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"The Rounds" Friday, July 26, 2002
Mekhong Kurt * * * * * * * * * * Given my month-long goof-off time, thought I'd pick up the quill, so to speak, a bit more quickly this time. . . . * * * * * * * * * * Does *anybody* know what's going on with Chatuchak Market??? Someone drop me a line if you know. MekhongKurt@BangkokAtoZ.com * * * * * * * * * * Tried what was for me a new restaurant in The Emporium yesterday afternoon, a place called "Piri Piri." Probably the easiest way to find it is to go to the 5th floor via the escalators, do a full 180-degree U-turn around to your right, then go straight down the aisle through The Power Mall until you reach where you can angle right. Turn about 45 degrees and you're looking straight at it. Pretty good value for money. I ordered the Bombay Chicken Curry, which comes in 2 sizes: you can order just the breast (110 baht) or half a chicken (150 baht). It comes with chips/French fries (take your pick of terminology) and a romaine lettuce salad with a few very mild red, yellow, and green peppers, the lot covered with a dollop of vinaigrette dressing. [Smokers need to take their last fix before settling in, since The Emporium is a smoke-free zone.] There is a 10% service charge and 7% VAT both added to the bill. I drank a small bottle of water with my tasty meal, and cashed out at 138 baht -- pretty good. If I have any beef, it's the way the bill is delivered: what you initially see is the bill BEFORE the service charge and VAT are added. I go to only one other place that does that, and was told that's what the Thai law actually requires, though precious few -- 2, now, to my certain direct knowledge -- do it. First time I ran into that was at Bourbon Street in Washington Square, and it was a bit embarrassing when I left what I thought was my bill plus about a 15% tip only to have the waitress literally chase me down the street to collect the remainder. But other than that, I enjoyed it. I like that kind of place -- it sort of reminded me of what imagines a French sidewalk cafe to be, as far as watching passersby, but with the decided plus, in my view, of being INdoors, not OUTdoors in Bangkok's sometimes brutal heat (or floods, when they come). I expect I'll be returning to Piri Piri and sampling some of their fairly limited but reasonably diverse menu of a few salads, a few sandwiches, a few burgers, and the centerpiece orders of chicken. * * * * * * * * * * Don't forget that I've added a place for you to sign up to be notified via e-mail whenever we 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. * * * * * * * * * * Yesterday morning while riding perched on the back of a motorcycle taxi to work, my driver turned down Sukhumvit Soi 26 to avoid the light, which had just turned red, then turning into the back "elbow" of a tiny soi that runs off Sukhumvit virtually immediately west of the intersection of Sukhumvit Road and Sukhumvit Soi 26, the soi making a left-angled "L" south from the main road before turning 90 degrees left to intersect Soi 26. Anyway, nestled in the crook of the elbow was a place I definitely want to check out, "Reggae World" or something like that -- the motorcycle hit a bump about then, and you'll understand I became instantly and totally involved in doing everything in my power to make darned sure I *kept* my precarious perch! I happen to like reggae music, and hope the place proves to be a club or bar offering it. * * * * * * * * * * Bangkok (at least) was pretty much closed down for the 2 back-to-back Holy Days on the Buddhist calendar. Washington Square, Sukhumvit Soi 22, Queen's Park Plaza, Soi Cowboy, Asoke Corner, and Asoke Plaza were all essentially shut up tight night-before last and yesterday, as they were last night. Friends who checked said the same held true in the Nana Plaza/Soi 3-4 area, Clinton Plaza, and the place opposite Clinton Plaza. Yet I went to 2 restaurants that were openly serving alcohol. Guess I'll never understand the liqour laws here -- and I used to think the ones in Texas were confusing! * * * * * * * * * * Stickman is reporting in his weekly report that The Doll House in Soi Cowboy will indeed be closed for 30 days come next month. * * * * * * * * * * 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). * * * * * * * * * * I saw in The Bangkok Post yesterday that Gaysorn Plaza has had its soft opening and is looking to becoming Bangkok's first real Hongkong-style center, with elevated walkways connecting it to other places in the immediate vicinity. I know the ones in Hongkong are said to be continuing to be highly successful, despite that enclave's own economic problems. Given that a certain number of members of both the foreign and local populations like to be seen in the "right" and "best" places AND have the deep pockets to back that liking up, the folks behind Gaysorn may well be on to something. * * * * * * * * * * Folks in the market for a bar: 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. The owners are also in the process of setting up their own stand-alone web site, as I hear it (not from the owners themselves yet, however). Drop me a line. * * * * * * * * * * C'mon, c'mon -- I'm STILL looking for contributions to BangkokAtoZ.com's "Traveler's Tales" section, and welcome any submissions. Just send me a synopsis [*only*] at my e-mail address above. Even if you're not a writer, just about *everyone* has stories to tell -- they just often don't realize it. I know when I taught first- and second-year university nonfiction writing this was the case with most of my students, the majority of whom, with a little coaching (and coaxing!) came to realize they did indeed have something to say -- and that it was worth reading. So don't be shy -- this is YOUR chance to share your tales! (Preferably not TALL ones, though!) Hey, if I accept your piece, I'll even help edit it for you! MekhongKurt@BangkokAtoZ.com * * * * * * * * * * Well, I guess it's official: my Sister told a friend of her that she hopes to make it back out here East of Suez, North by Northwest, by no LATER than the summer of 2004, preferably NEXT summer. * * * * * * * * * * Last time I mentioned the surprising strengthening of the baht -- but it has gone back done. It neared THB40=US$1, coming with a few satang of the mark, but now is over 41 again. I remember when the crisis first hit even local economists (a few, anyway) were saying the baht's true value is in the 45~50=US$1 range, with some foreign economists figuring the true peg closer to 60 to the greenback. I have noticed, with jaundiced eye, that a few places I frequent which were swift to raise prices as the baht fell remain uninterested in *lowering* prices when The Coin of the Realm strengthens. It is with equally jaundiced eye I hear complaints about LOCAL costs -- for local services and goods, not imported one, services and goods billed for and paid in baht -- rising, when the people doing the complaining have offshore assets helping fund some portion of their business. * * * * * * * * * * If you don't already know, the most excellent book Hello My Big Big Honey! is now available through a U.S. publisher and online through Amazon.com. I've set up a page where you can order it from the fine folks at Amazon.com (at a steep discount at that): http://BangkokAtoZ.com/Hello_My_Big_Big_Honey.htm Go there to get this must-read -- "must-read" ESPECIALLY for guys about to climb aboard a plane to come to The Land of Smiles to find their One True Love amongst the ranks of the legions of bar girls. Heck, I think Thai Immigration ought to stop any Western male between the ages of, say 18 and 80 and require them to read the book AND pass an examination over it BEFORE they're allowed into the Kingdom! Seriously, folks -- the book is getting some rave reviews from some heavy hitters, including, for instance, TIME Magazine. By the way, I'll be adding other works I feel appropriate as time goes on. * * * * * * * * * * Read an issue of Newsweek Magazine a couple days ago, over half of which was about the future of travel. It was a fascinating series of articles, and very informative. It had one article about Thailand in particular that wasn't favourable, but at least it was about just one tour operator in one location, not about the Kingdom as a whole. Interestingly, one article on the best sources of tourist arrivals in the coming years mentioned the Chinese. As in "mainland China," not just Hongkong, Macau, Taiwan, and Singapore. The claim is that the tourism sector remains replete with bright possibilities for countries around the world, especially for those nimble enough to adjust their target markets quickly enough to get in on the action early. I, for one, want to see the Kingdom prosper, including in its tourism sector. For that matter, in its sector of resident foreigners. But there seem to be some things that need to be done for those things to happen, at least in any sustainable way. For one thing, it would be nice if the regular police forces were to be as visibly good as the Tourist Police are. I personally know people who are plain afraid to come here, people put off by stories they've heard or read of robberies, burglaries, extortion, drugged drinks, and the like. For another, particularly for tourists, it would be nice if the Tourism Authority of Thailand could somehow get word out well in advance of closing days (regardless of the reasons for the closings) around the world so people on tight, packed holidays wouldn't find themselves haplessly spending their 2 days in The Land of Smiles roaming around looking at all the closed businesses, entertainment areas, tourist sites, and so on -- as apparently happened to 2 youngish Western couples I saw last night. Heard one of the guys say to the other one that they had utterly wasted their time and money flying in late Tuesday night with an apparently unchangeable departure time of Friday morning, the guy adding "We haven't got to see much in the way of tourist sites, and can't even get a drink." [I have no idea where they had flown in from nor where they were off to later.] A third thing would be clarification on visas. Several years ago I was returning here from America on a one-way ticket bought there. At the Los Angeles Airport, the airline absolutely would not let me on the plane without either a visa or an onward/return ticket -- despite the visa-on-arrival provision that includes people of U.S. nationality. Yet I routinely fly within this region, sometimes on just such tickets, and have NO problem -- not one, in the maybe 25-30 times I've flown regionally in the past 4-5 years. Further, long-term visas remain confusing (though I hasten to interject that the Immigration Bureau has REALLY improved over the last few years). I've *heard,* for example, that retirement visas can now be applied for once one turns 50, and that the money requirement isn't one has to have a provable monthly income of 60,000 baht AND 800,000 baht in the bank above and beyond that income, but one or the other. But *heard* is the operative word here. I plan to be checking into that over the next few weeks, and if I am able to add any clarification, I will. Another thing, at least in Bangkok, is to improve the sidewalks (or "footpaths" or "pavement," if you prefer). Many remain broken and uneven, and, hence, dangerous. Ditto regarding covers for the storm drain system and construction areas involving pedestrian walkways. And traffic management nationwide could stand a LOT of improvement. The length of time between traffic signal changes all too often reach the level of the absurd -- several years ago, I timed the red light at Asoke and Sukhumvit, where the east- and westbound traffic sat an astonishing -- even for Bangkok -- 14+ minutes before through seeming telepathy drivers on both side of the intersection exited their vehicles en masse and raised holy hell with the police. [The scene got quite ugly very quickly, but that's another story.] This extends to several other areas of traffic law as well. Speed limits are essentially meaningless, as are designated traffic lanes. And pedestrian crossings are an absolute laughing stock. I've learned to allow myself enough time not only to be able to cross whatever dangerous Steel River before me, but a cushion of extra time just in case I stumble or fall, or someone blocks my way -- whatever. To do otherwise is to foolishly court serious bodily injury or death. Even the simple matter of garbage collection is problematic. Bangkok is a dirty city. It slays me when the "Cigarette Police," as they are derisively known by locals and foreigners alike, make a big deal out of someone dropping a cigarette -- when the sidewalks and streets have litter everywhere as far as the eye can see. Property ownership is another confusing area. I've pretty much given up on understanding who can and cannot own property here, what the requirements and limitations are for those who can, or anything else to do with it, instead deciding the simplest, safest approach is to be a renter, period, even of comemrcial property. [This is a real hobby horse of mine, as I *strongly* believe in reciprocal law in such areas, meaning that if, say a foreigner can own no more than X amount of property here, then in the foreigner's home country, the law ought to impose exactly the same restriction(s) on Thai nationals. I don't mean this vindictively -- but it would be better than laws people such as my Mother advocate: NO foreign ownership of ANY land/homes/apartments/condos -- including commercial property -- AT ALL. There evidently are some local people who feel Thailand's beaches, hill tribes, etc. will forever more draw tourists and foreigners wishing to lead the life of expatriates, but I think not; I've heard all the concerns above (and more) voiced on many occasions, often one or the other or some combination of them cited as why a particular individual has decided *not* to holiday here, or *not* to accept a posting with his or her company here, or *not* to invest here. Which is sad for Thailand, and for those of us who wish her well. Thailand really *does* have beautiful scenery, from the mountains of the north to the beaches and islands of the south. And there are lovely temples, cities, and other man-made places. Further, Thai people genuinely *are* friendly, as a group -- far more so than one will find numerous other local populations to be. There are other issues -- standardization of Romanized spelling of Thai, signs at any place catering to foreigners in languages other than Thai, etc., but one gets the drift from the above. * * * * * * * * * * Well, reckon I've babbled on quite enough! * * * * * * * * * * Until next time -- Mekhong Kurt
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