Archive for December, 2007
December 24, 2007 at 8:53 pm · Filed under Culture, Thailand
Even cheapskates like us couldn’t afford to pass the opportunity to see the world famous Tiffany’s Show! This is the show that in the 70s started this whole trend of transsexual cabaret shows. Today they have a full blown theatrical production with 100+ performers performing in a state-of-the-art auditorium.
The ticket booth and building facade is unremarkable, if not incredibly tacky.
But once the show starts, you realise the incredible amount of effort they put in to try and make this a “world class” production. Moreover once we saw the transsexuals, I can hear Julius reeling from denial, “Can’t be, can’t be. She’s definitely a girl.”
No cameras permitted but he managed to snag a couple of good shots …
… but you have to mind the choice of subject though …
After the show is the well known routine of photographing with the trannies. My father mentioned it used to be free but if I recall correctly, they’re charging 1000 Baht per individual photo session now.
It also explains why the following photos are blurry, long range and framed with other people’s head and armpits.
As you can see, some of them are really jaw-droppingly beautiful. Even Marianne is reeling from denial after surveying them from head to toe, “But … they’re girls! They must be!!”
We did manage to get a few close-ups.
I know that Julius has the hots for this one below … !!
What I find most amusing is when we were walking around the streets of Pattaya later, the go-go bar girls looked more like trannies than those at Tiffany’s !!!
December 18, 2007 at 6:14 pm · Filed under Architecture, Thailand
No visit to any country should be complete without a look at its seedier side. If extra-terrestrials think alike, I think they’ll choose Pattaya to visit as the seediest side of planet Earth!!!
Ok, I know that doesn’t look too seedy…. mmmm… Fast forward 12 hours!
That’s better. And in the centre of all this electric energy is Walking Street.
A closer look and you see bar girls sitting outside waiting for customers. I guess we’re still early…
In case you think these photos are isolated cases, they’re not!! The whole town is just packed with these sort of places wall to wall (okay, perhaps with the occasional “hotel”) with girls harassing passer-bys.
Normally you find poles inside buildings, but practically all of them here are open air! You can see them shaking booty while riding a songthaew around town. They come in other shapes and sizes as well …
The system is simple. They try to entice you into the bar with their good looks and demeanour, in order to sell drinks and make the establishment lotsa money. We’ve talked to them and I can tell you, even with broken English they are very very good at chatting.
Once you’re hooked, they will make you stay as long as possible. If drinks are not enough, you can bring them to “some place else” for as little as 1 hour up to 1 whole night. To do that, you will have to pay a certain “bar fine” because these girls won’t be making the bar money in their absence.
Like THIS guy!
December 12, 2007 at 5:43 pm · Filed under Architecture, Thailand
What is this guy doing?? Trying to steal someone’s car?
This lady looks like she’s doing the same thing! Is the officer going to stop her??
Wait a minute … why is the officer helping the lady here …..
Ohhh … as it turns out. This is Bangkok’s brand of solving the double parking problem. Basically the allowance for parking in older carparks (like this one, near Jatujak market) is just impossible in today’s traffic load. So the solution is to allow cars to be parked LEGALLY in marked boxes with one rule … FREE YOUR HANDBRAKE.
So if you happened to be blocked by a car (or 2 or 3 or more), you just a play a GIANT game of Sokoban!
With officers in uniform to help you out! Brilliant!
December 8, 2007 at 9:03 am · Filed under Architecture, Thailand
I’ve once told a friend, “Don’t underestimate humanity’s ability to evolve original & completely workable solutions without professionals (ie. architects!),” adding that there are plenty of examples in Third World (or formerly 3W) countries. Jatujak market is one of those bizarre places where the market just kept growing … and growing … and growing.
The total area is IMMENSE, but the shops are like mini-stall size. So ..
Teeny Weeny Shops x Over Several Football Fields = Extreme Hardcore Intense Shopping
Look closely at the “solid grey” – they’re actually a tight series of alternating grey and white lines that indicate the lanes within the complex !! The map is useless because …
- Inside everything just looks the same, even to locals.
- The numbers are illogically numbered (you’ll discover later in this blog that this is a uniquely Indochinese trait)
As if the shops weren’t small enough, the environment has further packed the shelves to the 101% capacity.
I left very early to get some rest so I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. But Julius snapped this gem..
1:1 scale of Robocop?!?!
December 5, 2007 at 5:47 pm · Filed under Food, Thailand
I had the great pleasure of experiencing Thai hospitality first hand from Marianne’s Le Cordon Bleu classmate, Aummy (pronounced: Oo-Mee).
And this is her warm family – Aummy’s Mummy & Daddy …
Aummy and her Dad can speak English very well, but her mum can only speak Thai. Even so, language is hardly a factor in their generosity. The whole time I was stucked indoors (because of the allergy), her mum kept offering food all day to me with sign language !!
Speaking of food, the moment we arrived in Bangkok we were treated to an excellent authentic Thai dinner outside (we were surviving on street food, just to provide you contrast). Our stomachs were packed to the brim and just as when we thought it was over, we arrived at her home to see TONS of Thai desserts. It was like Hansel & Gretel’s “Exotic Asian” Gingerbread House.
These were the plates that could fit on the small coffee table. There were many more tubs of Thai pastries, cookies, “Khanom Bu Yong” and et cetera below the table.
Sticky Rice Mangoes
“Foi Thong” family of desserts – christened by its namesake, the noodle-looking ones. Round ones are Thong Yot. Cupcake ones are Thong Yip. They are all made of egg yolks and sugar, apparently a Portugese influence.
Umi if you are reading this, I told you I will try my best to remember the names !
I think at this point Julius suffered photographic overloaded and stopped snapping the other goodies.
December 4, 2007 at 6:13 pm · Filed under Architecture, Thailand
This city of 10 million people with the longest name in the Guiness Book of Records could have easily been one of my more interesting posts. Unfortunately two things happened …
1 – Allergic Contact Dermatitis
I checked into hospital twice!! Doctors say I’m the hundredth over foreigner who walked in with this for year 2007, postulating there must be some new kind of toxic insect in the Krabi and Phuket region. It took a full week before I began to look normal again.
So any of you hanging around those places, if you have a rash that is not reacting to anti-histamines, go see a doctor !!
2 – Because of my allergic reaction, I had to stay at home.
The rest of the Rat Pack still went out but in their eccentric brand of wisdom decided AGAINST visiting the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, despite never being there before!
When I later enquired, “Do you know coming to Bangkok and missing the Grand Palace is like going to Sydney and missing the Opera House?”.
The reply was a paltry … “Hmm, never thought about it that way.”
Astute readers will note that since my photographer decided to go AWOL, I’m left without photographs of Ko Ratanakosin. Flickr to the rescue again!
