Toon is a Thai performing arts student who comes from Mum’s province of Kalasin.
He is only just back from a visit to his family, and now declares that he does not want to stay in Bangkok.
‘I can find work to do as a khon dancer at weekends, just as I can here,’ says Toon.
‘When I am at home, my parents do not have to send me money to pay my rent, so it will be cheaper for them, too.
‘They do not mind supporting me in Bangkok, but I do not want to be a burden.’
Toon, who has the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree, has applied for work as a company worker to supplement his weekend earnings as a performer, but no one wants him.
Often khon dancers end up teaching, passing on the knowledge they have gained of Thai traditional dancing to the next generation.
‘But I do not like teaching,’ he says.
Toon was drinking with his best friend, Teung.
The pair come from the same province of Kalasin, in Esan. They also went to the same performing arts school in Thon Buri.
Together, they are like boys at play.
‘You smoked all the cigarettes,’ he said, putting on a disgusted face. He threw the empty packet at Toon, who smiled.
By days, Teung teaches the kim (dulcimer) at a school in Bangkok. Most nights after work, he drinks at Mum’s shop.
Teung is not good on his own. If Toon is away, he pines for his company. But at least he has reliable work.
I complained, as I usually do, that Toon had lost weight.
‘You are too thin,’ I said.
He has a handsome, sculptured face, with strong Chinese features. But he smokes, and does not eat enough.
The smoking habit is relatively recent. I remember when he started, about six months ago. Now he smokes so solidly, I doubt he could stop.
While the drinkers were getting nostalgic over their whisky, Mum went to the market to buy pork and vegetables to make a moo gra ta bar-b-que dish.
She spent an hour preparing it in the little kitchen behind her shop, as her younger sister Isra, and Toon, took turns serving customers.
When it was ready, Mum brought out a small cooker, a hotplate shaped like a lemon squeezer which has a small fire burning underneath.
She placed it on a table in front of the bar, and set places for five, including Toon, me, - and Isra’s foreign boyfriend, farang J.
now, see part 2
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