A soft kiss from Gail in glorious Bangkok

I FELL in love with Gail on the first day of a holiday to Thailand.

My wife and I were spending a fortnight touring Bangkok and Pattaya with Pat, a Canadian friend for whom I was acting as guide as it was her first visit to the country.

Now I’m sure you’ll all have heard about holiday romances but it was certainly nothing I’d planned. It just happened.

I met Gail for the first time in a little bar off Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok where we were all having a drink and it really was love at first sight.

She breezed in while we were all talking about the fabulous Grand Palace with its stunning buildings that we’d toured that day and her cool detachment immediately made an impression on me.

There was nothing so sordid as pressing my unwelcome attentions on her because it turned out she was going to be at several of the places we were planning to visit and she was as interested in me as I was in her.

Next day we met again while Pat, my wife Hazel and I were enjoying a tour of Ayutthea, the ruined former capital of Thailand, on a trip which also included the remarkable Royal summer palace with its beautifully manicured grounds.

Gail charmed everyone who met her and I was even able to snatch a few moments alone with her, long enough to arrange to meet that night in another bar when I’d be on my own. She was there to welcome me and the evening with her was bliss.

Morning saw us tackle a long tailed boat ride up Bangkok’s main river and into a maze of waterways known as klongs above which ordinary Thai people lived in stilted houses.

We also risked vertigo by climbing up the precipitous Temple of Dawn before being dazzled by wonderful exhibits at the Royal Barge Museum, but my pleasure was tinged with regret because Gail couldn’t make any of these trips or the Red Cross Centre I later showed Pat where poisonous snakes are milked of their venom to help make anti-venom.

I was feeling a bit venomous myself because Gail wasn’t interested in joining us next day on a trip to the fascinating floating market at Damnoen Saduak although she did come to the Rose Garden cultural show later where her presence underlined just how besotted I’d become with her.

There was no chance to grab another moment with Gail when Pat, Hazel and I toured a village market and went sculling down a river before tackling a Thai cookery lesson which included creating five dishes for our own lunch. Gail was also missing at an orchid farm we went to but she did agree to join us for a fabulous evening meal at one of Bangkok’s top restaurants where I sat next to her and basked in her attention much to the annoyance of Pat and my wife who unfortunately were starting to suspect something.

They made sure there was no love interest for me the next day by marching me round a blisteringly hot Chatuchak Market which has 25,000 stalls. It was all a bit of a blur for me, but I came back into focus when Gail joined us when we all went out that night for dinner and to watch the brilliant Siam Niramit show about historical Thailand, one of the best I have seen.

Our final full day in Bangkok wasn’t as good as it could have been because Gail declined to accompany us on a trip into Khao Yai national park where we visited a fruit market, enjoyed an ox cart ride through the countryside, climbed down to a 200ft waterfall and relaxed with a lumbering ride on an elephant through jungle and up a river.

More precious moments were snatched with Gail when I met her that night in a bar and I was overjoyed when she revealed she was coming down to Pattaya on the same trip we were the next day.

Better yet, Pat and Hazel were more interested in relaxing round the pool of our hotel or strolling on the beach so there was plenty of time for me to slip away and meet Gail over a coffee.

Trips to a coral island and the lovely Nong Nooch botanical gardens had to be made without her but she rejoined us when we went to watch the Alcazar cabaret show.

There was one last chance to enjoy her company when we dined at the delicious Ruen Thai restaurant, but my wife was by now very suspicious and stayed so close that this precious moment was not as intimate as I’d hoped for.

In truth it was still a great holiday and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Pat and Hazel didn’t really mind my ardent love affair with Gail because she actually spells her name “GALE” and is a form of air conditioning machine found in many of the places we went to.

Gale was vital while we were there because temperatures were steady at about 30C but the humidity was a killer and left everyone streaming with sweat… unless you could sneak a breezy kiss from Gale!

PAT Bennett (left), Harry and Hazel

Walton prepare ingredients for

their meal in Thailand

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