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It shouldn’t come as any surprise that in a country where people actually born on a Wednesday believe their lucky days are Monday, where those actually born in August think December’s birthstone, Turquoise, will bring them luck, where you can buy a sticker to put on your brown car saying it is a lucky green colored car, and where lucky lottery numbers are not left to chance but instead are carefully selected by the toss of I-Ching sticks a the local wat, or determined by how many dead spiders you found in the corner of your kitchen, that just any old cell phone number would do. Certainly not when your entire future rides on having a phone number that is considered lucky. And if you are real fortunate, that cell phone will not only be the newest and most expensive model on the market, but one bought for you buy a customer who just fell in love with you.
Even as commonplace as they are today, cell phones in Thailand are still a status symbol. Years ago when just having one showed to one and all that you mattered, it was not unusual to see a bar boy with his cell phone prominently displayed hanging from his hip. Where it usually stayed because while he did have a cell phone, he didn’t have service. Form definitely mattered over function. By 2006 cell phones and other personal digital devices were big business and for the King’s 60th birthday celebration 9,999 commemorative gold colored iPods were produced. Today no self-respecting Thai bar boy would be caught dead without a cell phone. One that works. And it’d better be a model released within the last year or the shame he’ll feel . . . well, good thing there are lots of rich and lonely – not to mention generous – farang in the world.
But it’s not enough to own an iPhone 5s. When your fate is at stake, its SIM card had better be attached to a lucky phone number too. For awhile that wasn’t a big problem. Numbers starting with 08 were common. And 8 is a lucky number throughout Asia. But then awhile back those numbers began running out. No problemo. A new 09 prefix was made available. As luck would have it, 9 is a number many Thais believe will bring them good fortune. And in Thailand good fortune means lots of baht.
Nine in and of itself isn’t necessarily lucky. But how it sounds is. The number nine, or ‘gao’ in Thai, sounds similar to “step forward.” It also sounds a lot like the Thai word for rice, ‘khao’. And that’s gotta be lucky. And since 9 is the sum of 3 x 3, with 3 being considered a very auspicious number, well, you can’t get much better than that. So anything you can find with a nine on it is better than anything without. Banknotes, license plates, lottery tickets, gogo bar badges . . . the lucky Thai who scores any of those with a 9 in it is truly blessed. And if you are already blessed, then you can afford to ensure you have a 9 on your license plate or in your phone number. ‘Cuz this is Thailand. And everything, for the right price, is for sale.
If you are a Thai transport minister with all the tea money that accompanies such a position, you can drop $95,000 on what was seen to be a particularly auspicious license plate with the number 9999. Less pricey are phone numbers with a 9 in them. But that’s a mater of interpretation. Numerological experts are consulted, and their reading can mean big bucks. You’ll pay a premium for a phone number with just the 09 prefix; that’ll run you about 1,000 baht. Super-lucky phone numbers can cost up to 100,000 baht. Some dealers even phone owners of particularly auspicious phone numbers offering to buy their SIM card.
The more 9s, along with other compatible and lucky number in their own right, the more luck, love, and money is dialed in. Thai actress Yayaying Rhatha Phongam changed her phone number to a lucky one and snagged a staring role in Only God Forgives. Had she purchased an even luckier number, she probably could have laid Ryan Gosling too.
The good news is that while the 09 prefix numbers are getting scarce, Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission will soon release another set of phone numbers with an 099 prefix. So don’t be surprised if your boy du hour doesn’t just want a new cell phone, but a new and pricey phone number to go with it. And while you may think the hullabaloo over 9 is just a superstition, just consider how lucky you’d feel if you landed a bar boy packing 9 inches.
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Alex said:
I bought my SIM card at Tesco Lotus for maybe 39 Baht and it still came with a pretty number, despite the modest and decidedly inauspicious circumstances of this transaction. My phone number doesn’t contain my personal Lucky Numbers, however, so I might have to change it at some point – or simply give up any hope that Ryan Gosling will call ME one day when he’s in Bangkok again. 😉
My license plate is another matter entirely. You really cannot leave anything to chance considering my fellow road (ab)users here.
Bangkokbois said:
lol
Maybe I need to start choosing my taxis by license plate number!
Mitch S. said:
So how many cell phones have you bought for guys in Thailand? We’ve read of your devotion to Noom, but what about before he was in your life over there? I figure you probably have three fuck buddies in Bangkok and (although you will never admit to going there) at least twice that number of Pattaya pros on your payroll. 😉
I haven’t kept track of how many cell phones I’ve bought for guys there, but before I left this year two guys could not wait the iPhone 5S to go on sale and had to have iPhone 5’s while I was still there. One guy sold his in a matter of weeks, and the other guy now has a hi-lo debt that must be settled quickly, so I bet his iPhone will also be gone soon.
Bangkokbois said:
9
Of course.
🙂
(and in the spirit of the holidays I’m gonna ignore that Pattaya crack!)
Andi Cheok said:
Pon said in his bar mates with numbers 7, 8 and 9 usually have more offs… hmmm…
Bangkokbois said:
I think he was speaking of size Andi.
🙂
Andi Cheok said:
just clarified with him… we were discussing number tags… hotties are those with 9… seems the boi with the number 9 has an off almost every evening…
he didn’t really keep track but as most bar bois… aiming to take over those numbers with 9, followed by 8… 7 seems to be a consolation…
on another note… he has completed his Thai Massage course at Wat Pho… mamsan email to me copy of his results slip… certificates and wat nots… and he has tons of photos uploaded to faceboook taking during his course…
currently back to the bar while actively seeking to change job… if not… he probably would take up another course on aroma therapy massage…
ChristianPFC said:
“By 2006 cell phones and other personal digital devices were big business and for the King’s 60th birthday celebration 9,999 commemorative gold colored iPods were produced.”
not birthday, but ascension to the throne ?
Bangkokbois said:
Sorry, you’re right. It was the anniversary of donning the crown. More importantly, that’s how many iphones are on sale daily at MBK.