'Carrefour, Carrefour, we love to serve...!'

Maiyuu and I went to the Carrefour megastore in Pra Ram 4 yesterday for our big shop. A heavy wet-season downpour started as we made our way there by taxi.

I watched as traders and protesters (you can go hardly anywhere in Bangkok without seeing protesters) raced about, yanking at tents and covering things up.

They were soaked, their T-shirts clinging to their skin.

Outside Carrefour, Maiyuu handed the fare to the driver, and made a sprint for cover.

I have never seen him run so fast. One moment he was sitting beside me, the next he was inside the front doors of the megastore, waving. How can it be?

'You move like lighting. I didn't know you could go so fast,' I said after joining him.

Maiyuu laughed.

-



At 4.50pm, we were standing at the cash register when the cashier told me it was still too early to buy alcohol.

'You'll have to wait another 10 minutes,' she said.

Thai law limits the hours in which I can buy alcohol from licenced providers such as Carrefour.

I had put a bottle of whisky in the basket, thinking I could pay for the thing without trouble, but I had forgotten the selling-hour restrictions.



From memory, I can buy from 11am to 2pm. Then the abstinence hours kick in, and I can't buy it again until 5pm.

Small, unlicensed outlets still sell, of course, but I wanted to buy it with the rest of our shopping, as it was more convenient.

I didn't mind the wait, as I knew I could look forward to something else at 5pm.

That's the hour when Carrefour's young service staff sing for their customers.

They line up in long rows, down one side of the store, and in front by the cash registers, to perform their corporate anthem.

'Carrefour, Carrefour,' they sing.

Actually, I can't remember the words. I had seen them perform it once before.

They wave their arms like cheerleaders. They also swivel about on the spot.

For the staff, this must be the most horrid moment of the day - when shoppers turn to stare at their awkward singing and dancing.



The song lasts for about five minutes. The red-shirted staff who formed a line in front of the check-out area were led by a tall, slender figure who looked perfectly gay.

He was the only one who moved with any conviction.

The others, including young men on rollerskates who pack groceries, smiled awkwardly and tried to avoid meeting our gaze.

'Carrefour, we love to serve...'

Next time, I shall take a camera. Would they mind?