Stewart, Wayne and I planned to spend an afternoon at the boat races on Map Reservoir about 20 minutes from the TwoGuys Guesthouse. We decided to invite the boys from the JJJ house to join us. Unfortunately the morning of the trip found Stewart too busy with the guesthouse to go with us but he kindly offered the Mighty Beast in his place.
At noon we arrived at the house and were confronted with the arduous task of going around rousing the boys from their peaceful slumber. I was sure I knew the way but after getting lost for 15 minutes in the spaghetti sois east of Sukumvit, one of the boys finally offered to direct this helpless farang.
Despite the confusion, lack of signage and poor advertising our band of nine boys, 2 farangs and one house-mother mamasan arrived to a well organized event along with thousands of thais and a few tourists. We found a spot near the finish line and unrolled our mats and set the ice cooler and the large bottle of 100 pipers in the middle. Wayne and I shared the costs and gave the mamasan 100 bhat per person for mixers, food and other nicknacks for the afternoon. A second big thank you goes to Stewart for throwing in a thick soft matt for the tender farang bums to sit on. Umbrellas provided shade but the breeze off the lake was refreshing. I hailed a lady selling 50 baht hats and ended up buying 5 for myself and 4 boys. We could have entered the races as a group of Frank Sinatra wannabees.
There seemed to be 3 size classes of longboats manned by competitors from across Thailand and the surrounding countries. Two boats raced at the same time over a 500 meter straight line course and there was only a minute or two between races. Loud speakers kept the Thais informed of the participants and the progress of each race but we farangs were on our own. Other than the one in this picture, the races were usually very, very close and exciting. Wayne and I were a little disappointed that most of the competitors his their assets under long-sleeved shirts to protect themselves for the sun and perving farang eyes.
There were several ancillary events to keep us entertained when we were tired of sitting. There were buffalo races, drum and traditional dance competitions, and about a kilometre of food stands, vendors and midway games to be found along the base of the earthen dam.
All in all it was a fun afternoon with boys we sometimes only see in one particular way. At about 4:00pm, knowing the boys had to get back to the house to get ready for work, I asked when we should be leaving. In line with the sanook we all were having the answer I got was, “When the bottle is finished.” A big “Thank you” goes to the boys for making a couple a farangs, yet again, feel young again.
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