A Friend?

So I think that have made a friend of my very own. Noi is fabulous, but I live in her house so it is different. She is forced to spend time with me. Noi got it in her that we would go out on Monday night. A nice dinner in Ayutthaya and maybe some drinks. We decided that should invite Pom, the nice Thai man I met at the auto shop last week. Noi knows his family and assured me that he was safe. It turns out that he is the son of the mechanic shop owner. The father built and sold all of the houses in Noi's neighborhood.

Through a mix of English and Thai we made plans. He was going to meet us after he went of r a swim. Noi kind of pushed for him to pick me up and take me with him to the hotel where he goes swimming. We would meet Noi later for dinner. I was nervous. This would be my first adventure with out Noi. What if he came on a motor bike and didn't have a helmet for me? Would I make a stink, or just hop on? What if I got lost or confused at the pool? Would there be a place to change and shower? Would my one piece swim suit offend anyone?

Pom arrived in a nice car and reassured me about the accommodation at the hotel. It was still more beautiful than I had expected. The pool was outdoors, above a restaurant that had live musicians. There was also a nice exercise room, but I hadn't packed any exercise clothes, only my suit. The changing room had a private shower and a flush toilet. The shower had hot water! I took a short sauna with a naked woman from Belgium. So much for my swim suit being to revealing! Then I hopped into the pool.

When we were through I felt very clean and relaxed. And hungry. We drove a short distance to a restaurant on the river. The river flows fast, is quite deep and a muddy brown color. From our table we could see fish eating rice that was dropped from above. As I expected, Noi was about 15 minutes late. Pom had to order for everyone because the kitchen closed before she arrived. We had a great mix of farang friendly food. Chicken and veggies in what tasted like barbeque sauce, tofu and seaweed soup and fried shrimp with a thick batter. I was the only one drinking, so I finished an entire Thai sized bottle of beer, about 20 ounces.

All in all it was a great evening. Pom and Noi did manage to translate most of the conversation for me. Pom is 31, but as I am learning more about Thai men, that makes him near to my equal in maturity. (when I first saw him I figured he was a teenager) He has offered to take me with him the next time he goes to swim and exercise. I hope he calls.