Archive for September, 2007
That Human Perfume, Tool Of Seduction
Agreed, today’s topic is more than slightly bizarre. And not even a mere Bangkok topic. A question first. Ever read Patrick Süskind’s Perfume? The masterpiece about Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in 18th century France? Born with no scent of his own? Driven to murder in order to create the perfect perfume? Here we go. We didn’t have
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Samak’s Garlic Overture – Or The Politics Of Thai Garlic
In India politicians now and then face an onion uprising, as life on the Subcontinent is unthinkable without abundant cheap onions. In Egypt it’s the bread – now in Thailand the government faces a garlic crisis. Cloves of garlic get imported from China for nothing. But, as the connoisseur knows, Chinese garlic is not as
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Bangkok Playboys & Playgirls
Another fun eve over at the Dream Hotel – the Playboy Charity @ Dream Mansion. Didn’t see much charity, but saw lots playboys & playgirls. With BangkokDan completely out of place and probably the most unerotic creature at the event, he kept his mission limited to taking shots. And take a wild guess. Everyone wants
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Whitewashing The Thai Jihad
Maybe it was a bit of both. Shortly after Thaksin Shinawatra’s coming into power the armed Muslim resistance in Thailand’s South was resurrected. I first took it for a war between local vested interests, for a rather misleading chain of conincidences. Because Thaksin had curtailed the power of the army and strengthened the police. The
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Thailand’s Very Own Prophet: “The Dude” Of The Latter-Day Church
We, the people of Thailand, have a prophet living amongst us. Or never heard of The Church of the Latter-Day Dude? It’s a church that employs a fine-tuned version of Taoism and principles from the movie The Big Lebowski, a crime caper about a philosophical middle-aged slacker who goes by the name The Dude. Journalist
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The Truth About 3G iPhone In Thailand
(UPDATE Nov 13th, ’08: TRUE will carry the 3G iPhone) +++ Your “old” iPhone may be a sought-after collector’s item already. This June 9th the classic iPhone’s successor 2.0 iPhone was announced. Expect prices for the old iPhones to rise. Here is why: Apple’s 2nd gen iPhone will have a huge impact on all the
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1966: Holder Of The Kingdom, Strength Of The Land
Another telling walk down memory lane, back to year 1966, with an almost poetic account of a witness to history. Some months ago we brought you TIME Magazine’s 1950: King Bhumibol’s Garden Of Smiles. Here’s another serious journalistic pearl, a treasure chest filled with goodies about life and society back then in Thailand at the
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At Pantip? It’s Mainly Khao Soi Gai
It’s hardly a secret, they have all the DVDs and games over at Pantip Plaza. You may even buy your Mac or a DSLR camera at Pantip. Pantip is no longer a synonym for piracy and copyright frauds. To me though, Pantip though holds a secret. It’s the home of the most delicious khao soi
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Sin Sod: Thai Dowries Change With The Times. Or Do They?
Thanks Tong of Asian Sweetheart for the mention of this Thai Bride Fee article. Thailand’s sin sod, the dowry the groom pays, may have shattered countless prospective marriages already. But times are changing. As Tong says, the article written by Thai woman named Warangkana Chomchuen “gives you a good idea of what a Bangkok woman
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The Vongthip Letter Jun 08
Within a matter of days we had witnessed Thailand’s sudden revival of the old political mess. A reanimated PAD was itself amazed by the spontaneous support. As Khun Vongthip Chumpani of Bangkok Bank writes in this month’s newsletter, “millions of baht were paid anonymously into PAD’s account to keep them going.” The support though somewhat
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