Nick Nostitz: Photographer, Documentarian, Communicator

He’s the “most Thai foreigner” I know. After years of work in the twilight of Bangkokian nights and his recent front line coverage of Thailand’s political conflict he has become something of a celebrity around here. Thai Politicians of all sides and the top brass know him. He recently published Red vs. Yellow: Thailand’s Crisis of Identity, has been interviewed twice by Stickman, the rather pro-old The Nation just spoke to him, and now this site: pleased to meet German photographer Nick Nostitz.

Nick came over for a coffee and half a pack of cigarettes – and we talked. I actually wanted to avoid politics as much as possible. Hasn’t everything been said already? Obviously not. There is no way talking to Nick without talking about Thai politics and society. „It’s very difficult to be a Thai in Thailand,“ says Nick who has a grasp of the inner workings of Thailand that makes many seasoned observers look like dilettante newbies. So what lies ahead?

Nick’s not an observer. He’s a man at the front lines. Wrote Stickman: The man once known as “Mr. Nightlife (…) has become the Westerner whose opinions I respect more than any other on many matters Thai as he digs into the deepest, darkest depths of Thai society. When Nick covers an issue, you can be sure that what you are about to read will be a thoroughly researched, unbiased report that doesn’t seek to charm.” Here we go:

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January 10, 2010 | Filed Under Being Farang, Culture Shock, History, Politics, The Interview, The Thai Mind | 31 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 

George Talks

He’s an institution: George, founder and owner of ThaiVisa.com, Thailand’s probably most popular website among foreigners with its unique forum.

George is the brain behind the success, but success invites envy and jealousy, so not all you read about ThaiVisa is milk and honey.

I recently had a talk with George and here is what he says about Thailand today, ThaiVisa’s sometimes debatable moderators, politics, etc.

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November 19, 2009 | Filed Under Being Farang, News & Media, Society, The Interview | 37 Comments 

Red Propaganda

Here’s lovely Puea Thai MP Khun Visaradee Techateerawat, one of a few young Thai political activists – who interviews three red protagonists on the coup d’état that took place some three years ago on September 19th, 2006.

Khun Visaradee’s simple question: Does democracy exist in Thailand today. Sure, it’s red material, but still, sometimes you don’t see the wood for all the trees and a healthy reminder is in order. Why again is the word “aristocracy” new in Thai politics?

Khun Visaradee interviews Thaksin’s former foreign minister Nopadon Pattama, Jarun Ditapichai, a former human rights commissioner of Thailand, and Sean Boonpracong, the reds’ international spokesman.

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November 18, 2009 | Filed Under Politics, The Interview, The Thai Mind | 1 Comment 

Thailand – Cambodia 0:3

You remember the Abhisit – Hun Sen 0:0 post. I was very polite to Abhisit because he looked so nice in the Asean chairman suit. A month later it is a whole different game. Our dear deputy premier Suthep obviously didn’t set Hun Sen straight on Thaksin, as claimed. Hun Sen is talking, and boy he’s talking. What Thai dignity? What a broadside at Thailand:

One has to give The Nation credit for running a Hun Sen press meeting at a decent length, see below. And Hun Sen can by all means be read as the voice of the international community. Well, Thaksin’s still not arrested … Says Hun Sen that Abhisit stole his seat from other people. That there’s nothing worth in the Thai judicial system worth respecting. That Abhisit’s a tool of Thaksin.

I doubt that The Nation intends to fuel the nationalistic ire in Thailand even further by giving so much space to an accused traitor. They obviously see that hothead Hun Sen has some valid points to make. There is only one way to deny the man’s logic, and that is by applying nationalistic, reactionary rhetoric – but that was not what Mark Vejj was taught at Eton. Deep down Abhisit must be ashamed. And true, after roaring like lions against Phnom Penh his government pusses out.

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November 12, 2009 | Filed Under Politics, The Interview | 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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