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"The Rounds" Thursday,
September 26, 2002
Mekhong Kurt * * * * * * * * * * Hello again from the Land of Smiles! According to my own admittedly limited observations strolling around entertainment venues and to anecdotal evidence, things do seem to be picking up for the tourism sector here in Bangkok. While it varies day to day, overall there seem to be more people about than in earlier recent weeks. This has been especially noticeable in Soi Cowboy this past week -- even 2 nights ago, when it rained between moderate and heavy all night long. Even the worrisome Queen's Park Plaza has picked up a bit, some places strikingly more than others. * * * * * * * * * * Speaking of Queen's Park Plaza, The Moonshine Pub there has caught on as a pool venue, and its single coin-operated pool table stays busy all night, every night. It can get downright rowdy, in a nice sense. If you're a pool player, drop on by and join in the festivities. * * * * * * * * * * No breaking news regarding Clinton Plaza; I haven't heard the results of the negotiations between the parties that are supposed to be already concluded. By the way, the Doll House there had a smashingly successful dance contest the other night, according to folks I know who were there and have told me about it. Also, I went with 2 lady friends by The Living Room last night, and had a great time; if you've never been there, do drop around and tell Graham, the affable owner, you heard about his place here. If you want to get an idea of what the place is like before going there, visit the website: http://www.thelivingroombangkok.com * * * * * * * * * * A cousin of mine and 4 of his friends paid me a brief visit this week, and we had a nice time. Believe it or not, our visit to see the Grand Palace was my *first* visit there -- though I've lived here over 8 years! Been in *front* of it countless times -- just never took the tour. We also went to Baiyoke Tower, my second visit, and I can't recommend it enough for a stunning panoramic view of the city. Incidentally, the 43rd-floor viewing restaurant in Baiyoke Tower 1 has an excellent all-you-can-eat buffet for 190 baht/person, ++ -- works out to just under 225 baht, total. Click here to see nice views: http://www.thomasriddle.net/high-on-bangkok/. Also, you can find a couple nice pictures at this URL: http://www.thaistudents.com/guidebook/baiyoke.html. [Incidentally, the latter is a great site sponsored by a provincial school near Bangkok, a site which has won rave reviews from the likes of the folks at Lonely Planet and TIME Magazine. Take a look and let the kids and teachers know what you think. I intend to write a review of it.] Just to keep matters straight, there are *2* Baiyoke Towers, and the one to which I refer here is the shorter of the two; the taller one is Baiyoke Tower 2 -- the largest all-hotel skyscraper in the world. They are a block or so apart off Rajprarop Road in the Rajthevee district of Bangkok. After that it was a spate of shopping in the Pratunam market area, immediately adjacent to the towers. An under-rated shoppers' paradise it is, too. Also took my cousin's lady friends to the shopping area opposite the World Trade Center on Rajdamri Road. While a vast array of products are available here, people who like Thai silk say its possible to get high-quality silk here, silk as good as that available at the Jim Thompson House but at lower prices. There's one more stop we made, but it merits its own entry, so read on. . . . * * * * * * * * * * I've been in Thailand since mid-June, 1994, and have never had any interest in anything to do with katoeys ["lady-boys," men who have undergone the full operation to become women.] Nor am I the least bit interested now, in any personal sense. But my Cousin & Company wanted to see a katoey cabaret show, which I was happy enough to organize. Less happily, they were insistent I accompany them. Reluctantly, I agreed, telling my cousin I would have a whole lot of markers to call in from him for agreeing. Given that I live in the Washington Square area, we decided on the Mambo Cabaret in the Square. I never dreamed I would ever, ever, ever go to a katoey cabaret, and it's bad enough to admit I did. Worse is that I am forced to admit it was a darned fine show. Considering that the performers are a far cry from trained professional performers, the Mambo crew do indeed put on a virtually stunning performance. The props are extensive, the lighting very good. They perform popular songs, lip-synching -- in *3* languages: English, Japanese, and Mandarin -- and the lip-synching ranges from quite good to outstanding. You can see some decent close-up and group pictures if you click here. An especially funny performance came late in the show, when a bunch of the "girls" fell out and started a dance-'n-song medley they opened with ABBA's famous "Dancing Queen" -- the sparse mid-week crowd roared with laughter at the obvious self-jibe. [I had to explain it to my 2 little tilacs, Aom and Duan, who went with us.] So, with considerable self-shock, I have to recommend one give such a show at least a single go-around. * * * * * * * * * * 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. I'm pleased to say that more and more of you are signing up, and I urge all of you not to hesitate! * * * * * * * * * * Found an interesting site of possibly great use for foreigners interested in finding out the city's musical offerings. Not being a follower of the local music scene myself, I can't say how exhaustive it is, but it is visually clean and well-done. Called Bangkok Gig Guide, it claims to list every gig, every night in Bangkok. An equally interesting and just as useful comparable site is Bangkok Events. It is far broader in its coverage, though there is an emphasis on the arts and culture, as is evidenced by the fact that its 12 categories include 10 related in some way or the other to those areas. Those of you who don't live here but come for vacation still can find both these sites very, very useful if you're interested in finding gigs, art exhibitions, conferences, etc. during your stay in The Big Weird. * * * * * * * * * * The rainy season has intensified a bit, with parts of the city having minor flooding 2 nights ago, but the waters drained away quickly. * * * * * * * * * * I wrote last time about the amazing increase in the popularity of pool here. Bangkok has long had city-wide darts leagues, and some owners with places boasting pool and catering to the foreign community have asked if there are any moves afoot to set up a comparable league for pool players. Not a bad idea, in my book. And I'm sure the numerous true devotees of the game would welcome such a move. [And no, no one need suggest *I* spearhead such a move!!!] * * * * * * * * * * 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). * * * * * * * * * * There's another political storm developing in the Kingdom. I don't fully understand everything at stake, but apparently members of the Opposition question the constitutionality of the Reform Bill the government sponsored, a bill that would re-organize various government entities. What those reforms entail and what the objections are remain rather murky, in my mind, but one thing *is* clear. When MP's question a bill's constitutionality, the fact of the question halts processing of the bill until the appropriate court rules. But in this instance, the government initiated the next step just minutes after winning the parliamentary vote on the bill, a vote which went almost strictly party-line. This is said to be *highly* unusual -- and the Opposition is screaming "FOUL!" because the Speaker of the Parliament -- himself a member of the government's main part -- sent the petition back "so it could be checked over for accuracy," thereby making it impossible, maybe, to question the bill's constitutionality. It seems that the rules say once a bill is submitted for Royal approval, it can no longer be challenged, but at least one local (and leading) expert on Thai law says that's not true until His Majesty has actually signed the bill, thereby elevating it into established law. This being Thailand, there are of course other controversies involving the government in the news, but that's the main one -- for the moment! * * * * * * * * * * 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. * * * * * * * * * * Have had a couple submissions for consideration to be run as "Travelers' Tales" stories, and I'm looking at them. Right now I'm inclined to run both, so be watching for them -- when I do put them up, you'll have something written by someone other than *ME* to read, Lucky You! * * * * * * * * * * Will be adding a variant product line soon using some of the beautiful pictures my lady friends have graciously allowed me to use. Here's a sample:
The
Lovely Khun Aom I'll post a notice here and elsewhere on the site when those products are online. * * * * * * * * * * I'm still looking for contributions to our "Traveler's Tales" section -- never can have too many, you know --, 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 inedded 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!) * * * * * * * * * * A warning to men visiting Thailand for the bar girls: hang onto your senses, first and foremost -- and hang onto your wallets. I know this doesn't apply to a considerable number of people reading this column, nor to a considerable number of just the males reading it -- but it does to some. Are there any good bar girls? -- of course there are. But it's demonstrable fact that a greater number are most assuredly *not* ones you'd be happy to take home to Momma -- unless Momma and you would be happy with her finagling money to send back to her Little Somchai Boyfriend/Husband/Whatever. Scarce a week goes by without my hearing of or witnessing some befuddled lad who has left his brain back home and gotten off the plane totally witless. Look, even Old Thai Hands get run through the mill, despite centuries, collectively, of shared experience and keen insight into the local scene. One of the comments I hear most -- and one that's sure to make me lower my head and shake it -- is the eternal "MY L'il Noi is DIFFERENT! She really is an 'A' student at university, and her Mother really DOES need an operation! What? 'How do you know?" I know because Noi TOLD me so, and Noi LOVES me, and NOI won't EVER lie to me -- so there!" Odds are "L'il Noi" Number One isn't really "Noi" but a girl using that nickname as a nom de guerre. And Number Two that if she ever saw the inside of a classroom it was a single-room village school, last visited when she was in primary school -- and from which she flunked out. And Number Three that if Momma really needed an operation "L'il Noi" wouldn't be sitting at the bar talking with a fat, smelly farang but upcountry at home helping tend her mother. Look, there are a lot of bar girls I know, like, and trust (the latter to varying degrees, true). But I've known gajillions, so just by pure math I doggone well *ought* to have run across the occasional genuine gem. The guys I'm talking to are those who rush from the airport to town, hit the first bar they find, then marry the first girl who sweet-talks them out of a drink. And there's a helluva lot more of such guys than the rest of you might imagine. A saying around these parts holds "If a bar girl tells you it's raining, or it's nighttime -- whatever -- better go outside and *check,* 'cause likely as not it's NOT raining, or it's daytime (or whatever)." Cynical and trite -- but it got to be trite because of its widely applicable truth. * * * * * * * * * * Until next time -- Mekhong Kurt
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Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 by Kurt T. Francis, except as noted otherwise. Materials by Christopher G. Moore, Dean Barrett, Richard K. Diran, Sonia Pressman Fuentes, and Hardy Stockmann are copyrighted © by those respective authors. All rights reserved. Please see the Copyright Notice for further information. Click here for our Privacy Statement Please direct all inquiries to mekhongkurt at bangkokatoz.com |
