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19 03, 2009

“Not the Nation” Nails it Again

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:48+00:00Bangkok, Pop Culture, Web Media|8 Comments

For a few years now, expats have been getting a semi-regular dose of laughs from Thailand's own version of The Onion called Not the Nation. It's a takeoff of The Nation, one of Thailand's two English dailies, and has a particular talent for skewering all that's ridiculous and wonderful about Thailand with deadly accuracy. One recent post told how exiled ex-PM Thaksin was raising an army of Orcs; another headline declared Love of Thai food Discussed Over Lunch at Burger King. One of the website's latest ads deserved special mention, because it hits the nail on the head so completely.

1 03, 2009

Thailand’s Love/Hate Relationship with Media Violence (and Sex!)

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:49+00:00Current Events, Print Media, Thailand|0 Comments

janet It's a bit difficult for me to speak credibly about the topic of how sex and violence affects youth, because my experience is often in contrast to my beliefs. Personally, I think that a young kid seeing all kinds of brutal violence and graphic sex is bad; however, in my oft-hooliganistic youth, I saw more of both than any normal kid should and managed to turn out (mostly) okay. It's one of those issues where lines blur in different places for different people. But nowhere is this issue blurred more than in Thailand, where several issues come together in a big ol' pile of censorship, hypocrisy and unintentional comedy.

21 02, 2009

Meanwhile, in Bangkok: Mass Transit Exercise

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:49+00:00Meanwhile in Bangkok...|0 Comments

bus-pusherthumb With the recent - and slightly humorous, slightly scary - news that many of Bangkok's buses are too old to be safely ferrying passengers around the city, I thought posting this picture would be apropos. I also get five points for using 'apropos' in a sentence. Anyway, the article in the Bangkok Post referenced a recent report from the Land Transport Department that said after examining 3,154 buses, it found that more than half of them were at least 10 years old, with the oldest being 54 years old. Fifty four years old!! Nothing demonstrates the condition of the buses better than the following picture, which I snapped a few months ago on Rama IV Road:

12 02, 2009

Customer Un-Service in Thailand

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:49+00:00Thailand|0 Comments

operator The problem with being an expat making negative statements about Thailand is that there are so many of us/them. Most, despite spending the majority of their time on a bar stool, somehow hold the secret to solving all of Thailand's woes, from government corruption to stray dogs to getting too many plastic bags at 7-11. However, while I don't claim to have any magic solutions, I think I've built up enough soi-cred to be able to state - with all love for my adopted home - a few negatively-tinged facts about Thailand. My number one beef: customer service.

5 02, 2009

A New Year Memory – Attacked by Fireworks on the River

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:50+00:00Fun Stuff, Video|0 Comments

blam A few years ago, some friends and I decided to rent a boat for New Year's Eve, load it with snacks and drinks, a stereo, and steam up and down the Chao Phraya River all night. At midnight, we thought, we'd park the boat next to the barge that sets off the traditional fireworks. It was a hell of a night, actually, super-fun, with about 40 people on the boat living it up in true Bangkok style. However, the fireworks didn't really go as planned, and luckily, I had my camera going at the time. I just found this video burried on my hard drive and thought it'd be fun to put up.

31 01, 2009

Black and White Bangkok

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:50+00:00Bangkok, History|0 Comments

face Over the past year or so, I've developed a fascination with 'old' Bangkok. The history of the city, the buildings and the roads, why and when they were built and what significance they played in the growth of this huge, awful, awesome city. It started when I moved to Chinatown, a pretty wild area, and read Edward Van Roy's book "Sampheng Inside Out" (links to Thai only) which gives a great history of the area from when it was just a mosquito-infested swamp. I was happy when Time magazine a while ago began a project that would see several million unreleased photos from its archive scanned and hosted by Google, which provides hours of fun. Below are some of my favourites found after running a search for 'Bangkok':

26 01, 2009

Meanwhile, in Bangkok: Elephant Beer Bike

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:50+00:00Meanwhile in Bangkok...|0 Comments

wheeeeeel On one of my frequent rides around the city on my mountainbike the other day, I happened to ride by Khao San Road, via my favourite route (from Chinatown, along the river, through the Pak Klong Talad flower market, past Wat Pho, through Thammasat University, under the Pinklao Bridge and up soi Rambutree to Khao San, avoiding the drunk motorcycle taxi drivers along the way). As usual in this area, there is ample opportunity to glimpse a cross section of society so broad that the word 'freak' whimpers and hides when confronted with images of the famous soi. But I saw something that caught my eye and had to snap a picture - the Elephant Beer Bike.

13 01, 2009

Meanwhile, in Bangkok: Black Man Cleaning Products

Greg2018-08-23T15:23:30+00:00Meanwhile in Bangkok...|0 Comments

Thais, for all their smiling fame and naturally friendly nature, are actually pretty racist, an issue that is, like many things here, deeper and more complex than what you see on the surface. Actually, 'racist' isn't the right word - perhaps 'xenophobic' better describes the general vibe. When I sit on the skytrain or subway with empty seats on either side of me and 40 people standing 2 feet away, I wouldn't call that racist - but its definitely noticeable (although the guy who once literally walked up and down the car peering for empty seats before deciding to stand rather than sit beside me was slightly more obvious). At any rate, the constraints of political correctness are generally ignored, which often leads to some double-takes - such as Black Man cleaning products.

8 01, 2009

Dead Cows and Dancing Girls – Finally, A Financial Index I Can Understand

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:51+00:00Bangkok, Thailand|0 Comments

I usually have a genuine interest in almost any topic, from plate tectonics to teledildonics, and honestly treasure the opportunity to learn something new no matter what it's about. There is, however, one area which elicits an almost genetically-triggered sleep response within my brain – economics. As soon as someone starts talking about the stock market or currency bonds, my eyelids start their inexorable droop. However, I do enjoy it when someone manages to make economics interesting, as they have with the slightly sexist-sounding but surprisingly honest Bangkok Bar Girl Index.

28 12, 2008

A Very Phallic Christmas

Greg2017-12-25T02:49:20+00:00Bangkok, Religion|8 Comments

Perhaps the title of this post is a bit misleading, but in Bangkok, you never know what the day will lead to. Long story short, I happened to be on the lower end of Wireless Road on Christmas day, which is just a regular work day in Thailand, as 95% of the country is Buddhist. Many people are shocked when hearing this, but Celebrating Christmas in Thailand would be like expecting people to take the day off work for Visakah Puja day. At any rate, I happened to have my camera with me, and remembered a certain interesting shrine that I'd read about but had never visited that was nearby, so I decided to check it out.