Category Archives: 90s

A Shabbas Goy In Bangkok

August 18, 2019 – 10:32 pm

In 1991 I arrived in Thailand and visited the Rebbi of the Jewelry trade. We exchanged good wishes as I was a respected shabbas goy and he was a learned man connected to my contacts on New York’s 47th Street. “What are you thinking of doing here in Bangkok?” the old man asked with a […]

By Peter | Also posted in Bangkok, Bet On Crazy | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Not CIA

December 7, 2018 – 10:30 pm

Phillip Brook came from Tasmania. We met in Paris during the 1980s. He was a journalist and hardcore junkie also a little queer, not that I minded, because queers were much more fun than straights in Boston, New York, or the City of Lights. We worked together for several magazines and journals. He was a […]

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BERENTI MISTAH by Peter Nolan Smith

August 15, 2018 – 4:52 am

In 1991 I bought a round-the-world ticket for $1399 from Pan Express. The owner set up a magical itinerary. “New York – LA – Hawaii – Biak – Bali – overland to Jakarta.” John recited the trip from memory, since he sold hundreds of these tickets every year. “What do you mean ‘overland to Jakarta’?” […]

By Peter | Also posted in Asia, farangs, Liberty, Travel, world | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

The Beauty of FREEBIRD

July 15, 2018 – 5:55 am

My youngest brother’s health suffered a precipitous decline in 1995. The experimental drugs had failed to stem Michael’s ruthless aliment’s advances. I received a telephone call from my older brother in Boston. I was running a nightclub in Beverly Hills. He told me the bad news. The next day I was on a plane to […]

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MACAM KUMBANG by Peter Nolan Smith

June 24, 2018 – 12:14 pm

In 1990 I got off the train from Surabaya a little past dawn and headed over to the port of Jakarta. An inter-island ship was departing to Sumatra at noon and I looked forward to a cruise through the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean. As I neared the dock, a man of indeterminable race […]

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