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 

Elite Goes Anti-Democrat

Here’s an interesting open letter to the governor of Bangkok, “Building Nightmare on Sukhumvit,” written by our regular contributor Vongthip Chumpani, an ardent supporter of the new order.

The letter was recently published in The Nation’s Letter to the Editors section, raising the issue of the Sukhumvit area’s over-building and over-crowding.

Khun Vongthip sure has some points. But what was first, the chicken or the egg. See? To abide by the law and being a good citizen can only help you so much in this town. Or are we suggesting a changing of the guard?! Here we go:

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December 9, 2009 | Filed Under Property & Investment, The Vongthip Letters, Truly Bangkok | 16 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 

No Escape

Tried to have a weekend free of politics, starting with a Saturday afternoon stroll to Pantip joining a party later on. But no politics is hardly possible in the metropolis Bangkok that’s just not getting rid of its provincial charm.

You can meet anyone anywhere. At the party I ended up with meeting … well, have a look at the little photo essay below shot with my cheap Fuji cam, please bear with the quality. Once he started singing karaoke I called it a day and left. What can you do.

Politics seem to have taken infiltrated every corner of the place. He was a nice guy, until the moment I asked him about Hun Sen. As if struck dumb with horror his eyes seemed to say: “Not here!” Wasn’t “no politics” my plan, me jerk …

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November 15, 2009 | Filed Under Nightlife & Entertainment, Photography, Politics, Truly Bangkok | 3 Comments 

CNNGo

Life in Asia is about to be enriched by CNNGo.com, a new local lifestyle and travel site from CNN. “A work still in progress,” as CNNGo’s Bangkok city editor Karla Cripps tells aB.com, is launching the Asia regional site covering the six city sites Bangkok, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo on September 28th, 2009. Makes you wish to be in Asia, that’s right! Eat, drink, play, shop, sleep, it’s all in there.

Sneak peeks are available, but the curtain’s about to be raised anyway. Initially planned for a June launch and delayed again and again, the site’s editor-in-chief Andrew Demaria took a timeout for a careful preproduction and went for a late September start. An invitation email now promises: “CNNGo is the ultimate insider guide for Asia’s greatest cities. Set to be the definitive, indispensable city lifestyle resource, it harnesses the unrivalled experience, integrity and excellence of the CNN brand in a unique digital destination.”

Sounds like an addition to or even competitor of local blogs? Well, the whole site is a kind of blog. And bloggers will play an integral part within CNNGo. Each city has a dedicated “Local Blog Buzz” section pointing to the very best blogs locals and travelers should know about. All adding up to: “For the most discerning local, the cultural voyeur and the visitor (travelling for business or pleasure) alike, CNNGo compiles the best each city has to offer, often dishing up the unexpected and opening up these cities like never before.”

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September 23, 2009 | Filed Under Culture & Arts, Fashion & Style, Food & Drink, Health, Body & Mind, News & Media, Travel & Tourism, Truly Bangkok | 10 Comments 

Life In Motion

Had a dream. Making a living with photography. All there would be is meeting, observing and capturing people and their moments. But reality sets in quickly. Have obligations, not enough talent anyway and – yes – no gear at the moment as I’m about to decide between a 5D II and an M9.

The more pleasing it is to see true, outstanding photography. Not just properly focused and exposed shots, but true, unique photography. A master of this art is Italian Enzo Beretta who dedicates much of his work to Thailand. Beretta stands for uncropped, unedited photography.

No Photoshop, no tone mapping, no retouching. And Enzo’s work is all about motion, silent motion, the most difficult art of photography I’d say. The freezing of time. Not by means of the latest autofocus, but by means of intuition, patience, an eye for the hidden and irrecoverable. Enzo’s blog Life in Motion guides you through his hunt for motion and “discontent with the trend of most images altered in post-production.”

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September 16, 2009 | Filed Under Culture & Arts, Photography, Society, Truly Bangkok | 3 Comments 

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