The Kindness of a Late Night Ladyboy

by Madison McNeal (United States of America)

Making a local connection Thailand

The small Air China plane coasted far above the dark green rice fields and jungle mountains of Thailand. As I flew into Bangkok it was cloudy and beams of sun came through making small scattered bodies of water glisten with light. After already having two flights and a 20 hour layover in Beijing, I had met many travelers. A Jamaican-American woman headed to South Korea against the will of her family, Pakistanis who work in Canada headed home to visit, and a young Chinese man coming home from a trip to America. All of them insisted I come visit their home countries soon, that they were beautiful, safe, and fun. I told all of them that I would. Seven months before this, I had decided to sell anything I couldn’t fit in my backpack, save up, quit my job, and go travel the world. I had no plans to come home. Something was calling me, as it had since I was young. I knew that out there somewhere was adventure to be had and stories to be made, and I had to go find it. Landing in Bangkok, I made my way through the hustle and bustle of the airport and the sky trains. I eventually found my way to where I was supposed to meet my Thai Couchsurfing host but only after accidentally buying the wrong ticket and going to the wrong station... twice. It was much further outside of the city than I thought it was. It was already around 10:00 pm Bangkok time as I sat on the curb, sending the host a message to let him know I was there. He said he was on his way, and I watched as time slowly crept by. Half an hour, then an hour. I started sending him messages asking when he would be there, and after another hour had passed with no response… It finally hit me; He wasn’t coming. It was four to midnight when I decided I needed to find somewhere to stay. I Googled nearby hostels and was frustrated to learn the nearest hostel was an hour and a half walk back toward the city. With no taxis or even other people in sight I started the long walk. After about 40 minutes of navigating my way toward the hostel, my phone died. Trying to keep from panicking, I told myself that if I kept walking back toward the city, I would have to find help, right? I tried to follow my inner sense of direction, but as time went on I became more and more confused and lost. I kept trudging along, just hoping to run into anyone else to give me directions, but at this hour, the narrow streets were empty of anything except garbage and stray dogs. What felt like hours passed. I was exhausted, discouraged, and about to just give up and lay down somewhere to wait until morning when I saw a ladyboy sitting outside a house smoking a cigarette. I was so relieved. “Um, excuse me! Can you help me please?” She couldn’t understand English very well. Eventually she took out her phone and got a translator going. She was incredibly nice and after I explained what happened to me and asked for directions she shook her head and said, “No, you come! You come!” gesturing into the front gate of her home. Her home was cute. Half of her house was like a covered patio, and there were trees with hanging fruit. She had a few street dogs and a cat named Tiger that she had adopted. She insisted I stay and brought me into a room where there was a small bed made of neatly folded blankets on the floor. Her name was Jenny and she was happy to show me around Bangkok in return for help with her English. I ended up staying with her for almost a week and though she flirted with me constantly we became good friends. As I fell asleep that first night I kept thinking, after years of dreaming and months of saving, there I was. The very beginning of an adventure that holds more than I could possibly imagine.