Bangkok 101 - March 2011

bangkok 101

march 2011 100 baht

the Fluorescent

people t h r o u g h the t h fluorescent e e y e s o fpeople his kingdom

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Hua Hin Special!

metrobeat: Gaggan Sightseeing Medical Museum march 2011

Food & Drink salt HISTORY & CULTURE ■ SIGHTSEEING & EXCURSIONS ■ DINING & NIGHTLIFE SHOPPING ■ SPAS ■ LISTINGS ■ EVENTS CALENDAR ■ CITY MAPS & MORE

publisher’s

letter

march 2011

As a rule our photofeatures tend to look to Bangkok for artistic inspiration, but this month we found ourselves drawn to a small hilltribe village in the far north. In The Fluorescent People a Lisu village up in Chiang Rai province is confronted with an invasion of strange installations comprised of colourful pink balls, jelly pots and PVC piping. Within this futuristic mise en scène, French photographer Marc Lathuilliere captures villagers posing in their colourful, indigenous clothes. Both poetic and critical, this curious project aims at questioning the ethnocentric vision photography tends to give of minorities we deem ‘traditional’.

Part of sprawling Francophile festival, La Fête, the full exhibition of Lathuilliere’s bizarre work will show at the city’s Museum of Siam until April 3. Other La Fête happenings also sure to be worth catching this month include dinners in the dark, DJ sets, clown mime, and a Gallic film festival, from March 18-27, at CentralWorld’s SF World Cinema.

Elsewhere, we bring you six pages of travel savvy on Thailand’s oldest seaside resort town, Hua Hin. We join the dots between its regal past and cosmopolitan present, and also big up all the satellite beaches, national parks and other pretty spots that are nearby but few make it to.

Meanwhile new column, Featured Festival, follows intrepid photojournalist Dave Stamboulis into the bowels of one the nation’s most bizarre festivals: Wat Bang Phra temple’s Tattoo Festival. Head to p.32 to see pictures of local young men who appear to be auditioning for a part in a werewolf movie.

More talking-point local practices are uncovered in this month’s Very Thai extract, an, erm, probing look at Phalad Khik, or phallic charms; while, in Paradise Found, music archeologist Chris Menist uncovers aural proof of a connection between Bollywood and Thai film music in Yemen, of all far-flung places.

In Chronicle of Thailand we also remember the disappearance of the Thai silk impresario Jim Thompson in a Malaysian jungle.

Meanwhile, as always, our team of seasoned city reviewers have been keeping themselves busy – scattered every which way through the mag are upfront reviews of new arrivals and old favourites. All of this, we think you’ll find, adds up to the best bulky guide replacement out there.

Enjoy.

Mason Florence Publisher

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contributors Marc Lathuilliere

Since he experienced a cultural shock in South Korea six years ago, this journalist-turned-artist has made geographical shift the source of his art. Based in Paris, but a frequent visitor to Asia, he explores how images frame our identities and slice up our world.

From Transkoreana (2003-2004) to France Face Lost (2004-2010), an ambitious series of masked French characters, his photographs mix documentary and stereotypes to confront our ethnocentric vision with that of the ‘exotic other’.

Philip Cornwel-Smith

Ver y Thai author Philip Cornwel-Smith is a writer, editor and curator specialising in culture and travel. He has lived in Thailand for over a decade, editing its first listings magazine and the Time Out Bangkok guides, updating Thailand: A Traveller’s Companion, presenting Noodle Box: Bangkok on Discovery Channel, and squeezing Bangkok into the city’s first mobile phone guide for Nokia.

Howard Richardson

Food and travel writer Howard Richardson lives beside the Chao Phraya River in downtown Bangkok, from where he’s spent 12 years exploring the city as magazine editor and freelance writer.

He’s contributed to publications such as GQ, the BBC’s Olive magazine and the New York Times online, and written a monthly column on Bangkok events and trends in Sawasdee, the Thai Airways inflight magazine. He also wrote the travel guide Bangkok Step by Step, published by Insight Guides.

Brian Mertens

Mertens helped spotlight Thailand’s brave new wave of textiles and furniture in Bangkok Design. Previously he wrote Architecture of Thailand: A Guide to Traditional and Contemporary Forms. He writes on culture, travel and current affairs for the New York Times, Art Asia-Pacific and Forbes. A former resident of NYC and Tokyo, he has lived in Thailand since 1997, the year he won the Citibank Prize for Excellence in Journalism.

Dave Stamboulis

Publisher Mason Florence

Steven Pettifor

Editor-in-Chief Dr. Jesda M. Tivayanond Associate Publisher Parinya Krit-Hat Managing Editor Max Crosbie-Jones Deputy Editor Simon Ostheimer Designer Narong Srisaiya Jarmmaree Janjaturonrasamee Senior Editorial Assistant Pattarasuda Prajittanond Editorial Assistant Amornsri Tresarannukul Strategists Nathinee Chen Sebastien Berger

Greek-born but Californiar aised, Dave Stamboulis resides in Bangkok where he wor ks for numerous magazines, newspapers and stock agencies as a freelance photojournalist. His quest for stories and images has taken him to Borneo, Ethiopia, Bolivia, and other way out locations, often via bicycle, kayak, or on foot. His travel book, Odysseus’ Last Stand: Chronicles of a Bicycle Nomad, received the Silver Medal from the Society of American Travel Writers in 2006.

British-born writer-ar tist Steven Pettifor stopped over in Thailand 13 years ago on his way to Japan, but never left. An authority on contemporary Thai art, Steven is a regular commentator on the local art scene, contributing to several international and domestic newspapers and journals. In 2004 he published the coffee-table book Flavours: Thai Contemporary Art. When not art musing, he spends his time travel writing.

Korakot (Nym) Punlopruksa

N a t i v e - B a n g k o k w r i t e r, photographer and incurable travel addict, Nym believes in experiencing the world through food. She can usually be found canvassing the city for the best eats around. Nym has been a host for music and film programmes, a radio DJ, a creative consultant for television and a documentar y scriptwriter. She is the author of several travel narratives, and her work appears in myriad magazines including ELLE, Elle Decoration and GM.

Cheryl Tseng

An avid epicurean, Cheryl’s foodie credentials can be traced back to L.A., where she was a regular fixture at the tables of Wolfgang Puck and Nobu before their rise to culinar y fame . She later brought her experienced palate to Bangkok, where she thrives on the new and delectable in the nightout culinary experience. Cheryl contributes to numerous magazines and her website, www.chicasia. com, gives the latest on Bangkok’s hippest venues.

Contributing Writers Cheryl Tseng, Noy Thrupkaew, Steven Pettifor, Nick Measures, Joel Quenby, Liz Smailes, Korakot Punlopruksa, Leo Devillers, Philip Cornwel-Smith, Cassandra Beckford, Chirayu na Ranong, Brian Mertens Contributing Photographers Jatuporn Rutnin, Christian Phongphit, Paul Lefevre, Ludovic Cazeba, Austin Bush, Leon Schadeberg, Marc Schultz, Niran Choonhachat, Frédéric Belge, Somchai Phongphaisarnkit, TAT Director of Sales & Marketing Jhone El’Mamuwaldi Director of Business Development Erika Teo Sales & Marketing Manager Haluethai Wattanapathomvong Administrative Assistant Peeraya Nuchkuar Circulation Pradchya Kanmanee Published by Talisman Media Group Co., Ltd. 113 Soi Tonson, Ploenchit Road, Bangkok 10330 T: 02-252-3900 F: 02-650-4557 info@talisman-media.com Designed by Letter Space T: 02-386-7181 F: 02-386-7182 letter_space2000@yahoo.com © Copyright Talisman Media Group Co., Ltd 2010. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express written, prior permission of the publisher. Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher, which accepts no responsibility for them.

Hotel

table of

contents

Partners march 2011

snapshots 8 11 14 15 16 17

101 picks metro beat history chronicle of thailand customs very thai: palad khik

sightseeing 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31 32 34

orientation riverside route101: chinatown route101: silom & sathorn temples historical buildings kids in the city & shrines museums museum focus: siriraj medical museum the great outdoors what next? hotel deals upcountry now featured festival: tattoo mayhem hua hin special feature

32

arts 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 48

contemporary art art exhibitions performing arts cultural centres cinema reading & screening paradise found photo feature: the fluorescent people

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on the cover: ‘Fashion’, from Marc Lathuilliere’s exhibition ‘The Fluorescent People’

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Chef Werner Snoek Saxon Boutique Hotel Johannesburg, South Africa

Chef Hirokazu Tomisawa Yoshimura Tokyo, Japan

Chef Giorgio Stephanosian Restaurant Galerie Monpazier, France

Chef Jens Heier Mantra Restaurant and Bar

The Mantra Gourmet Festival 19-27 March 2011 The inaugural Mantra Gourmet Festival promises to be a sumptuous week-long culinary extravaganza. With three guest Master Chefs working alongside Mantra's own Jens Heier to present a tantalising programme including wine and sake tastings, cooking classes and gala dinners, this promises to be Pattaya's culinary highlight of the year!

Seats are limited. Book early so that you do not miss out.

For reservations or more information, please call +66 (0)38 429 591 or email reservations@mantra-pattaya.com

Mantra Restaurant and Bar, Beach Road Pattaya

table of

contents

march 2011

59

59

food & drink 54 55 57 58 59 66 70 71 72 73 74

dining in bangkok meal deals thai sweets street eats featured restaurant thai restaurants brunching all you can eat sweet treats late dining wine

nightlife 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92

one night in bangkok nightclubs bars with a view hotel bars bars jazz clubs live music nightlife areas pub crawls

shopping 94 95 96 98 99 100 101

unique boutique stuff shopping tips mall crawls jatujak market markets bangkok design

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accommodation 102 boutique bangkok

health & wellness 104 105 114 107

body & beauty spas wellness centres medical tourism

102

sports

108 spectator sports 117 active sports

courses & services 110

111

cooking, meditation & thai massage, courses making merit: the camillian home

104

reference 112 getting around

111

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101 picks

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Before rushing off to a tropical island in the Gulf of Thailand or the green mountains of Chiang Rai, scratch beneath Bangkok’s gritty surface to uncover these shining gems that’ll keep you here longer.

shopping

thai style

dining

open air

nightlife

■ Jatujak A huge, sprawling village of a market that sells everything under the sun. Cramped, steamy and lots of fun (p.99).

■ Making Merit Donate food to monks, release birds and fish, or light incense sticks at a temple – and pray for good karma (p.111).

■ Sunday Brunch Make like the Thais do, and spend your Sunday by lazing around with friends and enjoying a late breakfast (p.70).

■ Dusit District Filled with lovely airy boulevards, a zoo and the historic Vimanmek Mansion’s gorgeous green gardens (p.26).

■ Bars & Clubs Sleep all day, party all night and never grow old. The City of Angels has a night out to suit everyone (p.78-92).

■ Pak KhlongTalad Pick up more pretty posies than you know what to do with at this 24-hour flower market (p.100).

■ Thai Massage Though your body will thank you for it later, expect to be stretched to the limit by eager masseuses (p.110).

■ Food Courts Love cheapThai food but love air-con more? Then these shopping mall stalls make for an excellent alternative.

■ River Boats See a different side of Bangkok and take a boat up north to Nonthaburi or explore the Thonburi canals (p.19).

■ Cabarets With performers that ooze grace, poise, and, ahem, Adam’s apples, you won’t see a better show in town (p.78).

■ Siam Square Bangkok’s young and hip gather at this cradle of cool to watch the latest flicks, and pick up stylish threads (p.98).

■ Thai Cooking Learn how to pound paste like a professional at one of the many Thai cooking classes held around town (p.110).

■ River Dining With plenty of restaurants lining its banks, the Chao Phraya River makes for an awesome dinner backdrop. (p.19).

■ Cycling Tour Although unexpected, touring by bike can be one of the best ways to explore Bangkok and its surroundings (p.117).

■ Sky-high Drinks Become a high-flier for the night and enjoy a cocktail while looking down on the glittering Bangkok skyline (p.80).

■ Patpong Always busy, this small strip in the CBD is packed with market stalls and go-go bars.

■ Thai Boxing Place your bets and watch the brutal yet noble art of Muay Thai, or kickboxing (p.108).

■ Meal Deals Take advantage of these special offers to eat at the city’s best restaurants (p.61).

■ Ancient City Cycle round the fun museum park of Muang Boran and see Thailand in miniature.

■ Dining Cruises Enjoy a fine meal and even better views as you gently travel along the Chao Phraya (p.65).

■ Panthip Plaza Without doubt this is the ultimate computer geek mecca. If you can’t find it here, you haven’t looked hard enough (p.100).

■ TCDC Often hosting workshops and talks, the Thailand Creative & Design Centre fosters Thai designers (p.43).

■ Street Food Order up a dish, sit down on a plastic stool and prepare to taste the core ingredients of Bangkok life (p.58).

■ Lumphini Park This huge green space in the heart of the city. is perfect for jogging, picnics and boating on the several lakes (p.28).

■ Twist & Shout Whether you get wiggly on Khao San, jiggly at RCA or giggly on Soi 11, there’s a dancefloor for you (p.76-92).

■ Siam Paragon This mall is probably one of the swishest you’ll ever visit. Fancy a Ferrari? That’ll be on the third floor (p.100).

■ The Jim Thompson House This former CIA spook rebuilt the Thai silk trade from scratch, then disappeared. (p.24).

■ Affordable Gourmet Dining If you prefer foie gras to fried insects, the city has plenty of affordable fine dining (p.66).

■ Flower Market Located close to the river, this magical 24-hour market offers much more than just fragrant surrounds (p.100).

■ Thai Theatre TraditionalThai wooden puppet shows, classical Thai drama or breathtaking extravaganzas – no tux required (p.42).

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bangkok 101

Every month, win free drinks, dinners, tickets, spa treatments and much more. For further details on how to enter Bangkok 101 competitions, visit the online page at www.bangkok101.com/category/contests

contests

Crystal Spa

Perfecting the balance and harmony of your beauty, mind, and soul, Crystal Spa brings you an exquisite experience of heritage Thai spa. Through their traditional recipe of Thai herbs and a masterful touch, guests reach a place of absolute peace and elegance. Crystal Spa is located in downtown Bangkok.

1541 Sukhumvit Road, next to BTS Phrakanong station escalator, 02-382-224 or (086-609-8244 for English); www.crystalspathailand.com Three (3) readers will win: one (1) spa voucher for a ‘Pure Pleasure’ treatment worth B850.

Q: Why do you deserve ‘Pure Pleasure’?

Bed Supperclub

Presenting the ‘dining in bed’ experience: a unique combination of upscale restaurant, club, art gallery, theatre and stage merged into one. Housed in a custom-built building, and set in a modern and futuristic all white environment, Bed Supperclub crosses the divide between dining and cutting edge entertainment. In Bed you take your shoes off, and you’re at home.

See www.bedsupperclub.com to see how you too can get into Bed. One (1) reader will win: dinner vouchers for two (2) people.

Q: Who would you like to take to Bed? And why?

Grand Pearl Cruise

Enjoy the trip of a lifetime on this special Candlelight Dining Cruise down Bangkok’s famous Chao Phraya River. Along with a magical dinner with your partner, you’ll also have an opportunity to photograph two of the most famous sights in Thailand: the Temple of Dawn and Grand Palace.

See www.grandpearlcruise.com for more information on this amazing trip.

11 readers will win: two vouchers worth B1,500 each.

Q: Who will you take with you for dinner, and why?

www.bangkok101.com/category/contests bangkok 101

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metro beat

The pick of Bangkok’s hottest news, trends, events and openings.

By Howard Richardson

Theatre

Pop & Rock Hits such as ‘Black Magic Woman’, from the album Abraxas, and ‘Smooth’, from Supernatural will be crowd pleasers when Santana play Impact Arena (02-5045050) on March 1. Tickets (B1,000-B4,500) are at Thai Ticketmajor (02-262-3456, www.thaiticketmajor.com).

Ranked No 2 on Time Magazine’s 10 Best Electric Guitar Players of All-Time, Slash brings his licks to Impact Arena (02-504-5050) on March 10. Heralded for lead guitar with Guns n Roses and Velvet Revolver, Slash released his eponymous debut solo album last year. The band also features Myles Kennedy (Alter Bridge) on vocals; Bobby Schneck (Weezer, Green Day) rhythm guitar; Dave Henning (Doug Pinnick, Big Wreck) bass; and Brent Fitz (Alice Cooper, Vince Neil) drums. Tickets are B1,200-B1,500 from Thai Ticketmajor (02-262-3456, www. thaiticketmajor.com).

Floridian altrockers Anberlin are at Route 66 (02203-0936) on March 10. Their five albums include New Surrender, which reached 13 on the Billboard 200.

Tickets are B1,000 from Total Reservation (02-833-5555, www.totalreservation.com).

Erlend Oye, one half of Kings of Convenience, who gigged Bangkok last year, arrives again with his other band, The Whitest Boy Alive, at Moonstar Studio (02539-3881) on March 19. The electro-pop outfit have two albums under their belts Dreams (2006) and Rules (2009).

Tickets are B1,000.

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Bangkok gets a taste of Japanese pantomime comedy when the duo Gamarjobat perform at Centerpoint Playhouse, in Central World (02-640-7000) on March 4,5 and 6. Thai Ticketmajor (02-262-3456, www.thaiticketmajor.com) has tickets, from B900-B1,700.

The Fringe Festival continues on the garden stage of Patravadi Theatre (02-4127287, www.patravaditheatre.com) until March 17. Shows include, on March 5 and 6, A Life in Her Day, a physical comedy by Hilary Chaplain that won the Solo Show Award at the New York International Fringe Festival (B500); the BOW Project 2011 by artists from Asia and Europe on March 12 (B400-B600); and Paper Cut! by Yael Rasooly (Israel) from March 14-16 (B500). See www.patravaditheatre. com for details. Some performances also appear at the Vic Theatre Hua Hin (see p.36 for schedules).

Jazz Scott Henderson, voted Guitar World’s #1 Jazz Guitarist in 1991, and a veteran of bands with Joe Zawinul and Chick Corea, brings the Scott Henderson Trio to Mello Yello (02-203-0423) on March 18.

Tickets are B1,000 and B1,200 (both include one drink) from Thai Ticketmajor (02-262-3456, www.thaiticketmajor.com).

The Luca Ciarla Quartet fly in from Italy for a one-off gig at Niu’s on Silom on March 9.

Ciarla’s violin is accompanied by accordion, double bass and percussion in a blend that includes Dizzy Gillespie, Bach, Thelonious Monk and original material. Entry (B500) includes one standard drink.

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bangkok 101

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Dance

Classical Taiwanese violinist ChoLiang Lin leads the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra at the Thailand Cultural Centre (02-247-0028) on March 15. The programme features Weber’s Overture Der Beherrscher der Geister; Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K. 218; Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20; and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 36. The conductor is Michel Tilkin. Tickets are B500-B2,500.

Festivals The French cultural festival La Fête continues its package of theatre, music, dance, art, cinema, food and fashion at various Bangkok venues until April 10. March highlights include Portraits of Asia, a photographic exhibition by Eric Lafforgue at Central World (until April 10); clown Julien Cottereau, formerly with Cirque du Soleil, at Aksra Theatre (March 10-12); and the French Film Festival at SF World Cinema (March 18-27). Some events are free. Full details are at www. lafete-bangkok.com.

Fairs Autophiles will drool over cars and all their shiny accessories at the Bangkok International Motor Show at Impact Arena (02-5045050) from March 23 to April 6 (only open to the public from March 26).

Shows Ever wondered how muscles and organs work? Want to see the effects of cancer close up? A whole human body preserved through plastination stars at the Body Show: Asia Tour, along with over 100 other exhibits at the Capitol Club (02-661-1210) until April 3. Tickets are B300 from Total Reservation (www.totalreservation.com).

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There’s a welcome return for the Arts Theatre at the Sheraton Grande hotel (02-649-8353) from March 3-6 and March 10-13, with the production FRANKLY ...

I Was a Fool for Love. It’s a musical based on the life of Frank Sinatra, aptly staged in the hotel’s jazz venue, the Living Room. Award-winning actor Richard Shelton stars in a story set in the Key Club in 1959 amid the Kennedy elections and Sinatra’s stormy affair with Ava Gardner (played by Royal Shakespeare Company actor Rebecca Egan). The 15 featured songs include ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ and ‘My Funny Valentine’. The show, plus a three course menu at Rossini’s and two standard drinks at The Living Room, costs B2,500++. Show only is B1,200++, including two standard drinks.

Diners at Bed Supperclub (02651-3537, www. bedsupperclub. com) will see selections from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavat Purana in classical dance performances called The Invisible World from Tuesday to Sunday until March 31.

The films Tinker Bell, The Lion King, Cars and The Little Mermaid are the inspiration for Disney On Ice Presents Worlds of Fantasy at Impact Arena (02-5045050) from March 25-28.

Tickets are B600-B2,000 from Thai Ticketmajor (02-262-3456, www. thaiticketmajor.com).

bangkok 101

Food & drink

Nightlife The nightly programme at Bed Supperclub (02-6513537, www.bedsupperclub. com) is studded as usual with international DJs. On March 16, Sebastien Tellier, described on his website as a “hirsute lothario” (can’t wait, eh?), brings “soulful music that brims with seductive elan”; March 24 has UK drum and bass producer LTJ Bukem with fellow Brit MC Conrad; and Greg Boust, a Paris regular at Showcase, Bagatelle and Chez Maxim, appears on March 25.

One of Bangkok’s longest running clubs, Concept CM², in the basement of the Novotel Siam Square has a bunch of March events, starting with Hula Hula Party Week from March 2-8, with Akha hilltribe dance shows, Akha face painting and hula coyote dancers. Following are Cinderella & the Naughty Wolf Party (March 12), and the Concept CM² 15th Anniversary on March 25 (call the hotel’s PR department for an invitation, 02209-8888 ext. 2705). The venue also claims to serve “Bangkok’s largest pour”, promising doubles at no extra charge. See www.CM²bkk.com for more info.

Food & Drink Bangkok’s favourite crêperie – cunningly named Crêpes & Co – celebrates its 15th Birthday with a special Mediterranean menu, including the restaurant’s signature dishes from Morocco, Spain and Greece. There will be a diners’ lucky draw with a B15,000 prize. The menu runs throughout March and April. Call 02-653-3990 for details, or visit www.crepes.co.th.

On March 17, Grossi Italian restaurant (02-6560444, www.intercontinental.com) presents The Merry Widow by Franz Lehar, the latest in its monthly dinner with opera nights.

The four course meal, from the region of Emilia Romania, is paired with wines and priced at B2,499++ per person. bangkok 101

Gaggan

It was an exciting year-end for Gai and Joel Wilkinson, who married and then in November opened their eponymous new restaurant. The two chefs are pitching “global flavours” and do everything wherever possible in-house, including pasta, bread and ice cream making, and use flavours like lavender, liquorice and herbal teas in items like sun dried tomatoes, aromatic duck and marinated tuna.

The dishes are presented with modern elegance, yet retain an earthiness that steers away from fusion affectation. A straight Mediterranean seafood casserole sits on the menu alongside Moroccan lamb rack and forest mushroom soup with truffle nutmeg foam. There’s a rustic feel to risotto with porcini and foie gras – oily, the rice with bite but not undercooked, and pieces of chestnut to add texture – and the good quality Aussie tenderloin is well seared and simply served with sautéed herbed vegetables.

WHERE 968/1 Soi D o w n s t a i r s Langsuan, 02-652-1700 is a square room OPEN Daily 6pm-11pm with a small bar and PRICE $$$ large windows that look out to busy Langsuan.

Tables are dressed in black with red and yellow accessories that set off the smart white tableware.

Two more floors provide for overspill and private parties.

Gai & Joel run a classy neighbourhood restaurant with an adventurous yet in many ways traditional menu. Their hands-on approach could be the clincher.

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กากั้น ซ.หลังสวน 13

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history

Grand Palace

B

angkok became the capital of Thailand in 1782, when the royal court relocated from the city of Ayutthaya, which had been left in ruins following years of conflict with the Burmese. After settling temporarily on the western banks of the Chao Phraya River in Thonburi, the capital moved again, this time to the area of Rattanakosin in present-day Bangkok. Almost entirely surrounded by water, the new location was easier to defend against potential attacks. The final move marked the beginning of the Chakri Dynasty. Rama I named the new capital Krung Thep (City of Angels) in reference to the past glories of Ayutthaya, and he ordered the construction of two of the Kingdom’s most illustrious religious monuments at that time, Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace, to consolidate the new capital’s ruling status.

During the subsequent reigns of King Mongkut (Rama IV) and his son King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), the city developed rapidly, culminating in the modernisation and explosive growth of the 20th century. After visiting European capitals, Rama V moved the royal family to the leafy enclave of Dusit.

The modern architectural monuments built in this neighbourhood include the Thai Parliament Building, the impressive marble Wat Benchama Bophit and the enormous teak Vimanmek Mansion.

Greater Bangkok now occupies nearly 1.5 square kilometres and is home to some 12 million residents.

Rattanakosin remains the spiritual centre of the city, graced by the dazzling splendour of the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew and nearby Wat Po. Modern downtown Bangkok stretches southeast of Rattanakosin and looks very much like many other Southeast Asian capitals, with the usual array of gleaming skyscrapers, deluxe apartment projects and lines of snarled traffic.The core of the new city encompasses the

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Sathorn/Silom districts and Sukhumvit Road, which include upscale shopping plazas, leafy public parks and vibrant bar and restaurant scenes.These major downtown neighbourhoods are connected by the BTS Skytrain and the MRT subway systems. The gradually-

expanding public transportation networks, with their bright, snaking trains carrying wide-eyed tourists and weary commuters alike, have not only helped to relieve the city’s traffic congestion, but also given the City of Angels a modern, 21st-century feel.

Take a Deep Breath Thais rarely call their capital ‘Bangkok’ (a name used mainly by foreigners), and instead refer to it as ‘Krung Thep’ (City of Angels), an abbreviated version of the full ceremonial and official name. This can be translated as ‘The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built

by Vishnukarn.’ It’s no surprise The Guinness Book of Records has registered it as the world´s longest name for a capital. snapshots

bangkok 101

chronicle of thailand

26 March 1967: Thompson vanishes in jungles of Malaysia Disappearance of ‘Silk King’ sets off frantic search, triggers wild rumours

M

illionaire American silk entrepreneur Jim Thompson disappeared in the jungles of central Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands, prompting police to use tracker dogs to hunt for him. Thompson, 61, had arrived in the area on 23 March after flying from Bangkok to Penang and travelling onward by road. Three days later, on Easter Sunday, Thompson set off alone on a walk from the cottage where he was staying, which belonged to Singaporean friends.

When Thompson failed to return for dinner, his hosts notified the police. He was never seen again.

Theories initially focused on the possibility of wild animals or kidnappers. Some observers suggested that the disappearance might have been political because Thompson had served as an intelligence officer in the United States’ Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. Thompson’s Thai Silk Company offered a generous reward for help in finding him. The massive search was hindered because no one had any idea in which direction he had walked. Officials later dismissed suggestions by a British-born ‘mind reader’ who said Thompson might have committed suicide.

The most likely explanation they said was that he had fallen into an aboriginal animal trap (a pit with a spike) and was buried by local tribes people when they discovered what had happened. On 4 April, the official search ended after 300 policemen and over 100 volunteers failed to find any clues. A resident of Thailand since 1946, Thompson had recognised the potential of Thai silk and almost singlehandedly made it world-renowned.

Chronicle of Thailand is the story of Thailand during the reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Beginning on the day he was crowned, 9 June 1946, the book presents a vivid eyewitness account of Thailand’s development through the major news events of the last 64 years. Alongside a grandstand view of events as they unfolded and quirky aspects of daily life that just happened to make the news, the book features thousands of rare and fascinating pictures and illustrations, representing one of the most comprehensive photo collections of Thailand ever produced. Every month in Bangkok 101, we serialise a major news story that sheds light on this month in the history of the Kingdom.

Chronicle of Thailand – EDM Books | B1,450 | editor-in-chief Nicholas Grossman | www.chronicleofthailand.com

bangkok 101

snapshots

15

Snapshots ee

Wat Po

customs

F

oreign visitors to Thailand are not expected to understand all the intricate subtleties of Thai customs, but by learning something about them and trying to incorporate them into your behaviour while here, you will show respect for local people and avoid some potentially embarrassing situations.

In Thailand, two institutions take on particular importance: the monarchy and religion.

Did you know?

Every day has a corresponding colour in Thailand, and throngs of locals will don a yellow shirt to show their respects and celebrate the 80th birthday of the King, who was born on the yellow-themed Monday.

The Monarchy Thai people love their king, and have deep reverence for the monarchy. in general. By way of proof, portraits of their majesties are displayed in most shops and businesses. Like anybody else, you are expected to be respectful towards members of the royal family.

Therefore, stand quietly and still when the national anthem is played, which happens daily at 8am and 6pm in parks and many other public places.

Social hierarchy Age, social rank, lineal descent, salary and education are all considerations for social conduct. Such hierarchy is demonstrated 16

at every moment of the day, even the way of greeting. Unless meeting foreigners, Thais don’t shake hands but instead wai (a prayer-like gesture with hands clasped in front of the face). This action means ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ but also shows humility. The higher the hands are raised, the more respect being paid.

Losing face Thais are known to be patient and calm.

Being jai yen (cool-hearted) is highly admired in Thai culture. Any impulsive reactions that may show annoyance (i.e. raising your voice) are considered unseemly, counterproductive and can make you ‘lose face’. Losing your temper should be avoided; things will work themselves out much better if you remain calm. Practise the words mai pen rai (meaning “never mind”).

Body parts The head is considered to be the most sacred par t of the body while the snapshots

feet are the lowest, hence the most impure. For this reason, it is impolite to pat or touch somebody on the head (this applies even to children) and it is particularly rude to point your feet at somebody or to place them on a table or a chair. Pointing the finger at other people is also considered impolite – best to gesture with an open hand.

Temple Etiquette

As temples and Buddha images are considered sacred in Thailand, certain rules of respect should be followed when visiting temples: ■ Dress properly (long trousers or dresses, covered shoulders) ■ Remove your shoes at the entrance of temple buildings ■ Don’t step on the threshold ■ Don’t sit pointing your feet towards a Buddha image ■ Avoid touching Buddha images or chedis (funeral monuments) ■ Be considerate when taking photographs inside the grounds ■ Buddhist monks are forbidden to contact women. So, if a woman gives something to a monk, she must first pass it to a man or put it on a piece of cloth

bangkok 101

very thai

Palad Khik The eternal power of phallic charms to a metre long. Some say small ones are just as potent, since it’s the spell that counts. People buy them for saneh haa (attraction): of customers, luck, money, popularity, women, whatever. Others help in lottery divining or protection, perhaps against road accidents if swinging from the rearview mirror.

Always considered slightly base, some expect palad khik to die out within a few decades, rendering them another antique curio. Barely ten abbots retain the lore to cast phallus spells. New ordainees are uninterested, embarrassed or even fear them as unlucky. Urban wearers often show such embarrassment that once the ‘honoured deputy’ has been spotted, it gets left at home, or dropped entirely.

History may be repeating itself. “In 1782, King Rama I ordered that all phallic representations of Shiva should be gathered together and burned,” writes David Wyatt of an act of Buddhist reform partly intended “to avoid the ridicule of foreign visitors.” It evidently didn’t succeed, because palad khik are still very much with us. Today’s puritanism might also fail to erase the phallic charm.

After all, it’s a symbol of universal and eternal appeal.

Photos by Philip Cornwel-Smith

F

reud would have floundered in this land where the male member isn’t suppressed into unconscious symbolism, but sculpted, worshipped for fertility or protection, and brandished as a lucky charm.

Phallic worship occurs in many ancient cultures and Thais blend two traditions: palad khik, an animistic fertility symbol; and lingum, the phallic form of the Hindu god Shiva. Lowland, water-borne Thai originally carved or tattooed images of male and female genitals for protection. Parents hung palad khik as amulets around a boy’s waist, so the erect shape and red head would fool bad spirits that the vulnerable child was an adult.

Size, of course, matters.

Practicality aside, wealth and the offering’s purpose can dictate the scale, which ranges from a centimetre

Very Thai: Everyday Popular Culture is a book that almost every foreigner living in Bangkok has on their bookshelf, a virtual bible on Thailand’s pop culture. For page after colourful page, city resident and author Philip Cornwel-Smith guides readers on an unconventional tour of the quirky everyday things that make Thailand truly Thai. From the 60plus mini-chapters, we present a different excerpt every month. Prepare yourself properly for the sideways logic in what seems exotic, and snap up a copy of Very Thai now at any goodbook shop.

Very Thai – River Books l B995 l hardcover, with photos by John Goss and Philip Cornwel-Smith

bangkok 101

snapshots

17

Sightseeing Grand Palace

orientation

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18

city – steel towers, snarled traffic and snaking expressways – that is the face of modern Bangkok.

Silom and Sathorn are busy business arteries linking the riverside’s old colonial style mercantile buildings and posh hotels to the city’s green lung, Lumpini Park. Seething Sukhumvit Road and its branching sois (where internationals tend to live, work and play) offer few sights but untold opportunities for drinking, dining and debauchery. And Pathumwan (p.26) is

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meared over the flat, floodprone Chao Phraya river plain, Bangkok at first appears about as organised as a bowl of spaghetti.

The fact that there isn’t one all-singing, all-dancing city centre doesn’t help matters. Delve in though and you’ll discover a sprawling megalopolis with a series of distinct neighbourhoods that have evolved over the centuries, and which all have different, intriguing tourist-luring attributes.

On the west side of the river, glimpses of the Venice of the East survive down the criss-crossing canals of former capital Thonburi. On the east, historic monuments like the Grand Palace are sprinkled like gold dust through former royal HQ Ko Rattanakosin (p.22) – the city’s most revered neighbourhood by far. Fringing it are the old shophouse communities of Phra Nakorn and Banglamphu, the latter of which includes backpacker ghetto Khao San Road. South of Ko Rattanakosin is the city’s congested, chaotic and must-see Chinatown.

And crowning Banglamphu is royal and government enclave Dusit with its grand, tree-shaded boulevards a la 19th century Europe.

When temple fatigue strikes head east for the urban hurly burly of the

where it’s at for shopping, be it at glitzy mall or gritty market.

All these neighbourhoods (and the city’s intermittently interesting suburbs) can be reached using the city’s roads.

But the affordable Skytrain (BTS) and Underground (MRT) networks are much better allies – whiz above or below the gridlocked Bangkok streets in fridge-cool comfort.

When these can’t help you (when heading from downtown Bangkok to the Old City for instance) hop on a river expressboat, accessible via Saphan Taksin Skytrain station (see opposite). Alternatively, seek out a pier along pungent Klong Saen Saeb (p.120) and clamber (carefully) aboard one of its zippy boats.

Other tips include avoid scammers (p.26), carry small change and, if visiting temples, dress properly.

In a city as potentially aggravating as Bangkok, it’s also worth planning.

Do you really want to be traipsing round temples all day? Exactly. For ideas check out the following Route 101’s – these itineraries introduce the most notable sights in the city’s most colourful neighbourhoods. Don’t follow them to the letter however – getting hopelessly lost as you wander down one interesting looking sidestreet after another is half the fun.

Riverside

Pathumwan& Lumphini

Silom & Sathorn sightseeing

bangkok 101

Though tall ships no longer sail into Bangkok, its churning river – the Mae Nam Chao Phraya – remains important to city life. Long tails, tug boats and pleasure cruisers ply the water, while sunburnt temples, neoclassic buildings, mottled warehouses, stilt homes and a fair few modern monstrosities (hotels, office blocks etc) look on. The best way to encounter all this is by expressboat, which courses a 33km route from Wat Rajsingkorn in the south to Nonthaburi in the north. Fares (usually no more than B13) are payable on board, and during rushhour the boats thronged with office-workers, students and saffron-robed monks. Read up on most interesting piers here then hop aboard! For more about routes, fares and timetables click on to www.chaophrayaboat.co.th

the riverside

N16-N30 Head north and concrete seques into greenery as expressboats sprint up to their terminus at Nonthaburi, a charming provincial town.

N13: Phra Athit Bangkoks young bohemian types pensively sip coffee in the many cute shophouse cafes that line this leafy old street.There’s a quiet park and the hedonistic madhouse that is Khao San Road is around the corner.

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N5: Ratchawongse Bangkok’s Chinatown! Taoist temples, mazy backstreets, mottled shophouses and no end of Sino sights, noises Rd. Muangand smells make it a must.

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N15: Thewet Feed the catfish, peruse a flower and wet market, or dine overlooking the nearby Rama VIII suspension bridge. Stately royal district, Dusit, is a short taxi ride away.

N9: Tha Chang Thai icons ahoy! Turn left for Wat Mahatat and the Amulet market.

Walk straight ahead for the Grand Palace and Sanam Luang. Hungry?

The pedestrian area in front of the jetty is packed with old-school food stalls.

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bangkok 101

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Saphan Taksin The hotel pier here is accessible via the Skytrain’s Saphan Taksin Station. Alight here for shuttle boats back to the Millenium Hilton, Mandarin Oriental, Peninsula and Marriot. Or if staying in Silom, Sathorn or Sukhumvit.

N1: Oriental The old western quarter. Admire neglected neoclassical edifices and Oriental object’s d’arts at OP Place, then take tea at Bangkok’s most illustrious hotel, the Mandarin Oriental.

Millenium Hilton

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N6: Memorial Bridge/ Saphan Pood Venture left for decrepit godowns (warehouses) teeming with veg and flowers; i.e. Pak Klong Talad, the 24-hour fresh market. Head straight for Bangkok’s Little India, Pahurat. At night there’s a clothing market popular with teens.

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N2: Sri Phaya On the left is River City: 4 barren-floors of SE Asian antiques, ethnic reproductions, tailors and tat. To your right, the Royal Orchid Sheraton.

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N8: Tha Tien Lovely King Rama V-era shophouses sell dried fish but Wat Po – home of the reclining Buddha – is the main attraction.

Wat Arun (p.28) looms large on the far bank. Catch a cross-river ferry to it for B3.

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N10: Wang Lang Wat Rakhang, the macabre Forensic’s Museum, a teenfashion clothing market and Patravadi Theatre (p.46) are all in the vicinity.

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sightseeing

19

Sightseeing

cHINATOWN

route 101

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Rd). This narrow wholesale shopping treasure trove used to be full of opium dens and brothels, although there’s not much more illicit than Hello Kitty hairclips and schoolbags on offer now.

Emerging like a new born calf onto Ratchawong Rd, you’ve got a choice to make. Head left towards the river to explore the old colonial-style warehouses and catch a river taxi from Ratchawong Pier; jump in a cab and mumble “Pak Khlong Talad” (p.109) to explore the 24-hour flower market; cross the road and continue the market mayhem as Chinatown segues into Little India with all its fabric shops and samosa stalls; or turn right and head up to the other main Chinatown artery, Charoen Krung Rd.

As you approach Charoen Krung you’ll cross over Yaowarat Rd, passing the Grand China Princess hotel on your left. Turn left when you hit the main drag and walk about 500m to get to Nakhon Kasem, the old Thieves’ Market (p.104), or turn right and cross over to visit the wonderful Mangkorn Kamalawat temple complex. Opposite the temple, about 20 metres on, there’s a tiny, jam-packed lane, Soi 16, that connects with Yaowarat Rd.

If you’ve timed it well, when you come out of Soi 16 (Yaowarat Rd Soi 6) night will have fallen and the neonlit optical orgy that is Yaowarat Road will be in full flow. Squeeze past all the chestnut vendors and satay grillers and slip into an appealing air-con cooled restaurant or find a table at a streetside eatery like T&K Seafood to give your feet a well-earned rest.

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Renaissance-style train station. Head straight on from Exit 1 and cross over a couple of roads and the canal until you hit Mittraphap Thai-China Rd. Down here you’ll find one of the most imposing temples in Bangkok, Wat Traimit Witthayaram (p.29) and, 50m further on, the Odeon Circle Gate, an enormous structure that serves as the entrance to Chinatown proper. Turn right and check out the San Chao Poy Sien shrine, before crossing over onto Yaowarat Rd and exploring the Thian Fah Foundation complex.

Continue along Yaowarat and, when you’re suitably disgusted/ impressed by all the restaurants advertising bird’s nest and shark’s fin delicacies on Yaowarat, duck down Yaowaphanit Rd. Then turn right onto Sampheng Lane (officially Wanit 1

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aowarat, as Chinatown is popularly known locally is a sprawling, neon-lit enclave of tiny lanes, fabulous food, incenseshrouded Chinese shrines and wiry old men sitting on plastic stools staring through thick-rimmed glasses.

It’s a fantastic place just to wander around during the day, stuffing your face with weird fried things and trying to figure out just what the hell is being displayed in those pharmacy windows. And at night Yaowarat Rd itself, Chinatown’s main stretch, comes alive when fold-up-table restaurants spill out over the pavements, and a million and one gold shops, with their ridiculously ostentatious facades, flick on their neon switches.

The best way to get there is by the underground. Take Exit 1 from Hua Lamphong MRT and on your right you’ll spot Bangkok’s main,

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bangkok 101

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he Sathorn/Silom area personifies Bangkok’s split personality. The white-collar crux of Bangkok’s business world by day, this bustling area kicks it up a gear after office hours, with a jiving scene of clubs, expat pubs, some very shady characters, and one oh-so-notorious little lane.

Set the alarm and beat the sun to the punch; there’s much to be done today. Take the MRT to the Sam Yan stop. Walk towards Silom and take a venomous venture into the Snake Farm (see p.32) and watch wranglers extract poison from serpents. If you dare you can even pet a cobra or kiss a python! If you’re still alive, continue on for a nice stroll in Lumphini Park, Bangkok’s largest public open area.

If it’s the weekend take a taxi into the past with former P.M. Kukrit’s Heritage House (see p.28).

By now you’re probably famished, so go back down Convent Road, a tree-shaded soi peppered with Mexican, Japanese, Italian and various other foreigner-orientated eating establishments. After filling up follow the throngs of office workers into Soi Lalai Sup (“the soi that melts your assets”), squeezing through the chaos, hunting down bargains on clothes, gifts and other knick-knack paddywhacks.

Further down Silom on Thanon Pan, you will come across Wat Mahamariamman. Referred to by locals as Wat Kaek, it is the most famous – and colourful – Hindu

Si Praya

temple in Bangkok, incense-shrouded rituals performed here daily at noon.

Right across the street is Kathmandu Gallery featuring great photo exhibits, and also Silom Village which is a nice spot to pick up some handicrafts.

Just before sunset hits, head up to the top floor of the Banyan Tree Hotel and grab a clubby bar chair at the aptly titled Moon Bar (see p.85).

Two hundred metres above the pavement, this bar’s main attraction is the completely unobstructed 360° Bangkok panorama.

The night is still far too young.

Cab it to Lumphini National Boxing Sarasin Rd.

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1. Snake Farm 2. Lumphini Park 3. Soi Convent 4. Soi Lalai Sup 5. Wat Mahamariamman 6. Lumphini National Boxing Stadium 7. Suan Lum Night Bazaar 8. Patpong

sightseeing

Stadium (see p.112) around the corner, which will guarantee adrenaline rushes.

For something less violent, Suan Lum Night Bazaar (see p.104), a pricier but less sweaty version of Chatuchak, is just seconds away. The Joe Louis Puppet Theater (see p.54) here is great for a cultural show. There’s also a good beer garden.

Time to think about wrapping the day up. If you’re a jazz-lover a class act can always be found at Niu’s on Silom, as can superlative Italian food and service. Or, if wine’s your thing, head to suave oenophile hangout Opus. If you’re looking for something more youthful and hip, the bars and clubs in Silom Soi 4 will suffice. If you’re gay, look no further than same-sex central, Silom Soi 2. And if you’re feeling frisky and don’t mind being harassed by aggressive touts, immerse yourself in the decadent not-so-underworld that is Soi Patpong. Here jaded street vendors sell cheap trinkets and knockoffs yards from grubby girly bars. Be careful around here and do not follow strangers offering you free shows. But don’t hold back, because whatever you choose to do in this part of town at this time, you’re most likely to wake up with absolutely no recollection of it.

21

Sightseeing The Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew

temples THE GRAND PALACE & WAT PHRA KAEW (map A3, #10) Na Phra Lan Rd, near Sanam Luang | 02-222-0094 | daily 8:30am-4pm | B350 includes entry to Vimanmek Mansion | Dress respectfully The granddaddy of all Thai sights. Don’t let the touts who mill around outside put you off a visit to this, the Kingdom’s most beloved keepsake – a fantastical 218,400m² royal complex that comes enclosed by quaintly crenulated whitewalls, and at night sparkles like the jewel in some Oriental fairytale.

Building began in 1782, the year Bangkok was founded, and every monarch subsequent to King Rama I has expanded or enhanced it.

Today, despite being able to visit many stunning sights on its grounds, much of it remains off-limits. Though King Bhumibol now holds court at Chitralada Palace, in the northern district of Dusit, the Grand Palace is still used for major ceremonies or royal functions.

The Chakri Mahaprasat Hall – colloquially known as the “Westerner in a Thai hat” due to its blend of Thai and European architecture – is worth seeing, and there are some

state rooms and halls open to visitors.

These include the majestic Amarin Vinitchai Throne Hall, where the King still delivers his birthday speech, and a small weapons museum.

The highlight is the Emerald Buddha – Thailand’s most sacred Buddhist relic – and the ornate temple purpose-built to house it, Wat Phra Kaew, where hundreds pay their respects each day. Completed two years after the capital was moved from Thonburi to Rattanakosin in 1784, this forms the north-eastern corner of the complex. The Emerald Buddha was discovered in 1434, when lightning is said to have struck a chedi in Chiang Rai in the north of Thailand. It was originally covered in stucco which peeled off over time to reveal the brilliant green stone beneath. After being moved around Northern Thailand by a succession of Thai kings and then taken by the Lao to Vientiane, Rama I retook the statue in 1779 and placed it at the centre of his new capital.

Apart from the amazing architecture, gilded statues and the majesty of the temple, the walls of Wat

Wat Arun

Phra Kaew’s cloisters feature examples of Thai mural art documenting the life and travels of the Buddha and scenes from the Ramakien, the Thai version of the Ramayana epic. Remember to dress respectfully as a strict no shorts or sleeveless shirts policy is enforced.

WAT ARUN (map A3, #12) Temple of Dawn | Arun Amarin Rd | 02- 465-5640 | www.watarun.org | 8am- 5pm | B20 Across the river from Wat Po is Wat Arun, or the Temple of the Dawn, one of the city’s most important and beguiling religious sites. Before being moved to Wat Phra Kaew, the Emerald Buddha was temporarily housed here. The five-towered structure is covered almost entirely in pieces of colourful porcelain and designed as a representation of Mount Mehru, the Khmer home of the gods. The temple is believed to have been named by Rama I on his first sunrise visit, but in contrast with its name, it is best visited at dusk when the setting sun forms a stunning backdrop.

วัดอรุณราชวราราม ถ.อรุณอัมรินทร์ ผั่งตะวันตกของแม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา

Beware!

Bangkok has its share of brilliantly choreographed and well-practised street scams, often active in the area around the Grand Palace. Typically these involve being “befriended” by a seemingly straight-up local, and with true sophistication they often result in travellers not reaching their intended destination, but instead visiting an alternative temple and eventually a jewellery outlet. The bottom line is, if anyone, no matter how official they may appear (and this includes uniformed guards!), tells you that the palace or Wat Pho, for example, is closed, you are likely being set up. Our advice: politely decline any such offers and proceed directly to the actual ticket booth (presuming, of course, that you have arrived during official opening hours).

22

sightseeing

bangkok 101

The Giant Swing

WAT SAKET (map B3, #7) Chakkraphatdiphong Rd, Sattruphai | 02-233-4561 | 7:30am-5:30pm | B10 Raised on a small hillock, and thus referred to as the Golden Mount, this wat offers great views of Chinatown to the south and the Old City to the north. The hill is all that is left of the fortifications for a large chedi that Rama III planned to construct on the site that gave way under the weight.

Rama V built a smaller chedi on top, which was subsequently expanded to house a Buddhist relic inside. The temple is worth a visit for the view if you are prepared to hike up the 318 steps it takes to get there.

วัดสระเกศ ถ.จักรพรรดิพงษ์

WAT MAHATHAT (map A3) Tha Prachan, Sanam Luang, Mahratch Rd | 02-221-5999 | 9am-5pm| free An amulet market is situated near this 18th-century centre of the Mahanikai monastic sect and an important university of Buddhist teaching.

On most weekends, market stalls are set up on the grounds to complement the daily vendors of traditional medicines and herbal potions.

Wat Mahathat is one of the few temples in Bangkok where courses on Buddhism are given in English. Call ahead to book.

วัดมหาธาตุ ท่าพระจันทร์ สนามหลวง

WAT SUTHAT & THE GIANT SWING (map A-B3, #8) Bamrung Muang Rd, Phra Nakhorn, | 02-2229632 | 9am-5pm | B20 Surrounded by perhaps the greatest concentration of Buddhist supply shops in Bangkok, Wat Suthat is one of the most important Buddhist centres in the kingdom and home to some excellent examples of bronze sculpture, a blend of Thai and Chinese-style mural art and a 14th-century Sukhothai period statue. The wat used to be the site bangkok 101

for annual harvest ceremonies where brave men would swing up to great heights to catch a bag of gold coins in their teeth. However, the practice proved a bit too dangerous and was banned in the 1930s. Today the huge red structure, named the Giant Swing, still stands in front of the temple.

วัดสุทัศน์ ถ.บำรุงเมือง พระนคร ตรงข้ามเสาชิงช้า

WAT BOWONIWET VIHARA (map A3) Phra Sumen Rd, Banglamphu | 02-281-2831-3 | all day long | free Home to the wellrespected Maha Makut Buddhist University, the Wat Bowoniwet Vihara temple is important to the monarchs of the Chakri Dynasty as Rama VI, Rama VII and the present king were all ordained as monks here.

วัดบวรนิเวศวิหาร ถ.พระสุเมรุ

WAT BENCHAMA BOPHIT (map B2, #3) 69 Rama V Rd, Dusit | 02-6287947 | 8am-6pm | B20 This white Italian Carrara marble wat dates from the 19th century. Alms are usually brought here by generous Buddhist families in the early mornings, every day. วัดเบญจมบพิตร ถ.พระราม 5 WAT RATCHANATDA (map B3) Mahachai Rd, Phra Nakhorn | 02-2248807 | 9am-5pm | free This temple, a centre for buying amulets, features the bizarre multitiered Loh Prasat.

Collecting amulets sightseeing

is popular in Thailand and many believe that these miniature images of Buddha possess spiritual powers, protecting the wearer and them bringing good fortune in the future. วัดราชนัดดา ถ.มหาชัย พระนคร WAT TRAIMIT (map B3, #13) 661 Hua Lamphong, Charoen Krung Rd | 02-623-1226 | 8am-5pm | B20 Housed safely in this unassuming Chinatown temple is the world’s largest solid gold Buddha.

Weighing over five tonnes and standing over three metres high, its worth has been estimated at over US$10 million.

วัดไตรมิตร หัวลำโพง (เยาวราช)

WAT PO (map A3, #11) Chetuphon/Thai Wang Rd | 02-2260369 | www.watpho.com | 8am-noon, 1-9pm | B50 The Temple of the Reclining Buddha is the oldest and largest wat in Bangkok. Originating in the 16th century, it houses the largest reclining Buddha statue in Thailand as well as the greatest number of Buddha images. Wat Po is also a centre for traditional Thai medicine and a learning centre for Thai massage, where you can both enjoy and learn this ancient healing art. The awe-inspiring 45m-long statue depicts the Buddha entering nirvana and is impressive both for its size and the mother-of-pearl detail on the soles of the feet. For those in the know, this is a blueprint revealing the 108 auspicious signs of a genuine Buddha.

วัดโพธิ์ ถ.เชตุพน

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historic buildings JIM THOMPSON’S HOUSE (map C3, #16) 6 Soi Kasemsan 2, Rama I Rd | BTS National Stadium| 02-2167368 | www.jimthompsonhouse.com | daily 9am-5pm | B100 (B50 students) One of the things to do in Bangkok is visit the home of Jim Thompson, the American businessman largely responsible for the global popularity of hand-woven Thai silk. Found in a sun-dappled tropical garden, beside a pungent canal, this complex of six traditional teak houses from around the country is testament to his commitment to preserving regional art and culture. Each brims with art and antiques rescued from around Asia: everything from limestone Buddha torsos to a cat-shaped porcelain bedpan. Free tour guides discuss these exquisite treasures and the much-mythologised life of the man himself. There’s also a shop selling his trademark designs, an art gallery and a café.

บ้านไทย จิมทอมป์สัน ซ.เกษมสันต์ 2 ตรงข้ามสนามกีฬาแห่งชาติ

M.R. KUKRIT’S HOUSE (map C4,#20) 19 Soi Phra Pinit, Sathorn Rd | BTS Chong Nonsi | 02-2868185 | Sat, Sun & Holidays 10am – 5pm, weekdays by appt. only | B50 (B20 kids) Kukrit Pramoj was one of Thailand’s most-loved statesmen of the 20th century. A natural all-rounder, he was a poet, a writer and even served as prime minister in the 1970s. His peaceful abode with its lovely gardens, now on show to the public and off the tourist trail is a terrific example of traditional Thai architecture. บ้านหม่อมราชวงศ์คึกฤทธิ์ ซ.พระพินิจ สาทรใต้​้

VIMANMEK MANSION (map B2,#1) 139/2 Ratchawithi Rd, Dusit | 02-281-1569 | daily 9am-4pm | B100 The world’s largest teakwood building was originally built on the island of Koh Si Chang, in 1868, and then moved, piece by piece, to Bangkok for use by King Rama V. Its 81 rooms, spread over three floors, overlook a beautiful garden. Inside, many of his acquisitions from international trips are on display, including possibly the first bathtub in the kingdom, antique photographs and fine porcelain. Regular tours in English are held throughout the day. พระทีน ่ ง่ั วิมานเมฆ ถ.ราชวิถี เขตดุสติ WANG SUAN PAKKARD (map C3, #15) Si Ayutthaya Rd, Ratchathewi | BTS Phaya Thai | 02-245-4934 | www. suanpakkad.com | 9am – 4pm | B100 A former market garden that was converted into a residence and garden

by Princess Chumbot. Consisting of five reconstructed Thai wooden houses, Wang Suan Pakkard pays testament to her dedication to collecting Thai artefacts and antiques. Of note are the examples of Buddhist and Hindu art, the ceramics from old Ban Chiang and the delightful lacquer pavilion depicting scenes from the Ramayana. วังสวนผักกาด ถ.ศรีอยุธยา ราชเทวี ANANTA SAMAKHOM PALACE Throne Hall (map B2, #2) Uthong Nai Rd, Dusit, opp Dusit Zoo | 8:30am-4pm | B50 This stately parlimentary palace was built during the reign of RamaV and completed

by Rama VI. Cast in white Carrara marble, it is still used for the ceremonial opening of the first parliamentary session. Influenced

by Renaissance architecture, the interior is decorated with detailed frescoes, by Italian Galileo Chini, of royal ceremonies and festivities. พระทีน ่ ง่ั อนันตสมาคม ถ.อูท่ องใน ดุสติ

Jim Thompson:The Man behind the Mystery Check this out for a CV: Princeton graduate and former US spook turns Bangkok socialite, silk revivalist and Asiaphile antiques collector before disappearing mysteriously in Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands in 1967. Jim Thompson’s strangerthan-fiction life story makes for a twisting, ultimately tragic tale.This, along with the sheen of his famous silks, his entrepreneurial skills and impeccable taste, has made him Thailand’s most famous farang (westerner).Today he’s a brand gone global.You can visit his stunning home (see above), buy his trademark fabrics in Argentina or Australia, and read a slew of gossipy biographies peddling myths that only seal the legend. But it’s perhaps at Ban Krua, the Muslim silk-weaving community found near his home, where his legacy is most lasting. Here the cottage industry he resuscitated continues to thrive – a testimony both to the skill of the weavers who live there, and the visionary American who believed in them.

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bangkok 101

Kids in the city

Negotiating Bangkok with kids needn’t be the nightmare many parents presume.The single biggest plus point is that Thais absolutely adore children, meaning there are always people around ready to help out. Skytrain guards will drop what they’re doing to help you haul that stroller down the stairs and waitresses will gladly whisk junior off for a tour of the kitchens while you enjoy a coffee.

Most of the big shopping malls (see p.102) have play areas set aside for kids, with two of the best being Kiddy Land, which has slides, a ball pit and a balloon room on the 6th floor of CentralWorld; Jamboree on the 3rd floor of Emporium; and the huge indoor playground Funarium (see below) located off Sukhumvit. Plus, of course, most of the shopping malls have cinemas and enough ice-cream stores to sate a homesick Inuit.

There are also a fair few attractions that appeal to wee ones.The city’s parks (see p.34) offer a chance to let off steam, especially Rot Fai Park near Chatuchak Weekend Market (p.107), where you can rent bicycles; and Dusit Zoo (p.34) is a sprawling, chaotic afternoon’s worth of fun. Although expensive, Siam Ocean World (p.34) is a great way to entertain the kids while you shop at Paragon department store. And if you’re sticking around town for a while, Bangkok Dolphins (www.bangkokdolphins.com) offer swimming classes from three months old.

Funarium (map D4) 111/1 Sukhumvit 26 | 02-6656555 | www.funarium.co.th | 8:30am-8:30pm | kids: B180/300; adults B90 Basically 2,000m2 of slides, ball pits, trampolines, obstacle courses, cycling tracks and basketball courts, with a decent café and a small branch of Mothercare.

ฟันเอเรียม สุขุมวิท 26

SHRINES

Apart from the many Buddhist temples across the city, there are lots of small shrines where devotees pay their respects to Hindu deities, Animist spirits and even errant spooks. Many of the most famous – and visited – are centred around Ratchaprasong, the mall-cluttered central district. Here it’s not unusual to see a Thai wai a God while on their way to the Gucci store.

ERAWAN SHRINE (map C3, #17) Ratchadamri Rd, near Grand Hyatt Erawan | 02-252-8754 | 6:30am10:30pm | BTS Chit Lom Don’t expect serenity here.This is one of Bangkok’s busiest intersections: the crowded shrine to the Hindu creation god Brahma and his elephant Erawan is filled with worshippers lighting incense, buying lottery tickets and watching the traditional dancing group, which bangkok 101

performs for a nominal fee. Fancy making an offering? Buy a set from the surrounding stalls, and starting with your back to the main entrance walk around it clockwise, offering 3 incense sticks, a candle, garland and a piece of gold leaf to each of the four faces.

พระพรหมเอราวัณ ถ.ราชดำริ

Trimurti Shrine

TRIMURTI SHRINE (map C3) Outside Centralworld and Isetan Department Store, Ratchadamri Rd If your love life is ailing then this shrine is for you: at 9.30pm each Thursday it’s rumoured that Lord Trimurti descends from the heavens to answer prayers of the heart. To maximise your chances of meeting your dream beau you should offer nine-red incense sticks, red candles, red roses and fruit.

Alternatively, you could try saying hello to the person next to you.

GANESHA SHRINE (map C3) Outside Centralworld and Isetan Department Store, Ratchadamri Rd Perhaps the most recognisable Hindu deity, a silent prayer in front of this pot-bellied gold elephant – the son of Shiva and Parvati – is said to help get the creative juices flowing, as well as protect you from harm. Aside from marigold garlands, bring bananas, ripe mango or sticky rice-flour Thai desserts – Ganesha has an eternal appetite.

พระตรีมูรติ หน้าห้างอิเซตัน ศูนย์การค้าเซนทรัลเวิลด์ sightseeing

พระพิฆเนศวร หน้าห้างอิเซตัน ศูนย์การค้าเซนทรัลเวิลด์

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The National Museum

museums THE NATIONAL MUSEUM (map A3) 5 Chao Fa Rd, Sanam Luang| 02-2241333 | www.thailandmuseum.com | Wed-Sun 9am-4pm | B200 Previously a palace during the reign of Rama V, the National Museum features extensive displays of Thai artefacts from the main historical periods, encompassing the Lanna, Ayutthaya and Sukhothai kingdoms up to the present day. Thai culture is well documented in sections on dance, music and drama. The first example of Thai literature and the Thai alphabet, inscribed by King Ramkhamhaeng on a black stone during the Sukhothai period, is also on display. Free English tours are given on Wednesdays (about Buddhism) and Thursdays (on art/culture) which start at 9:30am.

Photography is not allowed inside the museum galleries.

พิพธิ ภัณฑ์สถานแห่งชาติ ถ.เจ้าฟ้า ใกล้ทอ้ งสนามหลวง

MUSEUM OF SIAM (map A3) 4 Samachai Rd., Pra Nakorn | 02622-2599 | www.ndmi.or.th | Tue-Sun 10am-6pm | free A truncated history of Thailand unfurls through this down-with-thekids discovery museum, taking in prehistoric Suvarnabhumi, the foundation of Ayutthaya and the country’s modernisation. Design company Story! Inc delivered the content and conceptual design, replacing the usual ‘don’t touch’ signs and turgid text with pop graphics and interactive gizmos galore. Among the many edutaining activities, highlights include dressing up as a 20th century nobleman, mapping out the borders of your own Siam using a vibrant touch screen and firing cannonballs at Burmese war-elephants.

Tellingly, the place teems with the usually museum-shy – Thai teenagers.

Afterwards, enjoy the polished teak floors, open-sided corridors and elegant Renaissance stylings of this gorgeously 26

ROYAL BARGE MUSEUM (map A3) 80/1 Rim Khlong Bangkok Noi,Arun Amarin Rd,Thonburi | 02-424-0004 | 9am5pm | B100 (photo B100, video B200) This collection of royal barges, some of which are up to 50 metres long, is housed on the Thonburi side of the river in a series of elaborate sheds near the Pinklao Bridge.The barges are best seen in action during rare ceremonial processions on the Chao Phraya where the colourful crews can number up to 64, including rowers, umbrella holders, navigators and various musicians. Beautifully and ornately decorated, these magnificent long craft were completely renovated and restored to their former glory by the present King, who also commissioned the newest boat for his golden jubilee in 1996.

BANGKOKIAN MUSEUM (map B3-4) 273 Charoen Krung Soi 43 | 02-2337027| www.bma.go.th/bmaeng/bangrak | Sat&Sun 10am-5pm | free Bangrak is one of the most traditional districts of the city, bustling with traffic and markets. Smack in the middle of it, find this oasis of four traditional Thai houses, one of them lovingly converted into a private museum by the compound’s charming owner, Ms. Waraporn Surawadee. She decided to dedicate the place to the memory of her family and bygone daily life of Bangkok everymen – and open it to the public. While visitors shouldn’t expect breathtaking revelations here; the displays can nevertheless be surprisingly fascinating. They include antiques, traditional household utensils and items used in ceremonies.

The real highlight is the owner herself who is willing to give you a highly personalised tour (if you call ahead), filled with anecdotes about a city long since vanished.

restored former government building, designed in the 1920s by Thailand’s best-loved resident Italian architect, Mario Tamagno.

สถาบันพิพิธภัณฑ์การเรียนรู้ แห่งชาติ ถ.สนามไชย

พิพิธภัณฑ์เรือพระราชพิธี ถ.อรุณอมรินทร์

พิพธิ ภัณฑ์ชาวบางกอก เจริญกรุง ซ.43

Museum of Siam

sightseeing

bangkok 101

museum focus

Siriraj Medical Museum

H

istory has it that when Thailand’s most notorious serial killer captured his victims, he suffocated them and ate their hearts and liver. According to historical records he murdered over a dozen Thai children in this grisly manner back in the 1950s, an act he thought would make him immortal.

You might be wondering who exactly this notorious cannibal was and why he’s the focus of this feature?

The short answer: his name was Si Ouey and his brown mummified remains are the most popular exhibit at the city’s grisliest museum – the Siriraj Medical Museum.

Located on the west bank of the river in Thailand’s oldest and most prestigious hospital, it’s chiefly an educational facility where trainee medical students come to take notes and harden their stomachs. However, fans of the macabre can also pay a visit.

Among the myriad chilling displays, far and away its most famous is that aforementioned cadaver of Si Ouey, displayed irreverently, alongside rapists and other murderers, in a phone booth. Over the generations, many Thai children have been told about this Chinese immigrant who moved to Thailand in 1944. Some Thai parents still

bangkok 101

recount his story to turn their unruly children into compliant darlings.

Don’t be surprised, then, if you see a number of youngsters staring at his brittle corpse in blind fear.

The museum doesn’t only display the bodies of people who actually deserved an untimely end. Other exhibits include the mummified remains of murder victims, and hideously deformed human foetuses that are embalmed in formaldehyde.

There are also severed heads and unspeakably graphic photos of industrial accidents, motorcycle decapitations and other grisly accidental deaths (best come before lunch, just to err on the safe side).

Although the Si Ouey museum, as it’s also often referred to, might not be for the fainthearted, it has significant educational value for those who can stomach it. For example, if you’ve ever wondered what a skull with a bullet lodged inside it looks like, or just how big a testicle infected with elephantitis can get, then this is the place to come. Hey, it might even change your life. Lighting up after seeing the impact smoking has on human lungs, for example, is unlikely to seem so appealing.

Entry to the Siriraj museum is very reasonable. For B40 you can access sightseeing

it and several other supplementary museums located in the hospital’s grounds, the most compelling being the Parasitology Museum and the History of Thai Medicine Museum.

Before you head back out into the world of the living, and with a heightened awareness of all its lurking dangers, make sure you check out the collection of skulls, and the autopsy instruments used in the investigation of King Rama VIII’s suspicious death back in 1946. Also keep your eyes peeled for the bones of Professor Dr Songkran Niyomsane, the pioneer of forensic science who founded the museum – and clearly led by example.

พิพิธภัณฑ์การแพทย์ศิริราช ถ.พรานนก

WHERE Siriraj Medical Museum, 2 Prannok Rd | 02 4197000 ext 6363 | www.si.mahidol.ac.th OPEN Mon- Sat 9 am-4 pm PRICE B40 27

Sightseeing

the great outdoors

FLORA LUMPHINI PARK (map C4) Entrances on Rama IV Rd, Sarasin Rd, Witthayu Rd and Ratchadamri Rd | free Want shades of green instead of drab slabs of grey? For most in the city Lumpini Park, the inner city’s largest green lung, is the solution. Busy as soon as the sun rises and again around sunset, Bangkokians of every ilk take advantage of the relative cool and quiet to practice Tai Chi, do aerobics, hold hands or jog around the picturesque lakes. Other activities include taking a pedal boat out onto the water for a quick spin. The most reliable entrance is the one near Silom at the corner of Rama IV Road and Ratchadamri Road, at the front of which a statue of King Rama VI stands sentinel. สวนลุมพินี เข้าได้ทาง ถ.พระราม 4

ถ.สารสิน ถ.วิทยุและ ถ.ราชดำริ

RAMA IX ROYAL PARK (off map) Sukhumvit 103 Rd, behind Seri Center, Pravet 02-328-1972, 02-328-1395 | 5:30am-7pm | B10 This 200-acre park features a small museum dedicated to the king, set amongst pleasant botanical gardens with lots of soothing water features. สวนหลวง ร.9 ถ.สุขุมวิท 103

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(หลังเสรี เซ็นเตอร์) ประเวศ

Rama IX Royal Park

JATUJAK & QUEEN SIRIKIT PARKS (map C-D1) 820 Phahonyothin Rd, Ladyao Subdistrict, Chatuchak | 02-272-4358~9 | 5am-6:30pm | free These two parks situated not far from the mayhem of the weekend market offer some respite. Chatuchak Park hosts some art exhibits and a collection of old railway engines and ancient automobiles. Nearby, Queen Sirikit Park has a pretty botanical garden.

สวนจตุจกั รและ สวนสมเด็จ พระนางเจ้า สิรกิ ติ ์ิ 820 ถ. พหลโยธิน จตุจกั ร

FAUNA DUSIT ZOO (map B2) 71 Rama V Rd, opp. Chitralada Palace, Dusit | 02-281-2000 | 8am-6pm | adults B100, kids B50 The city’s main zoo, situated to the north of Rattanakosin, is home to a large selection of mammals, reptiles and other animals. Spread over a large park, there’s also a lake to paddle around. สวนสัตว์ดุสิต 71 ถ.พระราม 5 QUEEN SAOVABHA MEMORIAL INSTITUTE (Snake Farm) (map C4, #18) 1871 Rama IV Rd, Thai Red Cross, Henri Dunant | 02-252-0161~4 ext.120 | Mon-Fri sightseeing

8:30am-4pm, Sat-Sun 9:30am – noon (Shows at 11am & 2:30pm) | B200 A centre for developing antidotes to poisonous snake bites, this research facility is also open to the public.

The idea behind this is to educate visitors about the dangers of poisonous snakes in Thailand and what to do with the victim of a snake bite.

There’s an informative slide show followed by a display of live venom extraction from some of the deadliest serpents in the kingdom. สถานเสาวภา (สวนงู)

ถ.พระราม 4 สภากาชาดไทย

Siam Ocean World (map C3) B1F Siam Paragon, 991 Rama I Rd | 02-687-2001 | www.siamoceanworld. com | 10am-7pm | B650/850 Such a pity that this tourist attraction – reputed to be the largest aquarium in Southeast Asia – operates a dual pricing policy. If you’reThai you pay B350; if you’re not you pay B850. This irritating iniquity aside, there’s certainly fun to be had inside, with 8m-high tanks, glass-tunnel walk-throughs and shark-feeding shows – although a ride on a glass-bottom boat to see sharks and rays costs extra and is wholly unremarkable. Reckon on an hour to get round the whole thing. สยามพารากอน ถ.พระราม 1 bangkok 101

Stood rapt in front of the Grand Palace? Check. Got your neck clicked at Wat Po? Check. Survived the scam artists? Just about. Okay, now you’ve lost your sightseeing ‘L’ plates it’s time to explore less tourist-thronged addresses.

what next?

1 For an entertaining and informative bike ride around the parts most tourists never reach, give cycle tour company Spice Roads (www.spiceroads.com) a shout. Alternatively, borrow a bike for free from one of 8 counters scattered around the Old City, courtesy of the Bangkok Metropolitan Association (www.bangkoktourist.com).

2 Volunteering is a great way to give back to this city we all get so much out of. However, don’t know where to look? Well-intentioned expatriative initiative In Search of Sanuk signposts ways you can have plenty of fun, while still helping others (www.insearchofsanuk.com).

3 Already been to Jim Thompson’s to pick up your silk presents for the folks back home? Gorgeous but groaning with tourists? Fortunately it’s not the only stilted teak house oasis in town. Suan Pakkard Palace offers a similarly beguiling set-up off the tourist trail, as does M.R. Kukrit’s House (p.30). Others swear by Amantee (www. amantee.com) out in the northern suburbs.

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4 Just across from MBK mall, the Guggenheim-like Bangkok Art & Culture Centre lures in dandyish creative types (and the odd curious shopper) with its mixed-bag line-up of Thai contemporary and itinerant global art. Want to know where the best Thai art is at?

Then pop a copy of our Bangkok Art Map into your totebag on your way out (www.bangkokartmap.com).

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5 Tour company Smiling Albino (www.smilingalbino. com) offers well thought-out, culturally-attuned excursions in and around the capital. Definitely its most intriguing is its two-day rollick through authentic old neighbourhoods and markets reminiscent of Bangkok circa 1910.

6 Housed in a beautifully restored old government building only five minutes stroll from the famous spires of Wat Po, the Museum of Siam (www.ndmi.or.th) traces the evolution of the Thai people in a funky, hands-on fashion.Touch-screen videos and interactive gizmos galore replace the usual dusty relics you commonly find and stress the country’s multiculturalism and modernisation.

7 Once you’ve got the city is licked, it’s time to see what marvels lurk just outside it. Popular daytrips close to home include Bangkrachao, a lush peninsula of undeveloped land just across from Bangkok’s Klong Toey district; and Ko Kret, a man-made island in the river famous for its snacking, temples and kilns churning out cheap pottery.

See Daytrips (p.37) for more details on both. bangkok 101

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All Month 10th Anniversary Special Anantara Hua Hin Resort & Spa

Ongoing Spa Passion Retreat The Library, Koh Samui

The renovation of the first floor of the cool new rooms at Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya has just finished. Check them out with their introductory ‘Change’ rates of B3,599 net onwards. This Thai rock ‘n’ roll sanctuary is a haven of 320 themed guest rooms and luxury suites that are designed and decorated in a hip and vibrant style, each room featuring an oversized bed head of a famous international rock ‘n’ roll personality.

03-842-8755; pattaya.hardrockhotels.net

Enjoy a ‘three day, two night’ retreat with After 10 years of delighting guests, the ultimate spa experience.The package Anantara Hua Hin is celebrating its includes: two nights accommodation royal seaside heritage with a package in Smart Studio or Exotic Suite with of signature experiences. Rise each breakfast; round trip airport transfer; day to a sumptuous breakfast of three hour spa passion retreat for two favourites; tour the Kingdom’s famous persons (one hour foot reflexology, one culinary regions; savour a dinner of hour body scrub; choice of Thai herbal truly Thai colours, textures, flavours scrub, chocolate scrub and hour hour and aromas; and unwind completely, aromatherapy or Swedish massage); courtesy of Thailand’s ancient wellness aromatic Chinese herbal tea; wellness traditions, with an hour long Royal dinner or romantic dinner at The Page Thai Massage at Anantara Spa. Rates restaurant; free internet and Wi-Fi. Costs start from B6,130 per room per night. for the Smart Studio areTHB 28,000+++, and Exotic Suite THB 32,000+++.

03-252-0250; huahin.anantara.com 07-742-2767; www.thelibrary.co.th

Ongoing Special Rate Promotion Holiday Inn Pattaya

Ongoing Seasonal Package Mercure Patong Phuket

Ongoing Special Rate Dhevan Dara Resort & Spa

hotel deals Ongoing New Look Hard Rock Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya

Enjoy the breeze from the ocean and a spectacular view of Pattaya Bay from every room at the Holiday Inn Pattaya.

From March onwards the hotel is offering a very special rate for travelers starting from B3,200 per room per night for Ocean View Rooms. Holiday Inn Pattaya is located on the northern part of the famous Pattaya Beach road, from where you can completely relax and enjoy your holiday with the knowledge that both shopping and nightlife options are just mere minutes away.

03-872-5555

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With a convenient location, Mercure Patong Phuket invites you to experience the sunshine of Patong. Just five minute’s walk to the beach, and 10 minutes to the Jungceylon shopping complex, your holiday options are endless. Of course, you might just choose to relax in your room or enjoy the hotel’s huge swimming pool. Costing only B3,259 net per night, the ongoing promotion includes buffet breakfast for two people, free upgrade to Superior Pool view, round trip airport transfer, and more.

(0) 7630 2100; www.mercurephuket.com

sightseeing

Inspired by the meaning ‘Beautiful Star of the Angel’, Dhevan Dara Resort & Spa is a wondrous realm of unpredictable beauty paralleled with luxurious serenity, where you can appreciate the natural surrounds while enjoying firstclass accommodation. For this special offer, enjoy a Garden Pool Villa for just B6,000 net per night with two American breakfasts (normal price B15,000++), or a two-bed Premier Pool Villa for only B10,900 net per night with four American breakfasts (normal price B24,000++).

081-444-1462; www.dhevan-dara.com

bangkok 101

Exhibitions The art of modern floral design is the subject of a new exhibition showcasing the work of Thailand’s preeminent floral artist, Sakul Intakul, at Chiang Mai’s Tamarind Village boutique hotel.

FlorESSENCE: The Essence of Modern Flower Design runs until May 31, and will pair striking photographs of the designer’s work with an 18-piece Lanna contemporary floral installation created by Intakul himself.

Food & Drink

Between 19-27 March North Pattaya’s Mantra Restaurant and Bar (0-38-418-418) will host a Gourmet Festival featuring global masterchef dinners, as well as interactive kitchen activities. Each chef will host his very own evening, extravaganza brunch, cooking classes, afternoon tea, etc.

It kicks off March 19 with a 7+ course set menu.

Diving

The Thai authorities have announced the closure of 17 dive sites across seven of the country’s marine national parks until further notice, most of them in the Andaman Sea. This is to aid the ecological recovery of sites where over 80% of the coral has been bleached by global warming, they say. See bangkok101.com’s sightseeing section for the full list of affected sites.

Competition The Deep South’s Dove-Cooing Contest, from March 5-6, will see participants from across Thailand and neighbouring countries flocking to Yala province in the hope that their bird will sing sweetest. No, April Fools has not come early, there really is such a thing; call the TAT on 1672 for details if you don’t believe us. bangkok 101

upcountry now Festivals

The Harvest Festival 2011 runs until March 31 at Monsoon Valley’s Hua Hin Hills Vineyard. Visitors can hop on a jeep and head out to pick ripe grapes, stomp them in the traditional manner and keep the pictures as a souvenir.

Each weekend, there’ll also be a special harvest menu with live jazz available; and there’s a wine-pairing dinner lined up for March 12. Call 08170-10222 or visit www. huahinhillsvineyard.com for reservations.

Nakorn Pathom’s Wat Bang Phra temple will host probably the world’s weirdest Tattoo Festival on March 19. See p.32 for the full preview.

Up in Korat city, twelve days of town parades and performances will mark the memory of Thao Suranaree, the wife of a local deputy governor who became an unlikely heroine when she successfully rallied citizens against Laotian invaders back in the early 1800s. Running March 23 - 2 April, the festivities will take place around her statue.

Theatre

Patravadi Theatre’s Fringe Festival 2011 bows out at the Vic Hua Hin (032-827-814, www.vichuahin.com) with hiphop dance, on March 5, from French-Thai-Laotian artists Fang Lao (B400-600); and solo theatrical production Paper Cut!, by Yael Rasooly from Israel, on March 12 (B300-500).

In Bloom

Up in the lush hills of northern Nan province, the pink blossoms of the Chompoo Phu Kha – one of the world’s rarest plants – are in full bloom until the end of March. They grow wild, along with several other notable species, in Doi Phu Kha National Park (05-4701000), which is in the provincial sub-district of Pua.

Sport

Chiangsaen, a small town on the banks of the Mekong River up in Chiang Rai, will host the swimming, cycling and jogging extravaganza that is the snappily titled Chiangsaen Mekong River International Triathlon & Duathlon 2011 from March 25-27. For details on how you register call the Tourist Authority of Thailand on 1672 or see www. thailandtriathlon.org.

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Sightseeing

featured festival

F

or a taste of the bizarre, head out to the Wat Bang Phra Tattoo Festival. Bang Phra is a rural temple located in Nakhorn Chaisri, some 40 kilometres from Bangkok, famed for its previous abbot, Luang Phor Pern, who specialized in giving and activating talismanic tattoos, which purport to protect the wearer from harm and bestow good luck to the illustrated elite. Luang Phor Pern died several years ago, but Wat Bang Phra continues on his traditions, climaxed by the annual temple fair.

Young men make up a majority of the blessed, especially those who are involved in dangerous occupations, such as drivers, laborers, stunt men, and those with links to the mafia, as the tattoos are supposed to work very strong charms once activated, not to mention that they offer a relatively inexpensive form of insurance. To say that the crowd is somewhat akin to a heavy metal rock show attended by a bunch of parolees might not be too far from the truth.

By Dave Stamboulis

Tattoo Mayhem at Wat Bang Phra

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In the early morning hours, the faithful sit cross legged on mats in front of a platform which has a large statue of Luang Phor Pern. According to tradition, once the tattooed start going into trances, their tattoos â&#x20AC;&#x153;wake up,â&#x20AC;? and begin calling to their monks up on the stage. The men then begin to act like the tattoos depicted on their backs and chests. Lizards crawl on their bellies, hermits inch along like old men, birds flap their wings and screech, and then there are the tigers, which the wat is most famed for, who growl, roar, and eventually charge in a frenzy towards the stage.

Security bruisers grab the entranced as they rush forward, and pat their ears to help calm them down.

Aside from the tattooed fanatics, there are the usual food and souvenir offerings of typical temple fairs and everyone involved has a good time.

At the end, the faithful climb aboard buses home, convinced that they are safe and that their tigers are back in their cages, at least for another year.

The Tattoo Festival will take place this year on March 19. Official starting time is 9:39am, but you are advised to get there around 7 or 8 as the place is a madhouse.

n Getting there By car, take Highway 4 west of Bangkok heading to Nakhon Pathom; Nakhon Chaisri is about 10km before Nakhon Pathom.

Turn right at the main junction of the town and Highway 4.

There are fairly prominent signs heading to the temple from here, another 10 minutes away on a few backroads. By public transport, buses leave Bangkok frequently from the Southern Bus Station, stopping in Nakhon Chaisri, where on festival day, plenty of songthaew trucks are waiting out on Highway 4 to take visitors to the temple.

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Sightseeing

beach escape

Hua Hin

Enjoying grilled king prawns amid gentle sea breezes. Sunset pony rides. Rounds of golf. Evenings spent strolling the nightmarket. These are the indulgent hallmarks of Prachuab Khiri Khan province’s Hua Hin, the humble fishing village that has risen to become the Bangkok highroller’s favourite seaside resort town, as well as ours…

B

y all accounts, Hua Hin’s rise can be traced back to 1922, when the director of the State Railway, Prince Purachatra, built the Railway Hotel to accommodate wellto-do Thai holidaymakers arriving by rail from Bangkok. As well as making this humble fishing town more comfortable and convenient for them, this structure – a luxurious two-story European style resort made of brick and wood – also piqued the interest of King Prajadhipok, or King Rama VII, who liked it so much that in 1926 he requested his Italian architect build him something similar. Fast forward to 2011 and the Klai Kangwon, or ‘Far from Worries’, Palace is still an official royal residence (only the grounds are open to the public; no photography allowed). In fact, it’s one of their favourites – their tranquil go-to when they need a break from the function circuit and this sultry city (until a few years ago, before his recent bout of ill health, His Majesty King actually spent more time there than in Bangkok).

Over the years this Royal seal of approval – as well as its proximity to Bangkok – has endeared Hua Hin to Thailand’s upper-classes, many of who have built beachfront homes here. Not that Hua Hin only appeals to the hisos, as they’re called in the vernacular. Drive through the seaside resort town and you can’t miss all the condominiums, hotels, malls and other hallmarks of cosmopolitan life catering to the thousands of foreigners who live and holiday here.

This – Hua Hin’s emergence as an

international tourist destination – can also be traced back to the Railway Hotel, namely its renovation and expansion by the Accor hotel group back in the mid eighties. Now a Sofitel, fitted with all the luxurious mod cons you’d expect of a worldclass hotel, but retaining the original architecture, it stands as one of a only handful of Old Hua Hin relics.

Others include the Chatchai Market: a reinforced concrete edifice that has seven circular roofs (a reminder of its being built in the reign of King Rama

Chatchai Market

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Hua Hin Prachuap Khiri Khan

Hua Hin Beach

Did you know?

laidback affairs – VII); and the Railway Station, typically dinner an ornate wooden pavilion and shopping at flanked by a Royal Waiting the popular Night Room that used to welcome Market, followed by a the King and his court when Hua Hin has a few beers and maybe they were visiting town. plump annual a massage on narrow

While we’d love to regale events calendar Thanon Naresdamri, you with more of Hua Hin’s – vintage the epicentre of the historic delights, the truth is car parades, tourist sprawl, on the we can’t because there aren’t elephant polo, a way home. There’s many. After you’ve seen these jazz festival each also a small girly bar – all recommended but only July, you name scene for those so of passing interest to most – it. What’s on inclined, and a new pretty much all that’s left to this month? See wave of culture do in Hua Hin is switch into p.31 to find out. attractions to keep holiday mode, be it by hitting your creative juices the beach (think pony rides, deckchair lazing, kitesurfing), or flowing (see Attractions). In sum, daytime expeditions to one of the though its low-key atmosphere best golf courses, temples, national parks suits families and older travelers, Hua or wineries that are never much Hin is a great go-to if you want to skip Bangkok and hit the beach, but more than one hour’s drive away.

As for nighttimes, these are not forgo too many of its trappings. ››

n Stay Anantara Hua Hin Resort & Spa 43/1 Phetkasem Beach Road, Hua Hin | 032-520-250| B 6,800++ | huahin.anantara.com The Barai Residentiral Spa, Hyatt Regency Hua Hin 91 Hua Hin - Khao Takiap Road, Hua Hin | 032-521-234 | B17,500++ | www.thebarai.com Hyatt Regency Hua Hin 91 Hua Hin - Khao Takiap Road, Hua Hin| 032- 521-234 | B 10,800++ (Special offer until April 31)| www.hyatt.com Six Senses Hideaway Hua Hin 9/22 Moo 5 Paknampran Beach, Pranburi |032-618-200 |B 5,650 (Special offer until March 31)| www. sixsenses.com/sixsenseshuahin Sheraton Hua Hin Resort & Spa 1573 Petchkasem Road, Cha-am, Hua Hin |032-708-000| B 4,697 6,474 (Special offer until March 31) | www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton Sofitel Centara Grand Resort & Villas Hua Hin 1 Damnernkasem Road, Hua Hin| 032-512- 021| B10,005-12,005 | www.sofitel.com X2 Hua Hin Kui Buri Villas

by Design, Centara Boutique Collection 52 Moo 13, Ao Noi, Muang, Prachuab Khirikhan | 02-1011234 ext. 1 | B3,800 ++ | www. centarahotelresorts.com

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hua hin special

ATTRACTIONS

Hua Hin’s beach may not be a patch on the fine-sandy specimens found further south, but it does have lots of attractions backing it up, from wineries to no less than five world-class golf courses. Though this may seem like madness to sun-starved westerners, many of the middle class and well-to-do Thais who flock here each weekend spend more time enjoying these than they do out on the beach.

About 2km west of town centre, Khao Hin Lek Fai, or Flintstone Mountain, is a popular place to start your stint in Hua Hin, offering modestly impressive birds-eye views over the city and the outlying bay. Up here there’s also an equestrian statue of King Rama VII, who commissioned many of its old buildings and so kickstarted its rise to fully-fledged seaside resort town.

Also up here is Baan Sillapin (81 Moo 14, Hua Hin-Pala-U Road | 08704-77125), one of a few attractions to have put Hua Hin on the arts and culture map, domestically at least. Predominantly the shady hillside abode of local painter Tawee Kase-ngam and other Thai artists, the 10 rai plot also includes art and antique galleries, coffee and gift shops, and classrooms in which painting and sculpture classes are staged.

Back in town, another is the Vic Hua Hin (62/70 Soi Moobaan Huana | 032-827-814 | www.vichuahin. com): a modern arts complex founded by the female

Wat Huay Mongkol

Khao Hin Lek Fai

arts impresario behind Bangkok’s Patravadi Theatre.

Classes and weekend workshops span from classical Thai dance to origami, but what draws in high brow audiences are the contemporary theatre and dance troupes who tread the boards, usually on Saturdays.

More of a daytripper destination, Plearn Wan (4/9095 Soi Moo Ban Bor Fai | 032-52-0311 | www.plearnwan. com) is a faux-vintage market where you can browse mock turn-of-the-century wooden shophouses while you graze on old-school snacks and sip rocket sodas. It’s worth a visit, but avoid weekends, as you literally can’t move for people posing for photos in front of every quaint retro sign going.

Lots more attractions are only a short drive away.

Two of the most popular include Wat Huay Mongkol, a park-like temple complex featuring a colossal statue of Luang Phor Thuat, a legendary Thai monk who was famed for performing miracles; and the picturesque home of Monsoon Valley Wines, the Hua Hin Hills Vineyard (www.huahinhillsvineyard.com), located roughly 40km west.

Kiteboarding: Surfin’ the dream

Cast your eye over Hua Hin bay and, as well as vendors keen to punt you things and ponies trotting up and down, you’ll spot surfboards tied to oversized kites coasting across Hua Hin’s choppy seas. This is kitesurfing, one of the fastest growing water sports in the world. Hua Hin’s 5km long beach, almost year round winds and relatively flat waters make it the best place to learn it in the country (while another gusty hotspot, Pranburi, is only 30km further south). Kiteboarding Asia, the organisers of last year’s Kiteboarding World Cup, which was held here, has four shops around town where you can buy or rent equipment, and book lessons. Though it looks tough, they claim that within six hours of instruction any confident swimmer with an average fitness level can be out there skimmin’ the waves. Contact Eran on 08159-14593 or www.kiteboardingasia.com for more.

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EAT

While the centre of town has been colonised by Burger Kings and expat-run joints serving edible but unexciting Italian, Scandinavian and other Euro fare, Hua Hin has its purveyors of culinary excellence. Most of them can be found sizzling up deceptively cheap Thai fare every evening at the Chat Chai Market (just off Thanon Phetkasem), which is better known simply as the ‘Night Market’. Of course, this being an old fishing village at heart, seafood is the main and tastiest draw. You’ll find the best of it served at the aforementioned or down by the shoreline, namely one of the shacks that will cheerfully serve you a plate of fresh steamed crab, grilled squid or mussels with spicy dip alongside cans of cold Singha; or at one of the many sprawling wharfside joints that eyeball the ocean.

There are lots down near Hua Hin’s fishing pier, but Yu Yen Balcony (29 Naep Khehat Road, entrance on Hua Hin Soi 51 | 03-253-1191~2) is recommended for its seafood served in the breezy grounds of a vintage seaside house.

SHOP

At first glance it’s all hard-sell tailor shops and stalls specialising in carved tourist tat, but there are some interesting boutiques in town, like the venerable Khomapastr (218 Petchkasem Rd | 032-511-250 | khomapastrfabrics.com). Founded in 1948, this pleasant white textile shop on the outskirts of town sells charming cotton clothes and homewares screen-printed with traditional Thai designs like the “Lai Pa Kiao”, a complex gold design that was traditionally used for garments worn by the Royal Family. And of course there’s the Night Market, where you can find the odd nice piece amid all the tacky boxing shorts and bootleg DVDs. Also worth exploring in the evenings is the bucolic Cicada Night Market (Suan Sri, Khao Takieb | www.cicadamarket.net).

Here, concrete paths lined with stalls selling everything from retro postcards to trendy tees and homemade soaps wind around a wide, open garden dotted with trees and vintage wooden houses, many of which have been converted into art galleries. There are also regular concerts in an open-air amphitheatre, and some excellent food stalls.

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Sightseeing

beaches Located at the northern tip of Prachuab Khiri Khan, a province stretching down the thinnest part of Thailand’s southern isthmus, Hua Hin is one of Bangkok’s great beach escapes – a swell place to kick back in a deck chair, or build castles in the wet sand with your sprog. However the truth is that, while by far the most popular stretch of coastline in Prachuab, it’s by no means the prettiest. Not by a long shot.

Ma am eN

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Namtok PaLa-U

Hua Hin

Hua Hin

Suan Son Pradiphat

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uri

Khuean Pran Buri

Pran Buri

Tham Kaeo Hat Laem Sala Tham Sai

Kui Buri

Khao Deang

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Myanmar

Gulf of Thailand

Wat Tha Khao Khan Kradai Khao Chong Krachok

King Mongkul Memorial Park of Science and Technology

Bang Saphan Ao Bo Thonglang

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Bang Saphan Noi 3411

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Sam Roi Yot A vast, windswept bay on the northern fringes of Sam Roi Yod National park. Lined with swaying pine trees and a few mid-range resorts, it’s not great for swimming – the waters are stubbornly shallow – but perfect for long walks amid marooned wooden fishing boats and with not a soul in sight. Just offshore sit two teardrop islands, Koh Nom Sao and Koh Lam, that are worth exploring via local fishing boat or sea kayak.

Hat Wanakon Nationnal Park

Thap Sakae

4

Pak Nam Pran Just south of the Pranburi river estuary, this long, windy beach is flanked by luxury beachfront hotels like the Evason Resort and Spa and Aleenta, and one of the best places in the country to try kitesurfing. At the far end is a mountain, Khao Kalok, that Thais seek shade under during the day, and bats swarm around at night.

Sirinart Rajini Ecosystem Learning Center

Sam Roi Yat

Namtok Hual Ypng National park

Khao Tao 15km south of Khao Takiab, this delightful little bay with a turtle shaped headland is also known as Hat Sai Noi. It’s good for swimming as, unlike many beaches in the area, the sand bed drops off quickly. Don’t miss its sprawling temple with cave shrines and impressive sea views.

Khao Takiab Accommodating Hua Hin’s overspill, this long, shallow beach has a rocky headland at its northern end that is, apparently, shaped like a pair of chopsticks. Though we don’t see the resemblance, we do like Khao Takiab a lot. Aside from being only a 10 minute drive from Hua Hin, its quieter and there are less people trying to tout you things.

Ao Mae Ramphueng

Baan Saphan Yai A long bay in the province’s deep south, Baan Saphan Yai offers cheap huts (and one swank resort, the Coral Hotel) beside tall palm groves and deserted sands. Only a short train-ride from Chumpon, the town 100km further south where ferries depart for diver island Koh Tao, it’s a good 1-3 day stopover. Plus, the snorkeling around nearby islands Koh Thalu and Koh Sing ain’t bad. sightseeing

Ao Manao One of the province’s prettiest, Ao Manao beach is found within the grounds of an airbase famous for being the place where invading Japanese warships met fierce resistance during World War II. Chill on its casurina-backed beaches, see memorials that pay tribute to the soldiers that died here and feed dusky langur monkeys. bangkok 101

When you’ve had your fill of beaches, hop in a minivan or hire car and head out of town to discover the surrounding region’s great outdoors.

All the following nature reserves are only an hour or twos drive away from the seaside resort town and feature Mother Nature in her purest guises, from woods to mangroves, marshlands to, erm, more beaches.

the great outdoors

O

ne of the most popular near Hua Hin is Kaeng Krachan National Park.

Bordering a sparsely populated tract of Myanmar, it’s the biggest national park in Thailand (2,915km²) and also one of its most pristine, its untamed heart teeming with rare mammals, butterflies and birds. Visitors come to camp or picnic beside its vast reservoir, framed by the rolling Tenasserim mountain range, or take a leisurely canoe or speedy longtail across it. Others don lifejackets and take to the source river, the Phetchaburi, to enjoy whitewater rafting, rope-bridge walking or a good wallow. It’s well worth a daytrip from Hua Hin, even better if you stay the night, either at one the park’s three campsites or one of the resorts located just outside (see Stay).

Much, much smaller is Pranburi District’s Sirinart Rajini Ecosystem Learning Center (Highway 4, kilometre marker 246): a former shrimp farm that has been turned into a verdant mangrove forest in only a couple of decades. Fed by the Pranburi estuary – and free – it’s worth stopping by for the insights into local ecology and fishing practices, the mazy paths through the spooky forest, and the dreamy panorama from atop the viewing tower – a carpet of lush mangrove tree tops framed by Pranburi’s surrounding hills.

On a clear day you may even spot the hazy, sugarloaf peaks of Sam Roi Yot National Park in the distance. Studded with mangroves, marshland and pristine beaches, this eye-poppingly beautiful 90km² coastal reserve is home to everything from antelopes to spotted eagles.

What really makes it special though are those three hundred limestone peaks that ripple and soar above them. Hiking trails lead to the bangkok 101

Tham Phraya Nakhon

epic summit of many of them, the highest of which, at 605 metres, is the Khao Dang viewpoint. Other highlights include famous Tham Phraya Nakhon (a cave containing an ornate little Royal sala, or pavilion), Hat Laem Sala (a casuarina-lined beach where you can camp, picnic or rent a bungalow), and being pushed deep out into its pretty freshwater marshes carpeted with lotus flowers by a local and his trusty punt.

Last but not least, quite a bit further south along Highway 4 (kilometre marker 345) is Hat Wanakorn National Park (032-619030). Though tiny – at 38km² – its

Hat Wanakorn National Park

sightseeing

rewards are many. Three nature trails traverse the park’s mixed deciduous forest, a haven for rare butterflies and birds like the Blue-throated Bee Eater. And for roughly B500 per person you can take a short boat ride 7km out to the pinprick islands of Koh Jaan and Koh Tay Sri. At both, fisherman’s bamboo huts cling to the cliff face, swifts nest in the caves, and shallow coral reefs make for decent snorkelling. Camping beneath the casuarinas that line Hat Wanakorn’s slender 7km long beach is popular (B30 per person – bring your own tent). And should you crave your creature comforts, bungalows are also available. n Stay If you’d rather stay the night than pace it back to Hua Hin, book a state-run bungalow in advance via the National Parks department’s website (www.dnp.go.th/ parkreserve), camp, or seek out a nearby resort. For Kaeng Krachan, we recommend the Kaeng Resort (www.kaengresort.com), or the chalets at Baan Maka (www. baanmaka.com); and for Sam Roi Yot, the Anchana (www.anchana. com) or Brassiere Beach Resort (www.brassierebeach.com).

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Arts

contemporary art Steven Pettifor

W

hat could be a better memento of a stay in Thailand than hanging an original piece of contemporary art in your home? Bangkok’s shops and markets teem with nostalgic Buddhistinfluenced paintings and sculptures, but there are also numerous commercial and non-profit galleries that exhibit the fruits of Thailand’s growing artistic presence.

Bangkok has a small, vibrant and highly resourceful contemporary art circle, which is slowly beginning to make waves within the international art arena, aided to some extent by the Western ar t world’s recent penchant for all things Asian. The trend has been for ambitious installation and multimedia projects, proving popular with the younger generation of artists.

Spirituality and Buddhism have been, and still are , major themes in contemporary art, whether coming from neo-tr aditionalist painter s including Thawan Duchanee and Chalermchai Kositpipat, whose late 20th-centur y paintings resurrect traditional perceptions of the Thai identity – as pure, harmonious, Buddhist, monarchist and patriotic – or aromatic meditative installations during the 1990s by the late Montien Boonma.

Away from the spiritual, the economic collapse of 1997 has fuelled many local ar tists to question the effects of globalisation upon the Thai populace. A return to an innocent agrarian existence became one common call, while more contentious artists like Vasan Sitthiket highlighted their disdain for national policies through faux-political electioneering. Conceptual photographer Manit Sriwanichpoom satirised local urbanity’s consumerist obsessions with his engaging Pink Man series.

Ironically, as leading artists question the ceaseless and unconditional absorption of all things American and

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European, many of Thailand’s freshfaced generation of artists are infatuated with the street-style, urban iconography of pervasive Asian cultures like Japan, Korea and increasingly China.

An indicator of the growing profile of Thai art could be in the proliferation of new commercial galleries that have opened in the last couple of years, with Bangkok gaining over a dozen new venues in different areas across the city.

These include artist -run spaces such as printmaker and sculptor Thavorn Ko-Udomvit’s grey cube Ardel, and Rirkrit Tiravanija’s hotbed of young conceptualists at Gallery VER. While Thailand’s ongoing political debacle has complicated ar tistic planning, the decade-plus wait for the new Bangkok Art & Culture Centre, opposite MBK shopping mall, is over.

For news of its exhibitions, performances and the like log on to www.bacc.or.th GALLERIES The majority of contemporary art on view in Bangkok is produced by domestic practitioners, several of whom are now receiving significant international exposure, though there is ar ts

an increasing number of regional Asian artists displaying their works, at prices often cheaper than in countries like Singapore, China and Vietnam.

Whether hoping to peruse some emerging local protagonist, or purchase something a bit more commercial or traditional, one thing’s for certain – prices for art in Bangkok are much more realistic and reasonable than in the over-inflated, fashionable ar t centres found in America, Europe and, increasingly, China.

You’ll soon realise that the city doesn’t have a concentrated artistic enclave; rather, there are small pockets of galleries, auction houses and antiques shops randomly dispersed throughout the city. Commercial galleries are spread across town and a little route planning is advised before embarking on a day of gallery musing. On the following page is a selection of noteworthy galleries about town.

Steven Pettifor is the editor of the Bangkok Art Map (BAM), and author of Flavours: Thai Contemporary Art. He is available as a consultant to art buyers: stevenpettifor@hotmail.com bangkok 101

Enjoy these selected highlights from the current issue of the Bangkok Art Map. BAM is a free-folding city map containing the latest information and critical insights into Thailand’s burgeoning contemporary arts scene. Grab a copy and participate in the promotion of art in Thailand.

art exhibitions

Until Mar 12 Freedom & Justice?

Thavibu, Suite 308, Silom Galleria F3, 919/1 Silom Rd, Soi 19 | 02-266-5454 | Mon-Sat 11am-7pm | www.thavibu.com l BTS Surasak Political satirist Jittagarn Kaewtinkoy’s slick mimicking caricatures previously took aim at international statesmen like George W. Bush. In the wake of the 2006 coup, he turned his brush against those within his own country that he felt are obsessed with financial profiteering from their political positions. His latest series looks at iconic global personalities and their sincerity towards freedom and justice.

Until Mar 17 Playing Arts Gallery Ver, 194 Tanao Rd | 02-6220117, 08-9115-2597 | Tue- Sat 1-7pm | www.verver.info Curated by Panu Boonpiputtanapong, this exhibition and accompanying book launch responds to a 15-yearold, German led arts initiative on how to stimulate creativity and artistic production through informal, selfmotivating collectives. Having already conducted workshops in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, the resulting exhibition includes participatory activities to animate visitors through similar engagement.

Until Mar 19 Island of Four Seasons Tang Contemporary Art, Unit B-28 (Basement), Silom Galleria 919/1 Soi 19 | 02-630-1114 | Mon-Sat 11am– 7pm (closed public holidays) | www. tangcontemporary.com | BTS Surasak Having previously exhibited a proliferation of Mao inspired paintings and sculptures, Beijing-based Yin Zhaoyang returns to Tang having moved on from what the gallery dubbed his ‘post-heroic era’. More mature and more in tune with himself, his recent works focus on the physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of the modern human condition.

Until Mar 27 S. H. Lim Kathmandu Photo Gallery, 87 Soi Pan, Silom Rd | 02-234-6700 | Tue-Sun 11am-7pm | www.kathmandu-bkk. com l BTS Chong Nonsi Parallel to La Fête’s spotlight on Thai and international fashion photography, Kathmandu Photo Gallery profiles the glamorous photos of S. H. Lim. The first lens man to be resurrected in their ‘Seeking Forgotten Thai Photographers’ project, the self-taught Lim captured the spirit of modern Thailand from the sixties on, through sexy magazine covers, calendars, and movie posters.

Until Apr 10 La Fête Various Venues | www.lafete-bangkok.com Annual Francophile cultural festival La Fête this year encompasses visual art, cinema, ballet, hip hop dance, club DJs, modern puppetry, gastronomy, and even frozen juggling. Having previously displayed works by Yann Arthus Bertrand, and Laurent Ballesta, the festival’s visual arts component once again focuses on photography, with five exhibitions on view at different venues across town. See this month’s photofeature and Metrobeat, on p.11, for more. bangkok 101

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performing arts

RAM THAI (Thai traditional dance)

Aksra Theatre

Bangkok’s performing arts scene may not throb like in other cities, but look under the surface and you’ll find it there, beating to its own rhythm. No, there aren’t many plays, stage shows or performance pieces being staged, and sometimes it’s as if mainstream pop and rock acts are the only things that captivate the masses. Still, fans of the performing arts can find diamonds and everybody will appreciate the low ticket prices. For more information on what’s happening, visit these sites for event information: www.thaiticketmaster.com, www.bangkokfestivals.com.

Theatres

Aksra Theatre (map C3) King Power Complex 8/1 Rangnam Rd, Phaya Thai | BTS Victory Monument | 02-677-8888 ext 5678 | Tue-Fri 7pm, Sat-Sun 1pm&7pm In this spectacular 600-capacity theatre located by the Victory Monument, with an interior lined with wood carvings, experience hypnotic performances by the Aksra Hoon Lakorn Lek troupe.

Intricate Thai puppets, given life by puppeteers swathed in black, act out Thai literary epics. This is family entertainment of the refined kind.

โรงละครอักษรา คิงพาวเวอร์ คอมเพล็กซ์ ถ.รางน้ำ

PATRAVADI THEATRE (map A3) 69/1 Soi Wat Rakhang, Arun Amarin Rd, Thonburi | 02-412-7287~8 | www.patravaditheatre.com Outside of university art departments, this is one of the few places in Bangkok to watch contemporary performing arts. Its founder, the well-known Patravadi Mejudhon, created not only a theatre, but also an entire arts complex, comprising of classes, residencies and international exchanges. Performers are trained in classical as well as modern traditions: the shows are world-class because of it.

โรงละครภัทราวดี ถ. อรุณอมรินทร์

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SIAM NIRAMIT (map D2) 19 Tiam Ruammit Rd | 02-649-9222 | www.siamniramit.com A breathtaking, record-breaking extravaganza, the performance here is hailed as 'a showcase of Thailand'.

Using hundreds of costumes and amazing special effects, more than 150 local performers journey whirlwindlike through seven centuries of storied Siamese history. Up to 2,000 guests arrive to experience this spectacle nightly. In shor t, it's a spectacular showcase of eye-popping poignancy.

สยามนิรมิต ถ.เทียมร่วมมิตร

Traditional Thai theatre and dance takes many forms. The most accessible is khon, which depicts scenes from the Ramakien (the classic Thai epic based on the Hindu Ramayana), in graceful dances. Originally reserved for royal occasions, it’s now performed mainly for tourists in five-star hotels or at cultural shows across the city. At the Erawan Shrine (p.31), pay the colourful troupe a couple of hundred baht to see them perform. When visiting Vimanmek Mansion (p.30), don’t miss the performances there.

More popular amongst Thais is ligay, a lively blend of comedy, dance and music, often with contemporary subject matter. Due to its improvised nature, non-Thais find it very difficult to follow. Puppet theatre, which nearly died out, has made a comeback at the Joe Louis Puppet Theatre and Aksra Theatre. It also borrows heavily from the Ramakien (as do most soap operas on Thai TV), substituting human dancers with paper and wire puppets dressed in elaborate costumes.

There are regular performances of contemporary theatre in Bangkok, predominantly at the Patravadi Theatre and the Thailand Cultural Centre. Also, though more influenced

by Broadway than indigenous dance, don’t miss Bangkok’s gender-bending ladyboy cabarets (p.87).

NATIONAL THEATRE (map A3) 2 Rachini Rd, Sanam Luang | 02-224-1342, 02-225-8457~8 Along with the National Museum, the imposing theatre forms an island of high culture. Classical Thai drama, musicals and music performances – all elaborate affairs, sometimes strange to foreign eyes and ears – are staged on a small side stage and the open-air sala. The season runs from November to May, but you can catch classical Thai dance and music on the last Friday and Saturday nights of each month.

โรงละครแห่งชาติ ถ.ราชินี สนามหลวง ar ts

bangkok 101

TCDC (Thailand

Creative & Design Centre)

Perhaps the most active players on Bangkok’s arts scene are its cultural centres.These ensure that the scene stays booked with top-notch exhibitions (conventional and experimental) and performances from the world of visual arts, drama, dance, music, fashion, film, design, literature and more. The foreign contingent regularly put on events showcasing international talent. Ring up, check their websites or just drop by to find out what’s on.

cultural centres

Alliance Française (map C4)

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his hip design learning and resource facility, plonked atop the Emporium shopping mall, aims to stimulate creativity and innovation among young Thai designers.

Everyone, however, is free to attend its workshops, talks by prominent international designers and exhibitions.

These are particularly WHERE 6F,The Emporium good at opening your Shopping Complex, mind and eyes to Sukhumvit 24 (map D4) BTS curious international Phrom Phong, 02-664-8448, design concepts; be it www.tcdc.co.th OPEN Vivienne Westwood’s 10:30am-9pm closed Mon always fearlessly nonconformist fashions, or Le Corbusier-influenced Modern Thai architecture.

Don’t miss permanent exhibition, “What is Design?” a look at how 10 countries have interpreted their cultural uniqueness to create 20th century design classics; or a peek at the swish, state-of-the-art library. With over 16,000 rare books, a large selection of multimedia, even a textile centre, this is where the city’s fresh-faced art, fashion, design and film students rush to the day before their final paper is due – only to end up distracted by the obscure arthouse DVDs and glossy tomes on modern Scandinavian architecture. Fortunately in-centre café Kiosk, with its strong Italian coffee and all-day-brunch, is on hand to keep the Kingdom’s next big things on track.

ดิ เอ็มโพเรียม ชอปปิ้ง คอมเพล็กซ์ สุขุมวิท 24

29 Sathorn Rd | BTS Saladaeng | 02-670-4200 | 10am6pm close Sun | www.alliance-francaise.or.th

สมาคมฝรั่งเศสกรุงเทพ ถ. สาทรใต้

BRITISH COUNCIL (map C3)

254 Chulalongkorn Soi 64 Siam Square, Phaya Thai Rd, Pathumwan | BTS Siam | 02-652-5480 ext 108 | www.britishcouncil.or.th

บริติช เคาน์ซิล สยามสแควร์

Goethe Institut (map C4)

18/1 Goethe, Sathorn Soi 1 | MRT Lumphini | 02-2870942~4 ext.22 | 8am-6pm | www.goethe.de/

สถาบันเกอเธ่ 18/1 ซ. เกอเธ่ สาทร ซ. 1

Japan Foundation (map D3)

Serm-mit Tower, F10, Sukhumvit Soi 21 | BTS Asok, MRT Sukhumvit | 02-260-8560~4 | Mon-Fri 9am-7pm, Sat 9am-5pm | www.jfbkk.or.th

เจแปน ฟาวน์เดชั่น ชั้น 10 อาคารเสริมมิตร สุขุมวิท 21

Check also: ■ Bangkok Music SocietY (BMS) 02-617-1880, www.bms.in.th ■ Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, 02-223-0871-5, www.bangkok symphony.net ■ The Belgian Club of Thailand (BCT) www.belgianclub-th.com

BACC (map C3) 939 Rama I Rd, Pathumwan | BTS National Stadium | 02-214-6630-1 | Tue-Sun 10am-9pm | www.bacc.or.th The 11-storey Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) structure is engulfed by neighbouring shopping malls and looks out towards the city’s elevated skytrain. Best described as The Guggenheim meets a shopping mall, the parabolic white concrete design has an interior defined by a circular atrium accentuating smooth curves around which exhibitions are hung. Potentially an important player in Thailand’s contemporary cultural development, the centre is currently nurturing artists in a range of creative fields, including theatre, film and design, with the upper levels boasting a space of 3,000sqm for displaying exhibitions. Combine a trip here with a shopping assault at the nearby malls, which it’s linked to via a raised concrete walkway.

หอศิลปวัฒนธรรมแห่งกรุงเทพมหานคร แยกปทุมวัน

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Arts APEX SCALA (retro 1960s) Siam Square Soi 1, Rama 1 Rd | BTS Siam | Scala 02-251-2861, โรงภาพยนต์สกาลา สยามสแควร์

cinema

B

angkok boasts world-class, state-of-the-art movie theatres showing the latest Hollywood and Thai blockbusters.

A select few cinemas, notably House and Lido and the city’s cultural centres (p.47), screen less common independent and international films. Thai films are usually, in downtown Cineplexes at least, shown with English subtitles; foreign films with subtitles in Thai. Seats are reasonably priced at around B100-180.The best place to check screening times is on the daily-updated www.

Please movieseer.com. stand while the king's anthem is Thai Cinema Noy Thrupkaew played in respect to Thailand’s Judging from the city’s movie posters, Bangkok beloved visitors might assume that Thai filmic fare is limited monarch.

to elephantine historical epics, maggoty horror flicks and the offerings of culture-colonising Hollywood. But sandwiched in-between the mainstream movies are a number of idiosyncratic indies that are winning a name for Thai cinema abroad.

Thailand’s most internationally renowned director, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, has made a career out of bending genres, as in his bewitchingly strange Cannes-winning feature, Tropical Malady (Sat Pralad, “Strange Beast”, is the original title). Other Thai filmmakers have emulated Weerasethakul’s bordertransgressing ways, steeping Thai tales in Western cinematic influences.

Despite Thai film’s increasing acclaim, impatient distributors often pull small pictures within days. Audiences eager to support emergent cinema should track movies at the Thai Film Foundation’s website www.thaifilm.com or at Thai film critic Anchalee Chaiworaporn’s www.thaicinema.org.

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ถ. พระราม 1

HOUSE (Boutique art film cinema) Royal City Avenue (RCA), Petchaburi Rd | 02-641-5177 เฮ้าส์ อาร์ซเี อ ถ. พระรามเก้า KRUNGSRI IMAX THEATER (world’s largest movie screen) 5th Fl., Siam Paragon, Rama 1 Rd | BTS Siam | 02-129-4631 สยามพารากอน ถ. พระราม 1 Major Cineplex Ratchayothin 1839 Phaholyothin Rd. | BTS Mochit, MRT Paholyothin, then taxi | 02-511-3311 เมเจอร์รช ั โยธิน ถ.พหลโยธิน Major Cineplex Sukhumvit 1221/39 sukhumvit Rd., North Klongtan | BTS Ekkamai | 02-3814855 เมเจอร์สข ุ มุ วิท

ใกล้สถานีรถไฟฟ้าบีทเี อสเอกมัย

PARAGON CINEPLEX 5th Fl., Siam Paragon, Rama | Rd l BTS Siam | 02-129-4635-6 or Movie line 02-515-5555 สยามพารากอน ถ. พระราม 1 SF CINEMA CITY MBK (VIP Class) 7th Fl., MBK Center, Phaya Thai Rd | BTS National Stadium | 02-611-6444 มาบุญครองเซ็นเตอร์ ถ. พญาไท

bangkok 101

In Print

Bangkok is home to an eye-popping array of excellent bookshops, small, large and sprawling. Just head for any major mall – Siam Paragon, Emporium, All Seasons Place, CentralWorld or Central Chitlom, to name a few (see mall listings on p. 102) – and look for chain favourites like Asia Books, Kinokuniya, B2S, Nai-In or Bookazine. Plenty of other stores offer the latest in print, new and used.

Confluence: the Indian

by Nature Cookbook Av Khanijou, B1250, Pen to Pixel, 96pp Indian by Nature is a Pattaya-based restaurant that prides itself on serving authentic north Indian cuisine, reflecting the Thai owners’ Punjabi roots. Only opened in 2004, it has already become a major part of the seaside town’s fine dining scene.

This book – their first – represents the accumulation of generations of culinary knowledge by the Khanijou family. Full of staunchly traditional Indian recipes that feature the best of fresh Thai ingredients, the recipes in the fuchsia-coloured hardback represent the family’s unique blend of cultures: ‘We often eat Indian for lunch and Thai for dinner [and are] equally at home with fish sauce as we are with garam masala.” Aware that many of the tools and techniques used in a professional kitchen are difficult to replicate in the average home (we assume most

On DVD

Thai theatres are notorious for their rapid turnover rates, making DVDs one of the best ways for visitors to explore Thai film. Thai DVDs are readily available in Mang Pong outlets in major malls, but before purchasing check the back for English s u b t i t l e s a n d DV D r e g i o n compatibility, if you don’t have an all-region DVD player. Englishsubtitled versions are also often available as exports from Hong Kong at websites such as www.hkfilm.com or www.yesasia.com. bangkok 101

of you don’t have a tandoor oven to hand), the instructions have been simplified and altered with the home cook in mind. The book begins with a ‘toolbox’ of simple recipes that form components for more complicated dishes, including varieties of masala, pastes and chutneys. From here, it moves through the meal, presenting a how-to for Indian by Nature’s popular appetisers, soups, mains, desserts and drinks, including a trio of Indian cocktails.The recipes are by no means simple to make, but are easy enough to follow – with the accompanying full-page photograph of the finished dish more than enough incentive to see you through to completion. In short, The Indian by Nature Cookbook gives amateur chefs the chance to tackle a fascinating cuisine at home.

Of course, after cooking, you might just have to make the drive to Pattaya and try the originals too.

reading & screening

Bangkok’s Top 50 Street Food Stalls Chawadee Nualkhair | 149pp | B400 (order via www. bangkokglutton.com) If you’ve been admiring Bangkok’s sidewalk kitchens from afar, but not had the confidence to approach one, pick up a copy of this handy little guide. In it self-titled Bangkok glutton Chawadee Nualkhair whittles down the capital’s roughly half a million food stalls down to, erm, fifty. Though that’s absurd, she has chosen wisely, picking only hygienic stalls that offer something special in the best-known streetfood areas. However, what really condemns this book to a life of tom-yum-splattered servitude is its overview of the different types of noodles, rice-based dishes, desserts and beverages. All are clearly decoded, illustrated and listed with Thai script – neat. We’re also fans of the maps, the blank pages, so you can jot down your favourites, and Chawadee’s fluff-free prose: “Restrooms: yes, squat toilet, bring your own toilet paper”, etc.

SONG OF CHAOPHAYA (NONG MIA) M. L. Chatrichalerm Yukol | 1990 | $8.5 | www.ethaicd.com Centred on a young family who live on a Bangkok river barge, Thailand’s 1990 Oscar submission is a stirring slice of social realism by M.L. Chatrichalerm, a Thai Prince who specialised in caustic films about common folk before he moved on to bloated period epics. Bored with a life spent floating sand up and down the Chao Phaya River, wife Prang jumps ship in search of stardom. When her husband Sang sets off to find her, his plucky little sister-in-law – the titular nong mia – is left holding the baby, literally. Like his earlier film Hotel Angel, Chatri’s Bangkok is vice-ridden – all throbbing go-go bars, shady mamasans and conniving taxi drivers. Moreover, the plot – and pleng peau chiwit folk songs, which bookend the film – perpetuate the idea that the lower classes should never aim high. But though its message may be didactic and dubious, Nong Mia wrings feeling out of you by dint of its lovely on-location cinematography, lack of melodrama and trio of sympathetic characters well-acted. ar ts

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Arts

paradise found

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n the ‘Sound of Siam’ compilation, one of the tracks that has really peaked people’s interest, via personal comments and magazine reviews, is ‘Fai Yen’ by Ream Daranoi.

I found it in a random market in Bangkok and was initially attracted by the cover, which looked like a homage to vintage Bollywood artwork, but with Thai script. The music displayed similar overtones from the sub-continent, though I didn’t consider it significant beyond it being another avenue that the music and culture of India had manifested itself in its South East Asian neighbour.

Opening with a repeating four note guitar riff and a haunting drone, Daranoi’s delicate vocal trips lightly over a subtle groove punctuated by flute motifs and bubbling percussion.

It had appeared in the movie ‘Mon Rak Chao Din’ which roughly translates as ‘Magical Love of the Common People’. Her voice is particularly sweet on this record, and it was a natural contender as we drew up the final playlist for the compilation.

Months later, I’m in Yemen for work, and decide to pop down south to the port city of Aden for the weekend. A slightly decaying seaside town, it played a crucial role as a fueling station for ships in the employ of the British East India Company, and a section of the population are the descendents of Yemeni/Indian marriages. It wasn’t a huge surprise then to find a sizable selection of Indian Bollywood 45s in a small antique shop near the harbour.

However, when I dropped the needle on a track called ‘Tanhai Men’, taken from the film ‘Jawab’, I literally couldn’t believe my ears. Not only was it the same song as ‘Fai Yen’, it was the identical backing music, only with a vocal in Hindi by Lata Mangeshkar.

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Each month the crate-digging DJ duo behind the leftfield luk-thung, molam, and funk night 'Paradise Bangkok', Chris Menist and Maft Sai, delve into the more obscure corners of the Kingdom’s music.Their record label 'ZudRangMa' showcases the best of Thai music both old and new, and has a new shop on Thong Lor. For more information, check out: www.zudrangmarecords.com

As it appeared to be the same music take, this implied an actual link between the Indian/Thai film industry during this period. It would at least be plausible as EMI retained offices in both Delhi and Bangkok.

Peter Doolan of the ‘Monrakplengthai’ blog kindly filled in further information, stating that in 1970, following the first screening of a Bollywood film (which was attended by Queen Sirikit herself) there followed a trend and interest in Indian movies, which were duly dubbed into Thai. As songs form such an integral part of South Asian movies, keying into the plot and storyline of the films, as opposed to just providing soundtrack and mood elements, the songs had to be rerecorded in Thai also. This would ar ts

TUNE IN!

certainly explain the presence To hear of the same soundclips of backing track, both tracks, as presumably check out the EMI studios Chris’ blog: (which issued originalpress365. most of the wordpress.com Bollywood, and Lollywood soundtracks of the day) could just send over a copy of the original tape for their Thai partners to overdub.

Maybe I’m biased, but Ream’s version has the edge for me, and seems to effortlessly toy with the emotions of the song as the music ebbs and flows. As well as being a great piece of music, it uncovers how these invisible dots cross continents, connecting cultures, ideas and trends. bangkok 101

IS IT ART? FIND OUT WITH BAM! www.bangkokartmap.com

bangkok 101

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PhotoFeature

The Fluorescent People Why Marc Lathuilliere has the hill tribes all aglow

Anakot (The Fortune Teller)

PhotoFeature

The Fall

Based on participative situations, The Fluorescent People photo exhibition by Marc Lathuillière brings together two usually opposed worlds. In Northern Thailand, a Lisu hilltribe village is confronted by an invasion of strange installations made of colourful mass consumption products. Here, pink balls, jelly pots and PVC pipes construct a futuristic scenario in which the Lisu pose or interact, dressed in their own bright attire we wrongly label as traditional.

This exhibition at Museum Siam, co-produced by French-Thai cultural festival La Fête, is the product of three years of contact and one month of solitary immersion in the village of Ban Sam Kula, in Chiang Rai province. Here, Lathuillière staged and performed photographs with pieces accounting for interventions during the Lisu New Year: a performance, a fluorescent light sculpture, a LED-lit headdress and a woman’s robe transformed with the help of a local dressmaker.

Though their society is slowly being absorbed by the modern world, and the people are increasingly embracing outside ways, ‘exotic’ minorities such as the Lisu are still commonly depicted by ethnographic photography as if they are living in an indeterminate past. This imagery, a framing in time and space akin to that of an ethnic reservation, is what The Fluorescent People aims at deconstructing. Unlike in previous projects, where photography was used to document things supposedly dying, Lathuillière explores its ‘virtuality’, its capacity to give an account of phenomena yet to exist.

The Fluorescent People

The Fluorescent People 5 March – 3 April Museum of Siam 4 Sanai Cham Road, 02-225-2777; en.museumsiam.com สถาบันพ พิ ธิ ภัณฑ์การเร ยี นร แู ้ ห่งชาต ิ ถ.สนามไชย www.lathuilliere.com, www.lafete-bangkok.com

Communication

The Hunt

Fashion

PhotoFeature

The Fluorescent People

Situation The Sky Fire Tree

Food&Drink

dining in bangkok

Food is of the utmost importance here. Locals have been known to brave the beast of Bangkok traffic and make cross-town journeys with the sole purpose of sampling a bowl of noodles at a famous local shop. Thais often ask each other “Gin Kao Leu Yung” or “Have you eaten rice yet?”. This shouldn’t be understood in the literal sense, but almost as another way Thais say hello. It’s how Thai people socialise.

The true Thai dining experience requires that all dishes be shared; real evidence of the importance of dining to the sense of community.

Baan Thai Suk 16

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taste of Bangkok doesn’t just stop at Thailand’s world-famous national cuisine; flags of all nationalities fly here, and the results can be amazing. Tom yum soup and creamy curries can be found alongside seared foie gras, crispy tempura and heart-stopping steaks. It won’t be a challenge to find some culinary dynamite for your palate. You’re bound to eat very well, whether it is at the sexiest, high-end locales, or at the origin of most local food - the streets, where you can get a very tasty, hearty meal at a nondescript stall, or even crackling grasshoppers and worms.

Fantastic food is also available round the clock, although choices narrow as it gets closer to midnight. Many restaurants have closing times of 9pm or earlier.

However, plenty of them feed late-night appetites (see p.81). If you really want to bump elbows with the locals and get to the heart of things, Bangkok’s street food culture doesn’t acknowledge the concept of time, with many vendors carrying on into the wee hours. If a business can survive by trading when everyone is asleep, then it must be good, right? So whether you’re a night owl or an early bird, slightly picky or a try-anything-once, you’re in for a non-stop gastronomical journey.

BANG FOR YOUR BAHT

The price guide to the right indicates what you can expect to pay per-person for a meal, not including drinks. Many restaurants run special deals so don’t be shy when asking about promotions, especially at lunchtime when many of the more upmarket restaurants offer set-menus at great prices. Lastly, to avoid any nasty surprises be sure to read the menu carefully. When prices are followed by “++”, the so called “plus plus”, this means 10%) and government tax (typically 7%) will be added to your bill.

$ under B400 $$ B400 – B1,000 $$$ B1,000 – B2,000 $$$$ over B2,000 a service charge (typically

Butt Out

Smokers beware. Lighting-up indoors is forbidden at all air-conditioned restaurants and bars citywide – you risk being fined B2,000 (US$60), and subjecting the restaurant owner to a lashing B20,000 (US$600) penalty. Exempted are outdoor areas, and, in practice, many Japanese and Korean restaurants.

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food & drink

bangkok 101

Ongoing Friday Night Seafood Extravaganza Espresso, InterContinental

New Flavour Dim Sum Lok Wah Hin Chinese Restaurant, Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square

Start your weekend with a feast of seafood at Espresso’s new Friday Night Seafood extravaganza, a collection of market-fresh seafood from Europe, American, Thailand and Australia. This includes freshly shucked oysters, prawn cocktails, lobster bisque, crab, mussels, snow fish, Scottish salmon and your favorite Thai traditional delicacies.

The price is B1,499++ per adult for buffet only, add B599++ for free flow wine, beer, soft drinks and cocktails.

02-656-0444, dining@ihgbangkok.com; www.dining-experience.com

Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit with a selection of new-look dim sum at Lok Wah Hin in the Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square. These include unique creations such as steamed shrimp and scallop shu mai, steamed green Chinese chive shu mai, deep fried black mushroom and pork wonton, steamed rice cake topped with fried pickled carrot and much more. Enjoy all-youcan-eat for only B520++ per person, inclusive of soup of the day, choice of noodles or fried rice, and dessert.

02-209-8888

Until 30 April 15th Anniversary Crêpes & Co

Ongoing Saturday’s Just Got Better!

Benihana, Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa

First established on 19 April 1996, Crêpes & Co. proudly turns 15 soon.

This has only been possible thanks to the regular customers who appreciate the numerous mouthwatering recipes as well as the excellent service consistency over the years.

In order to celebrate this landmark anniversary, a special Mediterranean menu, featuring the best of what the region has to offer will be featured.

Sukhumvit Soi 12, 02-653-3990 Soi 8 Thong Lor, 02-726-9398; www.crepes.co.th

bangkok 101

Lovers of the finest Japanese cuisine are welcomed to watch skillful master chefs perform amazing teppanyaki cooking shows before your very eyes, while you dine on a lavish Japanese buffet every Saturday between 11.30am and 3pm. Prices are B1,250 per person or a sizzling B999 per person when five people or more dine per table. Add to your weekend happiness with a B300 per person for free flow Asahi beer.

02-476-0022 ext. 1416, www.marriottdining.com

food & drink

meal deals 9-12 March Koji Shimomura, The Sukhothai

In 2009,Tokyo Michelin Guide awarded Édition Koji Shimomura two stars, just two years after its grand opening. The man behind this remarkable success is owner Chef Koji Shimomura. For four days only, enjoy dishes prepared by the great man himself, including his famed ‘matodai fritter’, where light and crispy Kadaif coats broccoli cream and lemon jam underneath.

02-344-8888, www.sukhothai.com

Ongoing Afternoon Tea Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers

Relax in style with Afternoon Tea at the Lobby Lounge The new menu includes: Siam High Tea with a great combination of pandanus cream cake, coconut crème brule and more.

Western High Tea contains tiramisu, macaroon, brownie chocolate mousse, New York cheese cake, vanilla crème brule, and chicken mousse on cherry tomato. Prices start at B650++, served daily from 2pm to 5pm.

02-266-9214, events.rosh@sheraton.com

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Food&Drink

thai cuisine

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Did you know?

he chance to sample some authentic Thai cuisine is one of the best reasons to visit (and linger in) Bangkok. Its astonishing variety of flavours and textures, which comes from a marriage of centuries-old Western (namely Portuguese, Dutch and French) and Eastern (think Indian, Chinese and Japanese) influences, ranks Thai as one of the best cuisines in the world.

The traditional Thai way of living unified people with their environment. Meals were communal events uniting families with the seasons. Rice is the main staple, accompanied by myriad curries and side dishes made from local ingredients.The pre-industrial custom of wrapping foods in natur al Eating is a materials per sists communal t o d a y ; l a b o u rand intensive desserts or savoury mousses are social affair in Thailand. wrapped in banana leaves and the tops of coconuts are chopped off for a quick and refreshing elixer. Compared to the West, eating is much more of a communal and social affair in Thailand. Once Thais sit together, they automatically take care of one another. No Thai dish is an independent one; at the dinner table they’re all meant to be shared.

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Thai beliefs about the cooling and heating properties of different foods – particularly fruits – are influenced

by Chinese concepts of yin and yang. Excessive consumption of heating fruits like durian (the fetidly fragrant “King of Fruits”) can lead to fever, cold sores, and a sore throat, according to traditional beliefs; overindulgence in cooling fruits like pears can result in dizziness and chills.

So if you are feasting on durian, make sure to eat plenty of mangosteen, the cooling Queen of Fruits, to balance everything out.

food & drink

Mu Sa-Te Tom Yam Goong

Thai Food 101 ■ Popular Thai Dishes Here’s a sampling of great local dishes to look for – and it’s just the tip of the iceberg: Tom yam goong (spicy shrimp soup) Tom kha gai (chicken in coconut soup) Phad thai (Thai-style fried noodles) Mu/gai sa-te (pork/chicken skewers) Som tam (spicy green papaya salad) Yam nua (spicy beef salad) Gai yang (grilled chicken) Phanaeng (curry coconut cream) Kaeng phet pet yang (roast duck curry) Kaeng khiao wan gai (green curry chicken) Phad kaphrao (stir-fried meat with sacred basil) Gai phad met mamuang himmaphan (stir-fried chicken with cashew nuts) ■ Drinks Most street vendors offer a range of normal drinks, including coffee, but there are always some surprises available.Try any of these liquid specialties when eating on the streets.

Nam ma prao (coconut juice) Nam krajeab (rosella flower juice) Nam matoom (bael fruit juice) Nam ta-krai (lemongrass juice) Nam tao hoo (hot soy bean milk) Cha yen (Thai iced tea with condensed milk) bangkok 101

thai fruit

Jackfuit (Kanoon)

Thai Fruit (polamai)

It’s often a strange land for foreign eyes, but weirdness is all relative. To you those fuzzy, furry, spiky, hairy, sometimes humongous obscure items are just downright bizarre. But to the locals well, it’s just good ol’ healthy nutritious fruit. Having unfamiliar names like rambutan, mangosteen and durian only lends to the mysterious, perhaps even scary, stigma surrounding Thai fruits. Fruits are often eaten as a snack or transformed into a dessert, or featured in meals. Particularly coconuts. Street carts patrol the sidewalks with ice-chilled offerings of seasonal fruits. However these vendors don’t exactly uphold hygiene standards, so proceed at your own discretion.

All fruits are almost always available year round in supermarkets, but some are better at certain times of year. Here’s a look at what and when to eat.

bangkok 101

food & drink

Jackfuit (Kanoon) A large fruit, reminiscent of the durian, though less spiky and stinky.

As it ripens it gets increasingly sweeter. A versatile fruit it is used as a topping or ingredient in many desserts as well as savoury dishes like curries. Also, every part of the jackfruit can be consumed from the skin down to its seeds. The fruit known as kanoon in Thai is in season from now until May and Chonburi, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Uttaradit are particularly famous for this produce.

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Food&Drink

street eats

Street Food Hotspots

Sukhumvit Soi 38 Directly beneath BTS Thong Lo station, the mouth of this soi fills up with food vendors selling late-night delicacies to passing commuters. Sample the delicate, handmade egg noodles, or Hong Kong noodles; and never head home without trying the sticky rice with mango.

Roast Duck by the Mosque

ealikte

Nym

Our roving street-food eater Nym knows her local grub inside out – and thrives on the stories behind the dishes. Each month, she takes an offbeat tour in search of the next delectable morsel.

From roadside vendor stalls to hidden restaurants, serious foodies would be well advised to follow her trail.

Every time I think I know this city, I turn a corner and am surprised by what I see. Be it soaring skyscrapers juxtaposed with ancient wooden houses, or temples standing alongside mosques, Bangkok possesses an inimitable character like no other city.

For instance, I recently stumbled across an amazing new place to eat while walking around near the intersection of Charoen Krung and Chan Roads. I’d heard about an interesting mosque in this area called Darulabidin, meant to be one of Bangkok’s oldest (and most charming). It’s a modest-sized building, but is filled with delicate design details that run all the way from the floor to the roof. For instance, there is an intricately carved wooden inlay that runs along the exterior of the masjid, and an ancient cabinet inside the prayer hall that contains important religious texts.

The area’s exciting blend of Thai, Chinese and Muslim influences makes the local atmosphere far more exciting than more modern (read sterile) areas in the city, a facet that naturally extends to the food scene.

Not far from the mosque, on the opposite side of the road, stands a little corner restaurant that hangs several Cantonese-style roast ducks and crispy three layer pork (moo krob) in its kitchen window display.

Despite its location in an old neighbourhood, Mong Ped Yang (Mong Roast Duck) actually only opened a month ago. The roast duck served here follows a Hong Kong recipe because both the chef and owner previously worked in a Cantonese restaurant.

The important thing about cooking roast duck is that the skin has to be crispy and also fall easily off the meat when chopsticks touch it.

Sure enough, the variety served at Mong Ped Yang is done to perfection. I also devoured a plate of moo krob over rice with BBQ sauce, and ordered a wanton soup because the table next to me did (if in doubt, always order what the regulars do). It was yet another delightful discovery.

Mong Ped Yang is at the corner of Soi Chan 59. Open daily for lunch and dinner.

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Surawong A long row of street vendors offers special noodle dishes along this street near Patpong Night Market. Be sure to try the stewed chicken noodles in herbal soup in front of the Wall Street Building. Stalls are open from 10pm until 4am.

Corner of Silom/Convent Road The stalls at the mouth of Soi Convent are popular with inebriated night crawlers; but it’s the B10 sticks of moo ping (grilled pork) served by one rotund, Zen master vendor that are justly famous. Go before the bars close (about 2-3am) to avoid the queues.

Pratunam Midnight khao mun gai (Hainanese chicken rice)! There are two shops at the intersection of Pratunam (on corner of Petchaburi Road Soi 30); the first one is brighter and good, but if you like your sauce authentic – with lots of ginger – go to the second one. Also, try the pork satay with peanut sauce.

Chinatown Shops fill the streets after dark.There’s an amazing range to sample, but a must-try for seafood fans is the vendor at the corner of Soi Texas.

A bit farther on the other side of the street you can get delicious egg noodles with barbecued pork. For dessert, try fantastic black sesame seed dumplings in ginger soup next door.

Soi Rambutri (near Khao San Road) Many a hangover has been stopped in its tracks after a pre-emptive bowl of jok moo (rice porridge with pork) from the famous stall in front of Swenson’s. Popular among tipsy Thai teenyboppers, this is just one of Soi Rambuttri’s many late night food stalls. bangkok 101

featured

BASIL

restaurant

Banish those images of bungling waiters from Barcelona (ala Fawlty Towers). Basil is a very elegant Thai restaurant, one of our favourites in the fine-dining bracket. Dimpled chrome tabletops, backlit walls loaded with Thai lacquerware, flute shaped ceiling lamps – it’s a woody, evocatively-styled space, the perfect setting for an amorous evening or big-shot business lunch.

Speaking of lunch, the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit’s showpiece Thai restaurant has just launched some lunch set menus. These offer you the chance to hunker down on 5 to 6 courses of creative, but actually quite traditional, Thai cuisine for B550+ at the lower end and B700++ at the top end. That might not seem so cheap, given that this is a city where you could graze on the street for the best part of a week for that much, until you consider (a) the face-gaining setting and (b) the size of each menu.

Set Lunch 3, for example, includes a sassy som tum (spicy papaya) salad appetizer followed by a tray loaded with four mini-dishes: a sour-tart tom yum seafood, gaeng karee gai (chicken in yellow curry), stir fried broccoli with scallops, and stir-fried beef with garlic and black pepper. bangkok 101

WHERE Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, 250 Sukhumvit Rd | BTS Asok, MRT Sukhumvit | 02649-8366 | www.sheratongrandesukhumvit.com | OPEN Mon-Sat noon-2:30pm, 6:30pm-10:30pm PRICE set lunches: B550+, B620 ++ or B700++ (available 12-2.30pm weekdays)

The streetside grittiness and spice has been pared down so as not to leave you mopping your brow, but this is convincing Thai cuisine. For a fine-dining establishment, the arrangement is also actually quite authentic, presenting a spread of contrasting dishes not dissimilar to one you may find at the average Thai dinner table.

Highlights on the other menus include laab gai (minced chicken salad) served with sticky rice, and dessert sungkaya fakthong, two slivers of pumpkin half filled with custard and served with a bitty coconut ice cream.

Everything (except dessert) comes with steaming dollops of plain, organic brown or jasmine rice. And should you want a lighter lunch (each set menu could satisfy one ravenous appetite, maybe even two smaller ones), there’s also a whopping great white perspex à la carte menu filled with creative twists on Thai classics.

Basil is also one of only a few Thai restaurants in town to have a wine list pairing bottles with dishes – a tricky task where Thai food is concerned. Some, like the South African Sauvignon Blanc, are available by the glass.

รร.เชอราตัน แกรนด์ สุขุมวิท ระหว่างสุขุมวิท 12 และ 14

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restaurants

BED SUPPERCLUB featured

restaurant

WHERE 26 Sukhumvit Soi 11 | BTS Nana | 02-651-3537 | www.bedsupperclub.com | OPEN 7:30pm-11pm (for dinner, free entry to club afterwards; closed Mondays) PRICE Fri/Sat set menu B1,850; Sun-Thursday à la carte

“Dance as an artform is transcendental… It talks to the human being that we all are”, reads the blurb for Bed Supperclub’s March dinner theme: a modern riff on classical Thai dance.

Khon, as it’s known in Thai, is not for everybody – a refined performing art in which masked mythical characters reenact chapters from Thailand’s literary epic, the Ramakien, using a graceful visual language of expressive postures and tics. Typically staged for the Royal Court and nobility, mere mention of it can make the younger generation’s eyes glaze over. And yet, here in Bed’s space-age, allwhite framing they rework it into something fresh, captivating.

Staged in front of the venue’s snug beds at intervals during your meal, ‘The Invisible World’ is the work of a bevy of local talent.

Dancers are from the Thai National theatre, costumes by fashion designer and conceptual artist Anurak Thangsomboon, and the show itself directed by Jitti Chompee, a choreographer known for his modern, socially relevant spins on everything from Carmen (which he linked to the troubles in Southern Thailand) to Thai forms like likay.

He’s styled a series of staggered vignettes that centre on Kasorntamla, a monkey general torn between his loyalty to God King Rama and his friendship to Mungornkan, the demon he’s been ordered to crush. It’s an archaic tale remixed. Dancers emerge wearing modern clobber instead of the usual finery, and modern music replaces the usual bell-pinging Thai orchestra.

Accompanying this contemporary high art, which veers from tense to comedic, and still retains khon’s soft rhythms and grace, is a good match: Chef Dan Ivarie’s three-course set menu of modern eclectic cuisine. The menu here changes every few weeks to keep Bed’s flavours as fresh and dynamic as its shows. And, boy, it works. We’ve been coming to Bed so long we should be bored with the food by now, but somehow they always keep it interesting…

As balletic dancers in motorbike crashhelmets danced slowly to elegiac French accordion music, we enjoyed a boldly flavoured Mediterranean salad, namely goats cheese and fresh figs with butter and rocket lettuce, vanilla olive oil and balsamic reduction. Mains included a superb coriander lamb rack with purple potato cake and fennel yoghurt sauce. Service was as sharp as ever, making this theatrical evening back in Bed a pleasure, as always.

เบด ซัปเปอร์คลับ สุขุมวิท 11

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SALT featured

restaurant

bangkok 101

We love it when a new restaurant comes together. So often we check out a new joint and leave deflated at the realisation that, due to a poor location, atmosphere or food, it’s probably doomed to fail. But now and again you arrive and, within minutes, know they’re onto something.

Case in point: Salt, a hip new looker that’s still in its soft opening, but already buzzing with high-rollers every night. Housed on a Soi Ari plot that the city’s insatiable condo developers would love to get their hands on, and helmed by a group of Soi Ari disciples who are determined that they won’t, it’s a voguish restaurant-cum-bar with a post-modern finish. Seating is either out on an outdoor terrace or in a cool, minimal concrete shell – a former condominium sales office no less – with a bar at the far end and lots of raw marble, stone and wooden furniture. Behind them sits an old wooden house which, though currently just being used to project digital animations on, will eventually house an art gallery, coffeeshop, and a clothing boutique.

This is the sort of uber-trendy space that the editors of Wallpaper* and other design bibles kneel down and kiss the floor at, but what propels Salt into B101 restaurant of the month territory is the global cuisine that’s coming out the rear kitchen, from fresh sashimi platters to generously dressed thin-crust pizzas cooked in a proper wood fire. There are also humungous salads (try the green sesame ginger salad); good pastas, like the truffle ravioli; and a Thaiinfluence at work in dishes like the excellent Seasalt Carpaccio, a big plate of raw fish drizzled in a seriously spicy-tart dressing.

Once the Thai house opens up, complete with a more formal sitdown dining area, French dishes will also be added we’re told.

Downers? The service was sluggish (in fairness, they were a couple of staff down and the place packed), but not sluggish enough to taint a satisfying midweek meal, one that ended with tipples off the cocktail list. Featuring creative concoctions like the Bangkok Mule (a long glass of Mekong rum, brown sugar, ginger ale and diced raw lemongrass), it’s the work of one of the mixologists from Soi Ruam Rudee’s designer cocktail bar Hyde & Seek. That’s an impressive feature in a restaurant that’s well seasoned WHERE Soi Ari (near Soi 4); 02-619-6886 with them.

OPEN 6pm-midnight (closed Tuesdays) ซอล์ท ซ.อารีย์ PRICE $$

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restaurants

SAM’S FISH & CHIPS featured

restaurant

WHERE 146 Phiphat Soi 2, Soi Convent, 02-234-73335, 089-115-2789 BTS Chong Nonsi or Sala Daeng OPEN Daily 5pm-10pm PRICE $$

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Inundated as we are by images of celebrity, hi-so gossip and luxury goods, it’s refreshing to know that there’s still room in town for a place like Sam’s.

Located down quiet Phiphat Soi 2 off Convent Road, this fish ‘n’ chip mecca is located on the roof of – guess who – Sam’s house.

Bored by the idea of retirement, and looking for something to keep him busy in the evenings (he still has a fulltime consultancy job during the day), Manus ‘Sam’ Surapisitchat struck upon the idea of opening his own restaurant. Rightly, he reasoned that his own home (he was actually born in it) would make the ideal location, and set about converting the unused rooftop into a fully functioning eatery, complete with open kitchen, landscaped garden, and wealth of rustic charm.

Upon entering the property, the roof is accessed via a timeworn spiral staircase (not suitable for all sizes), with guests emerging from it onto a vegetation-filled, atmospherically-lit dining space.

Although the menu contains a number of Thai dishes, the largely expatriate clientele mostly come here for the Western favourites, including dishes such as pan-fried prawns (B98), lobster soup (B69), New England style clam chowder (B69) and John Dory (B98) with chips (B39). The latter is without doubt one of the best value – and best tasting – fish ‘n’ chips you’ll find in Bangkok.

However, the true attraction here is Sam himself, a gregarious and generous character always willing to share a story (such as how, during the Vietnam War, he was stationed in the American state of Colorado) and a drink. If you’re lucky, his Filipino musician friend will have dropped by to play an Elvis song or two, but you’re guaranteed an enjoyable and entertaining evening regardless.

You see, in his house, Sam’s the man.

แซมส์ ฟิช แอนด์ ชิปส์ ถ.คอนแวนต์

food & drink

bangkok 101

featured

KENJI

restaurant

When I told my wife that tonight we were ordering dinner from a Korean taco truck parked on our street, she must have thought I was crazy (an assumption that was later affirmed). Her disbelief was understandable, and the partners behind Kenji readily acknowledge that it’s a concept which will take time to catch on in Bangkok. In the US, however, eating freshly made food on the fly is already an integral part of urban dining, with the idea of serving hybrid Korean and Mexican cuisine out of a fleet of food trucks first introduced in 2009, by Los Angeles-based Chef Roy Choi’s Kogi.

An alumnus of the Culinary Institute of America, Choi’s concept took time to find its feet in LA. At first failing to attract many customers, trying out a multitude of parking spots to find the winning location, the venture only really took off when the operation fully engaged in social networking, approaching online news sites and food bloggers for reviews, and using Twitter to announce its daily position. In an article later that same year, Newsweek proclaimed it as ‘Restaurant 2.0: America’s First Viral Eatery.’

Inspired by Choi, a group of five Thai friends WHERE Lor studied Soi 21, 02-185-2199 who have Thong variously and lived in Los Angeles, BTS Thong Lor San Francisco, New York, and Boston, is attempting OPEN Mon-Sat 11.30am-2.30pm, to achieve the same success in 5.30pm-midnight; Thailand’s own City Sun 11.30am-midnight. of Angels.

To keep things simple – and queues short PRICE $$ bangkok 101

– the main menu consists of four choices of tacos and burritos (filled with beef, chicken, fish and pork), as well as three rice bowls and three salads. While the chefs are still finding their feet in terms of speed – it can’t be easy learning to work in the confines of a truck-based kitchen – there’s nothing wrong with the product, fresh-tasting wraps of sliced meat and romaine lettuce, plus a little bit of kimchi to add spice to proceedings.

Ranging from just B49 to B90, the prices are right on the money too, though, if you’re like me, you’ll probably need two orders for a satisfying dinner.

Now that she’s tasted what’s on offer, my wife is a happy convert to the cause – especially as I can, daily location permitting, pick it up for her on the way home – but Kenji still needs to convince other Bangkokians to give this unique concept a try out. So go on, order a Korean taco from a truck tonight. It’s not a crazy idea at all.

เคนจิ

WHERE Various locations around town depending on the day of the week, see www.kenji-bkk.com for more details on both the menu and daily schedule, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter @Kenjibkk

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Neighbourhood Nosh:thanon dinso Each month we stake out one of the city’s best neighbourhoods for eating out, and serve you the nitty gritty in an easily digestible, bite-size format.

Mahannop Road

Mont Nom Sod

P

encil-making is what Dinso Road used to be known for. Today however this august old city street is better known for being the home of the city’s iconic Giant Swing (p32), not to mention loads of good street-level food. As is typical for this part of town, here it typically comes served in an old shophouse, complete with roll-up shutters, open kitchen and grandma in apron. Most specialise in one or a few dishes – and, as the yellowing newspaper clippings hung proudly on the walls suggest, do them very, very well.

Sitting only a short way down from the Democracy monument, on the left hand side, is a branch of much lauded old-timer Khrua Apsorn [1]. If it doesn’t fit into the mould outlined above that’s because it doesn’t just do one dish well, but lots of them. The food is authentic, often hard-to-find

Tip Bakery

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Ratchadamnoen Road

Tanao Road

8

Wat Suthat Thepwararam

Sao Ching Cha (Giant Swing)

6 5

4 3

2

Dinso Road 1

BKK Metropolitan Administration Building

Thai the old-fashion way and beloved of Thai princesses and finicky locals. In the evening we recommend booking a table in advance (02-685-4531).

On the opposite side are lots more dinky shophouse restaurants; among them Namo’s Kitchen [2] (a smart Thai restaurant), Tip Bakery [3] and, next door, decent vegetarian cubbyhole Arawy [4] (look for the yellow bunting). However, all are small fry compared to almost 50-year-old Bangkok institution Mont Nom Sod [5]. Fresh milk and bread is pretty much all that’s served in this modern space with plate-glass windows… and yet it’s one of the busiest sweet stops in town. Join the queue, order in some steamed bread, sang kha ya (coconut egg custard) and a cup of the good stuff and you’ll find out why – eat here once and you’re a fan for life.

Further down is shabby but yummy khao mun gai stop Chaiyo [6], where B25 buys you some of the best chicken on rice in town; and, further still, is Tian Song Ped Yang [7]. In this big, open-fronted double shophouse fans whirl overhead as locals sit feasting on grub cooked in the open kitchens that flank either side. They offer a big menu of Thai Chinesey chow but to food & drink

7

Democracy Monument

start yourself off try the big, meaty dim sum; the pork satay; or the soft, juicy, flavourful ped yang (roast duck). Keep going further and you’ll pass Shuan Shim [8], a well-known that dishes up a mean, award-winning meat-ball soup – look for the white signage with the noodle bowl icon to the left of it.

If by this stage you can still move, turn right onto Soi Mahanop and a whole new neighbourhood of cheap eats presents itself, but that’s another story, for another month.

Getting there Thanon Dinso is not far from Khao San Road. If you’re coming from there head for the city’s Ratchadamnoen Road and turn right at the Democracy Monument’s roundabout.

Tian Song Ped Yang

bangkok 101

river cruises

Grand Pearl

River Dining Cruises

A cruise along the legendary Chao Phraya can only be topped by combining it with exquisite Thai food. Although touristy, a gastro-cruise is one of Bangkok’s most romantic outings, the chance to take in the river sights while getting stuffed. Most riverside hotels offer lunch and/or dinner cruises, some on large, modern ships seating hundreds (Shangri-La) or on smaller, refurbished antique rice barges (Apsara, Manohra, Oriental).Whether you are looking for a peaceful romantic sojourn, traditional dance shows or a blaring disco dinner buffet, you won’t be disappointed.

Cruises range from B700 to B1,700 per person, depending on how well you dine, and last an average of three hours. Most include a full buffet or set dinner, though this should be confirmed ahead of time. It’s also wise to make advance reservations.

Manohra

bangkok 101

■ CHAO PHRAYA CRUISE 02-541-5599 | www.chaophrayacruise.com ■ GRAND PEARL CRUISE 02-861-0255 | www.grandpearlcruise.com ■ HORIZON CRUISE The Shangri-La | 02-266-8165-6 | www.shangri-la.com ■ LOY NAVA 02-437-4932 | www.loynava.com ■ MAEYANANG The Oriental Hotel | 02-659-9000 | www.mandarinoriental.com ■ MANOHRA CRUISES 02-477-0770 | www.manohracruises.com ■ WAN FAH 02-222-8679 | www.wanfah.com ■ YOK YOR 02-863-0565 | www.yokyor.co.th

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restaurants THAI RUEN URAI (map C4) The Rose Hotel, 118 Surawong Rd | 02-266-8268~72 | BTS Sala Daeng, MRT Sam Yan | 12pm-11pm | $ One minute you’re in Smuttsville, navigating lewd and rude Suriwongse Road, the next you’re standing in a lush garden oasis, the sinuous curves of a century old teakwood house rising before you. Such is the pleasantly disorientating charm of Ruen Urai: a trophy Thai restaurant for out-of-towners that even picky locals love. Inside, the ground floor has a contemporary feel, plate-glass windows on one side overlooking the Rose Hotel’s swimming pool.

But upstairs is where the ancient heritage of the house is most alive, with weathered heirlooms from the proprietor’s family adorning an intimate teak panel room with a gabled Ayutthean-style roof.The food doesn’t betray this historic location, though it does riff on it. Chaphlu (betal nut) leaves grace red crabmeat curries; spicy seared tuna salad is studded with lemongrass and mint; chicken satay with tamarind sauce comes skewered on sticks of fragrant lemongrass; and

Ruen urai

so on. This is traditional Thai remixed, artfully presented, graciously served.

เรือนอุไร รร.โรส โฮเทล ถ.สุรวงศ์

INTERNATIONAL THE OYSTER BAR (map C4) 395 Narathiwat Soi | 24, 02-212-4809 | BTS Chong Nonsi (10 minutes by taxi) Tue-Sat 6-11pm; Sun 12-3pm , 6-11pm For over two decades, Marinelli Shellfish has been exporting the finest catches to the world. After working behind the scenes for years, he opened The Oyster Bar. You can still taste the ocean in their famous oysters, which are shucked right in front of you by staff who are more than happy to guide virgins along. If

you seriously aren’t up for sampling them raw, try the delicate sake poached oysters with hijiki butter.The food on offer evolves on a regular basis depending on what’s fresh, and chef Brad Bouchardt encourages you to order off menu. Permanent fixtures include the creamy shrimp bisque, clams casino, and a seafood platter for two that includes a selection of fresh oysters, clams, prawns, king crab and much more. To wash that down, this is probably the only place in town to offer wine by the half-glass, meaning you can have champagne for B70!

ดิ ออยสเตอร์ บาร์ นราธิวาสราชนครินทร์ ซ.24

THREE SIGNATURE DINING ROOMS AT INTERCONTINENTAL BANGKOK REDEFINE YOUR SUNDAY EPICUREAN EXPERIENCES Sunday is the perfect day for family indulgences, and InterContinental Bangkok is the ideal setting for getting the most from your Sunday. The Bangkok’s finest trio of Sunday brunches includes: “Mamma’s Kitchen” for home-style Italian at Grossi Trattoria & Wine Bar is priced at Baht 999++.

Add Baht 699++ for a free-flow drinks package of Prosecco, Italian aperitifs and local beers.

Champagne and Seafood Brunch at Espresso is priced at Baht 1,599++.

Add Baht 999++ for a free-flow drinks package of Champagne, wine, beer and cocktails.

All-You-Can-Eat Dim Sum Brunch at Summer Palace is priced at Baht 879++.

For more information and reservations, please call 0 2656 0444 email dining@ihgbangkok.com or visit www.dining-experience.com

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Opus

FRENCH LE VENDOME RESTAURANT (map D4) 267|2 Sukhumvit Soi 31 | BTS Prom Phong | 02- 662 0530-1 | www.levendomerestaurant.com | daily 11.30am – 2pm & 6.30pm – 10pm | $$$ Le Vendome debuted in 2004, swiftly installing a slice of modern Parisian chic into the yuppiefied All Season’s Place skyscraper complex. It has since relocated its perfectly spotless starched cotton tablecloths to a tranquil two-storey family house in a secluded back-alley off Sukhumvit, complete with terrace, pool and a walled garden: a quieter, more pastoral locale. That’s all the better to contemplate the delicacy of the fine cuisine, which comes from Nicolas Joanny, a chef who’s been pinging round a worldwide cartel of Michelin-starred joints working up quite a reputation as an emerging talent on the global gourmet scene.

For this neat, minimally-appointed, and attentively served establishment, he’s devised a refined, haute cuisineish carte du jour with a modern twist – check out the website for a detailed (and inventive) menu showcase. And don't forget to make a reservation beforehand.

เลอวองโดม สุขุมวิท ซ.31

bangkok 101

ITALIAN OPUS (map C4) 64 Pan Rd, Silom | 02-637-9896 | 6pm-12pm | $$$ Not strictly a restaurant, but a very slick wine bar on the back lanes of Silom, Opus nevertheless has a full food menu to choose from as you sip your way through a selection from the well-stocked walk-in cellar. The uncluttered space is divided into bar and lounge areas, both decorated in whites and browns and discreetly lit, giving a bright yet warm ambiance.

The menu starts with a large hot and cold antipasti plate, and naturally there’s pasta, such as penne dello chef, comprising Italian sausage with a hint of gorgonzola served with rocket leaves and basil. Main courses include Australian fillet cooked in a Merlot wine reduction, ossobuco, steamed seabass in white wine sauce, and pizzas. And there’s a choice of 300 wines available, ten by the glass,

food & drink

and prices starting at a mere B220 for a Mandrarossa Cabernet 2006.

Desserts are in the mainstream of tiramisu and panna cotta.

โอปุส ถ.ปั้น สีลม

VEGETARIAN KHUN CHURN (map E4) Ground floor, Bangkok Mediplex, Sukhumvit Soi 42 | BTS Ekamai | 02713-6599 | $ One of the best places to enjoy vegetarian takes on traditional Thai food – or arhan jay as it’s called here – is Khun Churn.That’s partly because there aren’t that many choices here; but mainly because the owner and chef Khun Churnjuti knows her veggie and macrobiotic food inside out, having founded the original branch up in Chiang Mai. The menu sports a dizzying array, from starters with bite (try the fresh spring rolls) to sprightly mushroom salads, faux-meat mains like tofu-laden red duck curry to one-

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Food&Drink Señor Pico

meal dishes like khao soy. Flavours are surprisingly sparky given the hard-line healthiness – everything’s organic and free of MSG and sugar, not just meat – and the prices low considering how slick the service and pine dining room is. In fact, your only gripe may be with the view you get from your chair or cushioned banquette – of the soulless ground floor of Mediplex, the hiso health mall Khun Churn is a highlight of. On the flip, the food’s so good you probably won’t be looking past the tip of your fork much anyway.

แบงคอกเมดิเพลกซ์ สุขุมวิท 42

MEXICAN SEÑOR PICO (map D4) Rembrandt Hotel, Sukhumvit Soi 18 | 02-261-7100 | 5pm-1am | www. rembrandtbkk.com Staring up at the neoclassical façade of the Rembrandt Hotel you’d never guess it was home to Bangkok’s first and best known Mexican: a lively, carefree little joint where sprightly Latin melodies come served with a rich array of fajitas, enchiladas and suchlike. The stereotypical Mexican décor comes off as a bit cheesy but gives off a sense of tex-mex familiarity.

And while it can be quiet early on, the place usually picks up when the Uruguayan house band begins shaking the maracas at 8pm (except

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Mondays), especially on weekends.

Start with the Azteca – a mangobased margarita that will quench your thirst and loosen up those two left feet. The friendly staff suggested the enchiladas, chicken breast in poblano sauce, and juicy and meaty pork ribs barbeque (B300– 650), all of which was endearingly sloppy and undeniably tasty. Portions are large, not leaving much room for dessert, which is just as well because by this stage you’ll probably be cha-cha-ing upfront with the waitresses.

รร. เรมแบรนดท์ สุขุมวิท ซ.18

food & drink

VIETNAMESE THANG LONG (MAP C3) 82/5 Soi Lang Suan | BTS Chit Lom | 02-251-3504 | daily 11:30am-2pm & 5pm-10:30pm | $ Here on one of Bangkok’s swankiest restaurant strips sits perhaps the city’s coolest Vietnamese joint. Black slate, wood, iron latticework, antiques and deep house toons fill this faintly cubist-inspired two-leveller. Diners can elect to sit in this dim, yuppie cocktail lounge like setting, eating by candelight, or go al fresco on the streetfront patio – a parcel of sexy bliss punctuated by a big copper water sculpture. The fare is neo-

bangkok 101

Vietnamese, staples like chao tom and banh xeo outnumbered on the slick pictorial menu by Thai-tongue pleasing fusions like soft-shell crab, as well as the odd French Vietnamese dish. Staff can be hovery and a little aloof looking, but one shouldn’t let this detract from Thang Long’s trump cards, namely its killer designer looks and creative concoctions – deep-fried fish with served with raw herbs and dips; a tender beef steak slathered in a delicious peppery glaze, etc.

ทังลอง ซ.หลังสวน

Thang Long

ISAAN/ NORTHEASTERN THAI CAFE CHILLI (map C3) G Floor, Siam Paragon, 991 Rama 1 Road, Pathumwan | BTS Siam | 02-610-9877 | www.cafechilli.com | 11am – 10pm | $ The bottom-up appeal of Isaan (northeastern Thai) food is on full view in Cafe Chilli at lunchtimes, when the place buzzes with posh office princesses, immaculately coiffed khun yings, and, that rare thing, dapper expats. Maybe it’s the aircon. Maybe it’s the classy (for a mall), Chinese apothecary-style interior. Or maybe it’s that the Isaan food actually lives up the menu’s saab lai der (that’s Isaan for very delicious) tagline, with herbs and spices and flavours kept respectfully intact. Take the som tom with blue crab. Though it could have done with an extra chilli, ours was funky and fresh, leaving us with zesty lips. Even better was the grilled lamb rack served with nam jim jaew dip and wonton-style rolls of sticky rice – one of the fanciest Isaan dishes we’ve ever had and also among the tastiest.

The tom saep moo soup was a little flat and forgettable – we prefer the tarter, grittier versions on the street – but still, there’s a tasty keep-it-real philosophy at play here.

คาเฟ่ ชิลลี ชั้น G สยามพารากอน

Cafe Chilli

bangkok 101

food & drink

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Food&Drink

brunching

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runching is big business in Bangkok, with both family-friendly and adults-only offerings to choose from. However, no matter if you’re looking to cure your hangover, chill out to live music or simply soak up the sun, the city serves up something to suit all tastes. Here we sample some of the best.

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TSU NAMI

brunch

While most offer pickings from the Land of the Rising Sun, the JW Marriott is the first hotel in town to attempt a 100% Japanese brunchathon, a brave move by any measure.

Staged in the hotel’s sleek Zen marble basement, the setting is a boon for bleary-eyed brunchers, with wellspaced tables sectioned off behind opaque glass dividers near the softly daylit entrance, and the food staggered at various points through the dark backend of it.

As for the spread, it’s ludicrously fat and fresh, featuring 150 plus classic and creative dishes prepared by the kitchen of Japanese Chef Norio Nomoto. Just a few paces from the seating, ‘Tsu’ is the sushi bar, dishing out rolls and choice sashimi cuts that are sliced to order in front of you. Beside it, a salad bar serves ready-made or a la minute salads, all well dressed.

Deeper in still is a seafood station – blocks of vibrantly backlit ice – piled high with freshly shucked oysters and cracked legs of Alaskan King crab, and a drinks station from which you can freely pluck sake cocktails, fruit juices, beers and svelte glasses of sparkling wine.

We recommend easing yourself into leisurely proceedings with samplings from these, and then upping the stakes (or steaks) with tactical sorties on the brunch’s showpiece– ‘Nami’, the black-toned teppanyaki zone at the far end. Here, a half dozen or so hot-plates create 70

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a cacophony of spatula rattling as they each season, sizzle and slice up a different treat, from hunks of garlic-encrusted Australian beef from the Marriott’s famous New York Steak House to foie gros. For afters, there’s also a dessert station sporting Japanese dumplings, ice creams and Western tarts. Truly, your average sumo wrestler would not be disappointed.

Topping the occasion off is swift table service, a glam female DJ spinning lounge tunes – more than others, this brunch seems to be a halfway house between Sunday and the boozy night before – and an ingenious table service system: just hand over one of the numbered plastic pellets on your table and your bowl of steaming hot soba noodles will be WHERE JW Marriott Bangkok, delivered direct to it.

4 Sukhumvit Road; 02-656-7709

Emerging back BTS Ploenchit into the street, our Open Sundays 11:30am-2:30pm eyes flinching at PRICE B1,690++ the mid afternoon sunshine, our bellies purring with satisfaction, we were all agreed that there’s room for more Japanese brunches here in sushimad Bangkok, but that the JW Marriott’s will take some beating. Bookings essential.

โรงแรม เจ ดับบลิว แมริออท ถ.สุขุมวิท

bangkok 101

Buffet Venues ■ TASTE Westin Grande Sukhumvit | 02-2078000 | 6am – 11pm | Breakfast B765net, Lunch 990net, Dinner B1,295net ■ DINING ROOM Grand Hyatt Erawan | 02-254-1234 | Mon-Sat 12pm-2:30pm (3pm on Sat), Mon-Thu 6pm-10pm, Fri-Sun 6pm-10pm | lunch B780++, dinner Mon-Thu B1,150++, dinner Fri-Sun B1,499++ (seafood) ■ COLONNADE The Sukhothai 13/3 South Sathorn Rd | 02-344-8888 | noon-2.30pm | B980++ ■ ESPRESSO InterContinental Bangkok, Ploenchit Rd | 02-656-0444 | daily Breakfast 6-10.30am (B700++), Lunch noon-2.30pm (B790++), Dinner 6-10.30pm (B1,190++ , B1,499) ■ Panorama Restauarant Pan Pacific Bangkok | 02-632-9000 | 6:30am – 10:30am, 11:30am – 2:30pm | Breakfast 695 net, Lunch 690++ ■ No.43 BISTRO Cape House Serviced Apartment, Gr Fl, 43 Soi Langsuan| 02-6587444 ext.285 | daily 6am-midnight ■ Lord jim’s buffet Oriental Hotel Bangkok, Oriental Avenue | 02 - 659-9000 | Mon-Sat noon-3pm sun 11:30am-3pm | B1,295 net (Mon-Sat) B1,648 net (Sun) Booking advised. Smart casual dress code.

■ THE BRASSERIE Holiday Inn Silom, 981 Silom Rd | 02-238-4300 | daily noon-2:30pm and 6pm-10:30pm | lunch B707 net, dinner B824net, Friday Seafood Night B941net ■ Orchid Café Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit | 02649-8888 11:30am-2:30pm & 6:30pm10:30pm | Lunch 760++, Dinner (Mon-Thu) 1,050++, Dinner (Fri - Sun) 1,250++ ■ Citi Bistro Pathumwan Princess Hotel 1st Fl., near MBK | 02-216-3700 | 11:30am – 2:30pm, 6pm – 10pm | lunch B650net, dinner B1,300net

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all you can eat

angkok bites off way more than it can chew. We all know this is a great city for very high quality dining, but it’s also excellent for the gluttons among us, drawn to food in quantities. From street side moo krata joints that give you a sizzling skillet and let you loose on a pile of meat for less than B100, to the city’s ever-growing legion of fivestar hotels that offer up the utmost quality along with quantity, it’s a wonder how Thais stay in such good shape. Here is a sampling of Bangkok’s best eat-till-you-burst buffets.

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buffet CUISINE UNPLUGGED The Pullman Bangkok King Power Hotel’s Cuisine Unplugged goes to great lengths to keep its nightly all-you-can-eat fresh. And no, we’re not just talking about the sushi and salad bars. Alongside some staples that appear every night – most notably, chilled seafood, sushi and salads not to mention a carving station – a different cuisine at this ultra-swanky, marble-encased 200-seater gets star billing each night. Monday is Vietnamese night; Tuesday is Chinese night; Wednesday is Japanese night; Thursday Italian night; Friday Thai night; Saturday seafood night and Sunday BBQ buffet night. While impossible to judge in a single sitting, the Wednesday onslaught of Japanese tucker we enjoyed was plump with fresh, quality ingredients cooked by an open kitchen that clearly knows WHERE 8/2 Rangnam Road, what to do with them. Pounce on sabu steaks, Ratchathewi, 02-680-9999 katsu curries and other dishes laid out in BTS Victory Monument warming steam pans, before moving on to OPEN breakfast 6am-10.30am, teppanyaki, suki yaki and build your own lunch 11am-2:30pm, dinner bowls of miso soup. Expect a similar wealth 6:30pm- 10:30pm of live-cooked and ready-made delicacies PRICE B1,000 –B1,380 from each cuisine on other nights. There’s also a lightly stacked cheeseboard and a not so lightly stacked dessert counter proffering ice creams, decadent mousses, cakes and tarts, including a pretty good bread pudding (although we were nonplussed at the lack of custard). Those partial to performance art should swing down on Friday nights, when puppeteers from the Aksara theatre next door add a touch of Thai mystique to proceedings.

รร.พูลแมน แบงคอก ซ.รางน้ำ

bangkok 101

food & drink

71

Food&Drink

sweet treats

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ookies, Cakes, Pies, oh my! Thais surely love it sweet, taking every opportunity to lace their foods with sugar or syrup whether it is noodles or teas. Kids even drink sweetened milk! So it’s no surprise that almost everywhere you look there are bakeries or sweet shops selling sugary, creamy, crusty goodies for all. Of course with everything there’s good and bad. Though it’s hard to complain about desserts in general one has to keep in mind that not all are created equal.

Rest assured the decadent little treats at these spots are surely from the upper crust.

desserts featured

A Day in Summer Located close to Wat Arun (the Temple of Dawn) on the west side of the river, this bright new dessert shop is inspired by the owner’s two most favourite things – coffee and the beach.

With a large open frontage and smooth concrete floors, the pastel-coloured interior is filled with faux distressed Maine-style furniture, a vast sky blue wall dotted by flower prints, beach-inspired décor, and soothing aromatherapy scents.

Listed at the top of the drinks menu is a selection of coffees (B70 each, served hot, iced or as a shake): choose from hazelnut, macadamia or vanilla, plus the recommended caramel latte, a smooth blend topped with a dash of imported Monin Caramel. Also available are a number of milkshakes and fruit juices.

As well as drinks, A Day in Summer serves a range of filling snacks; including a delicious range of waffles (B70 each). Those with a sweet tooth should opt for the fresh banana, whipped cream, chocolate and strawberry sauce variety. However, if you’re in the mood for savoury instead, then order the ham and cheese waffle, or the rather more unusual (and possibly one of those ‘only in Thailand’ combinations) waffle served with crabstick salad).

If you plan to hang out here for a while, WHERE 345/6 Soi Prokarun, then make your way up to the secluded second 3 Arun Amarin Road (near Wat floor space, where you and a group of friends can Arun), 02-891-0756 spend ‘A Day in Summer’, sipping caramel lattes Open Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, and discussing the grammatical merits of the café’s Sun 9am-8pm name. Or maybe that’s just us…

PRICE B50-B70 อะ เดย์ อิน ซัมเมอร์ ถ.อรุณอัมรินทร์ 12 72

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■ BAAN PRA ATIT COFFEE AND MORE 102/1 Pra Atit Rd | 02-2807878 | Sun-Thu 10am-9pm, Fri-Sat 10am-11pm ■ Cakewalk Natural Ville, 61 Langsuan Rd | 02-250-7050 | BTS Chitlom | daily 6am-10:30pm ■ CHERUBIN Sukhumvit Soi 31 | 02-2609800 | BTS Asoke | Tue-Sun 10:30am-7pm ■ Coffee Bean by Dao 20/12-15, Soi Ruamrudee, Ploenchit Rd | 02-254-7117-9 | daily 10am-10pm ■ Iberry Siam Square Soi2 | 02-6583829 | daily Sun-Thur 10am10pm, Fri-Sat 10am-10:30pm ■ JIM THOMPSON’s HOUSE 6/1 Soi Kasemsan 2, Rama I Rd | 02-612-3601 | BTS National Stadium | Tue-Sun 9am-6pm ■ Kakao Café 99/361-8 Sukhumvit soi 24 (opp. Camp Davis) | 02-6611777 | BTS Phrom Phong | daily 10 am-10pm ■ KIOSK 6F,Thailand Creative Design Center, Emporium Shopping Complex | 02-664-8702 BTS Phrom Phong | Tue-Sun 9:30am–9:30pm ■ KUPPA 39 Sukhumvit Soi 16 | 02663-0495 | BTS Asoke, MRT Sukhumvit | Tue-Sun 10:30am11:30pm ■ Mousses and Meringues 245 Sukhumvit Soi 31 | 02 662-1290 | BTS Phrompong | daily 10am-7pm ■ RUEN KHUN NOI 71 Sukhumvit Soi 4 | 02-2556049 | BTS Ploenchit | daily 10am-6pm ■ Saffron… just baked 86 Phra Athit Rd | 02-2814228 | daily 8am-9pm ■ Something sweet Sathorn 47/4 Soi Sathorn 8 Sathorn Nua, Silom | 02-235-4834 | BTS Chong Non Si | daily 10am-10pm ■ T42 4 Fl. Siam center Rama 1 Rd | 02-251-6197 | BTS Siam | daily 10am-9pm ■ THE ORIENTAL SHOP The Emporium, 5th Fl | 02664-8147~8 | BTS Phrom Phong | www.mandarinoriental. com | daily 10:30am-10pm ■ SEcret recipe La Villa, 1st Fl., Paholyothin Rd | BTS Aree, 02-613-0575 | www.secretrecipe.co.th | daily 10:30am-10pm

bangkok 101

■ Sukhumvit Q BAR 34 Sukhumvit Soi 11 | BTS Nana | 02-252-3274 | www.qbarbangkok.com | 8pm-2am The popular nightclub serves mighty tasty quesadilla, burgers, ribs, khao mun gai, beef jerky and schwarma and has a cool, al fresco terrace area perfect for enjoying them on with friends.

Ramen Tei 23/8-9 Soi Thaniya | Silom Rd | 02-2348082 | BTS Sala Daeng | until 2am Ramen noodles in Soi Thaniya.

Took Lae Dee Foodland Supermarkets Nana Branch | BTS Nana | Sukhumvit Soi 16 Branch | BTS Asok | open 24 hours Means “cheap and good” and it is for the most part. Round-the-clock diner serves Thai and Western food and is attached to a supermarket that never closes either.

■ Lang Suan Ngwan Lee Corner of Soi Lang Suan & Soi Sarasin | BTS Ratchadamri | 02-250-0936 | Until 3am This Soi Lang Suan stalwart is popular with clubbers; and the humdrum décor doesn’t distract from the reason why: excellent Thai/Chinese fare.

Sunrise Tacos 236/3-4 Sukhumvit (btw Soi 12 and 14) | 02-229-4851 | BTS Asok | open 24 hours | www.sunrisetacos.com A little take-out joint serving Mexican fare and margaritas “by the yard” where you can get a super-sized halfkilo burrito. The presentation is a bit sloppy but by now, so are you.

■ Khao San Padthai Thipsamai 313 Mahachai Rd (near the Golden Mountain) | 02-221-6280 | open 5pm3am | www.thipsamai.com If you find yourself around Khao San log in to this hole in the wall considered by most to have the best pad thai in Bangkok. And oh yeah, it’s probably the only pad thai with a website.

Royal Kitchen 912/6 Soi Thong Lo (opp. Soi 25) | BTS Thong Lo | until 1am | 02-391-9634| www.royalkitchengroup.com Congee, standard roast duck and BBQ pork along with a full Chinese menu.

■ Silom Eat Me Off Convent Rd In Pipat 2. | 02238-0931 | BTS Sala Daeng | until 1am Half restaurant, half art gallery with innovative Thai and Pacific Rim cuisine.

Good Evening Restaurant 1120 Narthiwas-Ratchanakarin Soi 17 | 02-286-4676 | BTS Chong Nonsi | until 1am | www.goodeveningbkk.com Stylish Thai cuisine

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hais usually have dinner fairly early, on average around 6-7pm so visitors to Thailand may be surprised by the early closing times at restaurants which quite often take their last orders around 9:30-10pm.

So what do you do when you’ve just come out of that show or late-night movie? Or what if all that club-hopping has gotten your stomach growling?

No worries, as there’s food to be had at all corners at all times.

Obviously most hotels have 24hour restaurants, pub kitchens usually stay open till midnight (see Pub Crawls p.100) and certain areas are bustling all night (see Street Eats p.64). But with all due respect to the above we’ve come up with a list of excellent, independent establishments where you can settle in and tuck into a meal ‘round midnight and beyond.

Mayompuri 22 Chakraphong Rd | 02-629-3883 | until 1am | www.mayompuri.com Enjoy garden dining amidst colonial architecture, from a menu that serves a selection of Thai and Western dishes.

Tom Yum Kung 9 Trokmayom | Off Khao San Rd. towards Police Station (Look for the big sign) | 02-629-1818 | until 2am | www.tomyumkungkhaosan.com Reasonably priced Thai food.

Coyote on Convent Sivadon Building | 1/2 Convent Rd | 02631-2325 | BTS Sala Daeng | until 1am Tex-Mex Fare with an endless list of margaritas.

The Old PraAthit Pier Restaurant 23 Phra Athit Rd | 02-282-9202 | until midnight Thai food on a wooden deck right beside the pier.

Bug and Bee18 Silom Rd. | 02-2338118 | BTS Sala Daeng | open 24 hours | www.bugandbee.com Four storey café offers up Thai and fusion dishes like curried crab crêpes.

Silk Bar and Restaurant 129-131 Khao San Rd | 02-281-9981 | Food until 2am, Closes at 6am | Though it may not be as smooth as silk, the Thai and International food is fine.

bangkok 101

late-night dining

food & drink

Sunrise Tacos

Bug and Bee

73

Food&Drink

wine

Siam Winery

WINE I LOVE YOU Wine drinking is on the up and up among the Thai middleclass, and much of it is down to the rise of utilitarian, affordable, come-one-come-all wine brawlers like this one. The seeds were sown back in early 2010, when a sprawling, bistro-cum-wine-shop called Wine Connection opened up in Sukhumvit Soi 26’s K Village, and instantly began pulling in white-collar crowds with its reasonably priced bistro food and bottles of wine available to drink in, or take out. No doubt riding on its coattails, this sprawling new wine diner in swank furniture complex, the Crystal Design Centre, comes off like a new refined version, offering the same concept and weekend queues, albeit in a classier, Parisian brasserie or sidewalk café style atmosphere that oozes bonhomie. As for the vino, instead of a wine list there’s a tall wine wall that you just stroll up to and pluck a bottle off. That’s good news for those with a wine head on them, not such good news for most Thais, for whom it’s still very much a case of ‘Wine I Barely Even Know You’. Still, there are roughly 100+ New and Old World (but no Thai) labels, a few by the glass, to be enjoyed here, plus some solid Thai and European bistro fare to go with them. Chef Win – who actually admits that the focus here is more on the food – knocks up a diverse menu ranging from quesadillas to burgers to traditional klaeb klam to Thai-tweaks like Pad Thai with black ink pasta and spicy spare ribs, all of which seems to be going down even better than the wines. Definitely worth a visit, but bear in mind the location out in a far-flung furniture complex.

ไวน์ ไอ เลิฟ ยู โครงการคริสตัลดีไซน์เซ็นเตอร์ ถ.ประดิษฐ์มนูธรรม WHERE E,1420/1 Praditmanutham Rd Klongkum, Bangkok 10240 (Between Lat Prao Soi 77 and Soi Yothin Pattana)| 02-102-2166 | www. wineiloveyou.com 74

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‘New Latitude’ Thai wine Thai cuisine is considered one of the world’s best, and deservedly so – fresh ingredients, complex flavours, and tangy, tongue-teasing dishes. One thing gourmets rarely expect to drink over a Thai meal is wine, for fear that the food’s piquancy would overpower any subtle flavours. But in recent years several Thai vineyards have sprung up; and they are fast beginning to make their mark in a market dominated, as one would expect, by the usual array of old and new world wines.

Thai-made “New Latitude Wines” are mostly blended from grape varieties like Shiraz, Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The result is a tendency towards light to medium-bodied dry wines, which balance well with the richness of spicy Thai dishes. Several Thai wineries are within easy driving distance of Bangkok – around two hours away. Head for Hua Hin, or the favourable altitude, rich soil and microclimate around Khao Yai National Park. Discover more at: www.thaiwine.org bangkok 101

www.bangkokartmap.com

Special flavored Mojitos and Caipirinhas throughout March

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food & drink

75

Nightlife

one night in bangkok

Q Bar

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angkok’s vibrant nightlife offers an almost infinite Soi Cowboy (between sois 21 & 23). And voguish but amount of options – so much more than just the affordable hotspots (all tall tables, live hip-hop and naughty male’s One Night in Bangkok wet dream. whisky-sippin’ urban youth) abound in the hot-to-trot A night out here can easily have you flitting between sois of Thong Lor and Ekamai (sois 55 & 63).

Northeast of the Sukhumvit conventional, cutting-edge and downright surreal, and usually in “Sukhumvit, Bangkok’s major area, Royal City Avenue – or thoroughfare and its myriad RCA (p.99) – features a malla matter of steps, or, failing that, a short taxi ride. It’s little wonder that adjoining sois, hosts many of strip of megaclubs where hordes of young, flir ty Thais congregate, Bangkok pulls in so many revellers the city’s best nightspots.” especially on weekends. Other from across the city – and beyond.

Glitzy bars and cocktail lounges attract the well-heeled notable hot spots include Bang Lamphu, the hedonistic and fabulous for slick drinks and smart design. Innovative backpacker hub that is legendary Khao San Road (p.98), nightclubs thrill international clubbers with rave-scene/ and the bohemian café/bar scene on Phra Athit Road. hip-hop culture sounds. Folksy jazz, blues and rock venues The Chao Phraya River has yet to live up to its please live music fans. Alternatively, sports junkies and the true potential as a nightlife centre. However, many of homesick have pubs… heaps of them, many as welcoming the city’s top hotels (The Oriental, Peninsula, Shangri-La, and well-stocked as your local boozer. Want to party till Millennium Hilton & Royal Orchid Sheraton) offer fivesunrise or thereabouts? Despite party-pooping official star cocktails, riverside. Alternatively, for bird’s-eye views closing hours (most venues must shut between 1-2am), of the river and high-altitude cocktails, turn to p.88. On and as long as you’re cool with doing it in a louche back- the following pages we list the cream of the crop – from lounges to live music venues, wine bars to nightclubs – street style, you can.

The lively Silom/Sathorn commercial district is a to help you achieve that perfect night out. throbbing nightlife centre. From Irish-themed pubs to Patpong’s glaring go-go scene, right through to pumping DJs and bars-in-the-sky (p.88), there’s something for all.

Nightlife Nous The city’s gay scene is also busiest here, with the pink flag Want the scoop on Bangkok’s notoriously under-theflying proudest around Silom sois 2 & 4, and the sleazier radar nightlife scene? Keep your eye on these websites Surawong Road. and before long you’ll be tipping off the locals.

Sukhumvit, Bangkok’s major thoroughfare, and its n www.bangkokgigguide.com – jazz, rock, reggae… myriad adjoining sois host many of the city’s flashest all the live music bases are covered in comprehensive, (and debauched) nightspots. On Soi 11, Q Bar and Bed night-by-night detail here.

Supperclub (p.86) lead the way in international-style n www.lastnightinbangkok.com – club scene listings & nightlife. The more degenerate side of Bangkok nightlife post-party galleries. shines in Sukhumvit’s two adults-only streetscapes n www.bangkokrecorder.com – their gossipy forum is – Nana Plaza (off Soi 4), and the more carnivalesque where news of upcoming DJ fly-ins often breaks.

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bangkok 101

nightlife

77

Nightlife

nightclubs

Bed Supperclub

Clubbing in Bangkok? Stand-alone clubs are required by law to close at 1am, though many manage to stay open later; officially hotel nightclubs can stay open until 2am.

The legal drinking age is 20. All patrons must carry proof. No ID, no entry. No joke. And as of late, smoking inside bars is a no-no.

Q BAR (map D3) 34 Sukhumvit Soi 11 | BTS Nana | 02-2523274 | www.qbarbangkok.com | 8pm-1am Long-standing, New York-style night spot Q Bar is well-known for pouring stiff drinks (there are over 70 varieties of topshelf vodka!) and its strong music policy, with international DJs leading the way. Q Bar raised the ‘bar’ for Bangkok nightlife nine years ago and is still going strong, with a flirty crowd every night and many big name guest DJs. Best nights: Sunday’s Gin & Juice hip-hop party, Wednesday’s Block Party with hip-hop & funk classics (ladies enter free), and Friday’s Houseduction.

Upstairs at Q a chic, remarkably different vibe resounds in the bar/lounge, especially on Mondays when jazz music rules the speaker system (and the downstairs dancefloor takes a rest). Some relative solitude and a choice pick ‘n’ mix of the expat and jetset scene can usually be found here and on the outdoor terrace, perfect for a breather, people watching and a late evening snack (including tasty meat wraps from a shawarma station).

คิว บาร์ ถ.สุขุมวิท ซ. 11

TAPAS (map C4) Silom Soi 4 | BTS Sala Daeng, MRT Silom | 02-632-7982 | 8pm-2am On the groovy little enclave of Silom Soi 4,Tapas is a party institution and one of the few mixed hang-outs on a heavily gay strip of lively bars and clubs. For more than 10 years it’s been pumping out excellent house music and live, bongo-bangin’ percussion sets as well. Multilevelled, with a dark, Moroccan feel, it’s easy to chill here, whether lounging or dancing your tail off! Like Soi 4 in general, weeknights can be hit-ormiss, but weekends are always hopping. ทาปาส สีลม ซ.4 Q Bar

BED SUPPERCLUB (map D3) 26 Sukhumvit Soi 11 | BTS Nana | 02651-3537 | www.bedsupperclub.com | nightly 7:30pm-1am With its über-modern elliptical spaceship design, Bed Supperclub is a hugely successful hybrid, and a Bangkok icon: fine dining on what may be the world’s largest sofas on one side, and an adjoining bar on the other. For the past eight years, Bed has attracted a fashionable crowd, and with its à-la-page white interior, is definitely a place to see and be seen.

The food is world-class on the cosy restaurant side, and the sleek design extends to an all-white bar on the club side, where bartenders blend cocktails using everything from local herbs to cutting-edge foams and sorbets. Bed has talented resident DJs and brings over topclass world talent (including some very eclectic art) for special events. Tuesday’s hip-hop party Pop Champagne packs them in while Wednesday’s Model Night throbs with Latin house music. Big-room house and mash-up hip-hop rules on Friday, and Sunday mixes 1980s pop hits with house music. It’s time to go to bed.

เบด ซัปเปอร์คลับ ถ.สุขุมวิท ซ. 11

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Calypso

Route 66

Cabarets CLUB CULTURE (map B3) Ratchadamnoen Klang Rd (behind Rattanakosin Exhibition Hall)| 089-4978422| www.club-culture-bkk.com | Wed – Sat: 8pm – late Club Culture comes from the brains behind the city’s much-loved annual dance music festival, Culture One. After being evicted from its home, a former Thai theatre on Phaya Thai Road, it relocated to this faux-colonial, four-storey warehouse in the Old City back in early 2010, much to the relief of its regulars – a cross-cultural mix of hipster Thais and discerning expats. Like the old days they aim to promote new talent, while still bringing in the big guns, ensuring an eclectic roster of indie rock, drum n bass and house music of all genres.

คลับ คัลเจอร์ ถ.ราชดำเนินกลาง (หลังนิทรรศ์รตั นโกสินทร์)

DEMO (map E4) Thonglor Soi 10 (next to Funky Villa) | BTS Thong Lo | 02-711-6970-1 | 8pm-1am | free (except one-off parties) Easily the grittiest discoteca in the swish Thonglor area is Demo – a former tenement building turned dark, graffiti daubed brick warehouse. Featuring a cool terrace and bar outside, and lots of space to throw shapes inside, not only does it look like a venue you’d find teeming with hipsters in East London or, maybe, at a push, Berlin. It sounds like one too: instead of the usual mainstream hip-hop bangkok 101

and live-bands, Demo’s DJs blast zeitgeisty nu-disco, house and electro through a kicking sound-system. And when they do go hip-hop, on Wednesdays, they keep it old-school. Demo offers an impressive range of beers, shots and cocktails and on weekends packs in a much more ‘inter’ crowd than its nearest rivals.

เดโม ทองหล่อ ซ.10

ROUTE 66 (map E3) 29/33-48 Royal City Avenue | www. route66club.com| free Thais / B200 foreigners (including two drinks) On the strip for 16 years, ‘Route’, as it’s affectionately known, is RCA’s longest surviving superclub. Once you’ve flashed your id at the burly bouncers, you’ve entered something akin to a brash nighttime themepark for the hard-ofhearing.There are three zones to explore (four if you count the toilets – probably the ritziest in town). ‘The Level’ is the huge, all-lasers-blazing hip-hop room;‘The Classic’ spins house and techno; and Thai bands cover local and inter hits in ‘The Novel’. Rammed with groups of dressedto-kill Thais on weekends, most of them loaded on their drink of choice, whiskeesodaa, Route is not a good place to lose your mates after one too many but can be a blast if you all get crazy around a table, be it inside or out on the relatively chilled outdoors area. Drinking tip: do as they do and split a bottle between you.

รูท 66 อาร์ ซี เอ

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MAMBO (map C4) 59/28 Rama 3 Rd | 02-294-7381-2 | show time 7:15pm, 8:30pm, 10pm (please reserve for 10pm) | B800, VIP B1,000 The mother of Bangkok drag cabarets, tongue-in-cheek Mambo is still going strong, thanks to its fab ensemble of the city’s most glam kathoey giving their all amid rather drab décor. The very popular show is somewhat mainstreamy, but its professionalism keeps you entertained. The gals are so good they’ve even toured London.

Be prepared for mimed pop tunes, Broadway evergreens, glitz and big, big melodrama.

แมมโบ ถ.พระราม3

CALYPSO (map C3) Asia Hotel | 296 Phaya Thai Rd | 02-216-8937| daily 8:15pm & 9:45pm | www.calypsocabaret.com | B1,200 (includes 1 drink) Bangkok’s biggest drag show cabaret features more than 50 kathoey (ladyboys) in a gender-bending and dazzling show twice a night. The show’s a rollercoaster of fun: envisage Madonna and Marilyn mimes, Nippon kitsch and the Paris Folies. Their Spice Girls are frighteningly good. Calypso offers an intriguing blend of the comic, the sexy and the bizarre. Don’t be afraid to take the kids along.

คาลิปโซ่ รร.เอเชีย ถ. พญาไท

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bars with a view

Fed up with Bangkok’s fume-filled streets? Fancy a breather? Take to the skies. Bangkok offers a clutch of dramatic high-altitude bars (both indoor and outdoor) from where to survey the glittering skyline below.

Panorama

THREESIXTY (map B4) 32F Millennium Hilton Hotel |123 Charoennakorn Rd | BTS Saphan Taksin | 02-442-2000 | 5pm-1am A beacon over Bangkok’s night sky is ablaze. Picture a gorgeously moody, sexy place with world-class jazz, awesome cocktails and hear t-stopping views. Sprinkle this with the fact that you’ll be par t of the international trendsetter scene just because you’ve managed to cross the Chao Phraya.

Sound inviting? Head over to the Millennium Hilton and take the glass elevator to the 32nd floor. Up in a glassed-in, UFO-like construction 130 metres high, Three Sixty perfects a circle. Soft couches and smooth cocktails enhance a dizzying view: Bangkok’s downtown and a row of riverside hotels spread out in front of you. Good thing this place doesn’t revolve. It’s a grown-up crowd which values Osetra on blinis with their drinks. Pure Post-Millennium Magic. And do check out the hotel lobby.

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รร.มิลเลเนี่ยม ฮิลตัน ถ. เจริญนคร

Balco (map B4) 5th FL River City Shopping Complex, Yota Road, Charoen Krung 30 | Si Phaya Pier | 084-928-6161 | 6pmlate, closed Mondays If coasting along the Chaophraya River on a dinner cruiser leaves you wanting, after disembarking the boat at the River City Shopping Complex, pop up to Balco Bar on its rooftop.

This airy alfresco hangout offers farreaching views of all the action on this busy waterway, a good mix of friendly locals and tourists, and soothing music from bossa nova tunes to house beats as the night rolls on. Reasonably priced drinks (beer B80, cocktails B180, whiskey B1, 200) include interesting cocktail choices created by the bar’s owner. If your favorite drink is off the menu, request it and they’ll be happy to mix it for you. A good place for lovebirds and flocks of friends to sit back on the funky nest-shape chairs or couches, catch a breeze and that memorable Bangkok riverscape.

บัลโค ศูนย์การค้าริเวอร์ซิตี้ nightlife

Long Table (map D3) 48 Column Bldg, Sukhumvit Soi 16 | BTS Asok, MRT Sukhumvit | 02-3022557-9 | www.longtablebangkok.com | 11am-2am Top-end Thai food isn’t the only thing drawing Bangkok’s in-crowd to this impossibly swish restaurant-cum-bar in droves. There’s also the trendsetting twist: a sleek communal dining table so long it makes a medieval banquet bench look positively petite.

However, it’s what happens at the end of the room that propels this place deep into the nightlife stratosphere.

Where the long table ends, a tall plate glass window and huge poolside patio, complete with bar, begins. Out here, 25 floors up, you can glug signature “long-tail” cocktails or fine wines with the best of high-flying Bangkok: a glitzy hotchpotch of celebrities, models and power players; hair-tousling breezes; and – best of all – widescreen city vistas. A Sukhumvit high point.

อาคารคอลัมน์ สุขุมวิท ซ.16

Panorama (map C3) Pan Pacific Bangkok, Rama IV Rd | BTS Saladaeng | 02-632-9000 | www.panpacific.com | 11.30am2.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm Ideal for interminably hot or drizzly nights, the Deck Bar is a low-slung little bar counter found in the partitioned area at the rear of the Pan Pacific’s upmarket Panorama restaurant.

Perfect for pre-dinner, the wine-list here is a facsimile of the restaurants (i.e. expansive and top-notch), and on cool nights the windows are open to the night air and a 23rd floor view across Bangkok. Plonk yourself on one of its stools, order in a scotch and some fancy tapas, and let your eyes wander across the grounds of the Royal Bangkok Sports Club and up over downtown – not quite breathtaking, but still very Bangkok.

รร. แพนแปซิฟิค ถ.พระราม 4

bangkok 101

V9 (map C4) 37F Sofitel Silom Hotel | 188 Silom Rd BTS Chong Nonsi | 02-238-1991 | 6pm-2am Smart V9 is a funky space, one-third comfy bar, one-third slick restaurant, one-third huge wine retail shop. Oenophiles undergo orgiastic experiences once they walk past the dozens of wine crates lining the entrance. All of the wines can be bought at supermarket prices and consumed on the premises with no corkage fee.The in-house Sommelier’s pairings are exquisite, with 15 house wines to tempt you by the glass or short carafe.The French food served up is faultless (try their snack trees), as are the cocktails – dozens of signature blends in a long menu. It’s all very Sex and The City, especially on Friday & Saturday nights.The music is good, and the view through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls wrapping V9 is heart-stopping – that’s what really counts. Perfect for those rainy nights.

รร. โซฟิเทลสีลม ถ. สีลม

MOON BAR (map C4) 61F Banyan Tree Hotel | 21/100 South Sathorn Rd | 02-679-1200 | www.banyantree.com | 5pm-1am As the name suggests, this is one place that will get you closer to the moon.

The open-air bar lets you take in the urban Moloch from up-above in smart surroundings. Banyan Tree’s Moon Bar is a romantic hideaway. With stunning 360 degree views, the hotel’s rooftop has been turned into a slick grill restaurant; one end is occupied by the bar. Nothing obstructs your view here, almost 200 metres high up. It’s the perfect spot for honeymooners – take a seat on the smart sofa stations, sip on a classy Martini or a yummy signature cocktail and feel romance welling up.

For voyeurs, the telescopes and binoculars come in handy. Glamour girls and unwinding business guys feel right at home here, too. Stay until the wee hours, nibble on sophisticated snacks, take in the light jazz – and never ever forget your camera.

Amorosa

SKY BAR / DISTIL (map B3-4) State Tower, 1055 Silom Rd | 02624-9555 | www.thedomebkk.com | 6pm-1am High fliers hankering after a taste for the dramatic can head over to The Dome at State Tower. Among the world’s highest outdoor bars, Skybar – attached to Med restaurant Sirocco – offers panoramic views of the city and river below, earning its popularity with visitors new to the City of Angels and those intent on rediscovering it.

Indoor-outdoor Distil boasts a roomful of comfy sofas, beyond-premium liquor Distil

สเตททาวเวอร์ ถ. สีลม

AMOROSA (map A3) Arun Residence Hotel, 36-38 Soi Pratoo Nok Young, Maharat Road (near Wat Po temple) | 02-221-9158 | www.arunresidence.com | 6pm-1am Balmy breezes, soft Latin Jazz, sour-sweet cocktails and passable wine list: all the ingredients for an agreeable open-air bar are in place at the Mediterraneanthemed Amorosa. The show-stopper though is the view: perched on the roof of a four-storey boutique hotel, it overlooks the weaving Chao Phraya River and Wat Arun, the stunning Temple of Dawn. Go before sundown and gaze out as the sun disappears behind it. Or instead come later, when spotlights make it glow amber against the night sky. Wat Po is also just around the corner, so a tipple here is an easily attainable – and fitting – reward after a day spent temple hopping. And if you fall for the view, the hotel’s restaurant, The Deck, and six lovely suites mean you can prolong the love affair.

อรุณเรสสิเดนซ์ ซ.ประตูนกยูง ถ.มหาราช

รร. บันยันทรี ถ. สาทร

bangkok 101

and The Dome’s signature breathtaking view. These places are definately not spots for the casual beach bum; so be sure to leave your flip-flops and shopping bags at home – a strict smartcasual dress code is enforced.

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CM2

bleak hotel bar, and as well as happy hours from 5:30-7:30pm, there’s a free salad bar. In other words, this is one vault we’d like to be locked in.

เบียร์วอลต์ สุขุมวิท 15

CM2 (map C3) Basement, Novotel Siam Square, Siam Square Soi 6 | BTS Siam | 02-255-6888 | www.cm2bkk.com | 6:30pm-2am The Novotel Siam Square Hotel’s party cave par excellence still packs them in over a decade after it opened, especially on weekends when it heaves with tourists and nocturnal beauties.

Gone is the old karaoke complex, making room for pool tables and lounging space overlooking the big and quite 1980s looking (black and metal and neon lighting rule) dancefloor. It’s mainstreamy all the way. DJs play Club 18-30-style dance-pop and bubbly live bands perform as if every song is a potentially life-changing audition (Simon Cowell would be impressed).

Cheesy? Maybe, a bit; but still a fun (and always eye-opening) experience.

International and Thai food, as well as a whopping great cocktail list that includes some made with Amaltery’s alcoholic ice-cream, is served.

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รร.โนโวเทลสยามสแควร์ สยามสแควร์ซ.6

BeerVault 4 Sukhumvit Soi 15 | BTS Asok | 02304-3200 | $ Lower Sukhumvit may be studded with noisy Brit, Irish and Aussie pubs catering to beer lovers but ironically none can match the brew selection of the Four Points Sheraton’s snazzy little hotel bar. Only 80 count ‘em paces from Sukhumvit Road, this snug glass and brick box with a trippy, colourchanging column lined with flatscreens dangling over its central bar, serves no less than 48 bottled brews and six on tap (as well as wines and shandy and beer cocktails to keep the ladies happy). Many of them hail from Belgium, making the BeerVault the first serious downtown alternative to the ever popular Belgium beer bar Hobbs, over on Thonglor. Quite apart from its thirst quenching qualities, however, the BeerVault is a convivial spot, one we recommend for early evening drinks.

Thanks to its streetside location and floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows overlooking it, it feels more like a buzzy standalone boozer than your usual nightlife

Zuk Bar (map C4) The Sukhothai, South Sathorn Rd | MRT Lumpini | 02-344-8888 | MonSat 5pm-1am, Sun noon- midnight Hotel guests and clued-up suits enjoy zesty cocktails, creative canapés and an air of ultra-sophisticated tranquillity at this classy hotel bar. Drinks are on a par with the rooftop bars (in price and panache), but here you’re paying for the understated exoticism of it all: the sultry look, mood and service.

The barely lit interior, with its dim nooks and raw silk couches, is perfect for heart-to-hearts. The underlit outdoors area, flanked by huge oriental jars and cooled by overhead fans, a sociable spot where a ring of plump divan sofas invite you to plant your posterior. Quietly solicitous lady staff clad in silk serve while a DJ from Tues to Sat spins soulful tunes.

รร.สุโขทัย ถ.สาทรใต้

BeerVault

CM2

bangkok 101

Club 87 plus

BARSU (map D3) Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, 250 Sukhumvit Rd | 02-649-8358 | www.barsubangkok.com | 6pm-2am The informal yet sleek and minimally styled BarSu features the tagline “eat, play, dance,” and appeals to the over-30 Bangkok crowd who feel disenfranchised by the city’s current nightlife offerings.

To this end, house, hip hop and techno are banned; in-house DJs spin soul, funk, rock, vintage 70s, 80s and world music.

An audacious dining concept features a menu of sophisticated bar snacks created by a Belgian two-star Michelin chef. In all fairness, calling this premium fare “bar snacks” is doing it a disservice: it’s finger food designed to be shared – sushi, sashimi, tapas and “wapas” (world tapas) – although not finger food as you know it. Ladies get a free standard drink on Wednesdays and the chance to win a bottle of Baileys.

รร.เชอราตัน แกรนด์ สุขุมวิท ระหว่างสุขุมวิท 12 และ 14

THE GLAZ BAR (map C3) G/F, Plaza Athénée Bangkok, 61 Wireless Road (Witthayu Road), Lumpini | 02-650-8800; www. royalmeridienbangkok.com/ theglazbar | Daily 10am-2am Accessible from both the street and lobby, The Glaz Bar features a nightly mixture of hotel guests and locals in the know, attracted by its distinctive decor, nightly live entertainment and attentive service. With an intimate chic and cosmopolitan atmosphere, patrons flock here to enjoy a range of creative cocktails (including favourites Thai Tapas and Molecular Mixology), local and international beers, and a tantalising menu that includes tapas, salads, sandwiches and desserts. For armchair voyeurs, the outdoor terrace offers luxurious views of vibrant Wireless (Witthayu) Road, while you shouldn’t miss their popular ‘Cocktails and Cones’ networking events, which take place once a month (contact the bar for details). There’s also a live band that performs daily from 9pm to 1am.

รร. พลาซ่า แอนธินี ถ.วิทยุ

bangkok 101

Club 87 Plus (map C3) Conrad Hotel, 87 Wireless Rd | BTS Phloen Chit | 02-690-9087 | 6pm - 2am Bigger, sleeker and sexier, the Conrad hotel’s recently relaunched flagship nightspot has targeted its audience from the get-go. Don’t be expecting minimalist jungle or Ibiza-style foam par ties, but if you like to cut a little rug to tunes from the 1980s and 90s, this joint should do just fine. The main draw here is the band, Citybeat (Tues-Sun, 10pm2am). They know how to get a party going with their tried and tested repertoire of funked-up pop classics.

Meanwhile, DJ 90 provides the soundtrack for the daily buy-oneget-one-free Happy Hour (6pm9.30pm), and takes centre stage on Monday evenings. Thursday is Ladies Night and Sunday’s Latin, while there is also a nifty new smoking lounge adjoining the venue.

โรงแรมคอนราด ถ.วิทยุ

SPASSO (map C3) Lower lobby, Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, 494 Ratchadamri Rd | BTS Ratchadamri | 02-254-1234 | www.bangkok.grand.hyatt.com | noon2:30pm, 6:30pm-2am After going strong for more than a decade, the mother of all live venues still doles out fantastic Italian food and cool bands.The food is so good lunches and brunches teem with high society types.Thai execs and bubbly after-work expats turn up from 7pm onwards to tuck into simple-soundings but firstclass Italian specialties; it’s a pretty good value, especially considering this is a five-star hotel joint. Whatever you’ll try, have it with what must be Bangkok’s best sangria. Come 10pm, diners thin out when the live band starts pumping out high-energy songs which get the dance floor heaving with a mixed, grown-up crowd – weekend nights can see people queuing up to get in.

แกรนด์ไฮแอทเอราวัณ ถ.ราชดำริ

The Glaz Bar

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bars Fat Gut’z 264, Soi 12, Sukhumvit Soi 55 (Thong Lor) | 027-149-832 | www.fatgutz. com | 6pm-2am | $$$ | Food delivery available Don’t let the fish ‘n’ chips fool you; Fat Gut’z is not about the food. Already a place to see and be seen, this sleek saloon is packed nightly with a crowd of beautiful people, there to listen to live blues, indulge in carefully crafted drinks, and, perhaps, catch a glimpse of its in-demand owner, Ashley Sutton, the Australian behind the already legendary Iron Fairies. Unlike his first bar, Fat Gut’z displays a less obvious sense of whimsy – here, the random fittings and industrial decor are replaced by straight lines and black-coloured, modern furnishings. It all feels rather serious, until you open the drinks menu. Sutton brought in master New York mixologist Joseph Boroski to create 16 unique cocktails (B285 each), all named – and here’s the rub – after famous WWII shipwrecks. This nautical theme loosely ties in with the short menu, from which the most popular order is, of course, the fish ‘n’ chips (B320 for one person, B600 for two). Made from an old family recipe, it comes served in a wooden tub, turning a takeaway staple into finger food.

Tucking in as we listened to the blues band play on the tiny stage, and observed the hi-so crowd sipping politely on their aquatic-inspired cocktails, it was obvious that this bar is an unusual, albeit successful blend of ingredients.

แฟท กัซ สุขุมวิท ซ.55

Fat Gut’z

WTF (map E4) 7 Sukhumvit Soi 51 |BTS Thonglor | 02626-6246 | BTS Thong Lo | www.wtfbangkok.com | Tues-Sun 6pm1am (gallery open from 3pm) “It’s just like a bar in BarcelonaBerlin-Brooklyn” (take your pick), say punters when they enter WTF. The tiny shophouse – signposted by graffiti on a corrugated tin wall in the street opposite – has a bar on the ground floor, decked out with mirrors along one wall, old Thai movie posters on the other, and found items like wooden screen doors and chairs apparently salvaged from an old Czech café. It works. The Thai-farang owners (an art manager, hotelier and photographer by trade) have made a good fist of cocktails (from B130) with rye whiskies and unusual bitters in the mix, while plates of tapas consist of Thai and Euro choices such as Portuguese chorizo, feta salad and pork fried-rice steamed in lotus leaf. It’s more intimate and much, much smaller, but WTF definitely owes a DNA strand or two to Raindogs, the creative social club that shutdown earlier this year. And that’s a good thing. Just like it, there are occasional live gigs, edgy art exhibitions (in two bare white rooms upstairs), and, on busy nights, a mix of local indie hipsters, journos and art-scensters to chew the fat with.

ดับเบิลยูทีเอฟ สุขุมวิท ซ.51

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Hyde & Seek (map C3) 65/1 Athenée Residence, Soi Ruamrudee | 02-168-5152 | BTS Phloen Chit | www.hydeandseek.com | 11am-1am | $$ Two bright lights of Thailand’s F&B scene opened this stylish downtown gastro bar: a dead-ringer for one of those chic London haunts that draw the after-work crowd for pick-me-up cocktails and good food that doesn’t break the bank. Heading the kitchen is Ian Kittichai, the brains behind the successful Kittichai restaurant in New York, while the bar is fuelled

by Chanond Purananda, a partner in Flow, the cocktail consultancy that inspires much drunken fun around the region. The sleek, Georgianinfluenced décor has panelled walls, clubby chairs and a large central bar, where snacks like beer battered popcorn shrimps and baby back ribs glazed with chocolate and chilli go well with fancy, custom-made cocktails or Belgian ales. Outside, there’s a spacious terrace with swing seats and the beginnings of a mini-maze of tea plants to partition dining areas. In sum, Hyde & Seek is a rare entry into the still huge market for high quality drinks and food at middle prices.

Because of this, it gets very busy with the rich and powerful looking most nights, so best book ahead.

แอทธินีเรสสิเดนซ์ ซ.ร่วมฤดี

bangkok 101

The Iron Fairies

CHEAP CHARLIE’S (map D3) Sukhumvit Soi 11 | 02-253-4648 | Mon-Sat 5pm-12:30am This shabby open-air streetside joint is a real Bangkok institution, bringing the charm of a rickety island hole-inthe-wall bar to one of Sukhumvit’s swankiest sois. A no-brainer meet-up spot, Cheap Charlie’s draws crowds of expats, NGOers and tourists inthe-know to fill up on B70 beers and pocket-change G&Ts before heading off to eat and party – though don’t be surprised if you end up here all night. CC’s is the kind of place where it’s easy to fall into conversation with other patrons; whether it’s because you’re sheltering from a rain shower together or end up sharing one of the few tables. Its location is a winner, situated as it is on a cool little subsoi (first on the left as you walk down from Sukhumvit) packed with restaurants and a short walk from hallowed Bangkok gin-palaces Q Bar and Bed Supperclub.

ชีพ ชาร์ลีย์ ถ.สุขุมวิท 11 (ซอยแรก)

THE IRON FAIRIES (map E4) 394 Thonglor (Sukhumvit Soi 55) | 084520-2301 | BTS Thong Lor | www.theironfairies.com This recent arrival injects a healthy dose of creativity into the city’s nightlife scene and is probably the coolest bar in Bangkok right now. It’s an oddball cross between a curiosity-cum-antiques shop — yes, you can actually buy the eponymous iron fairies themselves — and homage to the 1920s. Walls are daubed black, silent movies are projected on the walls upstairs, an in-house magician tours the tables impressing inebriated revellers with his slight of hand, and Doris Day classics are belted out from the castiron spiral staircase. The venue has the labyrinthine otherworldliness of a Terry Gilliam set with a touch of the bordello.

Beers start from B120 a bottle, a wellmixed dirty martini goes for B280 and the range of burgers, which are served pinned to a wooden chopping board with a steak knife, are divine.

ดิไอรอนแฟรี่ส์แอนด์โค ซ.ทองหล่อ

bangkok 101

CAFÉ TRIO (map C3) 36/11-12 Soi Lang Suan | 02-2526572 | BTS Chit Lom | daily 6pm1am, closed on the second and fourth Sundays of every month Tucked into a narrow alley off Soi Lang Suan, this cozy jazz bar & art gallery is a welcome alternative to Bangkok’s raucous pubs and haughty lounge bars.

Café Trio is overflowing with plush couches, the lighting is delightfully soft, and the music is always subdued. The tranquil atmosphere helps to make it a true neighbourhood place.The vivacious owner and bartender Patti holds court nightly and the walls are plastered with her Modigliani-esque, Vietnameseinspired paintings – have a few drinks and don’t be surprised to find yourself taking one home. Resident regulars come for live jazz (often toward the end of the month). For drinks, expect to pay what you would at better known, yet more generic, venues. The service is laid-back, like the bar in general. To find it, look for the Chinese restaurant across from Starbucks and 50m down the road.

คาเฟ่ทริโอ ซ.หลังสวน

nightlife

WONG’S PLACE (map C4) 27/3 Soi Sri Bumphen/Soi Ngam Duplee, near Malaysia Hotel | 02- 286-1558 | MRT Lumpini | Mon – Sat 10pm till late It’s amazing how Wong’s Place stays in business. It’s not near any public transport; opens when it wants, closes when it wants; plays crackly videos from Top of the Pops in 1985; has a couple of serveyourself beer fridges and is not much bigger than a living room. Put it this way: if you’re looking for a chocolate Martini and a plate of Catalan-inspired tapas, you’re definitely in the wrong place. Yet, because or despite of this, it attracts a fiercely loyal crowd of expat journalists, English teachers and professional barflies who have been coming here for years and regard owner Sam as a wbenevolent dictator, knowing better than to take advantage of the beer-fridges honour system. Come before midnight and it’s pretty dead (the Wong’s Place at the wong time?). Come after the other bars close – it’s a mere hop skip and a jump from Silom –and watch the night unfold.

วองส์ เพลส ซ.งามดูพลี

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jazz clubs THE LIVING ROOM (map D3) Sheraton Grande, 250 Sukhumvit Rd | BTS Asok, MRT Sukhumvit | 02-6498888 | www.sheratongrandesukhumvit. com | 10am- 12:30am Perhaps the cosiest of all Bangkok’s luxury hotel bars, the leather couches at The Living Room are so snug it’ll be hard to get up again once you’re seated. It’s a stylish place, and the usually middle-aged patrons live it up on great wines, champagne and strong cocktails in a quiet way. The high-ceilinged foyer offers perfect acoustics for the fabulous jazz band.

Be prepared to be well-entertained.

World-class talents are booked in continuously, guaranteeing top-notch jazz and always a warm audience rapport. Currently The Living Room plays host to Trio Live, performing every Tuesday jazz clubs through Thursday nights from 9pm to 11:45pm, plus Friday and Saturday nights from 9:30pm to 12:15am.

You can also catch them during the Sheraton Grande’s legendary Sunday Jazzy Brunch. รร.เชอราตัน แกรนด์ สุขุมวิท

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ระหว่างสุขุมวิท 12 และ 14

DIPLOMAT BAR (map C3) Conrad Bangkok, 87 Witthayu Rd | BTS Ploen Chit | 02-690-9999 | www.conradbangkok.com | Sun-Thu 6pm-1am, Fri-Sat 6pm-2am An architecturally striking hotel bar, mixing a funky, stylish décor with soft teak sofas and an arresting chandelier hanging over the massive round bar.

Bronze silks and wood dominate this dark, contemporary, but always relaxed place. A boozy, high-profile crowd fills the Diplomat Bar nightly, especially during the elongated, buyone-get-one-free Happy Hour from 4-7pm (standard drinks only). Very hip among the diplomatic corps (Witthayu is stuffed with embassies), trendy guys in suits and glitzy society ladies – ideal for people-ogling. But the main attraction at the Diplomat Bar is more aural than visual and exceptional jazz acts are de rigueur. รร.คอนราด ถ.วิทยุ BAMBOO BAR (map B4) Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, 48 Oriental Ave | 02-659-9000 | www.mandarinoriental.com | Sun-Thu 11am-1am, Fri-Sat 11am-2am This Bangkok institution is a symbol of past glories of the East. Situated in the city’s most fabled hotel, the former Oriental, the 50-year-old bar oozes class, sophistication and style. Reminiscent of

nightlife

Bamboo Bar

a tropical film noir-setting, it features a jungle theme – bamboo, palm fronds and furry patterns. Small and busy, it’s nevertheless romantic and intimate – balanced by the legendary Russian jazz band that’s been on the stage here for ages. Monday through Saturday nights catch the sultry sounds of their current resident. Everybody here sips on faultless cocktails, mixed by skilled old-school bartenders and served by superb staff. A definite big Bangkok must, even if just the once. รร.โอเรียนเต็ล ถ.โอเรียนเต็ล

bangkok 101

Brown Sugar

THREESIXTY (map B4) 32F Millennium Hilton Hotel |123 Charoennakorn Rd | BTS Saphan Taksin | 02-442-2000 | 5pm-1am Dizzying 32nd floor views across the Chao Phraya. Bangkok’s downtown flickering in front of you. Well worth crossing the river for, Threesixty is Bangkok’s most jaw-dropping jazz venue. Each night its dressy crowd soaks up that camera-grabbing panoramic alongside the sounds of Cynthia Utterbach. Her sultry renditions – spanning bossa nova to RnB – make this glassed in, flying saucer-like construction seem gorgeously moody.

And the wan blue lounge lights, soft couches and smooth cocktails help.

Requests are welcomed. รร.มิลเลเนี่ยม ฮิลตัน ถ.เจริญนคร Niu’s on Silom (mapC4) F1-2, 661 Silom Rd | 02-266-5333 | www.niusonsilom.com | 5pm-1am Located not far from the Chao Phraya, this New York-style wine bar – with its hot jazz, old leather armchairs and roses on candlelit tables – has a house band with some of Bangkok’s better local talent. They provide the backbone for international guest vocalists, and trumpeter Steve Lowry and guitarist Dan Phillips, who rotate nightly. There’s also a jazz jam every Niu’s on Silom

Sunday and occasional concerts featuring overseas visitors. Niu’s is a class act, but still casual, comfortable for both beers or brandy; and you can eat bar snacks or dine formally in the impressive Concerto Italian restaurant upstairs. Pleasant outside seating is also available. นิวส์ ออน สีลม บ้านสีลม BROWN SUGAR (map C4) 231/20 Sarasin Rd | BTS Ratchadamri | 02-250-1826 | Mon-Sat 11am-1am, Sun 5pm-1am Sarasin Road, bordering Lumphini Park, hosts a strip of teeming bars. The best one is definitely this long-standing, smoky jazz club. The joint evokes a jazz haunt of yesteryear with dark woods, tight benches and a tiny stage.

Newsweek called it ‘Asia’s Number One Spot’ and to prove the point, it’s packed every night. If you care for seats, arrive early, before the brilliant band starts at 9pm.You can have some decent pub grub, but it’s pricier than one might assume from the look of the haunt – same goes for the strong drinks. Sunday nights are the best – it’s the night off for most hotel bar singers, who all congregate here to let their hair down and jam with local pros.

บราวน์ ชูการ์ ถ. สารสิน

bangkok 101

nightlife

Niu’s on Silom Jazz Club Is Bangkok’s newest and brightest jazz club location, Where you can enjoy live performances daily, which include International musicians and some of the hottest local musicians.

Niu’s on Silom Jazz Club

Wine Bar & Restaurant 661 Floor 1-2 Silom Road (cnr Soi 19) Tel: 0 2266 5333-4 Daily 5pm-1am; Free valet parking reservation@niusonsilom.com www.niusonsilom.com

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live music

AD HERE THE 13TH (map A2) 13 Samsen Rd, Bang Lamphu | 089769-4613 | 5pm-midnight Funky, jammy, bare – one of Bangkok’s coolest hangouts is nothing more than an aisle packed with five tables, a tiny bar and instruments. It’s a joint you’d expect to find on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, except for the Chang beer. North of Khao San Road (ask for ‘Ad Here’, once in the quarter), the down-to-earth, bohemian hang-out packs ‘em in nightly. On weekends, young Thais, expats and tourists spill out on the sidewalk when the joint is jumpin’. The resident band churns out cool blues, Motown and Janis Joplin; Georgia, the city’s only true Blues Mama, has a voice and figure to match, and would never sing Hotel California. People from around the globe drop in for a quick jam; you’re bound to meet more nationalities than you can list. Down some crazy cocktails, or do theThai-style whiskey-soda-ice thing, along with some super-cheap booze munchies. An insider’s must.

แอดเฮีย 13 ถ. สามเสน บางลำภู

SAXOPHONE PUB (map C3) 3/8 Phaya Thai Rd | BTS Victory Monument | 02-246-5472 | www.saxophonepub.com | 6pm-2am The cozy, unpretentious place is a Bangkok landmark when it comes to solid live jazz and blues. Just a stone’s throw away from the Victory Monument Sk y tr ain Station, it’s nevertheless not a tourist hub. Filled with masses of fun-filled, youngish 88

Thais and the odd foreigner thrown in, the spacious joint can pack up to 400 people on its homey, lowceilinged, wood-filled floors. Each night, two talented Thai bands belt out sincere jazz, jazzy funk and R&B while the crowd feats on hearty Thai and Western fare served by friendly but mainly non-English-speaking staff.

The inexpensive drinks are okay, but better copy the locals and stick to beer and whiskey. If you have a problem with crowds, come on a weeknight, play some pool and let friendly university students use you as walking dictionaries.

แซ๊กโซโฟนผับ ถ.พญาไท

ZEST (map A3) Soi Austin Bar (Opp. Sunset Street), Kao Sarn Rd. | 081-425-7992, 081350-5890 | http://zest-bar.hi5.com | 6.30pm – 2am Zesting up Khao San’s sterile music scene is this cozy joint down a dinghy alley. Laudably free of the usual awful Bob Marley and Country Road covers, it comes good on the promise of its black and white photos of London teddyboys with a ska-funk-blues-rock line-up that, after a few drinks, may well have you bobbing around like one.You may not understand a word of it, but most of the local bands here are tight and energetic, ranging from a 6-piece ska band with female trombonist, to an expat indie band.

เซสท์บาร์ ถ.ข้าวสาร nightlife

Brick Bar (map A2-3) 265 Khao San Rd, Taladyod, Phranakorn | 02-629-4477 | Mon-Sun 7pm1am | free entry (Mon–Thu), B150 incl. 1 free drink (Fri-Sat) Found at the rear of the Buddy Lodge shopping arcade, this dark and airy redbrick vault features benches downstairs, an upstairs terrace for people or band watching and plenty of nooks and crannies to party in. A magnet for young live music lovers, it’s jumping most nights of the week with freshy 20-somethings out to catch some of Thailand’s biggest ska, reggae, funk and blues bands, many of whom play their own material. Perfect for friends who’ve just hit town.

บริค บาร์ ถ. ข้าวสาร

Bangkok Rocks (map D3) The Key Hotel, Sukhumvit Soi 19 | BTS Asok | www.bangkok-rocks.com | 6pm-late Covers of Hendrix, U2 and Santana are the staples from rotating bands at this new bar dedicated to live “classic” rock music. There’s potential in the decent acoustics, a mezzanine with good views of the stage, and beers and wine that start at B100. The downsides are a lack of character in the small boxy room of featureless white walls, and a soulless soundtrack. The Saturday night band we saw, 61 Highway, were competent but a little too harmless to drag across town for. This is a drop-in beer and boogie spot if you’re in the area, but Bangkok will only truly rock here if they attract stronger acts.

รร.เดอะคีย์ สุขุมวิท ซ.19

Saxophone Pub

Brown Sugar

bangkok 101

Raintree Pub (map C3) 116/63-34 Soi Ruamjit, Rang Nam Rd | BTS Victory Monument | 022457230, 081-926-1604 | www.raintreepub.com | 5pm-1am This rustic Thai ‘country’ bar is a sort of all-wooden, pre-consumerist age timecapsule. Raintree hosts musicians playing Pleng Peua Chiwit (Songs for Life), the once phenomenally popular 1970s folk-protest music and soundtrack for Thailand’s politically disaffected. On a stage decorated with the movement’s trademark buffalo skulls, two artists strum nightly: a long-haired singer croons plaintive songs at 8:30pm, a grizzled band steps up at around 11pm. Owner Porn Pimon opened Raintree 19 years ago and has changed little since. And why should she? The people are friendly, the beer snacks cheap and tasty, and the music, made famous by household names like Caravan and Caribou, often soul-stirring.

ร้านจามจุรี ซ.รางน้ำ อนุสาวรีย์

Parking Toys (off map) 17/22 Soi Maiyalap, Kaset-Navamin Highway, Bang Khen (pier 135-136 on left hand side) | BTS Mo Chit (then taxi) | 02-907-2228 | 6pm-1am It’s quite unusual for a business to go out of its way not to be noticed, but Parking Toys seems to do just that. With a dark, dismal exterior, the venue’s “We Accept Visa” logo is surprisingly larger than the actual bar sign. Once you finally do manage to get inside the ex-garage (here the choice of name becomes a little clearer) it’s a pure sensory overload.

Wall-to-wall retro furniture becomes instant eye-candy, while chairs without upholstery dangle from the ceiling. But if the funky furniture creates the space, the live music definitely defines it. Parking Toys has a band for every alternative music lover; in just one weekend night you can variously catch reggae root, electronic, rockabilly, and metal – now that’s what we call a variety pack. With no nearby BTS or MRT station, it’s a hike, but well worth the effort. So get off your couch and sit on someone else’s.

ปาร์คกิ้งทอย ซ.มัยลาภ เกษตรนวมินทร์

bangkok 101

Parking Toys

Tawandaeng German Brewery (map C4) 462/61 Narathiwat Rama 3 Road | 02-678-1114 | www.tawandang.co.th | If there’s one place that slaps you round the chops and screams “you’re in Thailand!” it’s Tawandang.

This humungous, barrel-shaped beer hall with decent micro-brewed beer takes its cue from Deutschland. But the live music and unchecked sanuk up to 1,600 lary revelers enjoy here each night here is something very Thai. Its laidback early on, with everyone chomping on plates of the famous deep fried pork knuckle and German sausage, among other decent Thai, Chinese and German dishes. By 10pm though, when bellies are full, the lager’s kicked in and the Thai/Western pop, luk krung and mor lam performances by the famous Fong Nam houseband and guests are at full pelt, everybody is on the feet and the place going bananas. Tipsy tourists clink glasses with every stranger in reach, while middle-aged mums shake their tooshes beside ladyboys. In sum, it offers great, goofy, love-for-Bangkok reaffirming fun. Reservations are a must for large groups.

โรงเบียร์เยอรมันตะวันแดง พระราม 3 nightlife

THE ROCK PUB (map C3) 93/26-28 Radchatewee, Phayathai Road, (opposite Asia Hotel) | BTS Ratchathewi | www.therockpubbangkok.com | 9:30pm-2am If AC/DC or Def Leppard were in town you’d find them here. A tatty faux-castle exterior, visible from the Ratchatewi BTS Station, makes you wonder what kind of weird, 1980s theme-park ride you’ve stumbled on, while inside bands with Brian May hairdos thrash out everything Van Halen and Motorhead covers.

เดอะ ร๊อคผับ ถ.พญาไท

TITANIUM CLUB & ICE BAR (map D4) Sukhumvit Soi 22 | BTS Phrom Pong | 02-258-3758 www.titaniumbangkok. com | 6pm-1:30am Well folks, and now for something different. Picture this: congenial hostesses clad in Bangkok-Zeitgeist ao dai. A gifted all girl rock ‘n’ roll band, Unicorn, jamming six nights a week (with two male bands filling in for them on Sundays). Bangkok’s widest selection of vodka – 70 varieties to choose from.An intimate atmosphere, especially in The Vodka Room, chilled to a nipple-raising minus 10 degrees. Not exactly a place to bring Mum, but a fun night out on the slightly wild side.

ไทเทเนียม ไอซ์บาร์ สุขุมวิท ซ. 22

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nightlife areas

Hemlock

10

PHra athit rd

Police Station

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Khao San Road

The streets around Khao San Road – that famed budget travellers’ mecca – are buzzing with a frenetic mix of dek naew (trendy teens) and bronzed backpackers. Found at the rear of the Buddy Lodge complex, Brick Bar [1] is a red brick cavern where young locals bounce along to excellent live ska. A few doors down, Lava Bar [2] is a dark hip-hop dungeon, while Sunset Street [3] is an architecturally interesting conglomerate of bars, but mostly attracts sweaty backpackers. Down the alley opposite, Zest [4] focuses on live Brit Rock, while Hippie De Bar [5], tucked down another alley, is a retro-cool cocktail house. More full-on, The Club [6] is a popular techno palace offering free UV glowsticks and a huge dancefloor. Just off the strip, Gazebo [7] is an open-sided rooftop featuring live reggae, hubbly-bubblies and DJs till the wee hours. For a more laid-back, cool evening, head to nearby Phra Athit Road, lined with trendy hole-in-the-wall bars, cafés and restaurants. Often compared with NYC’s Greenwich Village, it’s a favourite for young Thais going “beat” and the odd expat. Stop for a cheap caffeine intake at Coffee & More [8] in a beautifully restored colonial mansion. Elegant Hemlock [9] is invaded nightly by artsy folk, drawn to the eclectic Thai food at 1 6 3 2 rock-bottom prices. Minimalist but friendly Joy Luck Club Burger kHao sanroad rd Khao San [10] also deserves a mention.

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new phetchaburi rd

Ekkamai Soi 28

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Soi 1

Sukhumvit RD

Soi 21

In recent years these parallel boulevards have embraced sweeping gentrification and emerged as upmarket playgrounds for the young, studiously cool zeitgeist follower, be they celebrity, model, arty type, uni student or slick professional. Aside from their surfeit of luxury condos, boutique lifestyle emporiums, designer spas and restaurants both are studded with trendy nightspots catering to a mixed international and Thai clientele. New ones pop up every few months, as if to keep hipsters on their toes and match that season’s colours. For now Muse [1], Funky Villa [2] and Demo [3] – three giganto clubs on Thonglor Soi 10 – are all the rage, as is the unique Iron Fairies [4]. Meanwhile, scattered about are old-timers like Song Saleung [5], a recently refurbished and often heaving live music joint, and Shades of Retro [6] – a combo furniture-store café and hangout for the writer/designer/artiste crowd. Ekkamai’s main drag and side-streets are even better endowed party-wise.

Curvaceous Curve [7] and glamorous Jet Metropolitan [8] are big, top-shelf joints offering the usual failsafe blend of live Thai music and DJ’s spinning R’n’B. As the scene stands both are big draws, though the crowds are so gleefully fickle that could change in a Bangkok minute.

Track them to the cool club of the moment. Or try two 5 BTS Thong Lor that have achieved longevity: nightclub Nunglen [9] and Soi 55 (Thong lor) scruffy little bar Happy 6 4 Monday [10]. Pretty young 1 2 things bounce along to Thai 3 tunes in the former; while 7 9 media types (mostly aged 25 Soi 63 (Ekkamai) plus) hobnob while enjoying 8 10 low-key DJ sessions (May T BTS Ekkamai from Modern Dog etc). nightlife

bangkok 101

ROYAL City Avenue (RCA)

road AL LO C

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For a night of clubbing, Thai twenty-something style, jump in a taxi and say “RCA” to your driver. On arrival, follow the stream of high-heeled and well-coiffed onto Royal City Avenue: a flash, brash, neon-charged nightlife strip much cherished by the city’s dressed-to-kill urban youth. Boasting a slew of swish bars and sprawling split-room clubs – many elbow room only after 11pm – it offers the perfect adventure for indecisive club-goers. Go in and out as the mega-decibel music takes you (making sure to flash your ID card as you go), as most venues have no cover charge and flaunts a different genre of music. Hip-hop haven Slim [1] is never short on crowds gettin’ jiggy to Biggie, while other room, Slim Live, offers live music in a more sane setting, and glam alter-ego, Flix [2] bangs out bass-thumping trance and house. Next door, slick granddaddy Route 66 [3] seethes with spaghetti-strapped students and baseball-capped boppers, who flit between its three glam zones and outdoors chill-out zone. Despise radio rap? For edgier dance-music (and funkier Thai/farang crowds) hit 808 [4], a red-brick warehouse with a crisp sound system and sets by global DJ gods. And opposite sits Cosmic Cafe [5], where indie types catch up with pals and nod appreciatively to live bands. Few foreigners venture further, but they should: Old Leng [6] is a rickety wooden pub great for warm-up drinks; and Zeta [7], a live-music bar with a girls-only policy.

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Soi 11

On the global nightlife radar Bangkok now registers a strong, steady bleep. And this buzzing soi – with its cosmopolitan collective of hotels, restaurants, pubs, bars and nightclubs tucked off Sukhumvit Road – is one of the reasons. Go here tonight and you’ll rub shoulder straps with hedonist expats, slinky Singaporeans and the odd urbane local, among many other breeds of clubber. Would they all be here if it weren’t for Q Bar [1]? Unlikely. This beat lounge was the first to bring international design, DJs and drinks to the club scene – and, against the odds, 10 years later it still is. Just around the corner is the other Soi 11 superstar, Bed Supperclub [2]: a spaceship-like club-cum-restaurant that attracts a dressy international crowd every night. Many just rock up at one of these, ID card in hand, at around 11pm. Better, though, to make a night of it and start out early evening.

Kick off with bargain al fresco beers 1 at Cheap Charlies [3], a countrified bar only a tad 4 Bed Supperclub bigger than a 2 broom cupboard. Nest [4], a breezy rooftop bar atop the sleek Le Fenix hotel, is a more upscale option offering 5 laid-back, bird-nest seating and music that matches (think 3 Sade’s Smooth Operator). Not quite the racy, subterranean Bangkok you were after? Then sheepishly make your way to the backend of the Ambassador Hotel’s basement carpark, where thumping after-hours nightclub Climax [5] lures in the city’s good, the bad, the beautiful and, SUKHUMVIT road unfortunately, the ugly till the wee hours. bangkok 101

nightlife

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pub crawls

T

here are many ways of quenching a thirst, but surely the most enjoyable has to be sipping a pint of real beer in a proper public house. With an unexpectedly wide choice of British and Irish bars offering a taste of pub life, Bangkok won’t let you down on this front. Each month Bangkok 101 gives you the low-down on one of the top taverns around town.

featured

JAMESON’S

pub

This spacious pub, sitting just under the shadow of the Holiday Inn Silom, in the heart of Bangkok’s financial district, is a real Gaelic gem.

It does all the simple things right. Sporting classic pub decor, it has the subdued lighting and dark wood down pat, but it steers clear of being dingy thanks to a row of picture windows along one wall and banks of red-upholstered booths and emerald-green light fixtures breaking up the usual pub-brown monotony. Overall, there’s a touch of class here that elevates it above the common gin joint, thanks in part to the vintage prints on the red brick walls and the leather upholstered chairs. You get your choice of chilling in an intimate booth, hugging the huge central bar or taking a table for some Where 981 Silom Rd very eclectic fare that spans both BTS Surasak | the earthy and the refined – from 02-266-7703-5 classic Irish stew to duck liver paté. Open 10am-1am

There are a dizzying 12 big screens for sport, two pool tables and live music, as well as French beer Kronenbourg, a real treat in a city of lacklustre lager. But, the biggest draw has to be the daily happy hour from 4pm to 7pm, and the adjacent -5 Ice Bar. Inside this sculpted ice room with windows onto the street, a small entry fee buys you as many Absolut vodka shooters as you can handle in 20 minutes. It all adds up to make Jameson’s a pub that both embraces and goes that little bit beyond the average Irish watering hole.

Balcony Humidor

Cigar Lounges

Cigar lounges are slowly catching on in Bangkok, with a small handful of venues now providing outstanding facilities for lovers of quality Coronas and fine Figurados. As well as cigars from the Cuba, Ecuador and beyond, the lounges feature luxurious leather sofas, rich wood accents, discreet staff and selections of wine and single malt whisky.

Some, like Club Perdomo, operate on a members-only basis, with membership granting access to their worldwide network of lounges.

Others, like the Balcony Humidor & Cigar Bar at the InterContinental hotel, are open to guests and the general public.

The members-only Pacific Cigar Company opened its first lounge, La Casa del Habano, at The Oriental hotel in 1997, and now operates another four venues in Bangkok, as well as one in Pattaya. One of PCC’s more interesting venues is the P&L Club which incorporates a traditional barber shop and ‘Thailand’s largest collection of single barrel malt whiskies.’ n Balcony Humidor & Cigar Bar P&L Club Lobby level, InterContinental Bangkok, 973 Ploenchit Road | 8am-1am | 02-656-0444 n Club Perdomo Bangkok 3/1 Sukhumvit Soi 28 | 02-661-3220 | www.clubperdomobangkok. com | 6pm-midnight n La Casa del Habano The Oriental Bangkok, 48 Oriental Avenue | 02-267-1596 | Mon-Thu: 10am-10pm, Sat-Sun: 10am-11pm, Sun and public holidays: noon-6pm | www.pacificcigar.com n P&L Club GF Conrad Bangkok, All Seasons Place, 87 Wireless Road | Mon-Thu: 10am-10pm; Fri-Sat: 10am-11pm, Sun: noon-6pm | 02-685-3898

เจมส์สัน ถ.สีลม

Club Perdomo

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bangkok 101

Pubs 101

Silom AREA PUBS

Hidden among the salacious delights of Silom Road, you will still find some of the “grand old men” of libation locales. O’Reilly’s [1] is a slightly dingy affair whose décor matches its demeanour – grizzled, but down-to-earth. Even so, it’s popular due to nightly drinks specials, live music, and an outdoor seating area to view the exotic sights of Silom. Just down the street is The Barbican [2] a multi-level contemporary concoction of granite and steel where the mixed crowd of expats and locals enjoy superior food and a wide choice of imported beers. Molly Malone’s [3] offers a real taste of Ireland. Drop in during their extended happy hour (5pm-9pm) for live music and multiple big screens for sport. Friendly staff and excellent food (especially their Sunday roast) means this place is always busy. Opposite the infamous Patpong stands The Duke of Wellington [4]. Its open plan layout makes it a bit sterile, but it does have good beer, a daily happy hour 4pm to 9pm and uninterrupted views of the four screens for sport. Jameson’s [5] sat under the Holiday Inn in the heart of the gem district is the newest kid on the block. It’s a cavernous place but still packs in the punters thanks to fantastic happy hours, including ladies’ night on Tuesdays featuring Margaritas for a ridiculously cheap B29 a glass.

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Thaniya

patpong

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Surasak road

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Sukhumvit AREA PUBS

bangkok 101

soi 39

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Sukhumvit Road, a haven for expats, is jammed with joints catering to ale aficionados. Beside BTS Phrom Phong station, The Robin Hood [13] offers daily happy hour and drinks specials, as well as live music and sports. Even so, it can sometimes seem a little sedate. Down a nearby alley is The Bull’s Head [12], whose oak-panelled walls and low ceilings give off a cosy feel. It’s notable for a top jukebox and occasional comedy nights featuring international stand-ups. Sundays it’s “Toss the Boss”; call the flip of a coin right and the pub pays for the round. The Londoner [11] is a vast subterranean hideaway that brews its own real ale and lager, has good food and a regular house band. Opposite is the ever-popular Dubliner [10], a three-storey edifice. Though slightly pricy, the superb food (try the sausages), live music and Guinness pull in the punters. Just around the corner, behind the old Mambo Cabaret, Bourbon Street [9] backs up its Cajun/Creole dining with a well-stocked bar and good atmosphere. Up the road in the shadow of Asok BTS, is The Black Swan [8], a proper British booze abode. No bands. No happy hours. Just a snug escape offering a warm atmosphere and a wise-cracking landlord. Tucked down a dead-end street of Soi 11 is The Pickled Liver [7]. A shrine to soccer and suds, the décor is unfussy with a focus on big screen sports. But with friendly staff and daily happy hour it’s not just the sport that makes it worth a visit. Finally, Hanrahans [6] offers a genuine reason to be seen in Nana. Light and airy it ticks all the right boxes with regular music, special drinks deals and daily happy hour.

BTS Phrom Phong

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■ Bourbon Street 29/4-6 Sukhumvit Soi 22 | BTS Asoke | 02259-0328-9, 02-2594317 | 7am – 1am ■ HANRAHANS Sukhumvit Soi 4 l BTS Nana l 02-255-0644-5l daily 9am-1am ■ JAMESON’S Holiday Inn Silom, Gr. Fl, 981 Silom Rd, BTS Surasak, 02-2667703-5, daily 10am1am ■ MOLLY MALONE’S Convent Rd, Silom | BTS Sala Daeng | 02-2667160 | daily 9am-1am ■ O’REILLYS 62/1-4 Silom Rd | BTS Sala Daeng, MRT Silom l 02-632-7515 | daily 9am – 2am ■ The BARBICAN 9/4-5 Soi Thaniya Rd | 02-234-3590 | BTS Sala Daeng MRT Silom | daily 11:30am – 1am ■ THE BLACK SWAN 326/8-9 Sukhumvit Rd | BTS Asok | MRT Sukhumvit | 02-2294542 | daily 8:00am – midnight ■ THE BULL’S HEAD Sukhumvit Soi 33/1 | BTS Phrom Phong | 02-259-4444 | daily 11:30am – 1am ■ BULLY’S Sukhumvit Rd, btw Sois 2 & 4 | BTS Nana | 02-656-4609 | daily 11am-1am ■ THE DUBLINER 440 Sukhumvit Rd | BTS Phrom Phong | 02-204-1841/2 | daily 9am-1am ■ THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON 323 Silom Rd | BTS Sala Daeng l 02-234-2874 | daily 10am-1am ■ THE LONDONER Basement, UBC II Bldg.

Sukhumvit Soi 33 | BTS Phrom Phong | 02-261-0238/9 | daily 11am-1am ■ The Pickled LIVER Sukhumvit Soi 11 | BTS Nana | 02-254-3484 | daily 2pm – 3am ■ the robin hood Sukhumvit Soi 33/1 | BTS Phrom Phong | 02-662-3390 | daily 10pm-midnight 93

Shopping

shopper scene

As clichés go, “shop till you drop” could have been written after a demanding spending spree in Bangkok’s sweltering heat. And while we’re dispensing mindless platitudes: there’s something for everyone in this town, however peculiar your peccadilloes may be. For locals, conspicuous consumption in one of the myriad swish mega-malls is the name of the face-gaining game, while foreigners often prefer to dig for buried treasure at the bustling street markets. Whatever your angle, stamina is a must, especially when it comes to pressing sticky flesh with the perspiring masses at the sweltering citysized jumble sale that is Chatuchak Weekend Market. So brush up on your bargaining patter, arm yourself with Nancy Chandler’s invaluable shopping map, and prepare for sheer retail overload.

Unique Boutique

Urban Tree Khun Dee, the owner of this organic shop, wants Urban Tree to be seen as a mini-mart for the naturally addicted. Located in the historic Dusit district (close to Ratchawat, Sriyan and Banglumphu markets), the clean white exterior of this shop stands it apart from the area’s busy array of stalls and restaurants serving mouth-watering Thai-Chinese dishes.

‘Think globally; consume locally’ may sound like a corporate slogan, but it is a way of life for this Khon Kaen native. While volunteering as a community guide for exchange students visiting his hometown, he was amazed to discover that rice has more than one breed. Developing a close relationship with local villagers, his friendly demeanour helped him absorb the way they live and develop his knowledge of the fundamentals of green living.

With a local and international clientele, some of his bestsellers are lotions, body skin care products, rice, tea, cosmetics and non-ionic (bubble-less) shampoo. Among the other products that fill the shelves in this converted shophouse are aromas that promise to reduce headaches; herbal homemade soaps that won’t leave you in a lather; and healthy herbal tea made from an old Thai folk recipe. If you’re looking for something in particular, the bilingual Khun Dee (Thai and English) is always happy to suggest the right product for you.

As a part of the Thai Green Market movement, Urban Tree has extended its reach far beyond Samsaen, opening up temporary stalls at markets all over the city, including a spot at the Tonson Market down Soi Tonson (first and last Friday of the month), as well as a regular stall at Mission Hospital (Pitsanulok Road, Dusit) every Sunday. Through meeting the public, he’s getting to know their needs – and helping to spread his valuable message of green living.

Where 934 Samsaen Soi 24, 02-243-2989, 081-974-0290; urbantreeorganics.blogspot.com MRT Bang Sue (take taxi or tuk tuk from the station) OPEN Mon-Fri 9am-7pm, Sat 9am-4pm PRICE B15-B1,500

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stuff Want to find the best deals in town? Read on and we’ll tell you where to go and what to buy.

Not the global brands you can find anywhere, or the tat you will soon regret ever having wasted your money on, but the cool, home-grown ‘stuff’ that Bangkok is justly famous for.

Sretsis

Silk & apparel Thai silk only started getting international attention quite recently, but quickly became renowned for its thickness and lustrous sheen. Jim Thompson is the legendary American silk revivalist who – with the help of a small community of weavers – pioneered the modern industry. Since then the brand has branched out from ties and cushions into a fully-fledged fashion label that even dabbles in Zen furniture design, as you’ll see if you visit one of their many sleek stores. LP Silk and Shinawong are two exporting wholesalers who can be trusted to fix you up with the whole nine yards (or more if you like). n Jim Thompson Paragon F1; King Power Duty Free; Jim Thompson House Museum; Surawong Rd | www.jimthompson.com n LP Thai Silk Silom Village Trade Centre, 286 Silom Road | 02-234-4448 | www.lpthaisilk.com n Shinawong No C500 , C501 Ayudthaya Soi 8 Suan Lum; No27, 6F MBK Centre| www.shinawong.com Handicrafts Beyond triangular pillows and woven shoulder bags, there are hordes of native trinkets up for grabs, with stiff competition keeping prices down.The main markets all bristle with goodies made from bamboo, coconut, rattan, wicker, wood and water hyacinth. As does Narayanaphand, an indoor bazaar offering ceramics, hand stitched fabrics and artisan goods; Silom bangkok 101

Village; and the 6th floor of mazy MBK. The monthly, OTOP-approved ThaiCraft Fair is a place to pick up that bulrush basket for less (while ensuring its maker also gets a fair price). For Celadon and Benjarong ceramics (a form of Thai porcelain originally made for members of the Royal family), try one of Siam Ceramic Handmade’s showrooms. n Narayanaphand InterContinental Hotel GF, 973 Ploenchit Road | BTS Chidlom | 02-656-0173-4 n Siam Ceramic Handmade Room 325-326, River City Shopping Complex F3; 202 Sukhumvit Soi 10 | www.thaibenjarong.com n ThaiCraft Fair Third floor, Ambassador Hotel’s Tower Wing, Sukhumvit Rd Soi 11 | www.thaicraft.org

Fashion Spotted the local trendies yet? Then you’ll be wondering where it is they get their cool indigenous fashions. Several malls and markets around town act as little fashion hatcheries, giving you the chance to snap up dazzling pieces by local up-and-comers. Section 3 of Chatuchak, for starters, is jammed with fecund fashions. Here, amidst piles of vintage and aisles packed with kids who know how it wear it, you’ll find next season’s trends. Suan Lum and Siam Square are also spotted with dainty designer boutiques; while youth-orientated shopping malls Siam Centre and Gaysorn offer up a host of homespun high fashion by trendy labels such as Jaspal and Greyhound.

Jewellery & gems Some of the world’s best lapidaries are based here, stocking cut and uncut domestic and regionally-mined precious stones.The best local jewellers can also turn wondrous tricks with gold, silver and platinum. Assuming, that is, you can find them – the city is, sadly, alive with shysters out to lure you away from legit dealers and into an intricate gem scam.There are a few diamonds in the rough, though, such as the excellent Jewelry Trade Center, which offers great service, as well as a wide variety of arts and antiques. n jewelry trade center (919/1 Silom Road, Bangrak, 02-6301000; www.jewelrytradecenter.com).

OTOP: One Tambon One Product One of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s more laudable legacies is his instigation of OTOP (One Tambon One Product), a government initiative that markets handicrafts made in one of Thailand’s 7,000 tambons (subdistricts). These quality gifts, snacks, handicrafts, toys, gems, textiles and jewellery, can be purchased at fairs at the city’s exhibition halls, Narayanaphand and the monthly ThaiCraft Fair. By choosing OTOP products you’ll be helping preserve local crafts and ensure that the villager who made them can earn a fair living.

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Antiques Thai, Burmese and Cambodian antiques are among Asia’s finest – but all that glitters ain’t gold, so you’ll often be hard-pressed to find the real deal among the look-alikes. Unless, that is, you’re willing to shell out, in which case you’ll love the River City Complex, the sprawling, mother-of-allantique centres (p.106). Auctions are on the first Saturday of each month with viewings the preceding week.

Alternatives include period antique centre OP Place (p.106); Amantee, a gorgeous Thai house offering Oriental and Tibetan antiques on Bangkok’s outskirts; and L’Arcadia. And who can say what treasures the dustier straits of Chatuchak and Chinatown hold in store for the determined? n Amantee 131/3 Chaeng Wattana 13, Laksi, 10210 | 02-982-8694-5 | www.amantee.com n L’Arcadia 12/2 Sukhumvit Rd Soi 23 | 02-259-9595

Aromatherapy & Spa One of Bangkok’s more fitting titles is “Spa Capital of Asia”. The following slick local product lines should get you fragrant, gooey and purring with pleasure in next to no time. Panpuri offers Asian-inspired sensory purification – pricy but wonderful combinations of holistic spa-inspired treatments and products. Worldly mixtures for washing, moisturising, cleansing and relaxing can be found at Thann; while Karmakamet specialise in long-lasting lotions, gels, incense and candles that create the perfect bridge between scent and soul.

Finally, Anyadharu offers health-imbuing natural oils, bath body gels and perfumes that are designed to give you much more than just a whiff of indulgence. n Anyadharu Chatuchak (Section 3); Isetan (MBK F4) | www.anyadharu.com n Karmakamet CentralWorld F2; Chatuchak Market, Section 2, Soi 3 | www.karmakamet.co.th

Shopping Tips

n Bargaining: This is a way of life when shopping on the streets in Bangkok. The key is not to act too interested. They know you can find it further down the street, and if they want to make the sale they’d better be prepared to drop their price. If they ask B500, offer B350. You might get it for B380-400. Don’t be shy: it’s expected. Most importantly when haggling over price: keep a smile on your face and a cool head.

n Counterfeit Stoners: Bounders running gem scams are ubiquitous on Bangkok’s streets.

Beware anyone (tuk-tuk drivers especially) offering free rides to nearby “stockists” – they’re conmen on the make. The TAT provides quality assurance through the Jewel Fest Club; look for their ruby-ring logo on shop-fronts.

n Keep it Real: As elsewhere in Asia, counterfeit goods abound in Bangkok. From the latest DVDs to luxury brand clothes, watches, handbags and fragrances, it’s all here – at a fraction of the price. But, tempting though it may be, remember that the quality never matches the original and you’ll struggle to get refunds. Perhaps scarier, you risk getting busted at customs back home; and by purchasing fake goods you inadvertently sponsor organised crime. So, just keep it real.

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Duty Free – Duress Free Much more civilized than sprinting through the long corridors of Suvarnabhumi is a visit to King Power.

At this glassy, space-port like complex on Soi Rang Nam (BTS Victory Monument, then catch a free tuk-tuk from Century Plaza), you can do your duty-free shopping at your own pace, days (instead of minutes) before your plane takes off. Peruse products such as cosmetics, clothes, computers and more – all at tax-free prices. Find what you want, order it and it will be waiting for you at the airport on your way out.

Just be sure to bring your air ticket and passport. www.kingpower.com n Panpuri

Paragon F1; King Power Duty Free; Central Chidlom F4; Gaysorn F7 | www.panpuri.com n ThanN Central Chidlom F4; Central Ladprao F5; Siam Discovery Centre F5; Emporium F4 | www.thann.info n VAT: When shopping, look out for signs advertising ‘VAT Refund or Tourists’. At these places, they should have the paperwork (ask for a PP10 form) to enable you to claim back 7 per cent on purchases when you leave the country on an international flight. The deal is you have to spend at least B2,000 at the same store on any given day, and you can only claim back on totals of B5,000 or over. It’s worth doing if you have a department store blitz, or fancy splashing out on electronics, jewellery or other expensive goods.

Have your passpor t and tickets with you when you queue up to buy, and prepare to have your purchases, PP10 forms and receipts inspected when you claim back at the airpor t VAT refund counter. A word of caution: if you are making large purchases and not being asked to pay VAT, you aren’t guaranteed they are quality products. For more info, check out www.rd.go.th bangkok 101

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Visitors to Bangkok will be amazed at how prevalent mall culture is in the weave of modern Thai society. Malls are not just places to shop for designer labels; there are restaurants, cinemas, bowling, aquariums and more. Bangkok’s retail mall epicentre is around the Siam and Chit Lom areas.

mall crawl MBK BTS National Stadium Perpetually packed shopper’s paradise; a mind-boggling, onestop bargain. Always busy, on weekends half of Bangkok’s teens converge here, hunting for the latest mobile phones and more.

BTS National Stadium

SIAM DISCOVERY BTS Siam Light, pleasant and never too busy.

Inside it’s international hip young brands (Diesel, Replay, Armani Exchange) and impressive interior stores (Loft and Mae Fah Luang).

JIM THOMPSON HOUSE

MAJOR HOTELS 1 Pathumwan Princess 2 Novotel Siam 3 Amari Watergate 4 The Four Seasons 5 Grand Hyatt Erawan 6 Intercontinental 7 Holiday Inn 8 Conrad 9 Plaza Athenee 10 Royal Orchid Sheraton 11 The Oriental 12 The Peninsula 13 Shangri-La 14 OP Place

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SIAM CENTER BTS Siam The mall that started it all in 1973 hauls in trendy teens and young adults who shop for Euro-fashion and innovative local brands like Jaspal and Soda.

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SIAM SQUARE BTS Siam Bangkok’s heart for trendsetters, this maze of narrow streets has heaps of tiny boutiques carrying local up-and-comers, gastrogems and indie cinemas.

PANTHIP PLAZA Bangkok’s one-stop shop for any and all computing needs: be it hardware, software and gadgets. It’s a loud, brash mecca for technology geeks.

SIAM PARAGON BTS Siam This gigantic shopping complex is legendary among Bangkok hi-sos. It’s also home to Siam Ocean World aquarium, too.

ERAWAN B ANGKOK BTS Chitlom Posh boutique mall adjacent to the bright Erawan Shrine.

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RIVER CITY Four well laid-out floors of stores selling antiques, plus ethnic and tribal ar t from Southeast Asia, with a bit of the South Pacific, Indonesia, Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan thrown in.

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To Emporium shopping mall, get off at BTS Phrom Phong

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EMPORIUM BTS Phrom Phong Ver y chic mall with the most amiable atmosphere, thanks to its airy architecture.

Make sure you pay a visit to TCDC, the neat Thailand Creative Design Center.

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C ENTRAL C HIT LOM BTS Chitlom Seven floors of clothes, shoes and accessories from all the major labels, plus some eye-catching Thai designers.The Food Loft is one of Bangkok’s best food courts.

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ploenchit road

ALL SEASONS PLACE BTS Ploenchit The sleek mall in a skyscraper complex is known more for its battery of excellent eateries than its selection of shops; although the high-end retail range is impressive, including numerous art galleries, cigar shops, tailors and Euro-fashion.

GAYSORN BTS Chitlom Allwhite interior features glitzy, topclass brands – expect the likes of Vuitton, Dior and Givenchy.

ong s u raw

JEWELRY TRADE CENTER A treasure trove of gleaming gems and priceless souvenirs.

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Jatujak weekend market

Forget designer malls. JJ weekend market is Bangkok’s true paragon of retail. This is shopping as survival of the fittest: only those with finely tuned consumer instincts shall persevere. The rest can get lost – literally.

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aking a wrong turn’s almost a given in this sprawling, city-sized marketplace, upon which thousands descend every weekend, to trade everything from Burmese antiques to pedigree livestock. Originally a flea market, Jatujak (also spelled as Chatuchak) quickly outgrew the confines of the insect world to become much more than the sum of its disparate parts. These days, young Thai designers take advantage of the low onsite rent to punt their creative wares; if you so desire, you can peruse piles of customised Zippos that once belonged to American GIs; and tasty pickings conveniently punctuate every which way. Additionally, the exotic pet section supports the theory that JJ has evolved its own diverse ecosystem (albeit one that periodically gets busted).

All this can be a bit overwhelming at first, but persevere and a semblance of order should begin to crystallise from the chaos. Go in the early morning or late afternoon to avoid the worst of the heat and the crowds. Or, with many stalls opening for business on Friday, you can come for a leisurely browse before the real deluge hits; although only the weekend gig gives ardent shopaholics the fullyblown, unadulterated Jatujak fix they desire.

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If you’re looking for authentic hill tribe attire or ethnic-style decorations, then head to Keaw Kham at the JJ Weekend Market. The owner of this small shop is textile expert Sasivimol Jaisert, who devotes much of her spare time to hunting down quality made WHERE Section 26 Soi 1, weaved products all the way from the north of Thailand up 02-272-5879 to China’s Guizhou province.

As a result of Jaisert’s dedication, Keaw Kham is full from the floor to the ceiling with hanging and dangling accessories, apparel and decorations, including many non-traditional items you wouldn’t normally expect to find, such as pillow cases, gloves, and even welcome mats.

14. Clothing, miscellaneous 15. Pets and accessories 16. Clothing, miscellaneous 17. Ceramics 18. Clothing, miscellaneous 19. Ceramics 20. Clothing, miscellaneous 21. Clothing, miscellaneous 22. Home utensils and décor, furniture 23. Clothing, miscellaneous 24. Home utensils and décor, furniture 25. Home utensils and décor, furniture 26. Antiques

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KEAW KHAM

1. Books, antiques, collectibles, food & drink 2. Hip fashion boutiques, plants, food & drink 3. Hip fashion boutiques, plants, food & drink 4. Hip fashion boutiques, plants, food & drink 5. Second-hand clothing 6. Second-hand clothing 7. Art, food & drink 8. Handicraft, home décor and miscellaneous 9. Pets and accessories 10. Clothing, accessories, miscellaneous 11. Pets and accessories 12. Clothing, miscellaneous 13. Pets and accessories

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markets Ratchada Night Market Fri-Sat Nights (busiest on Saturday) | parallel with Ratchadapisek-Ladprao intersection | MRT Ratchadaphisek or MRT Lat Phrao Vendors at this nighttime (and teenthronged) flea market flog all sorts of retro and secondhand stuff, from art deco lamps and ghetto blasters to Polaroids and vintage clothing.

Somewhat like a country fair, it’s open-air and most wares are laid out on the ground, so expect to squat a lot. Besides the used items, lots of handmade products, such as paintings and women’s accessories, also squeeze into this small-city sized market; as does a live band, lots of local food and a mini motor show of classic cars and bikes (nope, those VW vans and pastel-coloured Vespas aren’t for sale unfortunately). It’s still worth the trip, but bring a flashlight and your bargaining skills.

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Silom Road/Patpong Both sides of Silom Road, just off Sala Daeng BTS station, offer day and night time shopping, but it really gets going between 6pm and 2am, when stalls set up here and along the notorious strip of sleazy gogo bars known as Patpong. This is a bizarre but uniquely ripe set-up that sees vendors plying busy nightly trade on the doorsteps of the bars concurrently plying an open trade in flesh; and young families rubbing shoulders with a motley crew of pimps, johns and scantily clad strippers. Among the illicit booty of pirated DVDs and designer knockoffs, the market actually does offer some decent local crafts, t-shirts and souvenirs – although, with prices naturally tilted towards the tourist end of the scale, robust bargaining skills are essential here.

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Khao San Road Along every budget traveller’s favourite sidewalk, stallholders do a sterling trade in “novelty” T-shirts and cigarette papers, not to mention phoney degree certificates, driving licenses and press passes. And yes, if you must, you can still get your tie-dye and fisherman’s pants, your hair dreadlocked, or eat B20 noodles from a polystyrene plate.

However, these days post-millennial Khao San has been gentrified into somewhere bearing scant resemblance to its humble past as a tropical haven for wandering hippies. And you’ll find no better proof than night times here, when whole mounds, suitcases and racks of young-at-heart stuff are dragged down and splayed on the street for sale.

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PAK KHLONG TALAD (Flower Market) Wake up and smell the roses, as next to Saphan Phut (Memorial Bridge) lies Bangkok’s main flower market, a 24-hour hive of floral activity bristling with blooms carted in from around the country. Horticulturalists and shopping

those with a well developed olfactory sense will enjoy strolling around these rather fragrant surrounds.

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THEWET Not far north from the flower market is the riverside plant market.

The street is lined with small shops selling a wide selection of tropical potted flora. It’s easiest and most scenic to access Thewet by river taxi, thus evoking the waterborne glories of the days when Bangkok was once hailed as the ‘Venice of the East’.

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Sukhumvit Road The choices start around Soi 4 near BTS Nana station, on both sides of the major thoroughfare, and stretch nearly to Soi 20. In amidst the streetfood shacks and fortune tellers, you’ll find its mostly bogus tat all the way – polyester football shirts, DVDs, blown-up prints of long-tail boats moored on idyllic southern beaches. Although, right past Soi 6 is a group of deaf merchants who are always eager to find you something nice to remember beloved Thailand by. Velvet oil painting anyone?

ถ.สุขมุ วิท

Pratunam Just a ten-minute walk from CentralWorld, this sidewalk is famed for its bulk clothing deals. Loaded with a variety of knock-offs, and crowded with tourists shopping for all things casual, you’ll find textiles, fabrics, fancy dress (Catwoman mask ensemble anyone?) and great jeans at affordable prices (never pay more than B600). Spreading out from the base of the looming Baiyoke Sky Hotel, it attracts a multinational mix of fast-talking traders, all on the make, and continues around the intense indoor fashion market, Platinum Fashion Mall, where everything is available at discounted rates for bulk orders.

ประตูนำ้ bangkok 101

bangkok design

THE REVISIONIST: Brian Mertens Swai Silpavithayadilok, for Hygge ‘Green’ products are often stylistically grey. But Swai Silpavithayadilok brings flair to the category, designing rubberwood furniture that is both sustainable and full of wit.

With a deft sense of play, Swai shows how the stroke of a pen can turn ecologically friendly materials like plantation wood into smart, alluring products. His designs rely on eclectic stylistic referencing rather than rare materials.

High-end timber furniture from Southeast Asia is usually made from fine wood harvested unsustainably in the wild.

Swai’s designs are instead made from wood grown in rubber tree farms. Thailand, as the world’s largest producer of rubber, has vast acreage of these trees, which need to be cut down when they are about 30 years old, after they stop producing latex. The company that makes Swai’s work is a longtime producer of generic rubberwood furniture. In 2000, it commissioned him to create premium designs that would launch its new brand Hygge into highend showrooms. The product’s merit would not be rare materials but rarefied design.

And so Swai plays a game with style, turning design history into his chest full of toys. Alone among his Thai colleagues, he has pursued an eclectic, historicist approach a bit like the one pioneered in furniture designed in the 1980s by the American architects Michael Graves and Robert Venturi, as well as Italy’s Ettore Sottsass, of the renowned Memphis design group. These designers, loosely grouped under the label postmodernist, flouted modernist convention by dressing up their work in art-historical references and ornament.

The excesses of postmodern style disenchanted design audiences in the 1990s, but Swai seems to get it right. His wit is warm, not studied, and he avoids over-the-top decoration.

Swai’s collection invokes Ming-era chairs, early 20th-century avant garde furniture and other period references that design fans will enjoy tracing. Some designs instead play with simile, metaphor or anthropomorphic form.

CONTACT n Hygge | 034-289138 | www.hygge.com | info@hygge.com

Bangkok Design:Thai Ideas in Textiles and Furniture is the first book to explore Asia’s new wave in design creativity. Award-winning author Brian Mertens profiles 36 of Thailand’s top designers, showing how they translate their own culture and experiences into unique furnishings that have won international awards and museum exhibitions. Typically handcrafted from natural materials, the best contemporary Thai designs celebrate wit, warmth, sustainability and alluring form.

Bangkok Design – published by Marshall Cavendish | B1,200 - hardcover | written by Brian Mertens, with photos by Robert McLeod. bangkok 101

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Accommodation

boutique bangkok

In every issue, the Bangkok 101 puts its heads on the line to bring you the very best of Bangkok’s new breed of hotel. Each month we uncover those quirky, elegant, or downright luxurious lodgings that fit under the trendy boutique banner.

Bangphlat Resort

Over the river and through the city outskirts lies a little boutique hotel that is not a far cry from Grandma’s house – your Thai grandmother of course. The Bangphlat Resort is much more than just a bunch of rooms, it’s two neat rows of authentic Thai houses with 30 years on its side – now that’s traditional. Originally a little neighbourhood for public rent Mr. Visal Mooktaree snatched it up two years ago, slapped on some slight painting renovations, and created a little piece of quiet 70 metres from main street craziness.

Whether you opt for one bedroom or Where 77/1 Charansanitwong Rd. two, all of the wooden houses are virtually Bangphlat, Bangkok, 02-885-5737 the same. Downstairs you’ll find a dressing Sales and Reservations: 02-885-5742; room, bathroom and a cozy living space Mobile (K.Gee) 084-344-4990, www. equipped with that “oh so Thai” wooden resortbangphlat.com couch, or shall I say bench. Upstairs an Price B3,330 - B4,230 (until 30th April) air-conditioned bedroom, private balcony and office – all adorned with smooth dark Mai Sak wood floors. The only annoyance is that the bedroom is upstairs, the bathroom is downstairs and the stairs are outside.

Trust from experience and don’t drink too much water before bed.

As for the scenery… Okay, so there is no view of the Chao Phraya River, but you’re not too far! And there isn’t a pool, but there is a relaxing green courtyard and a spa, for all your pampering musts. It’s traditional, but immaculate. So you are traveling back in time, but not giving up any of the luxuries that are expected from a modern day vacation. Other amenities include a mini-fridge, cable, free wi-fi, and 24-hour security that is actually up and ready to greet you – no more catching your guard snoozing on the job.

While nothing seems to be in walking distance, many activities are just a short taxi ride away. Want to be in control yourself? No worries – the resort will set you up with your own rental car and assist with touring details.The Grand Royal Palace is only fifteen minutes away and the Taling Chan floating market is always worth a visit.

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Health&Wellness

body & beauty

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angkok offers more places to indulge in massage than any other city on earth. A great Thai massage can cost just B100 per hour, while posher spas can easily cost 10 times that. Like any place else, spa value can be gauged by the quality of the therapists, oils, atmosphere and so on. In each issue we introduce several local spas in different price categories to help you find the best rub-down for your baht (see p.114 for this month’s listings) – there’s no need to break the bank to get a good treatment.

Reservations always recommended.

Thai massage

What could be more quintessentially Thai than the world-renowned practice of traditional Thai-style massage? Known in Thailand as nuad pan boran – literally ‘ancient style massage’ – Thais have been practising this time-honoured, therapeutic custom for over 2,500 years, dating back to the life of Buddha. Traditional Thai massage is performed without oil, with people typically wearing light-weight, loose-fitting pyjamas. By way of acupressure points that stimulate muscles and nerves, and assisted yogic stretching, skilled Thai massage practitioners employ their hands, elbows, knees, as well as their own body weight, to apply various degrees of pressure and mobilisation to different parts of the body.

This ancient form of healing can do wonders for all of the body’s organic systems by helping to align and balance the energies of the body. By enhancing blood circulation, Thai massage can help to break down and release toxins trapped in the body, in turn strengthening the immune system.

Though Thai massage can at moments be a bit painful, the after-effect is not one of fatigue, but calm. Common remarks are of relief to aching muscles, an increase in flexibility and higher general energy levels. Others report better sleep, a decrease in stress and an overall boost, both on a physical and emotional, as well as a spiritual level.

signature treatment

Where 3/F, Gaysorn BTS Chidlom TEL 02-656-1424 WEB www.thann.info Price B2,600 (90 minutes)

ENERGY HEALING THERAPY @ THANN SANCTUARY

One of a clutch of designer spas to be launched by a Thai skincare brand, Thann Sanctuary sits high up in the marble ode to luxury consumerism that is Gaysorn. Voted one of the Top 55 spas in the world by Conde Nast Traveller Magazine, it’s the Ying to the cream mall’s Yang.

The menu is small, but very appealing, featuring a variety of massage forms – Thai, aromatherapy, Swedish, Ayurvedic, among others.

Bored with the usual Thai treatments, we chose the Energy Healing Therapy, which, like all treatments here, begins with a form that asks which areas your therapist should avoid and which they should give extra special attention to. Lasting 90 hazy minutes, it’s for the most part an oil massage, featuring long, Swedish strokes along the body meridians with a delicious Thann oil (in our case, lemongrass). But, just when you’re wondering where the ‘energy healing’ part is, your therapist stops abruptly, for what seems like minutes, but may well have only been seconds. Then, instead of firm touches, you can sense your body is being tenderly caressed.

This is Reiki – an ancient healing art form that was revived in Japan in the 1800s and is said to heal and bring a transcendental sense of well-being through the transfer of energy, or ki, via the palms. It’s believed that this ki flows through the therapist’s hands and vibrates the receiver’s cells at a higher frequency, therefore jump-starting internal healing. As you can imagine, Reiki has its detractors – some call it a placebo, others charlatanism – but we found the experience calming, sensual and enigmatic.

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typical SPA cost range

REFRESH 24 (map D4) 43 Soi Sukumvit 24 | 02-259-7235~7 | www.refresh24spa.com | BTS Phrom Phong | $ One of Sukhumvit’s biggest, this 25room manor of rubdown magic is located just down the road from Emporium mall – head here for a post mall-blitz recovery sesh. Instead of the exotic Thai overkill that prevails in spas here, this slick new-build has a plush neo-vintage look, with Louis XVstyle furniture adorning the lobby and Victorian-style skirting boards lining the rooms and corridors. It’s different, but elegant, calming. The menu is similarly understated, dabbling mostly in unflashy rubs and scrubs, though there are packages and a selection of Jurlique and Algoane facials available.

Of the offerings, the hot oil massage is our pick – this 90-minuter melds Thai, Balinese and other styles to snoozeinducing effect. Pair it with a cereal compress (B600 extra) and you’ll leave supple, scented, but not at all sticky.

รีเฟรช 24 สุขุมวิท 24

$ under B600 $$ B600 – B1,000 $$$ B1,000-2,000 $$$$ B2,000+ Credit cards accepted unless otherwise noted

BA-YA HEALTH AND SPA (map E4) 23 Sukhumvit Soi 87 | BTS On Nut l 02-311-4772 | www.bayaspa.com | 10.30 am-9pm | $$$ Lying a bit beyond the usual tourist track, Ba-Ya spa is popular with native Thais and Asian tourists, who like the affordable prices and down-to-earth spa menu. The spa is set in a cute house, giving it an cozy, comfortable feel. Spa offerings are well-priced and avoid gimmicks, and are focused more on massages and other kinds of bodywork rather than high-frill aesthetic services. Massages are fairly standard – therapists follow the usual circuit quite well, but don‘t seek out and destroy problem areas the way a true tailor-made rubdown might encourage. Service is also a bit on the sweet but informal side – the front may not have change, but they‘ll run and get it for you. A potential choice for those staying on the outskirts of the city, perhaps, or those wanting a spa experience at a more affordable price.

Those seeking intensive, individualized work or luxe touches may want to explore elsewhere.

spas LEYANA SPA (map E4) 33 Thong Lo 13 | Soi Torsak, Sukhumvit 49 | 02-391-7694 | www.leyanaspa. com | Mon-Fri 11am-10pm, Sat-Sun 10am-10pm | $$ Tucked away in a warren of residential roads near the Japanese enclave of Thong Lor, this, boutique massage retreat combines a clean, contemporary design with an extensive menu of massage, facial, and body treatments. Choose from a range of massages – including Thai, aroma, warm oil, hot stone, Balinese or Leyana’s Back Revival – to get those kinks out. Most of the spa’s simple yet elegant treatment rooms feature private Jacuzzis, and the traditionalThaistyle herbal steam rooms (think oneperson tee-pees) are a must. Just relax and concentrate on your rejuvenation or detox. Owned and operated by a young Thai woman who is mindful of the details, Leyana is well worth the effort of getting to. Thankfully, the spa offers a complimentary shuttle service from the Thong Lo BTS station.

ลียาน่าสปา ทองหล่อ ซ.13

บาหยาเฮลท์แอนด์สปา สุขุมวิท 87

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health & wellness

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Health&Wellness

Lavana with our 40 spacious rooms and individual private shower rooms exudes contemporary elegance. Its plush graceful interiors permeates the Spa creating an atmosphere of luxury and spacious ease.

Unique to Lavana are our handcrafted herbal ball made fresh in our workshop every day. Enjoy our extensive menu including Facial treatment, Aroma oil and Thai and Foot massage.

This is truly luxury at affordable prices.

Daily the resident herbal ball creator demonstrates how she fills the Lavana herbal ball pouch with 18 different fresh herbs that will be used to massage along the energy lines of the body.

Another exclusive treatment is the Shirodhara Indian head massage.

This is an ancient theraphy performed by certified therapists.

As you lie back a continuous stream of warm oil is poured on the middle of the forehead.

The soothing cares of your ‘third eye’ lulls you into a deep sleep and balances the brain and calms the mind.

Breakfast at Lavana

Imagine leaving all the cares of the world behind and spending a slow leisurely morning relaxing in your own private room. Spend the hours lingering over a sumptuous American breakfast after pampering yourself with our exclusive massage treatment.

Could breakfast at Lavana’s become your own secret escape? (free breakfast at Lavana everyday from 09.00 am.-13.00 pm. with any oil massage treatment)

Special Promotion March 2011 FREE breakfast and Facial Treatment at

Lavana from SPECIAL PROMOTION 1st  31st OCTOBER 2010 9.00 am. – 13.00 pm. with any oil massage treatment.

- 09.00 am.- 13.00 pm. Any oil massage. Free facial treatment

- Aroma oil massage 60 min. 800 THB / 90 min. 1,000 THB / 120 min. 1,200 THB - 4 hand aroma 60 min. 1,400 THB / 90 min. 1,600 THB / 120 min. 1,800 THB 13.00 pm. free one Aromatic - Thai Massage 60 min. 450 THB/ 90 min. 550 THB/ 120 min. 650 THB Massage Oil bottle (100 ml.) when spend - Thai Massage with Herbal Ball 90 min. 850 THB/ 120 min. 950 THB

AFTER

money at minimum B1,200.

LAVANA BANGKOK LAVANA BANGKOK

No.4 Sukhumvit Klongtoey, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110 No.4soi soi Sukhumvit Sukhumvit 12,12, Sukhumvit Road,Road, Klongtoey, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110 Tel: 2294510-12, mail@lavanabangkok.com Tel:+66(0) +66(0) 222294510-12, mail@lavanabangkok.com For ลาวานา ตรงจากปากซอยสุ ขุมประมาณ วิท 12 100 ประมาณ เมตรอยู านขวามื Fortaxi: taxi: ลาวานา ตรงจากปากซอยสุ ขุมวิท 12 เมตรอยู100 ดานขวามื อ ตึกดใหญ สีเขียว อ ตึกใหญสีเขียว Opening 09.00 am.-00.00 am.reception (last reception 23.00 pm.)

Openinghours: hours: 09.00 am.-00.00 am. (last 23.00 pm.)

Advance highly recommendedhealth & wellness Advance booking booking isis highly recommended 106

bangkok 101

M

edical tourism is big business in Thailand; quite literally a billion dollar industry.

In 2007, Bangkok’s Bumrungrad Hospital alone reckoned to have treated over 400,000 patients from nearly 200 different countries. And while Bumrungrad may be the market leader, there are plenty of other world-class medical centres – such as Samitivej, BNH Hospital and Bangkok Hospital – who are increasingly courting international patients.

The price is right Reasons for the popularity of travelling to Thailand for medical attention are manifold, but essentially come down to price. Healthcare in your own country may be prohibitively expensive, or maybe your insurance does not cover a procedure you need. Or maybe you’ve decided that for the same price as an operation in your home town you could fly to exotic Thailand, have the operation then recover on a warm beach with a mango shake in one hand and a paperback in the other.

When you consider that procedures like heart bypass surgery in the USA can cost anywhere in the region of $70,000, while in Thailand it’s be more like $15,000, the numbers start to make sense. Especially when you consider your doctor here is likely to be foreign trained anyway. And it’s not just major surgery that provides the draw. Cosmetic surgery such as breast enhancement and liposuction is readily available at attractive prices, as is dental work and Lasik eye surgery. In fact, you can grab a Botox shot while you cruise the Bangkok malls.

Four star treatment Some of the hospitals here have to be seen to be believed. When you walk into Samitivej Hospital, for example, the lush décor, cute cafes and chic boutiques give it an almost resort atmosphere. And back at Bumrungrad International, once you’ve been met at the airport, sped through customs and situated in your

bangkok 101

private room, they have their own immigration department and a team of translators to take all the hassle out of your visit.

You have to do your homework, though. Is the hospital you’re considering properly accredited? What are your doctor’s actual qualifications?

Will you really be ready to go scuba diving only three days after a back operation? How soon after your operation is it safe to fly long-haul?

And what happens if complications arise when you’re back home in Tulsa?

These are all the kind of questions you should think about and take advice on before committing to treatment.

medical tourism Recommended hospitals n Bumrungrad International 33 Sukhumvit 3 (Soi Nana Nua) | 02667-1000 | www.bumrungrad.com n Samitivej Sukhumvit 133 Sukhumvit 39 | 02-711-8000 | www.samitivejhospitals.com n BNH Hospital 9/1 Convent Road | 02-686-2700 | www.bnhhospital.com n Bangkok Hospital 2 Soi Soonvijai 7, New Petchburi Road | 02-310-3000 | www.bangkokhospital.com

FEATURED medical treatment

Laser Resurfacing What if you could turn that wrinkly old, raisin face of yours back into a firm young grape? It’s possible with today’s spaceaged laser technology. Turn back the clock and zap years off your face!

Laser Resurfacing is a process that utilizes a carbon dioxide laser to remove layers of damaged or wrinkled skin to minimize the appearance of fine facial lines. It can also fix sun-damaged skin, uneven skin tones or acne scars. The process can single out specific spots or can be performed on the entire face. A targeted laser beam strips away the Crystal Laser Center outer, damaged layers of skin, leaving a tighter and smoother surface.

The benefits of using a laser as opposed to other resurfacing methods, such as chemical peels, are greater precision, minimal to no bleeding, and less post-operative discomfort. The resurfacing only lasts an hour and a half, though recovery times will vary. However, it’s not a procedure for everyone.

People with darker skin tones should not undertake this procedure as they are more susceptible to pigmentation changes. Also, despite the fact that you may be able to eliminate lines with laser resurfacing, wrinkles and facial lines that have occurred naturally via facial movements will inevitably reoccur in a matter of time. So it’s not permanent by any means.

Before undergoing this procedure be sure to seek consultation with a specialist who will evaluate your skin and give you the best advice towards making your decision. n Yoskarn Clinic | 89/203 Rajdamri Rd. (Behind Big C Superstore) | BTS Chit Lom | 02-253-8901 | www.laser-surgery-bangkok.com | n Crystal Laser Center | 14th Fl. Emporium Tower | Sukhumvit soi 24 | BTS Prom Phong | 02-664-7211 | www.crystallasercenter.com | health & wellness

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Courses&Services

courses

apron, knives and wok, each student works at a personal cooking station in a spacious kitchen after short, informative demonstrations. Lunch consists of your own cooking plus additional dishes.

No reason to limit yourself to just tom yam goong and phad thai – each session includes four innovative dishes; the selection changes daily. Perfect for tourists on a short Bangkok stint. บลู เอเลแฟนท์ ถ. สาทรใต้

Baipai

COOKING CLASSES BAIPAI COOKING SCHOOL (map C4) 150/12 Soi Naksuwan, Nonsee Road, Chong Nonsi | 02-294-9029 | www.baipai.com No sitting back and just watching at this leafy two-storey townhouse. Shortly after being picked up from your hotel, passed an apron and given a brief demonstration of how to cook four dishes it’s over to you. Fortunately the breezy open-plan workshop, individual cooking stations and pre-prepped ingredients mean cooking here is no chore. Plus the staff are smiley and professional, as they answer your questions (“But what if I can’t find kaffir lime leaves?” etc) and ensure you don’t singe your spring rolls. Later you get to feast on the fruits of your labour – so do your research on the seven set menus if you’re allergic to tom yum. Some takehome recipes and a souvenir fridge magnet featuring a snap of you in action completes the four-hour morning or afternoon experience; one so palatable and productive and, gasp, fun that many come back for seconds.

รร.สอนทำอาหารไทยใบพาย ถ.นนทรี

BLUE ELEPHANT (map B4) Thai Chine Building, 233 South Sathorn Rd | 02-673-9353 | www.blueelephant. com | from B2,800 The class offered at this classy restaurant is very hands-on and easy to follow. The morning class is preferable since it starts with a visit to the Bang Rak market with the chef, where you’re shown the ingredients you’ll use later. Equipped with 110

(รถไฟฟ้าสุรศักดิ์)

MEDITATION CLASSES INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST MEDITATION CENTRE (map A3) Wat Mahathat, Na Phra Lan Rd | 02-2226011 | www.mcu.ac.th/mcu/eng | free This is the most traditional, noncommercial meditation class, based on Vipassana (‘insight’) mindfulness. For Buddhists, meditation is essential to cleanse the mind and accomplish clarity and inner peace. Close to Sanam Luang, the atmospheric temple complex is the teaching centre of Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist University, one of Thailand’s highest seats of Buddhist learning. Daily classes conducted in English (1pm-4pm, 6pm-8pm, 7pm-10pm) are mixed; you’ll find monks, locals and tourists here.

Participants can stay on the compound in simple, quiet rooms; complimentary meals are provided. Bring offerings of flowers, a candle and nine incense sticks for the opening ceremony. Donations are accepted. Retreats of three or more days are available as well, which are perfect for a serious, but short stint into the world of Buddhist meditation.

สำนักกองกลางวิปัสนา วัดมหาธาตุ ถ. หน้าพระลาน

THAI MASSAGE CLASSES WAT PO THAI TRADITIONAL MEDICAL SCHOOL (map A3) 2 Sanamchai Rd | 02-622-3551, 02622-3533 | www.watpomassage.com | daily 8am – 5pm | B8,500/30hrs Any good spa therapist will have undergone their training in traditional Thai massage at this temple school.

Constructed in a concealed building away from the tourist-infested but peaceful cour ses & ser vices

Wat Po

Wat Po temple grounds, the instruction area is more functional than stylish, but the efficient course run by competent instructors more than makes up for the missing luxury. Thai massage, an ancient form of healing, uses pressure application on the various body meridians. Your costudents will mainly be Thai and Japanese, along with the odd Westerner. The 30hour course can be completed in five, six or ten days; a foot reflexology course and other instruction are available too.

The tired tourist can also get Bangkok’s best Thai massage in fan-cooled, opensided salas for just B360/hour.

โรงเรียนแพทย์แผนโบราณ วัดพระเชตุพน ถ. สนามชัย

CHIVA-SOM INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY (map E4) Modern Town Bldg, 87/104 Ekamai Rd, Sukhumvit Soi 63 | BTS Ekkamai | 02-711-5270-3 | www. chivasomacademy.com | from B9,000 Asia’s premier training centre for spa and holistic therapies offers intensive courses covering all aspects of spa-ing, from anatomy and Thai massage to stress management. Held in peaceful surroundings and conducted by skilled international instructors, half the time is spent on theory and practice, the other half is filled with case studies. The academy takes its instruction seriously; all students receive internationally accepted accreditation on completion of courses. Prices range from B9,000 (two-day reiki course) to B59,000 (spa development course). Most courses are too long for a usual holiday (two to four weeks), but there are one-week courses in reflexology and shiatsu. ชีวาศรม อินเตอร์เนชันแนล

อะคาเดมีโมเดิร์นทาวน์ 87/104 ถ.สุขุมวิท 63

bangkok 101

Want to shore up your karma reserves? Even if you’re only visiting Thailand for a short time, there are plenty of worthwhile causes that rely on public support for their services. In each issue of Bangkok 101, we highlight the work of a local charitable organisation, along with details on how you can help.

making merit

The Camillian Home One of Thailand’s dirty little secrets is that the disadvantaged often get left behind, especially vulnerable children with special needs. The Camillian Home, a non-profit children's charity located in Latkrabang, on the outskirts of Bangkok, aims to help as many as it can while also serving as a model for how Thai society should care for them.

Established by Father Giovanni Contarin, an Italian Priest who has done extensive work for the poor here over the past 25 years, the Camillian Home targets orphaned children who are not only living with HIV/AIDS but who are also disabled – physically, mentally, or both.

It’s directed by members of a Catholic community called the "Camillians" but not out to show children the light: all of them are brought up and taught values based on their own beliefs and cultural backgrounds. Everyone is free to express and follow their faith, whatever it may be.

More importantly, this unique facility gives each child specialised treatment and care in a stimulating family environment, regardless of the severity of their condition. Or, to put it another way: this is a place where even an eleven year-old girl who is blind, autistic, wheelchair-bound, HIV-positive and orphaned is now living a life in which she smiles and laughs every day.

The Camillian Home is run by a full-time staff of caretakers, physical therapists and a resident nurse, but they’re always in need of extra hands and, therefore, interested to hear from prospective volunteers. Step up and you’re likely to be called on to help bath, feed, teach and play with the children, as well as occasionally help with administrative tasks, like writing newsletter articles or report keeping.

If you’re professionally trained you can also use your skills.

As it receives very little government support, the Camillian Home also relies on donations from individuals and corporations. In fact, they’re essential to it’s survival, helping to pay for the basics (housing, food, school fees, etc), life-saving medicine and specialist care, and the small yet vital things which all children should have: days out at the beach, toys, etc.

To get involved or just to find out more, log onto www. camillianhomelatkrabang.org, call 02-360-7852 or drop them a line at camillianhome@gmail.com.

THE CAMILLIAN HOME 81/2 Luangphang Road, Khumthon Latkrabang 02-360-7852 camillianhome@gmail.com www.camillianhomelatkrabang.org bangkok 101

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Sports

sports MASTER MUAY THAI Many a champ started out punching mitts at one of Bangkok’s many muay Thai schools. Some are livein training camps, others geared towards drop-in sessions, but all will train you up and teach you how to deflect – and deliver – the basic moves, be it kick, jab, elbow, foot thrust or standing grapple.

Beginners and female pugilists are welcome, though they often receive inordinate attention in the ring n Chacrit Muay Thai School Washington Square next to Sukhumvit Soi 22 | 02-260-5816 www.chacritmuaythaischool.com n Muay Thai Institute 336/932 Prahonyothin 118 Vipravadee Road, Rangsit | 02-9920096-99 | www.muaythai-institute.net n Muaythai Sasiprapa 401 Soi Ladprao 130 Klongchan, Bangkapi | 02-378-0270 | www.muaythaisasiprapa.com n The International Muay Thai School 22/8 Moo 8, Soi 10, Pracharaj Sai1 Road, Bangsue | 02-585-6807 www.geocities.com/maimuangkorn/ eng_mai.htm

Muay Thai Institute

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THAI BOXING venueS Lumphini Boxing Stadium Rama IV Rd, next to Suan Lum Night Bazaar | MRT Lumphini | 02-251-4303, 02-252-8765 | Fights Tue & Fri from 6:30pm10:30pm, Sat 5pm-8pm, 8:30pmmidnight | B1,000 B1,500 B2,000) สนามมวยลุมพินี ถ.พระราม 4

Muay Thai

ติดกับสวนลุมไนท์ บาซ่าร์

MUAY THAI (Thai Boxing) Thai boxing, or muay Thai, is very popular in Bangkok with most major bouts held at either the Lumphini or Ratchadamnoen stadium. This brutal but graceful martial art has been practised in Thailand for centuries.

Past kings are reported to have been champion fighters and one, King Naresuan, introduced the sport as part of military training in the 16th century. Due to the high incidence of deaths during combat, the sport was banned in the 1920s but reintroduced soon after under the more safetyconscious Queensbury rules. Bouts consist of three five minute rounds during which the fighters use every part of the body (except the head) to bludgeon the opponent into defeat.

Before the bout begins, a graceful and mesmerising ritual dance named ram muay is performed by both fighters to placate the spirits and show respect to the art and its teachers. Bouts are extremely boisterous, noisy affairs and should be witnessed for the spectacle alone. Be warned though, this isn’t the fake action of the WWF; here the blows are hard hitting, the blood real. spor ts

Ratchadamnoen Stadium Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue | 02-281-4205, 02-280-1684-6 | Fights Mon, Wed, Thu 6:30pm11pm, Sun 5pm-8pm, 8:30pmmidnight | B1,000 B1,500 B2,000

เวทีมวยราชดำเนิน ถ.ราชดำเนิน

TAKRAW (Kick Volleyball) Go to Lumphini Park (see p.34) on any given day and watch sweaty Thais combine the skills of volleyball, football and gymnastics. As many as two dozen men pair off to leap and dive through the air with one objective in mind: without using their hands, keep a rattan ball from hitting the ground on their net side. The diverse mix of players – tuk-tuk drivers, security guards and students – says much about the widespread Thai love of takraw, the most beautiful Asian game. Played since the 11th century, it has spread throughout the region, but nowhere is it played with as much relish as here, where it fills stadiums.The sport’s killer move, the somersault scissor kick, can send the ball hurtling back over the net at amazing speeds. Watch in awe. bangkok 101

t’ai chi

Active Sports AEROBICS It might be hard to imagine, but every day, busy Bangkokians find the time for some energising aerobics – out in the open. Many practise graceful, meditative t’ai chi moves just after sunrise. And head to any park in the city around 5-6pm and you’ll spot large groups of office workers, kids and the elderly doing a hi-energy, Jane Fonda style workout in synch with blaring pop-techno songs and an enthusiastic coach clad in spandex.

The best places for the free classes are the centrally located Lumphini Park and the smaller Benjasiri Park (next to The Emporium, Sukhumvit Rd, BTS Phrom Phong). Others, a bit off the beaten path, include Rommaninat Park (Siriphong Rd, near the Giant Swing), Saranrom Park (Thaiwang Rd) near the Grand Palace and Santiphap Park (Soi Rangnam). Never mind the possibility of fainting – simply join in.

BOWLING Bowling is a favourite pastime among Thais. Most shopping malls have topof- the-line tenpin alleys on-site and many of these teeter dangerously close to being a nightclub with full bars and closing times after midnight.

During after-hours, bowling alleys often have a DJ blasting thumping tunes, and they’ll often kill the lights and flood the halls with black light for a particularly psychedelic experience. Great spots to get your bowl on include trendy Blu-O at Siam Paragon and Esplanade, which also has platinum rooms for rent for your own private area and lane for your party. Also worth mentioning is the Major Bowl atop posh J-Avenue in Thong Lor, and also SF Strike Bowl in MBK, by National Stadium BTS. bangkok 101

Major Bowl

CYCLING SpiceRoads 14/1-B Soi Promsi 2 | Sukhumvit 39 | 02-712-5305, 089- 895-5680 | www. spiceroads.com This company has been organising bicycle tours in Southeast Asia for over 12 years, and it offers extraordinary day tours in the outskirts of Bangkok.

The daytrips take you to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Koh Kred, around Bangkok’s old city, Chinatown or along atmospheric canals through Bang Krachao, an unspoilt rural peninsula just across the river. They usually start early in the day (pick-up from your hotel is included). The rides, organised throughout the week, are demanding but fun. Groups are held small (two to 16 participants), but private tailormade itineraries are also possible, even for seriously adrenalineparched mountain bikers who are up for a technical 30km nailbiter.

SpiceRoads also offers two-and three-day trips around Kanchanaburi, Ayutthaya and in the Mae Khlong Delta south of Bangkok; it also organises much longer trips in Thailand ICE SKATING SUB-ZERO ICE SKATE CLUB (map D2) Ratchadaphisek Rd, Esplanade 4F | MRT Thailand Cultural Centre | 02-354-2134 This isn’t a boring sterile rink, more like a nightclub on ice. Popular among spor ts

youngsters, its 682m2 of fluorescent ice lights up at night when Sub Zero morphs into an “Ice Bar” with DJs and strobe lights blasting the floor. For the novice, there are pros on hand with lessons ranging from speed skating, figure skating, ice skating and even hockey. Lessons are B900-2,400 and the complex has a fully stocked pro shop if you want brand new blades of glory. Even if you just want to have a look there are bars ringside, and of course they are made of ice. And this is Thailand so of course there’s also a popular karaoke set-up on-site.

TENNIS Lumphini Park Youth Centre (map C4) Soi Klang Racquet Club Sukhumvit Soi 49-9 (map E4) National Stadium Rama I Rd (map C3) Smash it down the line as tennis has become one of the most popular sports in all of Thailand, with local ace (and recently retired) Paradorn Srichaphan bearing much of the responsibility for inducing hordes of Thais to pick up the racquet and start practising their serves. Many of the leading hotels offer an in-house court for you but if you’d like to get out among the people, there are quite a few public courts around town that you can use for free or for a small fee.

For spectators, towards the end of the men’s and women’s seasons, Bangkok hosts the ATP’s Thailand Open and the WTA’s Bangkok Open.

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Reference

getting around

B

angkok’s heaving traffic is legendary, presenting a constant challenge for residents and visitors to the city. River and canal boats, along with the BTS skytrain and MRT subway systems, offer some reliable alternatives to getting jammed on the road. Nonetheless, traffic remains horrendous, particularly mid-week. Below is a layman’s guide to inner-city transport options.

ROAD BUS Bangkok has an extensive and inexpensive public bus service. Both open-air and air-conditioned vehicles are available, respectively for B5 and B7.50-B23. As most destinations are noted only in Thai, it is advisable to get a bus route map (available at hotels, TAT offices and bookshops).

RAIL SKYTRAIN The Bangkok Transit System, or BTS, is a two-line elevated train network covering the major commercial areas.

Trains run every few minutes from 6am to midnight, making the BTS a quick and reliable transport option, especially during heavy traffic jams.

Fares range from B15 to B40; special tourist passes allowing unlimited travel for one day (B120) is available. BTS also provides free shuttle buses which transit passengers to and from stations and nearby areas. www.bts.co.th

RIVER (also see River Tourism on p.21)

SUBWAY Bangkok’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) is another fast and reliable way to get across town. The 18-station line stretches 20kms from Hualamphong (near the central railway station) up to Bang Sue in the north. Subways run from 6am to midnight daily, with trains arriving every 5-7 minutes.

The underground connects with the BTS at MRT Silom/BTS Sala Daeng, MRT Sukhumvit/BTS Asok and MRT Chatuchak Park/BTS Mo Chit stations.

Subway fares range from about B15 to B39. www.bangkokmetro.co.th

EXPRESS RIVER BOAT Bangkok’s vast network of inter-city waterways offer a quick and colourful alternative for getting around the city.

Express boats ply the Chao Phraya River from the Saphan Taksin Bridge up to Nonthaburi, stopping at some 30 main piers altogether. Fares range from B9 to B32 depending on the distance, while tickets can either be bought on the boat or at the pier, depending on how much time you have. Boats depart every 20 minutes or so between 5.30am and 6pm.

Cross-river services operate throughout the day from each pier for just B3.

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CANAL BOAT Khlong Saen Saep canal boats operate from Banglamphu across the city to Ramkhamhaeng University. However, you have to be quick to baord them as they don’t usuallt wait around. Canal (khlong) boats tend to be frequent and cost around B9 to B19. Tickets are bought onboard. Note that the piers are a little hidden away, which makes them sometimes difficult to find. Pick up a handy route map from any pier.

reference

MOTORCYCLE TAXI In Bangkok’s heavy traffic, motorcycle taxis are the fastest, albeit most dangerous, form of road transport.

Easily recognisable by their colourful vests, motorbike taxi drivers gather in groups by department stores, at the end of long sois or by tourist spots.

As with tuk-tuks, fares definitely have to be negotiated beforehand.

TAXI Bangkok has thousands of metered, air-con taxis available 24 hours. Flag fall is B35 (for the first 2kms) and the fare climbs in B2 increments. Be sure the driver switches the meter on.

No tipping, but rounding the fare up to the nearest B5 or B10 is common.

Additional passengers are not charged, nor is baggage. For trips to and from the airport, passengers should pay the expressway toll fees. When boarding from the queue outside the terminal, an additional B50 surcharge is added.

TUK-TUK Those three-wheeled taxis (or samlor) are best known as tuk-tuks, named for the steady whirr of their engines. A 10minute ride should cost around B40, but always bargain before boarding.

Beware: if a tuk-tuk driver offers to deliver you anywhere for B10, it’s part of a setup that will lead you to an overpriced souvenir or jewellery shop. bangkok 101