In Reply to: running shoes? posted by lesliey on Wednesday, 3. November 2004 at 01:53 Bali Time:
Hi lesliey,
maybe you are interested in a small anecdote due sneakers.
Was on Koh Samui in the rain season, the last week it was raining very often and as I was always on tour with the motorbike I got my shoes wet.
Had three pairs of closed shoes with me, when the humid is all the time > 90 %, you will not get them dry.
So when I entered the hotel in Bangkok, it was pretty clear I had to buy new shoes to go out in the evening.
I tried to get a pair of sneakers ( but leather made !) dry with the hair dryer of the bathroom, but after half an hour I lost the patience and because I was eager to get into the city, I decided they could dry at best on my feet.
I slipped into the sneakers without socks, took a fresh pair of sock into my bag to try the new shoes later in the shop and went out.
It was hot in Bangkok, I took a taxi to the Oriental and had a coffee there on the terrace, later the waiter called me a long-tail boat and I had a cruise in the Klongs, a visit to What Arun, a walk through some markets.
In the afternoon, I went to a big shopping mall, wanted to buy some shirts and shoes for the night.
I was looking for some classical black shoes and found a nice pair in a very good quality, but compared to Thai prices for a immense high price.
I decided at least to try them, the service or the stuff was very attentive, so I took the pair of socks out of my bag and was going to put out the sneakers I was wearing the whole day (...)
I swear, I will never forget this moment for the rest of my life !
And I guess the three ladies ( with their backs against the wall, still pretending they would smile, although they had a hard fight with their stomachs ) and the young guy, who had the intention in helping me to try the shoes ( before he lost his countenance and almost his consciousness) will also never forget this moment.
There was a green steam wabbering over the floor, climbing slowly up the shelves, the walls, into the noses of the people, wherever this mist came across, all and everything turned immediately into green.
I was shocked, at the first moment I thought this could have never be MY feet, I was looking around, seeking for a blown up water-corpse, but after a while I realised this MUST be my feet, indeed !
So it was really embarrassing, after they had reanimated the little guy and one of the ladies, after the evacuation of the other customers were successful, without any further victims, after I had back my rotten feet into this wet shoes, they even allowed me to leave the shop to wash my hands, before I tried to touch my credit card (...)
Well, what can I say, I bought this pair of shoes, without even trying them, I paid 200 U$ for the shoes, much more I had indented, I even did not got a ball pen or something like this from the shop, but at least nobody was going to shoot on me.
Best regards
Thorsten
PS: Sneakers can be a mass-destruction weapon sometimes ;-)