I was visiting with a boy the other day that has worked in the bars for a very long time, both in Silom and Saphan Kwai.  During the conversation I asked if it was true that new boys have to give their bar a kick back, out of their tip, for the first few months.  This is something I’ve heard about from a few boys and one captain.  In fact, I’d been told this is most common with bars in Saphan Kwai, which is why I asked.

The boy was rather adamant in saying this does not occur at any bar, in Saphan Kwai or Silom.  He said what does happen is many boys agree to give the captains 50 to 100 baht per off if they will cheer them.  To cheer a boy means to get recommended. This, he said, is quite common, particularly with the newer boys.

I guess its no surprise to hear of this.  It certainly fits with what I know about the bar culture.  I’ve not been one to rely on the recommendations of bar staff, but I know some do.  No doubt it’s most common among tourists, as they are more inclined to believe captains and mamasans have their best interest at hart.

In reality it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference, as most boys are good if they want to be…even the bad ones.  As I’ve said time and time again, how good a boy is depends largely on your behavior, and how much he fancies you.  If a boy wants to buy himself an edge over his competition, that’s just good business.

Last Thursday I was walking by the Phaya Thai BTS station and noticed people on the escalators of the new airport rail station that connects with the BTS line.  Apparently it opened June first, but I never saw any announcement.  It was getting late, so I decided to wait until Friday to take a ride and Princess elected to join me for the outing.

This is a soft launch, with very limited service.  From Phaya Thai the train runs every 20 minutes (7am - 10am and 4pm - 7pm) and only on week days (M-F).  From Suvarnabhumi Airport the times are 7:10 - 9:50 and 4:10 - 6:50.  In addition, the train only stops at two stations, on its run between Phaya Thai and Suvarnabhumi Airport.  They are Hua Mak and Ramkhamhaeng, but it does not stop at the big City Air Terminal at Makkasan. Apparently the City Air Terminal still has technical problems.  Based on the current schedule, it is obvious they are initially targeting those commuting to and from work.  Until August, there is no charge to ride the new rail line.

The Suvarnabhumi station is under ground at what appears to be a central location.  Its design is very similar to the MRT stations, but the train arrives and departs from only one side.  I assume the other side will be used for the planned Pattaya line.

The train rides very smooth and quiet on its tracks but lurches side-to-side as much as the MRT and BTS cars.  It is a three car train, each coach separated by a double set of sliding glass doors that automatically open when you approach.  The entry and exit doors slam shut with a loud bang that is a bit disconcerting.  Seating is sparse, compared to the BTS and MRT.  This is due, at least in part, to the spaces left open for people to place their luggage.  The hand rails for standing passengers are at the extreme left and right, making it difficult to avoid stepping on the feet of those seated.  I assume this was done to keep the isle open for passengers dragging their luggage.

There are no instructions for those waiting to get on, so they all pile in front of the doors making it difficult to exit.  Not that everyone follows the instructions at BTS and MRT stations, but most are accommodating.

The design of the stations is more enclosed at train level, so passengers will be more comfortable during heavy rains.  The trade off is they don’t breath as well, which makes them hotter inside.

The ramp connecting the two stations at Phaya Thai has not been completed, but I saw some indications they are about to start work on that.  For now, you have to go down to ground level to transfer.  Use BTS exit 1 for the shortest walk between the stations.

I’ve uploaded some new photos that were taken yesterday.  The album also contains pictures I took in the past, when the system was still under construction and/or testing.

Last Sunday I took a ride on the new BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system, which began operations that day.  I took plenty of photos that are now available for viewing.

The Kinky KAOS II party has been rescheduled for Saturday 19th June, 10pm - 6am.  Visit the KAOS Bangkok web site for more details.

The photos I took last Sunday of the big clean up dubbed “Together We Can” are now up for viewing.

Last Sunday I took a walk around Victory Monument, Siam Square, Central World and on down to Chitlom.  I came across this sign in Siam Square, which seemed a bit ironic.

There was a lot of mixed information about what had been damaged or destroyed, particularly in Siam Square.  The fact is very little was damaged.  With one exception, buildings gutted by fire were limited to the Siam Cinema and a strip of businesses to its right, all the way down to the intersection where the elevated BTS walkway begins.  Another way to describe it is everything directly opposite of the Paragon shopping center.  The only thing that survived within that strip was a bank building.

I did see one other building gutted by fire. It is on the soi immediately to the right of the cinema.  The building actually backs up against the right rear side of the theater and I’m guessing that’s how it caught fire.

I did see one report that the Scala had burnt to the ground, but as you can see it was untouched.

On the opposite side of the street, all three shopping malls received minor damages, but I saw no evidence of fire.  The Siam Discovery mall has a wall and scaffolding around the exterior, suggesting it was damaged more than the other two buildings.  I’m guessing its mostly broken glass.

Further down the street is the most depressing sight.  Central World shopping mall was all but destroyed.  The most visible damage is the section that housed the ZEN department store.  Part of it collapsed leaving a scene that is somewhat reminiscent of 911.

It is difficult to determine how much of the CTW mall is damaged.  I did see one photo of the atrium.  It had not burned, but suffered heavy water damage.  The atrium forms a dividing point in the mall and from it on back appears to have escaped the fire.  I should also mention that both the office and hotel towers are unharmed, but the tower over ZEN looks in bad shape.

Across the street, Big C suffered extensive fire damage on the ground floor, but the blaze was contained before reaching upper levels.  Gaysorn has a lot of broken glass, much of it looks like bullet holes.

I walked down to the Chitlom BTS station, but did not see any other damaged buildings.  Some shops in the BTS station had been looted, and they all suffered heavy smoke damage.

THE PHOTOS

Of course, I took pictures of everything.  I also walked around Victory Monument and photographed Center One and two other buildings completely destroyed by fire.

Last week I decided to move most of my photos to Fotopedia.  It does a much better job of organizing and presenting the images I’ve taken.  Fotopedia automatically presents each album in a slide show.  There is an option to view the images full size, which also has an automatic slide show.  Each album can contain additional albums, so one can organize photos by category and subcategory.

You don’t have to join Fotopedia to view the images stored there, but a membership is free and far less intrusive on one’s privacy than Facebook.  Once a member, you can “follow” collections.  This means you will get an Email notice every time a collection you are following is updated with new photos.

The photos of all the damage have already been uploaded, but still need descriptions added.  Hopefully I’ll get that done in the next day or two.  I’m also working on photos of the big clean up, which I expect will be on-line in a few days.

Bangkok Riot Damage Album

All Albums

Today I ventured out for the fist time after the riot on Wednesday.  I had two goals; photograph the damage at Victory Monument, Siam Square, and Central World and document the big clean up.

A thousand Bangkok citizens came out to help cleanup the area around Siam Square and Central World today.   They were also joined by a significant number of westerners.

I’m glad I had the opportunity to observe this event.  I couldn’t help but notice some of the clean up was very thorough, but not all.  How well they cleaned things really didn’t make any difference, because this was as much, if not more, about healing than actually accomplishing the stated goal.

The people of Bangkok came out in unison to reclaim their city by washing away as much of the mark left by the protesters as they could.  It gave them a sense of control after feeling so helpless for so long.  The cleansing process was symbolic, and much needed community therapy.

Popular photographic subjects for me are all the Buddhist wats, temples and shrines.  One day I realized every time I go to one of these places the sun is in the wrong location.  Ideal is to have the sun at your back, so the subject has good natural light on it.

If you explore a subject in advance you can plan for the best time of day to shoot it, but I typically photograph in the afternoon and accept the fact I won’t always have good light for some things.  I was getting frustrated with shooting the Buddhist structures, because this problem was consistent.  This had happened so many times I began to realize there must be a reason for it.

One day I was out photographing a couple of wats with an American friend.  As always it was during the afternoon and again the light was wrong.  It suddenly dawned on me why this might be happening.  I reasoned that maybe all Buddhist structures are intentionally positioned to face the rising sun.  I proposed this theory to my friend, who agreed it was a logical assumption, and worth exploring further.

One of the boys was hanging out at my room the other day when this subject popped into my head.  So I asked him if my theory was correct.  He said I was absolutely right about this.  He told me that all Buddhist structures are positioned to face the rising sun for…you guessed it…good luck.  He went on to explain the setting sun is symbolic of death and thus would be bad luck to face things in that direction.

I’ve just posted two new albums on Facebook.  One is from awhile back when a friend and I took Princess and Leo the Siam Park City amusement park.  Both had never been to a big park like this and neither had ridden a roller coaster.

The second album is from a more recent trip to Dream World, the other big amusement park here in Bangkok.  This time we took three boys, Princess, T and Chai.  While T had been to this park several times it was a first for Princess and Chai. It was also Chai’s first time on a roller coaster.  The park also has a building with artificial snow, something Chai and Princess had never experienced.

It was fun watching the boys play in the show for the first time.  The fun didn’t last long, as they quickly discovered their hands and feet were getting numb from the bitter cold.  Both agreed they no longer include living in a winter wonder land as one of their life goals.  Even so, they wouldn’t have missed it for the world and could not wait to tell their friends about it.

A day at Dream World, including transportation and meals, will cost about 1000 baht each.  Well worth it, I think.

Siam Park City Album

Dream World Album

Last Monday (3 May) a farang friend and I took an in depth tour of the Red Shirt camp most commonly referred to as the Rajprasong intersection.  This is the area where all the big shopping malls are located - Siam Discovery, Paragon, Central World and Gaysorn.

We took the BTS to Chit Lom and took the elevated walkway back toward Central World.  I was surprised the above ground walkway was open almost all the way.  It was also interesting that a substantial number of Red Shirts were using it for their sleeping quarters, which we had to walk around while making our way toward Central World.  We eventually had to drop down to ground level, as the walkway was blocked just past the second floor entrance to Gaysorn.

From ground level, we made our way to the Rajprasong intersection.  Right in the middle of the intersection is a huge stage.  No one was giving a speech at the time so entertainers were singing to Isan music for the hundreds of people gathered in front.  From the stage a black netting shade has been stretched all the way back to the first pedestrian walkover, located next to the rear of Gaysorn.  Most of that shaded area was populated by spectators.

By the time we reached the pedestrian walkover we had already been offered some of the free food that was being distributed and had a conversation with one gentleman that wanted to tell us about their cause.  We slowly made our way down the street, past Central world and Big C to the intersection just the other side of the canal.  Once at the intersection we had passed through two barricades and were outside the camp.

From there we made our way back to the stage and turned right for a walk down to Paragon.  We didn’t get far before more food and water was offered, which turned into a nice visit and lunch.  By this time we had concluded this was like a small city and started referring to it as Little Isan.  They had brought in portable generators, toilets and had running water.  People have set up little street shops, selling everything you would usually see, plus all kinds of Red Shirt items.

We eventually made our way down to the next intersection, across from which is MBK and the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.  This also marked another entry and exit point for the sprawling Red Shirt camp.  During our entire visit the mood was generally welcoming and friendly, with lots of smiles.  Just start dancing to the Isan music and you’ve immediately made some new friends.  Of course, there was the occasional scowl or concerned look, and the security guards were understandably cold and distant.  Even so, at every check point we were welcomed to pass.

There were a few other farang wandering through the area, but not that many.  I guess that’s no surprise, as we did not expect the access that was granted.  From there I wanted my friend to see the Silom area, as the mood and temperament was a bit more on edge.  In the Rajprasong intersection area there were no troops and less police than normal.  Silom, on the other hand, was a very different story.

The elevated walkway I used to take pictures of Songkran was now occupied by the army.  In addition there were pockets of soldiers all over the place at ground level.  A few days before there were an equal number of police all over the place, but they had all moved over to the provide security for the Red Cross hospital.  If the military and police presence wasn’t enough, all the coils of razor wire and barricades were appropriate accessories in creating a war zone like atmosphere.  It was an odd mix of tension and cheerful smiles that I guess one can only experience in Thailand.

From the BTS station, we made our way down to ground level and walked over to the MRT station.  After observing for a few minutes we decided it was safe to cross into the median of Rama 4, and from there determined there would be no problem in our crossing over to the other side.  We then made our way over to the barricade that had one day before been repositioned across the street from the Red Cross hospital.

While walking along the barricade we encountered a group of Red shirt security guards looking over the wall.  A couple of them offered us some cake which we politely accepted.  Everyone along the wall was very friendly, but few would give us permission to take their picture.  This was no surprise, as we had been told in Siam that the guards didn’t like being photographed.

It is unseasonably hot this year, and after an afternoon in the heat I was ready for a few beers.  We were also loosing our light, so it was becoming more difficult to take pictures.  All things considered, I suggested we make our way over to Balcony, an idea that sat well with my Irish friend.  On the way we encountered two soldiers and my friend asked if he could pose for a photo with them, which the happily agreed to.  A farang passing by proclaimed our conduct “sad.”  Ask me if I care.  Further down we noticed a large army truck with a sound system in the back.  On it was a woman soldier singing to the Isan music blasting from the speakers surrounding her.  She gladly posed for a picture before we continued on to soi 4.  At the entrance to the soi were two young soldiers, who also agreed to a photo.  We sat at Balcony for a few beers and were on the skytrain, heading for home, before 7:30.

Some might think we were foolish to do this, but both of us have been in parts of the world far more dangerous, my friend more so than I.  We both know how to asses the situation and determine if things are safe to proceed.  In addition, we held off on taking this tour until it was clear a compromise was about to be announced and everything was over but the posturing.  While we were a bit surprised by the level of access that was granted, we never felt like there was any cause for concern over our safety.  We were also very much aware that with the exception of one incident all of the violence has taken place under the cover of darkness, and we were out of Silom before the BTS stopped running at 7:30.  The modified BTS and MRT schedule was also a pretty clear indicator of when it was best to be out of the area.

I took over 200 pictures that day, and combined with a smaller number of photos taken on other more cautious visits to these areas, I’ve put together a couple of new albums on Facebook.  I took these pictures to document what things were like and in no way are intended to show bias toward either side in the conflict.

After reviewing the photos I realized they don’t compare to actually being here, but it’s the best I can offer for those interested in seeing what things looked like on the eve of reconciliation.

I think their message is less than convincing considering the backdrop they decided to hang it on.

RQD is not a political blog, so I’m not posting this for that purpose.  However, I could not resist sharing this image, as it is representative of the “pretend you don’t see it” cultural mindset that is so typical in Thailand.

I’ve decided to leave comments open on this one, but please be VERY careful what you say.  RQD is not a platform for political comment and it is not taking sides in this current heated climate.