By chance, we’d arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport one week after the opening of a new rail link to the City Air Terminal in Downtown Bangkok, which was close to both our hotel and the Pratunam Polyclinic”Ž where Julie was due to have her appointment the following day. Thus by 8.00am we’d checked in to our Hotel, but our room would not be available until midday. We therefore deposited our luggage in their store-room and went to do some sightseeing for a few hours.

The one thing I hadn’t fully anticipated was the mid-morning heat - rather like trying to walk around in an oven. So it was not too long before we were sitting in the shade with cool drinks.

‘So what are we going to do tomorrow?’ asked Sue.

‘You two could take a river boat trip or go to the Grand Palace, whilst I go to the clinic, if you like,’ suggested Julie. ‘Then we could meet up as soon as I’m finished.’

‘If it’s all the same to you Sue, I think I should like to accompany my sister to the clinic tomorrow morning, but we’ll have the afternoon and the rest of the week together.’

‘I don’t mind, that is what she came all this way for, after all. I’ll visit the Palace whilst you are both at the clinic, and then we could take the boat trip together afterwards, and you can tell me what happened.’

Julie looked surprised by my suggestion that I should accompany her but did not appear to mind; in fact I suspect she was quite glad to have someone to go with her.

‘Alright and then we can take a bus out to the beach at Pattaya on Tuesday,’ she said.

The Polyclinic in Makkasan was a clean modern looking building. The reception room contained about a dozen animated young women who all seemed to be discussing plastic surgery procedures with various receptionists and attendants in white coats. Most of them appeared to be petite and attractive Thai girls, but Julie explained that the majority were in fact katoey who had started their lives as boys, and had been taking hormones and testosterone blockers from a very young age. There were also a couple of western transwomen in the waiting room and it was noticeable that these were somewhat older, taller and retained more masculine physical traits than their Asian sisters.

‘Julie Robertson, I have an appointment with a Doctor Wirun Phuvanatnaranubala,’ said Julie to one of the receptionists, with admirable fluency.

Where on earth do they get these names from? I wondered to myself.

‘Ah yes, Miss Robertson. Before you see the doctor I should just like to take your blood pressure, and also have you brought a sample of your urine?’ said the receptionist.

Julie handed over her sample and allowed her blood pressure to be taken, and we sat down to wait to be called. As we did so various other clients came and went.

‘I’d no idea it would be as busy as this,’ I commented.

‘Gender re-assignment has become a multi-million dollar industry in Thailand, and each year the demand continues to grow.’

‘Wow! I'd no idea. Why is that?’

‘Because it's relatively cheap here whilst the standards of care are at least as good and frequently better than in hospitals overseas. Transgenders are not regarded as freaks or mentally ill here. The medical staff do not put artificial obstacles in the way to force their patients to wait for years for their operations whilst all the time their bodies are changing and making the process more difficult. Also the surgeons tend to be more experienced here. Doctor Phuvanatnaranubala conducts five operations each week, and has specialized in the field of sex reassignment surgery for 25 years,’ she replied.

Five minutes later we were called in to the consulting room, by a middle-aged Doctor who acknowledged us both with the traditional Thai greeting of a slight bow, with the palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion. He spoke fluent English with an educated accent.

‘Good morning Miss Robertson, I am pleased to see you once again,’ he said to Julie whilst consulting her notes.’ May I enquire who the young lady is with you?’

‘This is my elder sister Jennifer who is responsible for me as both of my parents have passed away since we last met,’ she replied.

‘I am sorry to hear that,’ he replied in a matter of fact manner and then returned to examining her notes. ‘I see that you have been taking the anti-androgens since we last met. They appear to have successfully done their job. Have there been any adverse side effects?’

‘Not really, my penis has shrunk in size, but I do not regard this as an adverse side effect, it just means I can tuck it away more easily,’ replied Julie.

‘So you are still determined to proceed with gender re-assignment.’

‘I would have the operation tomorrow if I could,’ she said blushing slightly.

‘Hang on a minute Julie, don’t get carried away,’ I thought.

Doctor Phuvanatnaranubala also smiled.

‘Unfortunately the regulations in Thailand have changed during the last year and we are no longer able to offer the operation to patients under eighteen. However, if you are sure it is the right course of action for you, and you have the support of your family, there is no reason why you should not start to take oestrogen to help develop more feminine physical characteristics. Your body is ready to undergo puberty and it would be unwise to delay it any further,’ he said.

‘Jenny is my only surviving family and she has been very supportive of my decision to become a woman; that is why she is here today.’

‘When do you recommend that my sister begins to take the hormones?’ I asked.

‘I would say as soon as possible. Today, if you wish; we can supply you with everything you need in the pharmacy downstairs. However, you must understand that because of your age and the suppression of your natural puberty, the changes to your body will probably begin to take effect quite quickly and will be irrevocable.’

Julie looked at me expectantly. Before we’d left I’d made her promise that she would not take any hormones until she was sixteen, but there seemed to be no point in making her wait for one more week.

‘My sister must do whatever she feels is right for her. I will support her decision,’ I replied.

‘Thank you Jen. I realise the implications of what I am proposing to do but am certain that I wish to proceed as soon as I can.’
Doctor Phuvanatnaranubala wrote down something on a form, which he handed to Julie.

‘I will give you an injection straight away which will get the process started. Take this form to the pharmacy, and from tomorrow onwards you should place one of the tablets under your tongue each lunch-time, and spread the gel thinly over one arm each morning and the other one each night. That will provide you with a steady low dosage of the hormone and so should avoid complications. I will prescribe for you sufficient to last you for two years, but you must understand that exceeding the prescribed dose will not speed up the process of feminization and could be dangerous.’

‘I understand,’ said Julie. ‘I have waited this long and will be able to take my time as long as I can see that I am making progress towards my goal.’

‘Good. I hope to see you back in the summer of 2012 to complete the process.’

‘Will she be allowed to take the hormones back to the UK?’ I asked.

‘These are drugs which have been approved for use in the UK, although you would not be able to go out and buy them there without a medical prescription. My understanding of the law is that it will not be illegal for you to import them if they are for your own use, but I am not a lawyer and so you must be responsible. I will provide you with a letter confirming that they have been prescribed to you, but you must decide how you will take them back to the UK.

‘When will I begin to notice any changes as a result of taking the hormones?’ asked Julie.

‘I cannot say with certainty, but I suspect it may be quite soon in your case. Do not become alarmed if you experience sudden mood swings, feelings of tearfulness or depression at first. These are a precursor to the physical changes in your body. Such feelings are not unusual whilst your body adjusts to the new levels of oestrogen in your blood, and should disappear after a week or two. Now are you ready to have your first hormone injection?’

Julie looked a little apprehensive, but on the other hand there was no doubt that she wanted to go ahead.

‘Yes please.’

‘Good luck,’ I said.

‘Thanks, there’ll be no going back now.’

Just over an hour later we came away from the Polyclinic armed with 750 tablets and 25 jars of gel, having spent an arm and a leg. Thereafter she followed the routine of spreading the hormone gel on each arm once a day, and taking a tablet at lunchtime.

The rest of the week was a typical holiday for three teenage girls without the impediment of having their parents to hand. We went out to the beach at Pattaya where we ran into a group of lads from Lancashire. A certain amount of flirting went on, but we didn’t let things go too far, for Julie’s sake. She was still a little diffident and shy in dealing with older guys, but was anxious to learn how it’s done, and I’ve no doubt that she’ll soon have them twisted round her little finger.

We also spent a couple of days sightseeing around Bangkok and clubbing in the evenings, and also spent a day sunbathing on the beautiful sandy beach at Cha-Am, which was a lot quieter and a bit more refined than Pattaya. On our last free evening we went to the Calypso Cabaret at the Asia Hotel which was an extravagant Broadway-style lady-boy show.

‘What did you think of them?’ Julie asked me as we were leaving the show.

‘They were certainly beautiful and quite talented, but I wouldn’t want to spend my life performing twice a night in front of lecherous Japanese tourists,’ I replied.

‘Me neither, but at least that way they can live as women. There’s nothing worse than being forced to live as a man when it is against your nature,’ said Julie.

‘Were you really ‘forced’ to live as a man?’ asked Sue.

‘Perhaps not physically so, but it takes a lot of determination to go against everyone’s expectations of you and then find medical and psychological help to live as you feel you should. I really feel that the British doctors let me down at the time when I most needed them — that’s why we came to Thailand.’

‘Well you’ve now got what you came for,’ I added.

‘Yes, and I’m really grateful for the support given me by you and Susie, I don’t know what I would have done without you.’

‘You can save your thanks until after we get you and your pills safely back into the country tomorrow.’

The Thai Airways flight flew out of Bangkok at 12.25 and so we had to check out of the hotel by 8.30am the next morning to allow us sufficient time to go through the security procedures. We all dressed fairly androgynously with jeans, crop tops and a minimum of makeup. Sue and I wore sandals but Julie wore her mother’s trainers and a pair of white socks as she did not want to go to the trouble of removing the nail varnish from her toes. Instead of tying her hair back in a ponytail she collected her hair under a baseball cap. Nevertheless she still did not now look remotely like a young man.

There were no problems for ourselves or our luggage at the airport. We were not overweight and no alarms were set off by our check-in luggage or our cabin bags. As soon as we were on the plane and our cabin bags stowed in the lockers Julie took off her cap and throughout the flight the attendants addressed us all as ‘madam’. Once we’d had a meal and watched a film, Susie and I fell asleep. I awoke when they announced that we would shortly be beginning the descent into Heathrow. I noticed that Julie had put on the hormone gel on to her arm and was now just finishing painting her fingernails.

‘Is that wise? Couldn’t it have waited until we were through passport control?’ I asked.

‘I wonder whether we’ve been making too much of the potential difficulty of my travelling as a woman,’ she replied.

‘Well, it is up to you, but remember that you’ve a hefty supply of hormones in our various suitcases which you’d rather not bring to the attention of the authorities.’

‘Don’t worry, I bought some white cotton gloves to wear and I’ll put on my cap to hide my hair as we go through passport control.’

We left the plane without incident and queued together at the Immigration Control. Eventually the three of us were called forward by a woman officer and I handed over our passports. She looked at each one in turn and then addressing Julie said:

‘Please would you remove your cap.’

Without thinking Julie slipped her hand out of one of the cotton gloves, thereby displaying a set of beautifully manicured scarlet finger nails, and took off her cap. Her blonde hair extensions tumbled down each side of her face in a rather appealing girly way. She coloured a little but then shrugged her shoulders as if to say, ‘so what’? The immigration officer rolled her eyes, but then she saw the funny side of the situation and her face brightened into a smile.

‘Thank you very much,’ she said, handing me the three passports.

And that was it, we were through to the hall containing the baggage belts, looking out for our flight to be listed on the display boards.

‘I’m glad that’s over and done with,’ said Sue.

‘I just hope that our baggage gets through customs without a hitch as well,’ I replied.

‘The belt number for our flight hasn’t even been announced yet. Would you two mind if I went to the ladies?’ asked Julie.

‘Alright, we’ll wait for you over by the luggage belt when it is announced,’ I called out as she left us taking her cabin bag with her.

Fifteen minutes later Susie and I had retrieved our luggage but there was still no sign of Julie.

‘I’ll go and have a look for her in the ladies,’ said Sue.

A further five minutes went by before they returned, but this time Julie was dressed in a flouncy pink summer dress, strappy heels, a matching necklace and earrings and with her face made up to perfection. She’d obviously planned the whole thing.

‘I’m sorry to have kept you but I couldn’t bear to spend one more minute dressed in that horrible butch clothing,’ she said defiantly.

Next to Julie, Susie and I must have appeared like a couple of tramps. I was about to tell her off, but she looked so nice that I couldn’t bring myself to do so.

‘We’d better get going, we have to catch a bus and then get a train, and I want to get back to Woodley before midnight,’ I replied coolly.

We walked through the Green Channel of Customs, but nobody took a second look at us and again we were through the swing doors and into the meeting and greeting area of the Arrivals Terminal. We were just moving in the direction of the bus stops when I caught sight of Mum, Dad and Susie’s Mum waiting together. Susie’s mother smiled and waved at us all. Mum took one look at Julie and went white. Dad did the opposite — his cheeks went red and I thought his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets.

‘What are you doing here?’ I asked sharply, in the vain hope that attack might be the best form of defence.

‘I met Susie’s mother this morning and she told me how helpful your young cousin was being helping in her salon, but then I told her that you didn’t have a fifteen-year old cousin. So we both decided to come here and find out what was happening,’

‘Susie, I have our car in the Car Park. I think that you and I should leave now as the others will no doubt wish to have a private discussion,’ said her mother.

Susie hesitated for a minute, but then decided that perhaps her mother was right.

‘Bye Jen, bye Julie, and good luck,’ she said and then they left us.

The remaining four of us looked at one another waiting for someone to say something. Eventually my mother broke the silence.

‘Jennifer, I think you should now come back to Bracknell with us. Julian will have to find his own way home,’ she said in her usual disapproving tone of voice.

I was about to tell her to get stuffed, but before I could do so Dad interjected in a voice that would brook no argument.

‘We shall not be leaving anybody, anywhere. We’re all now going to drive back to Woodley where you two can explain exactly what has been going on over the last few weeks.’

That’s the first time I remember him directly contradicting Mum like that.