This is Nat. We met him on the boat from Ko Phi Phi to Phuket. He is one totally cool dude. When he offered to spend a bit of time with us to "make a tour" when we got to Bangkok, we had no idea what kind of day we had ahead.
We met at Chatuchuk Market Train Station (well, we did eventually: there are 2 train lines and 3 stations servicing these enormous markets... made for a fun morning of public transport joy)
We had assumed that since Chatuchuk was the meeting place, the day's activity was to be some hardcore shopping and I had a list of requests from home, which none of you will receive because we didn't go to the markets. Instead, we jumped in Nat's car and headed out of Bangkok, checked out the sites of Ayuthaya and Loburi, went to Nat's home town, met his totally gorgeous mum, had secret squirrel local Pad Thai, a delicious Vietnamese dinner, and one hell of a "tour".
Some interesting facts we discovered about Nat:
While we traipse around Asia, Nat has already clocked up the North Pole. It took us a couple of attempts to get this straight - but when we saw the framed photos and special "it's-fucking-freezing-at-the-north-pole" suit, the penny dropped.
Nat is the very handsome guy bottom right here:
When Singha's not sending him to the freezing north, Nat generally passes his time at training camp - necessary when you play second base and sometimes-pitcher for Thailand's National Baseball Team.
Of course, even national level sportspeople often have to work a second job, as Nat does. He has his own TV show.
ah-huh...
It's a general sports kinda thing, and you can watch it at 12.15 every afternoon on Thai TV channel 7.
So he's leading quite an interesting life - while still being a very down-to-earth, cheerful, open, funny, typical Thai. The ancient Wats of Ayuthaya (Siamese capital for a number of centuries up until 1767), were striking in their monumental, ancient pride and and cheeky monkeys of Loburi a dose of typical Thai fun and games (where you get to giggle at other's misfortune, more than anything else...). But Nat and his mum really touched us with their easy friendship and generosity.
Thanks Nat!
Fortune telling...
Deceptively cute monkeys
Show their true colours...
The only safe way to get close to a Loburi Monkey...
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