2008 December

A Very Phallic Christmas

Perhaps the title of this post is a bit misleading, but in Bangkok, you never know what the day will lead to. Long story short, I happened to be on the lower end of Wireless Road on Christmas day, which is just a regular work day in Thailand, as 95% of the country is Buddhist. Many people are shocked when hearing this, but Celebrating Christmas in Thailand would be like expecting people to take the day off work for Visakah Puja day. At any rate, I happened to have my camera with me, and remembered a certain interesting shrine that I'd read about but had never visited that was nearby, so I decided to check it out.

Greg2017-12-25T02:49:20+00:00Bangkok, Religion|8 Comments

A Star Wars Bike Ride and a Very Strange Temple

My friends J and E and myself went on one of our semi-regular bicycle rides in Bangkok last week. As you may have read on this blog before (or seen elsewhere), we enjoy getting out to explore the hidden corners of the city in all its gritty, awful, wonderful glory. But we weren't prepared for how epic this ride would be and how quickly we'd be reminded of how truly surprising Thailand is. We also weren't prepared to handle our incredibly poor sense of direction, as you'll see below. The Star Wars reference is easy to explain, but as for the strange temple... I'm just glad I had my camera.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:52+00:00Bangkok, Biking|0 Comments

Meanwhile, in Bangkok: History’s Most Ironic Motor Rally

The appearance of the below ad in the Bangkok Post, an otherwise solid and reputable publication, has caused quite a bit of tittering in the Big Mango; I heard about it from four or five people before I saw it myself and had to take a picture. I guess it's nothing new in Thailand - the PAD (People's Alliance for Democracy) preaching a form of government that's anything but democratic; porn is illegal to purchase, but red light fantasies galore are easy to find; and customer service desks often offer anything but. Thailand is a land of contradictions - many of them maddeningly upsetting - so it's nice to see a funny one every once in a while...

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:52+00:00Meanwhile in Bangkok...|0 Comments

The Bangkok Girlie-Bar Game

I'm not really sure how to approach writing this post, but it's something I wanted to get down on (e)paper, so I'm going to try. First off, I've never really been one for the whole bargirl scene; there's just something about my psyche that isn't turned on by paying for sex. I'm not judging people who do, but it's just never been my thing, and let's just leave it at that. At any rate, Bangkok being the city it is, with the plethora of adult entertainment it has, if you're a guy, you will inevitably find yourself looking at gyrating naked girls on a stage at some point in your time here. I found myself in just such a place the other night and was frankly surprised at how unlike the stereotypical titty bar the place was - in some respects, anyway.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:52+00:00Bangkok|0 Comments

Meanwhile, in Bangkok: Weird Vehicle Stickers

Well, as the airport is open and things are back to 'normal' (which in Thailand usually means the political scene could implode at any second), I thought I'd put something light up, in the form of two stickers I saw recently. The range of window decals on vehicles here is always fun to keep tabs on, such as the "I Love Farang - I Speak English!" stickers, which are usually inside taxis where the driver can't speak English and has no particular feelings on foriegners either way (although this guy has the regular mass-produced variety beat hands down). But at least it's never boring.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:53+00:00Meanwhile in Bangkok...|0 Comments