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"The Rounds" Thursday,
September 5, 2002
Mekhong Kurt * * * * * * * * * * A final reminder that we're helping sponsor the following: Painting Exhibition An
Original Oil Painting By Our Richard K. Diran Saturday,
September 7, 2002 The talented Richard K. Diran, painter, author, photographer, gemologist, and adventurer extraordinaire has turned his attention back to one of his first occupations, painting in oils. Already frenziedly working on the 2nd of an intended 7 paintings, one representing each day of the week, the first is ready for its public debut. This first is titled "City of Dreadful Night" and represents Sunday. Richard began painting in oils when he was just 13 under the Italian master Carmello de Simon. He later wanted to continue studying painting in a formal setting, so submitted examples of his youthful work to the then-new California Institute of Art for review, to which he won a full scholarship; the institute's first president was Roy Disney, brother of the world-famous Walt Disney. Richard graduated in the institute's first graduating class in 1972. The unusual vision we see in Richard's philosophical essays is in abundant evidence in this first in the series. Richard spoke of it in this way: "It has a little something to offend just about everybody!" That's rather too harsh, in my view, but it is true there is something in the painting to interest and intrigue any viewer. Richard will be on hand with 8" X 10" photographs of the painting which he will autograph, if requested. Of course, he will be happy to discuss his original work of art with you. We have a tentative plan to have a second showing, but that's far from certain to come off, so be sure to drop by and have your imagination stirred by this stunning work. Will let you know in my next column how the show turned out. * * * * * * * * * * This is really irksome. I began this week's column on my other computer here in the office, and when I tried to save it -- something I've learned to do every paragraph or so -- the program froze. Meaning I lost the work I had done so far. Computer: sigh, how I can hate them!!! ;-) * * * * * * * * * * Running late this week, but this time with good reason. For one thing, had to make a visa run up to Laos last Thursday-Friday. For another, I've agreed to do about half a dozen projects for friends, mostly Internet-related ones. Late note: it is now Saturday, and I've been unable to connect to the server computer in the United States where BangkokAtoZ.com is stored, so this column is even later. Will try again. * * * * * * * * * * If you go to Laos using a Laos Aviation ticket and wish to use the return portion on the code-shared morning Thai flight, be aware of some restrictions. Laos Aviation has started using a different code for the shared Thai flight which *must* be on your ticket -- that code, a 4-digit one -- is different from the code for the flight on Laos Aviation. You also cannot have an open flight. Why fly Laos Aviation instead of Thai International anyway? -- simple: you can save around 2,500 baht. * * * * * * * * * * Remember there's a place for you to sign up to be notified via e-mail whenever I add something to the site -- that way, you don't even have to visit the Updates Page to see if there's anything new -- we'll let you know by e-mail. If you want to sign up, just go to the sign-up page. * * * * * * * * * * Will be adding some photo galleries of lovely Thai ladies in the immediate future -- likely after I get the above-mentioned Internet projects completed in the next couple of weeks. One lady is Khun Aom, of whom I already have a photo gallery of her dressed in traditional northern Thai dress; you can see that nice gallery at http://www.bangkokatoz.com/Aom's_Photo_Gallery.htm; if you haven't seen in, take a look -- Aom is a beautiful young lady indeed. Her friend Duan and her cousin Nat went with us to the previously-reported Hotel Plaza Atheneé on Wireless Road for supper and a photo-shoot. After that we went to several bars and took some more pictures. The girls really outdid themselves for the shoot, wearing evening dresses and taking painstaking care with their hair and make-up. Everywhere we went, except the hotel, where none of us knew anyone, friends of mine asked me where in the world I met such beautiful ladies. Of course, I took considerable pains to make it clear, politely, that none of them are bar girls, then explained my relationships with them. I'll be sure to announce in this column when the galleries are online. But back to the Hotel Plaza Atheneé, about which I wrote when Khun Aom and I went to the lobby restaurant for brunch awhile back. This time we went to the Reflexions Lounge on the 3rd floor, not really so much because we set out to go there, but because when we arrived at the hotel we almost didn't go on because the lobby was packed, policemen and security guards where everywhere directing traffic and keeping an eye on things, and so on. But we ventured in, eventually discovering that one of Thailand's best-known companies, Siam Motors, was throwing a dinner-buffet party for an astounding 2,000 people -- the company must've spent some serious money for THAT, for sure! Anyway, despite its name, Reflexions Lounge in fact is a full-bore restaurant, serving excellent food. The head chef, an American whose name I didn't catch, came out to each new arriving group (or individual) to answer questions about the menu items and to make suggestions. The physical decòr is strikingly attractive; I particularly like the black panel covering most of the ceiling with tiny, slowly blinking lights in it, giving a hint of an impression of the night sky. The service is understated and superb, the food uniformly excellent. And yes, the chef did check with us after our orders arrived. Especially nice was that when Duan and Nat wanted to order Thai food (which isn't on the menu in this particular restaurant), the chef sent down to the Thai restaurant for a menu and instructed they be served in Reflexions -- very accommodating. While I won't bore you with the whole array of food we ordered, I do want to mention 2 items in particular. My main course was "Southwestern Chicken," a grilled chicken breast in a black bean sauce containing baked corn kernels, coriander, and other spices. It was superb. We also had a chilled, lightly marinated salmon that Aom and I found delicious and ate with great gusto, but which Duan and Nat passed on, preferring their fish to be cooked! (Yes, the salmon was raw, but that doesn't bother me one little bit.) The prices aren't cheap; I had one alcoholic beverage, the girls settling for non-alcoholic ones, but the bill still came in at about 4,200 baht before Aom whipped out her discount card, which, in the case of a party of 4, gives a 25% discount. All told, with the extra tip I left above and beyond the service charge, I paid about 3,300 baht, or roughly US$78.00 at current exchange rates. But for just under US$20.00 per person I felt we got excellent value for money. Oh, I forgot to mention one of the restaurant's nicest features: there is a jazz trio -- pianist, bass violinist, and guitarist -- 3 men who play most excellently indeed. And the bass violinist doubles as a very, very good vocalist. And they played softly, lending the place an elegant, upscale atmosphere. With or without a discount card (5,500 baht for 1 year, with the promotion ending this month), Reflexions Lounge is definitely worth not only a visit -- but a RE-visit as well. * * * * * * * * * * Have had the good news that Marcus Sugg, the country-'n-western singer who has given a few free concerts at the Texas Lone Staar Bar and Restaurant in Washington Square (most recently this past May, when he gave 2) will be returning in November with enough time to squeeze in 1 concert while he's in-country; will announce the precise date when I know it -- for now all I can say is it likely will be on or soon after November 20th.
Besides being a most excellent singer and musician who does both covers and his own materials, Marcus is one heck of a nice guy. He has an interesting, informative web site at http://www.marcussugg.com/ -- and you can hear clips of his music there, too. If you're in town, plan on being there. Richard, the night manager, is talking about putting out free food as well. * * * * * * * * * * While returning from the Hotel Plaza Atheneé the other night I had our taxi driver drive through the new area on Sukhumvit Soi 22 down close to Rama IV Road, not far north of the President Park Apartment complex. As I thought, the buildings are mostly pre-fab ones with corrugated metal roofs. There are a few restaurants, both air-conditioned and enclosed, and open-air. A couple of my friends have eaten at one large open-air restaurant in the rear left corner and said the food is uniformly good and amazingly cheap, especially the all-you-can-eat buffet that runs an astonishing 59 baht. One of our party had been to the area a time or 2 before and said it's nice, but with almost no customers except in the restaurant I just mentioned (which I could see for myself was doing a nice, brisk business). It's not really my kind of place -- I tend away from open-air bars, given the hot, humid climate here -- but there are a number of those, many with at least a pool table. More about it later. * * * * * * * * * * En route from the hotel to our next destination, we first passed the Bangkok Night Bazaar at Lumpini Park. I had been past it during the day, but had no idea how extensive it is. It is a huge complex with all manner of shops, restaurants, and bars. Khun Aom (she of the photo gallery) said she has been there several times and likes it, other than -- again -- very few patrons. Yet another place to check out. The complex is located on the northeast corner of Wireless Road (Thanon Wittayu) and Rama IV Road (Thanon Praram 4). * * * * * * * * * * If anyone reading this has a website and would like to place a link there for BangkokAtoZ.com, you can just copy-and-paste the banner below into your site; it's a live link to this site's homepage --
-- or, if you prefer a simple text link, use this hyperlink: BangkokAtoZ.com. I'll appreciate an e-mail telling me the URL of where you placed it. If you want me to put a link on BangkokAtoZ.com for your site, do tell me where you have placed our link, and I'll give you a link in a comparable position, of the same nature (i.e., banner-for-banner, text-for-text). * * * * * * * * * * The Office Bar & Grill just off Sukhumvit Soi 22 now has a fairly large-screened television in one corner for anyone wanting to watch sports (or, presumably, anything else if there is general agreement, for that matter). They also are offering live music Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 11:30 P.M. on, something I'll have to check out; Bob, the affable owner who is there all the time (his partner travels out of the country regularly), says the vocalist has one of the most beautiful voices he's ever heard come out of a lady. When I and the 3 ladies were there the other night, there was a duo auditioning to play other times, a guy playing a synthesizer and a gal singing -- they were very, very good. I was astounded when she began to belt out "Ava Nagila"! I, for one, am hoping the duo makes the cut and gets hired. * * * * * * * * * * The bar I mentioned that's up for sale remains unsold; direct any serious enquiries to me at MekhongKurt@BangkokAtoZ.com. It's worth adding that the landlord of the venue is finally doing something to actually promote it, so this could be an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in going into a nice enclosed, air-conditioned bar-restaurant. Drop me a line. * * * * * * * * * * Within a week or 2 Suzie Wong on Soi Cowboy will have a bar upstairs with pool tables. I haven't seen it myself, but a close friend of the owners has and reports it's really, really nice. I plan to visit it whenever it opens and to report on it. * * * * * * * * * * The latest tempest in a teapot is the accusation that the son of the Prime Minister, Panthongthae Shinawatra, a student at Ramkhamhaeng University here in Bangkok, cheated on an exam last week. Initially media reports citing the lad's professors and fellow students said it sounded strange to them because he is a good student, but that if he were guilty as charged, he would have to face the standard punishment of being failed in all his courses for this university, not allowed to attend any more classes this semester, and barred for 1 year from re-entering the university. Whether he is guilty or not I of course don't know; he is now reported to be claiming he is innocent, contradictory to earlier reports he had signed documents amounting to a confession. But the real brouhaha has arisen over statements by the Acting Rector, a lady who was widely quoting as saying cheating is "trivial." She reportedly also asked, rhetorically, how the university could punish a student for cheating. As a former university academic myself, I was astonished at her remarks -- as were lots of other people, if the letter pages of the local newspapers are any indication. You can see a letter from the Acting Rector at the following URL, though I find it not at all convincing: http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/05Sep2002_news37.html. But Some might agree with her explanation, which is why I'm giving the link. Her letter is the 2nd one on the page. As you will see, it says nothing whatsoever to address the question of how a senior academic acting as rector of a university could ever even dream of asserting cheating is trivial. If it is, then the nation's universities should save untold amounts of money by automatically issuing degrees to any and all successful applicants for admission to any degree program -- without the applicants ever setting foot into a university classroom. I do want to stress that the important argument is not whether Panthongthae Shinawatra cheated or not. There are 2 other issues here that far overshadow his innocence or guilt. First is academic integrity. Second is that some have alleged that it is not normal practice for the university to reveal the identities of students accused of cheating -- even the acting rector says so in her letter -- and those so alleging have in some instances suggested politics is at work in an effort to damage the Prime Minister. But if the university indeed does not routinely nor did in Panthongthae Shinawatra's case reveal his name to the media, the immediate question has to be "then who DID?" Surely young Panthongthae Shinawatra didn't call a press conference to identify himself as the culprit. As for the Prime Minister himself, he rather disingenuously has said (according to press reports) that the entire affair is the result of "misunderstanding." [Of course, this is from the leader of a government which has cast economic relations with Taiwan into doubt, in no small measure due to the brusque attitude of the Prime Minister himself. I guess the loss of 50 billion baht annually in foreign exchange from Thai expatriate workers in Taiwan isn't important enough to be bothered with, is it?] * * * * * * * * * * One of the projects I'm doing is for Tony's Entertainment Complex on the southeast corner of Petchburi Road at it's intersection with Sukhumvit Soi 39, in the bottom part of the Ital-Thai Building. I went there a few days ago to take photographs for the project, and was quite impressed with the entire complex. They have an impressive website for the place -- and for the sister outlet in Pattaya -- with video clips, etc. at http://www.tonysdiscobangkok.com/; wait a moment and the homepage will take you automatically to a directory page with live links to different sections of the site. There's even a live broadcast over the Internet from the Pattaya branch 10:00 P.M.-2:00 A.M. daily. I was there too early for there to be anyone else there, though the place was open -- but that was last Saturday, so the weekday business clientele from the office tower housing the complex weren't around for after-work drinks. But the manager told me the place fills up almost every night from about 10:00 P.M. on. There are several parts of the complex, including a loft, a disco below (with live music from 8:30 P.M.). Khun Aom and I will be visiting there this Saturday night during mid-to-late evening, so I'll be able to tell you more about it later. * * * * * * * * * * The Moonshine in Queen's Park Plaza on Sukhumvit Soi 22 is starting a weekly pool tournament every Saturday afternoon from 6:00 P.M. on. There will be prizes for the top 2 winners. The Moonshine is one of my personal favourites -- I've been friends for years with the owner, Khun Ott, and her affable American husband, Ned, whose main specialty is playing golf! Do drop by -- anytime -- and tell them Mekhong Kurt says "hi." * * * * * * * * * * A reminder that The Sugar Shack, also in Queen's Park Plaza, is now opening from 2:00 P.M. daily. I'm a regular there, and recommend it for nice hostesses and a pleasant atmosphere. It sports 2 pool tables. * * * * * * * * * * The proprietor New Square One Pub, Taffy, has informed me that he is suspending the popular free Sunday lunch the place has offered for quite some time; seems too many of the folks availing themselves of the excellent, free, and served-in-massive-quantities food were folks who not only buy a single drink then "flee the scene" the second they've gobbled down their last morsels but who *never* darken the bar's doorway any time *other* than when free grub is on hand. I've suggested they do something on the order of putting up a sign saying "Free food for anyone whose bill for drinks (only) equals or exceeds _____ baht; a charge of ____ baht will be made for those wishing to spend less than that for drinks," but the owner is reluctant to pursue such a plan. I have to agree with the reasoning -- I remember when George Pipas finally had a bellyful of freeloaders a few years ago and imposed a requirement that people eating his excellent free Saturday mid-afternoon lunch buy at least one drink -- hardly a lot to expect, ESPECIALLY from people who give a place no other business at all. My own guideline is if I'm not prepared to have at least a couple of drinks myself and buy at least one or 2 lady drinks, then I have no right to be eating the owner's free food. Particularly amazing are folks who would go to New Square One Pub, eat there, then rush over to Silver Dollar Bar in Washington Square's opposite corner -- and which serves free food a half-hour or so later -- and eat THERE, too, repeating the act of buying a single drink then hitting the road, nowhere to be seen until the NEXT Sunday. It's one thing for a regular customer to come in and eat but buy only one drink, even a soda pop -- at least he or she gives regular, frequent support to the business, thereby helping defray the place's costs in putting out food. Some split hairs and say that makes it not "free," -- but to me they're doing exactly that: splitting hairs. Can anyone reasonably argue that to provide free food is meaningless unless it involves financial pain for whomever is providing it??? * * * * * * * * * * Noticed earlier this week that Tony's Bar in Soi Cowboy was closed, as it has remained since. There's a sign on the door -- but it's it Thai, which I can't read, so I don't even know if the sign gives any information about why the bar is closed. Considering that the last few times I've been there, visits spread over the last year or so, there were few, if any, other customers and given that it is a-go-go format but often with no dancers, I'm guessing it has gone out of business. Have asked around a couple places, but no one I asked knew. * * * * * * * * * * Until next time -- Mekhong Kurt
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