Goodbye Antti

When I use the word "cool" in relation to weather in Bangkok, I usually have to preface it with a "relatively". But this morning's walk to work was actually quite pleasant. Every now and then the monsoon rain actually lowers the temperature without leaving a sticky humid mess behind.

It was a good weekend, all in all, as I celebrated my first day off from work in over two weeks. A group of work buddies went to the Tawan Daeng German Beerhall for a going away party for Antti, one of my fellow teachers. I had forgotten what a great place it is, after not going for over a year.

This time, we stayed past the opening act, which was the excellent 12-piece band with singers and costumed, choreographed numbers that I had seen before. (The actual songs were different, though.) The second act was nothing more than a rockin concert. The singers, dancers, and band were all very professional and very entertaining. As the homebrewed beer flowed, eventually the crowd started rockin too, and the place turned into a dance hall, albeit a Thai dance hall where you just stand and your table and shake your booty.

But then I realized it was only the women who were dancing while their brothers, husbands and boyfriends were all fixated on the big screen TV showing a Euro Games football match. I wasn't really into dancing at my table or watching football, but the beer certainly was good.