Bangkok Love Story

Chapter 1“Attention, please, passengers of Singapore Airlines flight 23 to Singapore. We would like to invite our business class passengers to board.” Augustus Lee tuned out the rest of the announcement. He grabbed his carry-on luggage and made his way toward the gate. He showed his passport and boarding pass at the gate for verification purposes. Cassandra, the airline agent, took a quick look before placing the boarding pass on top of the machine next to her. After scanning the Quick Response code on the boarding pass, she returned the passport and boarding pass to Augustus. “Welcome on board Singapore Airlines, Mr. Lee. Have a safe flight!” “Thank you,” Augustus said before walking toward the air bridge that connected the airport terminal and the airplane. He was glad that this particular flight didn’t have any first-class passengers, so he was one of the first few people to get onto the airplane. Purchasing a business-class ticket cost quite a bit of points, which he’d accumulated through the various programs of his credit cards, but it was worth it. It was fifteen minutes to eleven o’clock at night, and the airplane would take off at half past eleven. Augustus would be able to sleep in comfort since the seat would be much better than the ones in the economy cabin. The nonstop flight to Singapore would last for eighteen hours and thirty minutes. The plane should arrive in Singapore at around six o’clock in the morning local time. Augustus would have to wait in the airport lounge for about three hours before he would continue with his next flight to Bangkok, which would be another two and a half hours inside an airplane. “Your hot towel, Mr. Lee.” The distribution of the hot towels was one of the reasons why business-class passengers were invited onto the plane forty-five minutes early. Augustus peeked at the air steward’s name tag. “Thank you, Desmond.” “You’re welcome.” After that, Augustus noticed an air stewardess holding a tray of pre-departure beverages. He chose a glass of orange juice. A short while later, he heard noises coming from the back. The economy-class passengers must have begun to board the plane. Meanwhile, the air steward and air stewardess, who were tasked to take care of the business-class passengers, retrieved the towels and glasses while the economy-class passengers were still heading toward their seats and putting their carry-on bags under the seats in front of them or in the compartments above them. Augustus fastened his seat belt and leaned against the back of his seat. He hoped the airplane would be airborne soon and the seat belt sign switched off so he could adjust his incredibly wide seat into a flat position and turn it into a bed. He was drowsy. He was also mentally drained. The last few weeks had been shitty, which was putting it mildly. He was a mid-tier manager in a bank, one of the largest in New York City. In fact, the bank was one of the biggest nationwide. He had so many cases to deal with at the bank. On top of all that, he had broken up with Stanley, his cheating ex-fiancé. He had caught Stanley f*****g Thomas, his now ex-best friend, on the bed that he and his ex-fiancé had been sharing for the last three years. He had to get out from that apartment because he couldn’t stand living there anymore. His job, the situation with Stanley and Thomas, and hunting for and moving into a new apartment were exhausting. He needed a break. Hence, he decided to travel to Bangkok. It was the middle of November, and he would be in Bangkok for two weeks. Bangkok shouldn’t be too crowded now because most tourists would more likely than not hold off from going there until Christmas or New Year. Augustus thought that would be perfect for him. Besides, he had many airline miles to utilize. He had visited Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Chiang Rai before, but he had never been to Bangkok. This would be his first trip there. He planned to check out some of the popular sites in Bangkok, have fun roaming around the night markets, shop a little, and get a massage or two. The proper type. Not the kind with a happy ending. Augustus had nothing against people who enjoyed some fun after their massages, but it wasn’t the kind of thing he was into. After what felt like an eternity, the airplane was finally in the air. Best of all, there was no turbulence. Once the seat belt sign was switched off, Augustus called on and informed Desmond that he was going to sleep, and he didn’t want to be disturbed. He would have his meal when he woke up from his nap. Desmond assisted Augustus to adjust the position of the seat and turn it into a bed before wishing him pleasant dreams. Augustus laid his head down on top of the pillow and covered himself with the blanket before shutting his eyes. The last thing he heard was the announcement that the pilot would dim the lights so the passengers could get some much-needed rest. After that, he was blissfully unaware of anything else. * * * * Simon Kongpaisarn groaned softly as he stepped out onto the air bridge that connected the airplane to Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. He was sore from head to toe. It felt so great to be finally released from the death trap of an airplane. Fortunately, he had traveled first class on Swiss International Airlines all the way from New York. He would have felt even worse if he had been seated in an economy-class seat. Regardless, the trip felt as if it had lasted for an eternity. It took nearly eight hours to travel from New York to Zurich, and Simon had to wait for about four hours in the lounge before suffering through almost eleven hours of flight to Bangkok. After passing through immigration and picking up his luggage, which was a breeze since he was a first-class passenger, he made his way out to the landside of the arrival hall. The airport was mostly empty since it was already midnight local time. The people there were either the airport employees or drivers fetching passengers for hotels or other accommodations. Simon was relieved when he noticed the hotel had sent a private car to pick him up as requested, and the driver was holding up a sign with his name printed in a large font on it. “I’m Simon,” Simon greeted the chauffeur. The driver looked rather confused, and Simon almost face-palmed himself. He should have introduced himself in Thai instead of English. He also showed the driver his passport. “Uh, I’m Simon Somchair Kongpaisarn.” Simon had been born and raised in the United States of America, so he wasn’t that fluent in Thai. Thankfully, the driver seemed to understand because the man was smiling at him. “Oh! Khun Somchair.” Khun was the Thai equivalent for Mister. Simon wasn’t surprised that the chauffeur used his first name instead of his last name because the latter was rarely heard in public unless one was a government officer. Simon quickly nodded. He tried to listen and respond appropriately as the chauffeur began talking a mile a minute about random things. The topics ranged from the weather in Thailand, what Simon’s trip was like, how far it was from the airport to the hotel, and the best places to visit while in Bangkok. Obviously, this driver was the overly friendly type. Simon didn’t mind it, though. He focused and somehow managed to understand at least seventy percent of what the driver was telling him. He did his best to answer every once in a while, reminding himself to use the formal forms of the language, but he was pretty sure he must have messed up here and there. The chauffeur was kind enough not to point out Simon’s mistakes. About forty-five minutes later, Simon reached the hotel. Since he reserved the most expensive villa, which was known as the Presidential Villa, the car stopped right in front of it instead of the main building of the hotel. The hotel was unique. The ordinary rooms, including the suites, were on the upper floors of the main building itself. However, the two villas were separately located on either side of the main building. The villas were like individual apartments. They were spaced a distance away from the main building to ensure maximum privacy for the guests. Every building was surrounded by trees, leaving the minimal space for a car to pass through. Simon generously tipped the driver before getting out of the car. Two hotel employees, a woman and a man, were standing in front of the one-story building to welcome him. The woman approached and greeted Simon politely. She requested to see Simon’s passport for verification purposes. After that, she handed Simon a couple of access cards, explaining that she had checked him in. Apparently, the driver had sent the woman a text message to inform her that Simon had been picked up from the airport. Anthony, Simon’s assistant, had e-mailed a scanned copy of Simon’s passport when making the reservation. The bellboy got Simon’s two pieces of luggage down from the car and carried them toward the villa. Simon tipped the woman before following the bellboy. His villa was supposedly almost three thousand square feet in size. He inspected all the rooms. The dining room and the living room were next to each other. The two bedrooms were to the right of the living room. Each bedroom had an en suite bathroom. The sliding door to the left of the dining room led onto the balcony with a view of a huge garden and the private swimming pool. There was a hot tub next to the pool. The villa overlooked the Chao Phraya River, the major river in Thailand. Simon noticed there was a couch a few feet away from the safety railing. He would be able to sit there and enjoy the view. For the time being, he was satisfied with everything in the villa. He made sure to give the bellboy a gratuity before shutting the door. Then he headed toward the master bedroom. He wanted to take a quick shower before going to bed. It had been a really long day. He had to rest before exploring what Bangkok had to offer. He had visited Canada, Japan, Korea, China, Australia, New Zealand, several countries in Europe, and many others in Asia. He had never been to Bangkok before. This was his first time ever. Hopefully, this trip would turn out to be fun and exciting.