The Beach

We were completely exhausted, but there were two consolations. One was that it would be easier getting the boat back to the water, because it would be downhill and the ocean made for a bigger target than the space between two palm trees. The other was that we could treat ourselves to a big meal as soon as we got to Hat Rin.

We set off in high spirits, discussing which soft drinks we were going to order and whether Sprite had the edge on Coke. Jed noticed the couple first, but we were already a fair distance from the boat so we didn't worry too much. As we passed them I looked straight at their faces, not for any reason except to be ready with a smile if they said hello.

They didn't. They kept their eyes pointed at the ground, and by their expressions I could see they were putting the same concentration into walking as I had earlier.

'Did you see them?' I said when they were out of earshot. 'Wasted by lunch-time.'

'Liquid lunch.'

'Powdered lunch.'

Jed nodded, then hawked up and spat on the sand. 'Fucking Freaks.'

An hour later we were walking past rows of busy beach huts and weaving between sunbathers and Frisbee games. I was surprised that people weren't taking more notice of us. Everyone looked so strange to me that I couldn't believe I didn't look equally strange to them.

'Let's eat,' said Jed, when we were about halfway down Hat Rin, so we walked into the nearest cafe and sat down. Jed looked over the menu while I continued to marvel at our surroundings. The concrete under my toes felt particularly weird, and the plastic chair I was sitting on. It was just a standard chair—the same kind I used to have at school, curved seat with a hole in the back, V-shaped metal legs – but I found it bizarrely uncomfortable. I couldn't work out the right way to sit on it. Either I was slithering down or I was perched on the edge, both of which were useless.

'How the hell do you do this?' I muttered.

Jed looked up from the menu.

'I can't seem to sit…'

He started laughing. 'Does your head in, doesn't it? All this.'

'It sure does.'

'What about your reflection?'

'…How do you mean?'

'When was the last time you saw your reflection?'

I shrugged. There was a make-up mirror near the shower hut which the men used for shaving, but it only showed a tiny area of your face at any one time. Apart from that, I hadn't seen myself for over four weeks.

'There's a sink and a mirror over there. Go and have a look. You'll get a real shock.'

I frowned, suddenly worried. 'Why? Has something happened to my face?'

'No. Just go and have a look. You'll see.'

Shock was right. The person who gazed back at me over the sink was a stranger. My skin was darker than I'd imagined it could possibly get, my black hair had been sun-bleached almost brown and matted into curls, and my teeth were so white they seemed to jump out of my face. I also looked old – twenty-six or twenty-seven – and there were some freckles on my nose. The freckles were a particular shock. I never get freckles.

I stared at my reflection for five minutes at least, transfixed. I could have stared for an hour if Jed hadn't called me back to order some food.

'What did you think?' he asked, as I wandered back to the table, grinning like an idiot.

'Really weird. Why don't you have a look too? It's great.'

'No… I haven't seen myself for six months now. I'm saving up to completely freak myself out.'

'Six months!'

'Uh-huh. Maybe more.' He tossed me the menu. 'Come on. What'll it be? I'm starving.'

I glanced down the enormous list, pausing on banana pancakes but thinking the better of it.

'I believe I'd like a couple of cheeseburgers.'

'Cheeseburgers. Anything else?'

'Uh… OK. Spicy chicken noodles too. We 're in Thailand, after all.'

Jed stood up, glancing over his shoulder towards the sunbathers on the beach. 'I'll take your word for it,' he said dryly, then went to place our order.

While we waited for our food we watched TV. There was a video at the far end of the cafe and it was playing Schindler's List. Schindler was on a horse watching the ghettos being emptied, and he'd noticed a little girl in a red coat.

'How about that coat?' Jed asked, sipping his Coke.

I sipped my Sprite. 'What about it?'

'Do you reckon they painted it on the film with a brush?'

'On each frame? Like animation?'

'Yeah.'

'No way. They would have done it with a computer, like Jurassic Park.'

'Oh…' Jed drained the bottle and smacked his lips. 'It's the real thing.'

I frowned. 'Schindler's List? '

'No, you twerp. Coke.'

The food must have taken ages because by the time it arrived, Schindler was looking at the red coat again. If you've seen the film you'll know that's an hour after he first sees it, if not more. Luckily, I discovered that the cafe had an old Space Invaders machine, so for me the waiting wasn't so bad.

Kampuchea

Jed gave me a choice. I could go with him to sort out the rice or I could stay on the beach and meet him later. He didn't really need my help so I decided to stay. In any case, I had my own shopping to do. I wanted to restock my supply of cigarettes and get more batteries for Keaty's Gameboy.

In one of the other Hat Rin cafes I found a shop – or a glass counter with a few goods beneath it – and after buying the batteries and cigarettes it turned out I still had plenty of money left to get a few presents.

First of all I bought some soap for Unhygienix. That was tricky because they had several varieties – some western, some Thai, but none of them the brand I'd seen Unhygienix using. I rummaged through the bars for a while before finding one called 'Luxume'. It said it was 'Luxuriant yet perfumed'. The 'yet' turned my head and the 'perfumed' clinched it, knowing how important this was to him.

Then I bought a load of razors, which I thought I'd share out between me, Etienne, Gregorio and Keaty. Then I bought a tube of Colgate for Francoise. Nobody used toothpaste on the beach; there were ten toothbrushes which were shared by everyone, although many couldn't be bothered and just chewed a twig each morning. Francoise didn't mind sharing a toothbrush but she did miss the toothpaste, so I knew she'd appreciate the gift.

The next purchase was several packets of boiled sweets – I didn't want anybody to go empty-handed – and finally I bought a pair of shorts. Mine were getting ragged and I couldn't see them lasting more than a month or two.

With my shopping done I had nothing left to do. I had another Sprite, which didn't last long, so I decided to pass the time by walking the length of Hat Rin. After only a few hundred metres I gave up. There was nothing much to see apart from beach huts. Instead, I sat myself down on the sand and paddled my feet in the water, imagining the warm reactions I'd get when I handed out my presents. I envisaged an Asterix-style scene, returning from the adventure to a huge feast. We'd have to do without wild boars and Gaulish wine, but we'd have plenty of dope and more rice than you could shake a stick at.

'Saigon,' said a male voice, and broke me straight out of my daydreaming. 'Mad.'

'Sounds it,' said another voice, female.

'We were there two months. The place is like Bangkok ten fuckin' years ago. Probably better.'

I looked round and saw four sunbathers. Two girls, English, and two boys, Australians. All of them were talking very loudly, so loudly it was like their conversation was aimed more at passers-by than each other.

'Yeah, but if Saigon was mad, then Kampuchea was fuckin' unreal.'

This was the second Aussie speaking – a skinny guy with very cropped hair, long sideburns, and a tiny patch of beard on his chin.