Cowboy

Manchester Andy, now there is someone to remember from the Cowboy days. He had an art degree, two in fact. He was also a real practicing artist producing paintings and sculptures at a prodigious rate. The styles of these were quite conservative and maybe not to everyone’s taste. Not being an artist, I am far too ignorant to know what label or labels to use to name his art, but all in all it wasn’t bad in my opinion.

Andy came to Thailand after finishing his Master’s degree and if I remember correctly a well paying job not connected with art in the United Kingdom. He arrived in Bangkok. with a fresh tourist visa in hand, an expensive backpack and a nice set of clothes. Andy had plans to do the usual “break from life” tour of Asia – Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, India and Nepal. He actually had no plans after that but intended to head back to the UK and do something with his art. He had made a lot of money from his well paying job, which had been added to buy sale of his artworks and a small inheritance from a distant relative. Andy was set.

Sometimes, though, fate has this way of interfering in the best laid plans and creating a new and different destiny for us.

*****

I first met Andy, one early evening in a bar in the entertainment zones of Bangkok. In this case it was Soi Cowboy. He was just sat next to me at one of the long bars having a drink and he said hello. With his wide smile and beaming face, I felt no worries about relaxing and talking to him and my usual guard against the oddities that frequented Bangkok bars dropped. It was good to be able to talk to someone from home.

“Hey, this is the life, isn’t it? He started.

“Yeah. Sure is. On your travels?”

“Yeah. Just left Manchester a few days back and now here. I will have to watch the sunburn, though. That sun is brutal.”

I noticed his pale skin, which contrasted with his dark hair, and thought that was true.

“Yeah. A lot come out here and forget they are in the tropics and with all the drinking and sweating, it can run you down.” I said remembering the time in Hua Hin that my neck and shoulders were raw, but luckily for me an older waitress knew the powers of aloe vera and hacked some fresh from a tree with a machete and gently placed and rubbed it into my scarlet regions. I doubted it at the time, but it did its miracle and the next day the red was less and the skin never peeled.

“Aloe vera…” I mentioned to him. “You cannot go wrong with that stuff.”

“You British, right?”

“Yeah, from London.” I replied.

“Funny how we drift together.”

I thought but did not say, I usually avoid my fellow Brits as I have seen too much drunkenness and brawling from them out here.

“Yeah” I simply added. “You plan on travelling? Here for long?”

“The usual. I will head down to the islands – Samui and Phuket and then do Chiang Mai. Maybe fit in Phan Ngan when down south too. No real hard and fast plan, to be honest. I have the tourist visa – two months plus one and my flights are all changeable, so no problems.”

“Oh! You plan on doing all of Asia then?”

“Indonesia… Bali, Philippines, back here and then Nepal and India. But let’s see… I am not one for running around too much.”

“Sounds good. Where are you staying, Khaosan?”

“No. Got a nice hotel locally. Where do you stay? Tourist?”

“No. I work here in teaching. My place is in Pratunam.”

“Where is that? Worth a visit?”

“It’s a taxi ride away and to be honest, it ain’t the most wonderful place, but it has good cheap food. It is mostly famous for markets and gunmen. I guess the markets are worth a visit if you are into that stuff – cheap clothing and the like.”

And so, it continued as Andy and I made travel and Thailand small talk. I liked the man. He was a nice open, intelligent and fun person to chat to. Those being the times before mobile phones, mass internet connectivity and constant communication, I never really expected to meet him again.

*****

A week of work went by. And on Thursday night with Friday our day off, a few of the guys from work decided at our regular after work noodle stall for an evening fill after classes, to hit the bars. Why not? I thought when they asked if I was coming.

So, a shared taxi to the Cowboy, it was. That was the place of choice for teachers and any foreign workers on lower salaries in those days. There were excuses of, it’s the best, the girls are nicer, the bars are friendlier, etc. But reality was, it was cheaper and there was often a bar offering free food to customers because it was a birthday, anniversary of bar opening or any other reason. It was a time before the economic crashes; it was a time before Thai workers minimum wages and protections were improved to reasonable and liveable levels.

And there we were in a bar in the Cowboy. It was actually called Soi Cowboy but the soi got dropped and the added. It was a night where I found that I was not in the mood to sit drink beer, listen to the same overly loud music that I had heard hundreds of times before, having to fend off constant requests for drinks or to sit with me from scantily clad young women, and keep an eye on which of the long term foreign drunks was anywhere near us with annoying intent. I finished my second small bottle of cold Kloster beer.

“Ok, guys! I am off. You have a good time and see youse at work on Saturday.” I loudly said trying to sound forceful as I knew there would be offers of: I will get you one, have another, its still early, you will miss all the fun. And there they came.

“I will get you another one. Don’t spoil the evening,” said Dave.

“Yeah, it has only just started, we were planning on going to Thermae after the bars closed in a few hours.” Andy, not Manchester Andy but Australian Andy in this case”

“No. I need a walk and I ain’t in the mood. Don’t want to spoil it for you with a mood.” I stuck to my guns and then biding them good night again, turned and walked to the door.”

“One more.”

“What’s up with him”

“Come on.”

I heard until through the door, the voices faded and I am sure they soon forgot me and got on with whatever they had planned.

I wandered into the noisy soi, now filled with people moving to or from bars, to the small store, to the food carts or briskly walking to get taxis. Some men alone. Others with a younger Thai woman on an arm as they went. It was a scene repeated night in and night out except on the Buddhist holidays when bars were closed or at least operating very quietly.

I wandered seeking out the small baguette hole in the wall place attached to a bar at the far end of the soi. I was hungry and quickly purchased and ate a couple of egg-mayonnaise sandwiches in the warm baguettes eating at a quieter part of the soi outside a closed business.

It was time to go I thought.

“Hey! How are you doing?”

I turned and saw Andy, Manchester Andy.

“Want a drink?” he said.

“Sure”. I found myself happy to see him and a bit interested in why he was in Bangkok and not the islands as he had planned.

*****

We found a bar with a small seating area outside of a wooden bar and a few bar stools and ordered a couple of small Singha’s.

“So, how are things?” I enquired. “I am bit surprised to see you still in Bangkok.”

“Yeah. Well, I got to Samui.”

“Didn’t you like it?”

“It was great on the beach. I met this girl.”

“Oh”

“We had a couple of days seeing things, the beach and partying a bit. It was fun. Then she told me that she had to get back to Bangkok to work. I wanted to stay a little longer, but she asked me to come with her.”

“OK.” I did not want to say or ask too much but just listen to the story. Bangkok was full of tourist meets girl and it goes bad or good stories, but I had learned to listen before commenting, is best even if a comment was invited.

“Yeah, it’s great She has this job in a bar. Not as a dancer. She is a cashier.”

“Oh. OK. You happy?”

“Over the moon. She is a lovely girl. Not like some of the bar girls. These girls cannot make money in other jobs, so they work the bars. A lot of them are good but just unlucky in an unfair system.”

“Yeah. It’s the way it is.” I added.

“So, what is the next plan?” I was trying to move to another subject to avoid saying anything stupid.

“Well, I think I will stay around Bangkok. I like it. The islands and Chiang Mai can wait.”

“How is you visa? When does it end?”

“Got a double entry and only on the first month of the first entry, so I am fine. I have maybe 5 more months before I have to worry.”

“Sounds like you are looking at staying long term there, Andy. Maybe you will need a job or something. Bangkok can eat that money up fast.”

“Yeah! I think I want to stay. I am not sure about work yet. What do you do? Teach English?”

“Yep. The job is secure. The money is not wonderful, but you can do OK. We get ten weeks off a year, which is good and the work is not too hard. You have a degree, so you could get a job doing it.”

“Yeah. I am not sure.” He said sounding a little disinterested. “How much does a bar cost?”

“No idea, mate. Never thought about it. I think it is best avoided. I can ask at work if they need anyone if you like. We are always hiring and you seem a lot more stable than most I work with.”

“Er. OK. Don’t worry about that now… Thanks… Want another beer?”

And so, we had another beer or two and changed the subjects to travel, the state of the UK, Thailand and art. It was a nice end to a long day and talking about art was welcome. At some point I headed home making the effort to leave from the quiet end to avoid running into my colleagues after having told them I was leaving hours earlier.

*****

“He is fucking insane. He has no clue what he is doing. He does not know how this industry works or who he is dealing with…” Crazy Jack shouted at me nursing his small cola as I sat next to him, with a beer, in his bar in the Cowboy.

“He is OK, man. He is a genuinely nice guy.”

“He will end up losing everything or worse.”

“You are getting quite loud, Jack,” I said realising others were looking at us and listening.

“Yeah, the batteries in the hearing aid are going again. It ain’t been as good since those idiots threw water on me at Songkran. You should speak a bit louder too. I cannot hear everything you say”

The raised volume of Jack’s voice continued.

“When did he get the bar, then”

“A few months back. He cannot have been here longer than 6 weeks or 2 months since he arrived. And look at him. He has gone bought a bar.”

“Does he talk to you?”

“Yeah, he goes visiting every bar and talking to the owners. Does it when he should be back in his own one, showing he is boss and watching what they get up to in it. They will rip him off. And he has them wearing school uniforms.”

“I haven’t been down here a while, so have no clue what is going on.”

“It will not last long. You wait. I will be right.”

I was getting a bit concerned about Andy now. The Cowboy was not a normal or easy place to invest money and make a success of things, from what I knew. I doubted falling out with even Jack was a good idea either. Some of the other who ran the bars were not what you would call placid like Jack who still carried on in the same loud and angry vein. I sat and thought, I should sometime seek out Andy’s bar and check in on him, but not today. I drifted in and out of Jack’s rant and not wanting to interrupt, or even indulge in conversation about Andy, I sat and listened waiting for an opportunity to interrupt make my excuses and go. Plus, I of course, not wanting to fuel the anger, did not mention that I had briefly seen Andy when he became a bar owner, or anything else about him.

*****

Walking through the Cowboy, taking a short cut to meet a friend for fish and chips one bright evening before things really kicked off with the sun blazing down. I tried to skirt the shade from the bars. It was then I noticed that half way up, there was Andy, he was sitting at the small bar outside a nondescript bar nursing a small bottle of what looked like Singha.

“Hey, Andy. How are things?”

“Good.” He looked in thought as he spoke. “Got a minute?”

“Got a few minutes, but not many.” I replied.

“My bar.”

“What are you talking about, Andy?”

“My bar. This is my bar. Andy’s bar! Do you like it?”

“Cool” I said thinking what the hell has he done?

“Cheers. Want a beer? It is on me.”

“No, sorry! But I have no time, mate. I have to meet some friends for dinner. Fish and chips. Sorry about that.”

“You going to that place round the corner? I forget the name.”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“Maybe come back after and have a beer with me and I will tell you, my plans. I have a great idea for a theme that will go down with the tourists and those poor girls are just exploited by most, so I am increasing their pay.”

“All sounds interesting. But gotta shoot, mate. See you later or another time. And I will not forget the offer of a free beer!”

“Sure. Its on me next time. Come back later. See you.”

*****

“Maybe you are right, Jack about it not lasting. But you never know how things will go. The world is changing and hard to predict.”

“Pharrrr… Nothing changes in this industry. Never…”

“Don’t get too upset, you have that high blood pressure. Ain’t worth it and its not your bar. Let him lose his money and learn, if that is what happens.”

“Not my business!!!” Jack was really screaming this time. This was clearly more than a hearing aid problem. “He has put the girl’s pay up. Now none of us can keep our top girls and everyone is pissed with him. He visited our bars and talked to everyone and then he does this. Not my fucking business!!!”

“Wow. I didn’t realise it would have such an effect. Can’t you raise the pay? You do well.”

“It is not about if I could or not. If I do that, what about the other bars, and you know who runs some of them. He is not just upsetting all the owners, but he is putting himself in danger. And now he is a hero to the girls. They all want more and more. God knows where this will all end.”

*****

“Well, I sold the house in Manchester.”

“Isn’t that a bit of a risk? Investing it all here?”

I was sitting with Andy early evening enjoying a beer outside his new bar – The School, is what some called it, but it had another name on the sign, which is not important for this story. Early evenings were always a good time to have a beer or two before the full action of the soi kicked off.

“I am young and if things do not work out, I have time. But let’s not be negative. The first few weeks have been good. The customers seem to like the theme. It’s a winner. And I have more girls applying for work than I need.”

“Well, I hope it works for you.”

“Not just me. See I pay more, a lot more and it gives the girls an option of just living on salary if they don’t want to go with people.”

“I guess that is a better option, then.” I said, doubting it really had such an effect.

“Yeah. They are so badly exploited by bad bosses in these bars. Sure, they choose the work, but they should have options. It is a better way I think.”

“Do you think you are making a difference, then?”

“I hope so. I want to start something new. Maybe the other bars will follow. I hope so. I want to make a difference and not just be another bar owner, the same as the rest.”

“How about the business side. Supply of drinks. Police and stuff. Is that all OK?”

“It’s difficult to understand but I leave that to my main girl, Mam. She is my girlfriend, now. Still works a bit, but its best, she makes her decisions on that. But she told me about suppliers and police and she knows it and I leave that to her.”

“So, you trust her totally then in business and things? Girlfriend eh, serious?”

“Well, I believe you have to trust people. Take care of them and they will take care of you. Yeah, my girlfriend. She is the one I met in Samui, you know. She was working in Nana before I brought her here. So, we have been together months.”

“How’s it going with her?”

“No problems. Her English is not bad and she is always fun. She makes me happy.”

“Good enough, mate.”

“Why the school girl uniforms by the way? Ain’t that a bit dodgy?”

“Nah mate. Don’t be silly. Most of these girls are almost 30 or more.”

“Yeah! I know that, but why the uniforms?”

“St. Trinians and Carry On films, mate. Remember them…?

“Oh…” and I nodded, still not entirely convinced that this was a good way to go. But as he had said they were not young. I left it. It was not my business and asking too many questions in those entertainment areas was not wonderful for your health. I picked up my now warming beer and finished off the last mouthful.

“Want another, beer? They are still on me.”

“Why not? There is an offer I cannot refuse! You got time or work to do now?”

“No problem with work yet. Mam is in control inside. She takes care of it all.”

Andy signalled a girl and two beers were ordered and came back in the little foam casings that keep them cool a little longer.

“How is work and your life?” He asked me.

“Well work is work Not bad and I am doing all right on the money. Life is another matter…” And I drifted off into talking about me, but that is also not something for this tale.

The early evening drifted on with similar conversations, and it became time for Andy to move inside and do something with accounts, and time for me to head home.

*****

With work being busy and my life taking some different twists and turns, I visited the Cowboy for a drink less and less over the next few months. When I did, I caught sight of Andy outside the bar on occasions, less well shaved and less well dressed as before and looking like he enjoyed a good few beers or whiskies every night, but that was something most of the onsite owners did unless they were teetotal like Jack. I rarely got to talk to him except an occasional hello and how are you doing with a quick pat answer of fine, even if I made the effort of stopping by his bar. The bar always seemed packed and very lively with his signature theme seeing all the girls dressed in school uniforms. They always seemed genuinely happy, too.

He must be doing well and be busy. I had my own life to attend to.

*****

A few months later there was one of those holidays where I got a day off of work. I was feeling good from not going out or drinking, but just doing the routine of work, eat, watch videos and sleep. I had nothing planned and this being a holiday that was not one of the Buddhist ones, the bars would be open. I will go and catch up on Andy, I thought. I had nothing urgent to do and the mundane could be done on the way to work or back. Yep. I would go to see how Andy was. It was always good to catch up on people.

I wandered up to his bar sometime in the afternoon. He was not sitting outside, so I ventured in. There was one older woman mopping the floor. The cashier was eating somtam behind the bar counter and a girl in jeans was on the other side sharing it with her. Bars rarely had more than a couple of people working in them in before the staff appeared en-masse around sunset or an hour before.

“Andy, around or is he still sleeping?”

They looked at each other and the cashier said,

“He not here.”

“OK. When is he back, then?”

“Not here.”

They again looked at each other and did not seem comfortable.

“OK. I will come back later.”

They glanced at each other, and then continued eating with nothing said. I now felt uncomfortable, and decided to leave them to their food and gossip.

“See you later,” I said and left.

Back on the soi, I thought that is weird. Andy had always been a fixture in his bar before.

I was at a loose end now, and stood for a while thinking about what should I do with this day off, now that my plan had gone awry. All I could think of was having a beer. I had been off the beer for a while recently. But where? There was a Thai country music pub on the corner of the soi. It was far too early for the music, but there would always be a person or two, to talk to there.

Sitting outside the bar on a stool leaning on the narrow counter, I was away from the cleaners and staff inside and I could sit and watch life go by. That I did for a while seeing who came and went and what little dramas would come up. It remained quiet though. This was also the cooler season, so a slight wind and lack of heat made it comfortable. I had already eaten, so let one beer become two and I sat not really doing anything, just looking at the entrance to the soi and who wandered by.

“Hello, mate. What you up to?”

The voice caught me unaware, but I knew immediately who it was. He had come from the other direction and surprised me.

“Hey, Andy. The staff tell you? I was looking for you?”

“Nah. I just walked through the soi for a look and saw you sitting daydreaming.”

“Ha! I was doing that I guess.”

“Look. I am happy I ran into you. I have some news.”

“Sounds good. What is happening? More bars? Marriage? Made your first million?”

“No. Nothing like that… I am not sure if it is good or not, but…” He drifted off with no ending.

“What’s going on then. You got me interested now.”

“I am going home!”

“What?”

“I am going home.”

“What! Manchester?”

“Well UK, but not sure about Manchester. I sold the house, remember? Oh, by the way, write your address down and I will mail you when I have somewhere permanent.”

“Yeah, you sold it to buy the bar.” I mumbled as I wrote down the address on a small piece of paper. Andy took it and put it in his shirt pocket where he kept the Marlboro Lights.

“Yep, I am thinking of trying your town.”

“London?”

“Yeah, better for business and the art scene. Reckon I can make more contacts and sell more of my paintings, there.”

“OK. So, what about here? What about the bar and Mam and your life?”

“Mam, she wasn’t the one for me. We finished a while back.”

“Oh. OK. Yeah, culture difference is not easy.”

“Not about culture difference, mate. She decided to do a runner and then I found the delivery invoices had not been paid.”

“Jesus! That sounds messy.”

“My fault actually. I should have kept a better eye on accounts and things. Basic business innit?

“Sounds like you got ripped off, there to be honest.”

“I made the mistakes. Don’t blame her.”

“OK. What about the bar, though? You cannot just leave it.”

“Oh. That is a story. I don’t think I should say too much, so let’s just say I lost the bar. I will tell you when we meet up in London or somewhere far away.”

“Sounds dramatic. OK.” I was intrigued, but knew it was best to leave that one alone.

“It was my fault anyway. No due diligence. Basic really, but out here it all just seemed so easy. Anyway, as I said, it’s my own fault.”

“Did you think of staying and making a new start?’

“Yeah! I still love it here, but… It is best I am away from here now for a while at least, so London…”

“What are your plans for there?”

“Well, I still have a bit of money, not much, but enough to set me up in a rented flat and keep me going for a while. Lucky really because I didn’t fancy the dole only. Guess I will sign on and look for work. I have a few friends in London, maybe they can help… Oh and get back to painting and sculpting if I have the space or a place, I can do it. But one of my mate’s paints and has a studio under some railway arch or something. Hopefully, we can share that.”

“Good luck, mate. It sounds a bit of work to start off.”

“Yeah. I could do with a distraction, so why not work? Don’t worry about me, I will be fine. How about you? How’s life…?

We continued to talk about me and other things, and I let him know all the little dramas that had been going on in my life. We laughed and drank, and he smoked as we relaxed.

“Ok. Mate I have to see a man about packing and sending some paintings I did out here, back home. My mate, said I could use his place. Unless you want one?”

“Love to, but nowhere to hang or store it in my small place, so I will decline you on that one!”

“No worries”. He smiled and stood and extended his hand to shake. So, with a handshake Andy left. I sat down with another beer I had ordered and watched him walk off down the soi, taking out his cigarettes and lighter as he went. He lit one and as he continued, I could see the smoke rising as he puffed, and wandered. I watched until his body merged in the distance with others and until finally the eddying rising smoke faded into the air.