Greeting guests at the porch tables, Noi breezes about like a bird. Taking orders, delivering food, making espressos, she’s as busy as a bee. Dressed in crisp, white-silk cheongsam, lips tinted red, she looks like a porcelain doll.

Enthusiastically, she empties her bag during a quiet spell. Noi’s partner John, a hearty Welshman, hovers nearby keen to catch a glimpse of the contents.

Lucky charms

An odd carved ball calls for explanation. Noi tells me it’s a souvenir she picked up in China. With a bachelor’s degree in tourism, this Phitsanulok native is a licensed tour guide and has visited China many times.

“It’s my lucky charm,” she says of the wooden dragon within a sphere.

There are also four Buddha amulets, collected from different parts of the country, that Noi takes everywhere with her “to keep safe”.

“This is my lucky Hua Hin Buddha,” said Noi, pointing at a bronze pendant. The others are from Pattaya, Phuket and her home village.

She also keeps a white string bracelet given to Noi by her grandmother. “My family came to visit me in Phuket and my grandmother blessed the whole family,” Noi explained. “We each received a bracelet for good luck”.

Two headed dragon

Since a girl can never have enough good luck charms in her life, Noi shows me an exquisite and tiny gold bangle with two dragon heads.

“I needed to have that,” she tells me, with gleaming eyes. “I found it on a trip to Bangkok and I could not leave without it”.

Two other tiny Buddha images can just be seen with the naked eye – one appears to be carved from a seed, the other is golden. There’s a lucky wish flower as well. The dried petals, kept in a plastic pouch, are prayed upon for those super wishes.

The kit

Noi’s cosmetic kit is an interesting peek. She has a full set of manicure tools, all seven pieces. I think she’s rather serious about tidy fingers and toes. Aside from a rouge brush, there’s no evidence of any real make-up. But there is large pair of tortuous eyelash curlers, an item not commonly found in your average handbag these days. It seems that simplicity can go a long way in looking good.

Collector currency

Next to her passport, Noi draws attention to a special ten baht coin bearing the Queen’s head. It is the first time I have seen one of these. She keeps it as a pair with a national issue King’s head coin as well as an old ten baht paper note.

“You will not see these around now, I just like to collect them”.

While she speaks, Noi is busy with a small piece of pink paper. Deftly folding and pinching, a tiny bird appears. Origami practice helps her to relax in quieter moments.

New things

Girl talk follows. There is a new boutique in town, up near the yellow bank. Noi shows off her lovely new earrings – ornate, antique style they would look gorgeous with her dress.

I notice several cracks on her mobile phone screen. Noi laughs. “I keep my phone in my lap when I am driving but always forget it’s there,” she said. “When I get out of the car it bounces, but it still works”.


- Kerrie Hall