Bangkok: Suitcases and Fruit

One of my favorite Abilene hot spots to frequent is a small Thai restaurant inside the Country Hearth Inn. Most weeks I can be found there at least once during the lunch hour. When a man (who's name I can neither spell or pronounce) who works at Bangkok Thai heard I was going to visiting his home country he asked me to escort a suitcase full of cloths to his wife and kids, and that they would meet me at the airport. After checking and double checking to make sure everything in the bag was legal I checked it at the Lubbock airport.

The flight from Tokyo to Bangkok went by quickly (probably because I slept through most of it), and while standing at the baggage carousel waiting for the luggage I had checked to pass me by the feeling past that of exhaustion set it. I picked the two suitcases (both my own and a virtual strangers) of of the sliding metal plates and headed toward customs. While I had the appropriate information in the event that a customs officer stopped me, it was not something I wanted to have to deal with; I walked at a steady pace past the booth without so much as a second glance. On the other side of customs I was faced with two problems, 1) I needed to find Anyaunee, the recipient of my additional luggage and 2) We needed to Dui and Gift, friends who are suppose to pick us up from the airport.

While searching for them I see a sign being held up that says "Joe Abilene," assuming that there is not another person from Abilene with a name that similar to mine I approach the woman holding the sign. My friend from the restaurant had sent his wife, son and daughter all to meet us at the airport. We exchange greetings and bows I handed them their suitcase and they hand me two bags one with a sliced somowe, a citrus fruit, and the other with two of the same fruit whole. I am very grateful for the gift we say goodbye and intend to leave. While searching for Dui and Gift, Anyaunee sees that we have a puzzled look on our faces and turns to ask us what we need. After an exchange in Thai between her and my grandfather a piece of paper is produced with Dui's cell phone number. Anyaunee calls the number and helps us locate our friends. We de-greet once more, meet Dui and Gift and proceed to the Bangkok Hospitality Center, a Baptist guest house.

While traveling to the guest house my cousin, John Mark, and I speak to Gift while my grandfather and Dui speak in

Thai in the front of the car. In the middle of another thought Gift lights up and says she has something for me. She turns to toward the back seat and produces a bag with more fruit in it. This bag is full of mongkut. Gift tells me my how much my mother loved the fruit and that it would also help settle our stomachs after our flights. We arrive at the guest house, say goodbye to Gift and Dui, get to our, shower, sample fruit, and go to bed.

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