Bimat--A Vietnamese Adventure Read online

  BIMAT

  SIAM STORM 3 - A Vietnamese Adventure

  Copyright © 2017 Robert A Webster : Revised Edition 2018 - All rights reserved.

  Sign up for the author’s mailing list and get a free copy of the short story The Return of the Riech:

  The most Notorious Tyrant of the Twentieth-Century has unfinished business

  To get started please TAP HERE

  buddhasauthor. Stormwriter

  Prologue

  It had been an exhausting day and his heart pounded. Feeling hungry, he saw something in the distance.

  ‘Food,’ he thought and rushed over to a white suspended object and took a large bite. He gagged as he felt searing pain shooting through his mouth. Panic set in and he struggled to breathe as water rushed past his face before he was yanked into an unfamiliar atmosphere. Feeling helpless, afraid, and confused, he hurtled toward a large object until darkness engulfed him.

  “Look matey, I’ve caught one,” said Spock with a beaming smile. He swung up the rod and grabbed the little fish.

  Stu looked at the sprat now flapping in Spock’s palm and tutted. “Yes mate, it’s a monster. With any luck it would cover a Ritz cracker,” said Stu sounding unimpressed. “Put it back in the sea and maybe you will catch it again when it grows up to be two inches long,” he chuckled.

  Spock frowned, “Huh, so what have you caught then Captain Birdseye, hmm?” asked a disgruntled, but proud, Spock.

  Stu smirked as he continued fishing from the rocks in Pattaya bay.

  The lads had been fishing for almost three hours now, with the only result being the baby Quoy parrotfish, now housed in Spock’s large mauler. He de-gorged the hook from the fish’s mouth and mumbled. “Another exciting day in paradise.”

  Spock put the small fish into a rock pool and watched it swim away into the warm South China Sea.

  ‘It has been a bloody exciting day; it’s a hard life being a fish,’ pondered the little Quoy. This thought was quickly followed by, ‘Oh bollocks!’ before swimming into the gaping jaws of a passing barracuda.

  — Chapter One —

  Stu sighed. “It’s too hot, shall we call it a day for the fishing?” he said reeling in the hook with the bait still attached. Looking disappointed he added. “Well, at least the worm had plenty of swimming practice.”

  Spock sniggered. “Good idea matey, he said. “I can tell everyone about my catch, and you can tell them about the ones that got away.”

  Stu groaned as they packed their fishing gear away into his Toyota SUV and Spock tapped the rim of his hat. “See matey, the problem was that you don’t have a Lucky Fishing hat.”

  They both now lived on the outskirts of Pattaya with their wives, Dao and Moo, and as Stu drove, Spock asked. “What time are Pon and Kim coming?”

  Stu shook his head, “I’m not sure, Pon said that he was picking Kim up from the airport at one o’clock and then going home for a few hours before coming here. So I guess they will be here around four.”

  Spock looked at his watch. “Good. That gives us plenty of time to pop somewhere for a beer.”

  “Yeah, shame not to,” said Stu, as they drove toward the Butterfly Bar on the *Darkside of Pattaya in search of an afternoon libation and get their todgers fondled in the short time bar.

  Spock smirked. “Did I mention I caught a fish?” he said gloating.

  Stu sighed and said. “Yes, several times already.”

  Spock chuckled and said. “I can’t wait to tell Moo.”

  “You do that,” groaned Stu accelerating and wishing the Butterfly Bar was closer so he wouldn’t have to listen to Spock bleating on about that bloody fish and rubbing it in that he had caught bugger all.

  “Did I mention I caught a fish?” said Spock moments later, followed by another burst of acceleration and another long groan from Stu.

  ****

  Dao and Moo felt happy. They enjoyed working at their clothing stall and raking in the cash. Although it had been difficult at first, they had now settled into a routine, making enough money to send back to their homes and take care of their parents and Dao’s son.

  The girls ran their large clothing stall on the busy outdoor Threpasit market, and worked long hours in the hot Thailand sun.

  That day, they were going to close early because of Pon and Kim’s visit. Spock and Stu said they would pick them up and take them home at around 3:30pm. The girls enjoyed the times that Pon and Kim stayed with them.

  Dao and Moo now spoke good English, albeit with a Northern English twang, and with Kim now able to speak Thai, the girls loved hearing about her lifestyle at the Imperial Palace and the Royal Family. Kim coming was a good excuse for the girls to get rid of the lads, which suited Spock and Stu as that meant that they could go on the piss with Pon.

  While the girls packed up their clothes in large plastic boxes, Moo noticed that Dao did not appear to be her usual cheery self.

  Moo puckered her brow and asked. “What’s the matter? Everything okay with you and Stu.”

  Dao forced a smile, nodded, and said. “Yes, everything’s fine.”

  Stu and Dao rarely argued, unlike Spock and Moo who constantly bickered, but they always made up. It was a normal occurrence to hear the slapping of Spock's head and, “stupid man,” being shouted from Spock’s garden.

  Moo had known Dao most of her life, so with them growing up together, she knew that Dao was lying.

  “No you’re not,” said Moo frowning, “Kim’s coming and you are usually ecstatic about that.”

  Dao glared at Moo and snapped, “I’m okay, and everything’s fine.”

  As the girls carried on putting their stock away, Dao sighed, puckered her brow, and said. “Sorry Moo. I do have something on my mind.”

  Moo, knew there was a problem and by the look of guilt on Dao’s face, knew what it was. She glared at her and asked. “When’s he coming?”

  Dao, sounding aloof, said. “He arrives in Bangkok tonight and coming here tomorrow.”

  Moo frowned, pursed her lips, and sounding angry, said. “You have been lucky so far, but you need to finish it now.”

  Dao looked worried when Moo reminded her. “You have too much to lose, and with Pon and Kim being here, you won’t be able to go to see him. You know how observant Kim is, she will ask questions and if Stu ever found out you will lose everything, and I know you don’t want that.”

  Dao nodded and sounding pensive, said, “I know, but I will end it this time. I promise.”

  “Okay, well make sure you do,” said Moo, but felt unconvinced as Dao looked nervous and blinked rapidly as they carried on packing away their stock in silence.

  The bar girl scene was now behind them. It had been years since they worked as bargirls and they were now married and content. Nevertheless, they both still had a history with customers, which at times caught up with Dao, although so far she had managed to make excuses and bluff her way through. Unfortunately, for the happy couple on this occasion, the timing would prove disastrous.

  ****

  It had been several years since Spock, Stu, and Pon’s Cambodian adventure, and when the lads first took Dao and Moo to England.

  It was fun at first because the girls were gullible, especially when told that they would see herds of wild bison meandering majestically over sandy plains. After finding out what bison were, Dao and Moo became excited.

  However, when this turned out to be a few scraggy-arsed donkeys wandering up and down a cold Cleethorpes beach, with scraggier-arsed tourists wearing Kiss-Me-Quick hats’ riding on them, the girls quickly realised that this would not be the paradise they hoped. “Shit-hole,” was an expression frequently used and after a few months, as winter took hol
d, the girls became restless, cold, and homesick.

  The cold bleak winter depressed the girls and with Stu too stingy to have central heating installed, he told them to put on extra jumpers and the word was “Brisk,” and not “Fucking freezing,” so they soon became fed up. With neither Dao nor Moo able to drive, they stayed in the cold flat most of the time watching TV, and with it only having English channels, they soon picked up the language.

  Stu and Spock noticed the change in the girls and knew they were not happy, and neither were they. Things had become mundane for them all and they knew they had no life in England.

  Stu decided after talking with his Mum, Pearl, to sell his business, move to Pattaya, and set up a business for the girls.

  Stu had built up a successful business in Cleethorpes over the years and soon sold his shop and other investments, giving him a tidy sum of money.

  It was an emotional goodbye with their respective parents and Chunky, who was to stay with Pearl. The two lovable old fossils would take care of each other.

  “Take care of him, Dao, you know how useless he is,” said Pearl as she hugged her son with tears in her eyes.

  “I will Pearl,” said Dao who had grown fond of Stu’s old Mum. “And we will visit several times a year, but only in the summer.” She chuckled.

  “Thanks love,” said Pearl as she then hugged Dao and said to Stu. “And make sure you take good care of Dao, buggerlugs.”

  “I will mum,” said Stu as they got into the taxi to pick up Spock and Moo from Spock’s Mums and then go to the train station.

  Stu looked at his teary-eyed mum and felt a lump in his throat as he looked at Chunky sat on the floor beside her looking bemused. He then smirked as she looked at him, cocked her head, and then licked her arse.”

  With tears in his eyes, Stu waved goodbye, as did Dao, who then put her arm around his shoulder and smiled.

  It was a sullen train ride to Manchester airport, but after a few beers on the plane, the lads relaxed and looked forward to their future.

  They relocated to Thailand, much to the delight of Pon and Kim, who helped them by using their high-ranking status. Pon used his influence to help build their Pattaya homes on two plots of land next to each other, given to them by Taksin.

  Pon and Kim were regular visitors from Bangkok, and once their houses were finished, Moo and Spock, along with Stu and Dao married in a joint ceremony. Pearl and Spock’s Mum Hilda flew over for the joyous occasion although they both found Thailand too hot.

  Dao and Moo set up a clothes shop on Threpasit market, while Spock and Stu did bugger all, which suited them. Although Spock was short of cash at times, he had wangled a small disability pension from the UK, and Stu helped him when he was skint.

  Spock and Stu attempted to learn Thai language but lost interest after the first few lessons, even with the girls’ badgering. Dao and Moo eventually gave up trying, concluding that the loves of their lives were as thick as pig shit.

  They all now felt contented and settled with their idyllic lives.

  ****

  Pon relaxed in the plush living room in his house in the Imperial Palace grounds. He had just called Kim, who said she was in the departures lounge at Noi Bai, Hanoi International Airport awaiting her flight.

  Pon smiled and looked at his watch. ‘Good, she will be home soon,’ he thought. ‘I will pick her up from Savarnabhumi Airport, bring her home, and have a few hours with Samnan before going to Pattaya.’

  Pon missed Kim more than he could have imagined. Married now for over two years, they had a year-old son named Samnan who they doted on.

  Apart from the odd weekend, when his duties took him to Salaburi to teach the Tinju, it had been the longest period that he and his wife had been apart. Kim was always by Pon’s side, and when he had his tail surgically removed for the first time, she would not let go of his hand throughout the long surgical procedure.

  Spock and Stu went to visit him in hospital, but that was just to take the piss.

  Pon had gained weight over the years, although still muscular, he had to train harder to keep trim, especially after his Pattaya excursions. He had lost no speed, power, or agility; he’d just gained a little beer podge. There came a knock on his door and Banti came in with Samnan to see Pon and find out what time Kim would be home.

  Kim had been gone for almost two weeks visiting her parents in Vietnam after her mother got rushed to hospital.

  They had spoken several times a day on the phone and after almost a fortnight in hospital, her mother was told that she would make a full recovery and discharged for outpatient care, so Kim could return home to Thailand.

  Kim and Pon discussed the visit to Vietnam. They usually went everywhere together. However, an important Saudi dignitary had made an appointment to view the Sacred Light, and protocol dictated the Prime Master needed to be present. They decided that Kim should go alone. Kim felt sad, but she hadn’t seen her parents since her and Pons wedding in Cambodia and they had not yet seen their Grandson.

  “I will take the videos we took with Samnan on my phone and maybe when Mother gets better they will come here and visit,” said Kim sounding hopeful.

  Kim now worked in the Thai Royal Palace’s foreign diplomatic office in Bangkok. Her role was the intermediary between Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam for Royal visits, which had been similar to her work in Cambodia, but required more administration.

  She loved her job and spent a lot of time on the phone with the Palace in Phnom Penh speaking to her old friends. Her Majesty’s Norodom Monineath Sihanouk and Princess Bhuppa Devi, had become like second mothers to Kim when she worked there as their maid-in-waiting.

  Colonel Tighe had long since been forgotten, with no trace of him or Tar ever being found.

  Kim had told Pon on the phone that her mother had suffered a minor heart attack although Pon knew something else troubled her because she had sounded evasive. It was at Kim’s request that they would go to Pattaya as soon as she got home because she needed to get advice from Stu or Spock on a matter that troubled her, and with them being from England, they could advise her.

  Pon agreed, as he had not been on a good night out since after the second unsuccessful operation to remove his tail several months ago. Neither Pon nor the surgeons could understand why the bloody thing kept growing back, but it did, much to the amusement of Stu and Spock. Norman Rumble Junior’s revenge was permanent.

  Pon now spoke English and he’d learned a few extracurricular words not found in any English dictionary, which, according to Spock and Stu were colloquial words used commonly in North East England. An example of which was, “stop talking bollocks,” that Pon heard Stu, Spock, Dao, and Moo say frequently.

  Banti and Samnan left an hour later with Pon’s thoughts again on Kim’s return and he had already booked the Royal limousine to meet her at the airport. The dark tinted windows gave Pon ideas of what to do on the twenty-minute journey back to the Imperial Palace, with even more notions about the two-hour drive to Pattaya. He chuckled to himself and thought, ‘I had better pack the mullet.’ The intercom buzzing interrupted his intimate thoughts.

  “Your car is here, Prime Master,” said a female voice.

  “Thank you Nid, please tell the driver I will be there soon,” said Pon and smirked as he went into their bedroom to search for his mullet.

  ****

  It was a hot and sticky afternoon in Pattaya when Stu and Spock pulled up at Threpasit market alongside Dao and Moo’s shop, and the girls climbed into the back seat.

  “Hello, darling,” Stu said, leaning back to kiss Dao.

  Dao smiled and put her arms over Stu’s shoulders and hugged his chest.

  “Did you catch any fish darling?” she asked sounding interested.

  “I did,” interrupted Spock, who told the girls about how he wrestled with the monster for over an hour before it succumbed and how he’d used his last ounce of strength reeling it in.

  Stu groaned and banged his head agains
t the steering wheel in despair.

  Moo rescued the situation from becoming too boring by slapping Spock around the head. “Don’t talk bollocks, stupid man.”

  Spock went quiet and thought. ‘I’ll tell her the story again later, only next time with more Gusto.’

  Stu drove out of the market and they arrived home fifteen minutes later. It had been a tiring day and they relaxed at Stu’s while waiting for the Heads… Shit and Goyt.

  When Pon and Kim came, they always stayed at Stu’s because Spock’s house always stunk of gorgonzola cheese, with Moo’s feet giving off a pungent odour due to her standing at their market stall all day.

  The time ticked by, and at 4:30pm, Stu said. “I thought Pon would have phoned by now?”

  Stu’s mobile phone then rang; he looked at the number and smiled. “Ah, speak of the devil.”

  “He must have known that we were talking about him, the mystical old dog,” said Spock and chuckled.

  Stu, sounding cheerful, answered. “Hello, mate. Are you on your way?”

  Pon, sounding anxious, said, “No Stu, Kim never arrived. Her luggage came, but when everyone cleared immigration, she wasn't there.”

  “Oh,” said Stu and furrowed his brow. “What could have happened to her?”

  Stu could hear the concern in Pons voice as he said. “I don’t know, but when I called Hanoi airport, they said that Kim had checked in, but never boarded the plane. They told me that although they called her several times over the airport tannoy to board, she never went to the gate, so the plane had to leave without her.”

  Stu, hearing Pon that sounded upset, said. “Don’t worry mate, perhaps she caught a later flight.”

  “No... When she called me this morning from Hanoi airport, she told me that she was in departures waiting to board her flight,” said Pon with a quake in his voice. “After I spoke to the check-in desk and departures at the airport, I called Kim’s father Thran. He said he couldn’t understand what had happened because he drove her to the airport earlier and saw her checking in. Thran also felt concerned and went back to the airport after I told him that Kim did not board the plane. He called me thirty minutes later and said he had ordered airport security to instigate a search. They are still searching the airport but so far there has been no sign of her and they don’t have security cameras in the airport. We have both been trying to call her mobile for several hours, but it has been switched off.” Pon sighed. “Stu, I am worried because there were things that Kim wouldn’t tell me over the phone. Something troubled her which she wanted to discuss with you and Spock, but I don’t know what.”