''We can worry about these things later, once the economy is right again,' she added.
Tuean, who also teaches massage, is popular. Other masseuses sit idle even as she has customers waiting.
‘You have a large lump of tension on the right side of your neck,’ she said said approvingly. ‘You must come back regularly.’
‘Once every two weeks?’ I asked.
‘No, once a week – every fortnight won’t help,’ she said.
Teuan knows how to drum up business. That’s just as well, as I saw few signs of economic activity as I walked to the shop. I passed small shops selling food, one or two engineering shops, temples and schools. Hardly anyone was on the streets, and this was a weekday.
‘My name is not Robert,’ I added, just to observe her reaction.
Teuan looked surprised.
‘The mor nuat (masseuse) who saw you last time told me that you were called Robert,’ she said.
I gave her the correct name.
‘Everyone thought you were Robert, but you weren’t at all,’ she said. She still looked serious.
I assured her that I was not troubled. In fact, I thought it was funny.
As I left the shop 10 minutes later, Tuean was chatting to another mor nuat, when I heard her refer to me again as 'Robert'. It was almost as if we never had the conversation earlier in which I gave her my correct name.
When I heard that, I felt sorry for poor Jakrapob. The communication barriers between us may be too big to surmount, especially in times of economic hardship such as these, when we are fully occupied just trying to make ends meet.
I was Robert, and Robert shall remain, until the Thais around me have a chance to consider the alternatives. Anything else is just too hard.
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