beers had an effect, my head began to spin. I gradually became drunk. I still had to take the Songtheo back and then walk about 250 metres. That can be dangerous in this drunken state. My bill: about 3000 Baht, which is about 85 euros. The euro has degenerated into a junk currency. I want my old hard DM back. I went to this gogo for a few more evenings and had a great time with the two half-sisters.