Aladdin's disappointment when coming back home to FUNKY TOWN

Rewritten onboard M/T Ternvik May 2011

Saturday 11^th of January 2003 and The "Knight of the turntable" is back in town. We were dropping our off signing Cook and Chief Engineer at Heathrow. I took the opportunity to leave my bags at Heathrow. I also booked a hotel at Oxford Street and according to the staff at the airport this was the area to live in. This was also the area to be seen and heard in if you belonged to the young and handsome.

I also paid the extra fee for late check out from my hotel at the airport, I knew what would come in the morning.

I took a taxi to my hotel and after check in and a shower I went to drink beer. I remember meeting three American girls. But they told me they were from Canada.
- What's the capital of Canada? I asked.
- Montreal? Toronto?
Well, obviously they were not from Canada, they didn't had a clue. London was OK, for one night. But after one night it is nice to leave UK behind.

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Sunday 12^th of January 2003 and I really prised my foresight to pay for a late check out when I woke up on my hotel room. My flight back was in the late afternoon so I could stay in bed all day long.

I only remember one thing from my flight, I was dead scared. I was in an aisle seat and I had a guy next to me in the window seat. I don't know what he had done in London. Maybe a weekend of doing drugs. Well, anyway, this guy got his sandwich and a beer. I had nothing, I usually never eat on these shorts flights.

I opened his sandwich and he poured his beer in a plastic cup. I used the provided plastic fork and knife to cut a piece of the sandwich and he moved to fork slowly slowly to his mouth. I was watching him while thinking: “Move on fer f@ck's sake” It really went in slow motion.

Halfway to his mouth he changed his mind and he started to move the speared piece of sandwich back to the tray. Obviously he had decided to have a sip of the beer instead. So he grabbed the plastic cup and he started to move the cup slowly slowly towards his mouth. When he reached his mouth after a minute he had the smallest sip of beer I have even seen.

A minute later the plastic cup was on the tray and here we go with the speared piece of sandwich again. It continued like this all the way to Go:teborg and I was looking around to see if I could get any attention from the air hostess.

I also remember running in to a Korean girl in down town Go:teborg. I had met her at my neighbour's apartment earlier in the autumn of 2002. And I didn't left any good impression so I tried to stay as small as I could.

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Friday 17^th of January 2003 and my flight to FUNKY TOWN. KLM leaves Go:teborg 16:20 or 16:40 something in the afternoon.

I was usually leaving Parmmätaregatan around 2 o'clock in order to be at the airport around 3 o'clock.

But this time I was delayed, I don't know what we had done during the day, most likely eating Pizza at the Pasta House. So I arrived to KLM's check in very late.

The girl at the check in informed me that I had missed the flight when I handed her my ticked. She took my ticket and she grabbed a radio and she called someone at the gate.
- We have a late passenger. Can he board?
- Gate is closed!
- It is a business passenger
- OK, no problem! Bring him on!
So I pay extra to fly business and I'm pretty sure I have saved money in the long run. I have had to throw away several MONKEY CLASS tickets during my day. A missed flight and the ticket is garbage but a business ticket I can change the date as I want. So I'm saving money while flying in comfort.

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Saturday 18^th of January 2003 and I checked in at Nana Hotel and I meet my friend in the coffee shop for a snack before I went to my condo to check out how the work had progressed.

I had not received any pictures since 11th of

Wed 08 Jan 2003 06:43

Dear Mr.Aladdin,
Happy new year to you . Sorry keep you wait . I just come back from the north and looked the e-mail . We had long holiday start from 28 dec. 2002 to 5 jan 2003 . We could not work in the building from 25 dec. 2002 to 5 jan 2003. So all the boys are back to work now . Before I thought we can not work on 25 dec., 31 dec. and 1 jan . The address you gave to them is correct . The place I live is back side of BANGKOK AIRPORT.

regards,
Win

October 2002. But I can't say that I was worried. I had not received many e-mail in the last few months. My last e-mail was from the 8th of January

But this was more or less a confirmation that I had the correct address. I had sent him wall papers, faucets for my bath rooms and stuff from Sweden.

We finished our afternoon tea at Nana Hotel coffee shop and I went to check out my condo on Sukhumvit Road Soi 23. They should have been ready in with the 1st step of the redecoration back in November 2002.

Back in November and I was sitting on my friend's sofa in Gothenburg waiting to fly down and they didn't think that it would be ready end of November. But in January it would be ready, they told me.

Well, coming in to my condo was a chock. It looked exactly as on the pictures from September 2002. What the !! I was at least to say pissed.

My wall papers, 100 to 120 000 Baht worth of wall paper just lying around. My bathroom faucets, 250 000 Baht just in an f@cking box and only God knows how much of the stuff that was missing.

My hand made light switches from Skåne, I don't even want to think about how much they had cost me was laying around, half the switches mounted in the walls and it didn't looked nice.

Swedish oak and Swedish made faucets in the guest bathroom, another 90 000 Baht was laying around and I was really pissed. Everything was sent from Sweden and as we were “JUST ABOUT” to completed the job I had been in a hurry to get it to Thailand from Sweden.

My living room was full of boxes, bathtubs, Electrolux washing machine and a Electrolux dryer. Last time in Bangkok it went like:
- Please Aladdin. Buy this stuff ASAP because we will install everything within a month or 2.

So I had been around town buying all the stuff. I was at Electrolux at World Trade Centre and they didn't have the model that I wanted. But I could not wait because we were in a f@cking hurry. And here I am and the stuff is still in the boxes. As it would turn out, my 2 years warranty had long expired when I got the darn machines out of the boxes. But that is another story.
- MOTHERF@CKERS!!!

And this was the very day one of my worst periods in my life started. I was angry and in a bad mood for 2 years. Aladdin, the Charisma Man was long gone. F@ck, it was impossible to sleep and the whole thing had turned from fun to a pain in the arse.

I bought my condo and I started to buy stuff in sweden, never mind the cost, I wanted only stuff that I liked. So I bought a lot of stuff and I sent it to Bangkok. But after this day I didn't want to spend one more single Baht. Felt like I was open my valet and just threw the money out from the balcony.

My friend was going to Sri Lanka 18th but he had changed his ticket now when I was coming. So I met my friends later on at Saturday night. We haven't met in a long time and I have prepared a few good CD's. Last time we managed to keep a bar open until 6 o'clock in the morning. I was the last to leave the place and this was before I had " Verdens længste rap ". They had to turn off the light so the police couldn't see that they were open and we had to use candles, very romantic.

Well, I was living at Nana Hotel and, well, I have lived better. But it was close to my condo on Sukhumvit Soi 23.

And I remember that I had Loxinfo dial up internet and I reached a whoppin' 7b/s through Nana hotels switchboard. And as I had dialled a number in South of Thailand I had a pretty hefty bill. I just dialled a number on the card, of course, I should have dialled a Bangkok number. Never mind.

+++++++++++++++
Saturday 25^th of January 2003 and I had the guys from Kitchen Studio at my condo to have a look at THEIR work. Surprisingly enough they had take on a job and they have not even bothered to visit the site. Well, now 5 months later and they were finally here, the owner and the British Manager.

We had a look at my condo and I showed them the work and I told them that I wasn't very impressed by the wood work. Actually I told them that they had to do it again.

And I lost my foothold when the owner told me that this was how they did it in Thailand. I could not believe my f@cking ears. Why the f@ck do I hire a guy from Finland if I want it to be made with Thai quality?

Well, they told me that they would fix everything and I asked the British Manager to send me a minute over our meeting. I received the minute via e-mail on the 3rd of February 2003, the same day I left for Sweden. I thought that they were finally going to finish the job. Well, as it turned out the guy just left and never finished the job.

+++++++++++++++
Thursday 30^th of January 2003 and it was date time for my friend. I had been working with a Motorman onboard M/T Belona and M/T Dala Corona and now he is living in Phuket. He was in Bangkok and he went on a date with the Cashier at the Nana Hotel coffee shop. Well, we had actually been out with the girls at the coffee shop several times on different discos around town.

But today ut was cinema and dinner at World Trade Centre and as I had meet Sue for the first time I brought her with me to World Trade Centre.

And as it was a Thai style date the Cashier had brought three chaperons so we were 7 people around the table.

And don't expect me to remember what movie we watched. But as always, it is nice to leave a cinema behind. It is fun for 30 minutes and then it tends to get a wee bit boring to sitt and watch a movie.

A movie is best enjoyed on top of your own bed with a remote within reach so you can pause the darn thing when it is getting boring.

Well, otherwise there wasn't much fun happening. I was up very early every day, breakfast at Nana Hotel and a taxi to my condo and I didn't returned to my room until late evening. And after working with these people for a whole day I really needed some rest.

I'm not a Carpenter and I don't expect me having to show a Carpenter how to do a Carpenters job. So I was both angry and tired coming back home to my hotel room.

We were with my LIFE COACH favourite place drinking Vodka: I don't remember the name of the place, but it was located along the Ram Inthra Expressway somewhere close to Town in Town.

Well, this was the only place he wanted to go to and when he was going there he was always calling.
- Do you want to join me for a drink?
- Well, maybe.....

And when The Fort was open on Sukhumvit Soi 24 this was the only place he went to. Well, anyway, we were at the place and as I was busy with my condo I used to have my cell phone with me. DARN! They called from Swedia.
- Do you want to join M/T Vinga Helena
- Well, I'm busy.....
But I don't like to turn down jobs. So it was hard to say no. But I believed that it was only 2 Deck Officers onboard and that would have give me a way out.
- How many Officers onboard?
- We have 3 Officers onboard.
DARN! I could not say no, I had been hoping for them to say 2 and then i would have told them that I was too old for ships with 2 Officers.
- OK, when?
- Like today!!??
- I'm in FUNKY TOWN!
- Next week?

Well, I was not very happy to have to leave FUNKY TOWN and my unfinished condo behind. Well, my LIFE COACH woke up on the parking place half eaten by mosquitoes. His friend and I took a taxi back to Sukhumvit and he lost his glasses hanging out the window throwing up.

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Monday 3^rd of February 2003 and I had my friend and his girlfriend in my room. They were on their way to go shopping, my friend's girlfriend had a scratch on her cell phone so she needed to buy a new. Well, I passed the offer to join them.

I was busy the last day in FUNKY TOWN and I was flying back home to Sweden in the middle of the winter to join M/T Vinga Helena and I'm not looking forward to it.

But it was also nice to leave Bangkok and my condo behind. I don't understand how I ended up with this people.

OK, it has come to my knowledge that we have senior citizens visiting my web page. How hard can it be? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page. So

Jiffy (also jiff)

noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.

ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.

I put a “Next” button here and I hope that there isn't any problem to understand how to use that one.
So just CLICK the “Next” button on your left hand side and you will be on the next page in a jiff!

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