The Rainforest Shower

By Michel Hamlit

Two young IT professionals, find themselves seated next to each other on an overnight flight to Bangkok. During the flight, they discover that they have much more in common than just their work. As Jonathan takes out a copy of Attitude, a gay magazine, to read whilst waiting for dinner, Mark discloses that he, like Jonathan, is both gay and single. Jonathan has an itinerary that takes him first to Bangkok and then to four other Asian cities, whilst Mark’s assignment involves eleven days work in Bangkok.

While originally booked into different hotels, Mark finds himself transferred to Jonathan’s five star deluxe hotel when his original hotel was over-booked; this provides them with an opportunity to learn more about each other and why Bangkok attracts so many gay travellers. By the time of Jonathan’s departure, they are sharing both Jonathan’s bed and rainforest shower, and a strong emotional and sexual attraction has developed between them.

In Jonathan's next destination, Hong Kong, he encounters two Chinese guys, who turn out to be gay multi-millionaires, having sex in the showers of his hotel health club. Later in the lounge, they apologise to him for their behaviour and any embarrassment that it may have caused him. To make amends, they then invite him to join them for dinner at the very exclusive Club. As they part at the end of the evening, they say that they hope to meet him again soon, but he thinks that highly unlikely.

During Jonathan’s travels to other Asian cities, he has encounters with other guys, and not least a couple of young Asians, who also share his hotel rainforest shower. From these guys, he learns, first-hand, of the conflict that arises from the contrasting parental expectations of Asian and western families and, more importantly, the impact that this can have on the lives of young gay Asian men.

Within ten days, Jonathan and Mark are unexpectedly brought back together in Bangkok when Mark requests a security expert; he is told one will be sent from Hong Kong. He is both surprised and delighted when this expert is Jonathan. Their joint investigation uncovers a multi-million Baht fraud and leads to the arrest the alleged perpetrator.

They appearance as expert witnesses at the subsequent trial results in them returning to Bangkok. At the end of the first day, the defendant changes his plea to guilty, leaving them free to spend two days in Singapore; here Mark goes to visit his parents, leaving Jonathan to be entertained by his gay best friend.

Hong Kong introduces them to the excesses of gay expat life at a wild weekend party fuelled with alcohol, drugs, and sex. Jonathan discovers that the two gay multi-millionaires have delayed their flight back to their home in the States, when they learnt that he would be at the party.

The following Tuesday, Jonathan departs on his business trip into China and Mark is scheduled to fly back to London later the same day. However, after Jonathan has departed for China, Mark is also sent to China to investigate an urgent IT problem at a Shanghai hotel. Jonathan arrives at the hotel in Shanghai, his final destination, unaware that Mark is already there and discovers him lying naked on a bed waiting for him.

The Chinese gay millionaires invite them to lunch on their final day in Shanghai and, the conversation turns to the Hong Kong party. Jonathan and Mark begin to wonder if they are about to be propositioned for an afternoon of sex. However, much to their great surprise, it is an invitation to spend Christmas with them at their eight bedroomed ‘cottage’ in Key West that they wish to discuss. This leaves them speechless, especially as the offer includes first class flights to Miami, but they are left undecided as to whether they should accept.

The author, who has lived and worked in Asia, uses his personal knowledge of the region to enhance the detail of story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michel Hamlit
• Release date: Aug 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005724412

Michel Hamlit

During the last twenty-five years of his career before retiring to Spain, Michel travelled extensively on business to countries worldwide; he has lived and worked in both Asia and Africa as well as Europe.Along with his husband, he has now settled in Valencia where he enjoys the Mediterranean climate and lifestyle, fine wines, and dining out with friends. He began to work on his first novel to offset government’s restrictions imposed during the early stages of the 2020 Covid 19 pandemic.His first novel, The Rainforest Shower, draws on his first-hand knowledge of Asian cities and Asian culture; this adds local colour to a story with many unexpected twists and turns.

Book preview

Chapter 1

As Jonathan strolled from the British Airways Business Class lounge to Gate 62 at London’s Heathrow airport, dusk had already fallen on the damp October evening outside. Below him, the wet tarmac reflected the orange flashing lights of the baggage tugs and catering trucks that were buzzing, like flies, around the parked aircraft. For a few moments, he stopped and watched as aircraft with their pulsing red navigation beacons moved past the window, possibly arriving from or departing to some of the far-flung destinations that he had often dreamt of as a child.

Jonathan had joined DJG, one of the world’s leading Management Consultancies five years previously, after graduating from Manchester University with a degree in Computer Systems Management. His meticulous attention to detail, together with his dogged determination to resolve any problems that he might face, had impressed his senior managers. Consequently, he had recently been promoted to lead the International Operations IT Security Team.

Following his promotion, James, the Director with responsibility for DJG’s International Division had called him into his office and suggested that he should now start to familiarise himself with the organisation’s worldwide operations and, more particularly, those in Asia. For two months, he had been planning and looking forward to this, his first business trip to Asia, taking him to Bangkok, Hong Kong, and beyond.

Tonight’s overnight flight would take him to Bangkok to visit the first of the five DJG offices in Asia that were on his itinerary. Previously, his only work-related travel had been single day or overnight trips to DJG’s European offices, but this trip was very different; he would be away for almost two weeks and instead of the usual cramped economy class seats of the European flights, he was travelling in Business Class for the first time.

Arriving at Gate 62, the departure gate for the British Airways daily flight to Bangkok, a member of the airline’s staff recognised the distinctive Business Class tag, that the check-in clerk had attached to his computer bag, and quickly directed him to the shorter of the three queues waiting to board the aircraft. The economy class queue seemed extremely long but there were, as yet, only six other passengers in the Business Class line.

Soon the departure of the flight BA009 to Bangkok was announced and boarding commenced, his boarding pass was scanned by a cute guy at the desk who checked his passport and boarding pass, and said:

Enjoy your flight,

then hesitated, smiled at him, and added,

I am sure you will also enjoy the many and varied attractions to be found in Bangkok.

Jonathan wondered, as he was walking down the air bridge onto the plane, just what the guy had inferred by the attractions of Bangkok

The aircraft for this evening’s flight was far larger than any he had flown on previously, and two smartly dressed cabin crew greeted him at the aircraft door, escorted him to his seat towards the front of the aircraft, and then took his jacket. She briefly explained the controls for his seat, reading light, and personal TV set; she then told him that one her colleagues would be along shortly to offer him complimentary pre-departure refreshments.

Suddenly, the dark blue curtain at the front of the cabin was drawn back and a smartly dressed steward appeared with a tray. Jonathan instantly recognised Peter, a guy that he had met several times before, and as recently as last week. Peter seemed surprised to see Jonathan sitting in the Business Class cabin, and his only passenger at the moment. He smiled broadly and quickly walked towards Jonathan with his tray of drinks, offering him either a glass of champagne or a fruit juice. Jonathan accepted the champagne.

Peter was often found standing around the bar, chatting to guys, in Molly’s Wine Bar close to Jonathan’s home in London’s Docklands, although he had never mentioned what his job was. Jonathan had recently begun to get the vibe that Peter might just be gay; this suspicion had been partly confirmed when, on the last occasion they met, Peter had suggested that they should buy a bottle of wine and go back to his place so they could get to know each other a little better. Reluctantly, Jonathan had to decline this invitation as he was on a flight out to Berlin for a business meeting at six-thirty the following morning.

Jonathan and Peter chatted casually for a few minutes until a retired couple, probably off in search of some warm winter sunshine, came into the cabin and Peter left to attend to them. Slowly one or two more passengers took their seats, but the cabin was far from full. The seat next to him remained unoccupied. The Captain made the usual announcement welcoming passengers on board and said that as soon as the final passengers had arrived, they would be departing.

Suddenly, a somewhat flustered Asian guy in casual clothing appeared in the cabin, carrying several large duty-free shopping bags, which he quickly stowed in the overhead luggage bins, before settling himself into the adjacent seat. Jonathan immediately recognised him as the good-looking guy who he had earlier sat opposite in the Business Class lounge. He had smiled and had said ‘hello’ to Jonathan as he sat down, but the large low table between them had prevented any further conversation. However, Jonathan had noticed that he had occasionally glanced across and smiled at him, and that he was reading the latest edition of PC Pro, a leading information technology periodical that he himself subscribed to.

Peter then reappeared, offered the new arrival a glass of champagne, smiled at Jonathan and, without asking, exchanged Jonathan’s empty glass for a full one. As they were going to be in adjacent seats for the next 11 hours, Jonathan took this opportunity to introduce himself.

Jonathan had mistakenly assumed that the guy was Thai and, with all his duty-free shopping bags, was returning home after a shopping trip to London. He was, therefore, somewhat surprised when he introduced himself as ‘Mark’ and said that he was from Singapore. He told Jonathan that he was employed by Global Hotels International, a major hotel chain with hotels worldwide, and was based in the company’s London Head Office. He said that he had moved to London three years ago and he had a degree in Software Design from the National University of Singapore.

Like Jonathan, he was on his first business trip to Asia, but only to Bangkok; his trip, just like Jonathan’s, was scheduled to last around two weeks. Before they could chat further, there was an announcement for all ground staff to leave the aircraft, doors were closed, the aircraft was pushed-back from the stand, and it began its long taxi towards the runway; the crew then commenced their familiar safety demonstration.

Once airborne, Peter appeared again and presented each of the passengers with an amenity bag containing a sleep mask, toothbrush, flight socks and moisturiser, together with a menu for this evening’s dinner and the following morning’s breakfast. He told Jonathan that if there was anything at all he wanted during the flight, he must not hesitate to call him. Jonathan felt somewhat embarrassed by Peter’s attention, especially as Mark was quick to remark that he found the steward attractive, but he already seems to have taken a liking to you. Jonathan felt that he had to explain that Peter was somebody he occasionally met in a local wine bar, although he had never told him that he worked for British Airways.

Jonathan found Mark, who was of similar age to himself, pleasant company and he began to look forward to the journey ahead. They talked about their work and the various challenges that this presented. Mark was going to visit eleven of the group’s hotels in Bangkok to instal a major software upgrade to their IT systems.

After the seat belt signs had been turned off, drinks were served, and both asked for another glass of champagne, then their orders for dinner were taken. During the hour before dinner, Peter sensing that a friendship was developing between Jonathan and Mark kept their glasses topped up with champagne.

They quickly discovered that they had far more in common than just working in IT. In fact, both of their companies were based in adjacent towers in London’s Docklands, work meant that they both travelled frequently to Europe, they were both single, they both used the same gym, shopped at the same branch of Waitrose, and lived within half a mile of each other. Considering this, Jonathan was somewhat surprised that he had not previously seen Mark around.

Shortly before the meal service, Jonathan took the magazines out of the bag in the seat pocket and glanced briefly at the latest edition of Attitude, the leading UK gay magazine. Mark smiled when he saw him looking at this, and quickly suggested that he read the well-researched article about inter-racial relationships between Asian and western men. He said that he thought it was an excellent one as it reflected many of his own experiences. Suddenly, Jonathan realised that Mark, like himself, was gay, and that, perhaps Mark’s finely tuned ‘Gaydar’ may even have picked this up earlier when he was sat opposite him in the lounge.

Dinner turned out to be a very different affair from what Jonathan and Mark were used to on the short flights within Europe where, if you were lucky, you might get a hot snack served in a foil tray. Peter put a white tablecloth on the large table which slid out from the side of the seat, each course was served individually on white porcelain plates, and was accompanied by a choice of excellent wines; service was attentive and resembled that of the top-class London restaurant where Jonathan and his friends sometimes celebrated special occasions.

Once the meal was over and everything had been cleared away, the ever-attentive Peter reappeared to show Jonathan how to turn his seat into a full-length bed and, yet again, reminded him that he must not hesitate to use the call button if he wanted anything.

Jonathan was now torn between chatting further with Mark, reading his copy of Attitude, or watching one of the many films available on the inflight programme. He eventually decided on the latter and chose to watch one of his favourite films, Call Me By Your Name, which he had already seen several times.

When the film finished and before settling down for the night, he headed to the washrooms which were behind the navy-blue curtain from which Peter had frequently emerged. He found Peter sitting there by himself eating his own supper and they chatted to him for a few minutes, before he headed into the small washroom to clean his teeth with the toothbrush provided in the amenity kit.

From his conversation with Peter, Jonathan had discovered that Peter would spend two nights in Bangkok before flying back to London on Friday. He had wondered if they might just be staying at the same hotel or have an opportunity to meet up for a drink; he was therefore disappointed when Peter told him that airline security rules prevented him telling Jonathan the name of his hotel. He could tell him though that the one used by British Airways was close to the airport, and some 20 miles outside the city centre.

On coming out of the washroom, Peter handed Jonathan a large glass of brandy, remarked that he found the passenger seated next to Jonathan both cute and attractive, chatted to him for a few minutes more, then wished Jonathan sweet dreams, and said that on his return to London they must meet up for that cosy supper together at his place.

Jonathan returned to his seat and saw that Mark, like most of the other passengers, now appeared to be asleep. He slipped off his shoes, slid under the blanket and sleep came quickly assisted by Peter’s large glass of brandy.

Chapter 2

Jonathan was woken up by the announcement that they were currently flying over Myanmar and would begin their descent into Bangkok in about twenty minutes; provided there were no delays, they would land in ninety minutes time which would be some thirty minutes ahead of schedule. He realised that breakfast service had already begun. Mark, in the adjacent seat, was already awake and had a large glass of orange juice in his hand; he greeted him with a broad smile and said:

Good morning, welcome to Asia. I hope that you are going to enjoy Bangkok.

Jonathan thought about his reply for a moment, then said:

I am sure that we both will. My colleagues tell me that it is a fascinating and cosmopolitan city with lot to see and do, especially for those who are young and single like us.

As the plane slowly descended towards Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, Mark asked him:

Which hotel are you staying at in Bangkok?

The Riverside Grande, although I don’t know much about it as it was my company’s choice not my own.

Well, it’s one of my company’s Bangkok hotels. It is in the five-star deluxe category so I am sure that you will find the location, facilities and service much better than any of the hotels in Europe that you stay at.

Where are you staying?

Unfortunately, my company’s staff policy means that I must stay in one of the hotels in a lower category. However, if you are free at the weekend, perhaps we could meet up and explore Bangkok together being as we are both newcomers to the city, and it already seems we have much in common.

That would be great. It’s something I will be very much looking forward to.

Well, we must exchange business cards then, and I will send you a WhatsApp message sometime on Friday so we can agree arrangements.

As they exchanged business cards with each other, Jonathan sensed, and was also secretly hoping, that this could lead to something a little more than just a casual friendship.

Once the plane had landed, Peter came around to say good-bye to all the passengers and handed-out special orange cards that entitled Business Class passengers access to a priority Immigration lane. Shortly afterwards, the plane arrived at the terminal, an air bridge was connected and the passengers began to disembark.

Peter bade them ‘goodbye’, then winked at Jonathan, and said:

I am sure you are going to enjoy Bangkok, and I am already looking forward to that glass of wine with you in Molly’s on your return.

Bangkok airport seemed huge, and he continued to chat with Mark, as together, they walked some considerable distance following signs to Arrivals and Immigration. When Jonathan saw the long queues snaking up to the Immigration desks, he was pleased that he had the special orange priority card and was quickly directed, as was Mark, to a desk where there were just three people in the queue. His passport was quickly scrutinised and stamped, he waited a few moments for Mark to have his passport stamped and then together they walked to the baggage hall to collect their cases; Jonathan’s was one of the first on the baggage belt, he collected it and said good-bye to Mark, giving him a big hug, then walked out into the arrivals’ hall.

One of DJG’s drivers was waiting for him by the barrier in the arrivals’ hall with his name written in large letters on a card. Jonathan identified himself and the driver quickly escorted him out of the terminal to a waiting car, but not before he had his first experience of Bangkok’s hot humid climate where the temperature was already well into the thirties despite it only being ten in the morning.

After a speedy journey from the airport to the outskirts of the city along a multi-lane highway, traffic suddenly slowed to a crawl as they encountered Bangkok’s notoriously overcrowded city streets; these, the driver explained, could quickly become gridlocked if one of Bangkok’s frequent tropical rainstorms occurred. Eventually, they arrived at the Riverside Grande where a bellboy quickly relieved Jonathan of his luggage, and then walked with him through the rotating door into reception. Here, he was immediately offered a cold towel and a glass of chilled fresh juice, whilst a handsome young Thai guy quickly completed the registration process; the bellboy then re-appeared at his side, took his room key card from him, and escorted him to the lift which quickly whisked him to the tenth floor.

The cute bellboy, who appeared to be in his late teens and spoke English, led him to his room, showed him all the room’s facilities, and then pressed a button by the window; the curtains silently opened revealing the city landscape spreading out towards a distant misty horizon, and the busy river flowing directly under his window. Jonathan now realised why this was one of the best deluxe hotels in the city with service and facilities already far exceeding anything he had previously experienced in European hotels. The bellboy bade farewell and Jonathan stood by the window mesmerised by the view in front of him.

The DJG driver had given him a note which he now opened. This was from Dang, one of the senior Thai managers at the Bangkok office, and this said that he would meet him on the hotel’s Riverside Terrace at seven to take him to dinner, but he was free until then to explore Bangkok.

Jonathan opened his case and took out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, and slipped out of the clothes that he had travelled in. He was stood naked in the bathroom, intending to have a shower, when there was a knock on his door. Quickly grabbing one of the towels from the bathroom and wrapping it around his waist, he looked through the security lens to see another cute young guy standing there with a large tray of fresh fruit and some chocolates.

Jonathan opened the door intending to take the tray from him, but the young man quickly slipped past him into the room, put the tray down on a small table close to the window, and turned to leave just as Jonathan’s towel slipped exposing his full manhood. The guy giggled and quickly left the room leaving an embarrassed Jonathan wondering if the guy had thought that this was deliberate.

The bathroom was not like any he had seen in European hotels, it was almost as big as the bedroom; it had both a full-length bath and a rainforest shower cubicle that was big enough to accommodate at least two people. He quickly stepped into the shower and turned on the water. Standing under the shower, his mind quickly wandered to his new-found friendship with Mark, and he began to wish that he was here in this hotel with him. He began to fantasise just what they might do together at the weekend and where that might lead. As he soaped himself, he realised that his cock was beginning to have similar thoughts; he began to fondle his cock until he was fully erect, then stroked himself slowly at first, then more vigorously, until he came and his load of cum hit the shower screen. He stayed under the shower until his cock was no longer erect then towelled himself dry on the softest of white towels.

His suddenly felt tired and recognised that his body clock was still on UK time; it was telling him that it was still not dawn in the UK. He decided that a short rest was called for, laid down naked on the king-size bed, and quickly drifted off to sleep. He woke two hours later having dreamt about a highly sensual encounter with Mark only to find that he had an erection. He fondled his cock, sliding his foreskin back, running a finger moist with his saliva around its sensitive exposed head, then stroking himself until he climaxed and a stream of warm cum shot across his chest and chin. He went into the bathroom and cleaned himself with a wet face towel, then pulled on his shorts, T-shirt, and sandals before heading out to find something to eat; on the way to the hotel’s coffee shop, he checked-out the Riverside Terrace where he was due to meet Dang this evening.

This, he found, fronted directly onto the busy Chao Phraya River which was buzzing with boats of all shapes and sizes - river buses packed with commuters, large barges carrying immense loads of sand towed by small yet powerful tugs and, of course, Bangkok’s noisy long-tail boats powered by huge engines. He wandered along the terrace to discover the Health Club and then, further on still, a tree-shaded garden with an inviting-looking swimming pool.

Jonathan retreated indoors from the fierce heat and humidity and found the coffee shop. He ordered a sandwich and a glass of fresh orange juice, the latter tasting very different from that he regularly bought from the Waitrose supermarket close to his home in London’s Docklands.

When he had finished eating, he decided that he would learn a little more about some of the popular tourist sights of Bangkok in preparation for his weekend with Mark. He retreated to his room to spend some time on his laptop and, out of curiosity, he entered the words ‘gay + Bangkok’ in Google; he was astounded at the list that quickly appeared: gay bars, gay saunas, gay gyms, gay restaurants, gay discos, and something intriguingly called ‘boy bars’. He quietly thought to himself that this city offered immense possibilities for them, especially if they were looking for an alternative to the numerous cultural attractions.

As his meeting with Dang was still three hours away, he decided that he still had time to investigate the facilities offered in the Health Club that he had seen when he went onto the riverside terrace. He was greeted at the Club’s reception by, yet another, cute Thai guy dressed in tight white shorts who explained what facilities were available. Jonathan quickly opted for the steam room, sauna, and jacuzzi expecting to find these empty in the middle of the afternoon. However, he was surprised to find two Thais and a western guy in the sauna, all lying totally naked on their towels. This was the first time he had seen an Asian guy naked and was a little surprised to see that the Thai guys, unlike himself, had very little body hair, although these guys were certainly not embarrassed to reveal their bodies.

He put his towel down on the wooden bench close to the western guy, who was stocky and appeared to be in his late thirties. He quickly struck up a conversation with him and Jonathan detected a strong Germanic accent. He introduced himself as Hermann and, like Jonathan, he was here on business and had only arrived that morning after an over-night flight from Frankfurt. One of the two Thai guys left the Sauna and, as Jonathan was beginning to find the heat a little too much, he followed shortly afterwards.

He headed towards the unoccupied bubbling jacuzzi, where he settled himself and closed his eyes to think about the week ahead. Suddenly, he was aware of the presence of someone else in the jacuzzi. On opening his eyes, he found one of the Thai guys was sitting next to him and realised that the guy’s hands were touching and slowly moving along under his thigh. Not quite sure what to do, he asked the guy what his name was. He responded in excellent English:

My name is Dusit but, like my friends, you may call me Tony. My father owns this hotel and I have complimentary membership to the Health Club and access to the owner’s private suite. This means that I get to meet lots of attractive guys, just like you, from all around the world. Have you been to Bangkok before?

No, this is my first visit.

Well in that case, I can be your guide and take you to some very interesting places that I am sure a guy like you will enjoy.

Jonathan wondered if all Thai men were as forward as this, and was just about to decline the invitation, when Hermann joined them in the Jacuzzi and Tony, much to Jonathan’s relief, switched his attention to him.

Jonathan took the opportunity to slip quietly away, collect and change into his swimming shorts, and then head to the outdoor pool where he swam 50 lengths before settling on one of the loungers and ordering another glass of the exceptionally tasty orange juice from the pool bar.

Chapter 3

As the sun began to slowly set over the Bangkok skyline turning the sky a dusky pink, Jonathan headed back up from the pool to his room, to shower and prepare for dinner with Dang. Again, this was interrupted by a knock on the door and the same young guy appeared to turn down the bed and placed a pair of slippers at the foot of the bed. Fortunately, this time, he was spared the embarrassment of being unrobed by his towel, and the young guy slipped away wishing him good evening. As seven approached, Jonathan headed down to the Riverside Terrace to meet Dang.

A huge surprise awaited him….. he found Mark sitting there with a big smile on his face, and Jonathan thought to himself that his earlier dreams were coming true. He asked Mark:

Why are you here?

The hotel that I was due to stay at was over-booked and, without telling me, they had automatically transferred my booking to the Riverside Grand as this hotel had ample rooms available.

"Wow, that’s great. We can meet at breakfast each morning and perhaps even meet in the hotel bar for a drink in an