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The Rounds January 8, 2001
Sorry to say, due to a technical glitch, the original January 5th column was irretrievably lost, leading to this new version. (If you happened to have downloaded it and wouldn't mind sending it to me, I would be most appreciative. Just write me at MekhongKurt@BangkokAtoZ.com.) But it needed updating already anyway. * * * * * * * * * * For starters, one of the bars in the only-weeks-old Queen's Park Plaza is already up for sale -- Ama Bar, which is a few doors in down the left-hand sidewalk facing the plaza from Sukhumvit Soi 22. I personally never saw even a single customer there-- and I go to the open-air bar-beer directly across the sidewalk from it every day. The owners of the latter tell me they never saw anyone, either. * * * * * * * * * * In the same vein, though the number of tourists has increased even just over the past 3 days, one has to wonder if QPP can make it. Other friends who own a small bee-bar towards the back have already told friends they wish they had never invested. I don't mean to be trying to give QPP or any of the establishments there a bad name; after all, I personally like it. It's much less frenetic than even Soi Cowboy -- which appeals to me. And now, during the delightful cool season, sitting in the open-air bars is very pleasant indeed, especially in the evening. * * * * * * * * * * It appears democracy is under assault here, to a degree, as it becomes increasingly clear that certain people are interested in decreasing the powers of various agencies with oversight authority such as the Election Commission and the NCCC (National Counter-Corruption Commission). The recently-appointed new head of the Election Commission is a former senate candidate who was disqualified by the very commission he now heads -- though I hasten to add while a finding by the EC bars a candidate, it is not, as I understand it, the same as a judicial decision. In other words, for the EC to bar a candidate is acceptable and legal, but not the same as a court's finding the same candidate guilty of a crime and sending him (or her) to jail or otherwise punishing said person. There is also a series of efforts underway to blur the separation of powers between the judicial and administrative branches of the government, but this is far from a done deal. * * * * * * * * * * "Big Mike" has gone in partners with Mali at Happy Pub in Washington Square. Located on the west side (the Sukhumvit Soi 22 side) of the interior block of 3 buildings in the center of the Square, this small bar is now offering limited food at quite low prices. Mike hails from West Texas, and has developed a menu of breakfast, burgers, Mexican burritos, a daily special, and some Thai food. The daily special is a heck of a deal at 60 bath -- it includes a draft Carlsberg beer! I've tried the cheeseburger, breakfast burrito, bean burrito, and beef burrito, and found them all uniformly excellent -- and haven't paid over 80 baht. There's even a rice cooker with serve-yourself hot dogs with the trimmings next to it -- at a rather astonishing 30 baht apiece. Mike and his lovely wife Sai are actively participating in managing the place and strive hard to please their customers, including going out of their way to provide something not even on the menu. While I'm close personal friend with the pair (and Mali), my recommendation you go by is quite sincere -- I've had my lunch there 4 of the past 6 days, and not out of mere friendship! (People who know me -- and my girth -- know I'm a picky eater!) * * * * * * * * * * Anyone who hasn't been to The 22 Bar just west of the corner of Sukhumvit Road and Sukhumvit Soi 22 (next to the 7-11) in a long while likely don't know that it no longer is an open-front bar, but fully enclosed, with air-conditioning. A favourite with numerous Europeans (with the odd Yank, Aussie, Canuck, and Kiwi thrown in), it's a nice place, especially if you love football -- "soccer," to us Yanks. If you want to argue about football, you better be up on your stuff -- those guys are sure up on theirs! (And don't even think about saying soccer isn't really football. Everybody except Americans believe it is.) Anyway, drop by and say "hi." * * * * * * * * * * In the market for stuff such as electric cooking utensils, televisionss, stereos, lighting fixtures, etc? Rather surprisingly, you could do far worse than The Power Mall on the top floor of The Emporium (not counting the theater complex one floor up at the back). They have amazingly good prices, especially for such a high-rent complex. And no, no one there knows I'm writing this, nor do I know a soul there or otherwise have any connection whatsoever -- it's just plain a place for a good deal. They also have other merchandise (dining, towels, wardrobes, etc.). It also has private small counters selling telephone and telephone accessories, as well as a CD/cassette tape outlet. (Curiously, there isn't anything remotely related to computers.) * * * * * * * * * * I've noticed an increase in the street urchins at major intersections, all either selling flowers or "washing" car windows. It would be nice to think they are enterprising young souls striving to make it (or at least help their families make it), but in fact they are organized and exploited by what Thais call "dark forces." I find it distressing, as does anyone who is aware of the truth of the situation. The same holds true for virtually every "beggar" one encounters. * * * * * * * * * * Interior Minister Purichai The Puritan seems to have eased up on his widely publicized campaign to crack down on night-entertainment venues. That said, even at the peak of the crackdown, it was completely inconsistent -- one venue's a-go-go dancers couldn't be clad in only string bikinis, while a few kilometers away in some other venue, there were nude performances. It also cannot escape notice of people familiar with the city that the crackdown raids have been conducted only in areas catering to foreigners; one never hears of such in areas such as upper Ratchadaphisek -- scene of the infamous Duangchalerm case -- or Sutthisan Road, both areas catering more to Thais. And more than one writer of a letter to the editor has questioned why he's not focusing on more serious problems. All that said, he is receiving considerable public support, including from the media. I've said before and will say again it's virtually impossible to challenge his stated goals -- but he sure is going about attaining those goals in a decidedly peculiar way. * * * * * * * * * * You almost certainly noticed a new banner at the top of this column. BangkokAtoZ has joined a mutual-help organization of Thai-related sites, through which we share our banners, each of our sites showing our colleagues' banners on a rotational basis. I hope you'll click through to them and give them your support. (It appears on a few other pages in BangkokAtoZ as well.) * * * * * * * * * * Got an e-mail from someone this morning wanting to submit a couple articles for consideration as "Travelers' Tales." This is one of the more popular pages of BangkokAtoZ, so I'm hopeful at least one of the articles in suitable. Be watching for a new one soon. And while I'm thinking about it, if YOU have such a tale to share, please drop me a line at MekhongKurt@BangkokAtoZ.com. * * * * * * * * * * For those of you into sun-'n-surf but like neither Pattaya-Jomtien nor Phuket, those don't represent the all of what's available in Thailand. Hua Hin and Cha'am, both an easy ride south of Bangkok, are increasingly popular -- there's even a new airport there. (The two lie close together.) Similarly, Krabi is becoming more and more popular. Then there are places such as Koh Samui -- "koh" means "island" along both coasts that are nice. Me, I'm a city kind of guy so haven't visited any of these places, other than Pattaya-Jomtien, but I have friends who visit or live in many of these places, and the reports are uniformly good. Here are a few links to help you check them out: Hua Hin and Cha'am: http://www.huahin.20m.com* -- I haven't explored this site much, but appears to be quite good. Koh Samui: http://www.sawadee.com* -- this is a great site with tons of information of places all around Thailand. Krabi: http://www.krabi-thailand.com* -- again, I haven't explored it much, but it looks good and covers surrounding destinations such a Koh Phi Phi (pronounced "pee-pee," much to delight of English speakers!). * Alternately, you can do as I did to get these listings -- run a search in a good search engine; Google works great for me. Also, BangkokAtoZ has no affiliation with these sites -- I chose each simply because it was high up in the listings. * * * * * * * * * * One mistake a lot of tourists on package tours make (in my opinion, anyway) is to fly into Bangkok for just 1-2 nights, then try to hit several other destinations all over the national map -- all in vacations only 1-2 weeks long. Heck, half the time is spent traveling! Make your holiday an enjoyable one -- not a madhouse. With numerous fine search engines out there, you can educate yourself before you come about just where you really want to go and what you really want to see. Your travel agent can help you make good choices -- just be sure to get one familiar with Thailand. (I heard a story -- which may, admittedly, be nothing more than an urban legend -- but which makes a valid point. The story has it some guy decided he wanted to vacation in Thailand so went to his hometown travel agency, a small, one-outlet outfit, and told them to book a holiday for him. When he went back to see what they had arranged for him, he was confused when they presented him with a fine plan: to spend his vacation in TAIWAN!) * * * * * * * * * * The weather's fine. Thai Muslims are almost all extremely moderate -- I have a couple Thai Muslim friends -- and Afghanistan is far away. This is a large, varied country with a LOT to offer both the traveler and the holiday-maker, so come on over! * * * * * * * * * * Until next time -- Mekhong Kurt
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