Final glimpse of the offerings plate, with my worried partner in the background Talking about the encounter later, I adopted the phrase ...

The offerings plate: alcohol, a few baht for the monks, leaves, dry herbs No, as it turns out. Mor Saeang placed the bottles of alcohol on a...

The restaurant where our shaman works as a cook However, to get them, Thais would have to part with money for a doctor's consultation an...

The turnoff to Vichaiyut Hospital, with ambulance handily placed at left. The sound of the hospital was re-assuring. I assumed he was a doct...

Portly shaman Mor Sawaeng "Oh, that's shingles," my massage therapist, a middle-aged guy who hails from Esan, pronounced asser...

Reprise: Teenage Dream left, and Lek, far right Finally, more than four weeks later, I biked down Dream's soi on my way home. Since our ...

Dream, left, and some of his mates A few minutes later I made my own excuses and left. As I hopped on my bike, Lek made sure that I knew tha...

Nearby Talad Penang, in Klong Toey A touching assessment of my worthiness as a life partner followed. 'You would make a good partner,...

Back to Dream's effusive conversation opener - "I know you like me, but I don't want you liking me like that"  - I can...

Friends again... "I know you like me, but I don't want you liking me like that," said my young friend Dream, with whom I have ...

Man, showing off the tatts My parents' reply was sane and sensible: 'Make friends but please do not give them money. These people wi...

Another shot of Man In a lengthy email to my parents about Man and his mates, I described things this way: "He chews through the money ...

'I have only you (to look after me)': another FB post This drama followed a clash between the two groups in which both sides armed t...

Man, telling me I let him down 'I asked someone to be sincere...'  lamented a young Thai friend, Man, writing in English on Facebook...

How can you get your fill on this stuff ? In the course of the night the ranks of the "kids" swelled, when we were joined by anoth...

The Korean-style moo kra ta joint in Bang Kapi; also, below He looked at me, fish-eye indifferent, as if he was used to getting such brush-o...

The Jet Sip Rai community in Klong Toey; also, below right I was drawing close to Pim, the boss of the family, who also had a good head for ...