2026-11-01, 11:37 AM - Word count:
Stepping out of the plane and into Suvarnabhumi Airport, it felt like returning home. Not because Joe had arrived in Bangkok, but rather because he’d spent so much time in airports this past year. It almost felt like he would go home whenever he was to fly out to somewhere, only to board a plane taking that would then drop him off at home again, only the layout of his home would change somewhat each time he entered.
Normally, he would be flying with his teammates and the staff of Rapid Magyar. This time, however, he was travelling on his own. For the first time in just about a year. And for the first time ever, he had to facilitate his arrival on his own. After all, his only prior solo-flights had come with the moves to Victoria Falls Eagles and since to Hungary.
Joe absentmindedly followed the stream of people who had left the aircraft alongside him until an escalator took them down to a sort of miniature train station. It would appear that they had been dropped off quite far out.
After a short ride on a train, Joe was making his way down what looked like the exact same halls he’d been walking just some ten minutes prior, except the signs hanging down the middle of the space now provided hints to the location of Immigration.
Seeing the endless line of foreigners queueing for Immigration, Joe felt almost blessed to be able to skip around and enter as a citizen. Even so, by the time he had shown his passport to a uniformed lady, his luggage had already arrived and was rolling around on the familiar rubber band.
Suitcase rolling by his side, Joe was now faced with a choice: how would he get to the hotel he had booked? Normally, he’d always gone around the city by bus and, when the location was too specific, scooter, but that was hardly an option now. He could take the train, but would probably need to make a few transfers on the way. Not wanting to bother, he booked a car on Grab and began to look for the appropriate exit.
After battling the airport for a while, Joe had eventually given up and asked the driver how to get out. It seemed to be a common question, because the driver was able to provide him with a sequence of pictures guiding him towards the correct exit.
Leaving the comfort of the airport’s air conditioning, Joe stepped out into an unbearable heat. Following the instructions he’d been given, he crossed the road and found a little platform on which a bunch of people covered in the ever-recognisable lime green colour associated with the delivery app. The car had already arrived, and the driver immediately stepped out to help him load the luggage into the back of the vehicle. In doing so, they briefly looked at each other, prompting the driver to ask “have we met before?”, even though Joe was pretty sure they hadn’t. Not thinking too much of it, he answered in the negative, entered the backseat of the car, and continued reading the book he’d been engaged in during the flight.
Having a hotel room all to himself wasn’t too unlike life in Budapest, except for the part where this one looked a whole lot more modern. Maybe a little boring, but without any intentions of spending serious time there, it was perfect. Besides, the bed was more than good enough, because it took hardly a minute before Joe was fast asleep.
He’d only taken the time to text his younger sister, Pim, that he’d arrived. After all, he had yet to inform his dad of when he would be back. All he’d said during his most recent stay was that it wouldn’t be long.
The early shuteye turned out to be perfect as Joe awoke much too early for it to be considered morning by most people. For his dad, however, it would be just about the time he’d start preparing for the day.
Having had a short morning run, Joe was ready to head down from his room for the second time of the day just as the breakfast buffet was opening. Might as well eat what you’re offered. No point paying for a hotel with breakfast and not eating, after all. Pim had been keeping him updated. She and Tok had already left home, and soon, he would be heading towards his fruit stall in Sathon.
Approaching the corner which hosted his dad’s stall, one of the uncles noticed Joe, and despite the latter’s best attempt at signalling for the man to not make his presence known, he jumped up and greeted Joe who kept looking over at his dad’s stall. Seemed he was not there for the time being. The uncle who was smiling massively as he spoke at Joe walked alongside him as they approached the corner, and just as Joe had expected, his father was seated at a small foldable table just a few meters after the turn of the street, looking out at the quiet morning traffic. Eventually, someone closer to him said something, and he turned around to see Joe approaching, which caused him to practically jump from his plastic stool, only a miracle keeping him from flipping the table over in the process.
“Joe!” was all he could muster.
“Dad! Hi!”
Initially, Joe had thought to sneak up on his dad, but seeing his surprise, it was probably for the best that he hadn’t been able to do so. Wouldn’t want to give his dad a heart attack on the day of his return to Thailand.
Joe entered a fancy-looking fitness centre not far from his dad’s stall. The facades were all made of glass, and it took up a large part of the ground floor of one of the massive buildings in the area. Not where he would have thought that he would be going to meet his best friend, but according to his dad, this was where he worked.
Not knowing where to find Sem, Joe had walked up to what looked like the reception. Only he now had no idea what he was going to say for an explanation. After all, it wouldn’t be much fun if they just called for his friend and said that Joe was there looking for him.
So, as any youngster would do, Joe instead decided to say that he was considering joining, but would like some instruction, as he was new to the whole gym thing.
The lady behind the counter eyed him up for a good long while. “Sure, what kind of instruction are you after?”
Joe hadn’t thought that far, so he gave a vague “I just want to learn the ropes, really,” while looking around to see if he could spot his friend anywhere.
“Sure thing,” she obliged. “But are you really sure you need that?”
“Uhh.. yeah, I’m not too sure how it all works.”
There he was. Helping someone with one of the machines. “For example, can you show me how that machine works?” he asked her.
“Wait, first, which membership plan are you considering?”
Uh-oh.
“I can give you a small tour first, if you aren’t too sure. We have different teams if you want to do pilates, yoga,” she said, continuing to list different things they offered.
“Can I see the facilities first?”
“Of course. Follow me,” she instructed.
“Can we start from this side?”
Joe wanted to ensure that they’d reach Sem before he was spotted. The woman seemed confused, and her face betrayed light annoyance for a brief moment, before returning to a polite smile. “After you.”
Joe made sure to stop just before entering Sem’s field of vision. The woman overtook him and began to explain how one of the machines works, and which muscle groups it works. With some difficulty, Joe feigned interest before pointing at the machine Sem was currently overseeing. “What does that one do?”
“That one?” she took a few steps towards the machine. “Hey, Sem! Can you show the gentleman how the machine works?”
“Sure thing!” It felt so strange hearing Sem’s voice like that. “So, you see…”
He stopped in his tracks. “What the heck?! JOE?!?!”
“What’s up!”
The woman looked puzzled. “What, you know him?”
Sem and Joe both burst into laughter.
“You could say. He’s only my best friend,” Sem explained, “who’s supposed to be living overseas. What the hell are you doing here?!”
"So that's why you were acting so weird about it all!" the woman burst out.
And so began Joe Mormor’s offseason in Bangkok.
Normally, he would be flying with his teammates and the staff of Rapid Magyar. This time, however, he was travelling on his own. For the first time in just about a year. And for the first time ever, he had to facilitate his arrival on his own. After all, his only prior solo-flights had come with the moves to Victoria Falls Eagles and since to Hungary.
Joe absentmindedly followed the stream of people who had left the aircraft alongside him until an escalator took them down to a sort of miniature train station. It would appear that they had been dropped off quite far out.
After a short ride on a train, Joe was making his way down what looked like the exact same halls he’d been walking just some ten minutes prior, except the signs hanging down the middle of the space now provided hints to the location of Immigration.
Seeing the endless line of foreigners queueing for Immigration, Joe felt almost blessed to be able to skip around and enter as a citizen. Even so, by the time he had shown his passport to a uniformed lady, his luggage had already arrived and was rolling around on the familiar rubber band.
Suitcase rolling by his side, Joe was now faced with a choice: how would he get to the hotel he had booked? Normally, he’d always gone around the city by bus and, when the location was too specific, scooter, but that was hardly an option now. He could take the train, but would probably need to make a few transfers on the way. Not wanting to bother, he booked a car on Grab and began to look for the appropriate exit.
After battling the airport for a while, Joe had eventually given up and asked the driver how to get out. It seemed to be a common question, because the driver was able to provide him with a sequence of pictures guiding him towards the correct exit.
Leaving the comfort of the airport’s air conditioning, Joe stepped out into an unbearable heat. Following the instructions he’d been given, he crossed the road and found a little platform on which a bunch of people covered in the ever-recognisable lime green colour associated with the delivery app. The car had already arrived, and the driver immediately stepped out to help him load the luggage into the back of the vehicle. In doing so, they briefly looked at each other, prompting the driver to ask “have we met before?”, even though Joe was pretty sure they hadn’t. Not thinking too much of it, he answered in the negative, entered the backseat of the car, and continued reading the book he’d been engaged in during the flight.
Having a hotel room all to himself wasn’t too unlike life in Budapest, except for the part where this one looked a whole lot more modern. Maybe a little boring, but without any intentions of spending serious time there, it was perfect. Besides, the bed was more than good enough, because it took hardly a minute before Joe was fast asleep.
He’d only taken the time to text his younger sister, Pim, that he’d arrived. After all, he had yet to inform his dad of when he would be back. All he’d said during his most recent stay was that it wouldn’t be long.
The early shuteye turned out to be perfect as Joe awoke much too early for it to be considered morning by most people. For his dad, however, it would be just about the time he’d start preparing for the day.
Having had a short morning run, Joe was ready to head down from his room for the second time of the day just as the breakfast buffet was opening. Might as well eat what you’re offered. No point paying for a hotel with breakfast and not eating, after all. Pim had been keeping him updated. She and Tok had already left home, and soon, he would be heading towards his fruit stall in Sathon.
Approaching the corner which hosted his dad’s stall, one of the uncles noticed Joe, and despite the latter’s best attempt at signalling for the man to not make his presence known, he jumped up and greeted Joe who kept looking over at his dad’s stall. Seemed he was not there for the time being. The uncle who was smiling massively as he spoke at Joe walked alongside him as they approached the corner, and just as Joe had expected, his father was seated at a small foldable table just a few meters after the turn of the street, looking out at the quiet morning traffic. Eventually, someone closer to him said something, and he turned around to see Joe approaching, which caused him to practically jump from his plastic stool, only a miracle keeping him from flipping the table over in the process.
“Joe!” was all he could muster.
“Dad! Hi!”
Initially, Joe had thought to sneak up on his dad, but seeing his surprise, it was probably for the best that he hadn’t been able to do so. Wouldn’t want to give his dad a heart attack on the day of his return to Thailand.
Joe entered a fancy-looking fitness centre not far from his dad’s stall. The facades were all made of glass, and it took up a large part of the ground floor of one of the massive buildings in the area. Not where he would have thought that he would be going to meet his best friend, but according to his dad, this was where he worked.
Not knowing where to find Sem, Joe had walked up to what looked like the reception. Only he now had no idea what he was going to say for an explanation. After all, it wouldn’t be much fun if they just called for his friend and said that Joe was there looking for him.
So, as any youngster would do, Joe instead decided to say that he was considering joining, but would like some instruction, as he was new to the whole gym thing.
The lady behind the counter eyed him up for a good long while. “Sure, what kind of instruction are you after?”
Joe hadn’t thought that far, so he gave a vague “I just want to learn the ropes, really,” while looking around to see if he could spot his friend anywhere.
“Sure thing,” she obliged. “But are you really sure you need that?”
“Uhh.. yeah, I’m not too sure how it all works.”
There he was. Helping someone with one of the machines. “For example, can you show me how that machine works?” he asked her.
“Wait, first, which membership plan are you considering?”
Uh-oh.
“I can give you a small tour first, if you aren’t too sure. We have different teams if you want to do pilates, yoga,” she said, continuing to list different things they offered.
“Can I see the facilities first?”
“Of course. Follow me,” she instructed.
“Can we start from this side?”
Joe wanted to ensure that they’d reach Sem before he was spotted. The woman seemed confused, and her face betrayed light annoyance for a brief moment, before returning to a polite smile. “After you.”
Joe made sure to stop just before entering Sem’s field of vision. The woman overtook him and began to explain how one of the machines works, and which muscle groups it works. With some difficulty, Joe feigned interest before pointing at the machine Sem was currently overseeing. “What does that one do?”
“That one?” she took a few steps towards the machine. “Hey, Sem! Can you show the gentleman how the machine works?”
“Sure thing!” It felt so strange hearing Sem’s voice like that. “So, you see…”
He stopped in his tracks. “What the heck?! JOE?!?!”
“What’s up!”
The woman looked puzzled. “What, you know him?”
Sem and Joe both burst into laughter.
“You could say. He’s only my best friend,” Sem explained, “who’s supposed to be living overseas. What the hell are you doing here?!”
"So that's why you were acting so weird about it all!" the woman burst out.
And so began Joe Mormor’s offseason in Bangkok.
