Bangkok's Coup Season

It's already been over six months since Pierre and I arrived in Bangkok. And nearly two months since I went part-time with my job. It's always astounding how quickly the days pass. I'm disappointed that I haven't been able to write more here in recent months, but I'm hoping that will change soon. 

These past few months have been filled with travel, Thai New Year celebrations, spending time with family, making new friends and re-discovering Asia's City of Angels. Bangkok has been an interesting place to be during the past half year, especially over the last week. A lot about Thailand has been revealed through the ongoing political crisis that has kept the country on its toes since last October. It's been an excellent crash course on Thailand's political and social situation!

This past weekend was the first time that I've had to worry about getting home before curfew in about a decade (!). Now past the "roaring" phase of my twenties, I'll admit I'm somewhat pleased there's a military order backing my homebody nightlife. So what is there to do in the sweltering Big Mango when a coup's been declared and a curfew is in effect? 

DO - Check out Bangkok's happening coffee shop scene. Funky cafes with artisanal pastries and latte art are popping up all over the city. My new fave is Casa Lapin on Sukhumvit Soi 26 with comfy, copious seating, free wi-fi, a mouthwatering pastry display and creamy, ice-cold lattes. Your daily buzz never looked so hip. 

DO - Check the news and/or Twitter feeds (such as Richard Barrow's) for updates about the political situation before heading out of the house/hotel in the morning. The security situation can change literally overnight and areas that may have been fine to visit yesterday may not be safe today.

DON'T - Let anyone persuade you that key tourist sites such as the Emerald Buddha or Grand Palace complex are closed. These con guys try their schtick on all tourist-looking types to rope them into an elaborate gem scam all year round, but may take advantage of the uncertain security situation to further convince victims they are "helping" them. Check the place out yourself first and never trust a tuk-tuk driver that will take a fare lower than 100 baht unless you're that confident about your bargaining skills!

DO - Stay indoors as much as possible. The humidity and heat are not to be reckoned with, especially during mid-day when you break a sweat before you even step outside. Pay a visit to the Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre (BACC) or an art space like Speedy Grandma (I just love their name!). The Thailand Creative and Design Centre (TCDC) in the Emporium Mall is great for marketing and design buffs. TCDC has a lovely library and workspace, design exhibition space and store with unique, local products that make great gifts. 

DON'T - Attempt to visit an anti-coup or other protest site or take #selfies with armed soldiers. Though the city is mostly safe and calm, you can end up being in the wrong place at the wrong time in the blink of an eye. Stay up to date on what areas of the city to avoid and stay well away! 

DO - Try your hand at Thai cooking! Learn all the fragrant, exotic spices that go into crowd favorites such as green curry, papaya salad and tom yum soup. The best part is that you have total control over the spice level and you get to enjoy it all afterward! The Blue Elephant is one of Bangkok's oldest, most prestigious culinary institutions but there are several more now around the city for differing tastes and budgets. 

DO - Stop by for a refreshing tipple at one of Bangkok's many watering holes during early evening - chances are, there's a happy hour deal. Pomelo margaritas at Opposite Mess Hall, bespoke cocktails at U.N.C.L.E passion fruit pisco sours at Above Eleven, and tamarind margaritas at Maya are some of the best drinks I've had in this city thus far.

DON'T - Knock back too many drinks. This may sound obvious but I've heard some scary stories about foreigners getting spiked drinks and almost being mugged just a few minutes away from home. It's not common, but drunk foreigners are pretty obvious targets. Especially late at night in small, dark sois. Sip slowly, stick with friends and always be aware of your surroundings!

 

DON'T - Miss curfew! It's true that the curfew enforcement has been fairly relaxed in most areas of the city and some bars and nightclubs will stay open well past 10 pm. Thailand isn't a place you want to get caught missing curfew. Those lame excuses for missing curfew didn't work on your parents and they won't work now. 

DO - Keep friends and family updated of your whereabouts. Every day. Don't assume no news is good news.

DON'T  - Try to talk serious politics with locals and exert your opinion as a foreigner. Light-hearted chatting about the situation is fine (like the terrible traffic!), but be sensitive and aware this is a tense time where the unsolicited opinions of passing foreigners are not particularly welcome. 

DO - Remember that a smile and a "kop khun kha" (thank you) will take you a long way here.

Bangkok is a sprawling, incredibly complex mess of an urban soul. Spend a little while and uncover some of its mysteries...

Breathe

"Why do monks live in seclusion? That is asking why does a scientist work in a laboratory, or why does a sailor go on a ship or why does a duck swim in water. Why does a man go to his bedroom and get in bed when he wants to go to sleep? Why doesn’t he lie down in the middle of the street? A monk seeks silence and solitude because there his mind and heart can relax and expand and attain to a new perspective: there too he can hear the Word of God. . . ."   - Thomas Merton

Whew! Nearly three months into the new year, I feel like I've finally had a chance to come up for air. Somehow the work, the social events, and the travels stitch together in such a way that life gets fast forwarded without your realizing it. Though I'd never take back any of those experiences, it's come at the cost of being able to regularly and deeply reflect on them. I'm grateful for this moment now, to breathe, on a rare quiet Saturday while on business travel in Vietnam.

As an only child, I've always cherished being alone. If there's anything only children are surely to be spoiled by, it would be the time left to be with their own selves and thoughts. While I love spending time with family and friends, learning from and socializing with others, I've always felt the most profoundly spiritual moments in my life come at times I am alone. I remember, when I was 15, my parents and I visited a wind farm in Western Australia. My parents were taking pictures, as I hiked up and up to the top of a small hill. Standing amidst tall grass shuffling in the wind, and looking out at all those massive white turbines, as they eerily turned in unison. That image is forever etched in my mind, as a souvenir of that moment my teenaged curiosity turned to life's larger questions like, who are we? and, what are we doing here? 

Interestingly, my parents are now on a ten day silent meditation retreat in Eastern Thailand. No talking, no electronics, no books - only 2 meals and 11 hours of sitting a day. I'm not sure I'm quite there yet, despite my general eagerness of alone time. For now, a quiet morning alone with a pen and notebook will do just fine. 

More thoughts worth sharing on being alone in this month's issue of The Sun Magazine...

Time for Transitions...

 

Well, my friends, where shall I begin? These last few months have been of the sort that start normally enough, perhaps with hints at occasional bouts of boredom. But soon, life grabs you by the lapels, takes you for a wild ride, and then, not a second too late, drops you off where you were actually heading all along. Home.

After ten months and ten days living in Vietnam, last week Pem and I moved to Bangkok for reasons both personal and professional. The winds of change urged us on, with their heady scent mixed of anticipation, promise and always, a touch of sadness. We've been busy unpacking and getting settled, but some photos from recent travels to Chantaburi and Ho Chi Minh City are coming soon, as well as a post on saying goodbye to Hanoi. Let the adventures continue!

NYT Spends 36 Hours in My Favorite City

If you felt pangs of wanderlust while reading my last two posts, check out the latest NYT's 36 Hours in Bangkok. The intro is spot on - "To travel across Bangkok is to see several worlds at once."

The recommended itinerary is pretty good and does indeed seem to promise the traveler glimpses into many of Bangkok's different worlds. I would say an absolute must which the article omits is sunset happy hour at Arun Residence's The Deck Restaurant. Get there early. From your seat, you can watch the blazing sun melt behind the Temple of Dawn in a fury of pinks, oranges and reds while sipping on a well-deserved cocktail.


(photo credit - Pem, with some minor editing)

In a Concrete Jungle...

Bangkok is big. And this concrete jungle of a city keeps growing every day. Even since my visit last April, I feel like more condos and shopping malls have cropped up or are under construction. It's impressive and clear evidence of the upward trend of economic strength and stability of Thailand's capital. It's a little bewildering to think about what this city might look like in five or ten years' time.

Since my parents moved into my grandparents' home in the middle of Bangkok's shopping district over five years ago, they have transformed their garden into an oasis within the city. The week we were there, waxy pink ginger flowers, bright red birds of paradise, vibrant purple plumeria blossoms, mango trees, white-flowered calamansi, various types of herbs and a dozen (or more!) different kinds of bananas were growing in the garden. Even these mid-April mornings were too hot to enjoy breakfast on the patio, but one morning I set out to capture as much of the garden's beauty as I could. Cultivated green spaces like this are really unique in Bangkok and they are becoming more rare by the minute.

 

The Bangkok Beat

It's been awhile, friends. Work has been terribly busy but I'm hoping that I can soon restore some balance in my life and get back to blogging. 

Pem and I were in Bangkok two weeks ago. The weather was scorching, but boy did it feel good to be back. There is nothing like being home. 

Towards the beginning of the week, we were poked, prodded and finally pronounced healthy by some of Bangkok's finest medical and dental establishments. That restored our confidence enough to throw healthy habits out the window and properly celebrate my mum's birthday on Thursday at the Mandarin Oriental's La Normandie. 

Friday night we went out with friends to Soi 11 for (veggie) burgers and beers before heading to Bed (Bed Supperclub, that is). We ended the night at a curbside bar enjoying drinks from the back of a bus (yes, really). On Saturday morning, Pem and I ran some errands and returned to the house thoroughly soaked with Songkraan (Thai New Year) "good wishes". Despite not being able to deliver any new years wishes via SuperSoaker ourselves, we were happy to be a part of it and even more thankful for Ziploc bags for our phones! Our visit ended with a wonderful evening enjoying karaoke and good company. 

Definitely looking forward to our next visit. Hopefully Pem and I will have a duet to share at the next karaoke! Until then, some scenes of the Bangkok beat below...

(photo credit: first four photos taken by Pem, which I slightly edited.)

The City of Squalor

www.stuckincustoms.com

This weekend, after much internal debate on my part, we went to go see The Hangover: Part II. I was homesick enough to crave seeing Bangkok, even if only on the big screen. I'll admit, I was also a teeny bit curious to see the Wolfpack's latest midadventures.

All in all, the plot and the depiction of Bangkok were as crude as I expected. Chow set the tone in the opening scene when he said, "Holllaaa - the city of squaaalllaa". The dark underbelly of this sprawling city I call home was shown in its most caricatured form. That being said, the guys did their job eliciting surprised guffaws and disgusted gasps out of the audience.

When I got home, I started searching for photos showing Bangkok's je ne sais quoi that makes me love it so much. Bangkok, as with other urban areas of its scale, is a city of contradictions.

Here is a great photo of downtown Bangkok's activity, accompanied by a short poem that describes this chaotic city so well.

Within the chaos though, are the tiniest details that can blow your mind away but are ta-ma-dah, or average, to most Thais. Here is a photo that makes me smile. And below are two of my own photos, aquarium fish for sale and an offering of sushi to the spirits.
 

 

My one actual point of contention with the movie - where was the traffic?? As Stu, Alan and Phil zip across the city in a tuk tuk to meet Kingsley, their early morning commute is never interrupted by traffic. It must have been too mundane of an obstacle at that point...

Two images of Bangkok's crippling traffic below. Deepens my love for bokeh and the BTS!

courtesy of 27147 and byJosh on Flickr.com