Chuai-Duai
February 24th, 2009, 19:48
A few years ago I was staying with a Thai friend "Noon" in Bangkok. He wanted me to meet a friend of his "Lek" and we arranged to meet at the Wat Arun and then go and have a Thai meal.
Noon and I took the ferry across the Chao Phraya and waited. Lek soon appeared and Noon introduced me. Lek's English was better than Noon's and we all spoke English after I'd done my usual "Sawatdee Krap".
But there was something that I found unsettling which was that I found Lek totally androgynous and I had no idea if I was talking to a girl or a boy. I'm not talking off the alternative sexuality of a Ladyboy which, ironically, would probably have meant more make up and a more "feminine" appearance even if they were male. Lek had no makeup and had a pleasant face but nothing remarkable. A shapeless and baggy white sweater could have hidden a slightly flat chested female body. Or it could just be a baggy sweater over a male one.
The voice offered no clues and the graceful gestures could still be male or female in Thailand. The name didn't help either as it's a common nick-name which means "Little" and could also be male or female.
I'd assumed that Lek would be male as they'd worked with Noon as a shop assistant but they didn't have to be.
I just didn't like to ask what sex they were and in a way it didn't really matter but I still felt uneasy not knowing. Neither Noon or Lek would have had any idea I was unsure and, I suspect, would have been very surprised.
After some time climbing Wat Arun we went for our meal in a small Thai restaurant and, at last, Lek spoke Thai and thanked the waiter with a "Korp Kun Ka".
That single small syllable "Ka", that can confuse many tourists when they first encounter it, was my saviour. Lek was a girl and I could relax.
Noon and I took the ferry across the Chao Phraya and waited. Lek soon appeared and Noon introduced me. Lek's English was better than Noon's and we all spoke English after I'd done my usual "Sawatdee Krap".
But there was something that I found unsettling which was that I found Lek totally androgynous and I had no idea if I was talking to a girl or a boy. I'm not talking off the alternative sexuality of a Ladyboy which, ironically, would probably have meant more make up and a more "feminine" appearance even if they were male. Lek had no makeup and had a pleasant face but nothing remarkable. A shapeless and baggy white sweater could have hidden a slightly flat chested female body. Or it could just be a baggy sweater over a male one.
The voice offered no clues and the graceful gestures could still be male or female in Thailand. The name didn't help either as it's a common nick-name which means "Little" and could also be male or female.
I'd assumed that Lek would be male as they'd worked with Noon as a shop assistant but they didn't have to be.
I just didn't like to ask what sex they were and in a way it didn't really matter but I still felt uneasy not knowing. Neither Noon or Lek would have had any idea I was unsure and, I suspect, would have been very surprised.
After some time climbing Wat Arun we went for our meal in a small Thai restaurant and, at last, Lek spoke Thai and thanked the waiter with a "Korp Kun Ka".
That single small syllable "Ka", that can confuse many tourists when they first encounter it, was my saviour. Lek was a girl and I could relax.