Even though I have relatively little interest in conventional boxing, I’m somewhat passionate about Thai boxing aka Muay Thai. I remember when my mate visited me a while ago we really wanted to experience a vibrant evening at a Muay Thai arena - he chose Ratchadamnoen and we went there together. At the time we had quite a bit of cash to spare so decided to splash out on ring side seats that set us back 1500 baht (£25/$45) each. But every single penny was well worth it because we got to see the action so frighteningly close.
That said, you can alternatively opt to spend a bit less on cheaper seats starting at, say, 300-400 baht up in the cages which to us looked like a bloody wicked atmosphere amongst the absolute frenzy of gambling locals. Generally speaking, the evening starts at 8-9pm and goes through till quite late so it does make for quite nice after-dinner entertainment. By the ringside, there’s a couple of young lads serving beer as well as other refreshments but be warned they can be quite pricey by Bangkok standards.
The evening programme covers boxers of differing weights and skills, though all the lads are strikingly fit and have muscles in places you might not think possible. Prior to the fighting, both boxers circle the ring in a mesmerising ceremonial dance before kneeling down to pray. There’s also a local music group that drums a somewhat hypnotic beat throughout the night. Even if you’re not a big fan of violence, I’d still urge you to attend - this is a major part of Thai culture and tradition. And while Muay Thai may have a brutal image, most fighters have nothing but complete respect for one another and it is quite rare for kicks to go anywhere above shoulder height but when they do you can easily expect some serious pain!
By far the best place to go in Bangkok for any sort of computer-related products is the five-storey Pantip Plaza in Pratu Nam, near the impressive Central World shopping mall. Prices are predictably cheap and the range rather extensive, though not that many vendors speak an awful lot of English.
The Plaza houses hundreds of hardware and software shops as well as a couple of booths on the ground floor. In this very same complex are fast food, restaurants, coffee shops and a somewhat scruffy food court. Near the main entrance, there’s even a KFC to cater to Chavvy visitors!
In case you run short of cash, there’s plenty of cash machines within the mall as well as a money changer at the nearby bank. Watch out for Nigerian scammers though.
And while there is a huge variety of computer-related products for sale on the cheap, Pantip is most associated with the massive amount of pirated software available. A lot of them are located in booths right next to factor outlets. For some reason, they just co exist in perfect harmony. There are literally tonnes of different vendors shifting hacked versions of software of all sorts and they’re usually the most up-to-date too.
When in Pantip, haggling over price is what they call a time-honoured tradition. Last month I went to pick up a 160GB external hard drive that finally cost me a mere 2000 baht (£35/$65) and, yes, it did come with the box and 3-year warranty.
And to those of you highly sensitive gits, don’t be offended by the guys approaching you saying “CD” (”seedy” more like) in a bid to sell you pornos. They do this to virtually everyone regardless of your horny look or not. Obviously, they’re just doing their job so it’s best just to ignore them unless you want to add some new titles to your fast-growing collection!
On soi Thonglor there are a couple of cool bars and clubs that are worth spending your evening in. I have been to most bars in this area but by far the most established and notable has got to be Song Salueng (สองสลึง) bar on soi 21. And here’s my review:
The club: one beautifully, uniquely designed hall with rather neat table settings that are also relatively easy to navigate your way through. Upstairs on the balcony, there’s a couple of comfy couches perfect for those unable/unwilling to compete for limited dancing space downstairs. There are two bars on both ends of the club with quick and reliable service. Outside there’s a long array of equally comfy seats and tables with a lovely view if you fancy a ciggy or some fresh air.
The music: as the bar is a single two-storey room with no alternative choice of music other than what is offered, you have to most of the time make do with live bands playing all the usual Thai tunes but hip hop hits are introduced once every hour while the bands take turns so make the most of them before the loud mouthed lads return to the stage.
The crowd: mostly youngsters but a fair number of people of working age too. Westerners are something of a rarity so expect surplus attention here. Girls are lovely by Ekamai/Thonglor standards and sometimes even inviting so join in with them and good luck.
All in all, it’s a good bar that warrants at least monthly visits although I have to say they would do even better with a bit lower booze prices. So make sure your pockets are deep enough if you want to get absolutely trollied here!
Last night pro-government protesters in their thousands under the name of the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship broke through police lines with little resistance and marched towards Government House in an attempt to evict their anti-government PAD rivals by force but didn’t quite make it and came face to face with the PAD’s guards.
Sure enough things just kicked off big time and before long they were furiously beating each other up. The clash didn’t last that long but sadly still one DAAD supporter ended up dead and a couple other from both sides seriously injured. I watched highlights of this on Thai TV at 2 am in disgust for obvious reasons.
Observers say this was a ploy by the government to create such seeming violence so they could then declare state of emergency effectively outlawing the ongoing protests in Govern House compound. Such speculation is fuelled by the coincidental dispersion of the DAAD shortly after the government sensationally declared state of emergency this morning.
I’m sick of this if I must be honest. Violence is no answer to nothing and now that one person has died I hope everyone will see sense and sit themselves down to find whatever way to bring all this bollocks to an end once and for all and in a civilised manner too.
If you’re out quite a lot in Bangkok you probably agree with me that the closing hours are such a pain in the arse for us party animals and there ain’t much we can do about it but moan, moan and moan. Fortunately enough though, there’s a couple of after hours clubs that remain open until as late as 5 am in the morning for those of you hardcore clubbers.
As a fun-loving young man, I enjoy partying to bits but after closing hours usually get too knackered to carry on elsewhere. But I do often get starving having spent hours boozing and bopping the night away and when I do, I usually end up finding somewhere to eat with my mates. There are plenty of late night eateries in Bangkok but by far my most favourite has got to be the wicked Huay Kwang night market, about 5 minutes away from Ratchada/RCA and 10 minutes from Sukhumvit (with no traffic).
In a nutshell, it’s a night market packed with clothing, jewellery, fake stuff stalls and a couple of worthwhile restaurants. I’ve been to two and the food served there is not bad at all. It’s a bit busy but surely worth it as once you’ve sat yourself down you’re bound to be surrounded by beautiful fellow diners who offer an amazing view and make the already good meal even better!
Apparently the night market is primely located not too far from the nearby road strip with loads of karaoke bars, gentlemen’s clubs etc. and this is precisely why you normally see many girls on their own in sexy clothing straight out from work. Most of them pop by to spend their not-too-hard-earned cash while some just come to grab good food like the rest of us.
Here’s the deal: this might be a bit cheeky but you could actually try your luck with some of these girls but just make sure they’re absolutely on their own and with no cocks around. When in an eatery, it’s not unusual for people to start talking to each other so those of you with extra guts fuelled by beers should love it here.
Funnily enough though, the easiest place to start chatting girls up in the Huay Kwang night market is in fact along the long pavement where they stop by stalls to buy clothes and girlie stuff. And while there’s tonnes of techniques available, improvisation will usually do the trick.
My verdict: the Huay Kwang market is ideal either you’re horny like some of my mates or just hungry for some proper food like myself
Today I’ve been out to do a bit of grocery shopping on metered taxis so I thought it’d be interesting and useful to those of you new to Bangkok to offer my take on one of the most popular modes of public transport in Bangkok. So here it is:
You’ll have little difficulty finding a metered taxi in Bangkok - they’re absolutely everywhere! The majority of them are bright coloured in pink, blue, yellow etc. so you surely can’t miss those ones. Just look for the ‘Taxi Meter’ sign and signal to the eager driver and if the taxi is free he will stop and pick you up.
Thanks to the chaotic nature of Bangkok’s traffic, you’re unlikely to get too far too fast in a metered taxi. If you happen to be close to an Underground or BTS skytrain station, I’d then recommend you to use one of those as your usual means of public transport around town, otherwise I’d recommend metered taxis over tuk-tuks any day of the week. Tuktuks are good fun for a 1 off trip but you really can’t rely on them to get you where you’d like to go without a time-wasting stop at a shop, where the driver typically earns nice commission.
As a rule of thumb, the meter starts at a mere 35 baht when you’re picked up. The fares of course are bloody cheap relative to Western standards, with a journey of a couple of kilometres costing between 100-200 baht. In fact, the seemingly long journey from central Bangkok to Suvarnabhumi airport ought to cost no more than 300 baht.
In addition, most taxi drivers in Bangkok are extremely friendly so you might like to make friends and learn a bit of Thai from them too. A few of them can also be more sophisticated than you may think and have some great stories and views to share so next time you get stuck in traffic in a metered taxi you know exactly what to do!
1. The capital of Thailand is generally known as ‘Krung Thep’ by the locals. Bangkok is only used by foreigners.
2. As with Los Angeles in the US, Krung Thep means the City of Angels and, funnily enough though, LA happens to be the biggest Thai expat community in the world with nearly 200,000 Thai citizens living and working there.
3. Bangkok has been the capital of Thailand for 226 years since 1782
4. As of today, Bangkok is home to over 9 million people.
5. Bangkok is sub-divided into 50 different districts.
6. The current Bangkok Mayor who is also widely expected to win another term later this year is Mr Apirak Kosayothin of the Democrat Party.
7. Chulalongkorn University, founded in 1917, is the oldest university in Bangkok and Thailand.
8. Siam is the most expensive area in Bangkok, closely followed by Silom, Satorn and Sukhumvit respectively.
9. Bangkok has by far the longest city name in the world: Krung Thep Maha nakhon Amon Rattana kosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomrat chaniwet Maha sathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakka thattiya Witsanu kam Prasit: กรุงเทพมหานคร อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทรายุธยามหาดิลก ภพนพรัตน์ ราชธานีบุรีรมย์ อุดมราชนิเวศน์ มหาสถาน อมรพิมาน อวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยะ วิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์
10. The new international airport Suvarnbhumi was named by HM King Bhumipol and means ‘The Golden Land’.
It’s been a politically massive day for a awful lot of people in Bangkok and Thailand in general. Thousands of hardcore and not too hardcore protesters led by the People’s Alliance for Democracy descended onto the streets of central Bangkok, demanding the immediate resignation of the government.
They occupied the premises of the new state broadcaster NBT, forcing it off the air, and also stormed the main government offices, effectively forcing the already lazy civil servants to stop working. And they say they will not leave until their demand is met. Nobody can quite believe we’re now back where we were almost two years ago again. And whether there’s going to be another coup is debatable and beyond anyone’s guess.
Rant over. Wait…. No it ain’t. Despite its name, the PAD is not doing democracy any favour if I must be honest. While I believe it is perfectly acceptable to stage a peaceful protest in public, any attempt to provoke a crackdown by the government in order to gain public sympathy and perhaps compel the army to intervene (again) is just wrong.
To make matters worse, I’ve heard that a government MP has planned to organise counter crowds should the government fail to disperse the PAD-led mass rally. The Interior Minister Kowit Wattana has also ordered the police to evict the protesters from the government house compound.
So in a way this is complete madness and it might not be too happy an ending for everyone. I hope there won’t be any bloodshed but can’t honestly rule it out either. Need a beer mate!
The 2008 Games drew to a close yesterday and our Beijing Olympic heroes have returned home to a warm reception. All in all, we won 2 golds and 2 silvers which was quite an achievement for a small country like Thailand. In fact, we are 31st on the medal table, doing extremely well relative to our South East Asian neighbours. So everyone’s cheerfully delighted.
Thanks to all our atheletes and particularly our medalists. You’re all diamonds and we’re so proud of you guys. The 2012 London Games will provide an even greater challenge for the Thai team but hopefully we can do better and bring much more joy to everyone back home.
Well done to Beijing for hosting quite frankly one of the best sporting events we have ever seen. And see you again in Chavland London!
Upon our arrival in the canteen at lunch today, I noticed it was absolutely jam packed with little walking space for all diners. All eyes were locked on TV screens with everyone cheering for our two Olympic boxing hopefuls. They were going literally mental. But I don’t blame them because I too was one of them.
The two boxers competing in the semi finals today were Somjit Jongjohor (Fly Weight) and Manus Boonjumnong (Light Welter) respectively. It was a highly competitive fight for both of them and thankfully they didn’t let us down. Somjit looked real sharp and totally beat the shit out of his Italian opponent while Manus also cruised his way through the final with a convincing win over the young Cuban semi-finalist. Manus is the defending champion and understandably so our biggest hope at the Beijing Games.
So far, Thailand have already won 1 Gold (Prapawadee - weightlifting) and 1 Silver (Budthree - taekwando). Nothing compared to those on the top end of the table of course but trust me it’s good enough to make the whole of the country immensely proud. I really hope the two remaining hopefuls can go all the way and win 2 more Golds for us tomorrow. It ain’t been the best year for Thailand in many respects so this is a perfect opportunity to cheer everyone up. Come on Thailand!
That said, you can alternatively opt to spend a bit less on cheaper seats starting at, say, 300-400 baht up in the cages which to us looked like a bloody wicked atmosphere amongst the absolute frenzy of gambling locals. Generally speaking, the evening starts at 8-9pm and goes through till quite late so it does make for quite nice after-dinner entertainment. By the ringside, there’s a couple of young lads serving beer as well as other refreshments but be warned they can be quite pricey by Bangkok standards.
The Plaza houses hundreds of hardware and software shops as well as a couple of booths on the ground floor. In this very same complex are fast food, restaurants, coffee shops and a somewhat scruffy food court. Near the main entrance, there’s even a KFC to cater to Chavvy visitors!
