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"The Ships"

M/S "Boribana"

- part three -

1972-01-038
Preparing to berth in Bangkok, - at Khlong Toei
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-01-040
M/S "Boribana"
- Happy Crew, - now at Khlong Toei in Bangkok-, waiting for the famous Bangkok girls with great expectations -
(Look at them! This is what real sailors looked like in the early seventies!)
(Odd Oddnes in the center of the picture, - partly covering Villy, - left -, and Musante, - right -, with Kurt to right, - in GREAT mood!)
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-01-041
- and here the first load is coming -
- a Bangkok water taxi filled with the world famous Bangkok girls -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-01-099
- a view of the World famous "Mosquito Bar" in Bangkok's Khlong Toei area -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

Some comments about the "Mosquito Bars" might be needed here:

"Mosquito bar" was NOT just another bar, - it was one of the absolute most famous sailor's bars in the whole World - - - Actually It could easily have been the most famous one of them all!
This particular bar simply became an institution, - a historical landmark you could say - - -
It's fame was not because of the bar itself, - absolutely nothing special about that, - actually it was rather scruffy and dingy -, and it stood in the middle of a slum area, - which was actually not a negative thing, since it was quite interesting to explore the back streets of Khlong Toei.
Also it's fame was not only because of the famous Bangkok girls, although they could be very interesting indeed - - - -

What made "Mosquito Bar" were the sailors and advenrurers that used to hang out there and created that special "something" with their stories and tall tales from exiting lives, - real lives -, being it on the great oceans, - or in the Opium triangle - - - - or whereever the World ticks - - - -
There were always stories to be heard, - and there were always funny and interesting people there - - - - no people in coat and tie, - no naive tourists, - but real men, - sailors and adventures who knew the World, - and who knew life!
And together with the beer, the rum and the Bangkok girls, the atmosphere was "electric" and could be pure magic which caused the hours, - or days -, to go by as if they were minutes - - -

"Boribana" and the other "East Asiatic Company" ships always stayed at the nearby pier and warehouses owned by the "East Asiatic Company", - and from there we could just walk down to "Mosquito Bar" and in a few minutes time we would be in another World - - - and forget time - - -

If this has made some Bangkok visitors curious to see and experience the most famous sailor's bar in the World, then I must disappoint them - - - -
"Mosquito Bar" is not there anymore, - it has long gone - - - - just like the real sailors - - - but still there must be some old salts around which can only smile and get a dreamy look in their faces when they think about that particular watering hole right there in the middle of Bangkoks Khlong Toei area.

1972-01-099-1
- a close-up of the famous "Mosquito Bar" signboard -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-02-001
A view into the street level of "Mosquito bar", - the area you can see behind the green shades in following picture -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-01-100
- and here a last look at "Mosquito Bar" in it's heyday in the the first half of the seventies -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-02-003
- and a few minutes walk away we are back to our great ship "Boribana", - and ready for new adventures -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-02-032
Now in Cebu, - Philippines -, where the waterfront in those days were filled with sailor's bars, - just down the gangway -
Here the Chief Cook looks rather tired, - while AB Odd Oddnes handles a bottle of "something" -
(Also those famous Cebu bars have since long gone! Nothing is left of the life from the fun days in the sixties/seventies!)
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-02-037
"Boribana" is in a different world.
- from tropoical heat in Thailand and the Philippines to the far north in Otaru, Japan, - and an icy-cold winter -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-02-038
- 3rd. Engineer Mogens Heine, - dressed in yellow -, - in charge of repairing the windlass in unfavourable weather conditions -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-02-040
- Otaru is also freezing -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-02-044
- but inside the small, warm and cozy Japanese bars, - the outside snowstorm and freezing cold seems far away -
Here seaman Musante and other "Boribana" crew members enjoy themselves in "Utopia Bar" in Otaru
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-02-046
- Mama-san in "Utopia Bar, - in her finest traditional Japanese kimono -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-02-047
- Mama-san in action -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-02-048
- serving hot Japanese sake -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-02-055
- but outside the bars Otaru is still cold -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-02-059
- Heading south again, - and spotting the first Chinese junks in the South China Sea -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-02-082
- Hong Kong's magnificent harbou, - with modern cargo ships and ancient Chinese junks -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

1972-03-004
"Boribana" in Hong Kong in 1972,- before the container ships had completely taken over the dry cargo transportation -
This is what it looked like when a cargo ship loaded Chinese goods for all the warehouses in Europe.
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)

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