Striking

More adventures from Mum's little shop in Thon Buri, Bangkok...

When I called Mum's place after work, Isra, her sister, told me excitedly that we had a new face.

'He came here last night, as well, and has just opened a new bottle,' she said. 'Would you like to come?'

'Of course!'

Isra told him I was on my way, and introduced us when I arrived.

Khao, a young man who works for a tour company in the Khao San road area, has shoulder-length hair parted in the middle, high cheekbones, and a broad smile.

Khao, 30, told me the story of his former girlfriend, whom he left seven years ago.

'She is from Bangkok, so cares only about money and gold,' he said unhappily.

A young woman, a resident of the area who had been drinking elsewhere, sat at the bar.

She decided to join our conversation - after brazenly asking me to shout her a bottle of beer.

'I'm broken-hearted, too,' she said.

She did not say why. However, in her drunken state she was evidently attracted to Khao, and did her best to show it by flirting.

She grabbed his arms. She laid a hand in his lap. Rubbed his shoulders. Stroked his hair.

I was waiting for her to grab his private parts, though I suspect she was too drunk to locate them.

However, she did slap his face repeatedly - a curious courtship ritual between young men and women which I have witnessed before, but which can leave the male looking battered and blue.

The male says something cheeky or provocative, or merely responds in a friendly way to something the woman has said, and Whack! Slap across the face. Or the mouth. Or the head.

Among Thais, straight male friends do it too. As a friendship ritual, the one on the receiving end is just expected to put up with it.

The new arrival could tell that I liked Khao, which peeved her.

'Go on, give me another drink,' she said - and whacked him across the head.

Khao said nothing. Occasionally he returned her hugs, but did not look enthusiastic.

Khao was already upset and tired. By the time the woman finished with him, he looked sick as well, as she simply hit him too hard.

The first few times, he laughed, but it quickly became unfunny.

'Is that really necessary?' I asked, while trying not to sound like a mother hen. Her behaviour could get worse, if she regarded me as a rival for his affections.

Ms Flirt ignored me.

Before she left the table, she kissed him full on the lips, then staggered away.

Ten minutes later she was back, having fallen over in the soi on her way home.

Ms Flirt grazed her arms, but did not draw blood. However, she did have the sense to call a friend in the soi for help.

A big man on a motorbike turned up to get her. 'I was asleep when you called,' he said wearily.

Khao and I agreed to be friends. 'I hope we will know each other a long time,' he said, before he, too, staggered away.

I wonder how he felt the next morning...battered and bruised?

He is unlikely to meet that woman again, so I am not sure why he bothered.

Maybe it is one of those tests which real men must undergo to 'enjoy' the company of a drunken woman. Or maybe they were just two broken hearts, in the mood for punishment.