Bangkok

The Changing Face of Bangkok – 1970 vs 2009

thumb1 I've talked about the subject before, but for some reason I have a strange fascination with comparing Bangkok today to Bangkok of old (of yore?). In such a dynamic, crazy, haphazard city that rushes forward while dragging giant piles of the past, it's endlessy interesting to juxtapose what is with what once was. In other words - dude, things change fast. While browsing the excellent site 2Bangkok.com, I found a link to another excellent site, ThaiVisa.com, which had a discussion going on in one of its forums about pictures of Bangkok throughout the decades. Two caught my eye - firstly, because I know this particular area so well, and secondly, because the change is so severe.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:47+00:00Bangkok, History|0 Comments

“Not the Nation” Nails it Again

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.

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

Black and White Bangkok

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':

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

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

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.

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

A Very Phallic Christmas

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.

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

A Star Wars Bike Ride and a Very Strange Temple

My friends J and E and myself went on one of our semi-regular bicycle rides in Bangkok last week. As you may have read on this blog before (or seen elsewhere), we enjoy getting out to explore the hidden corners of the city in all its gritty, awful, wonderful glory. But we weren't prepared for how epic this ride would be and how quickly we'd be reminded of how truly surprising Thailand is. We also weren't prepared to handle our incredibly poor sense of direction, as you'll see below. The Star Wars reference is easy to explain, but as for the strange temple... I'm just glad I had my camera.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:52+00:00Bangkok, Biking|0 Comments

The Bangkok Girlie-Bar Game

I'm not really sure how to approach writing this post, but it's something I wanted to get down on (e)paper, so I'm going to try. First off, I've never really been one for the whole bargirl scene; there's just something about my psyche that isn't turned on by paying for sex. I'm not judging people who do, but it's just never been my thing, and let's just leave it at that. At any rate, Bangkok being the city it is, with the plethora of adult entertainment it has, if you're a guy, you will inevitably find yourself looking at gyrating naked girls on a stage at some point in your time here. I found myself in just such a place the other night and was frankly surprised at how unlike the stereotypical titty bar the place was - in some respects, anyway.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:52+00:00Bangkok|0 Comments

Are the Bangkok Protests Really as Bad as They Say?

I generally try and stay away from writing about Thailand's constantly shifting, often ridiculous and usually baffling politics. This is due to the fact that I'm admittedly kind of dense when it comes to politics; I see them as I see art - I know what I like and don't like, but as for the theories on origin or dissection of ideology, I really have no idea. I find that, generally speaking, politicians can't be trusted and money talks, and that's all you need to know. The ongoing protests in Bangkok are definitely double-plus un-good and have been covered quite well, but I've seen some things in the news that kind of shocked me which I wanted to extrapolate on.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:53+00:00Bangkok, Current Events, Politics|0 Comments

Chinatown Vegetarian Festival – More Fun Than a Bucket of Snakefish

My crazy neighborhood is no crazier than during the period from September 28-October 7, when the Chinese vegetarian festival takes place. During this time, the sois (alleys) around my apartment are packed with crowds of people dressed in white, food stalls selling all manner of food, Chinese opera singers, parades, firecrackers and even the odd acrobat or two. It's quite the sight. The festival is similar to the Christian observance of Lent, but the rules are a bit different and the celebrations seem to be a hell of a lot more fun. Although to be honest, I haven't spent that much time praying in front of a statue of a naked guy nailed to a tree - it might be really enjoyable, who knows?

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:54+00:00Bangkok, Religion, Video|0 Comments

Biking Around Bangkok

Biking around Bangkok is something I really like doing, which freaks a lot of people out. Most automatically assume that it's nothing more than a date with death, but I Greg to differ (ha!). If you're patient, know how traffic works, and keep your wits about you, city riding can be really rewarding, especially if you have an all-terrain bike like mine (pictured at left). Indeed, there are several companies that exist solely to take people on rides through Bangkok's twisting, labyrinthine alleys. I've written about biking before on this blog, but recently, I made a DIY camera mount on my handlebars to see what some video would look like. I know I'm not the first one to do this, but I'm happy with the nascent results, as you can see below.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:54+00:00Bangkok, Biking, Video|0 Comments