river taxi
clip of the chao phraya river boat at dusk (off pier 13, phra athit):
bang lamphu canal
a noticeable tourism initiative found in bangkok are these brown panels on practically every block, informing you in a terse & disjointed manner (at least the english translations) the historical significance of whatever street corner you happen to be standing on. though as a friend pointed out, sometimes if you actually read the whole thing it can be quite entertaining. … Read More
sunday streets
monks, beggars, vendors, police, mothers, daughters, yellow shirts… all on my way to chinatown, on bus 53. [VIDEO]… Read More
outside the golden mount
A CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD on construction of the Golden Mount. In the Royal Chronicle of King Rama III, Chao Phraya Thiphakornwongse writes on record that a great Prang (Pagoda), 50 fathoms in dimension. Further, when the king went to offer Kathina Robes to the monks at this temple, he asked for donation of timber logs for laying down as its foundation … Read More
opening night at BKK film fest
…or is it BKK film fets? here’s the website, but the real lowdown is here (the hollywood reporter)–including coups, red-carpets and money troubles.
blues bar
it’s ridiculous how easy it is to find cute bars, cafes, and good music around bangkok. on samsen road five minutes from my place, there’s this tiny blues bar–small enough that it’s amazing the band can fit in there. the bar is usually packed (spilling out to the street), but I managed to take a pic on a fairly empty … Read More
buddha is always with us
…even in the back of a pickup truck.
protesting pachyderms
BANGKOK, July 4 (TNA) — Bangkok’s police chief has banned Buddhist protesters from bringing any kind of animal to join their renewed demonstration, scheduled for Friday at Parliament. Speaking on the measure to control Buddhist monks and laypeople who are demanding that the new constitution officially recognise Buddhism as Thailand’s official religion in the charter, Bangkok police chief Pol. Lt-Gen. … Read More
happy july 1st
kinda forgot canada day happened, along with st-jean baptiste. I’m more chagrined about missing the 10th anniversary of the HK handover (see economist article)–possibly the only chance to see chinese-style fanfare in hong kong (I have sugary/scary visions of thousands of synchronized chinese school children in victoria park, while the PLA marches down queen’s road or something). coincidentally though, I … Read More
video art
went to the Goethe institut a few days ago to see an exhibit on video art. the exhibit itself was lame… and then came the performance art part. (ie, they demonstrated how video art is made.) there are two other people “performing” that aren’t in this pic. one guy started writing “human rights” on his arms (and later pouring red … Read More