Bangkok Harriettes #2255

All hail the Harriettes, on their 44th Anniversary. The Bangkok Harriettes had their first run on 17 March 1982. Having previously hashed with the Jakarta Harriettes, the founder . . . Janet Baker, with the assistance of Christine Morf, set about to get the Bangkok Harriettes up and running on a weekly basis on Wednesdays, which they continue to do to this day. There was a brief period where they changed their name to the Bangkok Wednesday Hash, but that lasted less than a year, returning it to Bangkok Harriettes.

Often referred to as the ‘Friendliest Hash in Bangkok, Janet Baker explained the founding like this . . .

“Tony ‘Godfather’ Erswell urged Christine Morf and me to start the Bangkok Harriettes, as he felt there were a number spouses of active Members of the All Male Bangkok H3 who would like to run and who would enjoy the spirit of the hash. We talked it over and deigned to give it a try. However, we really didn’t think it would fly. We decided to lay the first five runs in Lumpini Park until we got the hang of the whole thing. We had quite a group for our first run, but it was padded with female staffers of the Bangkok Post! Well, we got some good publicity out of it!”

Although the Bangkok Harriettes started out as a women’s only club, eventually men were allowed and it became a mixed hash. Christine Morf was a regular in the beginning, but departed Thailand after the 50th run, she commented that “After 2-3 months we had trumped up a pack of around 20 harriettes, but I don’t really remember when we allowed men to join. Maybe it was after I left?”

Well, the MEN are fully entrenched in the Bangkok Harriettes now, and this week we had two MEN hares, Checkless and Gringo, that set an amazing trail out near the golf courses of Ya Sabai Village. It was a well constructed course of 8 kms, taking in several khlong paths, back alleyways, and various other dirt tracks that kept the pack guessing throughout. Circle was short and sweet, and we then recessed into the seafood shop for good eats. Another great day of hashing in Bangkok.Read more