Pants dropper

Two young men were playing on the pier as I approached it today.

I visit the canal every day before lunch. The pier is a popular meeting place for students from a nearby school.

The day before, a dozen boys were swimming in relays across the canal, trying to get to the other side before long-tailed boats, also plying those waters, arrived. Girls from the same school cheered them on.

It is a daring game. It worries the men steering the boats, as they do not want to hit anyone. Some call out, while others honk on little on-board horns, warning them to stay clear.

Two boys I met were diving off the pier. They would jump off, climb back on again, then have another go. They were swimming in flimsy underpants.

They had stripped off their uniforms, which they dumped on the pier. As I approached, one young man lost his briefs altogether, after climbing back on to the pier. His bare bottom was clearly visible to anyone who happened to be looking.

This does not worry me, as it is just boys at play. A restaurant sits right next to the pier, where two young women were cleaning tables. I wonder if the sight of near-naked teenage boys ever bothers them.

The youngster, aged about 16, pulled up his red briefs, then carried on playing. The ease with which he lost his underwear reminded me of a young Thai I met while drinking last night.

I was heading home from Mum's shop when I ran into two men in their early 20s, walking towards the Chao Phraya river. They were gay, and when they saw me called out. I thought I may as well follow...I hardly ever meet young gay guys, and spoke to virtually no one at Mum's shop.

They were heading for a popular gay cruising spot on the banks of the river, next to a bridge, where commuters wait to get ferries. At that hour the ferries have stopped for the day, and the local gay population takes over.

It is mainly for gays who have no money for nightclubs, though occasionally they will head for the bridge if they have not picked up anyone while drinking.

It is a strange place, where gays wander about silently like ghosts, looking for potential mates.

Boys get up and walk around, checking out the talent. When they find someone, they start talking. If they find no one that takes their fancy, they go back to their waiting station.

When we arrived, three or four young men were milling about. Two were talking on cellphones. The others were peering out at the river.

The youngsters who called out my name were called Bom and Bon.

Bom is 18, with frizzy hair, ear studs, and fuzz on his upper lip. His friend Bon is 27, and wears his pants low on the waist to show off his underwear. They share a place together.

While I walked towards them, I heard them muttering, planning on what to do with the foreigner.

Bon thought I might be more interested in Bom, as he is younger. Arriving at the river, we chatted briefly - before Bon crossed the bridge, to cruise the boys on the other side.

Bom and I chatted for an hour. He liked to play with words, which was fun. He had left school, but was not in work, and claimed his parents were in no hurry for him to find any.

I asked Bom to sit on my lap, but he was shy. He knew one boy sitting to our right, who had found a mate and was talking.

Another boy, cruising to our left, was a former boyfriend of the older boy, Bon, so he knew him, too. Eventually I persuaded Bom to sit closer to me, so I could massage his shoulders.

'You look as if you should go to bed together,' his friend on the right teased.

Bom laughed, but said nothing.

'Bom!' We could hear a muffled cry from across the river. Bon was calling out to his friend from the cruising spot on the other side, wanting to know what he wanted to do.

'What are your specs?' I asked him.

'I like someone just like this one,' he said, gesturing with his head at me.

'How many boys have you been to bed with?' I asked.

'I have lost count.'

'Ten?'

'More.'

‘Twenty?'

'More than that.'

'Thirty?'

We settled on 'more than 30,' though the real figure was probably higher.

Bom said he could be a top or a bottom. He always insists that the other boy wears a condom.

'What if neither of you have one, or he doesn't want to wear one?' I asked.

'Then we just play with each other.'

I noticed Bom was wearing boxer shorts, but no briefs. Many Thai boys his age like to wear both.

'Why no briefs?' I asked.

'It is easier to take off your clothes if you just have the one pair,' he said.

Bom asked if he could come back to my place. I declined. 'I have a boyfriend,' I said.

'You could just tell him I am a friend,' he said.

'If I turn up with an 18 year-old boy at this hour he might be suspicious.'

Bon walked back across the bridge to join us. He was tired, and wanted sleep.

As I left for home, boyfriend Maiyuu sent me a text message. 'Don't bring anyone home to bed,' it said.

He must have read my mind.