Quantum Leap - Vol. 4 Supernatural Paranormal Investigators

C002 Sawade Khap!

Pattaya, Chon Buri, Thailand

14th April 2003

Welcome to the land of a thousand smiles, everyone...!!!

The blue light that had earlier enveloped me while I was in transition from one leap to another and was mentioned by Max earlier, had sent me to a place in the midst of a stifling, hot and airless office that was crammed with a lot of SLR cameras on the desk with piles and piles of Hi-8 tapes with strange writings at first glance but was soon dissolved and emerged as Romanised English after a while.

Usually, Max would tap his cane and everything would swirl into a black hole beneath his feet but I guessed this would be way much cooler than before. With the system update, Max would be around more frequently for me to seek guidance from him or just be a companion whenever I wished him around.

Welcome to Thailand, a land of a thousand smiles, where some hunks were gigolos and pretty ladies were ladyboys... Ouch!

I looked at myself in the reflection of the closed sliding window just beside my desk where I was sitting and I find myself in such a distasteful and pathetic condition. Believe me, I do not expect much in this Leap and I wondered what I would be doing in this series in the first place... Double Ouch...!!

The air conditioning was very bad in my small, tight and crummy office. There were several Hi-8 tapes on my table and the first thing that went through my mind was - am I into pornography flicks or something? There was a handheld Sony video cam as well as a Canon SLR camera with a 200mm zoom lens attached.

Was I secretly involved with a secret agency to probe and uncover some heinous crimes or illegal trade activities like drug or human trafficking or maybe in ivory and such...! Wow...!!! I can't wait for this adventure to unfurl itself in the next few days to come.

While I was myself as Sam Mulder, I had been through parts of Thailand as military personnel serving as a perm staff in a tour of duty lasting 6 months each between 1992 to 2002 and had served a total of 3-4 tours along with several short military stints around other parts of the world.

I've been to Hatyai, Sukhumvit, Kanchanaburi, Petchaburi and Bangkok as a tourist as well as a military staff before. I was either on duty smacked right in the middle of South-East Asia that had only two seasons -  either it was pouring torrents of rain or it would be as dry as a camel's back. And right now, here I am in Pattaya, Chon Buri, a place where it was actually near some beaches as well as tourist attraction spots.

I looked around myself and observed that I was slightly underweight and I was sweating buckets beneath a slow, swirling ceiling fan that neither helps to ward off the number of blood-sucking vector insects or to aid in the ageing and noisy window-mounted air conditioning unit.

My shirt was almost drenched with dampness around the armpits and GAWD...!!! How I wished I could have transmigrated as a student instead or at least soaking under a cold shower... DAMN...!!! I hate the heat very much...!

The damn overhead ceiling fan creaks as it rotates and the window-mounted air conditioning unit was wheezing and shuddering every few seconds like as if it was going to come loose and drop off its mount and fall off the second storey balcony.

I looked through my wallet that had been placed at the back of my jeans and that piece of fake leather that held my current identity was slightly damp as well. I removed the contents and found that I am now known as Aroon Chevapratnadumrong or Aroon for short. 

These Thai seemed to have a short name but a real mouthful and long surname. I had a few pieces of banknotes amounting to only THB 460 or around USD$15. Shucks... I am such a pretty poor boy right now...!

A set of jiggly keys hung at the belt loop of my jeans and I saw a familiar key... A key to an automatic scooter...!!! The distinguished wings on the key denote that it belonged to a Honda model. I guessed that it would be my mode of transport in these lands again. 

Commuting in Thailand would really be sore in the butt if you do not own your personal ride... Especially taking long rides under the heat and stuck in traffic as well as travelling through underdeveloped roads or what we used to call a rats' trail - it would simply be a road well travelled meant to be shortcuts to get from one point to another by avoiding the main asphalt roads.

A Thai ID with a boyish look and a clump of unkempt hair on the front indicates my other personal data as well as the last known address behind. I hope that this fellow does not hop around Thailand without changing his current address as it was quite common for a bachelor to rent places or bachelor pads near workplaces to avoid travelling for long hours to and from work. Most of the time it would be convenience against the comfort of lives.

Among the clutter on the desk was a lanyard and it showed my work ID. A profession as a cameraman or crew for a film company of some sort I guessed. Well, its a start for the moment. At least I know where I am and I know approximately where I live. Right now all I need to do is to grab some grub and get out in the open. At least the heat outside would be much more bearable than being cooped up in this kind of hell-hole.

I stood up and walked out of my office looking for the exit. My fellow colleagues looked at me and one of them hollered, "Weh... Where are you going...? It is still early to go for the shoot... The host would be here for another hour or so..."

I was wondering what the other guy was blabbering about and I replied in English and as usual, it was translated as Thai. "I have to go out and get something to bite... You wanna come along? I would be down here for quite a bit." I hollered back. 

Words that had been exchanged with me came out in Thai and translated back to me in English and vice versa. My Thai was rather rusty since I had not spoken it for many years after my past tours of duty, so it would be best for me to stick with English. Unless someone speaks rubbish to me, the answer would be "Pud kee mak"

I headed to the exit as I knew my invitation earlier on was just a formality towards the Thais and I walked down the stairs that leads to the main glass entrance door of the building. An elderly armed security guard with a shotgun sat outside while smoking. He smiled at me and showed his tobacco-stained teeth and cracked lips as he drew another long one from his cigarette.

"Khun pen yangraiii," he asked me how I am and I answered him "HOT LIKE f**k" in which the words I had spoken came out in Thai as usual and he listened and then let out a short laugh while he flicked his cigarette ash away.

A short distance away, I saw a sidewalk vendor whipping her dish of fried rice from her pushcart. It would normally cost 15 to 30 baht and had complimentary ice-cold water from their water dispenser that was, of course, self-serviced. Their cups, however, were not disposable so... Let us try to eat and drink without getting any diarrhoea whilst in this body of Aroon.

So I ordered a plate of steaming spicy fried rice known as "kaw padd" and seated myself at their makeshift table which was part of their pushcart extension as I pulled a red plastic stool and sat on it. She quickly turned up the flame over her enormous wok and when the oil started to simmer, she then poured the contents of the main ingredients such as pieces of pork, shrimps, sliced shallots and garlic with a pinch of kaw prikk or chilli padi into it.

Chilli padi is like the tiniest version of the red chillis but the spiciness was definitely at another hellish level. If it goes awry and into the windpipe, you can expect the person to convulse from it. Yeah, the person was me when I first tried it to gobble my food down during my earlier trips here in Thailand.

Within minutes, the scent of the freshly fried rice arrived before me and it was such a glorious mix of seafood and meat amidst the thinly sliced vegetables and garnishing with a sunny side up egg on top of it. I soon dug in and finished it while it's hot. 

What a simple gastronomical trip after being transmigrated into this body. I soon paid up and walked back to my office building. There was a soft pack of cigarettes in my breast pocket of my shirt. It was Line brand and held 20 sticks that cost around 35-40 baht per pack. I am never going to destroy my lungs anyway, so I gave it away to the elderly security guard at the entrance.

"Nah... Here are some cigarettes."

"Thank you, Aroon. You suddenly going to stop smoking already?"

"Yeah, I think it's best to stop now. One pack can give me a plate of fried rice anyway... Better to eat rather than smoke, right?"

"Ya... Ya... Sure, I would smoke them for you. If you think of quitting, you can buy the cigarettes and then pass it to me to smoke the next time, alright...? Hahahaha...!"

The security guard laughed and hocked back greenish coloured phlegm and spat it on the floor before extending his hand to accept the seemingly full pack of Line brand cigarettes before I cursed under my breath that what a bastard he was by asking me to buy him the cigarettes while I was trying to quit smoking.

I headed back to my little hole of an office behind the rows of tables. I switched off the damn air-conditioning and swung the sliding windows wide open; letting in a draft of sea breeze right into my small office space and turned the oscillation ceiling fan to the maximum. Now, things are looking a bit brighter than the initial transmigration to this body that is occupying right now.

A few scattered papers were fluttering on my table due to the circulating wind from the ceiling fan and I saw the heading "Special Paranormal Investigation" or SPI. Things seemed to be going to be a whole lot interesting as I read the contents of the papers on the table as it indicated that a group of paranormal investigators had engaged us to take down documentary pieces of evidence through a continuos unedited photo and videography.

"Hey...!! Is this a coincidence fact that I had a Third Eye from my very first leap that was awakened by the Old Master from New Hope Village? Wah seh... Powerrrrr...I could make full use of this added advantage after all in this era...!"

I thought to myself that I realised my following transmigration had something to do with the path of fate had brought me. My Third Eye and my Gathering Chi that I had last had already been upgraded. I wondered if there would be any kind of progress in my meditation state of mind as well as the gathering of internal powers.

=*=

***Spoiler alert***

I deduced that there won't be any fighting against any villains or the use of internal spiritual strength against similar nemesis too. Plus, I do not think the keris that I  had wielded on the first Leap, that could never kill, just like the Tessaiga that would suddenly reappear anytime in this dimension.

After learning so much so about the contract by SPI that had been arranged by the original body of Aroon before I had taken over it, a knock rapped at my closed door and through the tinted glass of my partition, I could see one of my working colleagues was with a young lady aged somewhere in the early '20s.

"Boss, the narrator is here... Should I send her in right now or let you finish up what you are doing...?"

My office colleague opened the door just a small crack and his head peeked in as he saw me arranging the papers on the table. "Send her in immediately, please... And could you get us 2 bottles of green tea? Don't worry, I would pay you back after meeting her... Thanks, pheurn."

I motioned with my hand to let the female host narrator enter my office as I slowly rise from my chair to welcome her.