ok, ok, i didn't get a knife or a tub of vaseline but the adventure certainly began today. i, and my canadian fellow stalker, Les, tracked the potential ms. universes to their hotel in downtown Bangkok. we'd anticipated plenty of security and an unruly crowd of fellow perverts (and the odd sex-tourist) but to our surprise, we'd timed it perfectly. not a single fan (fanatic) occupied the premises and we were left to enjoy the beauties, all clad in matching white, without dilution from other ms. universe enthusiasts. one by one, they were loaded onto their buses en route to eat waif amounts of dinner. and yes, they were indeed wearing the sashes that identify from which country they hail.

in an overly excited state, i fumbled to pull out my, now 20x zoom camera and snapped a few pictures. it was dark and rainy and i was distracted by the ms. universes waving at me. i poo you not, my friends. they were actually waving at me - at me! honestly, i thought their smiles and friendliness, as seen on tv in previous ms. universe competitions, was completely artificial but what i saw today made me believe in god(s). of course ms. france maintained the aloofness characteristic of anyone whose country is known for accordian music and red berets.

the pictorial result is disappointing but remember, this is only day 1. the lovely young ladies leave on the first of June, 15 full days away.

as the buses drove away, i brushed the tears off my swollen cheek and poignantly mouthed the words, "i love you," to each person on the bus. the only response was mouthed back by the male thai bus driver, "i love you too."

more to come...