december 2012 100 baht
epak Takra S w The Art of the Big Kick
Publisher’s letter ‘Tis the season to be jolly… and outdoors. When December hits so, with a bit of luck, does Thailand’s fleeting winter. The best place to enjoy the slightly milder temperatures is in them hills – upcountry – so this month we’ve dedicated much of our travel section to new tours and adventures that have caught our eye over the past year. From unutterably gorgeous yoga retreats to tours via unusual modes of transport and camping out on the side of a cliff, this lot offers a memorable alternative to the packed campsites and beaches that people usually head for at this blue-skied time of year. Back in town, we’re also in an outdoorsy frame of mind. In City Pulse we profile a café offering free bicycle rental and tours, as well as the city’s first flowboarding facility, where patrons ride a perpetual, man-made wave. Even our photo feature by Swiss photographer Guillaume Mégevand has a spring in its step. Inspired by his walks in the city’s parks, it’s a look at the popular, keepie uppie net sport known here as sepak takraw. Watch in awe as city folk become flying ninjas in an effort to win a point!
TXT
Our aim is always to offer something for everyone. To that end, we also round up the best art offerings and reveal the hidden history behind one of the city’s most venerable heritage buildings, the Neilson Hays Library. Rather than retelling the story about how this library association was created and moved to its current location, this feature by board member Diana Pajkovski recounts the turn-of-the-century love story at its centre. Another venue that you probably don’t know much about but should is the Buddhadasa Indapañño Archives, which some call Suan Mokh for short. Located on the edge of Chatuchak Park, this state-of-the-art Buddhist centre gives a free, introductory tour of its facilities in English on the first Sunday of each month. Elizabeth Preger tags along and finds enlightenment. Featuring all this, plus piles of new reviews, bags of listings and a sprinkling of xmas deals, you could say that the season of giving has come early. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Enjoy.
Mason Florence Publisher
december 2012
What is Bangkok 101? Independent and unbiased, Bangkok 101 caters to savvy travellers who yearn for more than what they find in weighty, dated guidebooks. It brings together an authoritative who’s who of city residents, writers, photographers and cultural commentators. The result is a compact and intelligent hybrid of monthly travel guide and city magazine that takes you on and off the well-worn tourist track. Bangkok 101 employs the highest editorial standards, with no fluff, and no smut. Our editorial content cannot be bought. We rigorously maintain the focus on our readers, and our ongoing mission is to ensure they enjoy this great city as much as we love living in it.
Contributors
publisher
Mason Florence editor-in-chief
Dr. Jesda M. Tivayanond A photographer from Geneva, Switzerland who currently lives in Bangkok, Guillaume Mégevand divides his time between commercial work and personal projects. The inspiration for his photofeature Sepak Takraw came while walking through the park near his house. “I was so enthralled by the sport that I started to go all over the city to get the best shots,” he says.
associate publisher
Parinya Krit-Hat managing editor
Max Crosbie-Jones art director
Tawan Amonratanasereegul editorial assistant
Adul Waengmol Chaweitporn Tamthai Bangkok-born but internationally-bred, Dr. Tom Vitayakul has a background in communication and branding but now runs his family’s boutique hotel and Thai restaurant. An avid traveler and a bon vivant, he has contributed to magazines including Lips, Lips Luxe and the Bangkok Post’s the Magazine, and has also helped edit several books on Thai subjects such as Bangkok Found and Architecture of Thailand. Very Thai author philip cornwel-smith is a writer, editor and curator specialising in the areas of 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 phone guide for Nokia. 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 in Sawasdee, the Thai Airways inflight magazine.
strategists
Nathinee Chen Sebastien Berger contributing writers
Elizabeth Preger, Gaby Doman, Urasa Por Burapacheep, Luc Citrinot, Philip Cornwel-Smith, Leo Devillers, Korakot Punlopruksa, Diana Pajkovski contributing photographers
Dejan Patic´, Jatuporn Rutnin, Paul Lefevre, Ludovic Cazeba, Leon Schadeberg, Marc Schultz, Niran Choonhachat, Frédéric Belge, Somchai Phongphaisarnkit director of sales & marketing
Jhone El’Mamuwaldi
director of business development
Itsareeya Chatkitwaroon account executive
British-born writer-artist 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 commentator on the local art scene, contributing to international and domestic newspapers and journals. In 2004 he published coffee-table book Flavours: Thai Contemporary Art. When not musing, he is often found travel writing. Native-Bangkok writer, photographer and incurable travel addict, korakot (nym) punlopruksa believes in experiencing the world through food. She can usually be found canvassing the city for the best eats. Nym has been a host for music and film programmes, a radio DJ, a creative consultant for TV and a documentary scriptwriter. She is the author of several travel narratives, and her work appears in magazines including ELLE, Elle Decoration and GM.
o n s a l e at:
bangkok101.com
Pailyn Jitchuen
director of digital media
Nowfel Ait Ouyahia circulation
Pradchya Kanmanee published by
Talisman Media Group Co., Ltd. 113 Soi Tonson, Ploenchit Rd Bangkok 10330 T 02-252-3900 | F 02-650-4557 info@talisman-media.com
© Copyright Talisman Media Group Co., Ltd 2012. 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.
Table of COntents city pulse
food & drink
8 metro beat 10 hot plates: el osito 14 surf’s up 16 café velodome 18 a taste of buddhism: the buddhadara indapanno archives (BIA) 20 portrait: wichanon somumjarn
59 60 62 63 68 72 73 74
S n a p s h ot s 22 tom’s two satang 2 4 very thai 25 chronicle of thailand
food & drink news chrismas & new year’s deals meal deals restaurant reviews: ruen urai, steve café & cuisine, little beast, gossip eats & drinks neighbourhood nosh: soi convent eat like nym cooking with poo restaurants
nightlife
Sightseeing 26 museum focus: museum of human body 28 historic homes 28 shrines 29 temples 30 museums
t r av e l 32 upcountry now 34 hotel deals 36 day trip: saraburi 38 new adventures in... travel
a r t s & c u lt u r e 44 exhibition highlights 46 in-space: neilson hays library 51 reading & screening 52 photo feature: sepak takraw
80 nightlife news 82 water library @ grass 84 apoteka 85 clubs 86 hotel bars & clubs 86 bars with views 88 bars 89 live music
shopping
92 new collection: ‘in god we trust’ by rotsaniyom 94 unique boutique: classic movie posters 96 thai stuff: siam vintage 97 jj gem: traps & wana
wellness
98 massage & spa 99 spa review: so thai spa
communit y 100 making merit: sarnelli house
reference 102 getting there 104 maps 112 my bangkok
on the cover:
a sepak takraw player goes in for the kill at Suan Ben, or Benjasiri Park. december 2012
H o t e l Pa r t n e r s
THE IMPERIAL QUEEN’S PARK HOTEL
24
Christmas Eve Dinner Buffet Parkview Restaurant 18.00 - 22.30 hrs Christmas Day Lunch December Parkview Restaurant 11.30 - 14.30 hrs
31
25 December
New Year’s Eve Dinner Parkview Restaurant, International Buffet 18.00 - 22.30 hrs Imperial China Restaurant Sumptuous Cantonese Buffet December 18.00 - 22.00 hrs New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner Imperial Club Tower, 40th Floor Roof Top 9- course gala dinner ALTITUDE New Year’s Eve Party 18.00 - late Queen’s Park Tower 40th Floor Rooftop Bangkok’s Biggest Rooftop Party 21.00 - late Recovery BBQ Brunch Poolside, Swimming pool 9th Floor 11.00 - 15.00 hrs
01 January
***20% Discount for Imperial Club Card Members. Other card and discounts are not applicable.
199 Sukhumvit 22, Bangkok BTS : Phrompong Station E-mail : dining@imperialhotels.com www.imperialhotels.com Information and reservations, call 0 2261 9000 ext. 4140, 4162
www.newyearseveinbangkok.com
CITY PULSE
metro beat
Royal Pageantry Members of the Royal Guards dressed in full regalia parade in front of the royal family at the Royal Plaza, Dusit on December 2 for the Trooping of the Colour, in which they pledge allegiance to the monarchy. Fairy lights fleck the streets of Dusit and Rattanakosin as we lead up to the King’s Birthday on December 5 , which is also Father’s Day in Thailand. A cultural festival at Sanam Luang, the royal ceremonial fields opposite the Grand Palace, will complete the festivities.
Pop & Rock US metal core band Iwrestledabearonce play at the Rock Pub (Hollywood Street Building, Phaya Thai Rd, 081-666-4359, www.therockpub-bangkok.com) on December 8 . Tickets are B900. They play one set 8.30pm until 9.30pm, so don’t be late. Former Police frontman Sting arrives at Impact Arena (99 Popular Rd, Pakkred, 02-504-5050, www.impact.co.th) on December 12 as part of his Back to Bass tour. The five-piece band, featuring guitarist Dominic Miller, Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), David Sancious (keyboards) Peter Tickell (electric fiddle) and Jo Lawry (vocals), promises hits from all eras. Thai Ticketmajor (02-262-3456, www.thaiticketmajor. com) have tickets from B2,000-B5,000. The Mahidol Pop Orchestra provides the music for
The Stories: Musical Moments , an ensemble of songs
from musicals such as The Phantom of Opera, Miss Saigon and Mamma Mia at Aksra Theatre (8/1 Soi Rangnam, 02-677-8888, www.aksratheatre.com) on December 12 and 13 , from 7.30pm. Singers such as Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, Dolchai Boonyaratavej and Teeranai Na Nongkai provide the lungs. Tickets are B1,500-B5,000 from Thai Ticketmajor (02-262-3456, www.thaiticketmajor.com). Elton John bursts into town in a riot of colour and costumed finery on December 13 on his 40th Anniversary of the Rocket Man tour. Love him or hate him it’s unlikely anyone needs an introduction to The Lion King soundtrack and hits such as ‘Crocodile Rock’, ‘Bennie and the Jets’, and ‘Candle in the Wind’, which – re-released in 1997 for Princess Diana’s funeral – became the biggest selling single of all time, at over 37 million copies. He’s here with his band at Impact Arena (99 Popular Rd, Pakkred, 02-5045050, www.impact.co.th). Thai Ticketmajor (02-262-3456, www.thaiticketmajor.com) have tickets priced B2,000 to B5,000.
8 | december 2012
h owa r d Richardson
by
Jazz & Blues Jazz giant Pat Metheny says Martin Taylor is “one of the most awesome solo guitar players in the history of the instrument,” and according to Jazz Times, he’s “Europe’s finest guitarist.” Thai fans can catch him at The Bangkok Art & Culture Centre (939 Rama I Rd, 02-214-6632, www. bacc.or.th) on December 4 , where the Grammy Award Nominee will play originals and covers, including a tune by HM King Bhumibol, to a cosy group of 250 people. The concert starts at 7pm, with tickets at B1,800 from Thai Ticketmajor (02-262-3456, www.thaiticketmajor.com). One of Bangkok’s best jazz venues, Niu’s on Silom (661 Silom Rd, 02-266-5333, www. niusonsilom.com) holds the Niu’s on Silom 5th
Anniversary Festival of Jazz & Fizz with nine
days of music and food events from December 7-15 . The festival is in the jazz bar, on the terrace and upstairs in Concerto Italian restaurant, with highlights including The Joseph Marchione Quartet (Dec 7), alongside the BBC Promotion of Fassone Beef from Piedmont, Italy with a bottle of premium Barbera wine and Niu’s signature chocolate dessert (B1,900++). On Dec 9, The Jerry Byrd Quartet is led by ex-Dizzy Gillespie guitarist Jerry Byrd, and to complement there’s Inedit gourmet beer, developed by three star Michelin chef Ferran Adrià of El Bulli, priced at B100net per glass, with a Mediterranean style seafood platter. Admission is free on all nights. Reservations are advised. For the full schedule see www.facebook. com/niusonsilom. bangkok101.com
Cl assical
Film On December 8 , the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra performs a concert called
Great Melodies From Popular Music’s Golden Age
in celebration of HM King Bhumibol’s 84th Birthday Anniversary. The conductor and saxophone soloist Federico Mondelci and soprano Cristina Zavalloni lead in a programme that includes Cole Porter’s ‘Night and Day’, ‘In a Sentimental Mood’ by Duke Ellington and Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’. The concert is at Thailand Cultural Centre (Thiem Ruammitr Rd, 02-247-0028), with tickets from Thai Ticketmajor (02-262-3456, www.thaiticketmajor. com) costing B500 to B2,500.
Sport Get an early chance to see star tennis players of the future at the ITF Pro Circuit Men’s Tournament , an entry level professional competition at Rama Garden Sport Complex (9/9 Viphavadi Rangsit Rd, 02558-7888) from December 3-9 . See www.itftennis.com for details. Thailand are one of the favourites to progress to the knock-out stages of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2012 , which – minus its sponsors’ title – might be called the Asean Football Championships. The matches are due to be played home and away, with the semi-finals on December 8 and 9 and December 12 and 13 , and the final on December 19 and 22. The Thailand legs are at Rajamangala Stadium (286 Soi Seri, Hua Mak, 02-318-0940). At press time the line-up was undecided, but www.affsuzukicup.com has updates. Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel are among the current and former motor sports world champions to face off on four wheels at the 2012 Race Of Champions at Rajamangala Stadium (286 Soi Seri, Hua Mak, 02-318-0940) from December 14-16. MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo will also be there, along with his predecessor Mick Doohan and speed kings from disciplines including world rally, Indycar and the X-Games. Tickets are B200-B5,000 from Thai Ticketmajor (02-262-3456, www.thaiticketmajor.com). Visit www.raceofchampions.com for full details.
bangkok101.com
The Cinema Diverse film series continues at the Bangkok Art & Culture Centre (939 Rama I Rd, 02-214-6632, www.bacc.or.th) with the Thai classic Tears of the Black Tiger on December 22 . The screening has English subtitles and will be followed by a Q&A session with director, cast, and/or crew member. The show starts at 5pm, entrance free. Water is the theme of this year’s Science Film Festival , which shows 24 films from ten countries at various venues in Bangkok and around the country until December 10. With the changing climate, disasters such as the floods that covered much of central Thailand last year increase, and, according to the organisers, water has become “the greatest challenge of the 21st century”. The films will be translated into Thai. See www.goethe.de/sciencefilmfestival for more details.
HOTELs
The capital welcomes its latest hotel with W Bangkok (106 North Sathorn Rd, 02-344-4000, www.whotels.com/ bangkok), designed by local architects Soda, which opens its doors on December 7. With 407 accommodation options running from Wonderful Rooms through Marvelous Suites all the way to the Extreme Wow Suite, and slogans such as: “It’s about in-the-know and now of what’s new and next,” there’s something eerily modern about W. It also towers over the lovely, century-old former Russian embassy, which contains four suites, so the theme is Bejeweled Mystique, to reflect “Bangkok being a city of contrasts”. W has a “Whatever/Whenever” service philosophy and a core clientele of “jetsetters and taste makers”, who might gather in WOOBAR or W Lounge – “the hottest spot where the coolest people collide”. Check it out and check in early for cheaper deals.
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Art & Cr aft Cambodian artist Sopheap Pich uses bamboo, rattan, burlap and earth pigments, plus works on paper for his solo exhibition In Spite of Order at H Gallery (201 Sathorn Soi 12, 085-021-5508, www.hgallerybkk.com) from December 6-January 27. Sopheap has previously appeared in Here/Not Here at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (2011), the Singapore Biennale (2011) and dOCUMENTA (13) in Germany (2012). Galerie N (139/5 Wireless Rd, 02252-1592, www.galerienbangkok. com) holds a Textile Workshop on Tapestry presented by Lalida Jitjai from 1pm-4 pm on December 8. The B2,500 fee includes materials.
Dance Bangkok City Ballet performs The Nutcracker at M Theatre (2884/2 New Petchaburi Rd, 02-319-7641) on December 22 and 23 , featuring dancers Myriam Kamionka of
the Paris Opera Ballet, Bernard Courtot de Bouteiller (former Principal at the Paris Opera Ballet) and Sarawanee Tanatanit (Le Ballet du Grand Theatre de Genève). Tickets are B500 and B1,200 from Thai Ticketmajor (02-262-3456, www. thaiticketmajor.com).
Shopping
Events Asiatique Festival promises to create “Magic and Timeless Happiness for All” until January 13 at the riverside shopping and entertainment complex Asiatique (Charoen Krung Sois 72-76, tel: 0-2108 4488; www.asiatiquethailand.com). The event consists largely of an international wine and beer festival for the duration, a jazz concert on December 8 and an Easy FM concert on December 15. The best way to get there is by shuttle boat from Saphan Taksin pier. Full details are at www.asiatiquethailand.com or www.facebook.com/asiatique.thailand.
Science & Technology The exhibition Eye of the Sky at the National Science Museum (NSM Science Square, 4F Chamchuri Square, Phayathai Rd, 02-577-9999, www. nsm.or.th) shows large satellite images of Earth provided by the German Aerospace Center from December 4-January 31 . Organised by DAAD Bangkok, this German contribution to the ASEAN-EU Year of Science, Technology & Innovation 2012 (www.yearofscience2012.com) focuses on landscapes of joint European and South-East Asian research projects. It’s open daily from 10.30am-7.30pm. For more info see www.daad.or.th.
X m as and New Year
If you need a good place to pick up Christmas presents, the ThaiCraft Fair sells products made by village artisans at Bumrungrad Hospital (33 Sukhumvit Soi 3, 02-667-1000) on December 7 and 8. There should be a range of stalls with items including home décor, clothes and toys. See www.thaicraft.org for information. It runs from 9am-5pm.
Trade Fairs This year’s Thailand International Motor Expo states there are four things to look for in the car of the future – convenience, economy, safety and eco-friendliness – and their theme is Meet Tomorrow’s Cars Today. It’s at Impact Arena (99 Popular Rd, Pakkred, 02-504-5050, www.impact.co.th) until December 10. Tickets are B100. There’s a full rundown at www.motorexpo.co.th/2012. 10 | december 2012
Bangkok’s Christmas and New Year celebrations will be accompanied by various special dinners all around the city, including a five-course dinner on December 24 at Park Society in the Sofitel So Bangkok (2 Sathorn Nua, 02-6240000, www.sofitel.com) priced B5,999++ or B8,399++ with wines. The same restaurant has a 7-course dinner on December 31 (B7,499++ and B9,899++). And New Year Countdown parties include those at Park Society Terrace, Asiatique (Charoen Krung Sois 72-76, tel: 0-2108 4488; www.asiatiquethailand.com) and the beer garden at Central World (999/9 Rama 1 Rd, 02-264-5555, www.centralworld.co.th), plus fantastic fireworks over the Chao Phraya River provided by hotels such as the Oriental, Peninsula and Royal Orchid Sheraton. bangkok101.com
bangkok101.com
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12 | december 2012
hot plates
bangkok101.com
El Osito by Howard Richardson
N
ew York meets Madrid at Billy Bautista’s new place El Osito, less than a minute’s walk from Ploenchit Skytrain station. San Franciscan Billy and his wife Oh also run Bangkok’s go-to Mexican, La Monita, which is right next door. El Osito is decked out with photos of their families, including a full-wall shot of Uncle Pablo in his full matador outfit, and the Spanish recipes largely come from Billy’s dad, a native of Madrid. The polished concrete walls, exposed wires and bare bulbs hung from the ceiling hold to the prevailing warehouse/factory ambiance of modern Bangkok diners, but they did most of the work themselves, and so avoided the cookie-cutter predictability, and managed a homier vibe than many. The toilets have a pastiche of Picasso’s Guernica, painted by Billy, Oh and friends over a few inspirational beers. A neighbourhood Dean & DeLuca during the day with its own smoker and churro machine and deli stalwart sandwiches such as Reuben and home-made pastrami (B190-B250), El Osito morphs into a Spanish tapas bar-cum-restaurant at night. The menu runs from pinchos (light drinking snacks like shredded duck with crispy skin, and a vinaigrette with minced tomato, onion and jalapeno, served on toast, B80/two pieces) that wash down perfectly with a sangria, a sparkling mojito (B350) or one of several American craft beers, which, to the delight of anyone who’s read tales of the Prohibition, are served in Mason jars. Among the tapas are several tortillas, slightly undercooked, so they have a good, light creamy texture (from B75 a slice), and plates like gambas al ajillo (B175) with fried parsley, lots of olive oil and garlic, and a crispy crust, light French stick to mop up the juices. At the end is a four dish selection of Platos, including a rib-eye, cooked medium rare (B550) with a mushroom, cream and chipotle sauce that throws good smoky flavour and medium spice. Good food, good location, good prices, and a place to hang out over beers to the 80s’ UK New Wave soundtrack: how can it fail?
อาคารมหาทุนพลาซ่า ถ.เพลินจิต getting there
El Osito [MAP3/C10] 888/23-24 Mahatun Plaza, Ploenchit Rd | 02-650-9581 | BTS Ploenchit Mon-Sat 11am-11:30pm bangkok101.com
december 2012 | 13
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I
out and about
Surf’s Up
n the back of a car park at Sukhumvit Soi 26’s A-Space, things are going a little Miami Beach. The sound of gushing water mingles with whoops and yelps as people try to pull a 360º or hangten. All that’s missing is the sand, Beach Boys tunes and bikini-clad babes (and who knows, such is the atmosphere of day-at-the-beach joie de vivre that you may even spot a few of them). Flowboarding, as this pastime is officially known, is a hybrid boardsport that combines the skills from action sports such as skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding and to a lesser extent, wakeboarding and skimboarding. How does it work? To mimic surf, a three to four inch sheet of water is blasted over a vinyl surface shaped like a flawless, breaking ocean wave (according to general manger Ross Werner the incline is a little steeper than normal, making it “more of a challenge”). Add 100,000 circulating gallons of water and you have an endless wave that, in theory, you could ride forever. Alas, while that’s a poetic image, the reality is you must share it with other patrons. Surprisingly for an activity based on hard-to-master sports, these are diverse, ranging from pint-sized kids who’ve only just discovered the bodyboard to businessmen looking to get the blood pumping before work and even the occasional pro. Instructors are on hand to teach first-timers and the surface can be split to create separate riding ‘flows’, so it truly is a come-one-come-all facility. Moreover, when 14 | decem ber 2012
you inevitably wipeout, you bounce off a trampoline-like surface – not a skin-ripping ocean bed. While this aquatic wonder of the modern age is the centerpiece, Flow House is not just about surfing. Should you not want to pull tricks you can just watch them, either upstairs at the outdoor chill-out zone, or downstairs, beside the on-site restaurant and fully-stocked bar. Once you’ve whooped or clapped your last you can also watch live sports up in the sports bar; or buy yourself a spiffy pair of boardshorts at the RipCurl shop. Events are unfolding here too, the next being a Winter Luau and traditional Hawaiian feast in collaboration with US craft beer importers Beervana from December 14-16. With tweaks being made all the time, the Flow House is, like the machine itself, currently in a state of flux, but as things stand the opening hours are as follows: Mon 10am12am, Tue-Fri 9am-12am, Sat 8am-12am and Sun 8am-10pm.
โฟล์วเฮาส์ เอ-แสควร์ สุขุมวิท ซ.26 getting there
Flow House Bangkok [MAP3 / O13] A-Square, Sukhumvit Soi 26 | BTS Phrom Phong 02-108-5210 | B650 per hour including basic coaching and use of board; B100 deposit for use of locker and towel www.flowhousebangkok.com, www.facebook.com/flowhousebangkok bangkok101.com
bangkok101.com
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out and about
W
hen it comes to becoming a biker-friendly city, Bangkok has a long, long way to go. However, while the roads are still fairly inhospitable for those on two wheels, there are signs that bike culture is clanking up a gear. Recently, the BMA (Bangkok Metropolitan Authority) launched Pun Pun, a project allowing the public to “borrow-rent” bikes using an automated system (the pilot stations are MRT Sam Yan and BTS Siam). As for the people power side of things, there are even more reasons to be cheerful, the opening of Old City cycler pitstop Café Velodome being just the latest. Located on Tha Prachan Road, just in front of Thammasat University, it’s a coffee and cake shop within easy peddling distance of all of the flagship tourist sights. Wat Phra Kaew, The Grand Palace, Wat Mahathat, Wat Arun and Wat Pho included. A minimally styled, glass walled concrete shell, there are racks to lock your bike up at outside, and long pine wood benches and tables where you sit down with groups of students who look like they’re working (but probably aren’t) inside. Unusually, it’s self-service: if you want a cup of coffee (B45-80) or iced expresso (B65), here you just walk on up and fix yourself one. Even more unusual, though, are the free bicycle tours of the city offered by the owner, cycling fanatic Nonlany ‘Nan’ Ungwiwatkul. She knows the disorientating yet fascinating maze that is the Old City’s network of sois inside out and leads groups out on expeditions of them each weekend. And if you don’t have your own wheels, no matter: there are ten bikes reserved for customers. To borrow one, all you need do is buy a cup of, you guessed it, coffee. In a city in dire need of initiatives to coax us out of our cars and on to two wheels, Café Velodome is at the vanguard of the community-driven side of things. Our advice: come, bring a helmet and leave your coffee intake until arrival.
คาเฟ่ เวโลโดม ท่าพระจันทร์ 16 | decem ber 2012
Café Velodome
by Chaweitporn Tamthai
More reasons to get on ‘yer bike: Aran Bicicletta A cute café pitstop in the Ari area. 18 Soi Aree 4(North), Paholyothin Road 081-821-9603 www.facebook.com/aranbicicletta Bangkok Bicycle Campaign Fights for your right to bike. www.facebook.com/bangkokbicycle Bike to Work A support group for those brave/crazy enough to commute by bike. www.facebook.com/biketoworkbkk Café Bicycle A bicycle-friendly restaurant in the car-filled Ploenchit area. Mahatun Plaza, 888/5-6 Ploenchit Road | 02-651-5188 | MonFri 7am -3pm, Sat 8:30 am - 4:30pm | www.cafebicycle.com ProBike The biggest importer of bikes and parts in town. 237/2 Rajadumri Rd. Lumpini | 02-253-3384 | www.probike.co.th getting there
Café Velodome [MAP7 / c7] Thammasat University Tha Prachan, Phra Nakhon 02-623-6340 | 8am-8pm http://www.facebook.com/cafevelodome bangkok101.com
bangkok101.com
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out and about
A Taste of Buddhism On the edge of Chatuchak Park sits a state-of-the-art Buddhist centre filled with religious writings, talks, meditation classes and followers. Elizabeth Preger goes in search of enlightenment.
A
lways curious to know more about Thai culture, I woke up bright and early on a recent Sunday morning to visit the Buddhadasa Indapañño Archives (B.I.A.). Located in Chatuchak Park, the centre is an archive of some of the most revered Thai Buddhist writings, a space to meditate, and to maybe, just maybe, find Nirvana. Happily for me – and others like me – they hold a free monthly tour in English of its premises.
Off to the side is a carved relief. Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, the late revered monk whose writings the centre houses, traveled to India and photographed Buddhist sculptures he found there. Upon his return he commissioned local artists to create exact replicas. If the photos didn’t have enough detail, he would write to the British Museum and ask for more images. B.I.A. is full of these replicas; they serve as visuals for the Buddha’s teachings.
As we walk around the grounds, the four (yes four) guides take turns telling us about the history and meaning of the different structures and artworks. First stop is the garden, Suan Mokk. Its name translates to Garden of the Spotless Mind. Everything at B.I.A. is meant to be an opportunity to meditate and gain mindfulness. In the garden there are three concrete circles that nest in one another. Tall trees rise above, and the sound of birds trickles in over the guide’s talk.
We bypass the main hall on the ground floor. On the first Sunday of the month a traditional ‘Tak Bat’ ceremony takes place. People from all over Bangkok come to pay their respects to the monks and offer them food. The hall is filled with row upon row of people meditating. Opposite them is a raised platform with a single line of saffron clad monks sitting. Once the ceremony is complete the monks chant a prayer to the crowd and eat the offerings.
18 | december 2012
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provided. The choices are as varied as the street vendors surrounding the weekend market. The third floor is filled with Ajahn Buddhadasa original manuscripts, reference materials he used, and a collection of audio files. We were not able to see the actual library because the material is too sensitive. The walls that surround it are made of thick concrete (so thick you lose cell phone service once inside) and the temperature and humidity carefully controlled. “Everything
at the B.I.A. is meant to be an opportunity to meditate and gain mindfulness”
We head up to the second floor and ‘Taste of Nibbana.’ It’s an exhibition/ meditation space meant to simulate Nirvana. As our guide Jitti explained, Nirvana is a feeling of coolness or a coming down. At the heart of the exhibition is a large round room. It has cool stone floors and the sound of chanting and bells plays faintly in the background. On the walls are sayings and words of inspiration. There are cushions at the edge of the space for people to sit and meditate on. The longest pause on the tour is at a large painting: ‘The Wheel of Life.’ A fanged demon holds a wheel filled with images of the Buddha, landscapes, scenes from life and animals. As we sit and study the painting, small birds flit about: hiding in the buildings chinks and even coming to rest on top of the art. Sometimes an inexplicable cool breeze rushes past, offering a brief moment of respite from the heat. Later, Jitti told me of her first encounter with the painting. “I was sitting in front of the wheel of life and inside me, I’m crying. It was like a small enlightenment, or some lights going up. I want to give that feeling to other people.”
Two small children join our group. Our guide gently teases them before leading us downstairs to partake in a templestyle lunch. The monks have received the food offering and everyone is now invited to partake. Large metal bowls are
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Buddhadasa, who passed away at the age of 87 back in 1993, is best known for translating the original Pali Buddhist texts into Thai. Jitti remarks “in this way he is like Luther,” a religious reformer, whose mission was to give everyone access to the ideas and writings that so moved him. At first he was accused of being a heretic and even a communist for doing so. But the political winds changed, and he was recognised as a luminary teacher of Dhamma. B.I.A. is not only there to preserve Buddhadasa’s legacy, but also to teach a new generation of monks and lay people. There’s a constant bustle at the centre, a ceaseless flow of meditation classes, tours and ceremonies. On the Sunday I visited there was a ceremony to inaugurate a new photography exhibition by Tanya Panyarachun, and in mid-December they will lead a pilgrimage to meet with the Dalai Lama.
สวนโมกข์ ถนนนิคมรถไฟสายสอง getting there
The Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives (BIA) [MAP8 / n1] Vachirabenjatas Park (Suan Rot Fai), Nikom Rot Fai Sai 2 Rd BTS Mo Chit/MRT Chatuchak Park | 02-936-2800 www.bia.or.th, www.facebook.com/buddhadasaarchives 9am-6pm Note: the free ‘A Taste of Buddhism’ tour is on the first sunday of every month between 9:30-11:30am. decem ber 2012 | 19
CITY PULSE
portrait
“I always dreamed about being a filmm aker. When you come from Thail and, there is only one pl ace which can turn this dream into a reality.”
Northeast City Boy:
Wichanon Somumjarn The rising Khon Kaen-born filmmaker speaks about his Bangkok: a city of simple pleasures that thrives through its diversity. Words by Luc Citrinot.
A young independent film director, Wichanon Somumjarn recently garnered much international festival-buzz with In April The Following Year, There Was a Fire. The semiautobiographical movie is about a young worker who visits his family and friends in his home city of Khon Kaen up in the northeast, or Isan. But more interestingly, the story takes place against the backdrop of the red shirts and government conflict back in April and May 2010, when Bangkok experienced violent convulsions that left the whole country reeling. For Bangkok 101, Wichanon tells us about his first experiences of the metropolis. “I arrived in Bangkok to study IT back in 2000 at Ramkhamhaeng University in Northern Bangkok. Of course, the city looked exactly the way people tend to think of it up-country: like a large 20 | december 2012
crowded metropolis. As a child or teenager, Bangkok for me was all high-rise buildings, something that we do not see in the provinces”. Rather than the hectic lifestyle, Wichanon was, like many domestic immigrants, attracted by the opportunities. “I always dreamed about being a film-maker,” he says, “and when you come from Thailand, there is only one place which can turn this dream into a reality.” Wichanon studied at Ramkhamhaeng University for two years, during which his experience of the city broadened. “I started to realise that Bangkok is a great place to learn about life. This is a city of extreme contrasts, between poor and rich, beauty and ugliness, peaceful and noisy. This extreme is a source of inspiration. I also learned how to survive in this urban jungle and to find work”, he says. bangkok101.com
He also revels in the city’s eclectic cultural mix. “I love the blend of communities. Bangkok is a microcosm of Thailand. Not only Bangkokians live here but also people from Isan, Muslims, Southern Thais, etc. This gives Bangkok an incredible energy and vitality. It’s a place where hip-hop fans, skateboarders, artists and people that are usually marginalised can eventually prosper.” Bangkok is, for example, the only place in Thailand where it is possible to see Indie or art movies regularly. “Lido’s programming has changed recently to become more commercial. But House RCA is still a great place to see different movies”, he adds. The Ramkhamhaeng area in North Bangkok is an unknown corner of the city for most foreign travelers, but this is where Wichanon finds himself spending most of his time. “Ramkhamhaeng is a cool district with lots of students living there and a strong mix of communities that includes Muslims from the Deep South. I like it as it’s a pragmatic and down-to-earth district, far away from the images of a Bangkok dominated by hi-so (high society) people. I still love today to play football near Ramkhamhaeng University at Rajamangala National Stadium. And I love to eat a Thai BBQ at Rhamkhamhaeng Soi 24. It is nothing special, just the fun to look at people gathering together to have a good time!” Since 2006, Wichanon has worked out of a studio on Sukhumvit Soi 39. “One of my favourite hang-outs is WTF Bar on Sukhumvit 51. They play great music. But if I want to get some good traditional Isaan food, I go to Baan E-sarn Munggyo on Sukhumvit 31.” bangkok101.com
Despite how well he’s settled, Isan culture is still part of Wichanon, especially his political leanings. How did he feel about the events of 2010 and did they change his vision of Bangkok following the violent ending? “I felt a lot of sympathy for the people there because I believe that many of them were very sincere in their plea and were not as manipulated as was often claimed. I filmed a few scenes there but I always tried to keep a distance from it. The 2010 occupation of the Ratchaprasong area and the violent ending of it forced me to ask myself questions about the evolution of Thai society. Did it really change my vision of Bangkok? No, I do not think so.”
Wichanon’s City Picks For hanging-out: “WTF Bar and Gallery (7 Sukhumvit Soi 51 | 02-662 -6246 www.wtfbangkok.com) for the atmosphere and music. For food: “Baan Isan Muang Yot (Sukhumvit 31 | 089-012-5750 Facebook: Baan Isan Muang Yot) for authentic Isan Food, and the Thai BBQ outdoor outlets on Ramkhamhaeng Soi 24.” For shopping: “Siam, because of the incredible range and variety of goods to be found.” For art: “Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, 939 Rama I Rd 02-214-6632 | www.bacc.or.th.” december 2012 | 21
SNAPSHOTS
22 | december 2012
bangkok101.com
tom’s two satang
ToTwmo ’Ssatang
Join Bangkok-born but internationally-bred aesthete Dr. Tom Vitayakul as he gives his own unique take on Thailand and its capital. Each month he tackles a different aspect of the local culture – from art and festivals to 21st century trends – in a light-hearted yet learned manner.
To RSVP or Not to RSVP
’T
is the season to eat, drink and be merry. During the festive time, one can be inundated by invitations to all kinds of parties. While many go to an opening of an envelope and spread themselves too thinly by trying to appear at more than one party in a night, my suggestion is to be more selective. So with sanuk in mind, many Thais, myself included, tend to forget about one very important thing – the etiquette. Thais are notorious about being indecisive when it comes to events and parties. No seems to be the hardest word. Even for weddings, most guests do not RSVP unless it is a formal sit-down dinner. Therefore cocktail parties are more successful than banquets, where tables are often left empty. Thailand has its very own etiquette booklet, Sombat Phudee (Gentleman’s Treasures), but it is hardly Emily Post’s compendium. It only covers individual’s deeds in action, speech and thought towards others but doesn’t delve into the nitty-gritty on how to behave when it comes to revelry. Organising an impromptu dinner among friends may be hard when choosing a restaurant but it is easier than making guests commit to coming to a party. Here spontaneity rules the day. So what has one to do when dealing with flakey friends who cannot respond soon enough or click their mouse when invited on Facebook? I have hosted and attended many parties, and have heard many excuses. Here are some tips to survive the celebratory season as either hosts or guests. Many local event organisers and party planners know the tricks and use their invitations as lures. Sometimes those who reply early will get special treatments or those who bring the invites will get the party favours. Use these ploys and maybe your party will be hopping mad. It also helps shun some gatecrashers. Some guests are so fickle that they have to check on what’s on that evening. They would choose the best event to attend. Once I invited an acquaintance to join me at a performance; he asked me for the seat number. If it’s not good, he will not be there. Simply wipe these people off the list – forever. They were raised by wolves. Thais are very nosy and often ask the host about who’s invited. Just tell them it will be a surprise or give them
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some names with which they are familiar. Some even impose by inviting more guests on the host’s behalf. They have no manners. So stop them. Avoid making these social faux pas when partying. Learn how to make an entrance and be fashionably late but not too much. At some formal dinner parties, I have experienced guests not showing up by simply forgetting or having double appointments. At a party on the river barge, a guest was so unpunctual that he literally missed the boat. Some guests brought a plus one or an entourage along without informing the hosts in advance. It’s the sheep mentality. Thais love to flock together at the same watering holes. More isn’t necessary merrier. To solve these problems, good hosts should remind guests about the venue, time and privacy conditions. In the era of social networking, a discreet hostess requested her guests not to use the mobile phones or cameras for taking and posting photographs. She had hired a professional photographer so that everyone could check them out later. How refreshing that was! At costume parties, wear one or dress up according to the dress code. I have seen guests turned away at the door for not doing so. Don’t be embarrassed by wearing a fancy conversational piece but be ashamed at being refused. Party games still work for breaking the ice or conviviality. Good guests should also remember to bring a gift. A bottle of wine, a bouquet of flowers or a nice book would suffice. When dining out, some make it look like high finance when splitting the bill. Just make sure that everyone pays their part. In Thailand, it’s an American share rather than a Dutch treat. Basically, divide it equally but those who drink should pay more. Be nice to the hard-working staff and leave some tips too. If it’s a house party or a pot-luck party, cook something; bring a dish or a bottle. Be chic and don’t be cheap. If it’s a party for charity, give some donations cordially. Don’t try to be exempted. When hosting, don’t brag about how much or little you spend on the spread. It’s about the value of friendship, not the costs of things. In Thailand we never lack fun and frivolity and good times are surely had by all. For your next party, accept or decline the invitation tactfully and enjoy it. Let another silly season begin. Happy holidays!
december 2012 | 23
SNAPSHOTS
very thai
Nicknames & Namecards What Thais call each other is a serious business, whether lucky, rhyming or cute
“What’s your name?” asks a Bangkok English teacher. “Yes,” the Thai student replies. “No, what are you called?” rephrases the American teacher. “Yes. My name is Yes, Khun Yes,” repeats the student, wondering why his English name wasn’t understood. Thai nicknames are often as startling as they are playful. He could just as puzzlingly have replied “Oh”, “Eh”, “X”, “Boy”, “Not”, “Joke” or, wait for it…“God.”
Very Thai
River Books | with photos by
John Goss & Philip Cornwel-Smith B 995
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 60-plus mini-chapters, we present a different excerpt every month. Prepare yourself for the sideways logic in what seems exotic, and snap up a copy of Very Thai now at any good book shop.
24 | december 2012
In all but form-filling and formal situations, the Thai use cheu len – play names. You can know someone for ages before learning their real first name and maybe never hear their family name. While some sound fun – Eew, Oui, Oei, Nooi, Dtik – most mean something. Boy’s names may mean brave, strong or noble. Girls usually get very delicate, pretty or charming names, often Thai words for flowers, gems, scents, or wistful things. Nicknames can also describe the baby’s size: Lek (little), Noi (small), Yai (big), Uan (fat); or skin tone: Daeng (red), Dum (black), Som (orange). Non-human names apparently fool evil spirits from claiming kids. Hence people answer to Moo (pig), Gob (frog), or Gai (chicken), and even to farmyard sounds: Oud (oink), Guk (cluck), Jiab (chirp). Once expressive of rural culture, nicknames now also reflect modernity and globalisation, such as Bank or Benz. Old cheu len may re-appear in English: Fern, Ant, Rose, Ink, Oak, Bird, Baby. Others use foreign words, often shortened from the end, like Bo (from Jumbo), Taem (from Je t’aime), and Lo (from Marlboro). Surnames matter less than first names, except to posh families, so they are often only encountered on namecards. Unlike the casual tossing around of nicknames, namecards embody the giver’s face, so their exchange involves care, especially among Sino-Thai. Bowing slightly, you pass it with the right hand, or pinching the top corners so it faces the receiver, who handles it carefully. With so much face at stake, it’s no wonder Thais stick to nicknames. bangkok101.com
chronicle of thailand
12 December 1966
Bangkok hosts Asian Games Bangkok At the 5thAsian Games, Thai weightlifter Chaiya Sukchinda hoisted 322.5kg, simultaneously winning Thailand’s first gold and breaking his own world flyweight record. Chaiya became the first athlete in the games’ 15-year history to break a world record. King Bhumibol Opened the games to a cheering crowd of 30,000 at National Stadium. A total of 2,673 athletes from 18 countries converged on Bangkok for the competition, which saw ‘records fall like ninepins’, according to one sports reporter. Overall, the Japanese team dominated the medal standings of the games, winning a total of 78 golds, 53 silvers and 33 bronze medals. Thailand finished third with a medal tally of 12 golds, 14 silvers and 11 bronzes. The games were marred by unpleasant incidents in the men’s basketball semifinal match between Thailand and Korea, which ended with players and coaches, policemen and spectators all wading into an on-court ‘free-for-all’. The Korean players, who suffered several injuries, walked off the court in protest after the incident. By refusing to play they handed the game to the Thais, who went on to lose to Israel in the final – an encounter that was also marred by an unfortunate spectator-provoked melee. bangkok101.com
Chronicle of Thailand
EDM Books | editor-in-chief Nicholas Grossman | B1,450
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 eye-witnessaccount 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.
december 2012 | 25
Sightseeing
museum focus
Museum of the Human Body Challenging the Siriraj Medical Centre to the coveted most gruesome museum in town title, this recently opened facility is a repository for plastinated bodies of vague origin
T
here’s no doubt that the Museum of the Human Body is gruesome, but how about ethical? After paying a visit recently we’re not so sure.
Our suspicions were aroused when a student volunteer at this Chulalongkorn University facility told us that the cadavers on display are those of executed Chinese convicts, sourced via Japan. Flabbergasted and, frankly, sickened, we called to confirm, and were brusquely told that no, they’re just from Japan. Now, we’re prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt. It may well be that all of the bodies here were donated with the deceased’s consent. However, given the mixed messages, we are left feeling uneasy in light of China’s human rights record – that and the fact that the body plastinisation industry’s alleged grubby dealings with the corpse trade has already been a big story in the West. 26 | december 2012
Moving awkwardly on, what’s this facility located on the ninth floor of the esteemed university’s Faculty of Dentistry actually like? Well, it’s ghoulish, obviously. Think Hellraiser meets House of Wax and you’re not far off. There are 131 specimens scattered around its two rooms, from organs to artistically posed whole bodies, all of them preserved via the plastination technique invented and patented by Dr. Gunther von Hagens, the slightly sinister looking, black fedora-donning German pathologist that cynics call Dr. Death for short. Beware, it’s not for the weak of stomach. While the flesh and body fluids are now just liquid plastic, the anatomical details remain. Nothing is sacrosanct – eyeballs, veins and arteries are splayed out and dissected in all their visceral glory and, thanks to the use of colour pigments, they really do pop. bangkok101.com
“This is first and foremost a pl ace where Chul a’s medical students come to further their knowledge of anatomy – a threedimensional textbook of sorts.”
If we’re sounding a tad down on the Museum of the Human Body, we should point out that its heart (albeit probably made of plastic) does, at least, appear to be in the right place. Unlike Body Worlds, the most successful – and controversial – travelling exhibition of all time, the main purpose here isn’t to get the cash register ching-chinging. Rather, this is first and foremost a place where Chula’s medical students come to further their knowledge of anatomy – a three-dimensional textbook of sorts. Also, in its defence, the students we met treat the cadavers with respect (or maybe fear disguised as respect – this is ghost-swarming Thailand after all), referring to them as ajarn yai, or great teachers. But back to more macabre matters... what’s the yuckiest thing in here? Well, the blackened lungs are pretty nasty, likely to put even the most hardened smoker off having a chuff as soon as they get outside. There are also unborn fetuses in varying stages of development. However, if there’s one image that’s going to haunt your vomit-filled nightmares, it’s the two inch thick, horizontal body slices arranged top-to-bottom, as if the poor fellow tripped head first through your local deli’s meat slicer… Eewww! bangkok101.com
The Museum of the Human Body is open every Wednesday and Friday from 12:30pm-6:30pm (except national holidays). Entry is currently free out of charge. december 2012 | 27
Sightseeing
historic homes
shrine
M.R. KUKRIT’S HOUSE [map5 / H8]
ANANTA SAMAKHOM PALACE Throne Hall [map8 / F8]
Uthong Nai Rd, opp. Dusit Zoo Tue – Sun 10 am – 6 pm | B150 dress politely
Located at the tail-end of Dusit district’s stately ceremonial boulevard, Ratchadam noen, this stately parliamentary palace was built during the reign of Rama V 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. Out front stands a statue of King Rama V mounted on a horse that is still worshipped today.
19 Soi Phra Pinit, Sathorn Rd BTS Chong Nonsi | 02-286-8185 Sat, Sun & Holidays 10 am – 5 pm, Mon – Fri by appt. only | B 50 / B 20 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. His peaceful abode with its lovely gardens is a terrific example of traditional Thai architecture.
บ้านหม่อมราชวงศ์คึกฤทธิ์ ซ.พระพินิจ สาทรใต้
ERAWAN SHRINE [map4 / G5]
Ratchadamri Rd, near Grand Hyatt Erawan 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 performs for a nominal fee.
พระพรหมเอราวัณ ถ.ราชดำ�ริ
พระที่นั่งอนันตสมาคม ถ.อู่ทองใน ดุสิต VIMANMEK MANSION [map8 / F8]
JIM THOMPSON HOUSE [map4 / A3]
6 Soi Kasemsan 2, Rama I Rd BTS National Stadium | 02-216-7368 www.jimthompsonhouse.com 9 am – 5 pm | B100 / B 50 students
American Jim Thompson was the Princeton graduate and former spook who revived the hand-woven Thai silk industry before disappearing mysteriously in Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands in 1967. One of the things to do in Bangkok is visit his tropical garden home beside a pungent canal: six traditional teak houses from around the country kept exactly as he left them, and brimful with art and antiques he acquired during his many trips around Asia. 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. Ban Krua, the silk-weaving community he commissioned, is also nearby.
บ้านไทย จิมทอมป์สัน ซ.เกษมสันต์ 2 ตรงข้ามสนามกีฬาแห่งชาติ
GANESHA SHRINE [map4 / G3]
139 / 2 Ratchawithi Rd 02-281-1569 | 9:30 am – 4 pm | B100
Outside CentralWorld and Isetan Department Store | Ratchadamri Rd
The world’s largest teakwood building was originally built on the island of Koh Si Chang, in 1868, and then moved 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. Regular tours in English are held daily.
A 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.
พระพิฆเนศวร หน้าห้างอิเซตัน
พระที่นั่งวิมานเมฆ ถ.ราชวิถี เขตดุสิต
TRIMURTI SHRINE [map4 / G3]
SUAN PAKKAD palace [MAP8 / K11]
Si Ayutthaya Rd, Ratchathewi BTS Phaya Thai | 02-245-4934 www.suanpakkad.com | 9 am – 4 pm | 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.
Outside Centralworld and Isetan Department Store | Ratchadamri Rd
If your love life is in the doldrums then this shrine is for you: at 9:30 pm each Thursday it’s rumoured that Lord Trimurti descends from the heavens to answer prayers of the heart. To maximise your chances you should offer nine-red incense sticks, red candles, red roses and fruit.
พระตรีมูรติ หน้าห้างอิเซตัน
วังสวนผักกาด ถ.ศรีอยุธยา ราชเทวี 28 | december 2012
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TEMPLES
THE GRAND PALACE & WAT PHRA KAEW [map7 / D10]
Na Phra Lan Rd, near Sanam Luang Tha Chang Pier | 02-222-0094 8:30 am – 4:30 pm | B 400 incl. entry to Vimanmek Mansion | dress respectfully
Bangkok’s most beloved temple (and top tourist site) is a fantastical, mini-city sized royal complex enclosed by quaintly crenulated whitewalls. 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 sights on its grounds, much of it remains off-limits. The Chakri Mahaprasat Hall – the “Westerner in a Thai hat” – is worth seeing, and there are some state halls and rooms open to visitors. The highlight, though, is the Emerald Buddha – Thailand’s most sacred Buddhist relic – and the temple purposebuilt to house it, Wat Phra Kaew, where hundreds pay their respects each day.
พระบรมมหาราชวัง และ วัดพระแก้ว ถ.หน้าพระลาน (ใกล้สนามหลวง)
WAT PO (reclining buddha) [map7 / D12]
Chetuphon, Thai Wang Rd 02-226-0369 | www.watpho.com 8am – noon; 1 pm – 9 pm | B100
The Temple of the Reclining Buddha is the oldest and largest wat in Bangkok. Originating in the 16 th century, it houses the largest reclining Buddha statue in Thailand as well as the greatest number of Buddha images. Wat Po is also the centre for traditional Thai medicine and a learning centre for Thai massage (see p.101).
วัดโพธิ์ ถ.เชตุพน
WAT MAHATHAT [map7 / C8]
วัดสระเกศ ถ.จักรพรรดิพงษ์
WAT SUTHAT & the GIANT SWING [map7 / H9]
Bamrung Muang Rd | 02-222-9632 9 am – 5 pm | B 20
An amulet market is situated near this 18 th century centre of the Mahanikai monastic sect and an important university of Buddhist teaching. On weekends, market stalls are set up on the grounds to complement the vendors of traditional medicines and herbal potions. Courses on Buddhism are given in English.
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 excellent examples of bronze sculpture. The city’s iconic Giant Swing, where brave men used to swing up to great heights to catch a bag of gold coins in their teeth during annual harvest ceremonies, sits out front.
WAT ARUN [map7 / B13]
วัดสุทศั น์ ถ.บำ�รุงเมือง พระนคร ตรงข้ามเสาชิงช้า
Temple of Dawn | Arun Amarin Rd Arun Pier | 02-465-5640 www.watarun.org | 8 am – 5 pm | B 20
วัดอรุณราชวราราม ถ.อรุณอัมรินทร์ ผั่งตะวันตกของแม่น้ำ�เจ้าพระยา
Referred to as the Golden Mount, this wat on a small hillock is worth the hike up 318 steps for the views of China town 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 later built a smaller chedi on top.
Tha Prachan, Sanam Luang, Maharat Rd 02-221-5999 | 9 am – 5 pm | free
วัดมหาธาตุ ท่าพระจันทร์ สนามหลวง
Across the river from Wat Po is Wat Arun, or the Temple of the Dawn, one of the city’s most important 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 sundown.
WAT SAKET [map7 / L8]
Chakkraphatdiphong Rd 02-233-4561 | 7:30 am – 5:30 pm | B10
WAT RATCHANATDA [map7 / K8]
Mahachai Rd | 02-224-8807 9 am – 5 pm | free
This striking temple on the corner of Ratchadamnoen and Mahachai Road features the bizarre Loha Prasat, a multi-tiered castle-like structure with 36 steel spires. Climb the spiral staircase to the top for good views of the Old City and its many temples.
วัดราชนัดดา ถ.มหาชัย พระนคร
WAT TRAIMIT [map6 / L3]
661 Mittaphap Thai-China Rd, Charoen Krung Rd | 02-623-1226 | 8 am – 5 pm | B 20
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 10 million US$ . The interesting Yaowarat Heritage Museum (p.27) is located on the floor beneath.
วัดไตรมิตร หัวลำ�โพง (เยาวราช) bangkok101.com
december 2012 | 29
Sightseeing
BANGKOKian museum
Museums – in town There’s a museum for every interest here – hundreds in fact. Here, some of our favourites, both in town and just outside it.
BANGKOK DOLL MUSEUM [map8 / L11, 12]
85 Soi Ratchataphan (Soi Mo Leng), Ratchaprarop Rd 02-245-3008 | www.bangkokdolls.com Mon – Sat 8 am – 5 pm | free
Since opening in 1956 the Bangkok Doll Museum has continually attracted tourists, students and aficionados alike with its remarkable collection of hand-made Thai dolls. Founded by Khunying Tongkorn Chandavimol after she completed a doll making course in Japan, it showcases collections of dolls produced by a small team of artisans in the atelier out back, and clad in traditional costumes based on designs lifted from museum originals, temple murals and illustrations from antique books.
บ้านตุ๊กตาบางกอกดอลล์ ถ.ราชปรารภ
madame tussauds
Madame tussauds [map4 / C4]
6th F, Siam Discovery Center Rama 1, Phaya Thai Rd BTS National Stadium | 02-658-0060 www.madametussauds.com/Bangkok/ 10 am – 9 pm | B 800 / B 600 kids / 15 % discount for online
Probably the best thing about Bangkok’s version of Europe's famous waxwork museum is the line-up – it’s clearly designed to keep tourists and locals alike snappy happy. About as common as international sporting legends, world leaders in sharp suits, pouting Hollywood A-listers, and sequined global pop stars here are wax likenesses of Thai and regional musicians, soap stars, sportsmen and women, famous monks, poets and statesmen. And once you’ve finished talking human rights with Aung San Suu Kyi, or admiring Angelina Jolie’s Khmer tattoo, there are lots of interactive games to stave off waxwork-fatigue too.
มาดามทุซโซ สยามดิสคัฟเวอรี่ ชั้น 6 MUSEUM OF COUNTERFEIT GOODS [MAP2 / E12]
26 F, Supalai Grand Tower Bldg Rama III Rd | BTS Surasak | 02-653-5555 www.tillekeandgibbins.com Mon – Fri 10 am – 4 pm / App. required for textile and computer collections In 1989, Thailand’s oldest international th
bangkokian MUSEUM [MAP5 / E3]
273 Charoen Krung Soi 43, Si Phraya Pier | 02-233-7027 Sat & Sun 10 am – 4 pm | free
Smack in the middle of Bangrak, one of the most traditional districts of the city, 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 are nevertheless surprisingly fascinating. They include antiques, traditional household utensils and ceremonial items.
พิพิธภัณฑ์ชาวบางกอก ถ.เจริญกรุง 43 30 | december 2012
museum of siam
Museum of Siam [map7 / D13]
4 Samachai Rd | Rajini Pier 02-622-2599 | www.ndmi.or.th Tue – Sun 10 am – 6 pm | free
A truncated history of Thailand unfurls through this down-with-the-kids discovery museum, located in a beautifully restored former government building that dates back to the 1920s. Design company Story Inc! delivered the conceptual design, replacing the usual ‘don’t touch’ signs and dreary text with pop graphics and interactive games galore. Entertaining highlights include dressing up as a 20 th century nobleman, blowing up Burmese soldiers on elephant-back with a canon (a bit tasteless that one), and mapping out the borders of your own Siam using a touch screen. Tellingly, the place teems with the usually museum-shy – Thai teenagers. Afterwards, enjoy the open-sided corridors and elegant Renaissance-stylings of the building itself, which was designed by Italian architect Mario Tamagno.
พิพิธภัณฑ์การเรียนรู้แห่งชาติ ถ.สนามไชย THE NATIONAL MUSEUM [map7 / C6]
5 Chao Fa Rd, Sanam Luang 02-224-1333 | www.thailandmuseum.com Wed – Sun 9 am – 4 pm | B 200 | no photo
law firm, Tilleke & Gibbins, decided to convert their evidence of counterfeit goods into educational tools for law students. To help spread the word about the perils of buying fake it's open to Joe Public too. Over 3,500 items – from Ferrero Rocher chocolates to antimalarial tablets and a fake Ferrari motorbike – are neatly laid out, forgeries next to the originals. While its well off-the-beaten track location means it doesn't see too many drop-in visitors, it's an eye-opening experience, one that would make even the thriftiest market-goer think twice.
Previously a palace during the reign of Rama V, the National Museum features extensive displays of Thai artifacts from all of Old Siam's 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 displayed. Free tours by the Natonal Museum Volunteers group are given in English, French, German and Japanese and take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9:30 am.
พิพิธภัณฑ์สินค้าปลอมและเลียนแบบ ถ.พระราม 3
พิพิธภัณฑสถานแห่งชาติ ถ.เจ้าฟ้า ใกล้ท้องสนามหลวง bangkok101.com
RATTANAKOSIN EXHIBITION HALL [map7 / K7]
100 Ratchadamnoen Klang Rd, next to Wat Ratchanatda | 02-621-0044 www.nitasrattanakosin.com Tue – Fri 11 am – 8 pm; Sat, Sun & Holidays 10 am – 8 pm | B100
This multimedia museum a short walk from Khao San Road offers a skillfully abbreviated introduction to an area that many admire, but few truly understand: Rattanakosin Island, Bangkok’s glittering birthplace. Wandering its eleven rooms – free of relics but rich in models, dioramas, interactive videos, text and audio clips in Thai and English – brings the area’s hardto-fathom history, arts, communities, architecture and traditions into much clearer focus. One highlight is the room showcasing Thai performing arts; another sheds light on the trade specialities of local shophouse communities. Up on the fourth floor there's also an observation balcony from which you can peer out over the area you now have a more in-depth grasp of.
นิทรรศน์รัตนโกสินทร์ ถ.ราชดำ�เนินกลาง ROYAL BARGE MUSEUM [map7 / B4]
80/1 Rim Khlong Bangkok Noi, Arun Amarin Rd | Thonburi Railway Pier 02-424-0004 | 9 am – 5:00 pm B 30 / B100 photo / B 200 video
This collection of ornate 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 .
พิพิธภัณฑ์เรือพระราชพิธี ถ.อรุณอมรินทร์
Royal Barge Museum bangkok101.com
SIRIRAJ MEDICAL MUSEUM [map7 / A7]
Siriraj Hospital | 2 Prannok Rd Thonburi Railway Pier 02-419-7000-6363 | www.si.mahidol.ac.th Mon – Sat 9 am – 4 pm | B 40
Located on the west bank of the river, in Thailand’s oldest and most prestigious hospital, the Siriraj Medical Museum is 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. Of its many chilling displays, far and away the most famous is the crisped cadaver of Si Ouey, Thailand’s notorious child killer, stood in a phone booth. Other stomach-churning exhibits include the mummified remains of murder victims, and deformed human foetuses embalmed in formaldehyde. Best come before lunch, just to err on the safe side.
พิพิธภัณฑ์การแพทย์ศิริราช ถ.พรานนก YAOWARAT CHINATOWN HERITAGE CENTRE [map6 / L3]
Wat Traimit, 661 Mittaphap Thai-China Rd, Charoen Krung Rd |MRT Hua Lamphong | 02-225-9775 |Tue – Sun 8 am – 4:30 pm | B100 / B140 incl. visit to the Golden Buddha
For Bangkok’s Thai-Chinese the story of how their forefathers fled here on leaking junk ships and rose to become an affluent and fully integrated force in Thai society is likely familiar, having been drip-fed to them over the years by their elders. But for the rest of us, the Chinatown Heritage Centre is the next best thing, presenting an engaging history of Bangkok’s Chinese community and their bustling focal point, Yaowarat. Highlights include recreations of a leaking junk ship and bustling street market, a miniature model of Yaowarat during its Golden Age, and a room commemorating the community’s high-achievers. It's located within Wat Traimit temple.
ศูนย์ประวัติศาสตร์เยาวราช ถ.มิตรภาพไทย-จีน
yaowarat heritage centre
out of town ANCIENT SIAM (MUANG BORAN) [map1 / F6]
296/1 Sukhumvit Rd Samut Prakan province | 02-709-1644 www.ancientcity.com B 500 / B 250 kids / B1,500 private guide in English for 2 hours
Samut Prakan province’s Ancient Siam crams reproductions of over a hundred of the Kingdom’s most venerable palaces, temples, stupas, stone sanctuaries and traditional houses into a huge map-ofSiam shaped plot of land only an hour’s drive from the capital. Don’t come expecting a tacky themepark. Its late founder, eccentric culture preservationist Prapai Viriyahbhun, demanded that every replica look and feel like the real thing. Teakwood, stone and brick abound; everything looks authentically aged; and amidst the scaled-down and life-size copies are lots of salvaged original buildings.
เมืองโบราณ จ.สมุทรปราการ THAI FILM MUSEUM [MAP1 / E5]
94 Moo 3 Bhuddhamonton Sai 5, Salaya Nakorn Pathom province www.nfat.org | 02-482-2013-15 Sat & Sun tours: 10 am, noon, 3 pm; Mon – Fri: by appointment | Free
The good folk at the National Film Archive of Thailand are fighting to preserve the country’s meager film heritage, whether it be by restoring ragged reels of 16mm film to their former glory, screening rare films in its cinematheque, or guiding anyone interested around their museum – for free. Thai film fiends will love inching around this nook-filled two-storey space modeled after the old Sri Krung film studio and filled with old cameras, projectors, props, costumes, posters and waxworks. Guides only speak Thai, so take a translator if possible.
พิพิธภัณฑ์ภาพยนตร์ไทย ถ.พุทธมนฑล สาย 5
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■■ Royal Flora Ratchaphreuk 2012 Budding at this time each year, this humungous annual flower show of royal provenance takes place on the outskirts of Chiang Mai and features indoor and outdoor displays of rare flowers and recent advances in horticulture, not only from all over the Kingdom but also the globe. A trade show as well as a public one, there will also be flora competitions and symposiums on a range of pressing horticulture matters. www.royalparkrajapruek.org/main3/eng/index.php
■■ 26th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Considered the jewel in the crown of the Asian Yachting Circuit, with action on and off the crest of the wave, this event attracts global yachting souls on magnificent yachts to challenge, celebrate and socialise with the island’s characters. Head down to Phuket these dates to watch world-class race teams compete on the Andaman waters, as well as party to the fullest at events around the island. www.kingscup.com
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■■ 13th Nimmanhaemin Art & Design Promenade The shopping up in Chiang Mai is superb even at the quietest of times, but between these dates the city will ramp it up a notch by turning bohemian Nimmanhemin Soi 1 into an exuberant and colourful art shopping street. In addition to market stalls and boutiques brimming with decorative Lanna trinkets and folk-art, there will be also be art exhibitions, allday kids’ activities, afternoon workshops and live bands in the evenings. Runs 10am-10pm each day. www.nimmansoi1.com
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■■ River Kwai Bridge Week The sounds of simulated air raid sirens and swooping Allied bombers will reverberate across Kanchanaburi town’s night sky during this nightly light and sound show, which takes place beside the infamous River Kwai Bridge. Commemorating the World War II POWs who died building it, it’s a hokey yet actually quite poignant show, especially when a mist covers the river. Show times are 7pm Mon-Thurs and 7pm and 9pm Fri-Sat. Tickets cost B300-500 on arrival.
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■■ Big Mountain Music Festival 4 Back for its fourth installment, this huge, Pepsi sponsored music festival up in Korat province is the closest thing Thailand has to its very own Glastonbury, featuring hundreds of international and local acts across five stages and the chance to camp out on the edge of Khao Yai National Park for two chilly winter nights listening to them. The full line-up and tickets (B1,800) are available at www.thaiticketmajor. com or www.bigmountainmusicfestival.com. December
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■■ 10th Hua Hin Vintage Car Parade Bangkok’s all-time favourite seaside getaway is the place to be this month for some nostalgic automobiles and lazy afternoons. On December 14 a convoy of vintage motors will drive the 225km from Bangkok to Hua Hin’s Amari Resort and spend the next couple of days puttering around town. Members of the public will also be able to ride in one for a fee. For more information call the local TAT office on 032-513-885 or the organisers on 02-530-3218 ext. 13.
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■■ Chiangkhan Film Festival The pretty Isan village of Chiang Khan, with its rows of teak-plank shophouses tracing the banks of the Mekong River, is hosting a week-long free film festival. At cinemas both indoor and outdoor, movies in which the popular retro tourist attraction has a cameo, such as Kru Baan Nok and Sabaidee Luang Prabang, will be screened alongside a hundred other movies from home and abroad. Independent film-makers will also be attending. Films will be screened between 7pm and midnight. www.chiangkhanfilmfestival.com
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■■ The Experience Festival The likes of Firefly, Neuroplasm and Sinerider, among other bizarrely named DJs, will spin non-stop trance music at this four day, three nights music festival down on the island of Koh Tao. As well as pumping music, expect all of the genre’s psychedelic trimmings such as UV lighting, trippy visuals and dreadlocked travelers muttering about realigning their chakras. Tickets are B2,200 in advance until December 27; B2,500 on the gate. www.theexperience-kohtao.com
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hotel deals
■■Introductory Rates
Until Dec 20
Regent Phuket Cape Panwa 84 Moo 8 Sakdidej Road | 07-620-0800 | www.regenthotels.com/phuket
The Regent Phuket Cape Panwa is a new resort located in Phuket’s secluded Cape Panwa bay, next to its own private beach. To celebrate its launch, introductory rates are available on all rooms until December 20. Whether you book a pavilion (B5,600++), suite (B8,050++) or pool villa (B12,750++), daily breakfast for two, complimentary usage of iPad, Wi-Fi and broadband, and ocean views from your private balcony are all included.
■■Winter Package
Until Dec 24
U Chiang Mai 70 Ratchadamnoen Road, Chiang Mai | 053-327-000 | www.uhotelsresorts.com/uchiangmai
U Chiang Mai, in the heart of the Rose of the North’s old town, has two packages for the winter season. The ‘U Discovery Package’ offers guides, community activities and heritage talks; the ‘U Spa Package’ includes a traditional Thai or classical Swedish massage. Both start from B6,180++ for a superior room; and B7,180++ for a deluxe. The prices are per night and include “whenever/wherever” breakfast.
■■Winter Break Discounts
Until Dec 27
Centara Hotels & Resorts Chiang Mai 02-101-1234 ext 1 | reservations@chr.co.th | www.centarahotelsresorts.com Make your last minute Chiang Mai winter break cheaper by choosing one of the three Centara hotels scattered in and around the city. The Centara Duangtawan Hotel Chiang Mai, near the Night Bazaar, is offering 20% off (from B2,250); as is the Lanna-inspired Centara Khum Phaya Resort & Spa on the edge of town (from B3,360). Meanwhile, the expansive Away Suansawan Chiang Mai out in the Mae Rim Valley is offering 25% off its garden rooms (from B1,275).
■■Northern Winter Retreat
Until Feb 28
Le Méridien Chiang Rai 21/2 Moo 20 Kwaewai Road | 053-603-333 | www.lemeridien.com/chiangrai
The lush and beautifully landscaped Le Méridien Chiang Rai Resort, which has a lovely outdoor swimming pool overlooking the Kok River, is offering a ‘Northern Winter Retreat’ package exclusively for Thai residents and expatriates. Until late February, they can take advantage of special rates starting from B4,300++ per night including breakfast for two and a 20% discount on food and spa treatments.
On Going
■■Last Minute Programme
Centara Hotels & Resorts 02-101-1234 | www.centarahotelsresorts.com
Centara Hotels & Resorts has just announced the launch of a last minute booking programme offering big discounts on selected properties all over Thailand (as well as the Maldives, Bali and Vietnam). For example, rates for a superior room at the Centara Mae Sot Hill Resort can now be as low as B800 a night. Rates vary according to room type, period of stay, and whether it’s the high or low season.
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■■Adventure Package
Thanyamundra Khlong Sok, Phanom, Surat Thani | 076-336-000 | www.thanyamundra.com
Nine-suite boutique resort the Thanyamundra, which overlooks the mist-covered mountains and karsts of Surathani’s stunning Khao Sok National Park, is offering a two night adventure package. Starting from B22,000, it includes accommodation, breakfast, dinner, airport transfers, and a half day trek into the park’s rainforest, which is older than the Amazon. Also included is a tour of the on-site organic farm. 34 | december 2012
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day trip
Saraburi This central province is in full bloom during the month of December. The unofficial gateway to Thailand’s northeast, Saraburi is home to many historically significant sites, waterfalls, and some very sunny fields.
Located just 108 kilometres out of Bangkok, Saraburi is really simple to reach. And the short distance will give you plenty of time to sightsee in this nearby province. Your first stop should be Wat Phra Putthabhat in Phra Putthabat. Located 20km out of town towards Lopburi, it is one of the most beautiful and important temples in the region due to what lies inside. In the 17th century during the reign of King Songtham of Ayutthaya, a large puddle of water was discovered that resembled the shape of a footprint. It was declared as the footprint of Buddha and this temple was constructed around it. The enormous footprint, at 5 feet long, is the most popular pilgrimage site in central Thailand. Another temple in this district that’s famous, but for a very different reason is Wat Tam Krabok. In fact, it’s not so much a temple as an internationally known drug rehabilitation centre, which utilises Buddhist meditation, Asian herbal remedies and induced vomiting to cure its self-admitted patients. Over 100,000 people have gone through this program including some western celebrities like Kate Moss’ ex-beau, Brit rocker Pete Doherty, as well as Irish everyman Paul Garrigan, the author of a compulsive book, Dead Drunk, that pulls back the curtain on life there. 36 | decem ber 2012
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Saraburi is also home to many caves which have formed over millenia. From the town center head east to the Khaeng Khoi district and you’ll find Tham Phra Pothisat. Quite popular not only because of its beautiful stalactite formations but mostly due to the bas-relief Buddha image carved onto cavern’s walls. For some food visit the province’s largest district of Muak Lek, 38km east of Saraburi Muang. The food market is very popular and is great for picking up local items like curry puffs, salted or sweetened beef, and other fresh foods. Near the market is the Muak Lek Arboretum, a perfect spot to kick back and laze around in the shade. Also nearby is the Namtok Chet Sao Noi, a long winding stream of waterfalls that stretches for 9 kilometres. This fall has seven levels and also some areas where visitors can rent inner tubes and jump in for a refreshing dip. During this time of year however the main attraction of Saraburi is out in the fields. Even travellers who are just passing through the province on the way to Lopburi will bangkok101.com
find it hard not to stop by and have a look at the bright dok tantawan (sunflowers) that are in full bloom this month. The stunning flowers cover a field that stretches 72 square kilometres of purely vibrant photo opportunities. And accompanying them in many places are local food stalls and even elephant rides. The fields are alive around the month of November up until January every year and can be found along the Phattana Nikhom – Wang Muang route. It’s a sight not to be missed, so make sure your cameras are empty when you arrive for this very picturesque experience. getting there
From the Northeastern Bus Terminal (Mo Chit 2), buses every 20 mins between 5am-7pm, from B70 (02-936-2852, www.transport.co.th) From Hua Lum Phong Railway Station departs every hour estimated 2 hours trip and can take a stop at Kaeng Koy Station and Muak Lek Station. (1690, www.railway.co.th) december 2012 | 37
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New Adventures in... Travel By Max Crosbie-Jones and Urasa Por Burapacheep
Southeast Asia is forever spawning fresh, unique travel experiences. Dodge the crowded national parks and beach resorts over your winter break with this rundown of our new favourites. 38 | december 2012
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Hyperventure’s Big Wall Rock Trip Ever wondered what life was like for those unhumanly brave big wall climbers? Experience it this winter in the pristine forested mountains of Kanchanaburi. After making the bumpy, off-road journey there, you spend the night suspended 180 metres up a rock face while munching on camping fare whipped up by the boys. This is followed, come morning, by the potentially heart-stopping downward rappel. Once safely back on the ground, you trek through a bamboo forest, kayak the River Kwai and pamper yourself silly at a riverside resort and spa. Trips run weekends from November through March in groups of 6-8, with private trips also available. Breakfast on a portaledge, anyone?
Location: Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand Price: B12,900 (3 days, 2 nights) www.hyperventure.com
Bangkok Vanguard’s Avatar Voyages Stick your head out of the train as it chugs out to Bangkok’s green belt, cycle through lush coconut groves, visit the UNESCO protected canal market of Amphawa and go firefly watching come sunset… The latest tour by the idealistic young Bangkok Vanguards crew is a fully customisable showcase of nearby Samut Songkhram province. Most of its elements can be found other tours, but this lot do things differently, seeking out truly pristine or mellow areas and stressing cultural conservation and eco-friendliness. The firefly watching, for example, is not done in one of those noisy, motorised long-tails but rather a 100-year old boat that you paddle yourself.
Location: Samut Songkram province, Thailand Price: weekend package B7,450 http://bangkokvanguards.com
Jungle Yoga Yoga retreat backdrops don’t get much more epic than Jungle Yoga’s. Classes take place on a floating wooden sala surrounded by the sheer limestone karsts and humming, critter-filled rainforest of Surathani’s Khao Sok National Park. And once you’ve finished perfecting your poses, you’re free to laze in a hammock on the porch of your floating bamboo bungalow, dive into the lake’s cool pristine waters, canoe, read a book or just gawp at the transcendental scenery. Add the seclusion – you can only get there by long-tail boat – and world-class line-up of gurus and you have a yoga retreat to daydream wistfully about. Note that sessions last a minimum of six nights and the season only runs from November through to April.
Location: Surathai Province, Thailand Price: on request www.jungleyoga.com bangkok101.com
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over the border
BKK - M andal ay Air Asia has just started flying to Mandalay four times a week, making long weekends there a very convenient possibility. Rates start from B1,500 each way, including tax and fees. Why pick Mandalay, the former capital of Myanmar and still its second largest city, over Yangon? As well as being the economic hub of the north, there are more than enough cultural sites to keep you busy, from the revered Maha Myat Muni Buddha statue and Shwenandaw monastery to Mandalay Palace and the longest teak bridge in the world. Also, its hotels aren’t nearly as packed or overpriced as Yangon’s, yet.
Location: Mandalay, Myanmar Price: from B1,500 one way www.airasia.com
Tours on Wheels Bangkok-based tour company Backyard Travel recently launched a range of tours that let you explore the region on a different set of wheels than the usual honking tourist buses. On the ‘Meander the Mountains’ tour you can spend three days exploring Bali’s volcanic areas in an open-top, amphibious VW jeep. The Saigon to the Delta tour is a half-day scoot around Ho Chi Minh on the back of a chauffeur-driven Vespa. And, perhaps most intriguingly of all, the seven-day Luxurious Myanmar tour includes a ride around Yangoon in a restored and very spiffy looking 1945 vintage Chevrolet, or ‘Elephant Coach’ (as well as visits to Bagan and Inle Lake).
Location: Bali, Vietnam and Myanmar Price: range from $437-$2,766 www.backyardtravel.com
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Treetop Adventures Lao tour company Green Discovery’s take on zip-lining is winning rave reviews from everyone daring enough to try it. As is the norm, you glide like a flying squirrel from platform to platform, but the scenery here is something else… after trekking by foot deep into Dong Hua Sao, a protected area of evergreen forest and coffee plantations, you spend the day whizzing along cables cast across deep ravines, a roaring waterfall and swaying treetops almost within touching distance. The two or three-day adventure also includes a stay in an Evok village-like tree-house that can only be reached by – what else? – zip-line. It’s also notable for its eco-tourist credentials, as some of the proceeds go towards conservation and local villagers are employed as guides.
Location: Champasak Province, Laos Price: $520 per person (2 days 1 night), $663 per person (3 days 2 nights) www.greendiscoverylaos.com
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Mekong Discovery Trail The Mekong Discovery Trail is a 180km long network of government-approved ecotourism routes through North Cambodia’s impoverished Kratie and Strung Treng Provinces, both of which are home to some of the wildest and most sparsely populated stretches of the Mekong. Designed to benefit and provide interaction with the local Khmer communities, each of the free trails is focused around life along the river and throws up opportunities for kayaking, Irrawaddy dolphin spotting, mountain biking, horse carting and trekking. You can download copies of the trails, which are designed to boost visitors and promote conservation, on the website.
Location: Kratie and Strung Treng provinces, Cambodia Price: Free www.mekongdiscoverytrail.com
Ock Pop Tok Located on the banks of the Mekong in Luang Prabang, Ock Pop Tok is a grassroots organisation offering visitors that chance to learn about, create and shop for traditional Lao textiles. They have a gallery and shop in town, but its centrepiece is the Living Crafts Centre just outside it. Here you can take classes in weaving, batik and the art of natural dyes. The truly dedicated can also stay in one of four, textilefestooned rooms with river views. Visitors can enjoy a feel-good factor too: some of the proceeds from all the above feed into Ock Pop Tok’s Village Weaver Projects, which create economic opportunities for artisans in the countryside by teaching them handicraft skills.
Location: Luang Prabang, Laos Price: $18-$190 for classes www.ockpoptok.com
Elephant Valley Project There are scores of elephant ‘conservation’ camps in the region, but this one out in the East Cambodian countryside is the only one we know of that doesn’t work its nellies in any way whatsoever. Its founder, Brit Jack Highwood, developed the project as an “alternative approach to domestic elephant care in Cambodia”. Net result: your stint here – be it half day visit or month of volunteering – will include lots of time working closely with the mahouts (washing, feeding and shadowing the creatures as they roam the forest) and absolutely no elephant rides. Bear in mind, you might also need to get your hands dirty for the cause: help dig trenches, build water towers, etc.
Location: Mondulkiri Province, East Cambodia Price: Half day $30 per person; full day $60 per person (including transport and lunch). Not open weekends. www.elephantvalleyproject.org
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ARTS & C u lt u r e
opening at 338 OIDA GALLERY 42 | december 2012
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A R T s & culture | E xhibitions
Arts & Culture Starting with the easier to access fare, you have until December 6 to catch the tail-end of Very Thai, the spinoff exhibition from the book of the same name (see p.24). Head to the pedestrian area in front of Zen Department Store (4/5 Rajdamri Road) and you won’t be able to miss its large format pictures (and if you don’t make it there in time the new edition of the best-seller should be in the book stores before Christmas). Perhaps the biggest news on the art scene this month is the opening of 338 Oida Gallery on Rama IV Road (pictured). The latest addition to the capital’s arts spaces, the gallery’s inaugural exhibition Opening features works and texts by Mit Jai-Inn, Nim Kruasaeng, Rirkrit Tiravanija and Pier Luigi Tazzi. Meanwhile, near the river, an exhibition of platinum prints, YIN, by respected Japanese photographer Kenro Izu continues at Serindia Gallery until December 16. The bookish among you may be interested to hear that this gallery and publishing house has also just opened art bookshop HARDCOVER (www.hardcoverartbookshop. com) on the third floor of the Bangkok Art & Culture Centre. Expect tomes on art, antiquities, architecture, design, fashion, photography, and a selection of exhibition catalogues from museums and galleries. Also worth seeking out is group exhibition Safe Place in the Future, which is at the Jim Thompson House Art Centre (6 Soi Kasemsan 2, Rama 1 Rd, 02-612-6741) until March 3. A reprise of a concept that first took place at Ver Gallery back in 2009, it explores the notion of a safe place within contemporary society. For more exhibition ideas, see overleaf or pickup a copy of our free sister publication BAM, or the Bangkok Art Map, which covers the lot. bangkok101.com
december 2012 | 43
ARTS & C u lt u r e
exhibition highlights Mirai-Chan
Mass Universe [MAP3 / Q11] 4/1 Sukhumvit Soi 34 | 02-661-3994 | Tue-Sat 11am-7pm | Facebook: Massuniverse | BTS Thonglor
Until Dec 15
Mirai-chan, an adorable little girl from Japan’s Sado Island, has become well known internationally through the lens of Japanese photographer Kotori Kawashima. For its inaugural exhibition, new gallery cum graphic studio Mass Universe presents images of the wide-eyed and rosy-cheeked young child posing amid urban and pastoral settings.
Traces of Thought
V64 ART STUDIO [MAP2 / G4] 143/19 Changwattana Soi1 Yak 6, Bhangkhen Laksi I 089-1430986 I Daily 9am-6pm I www.v64artstudio.com
Until Dec 21
The latest group exhibition by the self-sufficient, 4,800m2 artists’ community out in the northern suburbs features works by five art teachers from Rajamangala University: Komkrit Sawatdirom, Narupon Buranabunyay, Thosaporn Suthum, Sorayut Duangjai and Narakorn Sittites. Expect a disparate range of styles that reflects their own personal stories.
Picture Perfect
Bangkok Art & Culture Centre (BACC) [MAP4 / B4] 939 Rama I Rd, Pathumwan | 02-214-6630-1 | Tue-Sun 10am-9pm | www.bacc.or.th | BTS National Stadium
Until Jan 6
The first in a series of BACC exhibitions focusing on photography, Picture Perfect highlights emerging female photographers Charinthorn Rachurutchata and Chamaiporn Wadkien. Playing with the ideal of female beauty, Charintorn disturbs by manipulating childhood innocence while Chamaiporn unsettles with images of anorexic women.
44 | december 2012
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All for Happy
Nelson Hays Library [MAP5 / F4] 195 Surawong Road | 02-233-1731 | Tue-Sun 9:30am5pm (closed Mon) | www.neilsonhayslibrary.com
Until Jan 6
Hanging in the old library’s rotunda and garden gallery space, young Japanese artist Ko-Hey! Arikawa’s dazzling acrylic and mixed media compositions explode with visual power. Although popular in his homeland, where replicas of his innocent and fantastical, child-like daubings are sold at galleries and museums all over the country, this is the first time he has exhibited in Thailand.
Concrete Variables
JAM 9 [MAP5 / D7] 41 Charoenrat Soi 1, Sathorn Rd I 02-673-9009 I Tue-Sun noon11:45pm I BTS Surasak
Until Jan 10
JAM is a recently opened café-bar-gallery near Surasak BTS that aims to promote emerging local and international art. Concrete Variables features mixed media works and film by V64 resident artist Cecê Nobre from Brazil. The Bangkokbased graffiti artist collaborates with several of his fellow street artists to bring a lively assault of aerosol creativity that reflects the city’s burgeoning street art scene.
Opening
338 OIDA Gallery [MAP8 / M17] 4F 1028/5 Pongamorn Building, Rama 4 Road, Sathorn | 090 198 8749 | Wed-Sun 1-5pm and by appointment | MRT Lumpini
Until Feb 28
Recently opened, 338 OIDA Gallery is the capital’s latest arts venue. Oida, which takes its name from the ancient Greek word for ‘seeing’, is the vision of art aficionado René Anant Feddersen. The inaugural exhibition Opening presents paintings by Nim Kruasaeng alongside sculptures by Mit Jai-Inn, a table installation from Rirkrit Tiravanija, and text work by Italian curator Pier Luigi Tazzi.
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Enjoy these highlights from our sister publication the Bangkok Art Map. BAM is a free city map containing insights into Thailand's blossoming art scene. www.bangkokartmap.com
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december 2012 | 45
ARTS & C u lt u r e
in-space
The Library that Love Built
A
Catering to Thais and expats alike, the Neilson Hays Library is one of the city’s most diverse and historic arts resources. Diana Pajkovski, a regular patron as well as a board member, recounts the heartbreak that led to its creation.
recent Sunday at the Neilson Hays Library was a lively affair: a group of cyclists had occupied the garden, taking a break from enjoying car-free day and showing off their hipster bikes; a couple of girls were passing a hot pink ball back and forth, careful not to damage the frangipani trees; another group of children was inside the library, sprawled on the beanbag chairs in the children’s corner, flipping through books. Meanwhile, in the Rotunda, several ladies were admiring the quirky owls in the exhibited artwork under the gentle gaze of the only surviving picture of Jennie Hays; and the café was busy as ever, serving delicious fare to a diverse group of diners, from members of the local gym to families on a quest for a leisurely lunch with a bit of art and culture thrown in.
That Sunday I was not at the library as a member of its board. I was at the library as a patron and, not being in troubleshooting mode, was able to relax and observe the activity around me. 46 | december 2012
Looking at the visitors enjoying the various spaces in the library compound I began to understand why the Neilson Hays Library is still relevant after more than a hundred and forty years of existence, despite the fact that English-language books are now readily available and in spite of the advent of the Kindle: the library is not any old building filled with dusty books, the library is a vibrant community centre that hosts art exhibits, concerts, story times for children, guest speakers, art fairs, literary festivals, painting and photography classes. As for the old building, in the case of the Neilson Hays Library this is an asset rather than a liability. The elegant building on Surawong Road that is the Neilson Hays Library is ninety years old, and the story of its origin a Taj Mahal-like tale of love and loss – the locals even refer to it as “the library of love.” The love in question was between Dr. Thomas Heyward Hays, a renowned physician, and the young missionary Jennie Neilson. bangkok101.com
Clockwise from left: The Library’s leafy garden exterior; architectural plans by Mario Tamagno; Jennie Neilson Hays; Dr. Thomas Heyward Hays.
Dr. Hays was a man who made his mark on many aspects of it would be difficult to enlarge the current building in an late nineteenth and early twentieth century Bangkok life – “artistic manner.” Instead, he purchased the adjoining plot medical, philanthropic, and commercial. He was a consulting of land and hired Italian architect Mario Tamagno to design physician to the Royal Court and instrumental in improving a brand new building worthy of Jennie’s library. Tamagno public health in the Kingdom, but also a savvy businessman was already famous in Thailand, having designed the who invested parts of his profit into charitable organisations. Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall, Wat Benchamabophit, the He was also a close friend of Prince Damrong Rajanuphab, Oriental Hotel, and the Hua Lamphong Railway Station. The known today as the Father of Thai Art History and new building was inaugurated in 1922 as the Neilson Hays Archaeology. But the rock behind this extraordinary man was Library in memory of its benefactress and has been lending his wife, Jennie Neilson Hays, praised English-language books to expats and Thais in Bangkok society for her “gentle heart alike ever since. and unobtrusive practical charity.” “The story of its Today, as in 1869 when the Bangkok Ladies’ origin is a Ta j One of Jennie Hays’ greatest passions M ahal-like tale Library Association was established, the was the Bangkok Ladies’ Library of love and loss.” library is still run by a board of women Association, of which she was a volunteers who are responsible for all aspects member for twenty five years and of managing the library, from securing a president for many of those, exerting her considerable finances for upkeep and running costs to planning and influence in society to ensure financial stability for the organizing events and buying books. A look at the library’s Association. When Jennie was taken by cholera in 1920, archives shows that while the length of the skirts of the Dr. Hays was inconsolable, but knew that the best way to board members varied greatly in the course of the 140 years, honour and preserve her memory was through continued they faced the same challenges as far as the running of the support for her passion. library is concerned: increased costs of maintaining the building, the need to increase subscription fees to cover Jennie’s wishes were that the library building be expanded said costs, dwindling membership as a result of increased in order to house the growing library collection. The library subscription fees. Dr. Hays left behind a sizeable endowment at that time was a small, unappealing building on Surawong to ensure the self-sustainability of the library, but that Road, and Dr. Hays, with his impeccable taste, knew that money is long gone and for the past decades the library bangkok101.com
decem ber 2012 | 47
ARTS & C u lt u r e
has been relying on donations and pro-bono work for the upkeep of the aging building. Most recently, the 90-year-old beauty received a facelift when Matthew Harrison and his company Civil Master International replaced the roof and gave the building a fresh coat of paint. As a member of the board, I often find that being responsible for 140 years of remarkable history is a daunting task, but then I think of all the women before me who shouldered the same burden and I realise that preserving the library for posterity is such an important task that there will always be people who will generously donate their time, energy, and money to supporting this historical institution. This is not the end of the story of the Neilson Hays Library. I did not mention Ms. Firmina Antonio, an assistant librarian who served the library for over 30 years. I did not mention how in World War II the Japanese forces removed all valuables, including rare books and original blueprints, and how part of the spoils were recovered after the war with the assistance of the British government. I also did not tell you how the Ladies’ Bazaar Association eventually became the Bangkok Library Association, which in its present iteration, is a managing board comprised of a dozen women, the diversity of whose professional and ethnic background can make your head spin. So come visit the library, browse, read, relax, and if you are lucky you might encounter one of our older patrons or board members who will gladly share more extraordinary stories with you.
ห้องสมุดเนลสันเฮย์ ถ.สุรวงศ์ getting there
The Neilson Hays Library [MAP5 / F4] 195 Surawong Rd | 02-233-1731 www.neilsonhayslibrary.com | Tue-Sun 9:30am-5pm 48 | december 2012
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Museum of Contemporary Art
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ARTS & C u lt u r e
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50 | december 2012
reading & screening
SACRED SKIN
Tom Vater & Aroon Thaewchatturat Visionary World Publishing 200 pp | B1,075 Writer Tom Vater and photographer Aroon Thaewchatturat spent a year researching the history and practices behind sak yant, Thailand’s centuriesold sacred tattoo tradition. The result was Sacred Skin : a 200-page book packed with over 170 colour photos and insightful text. Thaewchatturat’s stark studio shots compellingly capture these arcane scrawls of Khmer script, geometric forms and obscure mythical creatures. And Vater’s words are just as revealing, delineating the origins of sak yant and belief of those who wear them. Sacred Skin’s most lasting contribution to the tradition, though, will likely be its dispelling of a modern myth: that they appeal only to criminals. Devotees who wear them are given a set of rules by their masters, Vater explains, which they must follow if the tattoo is to work. Or, as one devotee puts it, “the sak yant is a powerful reminder for us to stay on the right path.”
PAYING BACK JACK
THE TROUSER PEOPLE
Christopher G.Moore | Heavenly Lake Press | 332 pp| B445
Andrew Marshall | Penguin Viking 296 pp | B699
Every big city has its fictional detective, some more than one. One of Bangkok’s is Vincent Calvino – an American private eye who, when not pursuing deranged mafia types, must dodge the smell of freshly soiled diapers (his office doubles up as, of all things, a kid’s crèche!). This, the 10th in the series, finds Calvino heading to Pattaya for some R&R beneath the castnet of Bangkok’s murderous underworld. Naturally, it’s not long before girls are falling off buildings and Calvino must reluctantly surface. Globally acclaimed, Moore’s neo-noir series – always as much about the clash of cultures and mindsets as crime – was apparently optioned by Hollywood, but nothing has materialised, yet. However, judging by this suspenseful installment, all the ingredients are in place – eccentric characters (Bangkok one of them), a multi-stranded plot, blood-splattering action, and sparks of genre-bending originality all fly off the page.
Bangkok-based Reuters correspondent Andrew Marshall has written extensively about Burma. Now over a decade old but still well worth reading, The Trouser People is his entertaining and unsentimental ode to the country, written undercover while posing at a tourist to fool the junta. In it, Marshall traces the intriguing footsteps of roguish English colonialist and scholar George Scott, who supposedly introduced football – a game that Burmese now love because it “is so much like fighting” – to the country more than a century ago. This is a tried, tested and well-trodden travel writing device. However, Marshall frequently strays off course while venturing into seldom-visited northern regions, thereby sourcing rich material without ever mentioning Scott or soccer . This entertaining, often amusing travelogue is arguably at its most effective when he does.
Dear Galileo
Nithiwat Tharatorn | 2009 | US$14.99 from www.yesasia.com Once in a while along comes that rare cinematic specimen: very Thai, unridden with clichés, and cuter than cute. Heralding a young new trend in Thai road movies, Dear Galileo is a quiet feast of genuine performances, deceptively simple dialogue – “Why is the Tower of Pisa still standing?” – and unlikely, albeit adorable, renditions of science and Venn diagrams. Dishing up the Asian quirkiness and teary, tender moments are characters familiar to most Thais in real life. Cherry has been suspended from university and Noon has just broken up with her boyfriend. Together the two embark on a Robin Hood-style adventure through Europe, illegally working in Thai restaurants to support their journey. A tale candidly and endearingly told through the Thais’ love of karaoke, their complete ability to disregard traffic lights, and their tendency to revert to their mother tongue when caught in sticky situations. A Parisian artists’ squat and Ashdown Forest, the home of Winnie the Pooh, are just some of the locales encountered on the way. Urasa Por Burapacheep bangkok101.com
december 2012 | 51
epak Takra S w The Art of the Big Kick
Photography by Guillaume MĂŠgevand
Sport at sundown is common through much of the world, but for sheer spectacle and showmanship nothing beats sepak takraw. Take the basic principles of volleyball, add the ability to kick, à la football or kung-fu, and you’re not far off. Hailing from 15th Century Malaya but beloved by many Southeast Asian countries, the objective is to keep a hollow, grapefruit-sized woven rattan ball from touching the ground on your side of the net. You can use every part of your body apart from your lower arms to keep it airborne and send it careering into the dust on your
opponent’s side. But the sport is undoubtedly at its most spectacular when a player attempts – and pulls off – a bicycle kick of which Jet Li or Eric Cantona in his balletic heyday would be proud. Shot at sundown at locations all over the city, Swiss photographer Guillaume Mégevand’s series capture these often point-winning moves in all their majestic, gravity defying glory. If you’d like to see them for yourself, places where you can catch a game include in the city’s parks, on construction sites, under expressways and, because of their density of young and athletic moto-taxi drivers, beside MRT and BTS stations.
FOOD & DRINKS
A rare quiet night at Quince 58 | december 2012
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A R O Y *delicious
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food & drink news
New Openings The fad for tradition continues with owners of Bangkok’s Minibar Royale and Supanniga Home Khon Kaen combining to open Supanniga Eating Room (160/11 Sukhumvit 55 | 02-714-7508), bringing another batch of ‘grandma’s long lost recipes’ to trendy Bangkok. We haven’t tried it yet, but these recipes from Trad and Chantaburi provinces promise dishes like khao krieb nahm jim (steamed flat rice noodles with spicy dried shrimp dressing), which is “hardly found anywhere”, and moo cha muang (pork stewed with herbs and cha muang leaves), which “not many Thais know about”. The restaurant also has a bar and uses “traditional Isan utensils”. Review soon. Enjoy a Big Bite On the artisanal food front, the latest edition of Big Bite Bangkok, a food tasting market in the parking lot of the Maduzi Hotel (9/1 Ratchadaphisek Road | 02-6156400), runs from 11am-2pm on December 9. The here-there-and-everywhere guys from Beervana will have American craft beers, and suppliers like Adam’s Organic, Bo.lan and Quince will offer wares from breads to Thai street snacks. Tasting bites are available free (donations to charity encouraged), plus larger plates and take-aways to buy. Proceeds go to the co-organiser Dwight Turner’s charity In Search of Sanuk (www.insearchofsanuk.com), which works with families in poor communities. amBar Ups the Steaks Head up to amBar, the smoothly decked out rooftop bar and steakhouse at the Four Points by Sheraton (Sukhumvit Soi 15 | 02-309-3201), and you can now enjoy a range of exotic meats as well as classic ones. If you don’t fancy a lamb chop, salmon steak or 250g slab of Australian Black Angus or wagyu, they now also sizzle other cuts such as yellowtail Hamachi (B950), crocodile (B800) and, our favourite, ostrich (B800). Quince comes good One of 2012’s biggest openings, Quince (Sukhumvit Soi 45 | 02-662-4478), pictured opposite, celebrated its first few months with a thank-you bash in mid November. This was to thank customers for their support during, as they put it, “these three first incredible months of misplaced orders, memorable dining experiences, dishes gone cold, boozy nights, undercooked fish, overcooked meats, tears, laughter and culinary epiphanies.” If you haven’t tried it yet, you should soon, as this is one of the most exciting new restaurants around, especially this month, what with brunches and a NYE party with live music all planned. For updates, see Facebook: quincebangkok. Crepes & Co. heads to Hua Hin After relocating the original branch from Sukhumvit Soi 12 to Langsuan Road a few months back, brunch spot Crepes & Co. (37/103 Moobaan Khao Noi, Hua Hin, | 032- 827248 -9 | www.crepesnco.com) has branched out to the booming seaside resort town of Hua Hin. Located 1km west of town, it is set on spacious tropical grounds, with ample parking space and, regulars will be pleased to hear, lots of greenery. Beervana goes with the Flow The boys from US craft beer importers Beervana are everywhere at the moment. This month you’ll find them at Big Bite Bangkok (see above) and curating the brews at a weekend of Hawaiian-themed grub and revelry over at outdoor wave-riding facility Flow House (A-Square, Sukhumvit Soi 26 | www.flowhousebangkok.com). Joining them for the ticket-only dinner on Friday and Saturday night, December 14-15, will be Tim Butler of Eat Me restaurant fame, who will rustle up a traditional Winter Luau feast. No news on prices as of print, but expect lots of grass-skirt swaying and free-flow beer. During the day on Saturday and Sunday, there will also be an open-to-all party.
december 2012 | 59
FOOD & DRINKS
Christmas & New Year’s Deals Spending Christmas or New Year’s Eve here doesn’t mean you have to forgo the mulled wine and mince pies. Far from it: many hotels pull out all the stops to ensure their guests enjoy a memorable blow-out. Expect, if not all, then at least most of the Yuletide trimmings, from turkeys and brussel sprouts to carol singing and flyby visits by Santa. Here’s our pick of this season’s bunch. Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
New Year’s Eve
Anantara Bangkok Riverside Resort & Spa Contact: 02-476-0022
Listen to festive carol singing while enjoying the dinner buffet at the Riverside Terrace (B2,499++). Or step aboard the Manohra Cruise for river breezes and a six-course international set menu (B2,499++), seven-course Thai set (B1,400++) or ninecourse Thai set (B1,990++).
Trader Vic’s will host a Christmas Brunch with lobster, turkey and free flow wine (B2,999++); and the Riverside Terrace a dinner buffet (B1,599++).
Enjoy a six course set menu dinner at Trader Vic’s (B4,999). Or a Thai set menu dinner while you cruise up stream aboard the Manohra (B7,499). Italian Brio will serve a connoisseur menu featuring Sicilian red prawns and caviar (B2,999++); and Japanese Benihana three set menus (B3,999++/4,999++/5,999++)
Crowne Plaza
Feast on an international buffet fat with oysters, foie gras terrine and seafood for a reasonable price (B1,000++). Children aged 6-12 dine for just B99, but only one of them.
A lunch buffet with glass of bubbly, roast turkey and other seasonal classics (B790++).
hit a lavish buffet dinner and countdown party at Panorama (B3,999++, B5499++ with open bar). Canadian Lobster, wagyu and suckling pig will feature along with a live band and cabaret shows.
Contact: 02-632-9000
New Year’s Eve
Lebua
Contact: 02-624-9555
Savor an eight-course set menu while you listen to live jazz and admire the views at 63rd floor al fresco restaurant Sirocco (B21,999++). Other options: drinks at Sky Bar including two glasses of champagne (B7,999++); a set menu with DJ at Distil (B17,999++, B8,999++ for drinks only); an international buffet and DJs at Café Mozu (B5,999++); and, if money really is no expense, a nine course set menu with wine pairings and live jazz at Mezzaluna (B25,999++).
open lunch and dinner
www.labottega.name
Photography for La Bottega by Studio NUMA 60 | december 2012
LA
OTTEGA bangkok101.com
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
Banyan Tree
Choose from a five course set dinner (B4,900) with glass of bubbly at Vertigo, or an Apsara Dinner Cruise with Thai set dinner (B2,800).
Enjoy all-you-can-eat dim sum lunch for B1,250 at Bai Yun, or, if it’s variety you’re after, an international brunch buffet at Romsai (B2,500).
Welcome in 2013 with five courses of Thai-inspired flavours at Saffron, as well as live music (B5,900) and a paired wines option (B7,000). Other choices: a 7-course Chinese menu at Bai Yun (B4,200), a 7-course degustation menu at outdoor rooftop restaurant Vertigo (B18,000), or an unlimited beverage package (B2,500) at neighbouring Latitude Lounge & Bar.
Novotel Siam Square Contact: 02-209-8888
Enjoy a dinner buffet with live kitchen and glass of sparkling wine at The Square (B1,500).
Enjoy a brunch with live kitchen and glass of sparkling wine at The Square (B1,200).
Enjoy a dinner buffet with live kitchen and glass of sparkling wine at The Square (B1,500). Throughout the Christmas season, an all you can eat dim sum buffet lunch at Lok Wah Hin is also available (B620++).
Enjoy a buy 1 get one 1 free at The Square Novotel Platinum Brunch buffet (B799++), with its selection of traditional Christmas dishes.
An international buffet which includes foie gras, beef wellington, and seafood on ice will be served at The Square (B2013++, 50% off for kids). After, join the countdown party with fireworks at the pool.
The buffet brunch at The Living Room, basil and Rossini’s will include carol singers and Santa as well as live jazz (adults B2,950, kids B1,200, free flow drinks and wines B3,800). Later, a four-course dinner with wine will be served at Rossini’s (B,2500).
Big adieu to 2012 with buffet dinner at Orchid Café (adult B1,950, child B1,050), or dinner at Rossini’s ( B3,500, add B1,900 for wine pairing). An à la carte or Thai set (B1,500) will also be served at basil. After dinner, hit The Living Room (B3,500) or BarSu (Ketel One Vodka or Lombard Brut for B4,000) for a countdown party.
Contact: 02-679-1200
Novotel Platinum Contact: 02-160-7100 ext. 8702
Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Contact: 02-649-8888
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Enjoy a gourmet buffet dinner and live jazz across three venues: Rossini’s (Italian), basil (Thai) and The Living Room (adults B2,950, kids B1,200, free flow drinks and wines B3,800). Or barbecue under the stars (adults B1,750, kids B850) at The Sala.
New Year’s Eve
decem ber 2012 | 61
FOOD & DRINKS
meal deals
■■White Truffle Temptation
Dec 4 - 23
The Sukhothai Bangkok [map5/l8] 13/3 South Sathorn Road | 02-344-8888 | www.sukhothai.com For much of this month the open kitchen of La Scala will be filled with the aroma of white truffles from the Alba region of northern Italy, starting with an exclusive one night only gala dinner on December 4 and continuing with an à la carte menu for lunch and dinner until December 23. Expect the rich-flavoured mushrooms to enhance dishes such as duck foie gras ravioli and seared Hokkaido scallops.
■■International Buffet
Until Dec 31
Aloft Bangkok [map3/E8] 35 Sukhumvit Soi 11| 02-207-7000 | www.aloftbangkoksukhumvit11.com Crave Wine Bar & Restaurant, at Soi 11’s snazzy and tech savvy Aloft Hotel, is offering a weekday lunch buffet and a weekend lunch buffet for B279++ and B600++ respectively. The weekday spread is comprised of Thai and international, while the weekend one adds seafood on ice, mussels, oysters and Asian cuisine such as sushi and dim sum. Desserts range from Hong Kong waffles to candy floss.
Until Dec 31
■■All You Can Eat Mexican
The Sukosol [map8 / K11] 477 Si Ayuthaya Road | 02–247-0123 | www.siamhotels.com/siamcity
Through December the buffet at the recently refurbished The Sukosol is going south of the border. Think creamy guacamole, crispy tortilla chips, tacos, spicy salsa, tamales and enchiladas. The prices: B950, B1,150 and B1,399 for lunch, dinner and brunch respectively. Also available all month is an ongoing dine 3, pay for 2 lunch deal and dine 4, pay 2 for dinner deal.
Ongoing
■■Come 2 Pay 1
Ramada Encore Bangkok [map3 / G10] 21 Sukhumvit Soi 10, Sukhumvit Road | 02-615-0999 | www.ramadaencorebangkok.com
Ramada Encore Hotel’s all-day diner, The Hub, is now offering a three course set menu, lunch and dinner, for B650 net per person or as a come 2 pay 1 deal (that’s B325 net a head). The new menu set also offers a choice of four different cuisines, including European and Japanese, as well as a selection of draught and bottled imported lagers, martinis, cocktails and coffee.
Ongoing
■■Mediterranean Fare
Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square [map4 / D5] Siam Square Soi 6 | 02-209-8888 | www.novotelbkk.com
Every Saturday night the buffet spread at the Novotel Siam Square’s The Square is now featuring dishes from across the Mediterranean: France, Italy, Spain, Greece and North Africa. Standouts prepared by chef de cuisine Lisa and her team include salmon with café de Paris sauce, chicken saltimbocca with tomato and basil risotto, baklava, churros and crème brule. B950++ per person.
Ongoing
■■Hot off the Grill
Dream Hotel [map3 / G9] Sukhumvit Soi 15 | 02-254-8500 | www.dreambkk.com
Flava Restaurant & Bar, at Dream Hotel, just got a whole lot meatier. Now it serves freshly grilled meats and seafood, from Australian rump steaks, pork Normandy and grilled marinated chicken breasts to roasted herb crusted sea bass and grilled shrimps. The promotion is available for lunch and dinner; prices start from B250.
62 | decem ber 2012
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Ruen Urai by Max Crosbie-Jones
- forward-looking fare in a throwback setting As the self-appointed safe-keepers of Thai culture would have it, real, authentic local cuisine is something set in stone. But the truth is that the Thai culinary universe didn’t just fall from the heavens fully-formed, but evolved slowly through hundreds of years of imports, adaptation and experimentation. If we accept this as gospel (and only the foodie equivalent of a creationist wouldn’t), Ruen Urai might be one of the most genuinely traditional Thai restaurants in town. On a recent re-visit, we were reminded that many of the dishes here are unorthodox, and in a subtle, restrained and ultimately satisfying way. Ranging from raw tuna rolls stuffed with fresh herbs and served with a lip-tingling nam jim to the decadent devilled soft-shelled crab stuffed with crabmeat and pork, these ‘new creations’ walk the tightrope between progress and tradition, and, more often than not, make it across to the other side. Other thoughtful deviations from tradition include the snow fish with pad krapao. Pairing the delicate white fish with bold, assertive basil shouldn’t work but does, and very well. Unusual blends of fragrant herbs, veg, pastes or spices also appear in dishes such as the penny wort salad, which, as far as we could tell, is similar to yum tua puu (wingbean salad) in everything apart from the key vegetable used. To wash your repast down, there are herb-infused cocktails and a well-curated selection of wines available too. bangkok101.com
Should purists not be convinced by the playfulness, Ruen Urai has some other tricks up its sleeve. First and foremost the menu, which includes a picture book version for newbies, features many of the usual suspects, from your spring rolls to Royal Thai cuisine, albeit often with a Ruen Urai tweak or flourish. Secondly, there’s the setting, which is just plain gorgeous, despite being only a couple of minutes walk from the dancing neon signage and Disneyland sleaze of Surawong Road. A century-old, gracefully curved teak house amid a lush, palmfronded garden, it could have been ripped from the pages of an old Thai folk epic. The main downstairs dining room has a contemporary feel, plate-glass windows on one side allowing you to gaze across the Rose Hotel’s swimming pool. But it’s upstairs, in the space reserved for special occasions and busy nights, where the ancient heritage of the house is most evocative and alive, with weathered antiques and heirlooms from the proprietor’s family adorning an intimate teak panel room with a pointy Ayutthean roof. With modern towers hovering all around it, it’s hard to imagine a more fitting setting for a meal that tangos elegantly between Thai cuisine’s past and future.
เรือนอุไร ถ.สุรวงศ์ getting there
Ruen Urai [MAP5 /H3] The Rose Hotel, 118 Surawong Rd | 02-266-8268~72 BTS Sala Daeng, MRT Sam Yan | 11am-11:30pm www.ruen-urai.com december 2012 | 63
FOOD & DRINKS
Steve Café & Cuisine by Max Crosbie-Jones
- cute setting meets fierce kitchen The least inspiring thing about this new family-run joint is its name. Sounding every inch like a greasy spoon, Steve Café is, in actual fact, a riverside Thai restaurant with a couple of aces up its sleeve: pleasant (not quite stunning) river views from its breezy outdoor terrace, and a talented Grandma in the kitchen. Adding to its low-key charms, it’s the last wooden house in a small community of them tucked away at the back of Wat Devarajkoonchon, a temple only a short walk from Thewet Pier. Even in 2012, most Thais opt for home-style cooking over the fancy-smancy sort. Steve is very much a bastion of the former, complete with a menu that straddles the four corners of the Kingdom with confidence. Connoisseurs will be pleased to find some old, hard-to-find dishes such as bai leang pad khai (stir-fried leang leaves with egg) and pla salid tod song kruang (fried salid fish minced with sweet sauce); the adventurous be tempted by audacious specials such as goong chare nam pla wasabi (raw prawns with fish sauce and wasabi); and green horns probably find that the flavours are bolder and more sweat-raising than they’re used to. Despite the setting, a tourist joint this is not. The cook, a mother of one of the owners, used to work in the kitchen at venerable live music venue Ad Makers (now on Soi Ruam Rudee). Her talent at klup klaem, or local bar snacks, is unmistakable in dishes like the moreish krok ostrich (slices of ostrich sausage pitted with black pepper; B160), with its fetching brown colour and succulent taste. No complaints 64 | december 2012
with her Central Thai cuisine either. Her yum som-o (pomelo fruit salad with half cherry tomatoes, slices of crunchy eggplant, shallots and finished off with cashew nuts; B150) was a fresh, funky blend of spicy and bitter-sweet flavours with the textures to match. And her pla krapong tod samun prai (fried seabass bathed in an blanket of deep-fried green peppercorns, shallots, garlic, krachai, or galangal, and peanut; B360) was divine. The fish meat – a beautiful golden brown on the outside, soft white on the inside – married beautifully with the mango dressing. If there’s a highlight though, it’s the southern dishes. The gaeng luang sai bua pla (sour yellow curry with fish and lotus roots; B160) had us sweating buckets, but something about its pungent flavour kept us coming back for more. Even harder to resist was the stir-fry sataw pad goong (B160), which paired its main component, bitter green sator beans, with fat juicy prawns and smashed garlic and chilly to scrumptious effect. Take-no-prisoners Thai food, reasonable prices and a pleasant terrace from which to sip beers and watch ferry boats chug home… this is a solid little restaurant with more fire in its belly than its quaint setting and cute wooden furniture initially suggests.
สตีฟคาเฟ่ แอนด์ ครุยซีน ถ.ศรีอยุธยา (เทเวศ) getting there
Steve Café & Cuisine [MAP3 / J6] 68 Sri Ayuthaya road, Soi Sri Ayuthaya 21 (Devet), Dusit district | 081-868-0744, 02-281-0915 www.stevecafeandcuisine.com bangkok101.com
Little Beast by Max Crosbie-Jones
- a gastro-bar with a solid bite The interior designers behind this cosy, clubby little gastro-bar are PIA Interior, the same talent who conjured up the enjoyable, Old Siam-style over-the-topness of the recently opened boutique hotel, Hotel Muse. Here, though, the 1920s Prohibition-era feel is not as flamboyant or overwrought, with a concrete rawness marrying with the dimmed lighting, wood accents and button-tufted, black leather chairs.
‘Bites’ and ‘plates’ such as these come in tapas-sized portions intended for sharing, but, as the menu points out, Little Beast also dishes up heartier specials. We haven’t tried these yet, but confess to being seriously tantalised by the photos, which are posted regularly on Little Beast’s lively Facebook page. Think more adventurous flights of fancy such as chocolate and fig foie gras terrine, or savoury corn panna cotta with chanterelle salad and brown butter vinaigrette.
Whether you head upstairs, past the faux-vintage sketches of one of the partners’ pet bulldog – the titular ‘Little Beast’ – to the private mezzanine, or stay downstairs, this is an intimate spot suited to grazing and glugging, or a bit of both. As is the trend these days, it’s a collaborative effort between well-travelled friends with money in the bank. Rustled up by the female chef Nana Bunyasaranand, the food is New American, which essentially means that they serve exotic twists on old world standbys. Thus it is that the steak cut fries come with a truffle aioli, and the tuna tartare a ginger mayonnaise.
Backup comes from a handful of desserts (our pick: the snickerdoddle and salted caramel ice-cream sandwich) as well as malt whiskies, beers and some creative, old-world themed cocktails. A venue that would sit as comfortably in an episode of Boardwalk Empire as it does here in terriblyhip Thonglor, we’d say it’s currently solid rather than spectacular. However, like the fierce looking bulldog that is its mascot, we expect this Little Beast to mature fast, not least because the chef has a welcome adventurous streak.
Exciting sounding stuff, not that it always works on the plate. The jerk chicken hearts with a pineapple salsa were overdone and quickly became tiresome, for example. Much better was the asparagus and watercress salad, a light, fresh palate cleanser; and the lamb meat balls with spicy sour cream and cucumber salad. Also good was the pork belly, the crispy exterior and fatty marrying well with the maple brown butter sauce. bangkok101.com
ลิตเติ้ลบีสต์ ทองหล่อ ซ.13
getting there
Little Beast [MAP3 / Q6] 44/9-10 Thonglor Soi 13 | BTS Thonglor | 02-185-2670 www.facebook.com/littlebeastbar Tue - Sat 5:30pm – 1am, Sun 5:30-midnight december 2012 | 65
FOOD & DRINKS
Gossip Eats & Drinks by Gavin Nazareth
- comfort food, cocktails & chatter Building on the success of their first venture, the guys behind Oskar Bistro on Sukhumvit Soi 11 recently decided to get their hands dirty with another hip venue. Informal and retro-chic, Gossip Eats & Drinks also dishes up their core concept of outstanding quality and great service at a fair price in a fun venue that is guaranteed to make it a crowd puller too. Tucked away in the heart of the ever-morphing Thonglor bar scene, it is located at the very end of Soi 15, past the hubbub of J Avenue. Sitting over a pond and sheltered by a glass roof, the terrace offers comfy armchair seating; while just behind it the cocktail bar has leather stools and high tables. The dining room upstairs has a cosy feel with its gentleman’s club inspired décor. Printed on a wooden slat, the menu is short and sweet. The talent behind it, ex-D’Sens chef Julien Lavigne, describes it as “the love child of the Mediterranean Sea and the Thai sun” and the result is a contemporary take on classic, comforting recipes that surprise yet satisfy. Like the cod & anchovy rillettes appetiser that comes out first; tiny shreds of fish are melded together with rosemary, bay leaves and olive oil into a creamy white rustic pate served with warm bread baked in-house for exceedingly moreish mouthfuls. Or, the delightful velvety Duck Bisque accompanied by a foie gras wonton with porcini espuma and truffle croutons. Karol Ansaldi, formerly of Zuma Bangkok, shakes and stirs behind the bar creating an all-original, tailor-made cocktail 66 | december 2012
list. “Creating cocktails is a work in progress,” he says. “I make many variations till I find the perfect balance.”His “Flowers Fields Spritzer” proves that point. A blend of G. Lavender bitter, rose and elderflower is charged with Cava for a cool, refreshing drink that is perfect for a hot night. Fruity sweetness is tempered by a smooth burn in the “Racyrose” where chilli, lemongrass and vanilla vodkas are shaken with passion fruit, lemon and apple juices, and finished with lychee and rose foam. The wine list also throws up some interesting choices from the Old and New Worlds with all those by the glass being organic. A single mark-up policy ensures basics and premiums have a fair pricing. Other creative signatures like the Hamachi Ceviche ala Thai that brings together the rocket leaves, lemon, corn, tomatoes and the fish for a balanced blend of bitter, acidic, and sweet; the Squid a la plancha with Chorizo and Rocket Salad, and the inspirational Marshmallow Chocolate Fondant are sure to keep you coming back for more. That and the fact that the menu here changes regularly.
กอสซิป อีทส์ แอนด์ ดริ้งค์ ทองหล่อ ซ.15
getting there
Gossip [MAP3/Q6] 13 Sukhumvit 55 (Thonglor) Soi 15 | 02-185-3093 www.gossip-bangkok.com bangkok101.com
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neighbourhood nosh
Soi Th a n iy a
Pha n t Po g1
Silo
d. mR 10 12
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ith its glut of streetfood stalls and foreigner-orientated restaurants, leafy Soi Convent is one of the most reliable and eclectic eating strips in town. By day, this is the realm of the seriously hungry white-collar worker, when they pour from the adjacent towers; and by night, an international mix of night owls can be found trawling the streets in of street bites or a pleasant indoor setting.
After these there’s a food lull of a hundred metres or so – the middle of Soi Convent is occupied by an upmarket international school and a church – before you reach the vicinity of Eat Me (4), a modernist restaurant cum-art gallery where audacious fusion food is served beneath local modern art or out on an open-air terrace. Also on Pipat Soi 2 is Sam’s Fish and Chips (5), a townhouse turned restaurant where the eponymous owner serves succulent slabs of John Dory with a smile.
Sala Daeng
14 11
13
Silo
Starting at the food-stall-less Sathorn Road end, Beccofino (1) is a more intimate outlet of the huge Italian trattoria over on Soi Thonglor. Nearby, tucked down a little residential cul-desac is Pigwit (2): a sandwich delivery outfit with a leafy little seating area where, if you can’t wait for the delivery man, you can come and nosh on its gourmet hand-crafted bagels and sandwiches. A hop and a skip further, at the back of a square that’s also home to one of our all-time favourite Thai massage joints, Ruen Nuad, is upmarket Thai restaurant Naj (3). Put on some smart digs and head here for an evening of dolled-up Thai food served on fine china in dignified surrounds.
Soi
Soi Convent
Si Lom
4 5 3
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Back on Soi Convent proper the restaurants get more close-knit, and the international flavour even stronger, the further towards Silom Road you get... Molly Malone’s (6) is an expansive Irish-themed boozer that does a good line in bangers and mash, steak and kidney pies and other hearty pub stodge. Recommended is its Sunday Roast (12-7pm), during which you can hunker down on unlimited roast lamb and beef, pork loin and crackling and Yorkshire puds etc for only B399. Next door, amble into air-con Thai restaurant Bua (7) for zero interior flair but a meal that, by our measure, scores a respectable six out of ten in the tangy taste department.
Much less of a tourist trap is Hai Somtum (8), a bustling, no-frills Isan
(northeastern) joint with grubby white tiling and garish strip-lighting. Must-try dishes: the gai yang (grilled chicken), laab ped (minced duck spicy salad) and somtum (spicy papaya salad). Neighbouring it are two newcomers, Tub Tim (9) and Zaap Express (10), both of them also cheap and cheerful, no-frills Thai restaurants. Flanked by a branch of Japanese chain restaurant Zen on one side, and a Starbucks that’s good for people watching on the other, Coyote (11) is a slightly kitsch Mexican restaurant. Bringing the punters back: inventive 68 | december 2012
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tex-mex and free margaritas (Thursdays 6-8pm) for the girls. Also, tucked down a grubby little soi (80 metres from Silom Road on the right) is esteemed French restaurant Indigo (12), which has a romantic courtyard, intimate Thai house setting and a strong following, as well as Indian curryhouse Himali Cha Cha (13). The good, sit-down restaurants are over on Soi Convent but the eating opportunities are not. Hogging the narrow sidewalks are a flock of trusty streetfood stalls that satiate the masses day and night, come rain or shine. The bestloved include the khao mun gai (chicken and rice) stall in front of Molly Malone’s every lunchtime, and the ba mee kieo nam (egg noodle soup with wontons and pork or crab) stall flanking 7-Eleven in the evenings.
CUISINE ART
From khao kar moo (braised pork leg) to kanom pung sangkaya (toast with Thai custard) and fresh fruit, there’s a salivating street snack for everyone. But if there’s one you shouldn’t leave Soi Convent without trying it’s the B10 sticks of moo ping (marinated pork) that are grilled and bagged in front of 7-Eleven from about 10pm onwards each night. Be warned though: the skills of Pee Ouan (14), the rotund vendor who mans it, are so well known in these parts that it’s not unusual to have to wait/drool for up to ten minutes before you get to sink your teeth into one.
(1) Beccofino : 02-632-0621-2 | 1:30am-2:30pm, 6pm-10:30pm (2) Pigwit: 087-040-0061| Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat-Sun 9am-3pm (3) Naj : 02-632-2811-3 | 11:30am-2:30pm, 5:30-11:30pm (4) Eat Me : 02-238-0931 | 3pm-1am (5) Sam’s Fish and Chips : 02-234-73335 | 5pm-10pm (6) Molly Malone’s : 02-266-7160-1 | 9am-1am (7) Bua : 02-237-6641 | 10:30am-11:30pm (8) Hai Somtum : 02-631-0216 | Sun-Fri 10:00am-8:30pm, Sat 10am-5pm
(9) Tub Tim : 11am-11pm (10) Zaap Express : 02-635-5023 | 10:30am-10:30pm (11) Coyote : 02-631-2325 | 11am-midnight (12) Indigo : 02-235-3268 | 11:30-1am (13) Himali Cha Cha & Son : 02-238-1478-9 | 11am-3pm, 5:30pm-10:30pm (14) Pee Ouan : early evening-late night (2-3am)
bangkok101.com
Discover the Secret Oasis “How can you say that you know Bangkok if you haven’t visited Ruen Urai?” Find out more on page 63. Experience fine Thai culinary art in the elegant ambience and the secret oasis of Ruen Urai. Casual dining and bar from noon to 11 p.m. Plus happy hour from 3 to 6 p.m. daily. Ruen Urai at the Rose Hotel www.rosehotelbkk.com www.ruen-urai.com
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street eats
Noodle Madness at Bamijompalung by Chaweitporn Tamthai / photo by Atthapol Yanyonglert
- are you greedy enough? There are hundreds, nay, thousands of bami (egg noodle) street stalls scattered around this noodle-fixated city. However, Bamijompalung, which literally translates as the powerful noodle, has charged through the ranks to become one of the most popular. Why is it setting the city’s noodle world alight? To put it simply, as well as being tasty it appeals to the Thais’ love of a zany food promotion. Head to either of its two locales – one in Chinatown during the week, the other at the Railway Market near JJ on weekends – order in the humungous kort piset (B250) and get ready for the gluttonous game to begin. Basically, the challenge is this: finish the whole thing in five minutes and you don’t pay a satang. Two friends are allowed to help you. Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? Wrong: so big is this beast that we urge you not to be too cocky and, preferably, starve yourself beforehand. If you don’t fancy wolfing down your food, you’re of course welcome to pay full whack and enjoy it at your own pace. bangkok101.com
Plus, there are other options, from tamada, or normal sized, bowls (B50) to the even more gargantuan chaew narok – a bowl so bloated with meat, veg and other goodies that to give it away would soon have the owners filing for bankruptcy. Brimming with Chinese mustard, boiled eggs, roasted pork, wontons, fried chicken wings, meat balls, minced pork with crabmeat, capelins, steamed shrimps, New Zealand mussels and no less than two and a half kgs of noodle, we estimate that you’ll need about 8-10 people to finish it. Seriously. Run by a handsome twentysomething and his girlfriend, this comically super-sized noodle stall is worth seeking out. To truly blend in with the locals, be sure to post the before and after pictures on Facebook afterwards.
บะหมีจ่ อมพลัง สาขาถนนเยาวราช และ สาขาสวนรถไฟ getting there
Bamijompalung [MAP6 / g4] [MAP8 / l3] Chinatown – Suan Rot Fai | 080-566-6672, 085-222-3379 www.facebook.com/bamijompalung | B50-650 december 2012 | 71
FOOD & DRINKS
ealtike
Nym
Our roving 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 city’s next delectable morsel …
Charoenkrung Road’s Chicken Rice
One of the most best things about it are the hours it keeps. No matter how early or late I rock up at Meng Pochana, it always seems to be open. While the slightly al-dente texture of the rice and the tender chicken meat are pretty spot-on, my second and third favourite thing about it is the sauce and the soup. A good khao mun gai should always come with a spicy sauce, usually one dominated by ginger. But here they don’t care about such traditions and it’s the chili that cuts through, and makes you sweat. It’s similar to one of the nam jims you normally eat with seafood. As for the soup, this also offers a different taste than the norm, all thanks to its key ingredient: pickled lime, or manao dong. This lends a smoky-sour flavour to the soup, one that cuts the oily taste of the rice and chicken. The result is a dish that sings on the tongue a little louder than your usual versions.
There’s no doubt about it: the recently launched Asiatique Night Market is a fun place to get your shop on. However, the same can’t be said for its dining – most of the time its bars and restaurants are packed to bursting. Nope, rather than standing in line, I advise getting something to eat before you come here; especially as the surrounding area, Charoenkrung Road, is not short of its own options – places like Meng Pochana, one of my all-time favourite khao mun gai (chicken on rice) stands.
72 | december 2012
How to find it? I recommend getting off the skytrain at Saphan Taksin station. However, rather than squeezing on to a packed Asiatique tourist boat, try walking along Charoenkrung Road instead. Do this and, along with plates of the aforementioned at Meng Pochana, you’ll discover the charms of the area’s old shophouses.
เม้งโภชนา ถ.เจริญกรุง (ใกล้ ซ.61) getting there [MAP5/ A7]
Meng Pochana is located next to the Yannawa fire station on Charoenkrung Road, close to Soi 61. Open 10am-3 am except the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. If you get lost, get a Thaispeaking person to call 02-211-1400 for directions
bangkok101.com
cooking with poo
Sang KaYa Fak-Tong
สังขยาฟักทอง
Stop sniggering at the back! Poo is actually the nickname of one of the city’s most in-demand cooks, Saiyuud ‘Chom-Poo’ Diwong. A long-time resident of Bangkok’s Klong Toey slum, Poo runs her own cooking school as part of the Helping Hands initiative, a community self-help program she started with other residents. The profits help street businesses get on their feet. Each month we bring you a recipe from her cooking book, copies of which are available via her website www.cookingwithpoo.com.
Custard in Pumpkin
Mostly eaten in Bangkok, this dessert may sound unfamiliar, but it is worth a try, as the sweet pumpkin mixed with the custard makes for a delicious treat. ingredients
• 4 eggs • 200g palm sugar • a pinch of salt
• 200g coconut milk • 2 pandana leaves (not essential) • 1 medium sized pumpkin approx 500g
Preparation
COOKING WITH POO Saiyuud Diwong UNOH Publications 112pp www.cookingwithpoo.com Aus $20
bangkok101.com
• Break eggs into a bowl • Add sugar, salt and coconut milk • Use a pandana leaf in the palm of your hand and squeeze the mixture together for 5 minutes • This releases the flavor of the pandana leaf into the mixture. Throw out the leaf afterwards. • Drain the mixture through a sieve and discard excess mixture • Place the drained mixture into 4 small bowls. If you are placing it inside the pumpkin, prepare your pumpkin by cutting a square hole at the top and scooping out the seeds. Pour the custard into it, then cover and steam until pumpkin is tender. This varies according to the pumpkin used between 40–50 minutes • Get a saucepan steamer and place the bowls inside (if you only have a small steamer pot, you may have to cook one at a time) • Steam the custards for 20 minutes • If all the water has evaporated, the custards are ready.
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FOOD & DRINKS
hemlock
THAI HEMLOCK [MAP7 / E3]
56 Phra Athit Road, Phra Nakorn 02-282-7507 4pm-12am, Sat 5pm-midnight, Sun closed
This is an interesting little Thai restaurant, not least because it bears little resemblance to one. Featuring stippled cream walls and white tablecloths, not to mention soft jazz and Chilean wines, Hemlock’s cosy space feels more Mediterranean than Thai. While the clientele (tourists, mainly, along with the odd bohemian local) initially raised our ‘baby-food bland’ alarm bells, the menu has some rare head-turners, almost all coming in under B100. Prime example: the meang kam – a hands-on, low-so hors d’oeuvre. Grab a piper leaf, sprinkle
74 | d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2
new srifa 33
with condiments and hold tight for an oral explosion, set off by chilli and lime rind. Another, the khao hor bai bau: a star annice and cinnamon scented rice mound studded with prawns, fall-apart pork, mushrooms, Chinese sausage and lotus seeds and wrapped in a steaming lotus leaf. It’s wonderful, if not a little cloying, so make sure you pair it with something gutsy – a spicy soup or salad perhaps. Not even remotely poisonous, Hemlock is cheap, chilled and worthy of repeat visits.
เฮมล็อค ถ.พระอาทิตย์ NEW SRIFA 33 [MAP3 / M8]
(rice soup) joint would still stand out. Open till 4am, it’s one of the friendliest and tastiest in town for a post-imbibing pig-out. The freshly refurbished dining room is, on weekends, alive with Japanese salarymen and Thai-Indian families demolishing plate-upon-plate of its solid Thai-Chinese recipes. Many, like the divine hoi jor bpoo tot, crabmeat dumplings with plum sauce, are hand-me-downs dating back to 1955. Others, like the “non-stop” shiitake mushrooms, more recent additions introduced by the fourth-generation. The menu is huge, but should you not find your fave stir-fry, seafood, salad, soup or jay (vegetarian) dish the long-serving chef makes to order. Add home-delivery, agreeable décor – large banquet tables and abstract Oriental prints – and New Srifa 33 is leagues above your average scruffy khao tom joint. Fortunately, the prices aren’t.
นิวศรีฟ้า33 สุขุมวิท ซ.33 TONGUE THAI [MAP5 / C4]
12/19 Sukhumvit Soi 33 | BTS Phrom Phong www.newsrifa33.com | 2-258-2649 | 5pm-4am
18-20 Charoen Krung 38, Bangrak BTS Saphan Taksin | 02-630-9918~9 11am-2pm, 5pm-10:30pm
Even if it wasn’t in a soi full of hostess bars this smiley, family-run khao tom
Ignore the goofy name, and wind your way through the riverside streets near
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NORTHEASTERN THAI (ISAN) Isan Rot Det [MAP 8 / K 10]
3/5-6 Rangnam Rd | BTS Victory Monument 02-246-4579 | 10:30am – 10pm
Gedhawa
Firehouse
the Oriental to this charming two-floor shophouse decorated with rustic, oldSiam objects d’art. In a neighbourhood dominated by nosebleed-priced hotel dining, Tongue Thai offers a welcome alternative – affordable farang-sized portions of zesty Thai food, without the farang-sized taste. Take your time to page through the huge menu, and you’ll find culinary representatives from all the major regions of Thailand – try the Isaan appetizer combination, with its tangy sausage and chilli spiked green papaya salad. Also recommended: the huge helping of soft-shell crab stir-fried with curry powder, which replaces the graininess of many restaurants’ versions with an addictive savoury smoothness. Tongue Thai is proud of its unapologetic approach to Thai spicing, so be sure to inform the staff of any chilli susceptibilities from the very beginning.
ทังก์ไทย เจริญกรุง ซ.38
NORTHERN THAI Gedhawa
[MAP3 / N8]
24 Sukhumvit Soi 35 | BTS Phrom Phong 02-662-0501 | Mon-Sat 11am-12pm, 5pm-10pm
bangkok101.com
Formerly an old-school tailor shop, this eccentric Thai restaurant is filled with soulful touches that mark it out as unique for these parts, from the lulling folk songs of Jaran Manopetch to hanging Lanna-style lanterns and textiles. Weird would be an apt word to describe it, were Gedhawa not at heart a homey Thai restaurant offering 100 plus Northern dishes all written up by hand on an elegant, silk-backed menu. The dish to open with is with the Lanna hors d’oeuvre (B280++), which is a big, rustic wooden bowl brimming with fresh vegetables and traditional pastes nam prik noom and nam prik ong, as well as fried pork skin, moo yaw (pork sausage), nam (fermented sausage) and Northern spicy sausage or sai aour. We also enjoyed the deep-fried shrimp with yummy tamarind sauce and crispy noodles (180B), and, the highlight of our meal, the deep-fried fish split in half, one dressed with sweet and sour sauce, and served with a spicy nam jim seafood (dipping sauce). As these dishes prove, Gedhawa is no mere nostalgia trip – it’s an adventure in northern flavours too.
เก็ดถะหวา สุขุมวิท ซ.35
Avoiding shabby restaurants is madness in Bangkok – a city where the best food often hails from carts-on-wheels. Proving our point is this gritty, open-sided Isan (northeastern cuisine) restaurant with zilch-atmosphere but a lot going on in the taste department. Ask for the English menu or just point at what the locals nursing glasses of whisky soda are gobbling. And don’t be surprised when a boat of raw herbs and veg arrives unannounced on your table: munching these takes the edge off – and enhances – the kitchen’s damn fiery spicings. Every dish suggests this is one of the most unadulterated Isaan joints in town; whether it’s the gai yang (grilled chicken), the gaeng om (a cleansing, earthy herbal soup), the shallot and mint-leaf studded lab moo (spicy minced pork salad), or one of the many varieties of blistering hot som tum (spicy papaya salad). Easy on the wallet, if not on the eye, Isaan Rot Det is the ideal place for Thai food daredevils bored with flavours tamed. An invigorating spicehigh (and sweaty brow) is guaranteed.
อีสานรสเด็ด ซ.รางน้ำ�
AMERICAN Firehouse Pub & Restaurant [MAP3 / E8]
3/26 Sukhumvit Soi 11 (opposite Q Bar)
december 2012 | 75
FOOD & DRINKS
An an lao
BTS Nana | 02-651-3643 | www. firehousethailand.com | Tue – Sat 11:30am – 3am; Sun 11:30am – midnight
A tiny, Fireman-themed burger joint located just across from Q Bar, Firehouse’s come in several guises, from racks of three mini-burgers (B260) to the Australian Black Angus beef (B280) and even a Breakfast Burger (B275), but we always opt for the Premium (B195). For that price you get a 180g patty made from 100% Thai-French rib-eye beef served with crisp lettuce, tomato, onion and mayonnaise in a nice looking bun, plus a tin can stuffed full of golden potato wedges. Extras (B30-80) range from the usual cheese and bacon to more adventurous options like gorgonzola, avocado and caramelised onions; while the all important condiments include mustard, ketchup and homemade pickles. It arrives on a wooden cutting board, looking a tad too tall to handle, but it’s nothing a firm grip can’t hold together. No complaints when you sink your teeth into this baby either: juicy, with a good texture and a beefy, well-marinated flavour. The best burger in town argument is destined to rage, but there’s no doubt Firehouse has a very tasty contender on its hands.
76 | decem ber 2012
CHEZ PAPÉ
Other well-done American/Euro comfort foods include spicy buffalo wings (B150), tacos and wraps (B150 – 220), and a delicious stab at fish and chips (B250).
ไฟร์เฮาส์ ผับ แอนด์ เรสเตอร์รอง สุขมุ วิท ซ.11
CHINESE An An Lao [MAP 8 / P17]
Sukhumvit Soi 26 | BTS Phrom Phong 02-261-8188 | 11:00am - 22:00pm www.ananlao.com
You’d struggle to call An An Lao’s canteenlike setting pretty, but no one cares, a tribute to the quality of the food. The Thai-Chinese owner Khun Roongnanpa and her family hail from Betong, a mountainous district in the South’s Yala province; and it is the not-too-puritanical style of Chinese cooking that they grew up with down there that has made An An Lao such a fixture among families, businessmen, expats, even celebrity masterchef McDang. The steamed betong chicken is the one that no table spread should be without (and the reason why a backlit chicken logo looms large over the entrance). Served in a garlic and soy sauce, initially you’re taken aback by the
toughness of the lean, free-range meat (KFC chicken this ain’t); but most are won over by its flavour and sinewy goodness. Coming in a close second is the peking duck, which is An An Lao’s best seller (and loss-leader) due to its price-tag: B350 for the whole bird. You get two dishes: a plate of wafer-thin, deep red skin served with steamed flour sheets, cucumber sticks and sticky hoisin; and the meat served separately in one of four ways, from deepfried with garlic to stir-fried with bean sprouts. Fowl isn’t the only thing that’s full-on delicious here. There are other, less lauded signatures such as the lightly wok fried, satisfyingly crunchy watercress in oyster sauce. There is also kao yok , thick slices of steamed pork belly interspersed with slices of just as thick taro. Doused in a sweet brown gravy thick with black bean pickles and Chinese spices, it’s a delicious, gratifying dish that we mopped up with hot, pillow-soft slices of mun thow (steamed Chinese bun). Soup-wise, we recommend the hua pla puak mor fai (fish head’s soup with taro). Clogged with chunks of tender (but bony) fish, it was one of the most beguilingly flavoursome soups we’ve tasted in a long while.
อัน อัน เหลา สุขุมวิท ซ.26
FRENCH CHEZ PAPÉ [MAP 3 / F9]
110/1 Sukhumvit Soi 11 | 02-255-2492 BTS Nana | Mon-Sat 5pm-midnight, Sun 11am-11pm
Montand, de Gaulle and Juliette Greco… they’re all here in photos on the walls, along with a bike, a tuba, an old wireless
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radio and the crucial blackboard menu. Waiters in berets and hoopy French sailors’ tops flit from the bar as low key vocals à la Piaf fill the air. Chez Papé has just a touch of the theme pub in its DNA. But it’s pleasing on the eye, and they’ve managed a homey ambiance for decent food at very fair prices. Slow cooked leg of ham in hay comes as three tender rough hewn slices that give satisfying bite, simply served with cornichons and garnish. Among the mains there’s a satisfying lamb stew, lightly herbed and well presented in a wide brimmed bowl dusted with paprika. The neat little wine list has a choice of grapes from several regions, not only French, and three each of white and red by the glass (B145-B160), also available by 46cl carafe (B495-B590). Bottles run from B890. A good dessert pick is café gourmand – a shot of espresso and three decent sized shallow ramekins of ile flotante, crème brulée (not too sweet, crust not too thick) and chocolate mousse. Finish with a digestif, perhaps calvados or aged plum brandy. While there’s a sense the kitchen might be stretched if Chez Papé gets busy, it serves up good bistro food and old-fashioned hospitality. You leave feeling sated and warm.
เชส ปาเป่ สุขุมวิท ซ.11
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crepes & co
INTERNATIONAL Crepes & Co [map4 / j7]
59/4 Langsuan Soi 1| 02-652-0208 | www.crepesnco.com | Mon-Sat 9am-11pm, Sun 8am-11pm.
Crepes & Co in Sukhumvit Soi 12 had been around so long it was easy to take for granted, at least until the popular venue became another victim of the developers. But now they have another townhouse on Langsuan from which to serve their crepes and homey Mediterranean dishes. The spacious open plan room has an open kitchen, thick, blond wood pillars and beams, and sofas and armchairs in the centre to lend a living room ambiance. Large windows all around give good natural daylight and at night the place is brightly, but softly lit with
tiny room
standing lamps and ceiling spots. Regulars will be happy that this latest branch retains the famous all-day-every-day brunches (B490++); in fact Crepes & Co still has largely the same menu developed after it opened in the mid-1990s. The star attraction crepes have solid support in Greek, Moroccan and Spanish dishes such as moussaka, tajines and gambas pil-pil. Moroccan starters include a pair of deep-fried, pastry-filled dishes: briouattes (six triangles with beef, rice, cinnamon and a touch of saffron, B185++) and pastilla (three sweet parcels dusted with icing sugar containing shredded chicken, honey and nuts, B190++). Both have clean, oil-free, crispy shells and come with the spicy relish harissa. Among the large range of sweet and savoury crepes (B120-B345++) are standard French
december 2012 | 77
FOOD & DRINKS
wholly cow
such as Suzette and international choices like Portugaise, massaman, and Tintin (B245++), which blends crispy and creamy saltiness through bacon and feta with a faint oregano finish.
เครปส์ แอนด์ โค หลังสวน ซ.1 TINY ROOM [MAP3 / S10]
25/5 Sukhumvit 55, Thong Lor 02-381-6788 BTS Thong Lor | Tue-Sun 11am-9pm, closed Mon
The concept of Tiny Room is simple – every morning, former hedge fund manager Inne Yomnak writes up the five dishes of the day on a blackboard, which she then cooks to order. You can choose to sit at one of three two-seater tables, or around the counter that runs at a right angle around the open kitchen. You’ll find no menus, waiters, valets, ushers, or even dishwashers here – just Yomnak and her Tiny Room. She cooks the food she likes, which at the moment is a mix of home-style Western and Japanese comfort food. The appetisers when we visited were the simply dressed but delicious smoked duck and cold beef salads (B200 each), the latter with a subtle mustard kick. We followed these up by ordering all three mains. The first, mentaiko spaghetti (B190), pasta with marinated cod roe, shoyu, mirin, and chopped green onion, is already a favourite with Thong Lor’s homesick Japanese salarymen. Our party, however, preferred the lighter taste of the ikurai and watercress pasta (B190), the reddish-orange salmon roe providing a more subtle and ultimately pleasing flavour.
ไทนี่รูม ซ.ทองหล่อ Wholly Cow [MAP 8 / l7]
78 | december 2012
indian hut
cigar bar (called ‘Holy Smokes’) was originally going to be a butcher until they did the sums and figured nicotine might generate more revenue. The loosely American-style menu offers relaxed, informal dining that you can order Thai sharing style or Euro individual plates. It draws a crowd of mainly Thais – but with a decent smattering of farang – and mixed, with kids and grannies, after work chill-out, romantic couples and families weekend brunching. The menu starts with options like nachos (B140++) – actually very tasty, topped with cheese and bacon and a slightly sweet salsa that worked well against the salty corn chips – and pan fried scallops wrapped in bacon (B250++), in which the bacon ideally would have been cooked a little longer, but not disastrous. Australian Angus tenderloin and rib eye (both B650++) come as thin cut 8oz steaks, aged 21 days, both with a good sear and well seasoned in a ‘secret marinade’ with nuances of Lea & Perrins sauce. To finish, the crepes Suzette and chocolate soufflé (which was more akin to a half-baked chocolate cake) were both tasty. Wines start at B750++/bottle for a drinkable Misiones de Rengo from Chile (the only by-the-glass option, B200++) and run to around B3,500++, with Belgian beers (B145- 275) a good alternative. If you’re turned on (or off) by the prospect of live pop and easy listening jazz, often with an audience sing-along, it starts at 7:30pm on Friday and Saturday. Otherwise, the Cow is a smart, friendly neighbourhood option.
โฮล์ลี่ คาว อารีย์ ซ.2
INDIAN Indian Hut [MAP5 / D4]
Ari Soi 2 | 02-619-8177 | www.whollycowbkk.com | Tue-Sun 11:30am-2:30pm, 5:30pm-10:30pm
311/2-5 Suriwong Rd, opp Manohra Hotel BTS Saphan Taksin | 02-635-7876 www.indianhut-bangkok.com | 11am – 11pm
Three bankers opened Wholly Cow around the concept of wine, steak and cigars, back in July, although the
Far more than just a droll name, the 12-year-old Indian Hut has been at the forefront of the city’s gradual warming bangkok101.com
VEGETARIAN KHUN CHURN [MAP3 / V11]
Ground floor, Bangkok Mediplex, Sukhumvit Soi 42 | BTS Ekamai 02-713-6599
tadaima
to Indian cuisine and a serial winner of Thailand Tatler’s coveted Best Indian Restaurant Award. Everything from the cardamom seeds to the turmeric and Kingfisher beer is shipped in from the subcontinent, a policy that gives their robust, consistently delicious Northern fare an authentic edge. Dishes come in generous, meant-to-be-shared portions – the slow marinated chicken tikka is a falloff-the-bone delight, the lamb rogan josh satisfyingly tender, the naan breads and paneer exemplary. They also serve Jain (no onion, garlic or roots), Rajasthani (on request) and Indian-Chinese food. Oh, and don’t miss the smooth, scrumptious mango lassis. Encased in a plush, all-white dining room replete with white linen table clothes and staff in dickie bows, this is a curry-house with class, in the old-fashioned sense of the word.
อินเดียนฮัท ถ.สุรวงศ์ ตรงข้าม รร.มโนราห์
JAPANESE Tadaima [map 4 / R3]
LG F Eight Thong Lor | Thong Lor Soi 8 BTS Thong Lo | 02-714-9883 | Facebook:
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nadimos
Tadaima | Mon-Fri 11am-3pm, 5pm-11pm, Sat-Sun 11am-11pm | B88 for every dish
Located on the ground floor of Eight Thonglor, Tadaima, or “I’m home”, is a casual izakaya where every dish costs a ‘plus-plus’ free B88. Concrete floors and chic walnut wood tables, chairs and funky tubular lamps are it rather minimalist motifs. Don’t be afraid to order in a few dishes: portions may not be huge, but they’re good value considering given the quality. Our pick of the signatures was the Sushi Sandwich: salmon wrapped in an elongated triangle of sticky rice topped with tobiko and crunchy fried tempura flour. Two other dishes that had us scheduling our return visit – not something we do likely at a mall diner – were the aburi yakibuta (grilled pork with soy sauce) and buta bura (pork belly with miso sauce). Want to do the authentic izakaya thing? Wrap a tie round your head and miss the last train home? Drinks include the obvious, sake and glasses of beers like Asaki , as well as fruit flavour beers (B118) and sour sawa cocktails.
Easily 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; but mainly because the owner and chef Khun Churnjuti knows her veggie grub 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-meal dishes like khao soy. Flavours are surprisingly good given the hardline 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 from your chair or cushioned banquette – of the soulless ground floor of Mediplex, the sleek and sterile health mall Khun Churn is a part 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
ทาไดมะ เอททองหล่อ ทองหล่อ ซ.8
december 2012 | 79
Nightlife
The Boombox stage at last month’s Culture One dance festival. photograph by Anat Kornkasem 80 | december 2012
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nightlife news
“jean michel jarre would be proud” Jazz Events Pucci Amanda Jhones sings with pianist Randy Cannon’s group at the Living Room in the Sheraton Grande hotel (250 Sukhumvit Rd, 02-6498353, www.sheratongrandesukhumvit.com) from December 6-January 27. The New Yorker, who has previously appeared at her legendary hometown clubs Birdland and The Blue Note, has recently launched a CD of jazz standards called Wild is the Wind . Ex James Brown drummer Erik Hargrove and Therdsak Wongvichien on bass provide the rhythm section. DJ Events The Super Beat Music Festival at BITEC (km1, 88 Bangna-Trad Rd, 02-749-3939, www.bitec.co.th) on December 9 has stages with DJs including Paul Van Dyk, Eddie Halliwell, Bart B More and Don Rimini, plus live music by the likes of Christina Aguilar, Modern Dog and ABnormal. Entry before 7pm is B1,250, thereafter it’s B2,000. Florida-based German trance DJ and producer Markus Schulz was recently voted America’s Best DJ 2012 by DJ Times magazine. He plays at Levels (Aloft Bangkok, Sukhumvit Soi 11, 082-308-3246) on December 9. On December 13, Bed Supperclub (26 Sukhumvit Soi 11, 02-651-3537, www. bedsupperclub.com) parties until very late with DJ Example. The NME says: “Example’s brand of rave-pop has risen to become the biggest, loudest sound in the UK.” Back up comes from UK dubstep DJ Caspa and Dynamite MC. Tickets are B1,000, for sale pre-show only, so get yours now. The guys at Q Bar (34 Sukhumvit Soi 11, 02-252-3274, www.qbarbangkok.com) note a dark coincidence. The club was built in 1999, as “the Y2K bug terrified the world”, and this year, on December 21, when “a doomsday prophecy predicts the end of the world” it’s Apocalypto Now, Q Bar’s 13th Anniversary Party. Details were unconfirmed at press time, but we predict a wild night and a bleary morning. bangkok101.com
december 2012 | 81
Nightlife
bar review
Water Library @ Grass by Howard Richardson
- shaking up the local cocktail scene Aside from its upmarket, inventive set menu dining on the first floor restaurant, The Water Library also has three lounge and wine bar areas downstairs with funky food, cocktails and live music at not audacious prices. A set menu of three cocktails paired with tapas bites at B790++ is a pleasant surprise to many, and their wine list starts at a mere B900++ a bottle. Water Library is one-to-watch on the regional drinking and dining scene. The very talented mixologist Mirko Gardelliano was Germany’s Cocktail Champion in 2003, while the wine bar chef Urs Lustenberger worked with Michelin three star chef Juan Amador, and will take the reins at Water Library in Yangon, due to open this month. Their operation at Grass Thonglor has a small cool bar, all black and glass, and opposite through full wall windows a clubby wine bar with just three tables, leather chairs and sofas and wine racks. Between is an outdoor space, covered against the rain, where on Fridays and Saturdays, from 9pm a live band plays at low enough volume to chat. The list of 600 wine labels they claim is the biggest selection in town and their 33 cocktails use infusions of herbs and spices, plus alcohol perfumes that add both 82 | december 2012
theatre and aroma. Some are prepared tableside, such as Nitrogen Cuba Libre (7 year-old Havana Club rum, fresh lime, Coca Cola and Nitrogen). The nitrogen gets the freeze without using ice, which dilutes the flavours as it melts. Apart from the set, there’s a small food menu of items like Wagyu beef cheek with celeriac puree, apple and hazelnut (B380++) and Canadian lobster burger with seaweed, wasabi-tomato chutney, daikon and French fries (B400++). Three wines each of red and white, plus two sparklers by the glass (B340-B675++) open the wine list; lower priced labels include the respected Billi Billi Shiraz by Mount Langi Ghiran (B1,400++), and there are many grands cru for deeper pockets. As Water Library import their own wines, if you find something you like you can order by the case to be delivered home.
วอเตอร์ไลบรารี่ แอท กราสส์ ทองหล่อ ซ.12 getting there
Water Library @ Grass [MAP3/R6] Grass Thonglor, 264/1 Sukhumvit Soi 55 (Thonglor 12) 02-714-9292 | Mon-Sat 6:30pm-1am bangkok101.com
Nightlife
Apoteka by Elizabeth Preger
- an old-timey alternative to soi 11’s glitz For those looking to add a little something to their night out on Soi 11 there’s yet another new bar on the block: Apoteka. As you may have guessed, the name is based on an outdated word for pharmacist and the place is meant to emulate a 19 th century apothecary. We waltzed in to start off a night of rowdy partying and to see if their mission, found on their facebook page, of providing ‘a utopian antidote to Bangkok life’ held truth. Walking in the bar had an old-school feel. There were high ceilings, red brick walls, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde being projected onto the wall. Indoor seating was a mix of tall tables with studded chairs, and long tables for larger groups along the main wall. Large cases filled with vintage colored bottles of medicine flank the bar. The outdoor seating is mellow – a wooden patio with some cozy furniture that could be a nice place to curl up on a date or meet some friends for a smoke and a beer. Drink selection includes a nice selection of beer, the Framboise Ale at B250 was delightful, and there’s always the classic Heineken for just B135. All their custom cocktails will run you B230. Our favourite was ‘The Doctor,’ featuring Grand Marnier, strawberries, mint and black pepper. How could we not swoon for a cocktail with some spice? 84 | december 2012
As for snacks, they’re a small selection of simple munchies ranging from B200-450. You could grab some deep fried squid, fish and chips, or a chicken burger and fries. They’re planning on adding to the snack selection, but decided to start with the basic greasy spoon comfort options. We were lucky and got a sneak peak at the whisky and cigar lounge, a room hidden off to the side of the staircase. With muted green brocade on the walls, low leather couches, and Johnnie Walker in glass cases, the space will be available for private parties or just chill sessions. At the moment Apoteka is in its soft opening stage, they’ve yet to have an official premiere as they’re waiting to finish up the last bits of the remodel and design. We’re waiting as well because with the care and attention this place has been getting their launch is sure to be amazing.
อโปเตก้า สุขุมวิท ซ.11 getting there
Apoteka [MAP 3/E8] 33/28 Sukhumvit Soi 11 | 090-626-7655 | Mon-Thurs 5pm-1am, Fri 5pm-2am, Sat-Sun 3pm-12am www.apotekabkk.com, Facebook: ApotekaBangkok bangkok101.com
Nightclubs BED SUPPERCLUB [ma p3 / f8]
26 Sukhumvit Soi 11 | 02-651-3537 www.bedsupperclub.com | 7:30 pm-1 am
With its uber-modern oval 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. Bed has talented resident DJs and brings over top-notch talent (including some very eclectic art) for special events. Big-name DJs tend to spin on Thursdays.
เบด ซัปเปอร์คลับ สุขุมวิท ซ.11 DEMO [map3 / R6]
Thong Lor Soi 10 (next to Funky Villa) | BTS Thong Lo | 02-711-6970 | 8 pm-1 am | free
Easily the grittiest discoteca in the swish Thong Lor area is Demo: a squat former tenement building turned graffiti daubed brick warehouse. Featuring a terrace and bar outside, and lots of dark corners inside, not only does it look like a venue you’d find in East London or some other hipster-ville; it sounds like one, too: instead of the usual mainstream hip-hop and live-bands, Demo’s DJs blast zeitgeisty nu-disco, house and electro through a kicking sound-system.
เดโม ทองหล่อ ซ.10
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GLOW [Map3 / j8]
appears to be the lack of an entry fee.
96/4-5 Sukhumvit Soi 23 | BTS Asok / MRT Sukhumvit | 02-261-3007 www.glowbkk.com | 6 pm-1 am
เลเวลส์ รร.เอลอฟท์ แบงคอก สุขุมวิท ซ.11
This boutique club / bar challenges Bangkok’s biggies when it comes to delivering innovative music from the world of underground electronic pleasures. An intimate, stylish cave is decked out in dark walls, funky seating, innovative lighting and a dramatic bar. The music palette changes night-tonight but always excludes hip-hop (hurrah!). For details and regular updates, check Glow’s cool website.
29/33-48 Royal City Avenue | MRT Phetchaburi | www.route66club.com B200 foreigners incl. drink / free for Thais
โกลว์ สุขุมวิท ซ.23 LEVELS [Map3 / E8]
6th Floor, Aloft Hotel, Sukhumvit Soi 11 | 08-2308-3246 | 9pm-3am daily | www.levelsclub.com
One of the newest clubs on Soi 11 (along with Bash) is drawing big crowds, especially during weekends and international DJ fly-ins. Located in the front annex of the Aloft Hotel, directly opposite Bed, entry is via a lift. Step out of it and you emerge out on to a semi-open air terrace lit by a glowing bar. Our favourite spot: the banquettes with a birds-eye view down over the soi. The rest of the club hasn’t made such a big impression on us, yet. At the far end of the huge main room, a DJ spins mainly house music in front of a tiered danceflooor spotted with tables and podiums. Dancers step up to get the crowd going. There’s also a low-ceilinged room at the back that opens up later. On Thursdays ladies get 3 free drinks, and FriSat there’s a free bar until 11pm for B500, but the biggest reason for its success
ROUTE 66 [Map8 / Q12]
Rammed with hordes of dressed-to-kill young Thais on most nights of the week, ‘Route’, as it is affectionately known, is RCA’s longest surviving superclub. There are three zones to explore (four if you count the toilets – probably the ritziest in town), each with its own bar, unique look and music policy. ‘The Level’ is the huge, all-lasers-blazing hip-hop room; ‘The Classic’ spins house and techno; and Thai bands bang out hits in ‘The Novel’. Route is not a good place to lose your friends but can be a blast if you all get crazy around a table, be it inside or out on the big outdoors area. One sore point: unlike the locals, foreigners are charged a B200 entry fee (but get a free drink).
รูท 66 อาร์ ซี เอ THE CLUB [Map7 / F 5]
123 Khaosan Rd, Taladyod | 02-629-1010 www.theclubkhaosan.com | 6 pm-2 am B 100 (incl. one drink)
The walk-in crowd of young Thais and backpackers must surely be amazed to find they’ve entered a techno castle on Khao San Road. The sky-high windows and raised central DJ turret lend a fairy-tale vibe, while the lasers, visuals and UV lighting hark back to mid 1990s psy-trance raves. Music-wise, it’s a loud, banging house serving up the full range of 4/4 beats, usually cranium-rattling
december 2012 | 85
Nightlife
Bars with views Above Eleven [MAP3 / e8]
33rd Fl Frasers Suite Sukhumvit Hotel, 38/8 Sukhumvit Soi 11 | BTS Nana 02-207-9300 www.aboveeleven.com | 6pm-2am
cm2
electro house and techno. The drink prices are kind to your wallet and UV glowsticks handed out for free.
เดอะคลับ ข้าวสาร Q BAR [Map3 / e7]
34 Sukhumvit Soi 11 | BTS Nana | 02-252-3274 www.qbarbangkok.com | 8 pm-1 am
Long-standing, New York-style night spot Q Bar is well-known for pouring stiff drinks (there are over 70 varieties of top-shelf vodka!) and its strong music policy, with big name international DJs appearing regularly. Q Bar raised the ‘bar’ for Bangkok nightlife twelve years ago and is still going strong, with a flirty crowd every night and a recent top-to-bottom renovation giving the venue a maximalist style injection. Now, there’s more room to dance and more lounge space, especially at QUP, the more downtempo upstairs area. Some relative solitude and a pick ‘n’ mix of the expat and jetset scene can usually be found up here and on the outdoor terrace, which is perfect for a breather, people watching and a late evening snack. Ladies get free entry on Wednesday nights – and two free drinks!
คิว บาร์ ถ.สุขุมวิท ซ.11
hotel bars & clubs BARSU [map3 / h10]
1st F, Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit 250 Sukhumvit Rd | 02-649-8358 www.barsubangkok.com | 6 pm-2 am
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, there are five live bands for each night of the week. Comprised of students from Silpakorn University’s Faculty of Jazz, Tenon Round’ are a gifted young quartet who perform every Tuesday from 8 to 10pm. The other bands, JazzPlayground, P.O.8, Rhythm Nation and Hot Gossip, 86 | december 2012
long table
play from Wednesday to Saturday respectively. In between sets, the multitalented DJ D’Zier spins an infectious blend of house, r&b, soul, latin and whatever else keeps you movin’. As well as creative cocktails (our pick: the tom yum yum - a cold cocktail version of the iconic hot and spicy soup), a ‘Night Bites’ menu of delicious premium finger food is also on hand to keep those energy levels up.
รร.เชอราตัน แกรนด์ สุขุมวิท สุขุมวิท 12 CM2 [map4 / D5]
B1 F, Novotel Siam Square |392/44 Siam Square Soi 6 | BTS Siam | 02-209-8888 www.cm2bkk. Com | 10 pm – 2 am
The Novotel Siam Square Hotel’s subterranean party cave still packs them in sixteen years after it first opened, especially on weekends when it heaves with tourists and nocturnal beauties. The big and quite 1980s disco looking (black and metal and neon lighting rule) complex has lots of lounging space facing the dancefloor, plus a sports bar with pool tables, smoking room, and an Absolut Vodka Lounge. It’s mainstream all the way. DJs play what the crowd wants, when they want it, usually the latest electro, funky house or hip-grinding R&B tune, while the live bands from Canada, Europe and Asia perform as if every song is a potentially life-changing audition. Currently that includes the impressive CLAZZ-X, who perform their renditions of modern hip-hop, R&B and other charting hits daily except Tuesday from 10:45pm onwards. International / Thai food and a huge cocktail list is served, as is what they claim is Bangkok’s biggest pour – all drinks feature double shots for no extra charge. Currently the entrance fee is B650 (2 drinks included). However ladies during the popular ‘Ladies Night’ every Monday and Tuesday girls get in free, plus two standard drinks. Stalk their Facebook page for news of their popular monthly theme parties and drinks promotions
รร.โนโวเทลสยามสแควร์ สยามสแควร์ ซ.6
A west-facing 33rd floor rooftop bar with beautiful sunsets, Above Eleven is a winning combination. The outdoor wooden deck bar with glass walls for maximum view has a central bar, dining tables, lounge areas and huge daybeds for parties to slumber on. Tip: choose a seat on the north side – it gets windy to the south. There’s a great view, an impressive cocktail list, an electro soundtrack with special DJ nights on Wednesday (Salsa), Friday (Hip Hop) and Saturday (House), and this is Bangkok’s only Peruvian restaurant, a cuisine with a bit of worldwide buzz. It will suit the adventurous.
เฟรเซอร์ สวีทส์ สุขุมวิท สุขุมวิท ซ.11 AMOROSA [Map7 / C 12]
4th F, Arun Residence Hotel 36-38 Soi Pratoo Nok Young, Maharat Rd (near Wat Po) 02-221-9158 | www.arunresidence.com 6 pm-1 am
Amorosa is a sultry, Moroccan-style balcony bar offering balmy river breezes, sour-sweet cocktails and a so-so wine list. The showstopper though is the view: perched on the roof of a fourstorey boutique hotel, guests gaze out from its balcony terrace onto the Chao Phraya River and Wat Arun, the stunning Temple of Dawn, on the banks beyond. Go before sundown and enjoy watching the sun sink slowly behind it. Or come later, when amber floodlights make it glow against the night sky.
อรุณเรสสิเดนซ์ ซ.ประตูนกยูง ถ.มหาราช LONG TABLE [Map3 / j11]
25th F, 48 Column Bldg | Sukhumvit Soi 16 BTS Asok / MRT Sukhumvit | 02-302-2557-9 www.longtablebangkok.om | 11 am-2:00 am
Top-end Thai food isn’t the only thing that draws Bangkok’s nouveau riche to this impossibly swish restaurant-cumbar. There’s also the trend-setting twist: a sleek communal dining table so long it makes the 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 new bangkok101.com
latitude wines with the best of high-flying Bangkok: a glitzy hotchpotch of celebrities, models and power players; hair-tousling breezes; and – best of all – wide-screen city vistas. A Sukhumvit high point.
อาคารคอลัมน์ สุขุมวิท ซ.16 MOON BAR [Map5 / K, l8]
61st F, Banyan Tree Bangkok | 21/100 South Sathorn Rd | 02-679-1200 www.banyantree.com | 5 pm-1 am
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. With stunning 360° 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 telescope 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.
รร.บันยันทรี ถ.สาทรใต้ NEST [Map3 / e8]
9th F, Le Fenix | 33/33 Sukhumvit Soi 11 BTS Nana | 02-305-4000 www.lefenixsukhumvit.com | 5 pm-2 am
An all-white and urbane open-air oasis on the ninth floor of the sleek Le Fenix Hotel, Nest is a loungey and laid-back spot on weekdays and early evenings, with couples enjoying signature martinis and upmarket
moon bar
the alchemist
nibbles from the comfort of Thai-style swing beds and Nest-shaped rattan chairs. But on weekends, a more up-for-it crowd ascends, especially during special party nights. These include MODE, a shindig every second Saturday of the month that pumps hip-hop and house beats rather than the usual smooth Balearic sounds. What are the views alike? With buildings looming above you, not below you, here you feel part of the cityscape rather than detached from it.
Ocean 52 sports yet another stunning view from the 51st – 52nd floors. These places are definitely not spots for the casual beach bum, so be sure to leave your flip-flops and shopping bags at home – a strict smart casual dress code is enforced.
เลอฟินิกซ์ สุขุมวิท ซ.11
1/19 Sukhumvit Soi 11 | BTS Nana | 083549-2055 | Facebook: thealchemistbkk | Tue-Sun 5pm-midnight
SKY BAR / DISTI L [map5 / C5]
63rd F, State Tower | 1055 Silom Rd 02-624-9555 | www.thedomebkk.com 6 pm-1 am
Among the world’s highest outdoor bars, Sky bar – 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 and The Dome’s signature breathtaking view. Adjacent to Asian seafood eatery Breeze,
สเตททาวเวอร์ สีลม
BARS THE ALCHEMIST [map3 / e8]
Fitting somewhere between Soi 11’s swank cocktail bars and the rickety dive bar aesthetic of the legendary Cheap Charlie’s, which it neighbours, The Alchemist is a stylishly stripped down drinking hole. Nothing more, nothing less. We approve, and so too, it seems, do the punters. Not only does it attract the spill-over from Cheap Charlie’s, it also draws a loyal crowd of its own, who savour the intimate atmosphere, occasional live music, proper his and her toilets (Cheap Charlie’s are infamous for their dinginess) and, above all,
Tel : 02 258 4386 Fax: 02 259 9175 39 Sukhumvit soi 27, North Klong Toey, Wattana Bangkok
w w w. e n o t e c a b a n g k o k . c o m bangkok101.com
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Nightlife
which makes it more intimate than most.
เอสกาเพด เบอร์เกอร์ แอนด์ เชค ถ.พระอาทิตย์ FIVE Gastronomy & Mixology [MAP3 / o13]
Room 103, K Village, Sukhumvit Soi 26 BTS Phrom Phong | 088-524-5550 www.facebook.com/fivebkk | 6pm-1am daily
brew
drinks prices. Currently rocking the drinks list are assorted martinis (dry, passionfruit and espresso), classic cocktails, random shooters, and some of the best mojitos you’ll find on this end of Sukhumvit.
ดิ อัลเคมิส สุขุมวิท ซ.11 BREW [map 3 / Q6]
Seen Space, Thonglor Soi 13 | BTS Thonglor | 02-185-2366 | www. brewbkk.com | Mon-Sun 4pm-2am
It wasn’t so long ago that the beer selection here was comprised entirely of the ubiquitous local lagers and the Heinekens and Carlsbergs of this world. The fact that it doesn’t anymore is largely thanks to Chris Foo, the owner of this beer bar tucked away on the ground floor of Thonglor Soi 13’s happening mini-mall Seenspace. Depending on what time of year it is, Brew stocks between 140 and 170 bottles of ales, lagers, ciders, you name it. Currently, the setting in which you sip them is hip in Thonglor circles. That’s not so much down to Brew’s tiny interior, with its exposed piping and bar flanked by kegs of beer and brick walls, as the buzzing outdoor area it shares with futuristic cocktail bar Clouds and the nauticallythemed Fat’r Gutz. Due to Thailand’s head-smackingly high import duties, most bottles hover around the B240-260 mark.
ซีน สเปซ ทองหล่อ ซ.13 CAFÉ TRIO [map4 / H6]
36/11-12 Soi Lang Suan | BTS Chit Lom 02-252- 6572 | 6 pm-1 am, closed on the 2nd and 4th Sun of the month
Cafe Trio is just about the only bar worth seeking out on Lang Suan Road. Tucked down a narrow alley just off the upmarket residential street, this cozy jazz bar & art gallery is a welcome alternative to Bangkok’s raucous pubs and haughty lounge bars – a true neighbourhood place. Cafe Trio overflows with plush couches, the lighting delightfully soft, the music always subdued. The vivacious owner and bartender Patti holds court nightly and has plastered 88 | december 2012
marshmallow
the walls with her Modigliani-esque, Vietnamese inspired paintings – have a few drinks and don’t be surprised to find yourself taking one home. To find it, look for the Chinese restaurant across from Starbucks and head 50m down the road.
คาเฟ่ทริโอ ซ.หลังสวน
CHEAP CHARLIE’S [map3 / f9]
Sukhumvit Soi 11 | BTS Nana | 02-253-4648 Mon-Sat 5 pm-midnight
This joint is a Bangkok institution, bringing the charm of a rickety hole-in-the-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 in-the-know to fill up on B 70 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. Its location is a winner, situated as it is on a cool little sub-soi (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) ESCAPADE [MAP7 / E3]
112 Pra-Artit Rd, Pranakorn | 08-73632629, 08-1406-3773 | Tue-Sun 12pm-12am www.facebook.com/escaburgersandshakes
Unlike most bars in the Khao San Road area, the owners of this bohemian hole-in-thewall, Khun Karn and Khun Van, are the sorts of locals you might actually strike up a conversion with. Karn, a former bartender at the Shangri-La and Mandarin Oriental, mixes creative, tasty and strong cocktails to order for only B140-B200. Tell him your wildest alcohol-sodden fantasies and he’ll deliver you the tipple of your dreams in minutes. Van, meanwhile, rustles up lip smacking bar grub: hot dogs buried in jalapeno peppers and sizzling bacon; baskets of honey-glazed deep-fried chicken, etc. Perhaps the most memorable thing about Escapade, though, are its proportions: you have to squeeze past strangers to enter, a quirk
Five brings a welcome wand blast of gothic whimsy to K Village, an otherwise aesthetically uninspiring community mall. Its owner, Pattriya Na Nakorn, invited bar entrepreneur Ashley Sutton to work his magic with a vacant plot on the ground floor. And, completing her dream team is Joseph Boroski, the same New York based cocktail ‘mixologist’ that Sutton uses. His bars always engage the day-dreamy part of your brain and this black magic themed one is no different. Think clanking pulleys, monumental iron piping and flickering candles. Indeed, even the staff look like they’ve stumbled off the set of Harry Potter. Boroski potions worth necking include the Prescription Brandy Suzerac: a strong, earthy mix of Italian brandy, lime, honey and cinnamon served in a small poison bottle.
ไฟว์ เควิลเลจ สุขุมวิท 26 HYDE & SEEK [Map4 / L5]
65/1 Athenée Residence, Soi Ruamrudee BTS Phloen Chit | 02-168-5152 www.hydeandseek.com | 11 am-1 am
This stylish downtown gastro bar is a deadringer for those chic London haunts that draw the after-work crowd for pick-meup 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 helmed by the boys behind Flow, the cocktail consultancy that inspires much drunken fun around the region. The sleek, Georgian-influenced décor has paneled 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 a mini-maze of tea plants to partition dining areas.
แอนธินีเรซซิเดนซ์ ซ.ร่วมฤดี MARSHMALLOW [map3 / e8]
33/18 Sukhumvit Soi 11 | BTS Nana 02-254-1971 | Facebook: Marshmallow | 11 am-1 am
Occupying the corner building where Sukhumvit 11 turns left towards Q Bar, this gastro bar has a raised terrace that wraps bangkok101.com
around its perimeter, beside tall steel and glass doors that are fully retractable. Dark wood-planks line the walls and pillars; there’s a metalwork-backed bar; and a bohemian touch, bird cage lamps, dangling over the tables at one end. Cocktails come in at a very reasonable B190; champagne and sparkling cocktails B 220; local beers B90. “Food was never meant to be the focus,” the partner Fred Jungo, a resident DJ at nearby Bed Supperclub, told us. However, judging by the dishes we tucked in to – a bright and fresh haloumi cheese salad, a slab of Australian tenderloin with mash and boiled veg (B 550) – it could become their forte. An affordable and brilliantly located (in Soi 11 clubber terms) spot for drinks and bites.
มาร์ชเมลโล่ สุขุมวิท ซ.11 TUBA [Map3 / s3]
34 Room 11-12A, Soi Cham Chun (Ekkamai Soi 21) | 02-711-5500 www.design-athome.com | 11 am-2 am
Owned by the same hoarders behind furniture warehouse Papaya, Tuba is a Bangkok classic: room upon room of haphazardly arranged kitsch, all of which you’re free to skulk through at your leisure. Some come here to snag a comfy sofa, retro sign or goofy tchotchke. Others come for the big menu of Italian and Thai dishes tweaked for the local palate. But for us, it works best as a bar, as the setting and generous happy hours (buy one get one free between 5-8pm daily) mean there really are few cooler places to kick back with a sweet cocktail in hand (or two hands in some cases – the glassware can be that big!). A word to the wise: one glass too many and you may leave with more than you bargained for. Another caveat: smokers are allowed to puff away.
ทูบา ถ.สุขุมวิท 63 (เอกมัย 21) THE IRON FAIRIEs [Map3 / r5]
394 Thong Lor (Sukhumvit Soi 55), Thong Lor Soi 12 | BTS Thong Lo 084-520-2301 | www.theironfairies.com
Bangkok’s most bizarre bar is a functioning iron foundry that just happens to serve booze. Drawing heavily from the steampunk genre, it has the labyrinthine otherworldliness of a Terry Gilliam film-set. Walls are daubed black, silent movies are projected on the walls upstairs, an in-house magician tours the tables, and Doris Day classics are belted out from the cast-iron spiral staircase. Beers start from B120 a bottle, a well mixed dirty martini goes for B280 and the burgers, served pinned to a wooden chopping bangkok101.com
board with a steak knife, divine. The moneyed Thong Lor set fill it nightly.
ดิไอรอนแฟรี่ส์แอนด์โค ซ.ทองหล่อ SALT [MAP8 / L7]
Soi Ari (near Soi 4) | 02-619-6886 6pm-midnight (closed Tuesdays)
Salt is a hipster-luring gastro bar with a post-modern finish. Seating is either out on an outdoor terrace or in a minimalist 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 is used to project digital animations on and offers extra seating. 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 makes Salt is the global cuisine that’s coming out the kitchen, from fresh sashimi platters to generously dressed thin-crust pizzas. Creative concoctions like the Bangkok Mule (a long glass of Mekong rum, brown sugar, ginger ale and diced raw lemongrass) are the work of one of the mixologists from Soi Ruam Rudee’s designer cocktail bar Hyde & Seek.
ซอล์ท ซ.อารีย์ WONG’S PLACE [Map8 / L17]
27/3 Soi Sri Bumphen, Soi Ngam Duplee, near Malaysia Hotel | MRT Lumpini 02-286-1558 | Mon-Sat 10 pm-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. Yet it attracts a fiercely loyal crowd of expat journalists, English teachers, hipsters, creative Thais and professional barflies who have been coming here for years and regard owner Sam as a kind of benevolent dictator, knowing better than to take advantage of the beer fridges honour system. Come before midnight and it’s usually pretty dead (the Wong’s Place at the wong
tuba
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 WTF [Map3 / Q10]
7 Sukhumvit Soi 51 | BTS Thong Lo 02- 626-6246 | www.wtfbangkok.com | Tue-Sun 6 pm-1 am / gallery from 3 pm
This 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. It works. The Thaifarang 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 and feta salad. Expect occasional live gigs, art exhibitions upstairs and a mix of indie hipsters, journos and artscensters to chew the fat with.
ดับเบิลยู ทีเอฟ สุขุมวิท ซ.51
LIVE MUSIC ADHERE the 13TH [Map7 / G3]
13 Samsen Rd (opposite Soi 2) 089- 769-4613 | 5 pm-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 forthe Chang beer. North of Khao San Road (ask for ‘Ad Here’, once in the quarter), this 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.
แอดเฮีย 13 ถ.สามเสน บางลำ�ภู
WT F december 2012 | 89
Nightlife 02-246-5472 | www.saxophonepub.com 6 pm-2 am
saxophone pub
COSMIC CAFE [Map8 / Q12]
RCA Block C | Rama IX Rd | MRT Rama 9
The rebel in RCA’s ranks, Cosmic Café serves up a mixed diet of sonic eclecticism in a grungy, open-sided corner bar with outdoor seating and a small dance floor. On one night you might the place jumping to a rare live performance by mor lam legend Dao Bandon, on another a house band dishing out some surf guitar, ska, electronic or blues. The edgiest joint on the block, it draws a lively, musically discerning crowd, from skinny jeaned art-school hipster types to teddy boy expats. An insider’s must.
คอสมิค คาเฟ่ อาร์ซีเอ Le Bar de l’Hôtel [Map3 / G9]
Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit, 189 Sukhumvit Road (btw Soi 13-15) | 02-126-9999 | BTS Nana or Asoke | Daily 11am-midnight
Hotel lobby bars are as safe and predictable as Justin Bieber. Which makes the Sofitel Sukhumvit’s introduction of Chai, one of Bangkok best blues guitarists, particularly welcome. And neither have they stuffed him in a suit. Dressed in jeans and T-shirt, his shaggy ZZ Top beard on full display, Chai throws the sleepy cool of Howling Wolf. And when he cranks up the guitar it sounds like grating steel. For these gigs, running every Friday and Saturday, Chai calls his band the Blues Delivery, a seven piece line up of guitar/vocals, sax, trumpet, bass, drums, keyboards and percussion. The only thing missing from a traditional blues night is the grungy venue. Le Bar is hotel chic: an intimate 38-seat venue with a laid back vibe and slouchy sofas and cushions. Other music nights with special deals include the Neung Jakkawal Band every Wednesday (cocktails from B199net) and Siam Cubano, with Salsa on Thursdays (six oysters and free flow sparkling wine, B1,499 net). All bands play from 9pm to midnight.
โซฟิเทล แบงคอก สุขุมวิท 90 | december 2012
sonic
THE ROCK PUB [Map4 / C2]
93/26-28 Radchatewee, Phaya Thai Rd, (opposite Asia Hotel) | BTS Ratchathewi www.therockpubbangkok.com | 9:30 pm-2 am
If Def Leppard, Aerosmith or Wayne and Garth were in town you’d find them reliving the glory years here, at Bangkok’s very own Castle of Rock. A tacky fauxturret exterior, visible from the Ratchatewi BTS Station, makes you wonder what kind of weird, 1980s theme-park ride you’ve stumbled on, while inside local metal bands sporting Brian May hairdos and crotch-hugging jeans thrash out note-perfect renditions of everything from Black Sabbath to Sweet Child O’Mine and Motorhead’s Ace of Spades. Fans of the extended drum interlude or lightening fast guitar solo will not be disappointed – or able to resist doing the Devil’s Horn.
เดอะ ร็อคผับ RAINTREE PUB [Map8 / K10]
116 / 63 - 34 Soi Ruamjit, Rang Nam Rd BTS Victory Monument | 02-245-7230, 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 1970’s 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 8:30 pm, a grizzled band steps up at around 11 pm. 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.
เรนทรีผับ ซ.ร่วมจิต ถ.รางน้ำ� SAXOPHONE PUB [Map8 / K10]
3 / 8 Phaya Thai Rd | BTS Victory Monument
Just a stone’s throw from the Victory Monument Skytrain Station, this cozy, unpretentious place is a Bangkok landmark when it comes to solid live jazz and blues. Attracting youngish Thais and the odd foreigner, the spacious joint can pack up to 400 people on its homey, low-ceilinged, woodfilled floors. Each night, two talented Thai bands belt out sincere jazz, jazzy funk and R&B while the crowd feasts on hearty Thai and Western fare. All the local live music scene greats have played here and many still pop by when they can.
แซ๊กโซโฟนผับ ถ.พญาไท Sonic [MAP3 / T7]
90 Ekamai (Sukhumvit Soi 63) |BTS Ekamai 02-382-3396 | facebook: sonic.ekamai 6 pm-2 am
Hip, mural-splattered Sonic is dedicated to bringing you assorted musical jollies. Not the same old Thai bands or David Guetta wannabes, but nights that sit at the more alternative end of the spectrum, with a tilt toward the indie side. There’s a big semi-outdoor seating area with DJ booth, an indoor bar and deeper in is the main room. On quieter nights stools and tables fill this high-ceilinged, warehouselike space with a bar in one corner and funky brass lamps dangling overhead, but for gigs and other crowd-pullers they strip it bare. Since opening, Sonic has blasted its way into the affections of the city’s hard-to-please nightlife clans with a string of unusual live gigs and themed nights. See their Facebook page for the next.
โซนิค ซ.เอกมัย (ระหว่าง ซ.10 และบิ๊กซี) TAWANDAENG GERMAN BREWERY [MAP2 /E11]
462 / 61 Rama III Rd | Yan Nawa district 02- 678-1114 | www.tawandang.co.th
The one place that every taxi driver seems to know, this vast, barrel-shaped beer hall packs in the revelers nightly. They come for the towers of micro-brewed beer, the Thai, Chinese and German grub (especially the deep-fried pork knuckle and sausage), and, not least, the famous Fong Nam houseband. It’s laidback early on, but by 10pm, when the Thai/Western pop, luk krung and mor lam songs are at full pelt, everybody is on their feet and the place going bananas. Great for large groups, especially birthday par ties and office outings, but make sure you reserve ahead for the best tables nearest the stage.
โรงเบียร์เยอรมันตะวันแดง พระราม 3 bangkok101.com
Jazz clubs BAMBOO BAR [Map5 / B4]
The Oriental Bangkok | 48 Oriental Ave 02-659-9000 | www.mandarinoriental.com Sun-Thu 11 am-1 am, Fri & Sat 11 am-2 am
This Bangkok landmark is a symbol of past glories of the East. Situated in one of the city’s most sophisticated hotels, the 50-year-old bar oozes class, sophistication and style. Reminiscent of a tropical film noir-setting, it features a jungle theme – bamboo, palm fronds and furry patterns. Small and busy, it’s never theless 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 songstress, Cynthia Utterbach. Everybody’s sipping on faultless cocktails, mixed by skilled old-school bar tenders and served by a superb staff. Ideal for a boozy night on your honeymoon. A definite big Bangkok must.
รร.โอเรียลเต็ล ถ.โอเรียลเต็ล Brown Sugar [Map7 / J5]
469 Phrasumen Road | 089-499-1378 www.brownsugarbangkok.com | 6 pm-1 am
Little over a month after it closed down, one of Bangkok’s oldest cosiest jazz venue was back with a new, bigger location near Khao San. Now a restaurant and coffee house by day, it morphs into a world-class, jazz café-style haunt where renditions of bebop and ragtime draw an audience of locals and visitors by night. Its exterior is impressive, resembling a ritzy old cinema house. And inside,
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brown sugar
it’s huge, with a daytime coffeeshop up front, a versatile 200-seater ‘Playhouse’ upstairs, and the big, open-plan jazz pub and restaurant out back. Six house bands fill up the week, and on the last Friday or Saturday of each month they showcase an international act that’s passing through.
บราวน์ ชูการ์ ถ.พระสุเมร THE LIVING ROOM [Map3 / h10]
Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, 250 Sukhumvit Rd BTS Asok / MRT Sukhumvit | 02-649-8888 www.thelivingroomatbangkok.com | 9am-12am
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 wellentertained. World class talents are booked in continuously, guaranteeing top-notch jazz and always a warm audience rapport. Currently, the Living Room plays host to Randy Cannon and his trio, including
the living room
ex-James Brown drummer Erik Hargrove and leading Thai bass player Therdsak Wongvichien, from Thurs-Sun from 9:15pm until midnight. Until November 15, Singaporean pianist Kerong Chok plays with a trio from Mon-Wed (6:15-8pm, 9:15-11pm) and Thu-Fri (6:15-8pm), after which the Don Gomes trio takes over.
รร.เชอราตัน แกรนด์ สุขุมวิท Niu’s on Silom [Map5 / E5]
2nd F, 661 Silom Rd | 02-266-5333 www.niusonsilom.com | 5 pm-1 am
This New York-style lounge – 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 various international acts who perform regularly. There’s also a jazz jam every Sunday and occasional concerts featuring established overseas visitors. Niu’s is a class act, but still casual, comfor table for beers or brandy; and you can eat bar snacks or dine formally in the impressive Concer to Italian restaurant upstairs. Outside seating also available.
นิวส์ ออน สีลม บ้านสีลม
december 2012 | 91
SHOPPING
92 | decem ber 2012
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‘In God we trust’
new collection
by Rotsaniyom Words by Gaby Doman
Dealing with religion is always a slippery fish, but Rotsaniyom have gone right ahead and focused their entire new collection around unmistakably Christian iconography. Think crosses, Mary, doves and ‘in God we trust’ scarves and the odd Spanish-esque fine lace top, which is reminiscent of a good church-going Catholic virgin in the Mediterranean. But, as we all know, with any fashion theme there has to be a twist; girlie dresses have to be toughened up with leather jackets, sheer floaty outfits have to be given some zing with a flash of neon underwear, etc. This collection is no different, and the ‘twist’, though predictable, is fun. Rotsaniyom’s take on the look is that it’s risqué; it’s a little revealing and probably best not worn for Sunday best. The tops are long-sleeved and cropped, the belly is bared and even the more church-friendly pieces are paired with fashion-forward high-waisted full length balloon skirts or cigarette pants printed with saints and praying hands. The designers say the tattoo style of the prints are ‘humble yet sarcastic’, which presumably means you can wear them whether you worship God or worship fashion; either wear it with pride in your beliefs, or with a heavy dose of irony. Certainly the theme is so in-yourface, you can imagine that it could be worn ironically but, it takes a brave fashion soldier than I to sport such provocative imagery with my tongue in my cheek. Though that’s not to say I don’t admire those who can.
available at:
Siam Square Soi 4 | Rama I Rd Jatujak Market Section 3 | Kamphaeng Phet Rd Zen at CentralWorld 2nd F, Rajdamri Rd Rotsaniyom Studio 59-61 Samsen Rd | Wat SamPhaya | Pha Nakorn
www.rotsaniyom.com www.facebook.com/therotsaniyom bangkok101.com
The God-fearing theme is heavy-handed throughout the entire collection, so if you’re uncomfortable with wearing your holy cross on your sleeve, there’s little else to pick through within the collection, though the fine white lace cropped tops and full-length skirts are a highlight. Rotsaniyom manage to maintain a virginal innocence about the pieces, despite the sheer fabric, the form-fitting cut and the flashes of flesh it reveals. You can accessorise with rosary beads, as seen in the promotional shots for the range or, if you think that’s taking the theme a little too far, just let the pieces speak for themselves in this statement-making collection. december 2012 | 93
SHOPPING
unique boutique
Classic Movie Posters
T
hough little more than a glorified broom-cupboard, this Siam Square shop is home to the biggest and best collection of retro Thai movie posters in all Thailand. There’s no table in here – there isn’t room for one. Instead its owner, the smiley Mr Santi, improvises by plonking you on a stool facing him and stretching plyboard across both our knees. Once wedged in place, out comes his stash, accumulated via years of tips-offs and plundering old cinemas. And what a stash. Spanning all the way from cut-and-paste photo posters from the 1950s to the generic Western-style movie posters of today, it’s a wonder this lot hasn’t already been snapped for safe-keeping by the Thai Film Archive. Their loss, your gain. Highlights include a little two-tone Nang Kwak poster from 1958, and one-sheets for Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. The latter is debatably the creative high watermark of Thailand’s distinctive painted poster style; a style which saw Thai artists being commissioned to paint all the juicy scenes from each film in to one lurid, technicolour, pull-you-in montage. The foyers they used to hang in are mostly dust now, but seek out this ickle obscurity and you can give them a proud new home. If you think the prices steep, work that smile and see if Mr Santi won’t cut you a deal.
สคลาสสิคมูฟวี่โปสเตอร์ สยามสแควร์ ซ.2 getting there
Classic Movie Posters [MAP4 / c5] Siam Square Soi 2, near Lido Theatre (behind 7eleven) BTS Siam | 02-255-3677 | Mon-Fri 2pm-8pm, Sat-Sun 2pm-7pm | B150-B10,000+ 94 | december 2012
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SHOPPING
thai stuff
The Siam Vintage
All hail the retail paradox – a shopping heaven within a shopping heaven! Hidden up some stairs between Siam Square Sois 9 and 10, Siam Vintage is a little shopping aerie where neo-vintage corridors with art deco lamps, wood parquet and a moody, black colour scheme lead to roughly thirty hip boutiques. If you live here and are a keen online shopping, you’ve probably heard of some of them. The likes of Urface (“insanely exclusive” bags featuring all-limited edition designs by local artists), ZM Bangkok (clothes and accessories with ethnic patterns) and Onion (vintage sunglasses) actually all have their main shop windows online, with the stalls here serving as a base where the customer can come and see the merchandise first-hand. There’s a wide variety of gear on offer, some of it, such as the girly secondhand finds in His & Her and Again & Again, living up to the mini-mall’s vintage billing, the majority of it not. Cool sneakers from the likes of Onistuka Tiger and New Balance can be snagged at Carnival Company, while The Crows Denim is a homegrown jeans store specialising in the skinny and straight varieties. Also worth coolly perusing: the Taiwanese jewelry at Muse 21, and the thick-framed retro eyewear from Unik. Naturally, fashion foraging is draining work. Fortunately, Siam Vintage has a couple of spots where you can refuel while also keeping up the cool quotient, the likes of Feat. (international food; look for the life-size Stormtrooper) and Burendo Shabu Shabu (Japanese hotpot).
เดอะสยามวินเทจ สยามสแควร์ ซอย 9 getting there
Siam Vintage [MAP4 / D5] Siam Square Soi 9-10 | 087-987-8000 | BTS Siam | www.siam-vintage.com, Facebook: SiamVintageShopping | Mon-Sun 12pm-8pm (note: many stores keep their own separate hours) 96 | december 2012
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jj gem
Traps & Wana by Pattarasuda Prajittanond
Run by Bangkok-based Japanese designer Tepei Oue (with help from a few friends), Traps & Wana’s first incarnation was in the Pratunam fashion mall, behind CentralWorld, before they moved to Suan Lum Night Bazaar. When that was bulldozed, Oue found a new home in Siam Square (Lido Theatre), before opening a second branch at JJ. Traps & Wana is a hit with hipsters for its naughty but fun designs, and graphically matching T-shirts, jackets, pants, tank-tops, bags and shoes. You can also find them on the second (men’s) floor at Terminal 21, beside Asok BTS station.
Section 26 (near MRT main road), 02-742-4790, 0 87-671-6966; trapsbkk.com OPEN Approx. 9am-7pm
WELLNESS
Massage & Spa HAPA SPA [MAP 3 / D8]
20/4 Sukumvit Soi 3 | BTS Nana | 02-651-0966 | www.hapaspa.com | 10 am – 10 pm | $$
Wedged between multi-story condos and weirdish hotels, Hapa’s location stands out insofar as you’d never expect a professional spa in an alley off Afro-Arab Nana. A long, glasswalled building draws in the uninitiated through its unique circular entrance and purple-tinged salon to metal boxes. Inside your own private bunker, a stylish, serene setting includes mini gardens, soft purple and cream tones and beds accommodating even the longest-legged Westerner. The extensive menu features the signature Aromatherapy massage, organic body scrubs and other tasty-sounding body delights, plus infrared thermal sauna, all executed by cheery, competent therapists.
palm herbal retreat
ฮาป้าสปา สุขุมวิท ซ.3 NICOLIE [MAP5 / D5]
1041/5 Sun Square, Silom Rd btw Soi 21-23 | BTS Surasak | 02-233-6957 | www.nicolie-th.com | 11am-10pm | $$$ reservation recommended
Gorgeous Southeast Asian antiques, a family atmosphere, and back-to-the-massage basics approach – Nicolie manages to combine seemingly contradictory elements into one sublime experience. More like an elegant museum than a massage centre, keeping your eyes open to soak up the rare antiques is a challenge, however, once you’re in the hands of Nicolie’s therapists. The focus is almost exclusively on massage – Thai, Shiatsu, Ayuravedic Abhayanga, a wonderful fusion. Rub downs are slow, exquisitely attuned, and followed by tea and herbal cookies. Using a curtain to partition two bed rooms into separate section can lead to a certain lack of privacy at peak times. But in all, the expert massages and genuinely warm staff make this spa one of your new favourite.
นิโคลี่ ซันสแควร์ สีลม
tria integrative wellness
PALM HERBAL RETREAT [MAP 3 / R5]
522/2 Thong Lo Soi 16 | BTS Thong Lo | 02-391-3254 | www. palmherbalspa.co.th | 10 am – 10 pm (last appointment 9 pm) | $$
Although warm and inviting, with large, clean, finely decorated rooms, the interior of this small spa deep in Thong Lor won’t strike anybody as extraordinary. What will strike you is the innovative menu with an Ayurvedic slant (which a lot of other spas have copied from) and the therapists’ expertise. The retreat’s facials and massages are the crowd pullers. You’ll feel relaxed after a Four Elements Aroma Massage, but nothing beats their Palm Ayurveda Massage, an invigorating blend of Thai and sports massage that is truly effective. After you’ve tried one of these, you’ll be ready for one of the retreat’s well-priced packages. An instant favourite.
ปาล์มเฮอร์บัลรีทรีท ทองหล่อ ซ.16 TRIA INTEGRATIVE WELLNESS [MAP8 / R12]
998 Rimklongsamsen Rd | 02-660-2600 | www.triaintegrativewellness.com | 7am – 10pm (Sat until 9pm, Sun until 8:30pm) | $$$
hapa spa
This top-notch spa connected to Piyavate Hospital offers a full-on “integrative” approach – a team of specialists from physicians to personal trainers, to bodywork therapists – restaurants offering healthy spa facilities and treatments, and even enough function space for group of 200. Bangkok has a few “medical spas” offering such approaches to Western-medicine and traditional therapies, but Tria is truly one of the best. Opt for extensive programs devoted to anti-aging, pre-natal care, holistic detoxification, or even simpler aesthetic treatments, and you’ll get access to a gorgeous spa pool, an infrared sauna, a steam room, and Swiss and Vichy showers. Treatments range from massage to Ayurvedic treatments and Chinese Chi Nei Tsang therapy sessions. Our simple scrub and wrap was a delight – attentive, fully relaxing, and leaving us with glowing results – but we’d recommend springing for some of the more unusual and difficult-to find treatments, and leave yourself enough time to take advantage of the first-rate facilities.
ศูนย์สุขภาพตรัยยา หลัง รพ.ปิยะเวท Spa costs
nicolie 98 | december 2012
$ :: under B600 $$ :: B600 – B1,000
$$$ :: B1,000-2,000 $$$$ :: B2,000+ bangkok101.com
spa review
So Thai Spa
Secreted deep inside Sukhumvit Soi 31, a soi not short on high-end day spas, the less than one-year-old So Thai Spa certainly has its work cut out. That said, while its garden townhouse setting isn’t as spectacular as some of its neighbours, it beats most of them hands down in the price department. Run by Oliver O’Dell and his partner Khun Siratikarn, it’s the second branch of an ambitious, rapidly expanding day spa group that has its flagship in London’s well-to-do Fulham area. Regular spa goers will know it’s warm, exotic, modern look well. So Thai, it is. Think parquet floors, teak wood carvings and treatment beds covered in local fabrics and silk runners. There are five rooms, all of them doubles with private shower and toilet facilities, and there are more on the way. While none of this is going to set the local spa scene alight, there is a bonus that you don’t come across very often – an outdoor swimming pool that you can take a dip in – plus, more importantly, some solid massage technique at play here. For the best-selling Thai aromatherapy massage (B1,250 for one hour) that we picked, our masseuse’s smooth strokes and focused kneading had us in a delightful, dreamy haze during it, and left us feeling refreshed and supple, not to mention smelling like a lavender pouch, after it. According to Khun Siratikarn, the masseuses are encouraged to use their own style and adapt it for each customer – a risky approach, but one that appears to be paying off. Other options range from reflexology to hot herbal presses and Swedish massages, the most exotic treatment in here being the four hands. All add up to a comfortingly familiar treatment list that is less flamboyant and out-to-dazzle than many of its competitors, but expertly executed and very satisfying nonetheless. Should you wish to prolong the pleasure, packages are available. With the website currently listing a four hour Full Spa package for just B1,999, for example, these are great value and put the eye-watering prices at many other day spas to shame. Look out for forthcoming So Thai spa expansions here in the city as well as down in Phuket.
โซ ไทย สปา สุขุมวิท ซ.31 getting there
So Thai Spa [MAP3 / k8] 269 Sukhumvit Soi 31 | 02-662-2691 | www.sothaispa.com bangkok101.com
december 2012 | 99
Communit y
making merit
SARNELLI HOUSE E
ven charities in and around Bangkok struggle to make ends meet, but for Sarnelli House its mission – caring for orphaned, abandoned, abused and HIV infected children – is made all the more precarious by its location in the poor northeastern province of Nong Khai.
Formed in 1999 by Father Michael Shea, an American Redemptorist priest, Sarnelli House is made up of six different houses in three separate villages near the Mekong River. Together they house a total of 160 children, of which 60 are HIV infected. Some are orphans infected by their mothers; others were raped by infected adults. Over the years Father Shea has seen children being brought in by their dying parents, family members that are unable or unwilling to look after them, and Thai Social Services. Some were born in prison, others have been found wandering – or even working – the streets.
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Sarnelli House provides an education, health care, food and shelter and lots of love to all of them. Over the years, relationships with schools and hospitals in Isaan have been nurtured to ensure they live as full and normal a life as possible. The Nongkhai District Hospital and Khon Kaen’s Sirinagarind Hospital, for example, provide anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs to the HIV infected kids that need them. And all children well enough attend the nearby Rosario Witthaya Catholic School. However, the majority of Sarnelli House’s funding (paying its Thai staff, the maintenance of buildings, vehicles, provision of food, school fees, uniforms and any other costs) is Father Shea’s responsibility, and relies on the goodwill of donors. Log on to their website’s ‘Support’ page for details on how you can become one or, better still, sponsor a child. Sarnelli House also welcomes volunteers, but only during school holidays, when the kids have free time on their hands. If you are interested in volunteering during these times please send your current CV and two letters of recommendation. You will also be required to have a police check.
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Playing with and keeping the children company will be one of your main roles, but you will also be asked to help dish out the children’s food, fold their clothes, help them with their homework, run English classes, play sports and games, and supervise them on school outings, among other duties. A US $20 a day charge, to cover costs, is asked of all volunteers. If donating money or your time and energy isn’t possible, you can also just pop by for a visit when up in Nong Khai, to spend some time with these smiling and inspiring kids, though you should email or phone ahead to make sure they’ll be around. A map can be found on the website.
ซาลเนรี่ เฮาส์ จ.หนองคาย
getting there
SARNELLI HOUSE 18/1 Moo 1 Viengkhuk, Muang Nongkhai, 43000 042-436-941 | www.sarnelliorphanage.org, volunteer@sarnelliorphanage.org december 2012 | 101
getting there
victory monument Photographer : Walid Penpan 102 | november 2012
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RAIL
SKYTRAIN (BTS) The Bangkok Transit System, or BTS, is a two-line elevated train network covering the major commercial areas. Trains run every few minutes from 6 am to midnight, making the BTS a quick and reliable transport option, especially during heavy traffic jams. Fares range from B 15 to B 55; special tourist passes allowing unlimited travel for one day (B120) are available. BTS also provides free shuttle buses which transit passengers to and from stations and nearby areas. www.bts.co.th
SUBWAY (MRT) Bangkok’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) is another fast and reliable way to get across town. The 18-station line stretches 20 kms from Hualamphong (near the central railway station) up to Bang Sue in the north. Subways run from 6 am 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 B 39. www.bangkokmetro.co.th Airport Rail Link A 28 km long monorail links the city’s main international airport, Suvarnabhumi, with three stops in downtown Bangktok and four stops in the eastern suburbs. Trains run from 6am to midnight every day and follow two lines along the same route. The City Line stops at all stations (journey time: 30 minutes) and costs B15-45 per journey. The Express Line stops at downtown stations Makkasan (journey time: 13-14 minutes, trains leave every 40 minutes) or Phayathai (journey time: 17 minutes, trains leave every 30 minutes), the only one that intersects with the Skytrain. One-way Express Line tickets cost B90 while roundtrip tickets are available at the promotional fare of B150 as part of a drive to increase passenger numbers. http://airportraillink.railway.co.th bangkok101.com
ROAD
BUS Bangkok has an extensive and inexpensive public bus service. Both open-air and air-conditioned vehicles are available, respectively for B 5 and B 7.50 – B 23. As most destinations are noted only in Thai, it is advisable to get a bus route map (available at hotels, TAT offices and bookshops).
RIVER
CANAL BOAT Khlong Saen Saep canal boats operate from Phan Fa Leelard bridge, on the edge of the Old City, and zip east to Ramkhamhaeng University. However, you have to be quick to board them as they don’t usually wait around. Canal (khlong) boats tend to be frequent and cost around B 9 to B19. Tickets are bought onboard. Note that the piers are a little hidden away, which makes them sometimes difficult to find. EXPRESS RIVER BOAT Bangkok’s vast network of intercity 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 B 9 to B 32 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 5:30 am and 6 pm. Crossriver services operate throughout the day from each pier for just B 3.
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. As with tuk-tuks, fares should be negotiated beforehand. TAXI Bangkok has thousands of metered, air-con taxis available 24 hours. Flag fall is B 35 (for the first 2 k ms) and the fare climbs in B 2 increments. Be sure the driver switches the meter on. No tipping, but rounding the fare up to the nearest B 5 or B 10 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 B 50 surcharge is added. TUK-TUK Those three-wheeled taxis (or samlor) are best known as tuktuks, named for the steady whirr of their engines. A 10-minute ride should cost around B 40, but always bargain before boarding. Beware: if a tuk-tuk driver offers to deliver you anywhere for B 10, it’s part of a setup that will lead you to an overpriced souvenir or jewellery shop. november 2012 | 103
REFERENCE
Map 1 Greater Bangkok A
B
Greater Bangkok & the Chao Phraya Map 2 >
C
D
E
F
G
H
J
K
L MYANMAR
Uthai Thani
1
UTHAI THANI
CHAI NAT
2
Chiang Mai
LOP BURI
Nakhon Ratchasima c
Udon Thani
Nakhon Ratchasima
Lop Buri
Kanchanaburi
Pattaya CAMBODIA Koh Samet Koh Chang
NAKHON RATCHASIM A
SARABURI
3
Andaman Sea
Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya
Koh Samui
AYUTTHAYA
Phuket
PATHUM THANI 5
b
1 2
MALAYSIA
PRACHIN BURI
f c
RATCHABURI
VIETNAM
Gulf of Thailand
Krabi
NAKHON NAYOK
4
NAKHON PATHOM
Ubon
Bangkok
ANG THONG
KANCHANABURI
LAOS
THAILAND
SING BURI
SUPHAN BURI
6
M
3
2
SA KAEO
BANGKOK f a
SAMUT SAKHON
CHACHOENGSAO
SAMUT
1 PRAKAN
SAMUT SONGKHRAM
CA M BODI A CHON BURI
Phetchaburi
7
Ko Sichang
PHETCHABURI 8
Pattaya RAYONG
Cha-am
CHANTHABURI
Rayong Hua Hin
Ko Samet
Muang Chantaburi
9
PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN 10
Trat
Gulf of Thailand
M YA N M A R
Ko Chang
Prachuap Khiri Khan
11
Ko Kut
N
20 km 20 miles Country Border Boarder Crossing Province Border
104 | november 2012
Sightseeing a
Bang Krachao b Rose Garden Riverside c Samphran Elephant Ground & Zoo d Ancient Siam (Muang Boran) e Safari World f Rama IX Royal Park
floating Markets Damnoen Saduak 2 Amphawa 1
Museums
shopping 1
Asiatique
Nightlife 1 2
Parking Toys Tawandang German
1
Erawan Museum Hotels House of Museum 3 Thai Film Museum 1 Anantara Bangkok 4 Museum of Counterfeit Riverside Resort and Spa Goods 2
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A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
J
K
L
M
N 
F
Tanya Tanee
PAK KRET
Don Mueng
2
Don Mueng Int. Airport
Ko Kret
Sai Mai
F
Royal Irrigation Dept.
3
Lak Si
F
F
Rajpruek
The Legacy
F
Northpark
4
e
Khlong Sam wa
Royal Thai Army Sport Center
F5
1
Thanont
F
Chatuchak Bang Sue
Bang Phlat
Bueng Kum
8
Huai Khwang
Saphan Sung
Bang Kapi
F
Pathumwan
Bangkok Yai Wongwian Yai
Bang Rak
Khlong San *
Thon Buri 1
Chom Thong
F
9
10
1
Bang Kholaem
Lat Krabang
Suan Luang
Khlong Toei
Sathorn
60th Anniversary Queen Sirikit Park
Krungthep Unico Kreetha Grande
Watthana
Lumpini
7
Wang Thong lang
DinDaeng Ratchathewi
Mini Buri
F
Navatanee
Phayathai
Taling Chan
6
Khan na Yao
Mo Chit
Dusit
Bangkok Noi
Panya Indra
Lat Phrao
Chatuchak
Bang Sue
Bang Bon
Bang Khen
F
MUENG NONTHABURI
Phasi Charoen
1
Prawet Yan 2 Nawa
Rat Burana
Phra Khanong 4
Phra Pradaeng
f
11
Suan Luang Rama IX
Suvarnabhumi Int. Airport
Bang Na
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F
Summit Windmill
Bearing
Bang Khun Thian
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Mueang Kaew
Thung Khru
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Green Valley
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PHRA SAMUT CHEDI
SAMUT PRAKAN
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F
d
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Bangpoo
Gulf of Thailand
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REFERENCE
Map 3 Sukhumvit Road A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Phra Ram 9
1
Ram
H
J
a IX
K
L
M
Roya
m9 Prara ital Hosp
l Cit
y Ave
RC A ange R ing
Driv
2
Din
Da
en
kam
phae
ng P
het 7
Phet
g
Uthai
3
Ital Thai
e
) Phe
Makkasan
tcha
Stat
2nd
Phetchaburi
buri
4
road (Toll Expy
38/1
Su
phae
ng P
kh
kam
7
het
Prasanmit Su
5
9/1
3
m Ph on g
um 0
8
i2
i2
i1
So
So
wit
wit
So
Benjasiri Park
2
wit So i1
9
6
Tai
ay sw
ana
s re
iN
xp
So
nE
4
10
13
Hotels N
300 m 1 328 ft Canal Boat BTS Silom Line BTS Sukhumvit Line Subway Line Railway
106 | november 2012
1
Conrad Bangkok Sheraton Grande 3 Seven 4 JW Marriot 5 Rembrandt 6 Four Points 7 Aloft Sukhumvit 11 8 Ramada Encore 9 Imperial Queen’s Park 10 Westin Grande Sukhumvit 2
11
Marriott Executive Markets Sukhumvit Park 4 Sukhumvit 12 Grande Centre Point Terminal 21 Arts & Culture 13 Sofitel Bangkok 1 Japan Foundation Sukhumvit 14 Le Fenix 2 Koi Art Gallery 3 Attic Studios 4 La Lanta malls 5 TCDC (Thailand 1 Robinsons Creative & Design 2 Terminal 21 Centre 3 Emporium 6 Nang Kwak 7 WTF
8
The Pikture Gallery We*Do Gallery 10 RMA 9
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Phrom
Sukhumw
kh
um
wit
um
5
S
IR
Su
kh
um
kh
k
h ko
Benjakiti Park
12
15 13
Soi 35
i 33
31
NO
Sukhumwit
Soi
i 29
14
it So
wit
umw
hum
Sukh
Suk
it So Su
kh
Su
Su
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bangkok101.com
13
13
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18
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36
Water Library Gossip Bar 38 Nest 39 Above Eleven 37
Embassies IN
India
IR Iran LK
Sri Lanka
PH Philippines
Qatar Ukraine NO Norway QA UA
november 2012 | 107
REFERENCE
Map 4 Siam / Chit Lom A
B
C
D
E
F
G
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J
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5 Soi 3
Soi 31 Soi 33
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MBK Siam Discovery 3 Siam Center 4 Siam Paragon 5 Panthip Plaza 6 Platinum Fashion Mall 7 CentralWorld 8 Zen @ CentralWorld 9 Pratunam Center 10 Gaysorn 11 Erawan Plaza 12 The Peninsula Plaza 13 Amarin Plaza 14 Central Chidlom 15 All Seasons Place
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108 | november 2012
BR
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Snake Farm M.R. Kukrit’s House november 2012 | 109
REFERENCE
Map 6 Yaowarat / Pahurat (Chinatown & Little India ) A
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b
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110 | november 2012
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Rajchawongse
november 2012 | 111
m y b a n g ko k
KWANKAO SVETAVIMALA
A top Thai celeb, ‘Paeng’ Kwankao Svetavimala is best known as an actress, singer and TV host, one with a glamorous life whose twists and turns are hotly trailed and reported on by the gossip magazines. She’s far more than just a headline-grabbing hi-socialite, however: after years of designing clothes for friends she recently founded Kwankao, her own eponymous fashion imprint. You can find her creations – ‘chic and chill’ clothes for elegant women – at Siam Paragon and Emporium shopping malls. www.kwankao.com
Best place for a drink? Hyde & Seek. The cool atmosphere here is set by the DJs spinning every night and the dimmed and warm ambiance. As well as indoor seating including around the bar, and a large outdoor area with lots of greenery, you’ll find lots of cool people. Each month they also have a new selection of cocktails made with local ingredients.
THE SHORTLIST: Hyde & Seek [map 4 / L5] 65/1 Athenée Residence, Soi Ruamrudee | BTS Phloen Chit | 02-168-5152 | www.hydeandseek.com | 11am – 1am Khua Kling Pak Sod [MAP3 / R8] 98/1 ThongLor Soi 5 | BTS ThongLor | 02-185-3799 | 11am – 2pm; 6pm – 10pm The Vintage Store @ Eight Thong Lo [MAP 3 / R7] G fl, The Eight ThongLor | BTS ThongLor | 02-713-8548 | facebook: TheVintageStore | 11:30am – 7:30pm Hotel Muse [MAP4 / J6] Kamphaeng Phet Rd, Jatujak BTS Mo Chit / MRT Kampaeng Phet 02-621-0828 | 7 am – 8 pm Grand Palace [MAP7 / C,D 10,11] Na Phra Lan Rd, near Sanam Luang Tha Chang Pier | 02-222-0094 | 8:30am – 4:30pm | B400 incl. entry to Vimanmek Mansion / Dress respectfully
112 | november 2012
Best place to eat? I love to eat all kinds of nam prik (curry-paste dips) so anywhere that sells them is good for me, but right now my favourite place to eat is Khua Kling Pak Sod in Thonglor. It’s a small, family-run restaurant serving Southern Thai food and where you feel like you’re eating at home. If your mum were from the South, this is how her cooking would taste. Best place to shop for fashion? I love vintage shoes and accessories and currently my favourite place to find them is Vintage Store at eight Thonglor. I always have lots of fun here because the shop is so huge, packed full of beautiful antique and classic things, from certified preowned to vintage designer, collectible pieces and high-end designer haute couture. You can find brands such as Chanel, Hermès, YSL, Christian Dior, Emilio Pucci and many more. Best place to impress a date? Anyplace that’s a surprise always impresses me, but if you’re short on ideas try taking your date to Hotel Muse on Soi Lang Suan. Both the Italian restaurant here, Medici Kitchen & Bar, and the recently opened rooftop bar, the Speakeasy, ooze passion, romance and glamour and are good for lovers. Best place for a real Bangkok experience? The Grand Palace: its beautiful architecture and intricate details is the finest example of our creativity and craftsmanship. In the past its compound was also home to the Ministry of Defence, state departments, and even the mint, and today the complex remains the spiritual heart of the Thai Kingdom. Also, nearby Ratchadamnoen Road and the surrounding area at night.
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E
F
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reference | B angk o k cit y M ap 8
Phahon Yothin
1
Wachira hathat t
Map 8 Bangkok
29
2
tujak Park
Lat Phrao
Sightseeing a
Wat Arun Grand Palace c Wat Mahathat d Wat Pho e Wat Chana Songkhram f Wat Ratchabophit g Wat Bowornniwet Viharn h Wat Suthat & Giant Swing j Democracy Monument k Wat Ratchanatda l Wat Saket m Ratchadamnoen Boxing Stadium n Vimanmek Mansion o Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall p Wat Benchamabophit s Suan Pakkad Palace t Bangkok Butterfly Garden u Lumpini Boxing Stadium Arts & Culture b
3
Chatuchak Park
Mo Chit
Ratchadapisek
La
Khwai
tP
hra
4 o
5
Sutthisan Sutthisan
6
7
gsi
t
Huai Khwang
an
iR
v ad
t ur at
Siriraj Medical Museum Royal Barges Museum 3 National Museum 4 National Theatre 5 Museum of Siam 6 Rattanakosin Exhibiton Hall 7 Numthong Gallery 8 Aksra Theatre 9 Goethe Institut 10 Galerie N 11 Bangkok Doll Museum 12 Siam Niramit 1
2
8
12
9
Thailand Cultural Centre
10
Phra Rama 9
hit / E
11
Ram a IX
x pre s
2 nd S
s w ay
Phetchaburi
Nana Nua
12
Italthai
Nana Chard
Wat Maichonglom
Bandon Mosque
Prasanmit
E xpr
essw
2
ay
Direction Internat Suvanabhum ional A i irport
Asoke/Phetchaburi
Pe tc h
12
13
a b u ri
14
ana oi 5
5
Sukhumvit vit S hum
um
S oi 6 umvit Suk h
16
m ai –
kh
vit
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15
3
S uk or – ng L
Benjasiri Park
Tho
Benjakiti Park
Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre
Thong Lo
hlong Toei
3 – Ram
a IV
S u
kh
D BT irect S S ion tat ion
um
Ekkamai
vi
t
17
Be
Amorosa The Club 3 Phranakorn Bar 4 Brick Bar 5 Adhere The 13th 6 Rolling Bar 7 Pullman 8 Raintree Pub 9 Saxophone Pub 10 Wong‘s Place 11 Route 66 12 Cosmic Cafe 2
Klongton Bridge
Phrom Phong
nighlife
Ratchapraprop
1
Charn Issara
Asok
Pak Khlong Talad Khao San Road 3 Thewet 4 Ratchada Night Market 5 Talat Rot Fai 6 Jatujak Weekend Market 1
t ate
Makasan 11
Markets
Hotels 1
Pullman King Power
ari
Phra Khanong
ng
18
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