Corinne's Sex Change

Thursday 26 august. I got up at 05.30 on, feeling tremendously excited that the day had finally arrived. I dressed in my beige long sleeved t-shirt and matching pleated miniskirt and ankle boots. Yesterday I had left my suitcase in the office in Geneva and had been intending to hitchhike back today so as to avoid having to park the car there for almost a month but it was pouring with rain so I decided to take the bus instead. I hiked down to the Col de Bluffy, the pass through which the main road runs, and stood waiting for the 07.00 bus from La Clusaz (the local ski resort) to Annecy. It was dawn and I stood looking across the valley at my picturesque little village which nestled on the slopes of the 1821 metre Dents de Lanfon.

The church bell was ringing seven o'clock and the peals were echoing in the dawn silence. I wondered with a pang of nostalgia whether I'd ever see home again, but, at the same time marvelled that when I did, I'd be a real (well, to all intents and purposes) woman.

I took the bus to Annecy and considered it an excellent omen that the driver today was my neighbour ! At 07.30 I caught the connection to Geneva then at 09.30 a local tram. A workman digging a hole in the road looked at me and spread his arms wide "Madame you are magnificent !" When I was waiting for the final tram a black girl told me I had a very pretty skirt and that I must be cold. She admonished "That will teach you not to check the weather forecast before leaving home !" It's funny how people chat to me in the street. It must be the permanent smile I have on my face.

I arrived at the office at 10.30, after a trip of almost 4 hours ! Oops. I joined in a meeting with my colleagues but wasn't really able to concentrate. We all had a good laugh about my impending departure and one or two subconsciously squeezed their legs together at the thought of what was to happen to me !. I have known my colleagues for 10 years and they have given me enormous support throughout the 4 years or so during which my identity crisis has been public.

I phoned my little 6 year old daughter twice from the office and said I'd be home in just over 3 weeks. I shall miss her dreadfully. My transsexual friend Anny was due to come and to pick me up at the office at 16.30. I met her a couple of years ago when she was working for a company on a different floor of the same little office block. It was quite a coincidence to have 2 transsexuals in the same building ! She had decided to have her SRS at the same time as I, at Dr Suporn, taking advantage of the fact that I spoke English, something which she didn't.

It was time to leave ! I went around saying goodbye to everyone. They were very genuine in their good wishes and it was a heart rending moment. We drove the 10 minutes to the airport and Anny's boyfriend Patrick left us after they had spent a lot of time kissing 'n cuddling.

We caught the flight to Zurich and wandered around for two hours in the airport looking at the shops. We had a gin and tonic in the Swissair frequent flier lounge, waiting impatiently for the flight to Bangkok. Since I transit via Zurich on business travel several times a year, the adventure only started for me when we boarded the plane for Bangkok. It wasn't even half full so I managed to sleep after dinner from Greece as far as Calcutta on a 4 seat wide section. What luxury !

Fri 27 august. We arrived at 14.00 the following day, friday 27 august. Having slept so soundly in the plane I wasn't in the least bit tired. I was also excited at arriving in a new country. The only other place in the Far East which I had visited was Hong Kong and that was in 1973 ! We changed our money and went through immigration. The lady on the desk started to chatter to her colleagues who all turned around to look at me and I said to Anny "I get the impression they're talking about me". The lady looked at my passport, then at me, broke into a smile and raised an eyebrow and enquired "female ?" I grinned back at her and said "yes !". She wished me a nice stay.

Our transport to the hotel was waiting with a sign marked "Miss Corinne". It was 34 degrees and extremely humid. It was a half an hour drive, during which I remained glued to the window to see what Bangkok was like... big and noisy - especially for a country girl like me. On arrival at the 5 star Menam Riverside, for which I'd obtained an excellent rate on the internet, we were taken to reception which was up to a very high floor and given a welcome cocktail which was rather nice. Then we were shown to our room which had a magnificent view of the river Chao Phraya and the swimming pool.

By this time I was bursting with energy and raring to go out. We each took a shower and then went to the pool. Here is my last pre-op photo in a bikini ! It's always a considerable challenge to go to the beach or the pool in a bikini because one has to be very careful that nothing falls out ! After a swim I Changed into my black tie-front shirt, flared jeans and baskets and we walked around trying to find a restaurant but there were only stand-up food stands in the area and we didn't want to risk getting a stomach bug 3 days before our operations ! We ended up eating a Thai buffet in the hotel garden overlooking the river and it was very tasty. I'm a real fan of Thai food but Anny prefers good Swiss home cooking. We then sat in the bar and had a perrier while listening to a cute little singer. We debated whether to go to Patpong to see the prostitutes but finally decided to get an early night. I feel really serene because I'm finally getting to the final stages of becoming a girl.

Saturday 28 august. We got up at 08.30, I dressed in my grey minikilt, grey long sleeved t-shirt and flat beige ankleboots. We went to breakfast and had bacon and scrambled eggs (I normally eat very lightly at breakfast but when I have this kind of stuff in front of me I can't resist pigging myself) then took a taxi to the Snake Farm.

It had apparently just closed (at 10.00 ???) but a man offered to give us a special tour for 100 baht for the two of us, with no ticket, as opposed to the usual ticket price of 70 baht each ! He was clearly quite enamoured with the two chicks it was to be his pleasure to give a personal tour to. We held a King Cobra which was very scary especially as it started to hiss when Anny was holding it. We then held another menacing looking reddish coloured snake and then had a python around our necks. We took some great photos then went for a drink in a small bar.The barmaid told me I was very pretty. We got intercepted by a man who claimed to be a guide and he told me I was beautiful... All these compliments !

Anny and I took another taxi to the Grand Palace and the driver kept staring at my legs, even angling his rearview mirror to get an eyeful... much to our amusement. I had to rent a long skirt before we were allowed into the temple. It was dreadfully hot and humid and we both started to sweat. Poor Anny was very uncomfortable indeed.