Al Jazeera: Slingshots & Firecrackers, That’s All They Had

Relive Black May with Al Jazeera’s “The Rageh Omaar Report: The Year of Living Dangerously.” As if the Thai government’s PR campaign fell on deaf ears you’re left wondering if the red shirts are no front. The last words belong to the opposition, it’s the government that’s in need of explanations. Add some somber music and there you have a classic drama.

There is always the danger of superficiality and clichés when outsiders try insider reports. It’s suggested the poor and innocent were only armed with slingshots and firecrackers. Still, we learn that the reds try to turn the pro-Thaksin movement into something very different, into a class war – and why is it that fewer people visit Siriraj Hospital these days?

Think what you want of our governor, but Sukhumbhand’s assessment of implicitly calling the red protest self-defeating gets lost amidst much “there’s no way out.” Sukhumbhand warns the rural people who were on the streets they’re the first to feel the effects of the protest. They’ll suffer. We hear Jatuporn, but no word about the cash war, war weapons, lies and deception.

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June 21, 2010 | Filed Under Books & Movies, News & Media, Politics | 4 Comments 

Thai Politics Go Blockbuster

Hollywood has discovered the power of the misery of Thai politics. Guaranteed box office hits soon to arrive in a theater near you: “The Happiness of Sondhi,” “Prince of Montenegro,” “Thueag, I Love You.”

Release dates of the latest Thai blockbusters are not yet finalized, but expect the Thai film scene to take the world by storm after the “strange dream” Uncle Boonmee pocketed Cannes’ Palme d’Or 2010.

This is an exclusive, the movie posters of flicks starring real-world heroes and traitors. The kingdom of soap operas aims for new glory with the groundbreaking cinematic interpretation of what’s really going on, such as Thaksin’s “search for that M79″:

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May 28, 2010 | Filed Under Books & Movies, Culture & Arts, Politics, Seriously, Not ... | 12 Comments 

To Invest Or Not

Ever lost or gamed away money in Thailand? There’s a new bible for investors: Your Investment Guide to Thailand. I had a word with the author Bruce Bickerstaff who has more than twenty years experience in professional and management roles in both the Australian government and private sectors. Over the past decade Bruce has been an active investor and part-time resident of Thailand. In his guide – with a foreword by the Thai finance minister, Korn Chatikavanij – Bruce shares the knowledge and experience he has gained in both roles.

Everyone reading this has probably heard the saying “Never invest more in Thailand than you are prepared to walk away from.” Scary stuff for the newbie to LOS. Yet it’s true that many Westerners have seen the funds they brought here dwindle away to nothing. This situation can’t be blamed on the Thais though, as many of these investors simply paid the price for making hasty and poorly thought-through decisions.

“Due diligence” is the process used to investigate and evaluate potential investments. Why is it that so many farang seem to exercise less of it when it comes to Thai investments, than they would in their own home countries? Well there are several reasons, but one is the difficulty encountered when trying to research investment options. There is of course the language issue, plus people find that much of the English-language information they come across is so full of discrepancies that they are soon pulling their hair out in frustration.

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January 5, 2010 | Filed Under Books & Movies, Business & Economics, Culture Shock, Property & Investment | 3 Comments 

Street Food

It’s hard to not notice the Thai passion for food. Most first time visitors to Thailand are impressed with the sight of people cooking along street corners and alleys. The scent of garlic burning in hot oil, the fragrance of sweet sticky rice and mango (khao niauw ma mouang), the activity early morning at a local food market. The love of food does tells you a lot about sanuk, the joie de vivre Thais have. E.g. Thai language is soaked with proverbs regarding food.

A VIP is a sen yai (a big noodle), to camouflage something is pak chee roi nah (to straw coriander) … It seems like the whole country is either cooking or eating. Just like Italians can get poetic about the right olive oil or pasta, Thai people go crazy for the right noodle soup. Thais eat around the clock and travel the country to sample a specific dish. Just like Italians will have their café culture, Thai seem to have a food market culture. A place where people get together to socialize, drink and eat.

What is unique in Thailand is the abundance and wealth of food that’s on offer out in the streets. For a first time visitor the hustle and bustle of the street food is overwhelming. The language is often a barrier, hygiene standards not secure. After living in Thailand for two years I have never been ill from eating out in the streets, I have been I’ll from eating in very posh five star hotels.

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December 14, 2009 | Filed Under Books & Movies, Food & Drink, Truly Bangkok | 3 Comments 

Calvino Is Back

Every city has a dark side. Hardly anyone paints the dark underbelly of Bangkok more vividly than Christopher G. Moore, whose latest Bangkok novel The Corruptionist just hit the shelves. 466 pages of dark Bangkok.

I had a word with Chris about his new book, his work and Bangkok. Most expats here are familiar with his Vincent Calvino series. Some say no foreign author knows Bangkok better. A Hemingway of Bangkok, one critic said.

The book’s cover art is a painting by Chris Coles*, an inner circle mentor of the Bangkok Noir movement who is no stranger to the fascination of the city’s never tiring multiple levels of betrayal and deceit. So I started by asking Chris Moore: Why you chose Chris Coles for the cover?

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December 2, 2009 | Filed Under Books & Movies, Culture & Arts, The Interview, Truly Bangkok | 9 Comments 

Thai Literature Made Easy

So you’re in Thailand maybe since years and you’re not able to speak a single coherent Thai sentence. Told me an Aussie friend here recently whose local business spiraled downwards that in a meeting with his Thai in-laws the long unsaid was finally said to him: “You don’t speak Thai, that’s why!”

There’s a hidden world out there, right in front of your tip of the nose, indecipherable. There’d be plenty of resources by now if you’re serious about learning Thai – just to mention the phenomenal Learn Thai Podcast or the resource-rich Women Learn Thai (you illiterate men don’t get scared off by a name).

For all who wish to take a short cut but still dig deeper, there’s Frenchman Marcel Barang with his new website Thai Fiction; an oeuvre in the making that’s not only a treasure trove of Thai literature translated into English and French. That site serves as that polite kick in your bottom encouraging you to “Know Thailand: Read Thai.” Here’s the man himself:

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October 26, 2009 | Filed Under Books & Movies, Culture & Arts, TTT - Top Thai Things, The Interview | 7 Comments 

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