Bangkok Lifestyle Magazine 

Ever wonder why no officer, irrespective of the number of muu pings he's put away, ever seems to have gaping buttons? That's because the seemingly button-up jacket is actually zip-up to impound unsightly flab and accentuate muscles.

Accroding to Philip Cornwell-Smith, author of Thai pop culture bible Very Thai and Metro magazine founder/editor, the modern Thai police uniform was styled in the 60s when the craze was British mod, while the dark khaki colour has always represented non-comissioned Thai officers....

Here is our regular roundup of some of the most interesting posts in Thailand’s blogsphere. This time with misunderstandings between Thais and foreigners, Thailand’s obsession about war against Burma, Jatukham amulets and Flavor Flav.

Matt is taking issue with the attitude of some Thais towards foreigners, telling them to go home if they complain about anything Thai. His comment has been sparked by some comments of this kind on the Bangkokrecorder forum as well as a blogpost by Thailand Jumped the Shark commenting on the same attitude. Matt writes: “It’s as if we are not allowed to form opinions that don’t praise Thailand. What is this prehistoric attitude? Surely you cannot see every single thing about your surroundings in a positive light, but that does not equate to hating the country, as some Thais would suggest.”

There is a poll on the Bangkokrecorder forum asking whether the Bangkok Condominium market is going to boom or bust. Well, I believe in 2007 it is neither nor. Due to recent short-sighted regulatory policies and strong construction during the years of 2005 - 2006, supply for certain market segments definitely meets demand. Annual prices might now flatten or just increase by a mere 5-10%, compared to 10-20% in the years 2003 - 2005. Just because the boom of easy returns is over doesn't mean that companies stop constructing or consumers will stop buying.

At the moment, we can see a lot of progress in many different segments: the luxury condominium market, the serviced apartment segment (foreign expatriates with housing allowance of 75,000 - 100,000 Baht/month increased in 2006 by 6,000 or 15%), as well as the office space market and the low price condominium segment. Just look at some of the developments to see how the face of Bangkok is going to change within the next 2-3 years:

Suan Lum, or Lumpini night plaza, is still open even though it was supposed to be closed last month already. Apparently the shop owners are standing their ground and refuse to vacate the plot which is supposed to be developed by the Central Group, which plans to build a new landmark tower and a complex, including world-class shopping facilities, offices and a hotel.

I went there last weekend and have to say it seems pretty much business as usual to me. The shops are still selling their goods, the beer flows and the food is delicious as always. I can only urge you to visit this place sometime soon, as we don’t know when...

The blog scene in Thailand has become more and more active recently. To give you an overview of what's going on, here’s the blog round up of recent posts some of the best blogs in Thailand.

Bangkok-ok highlights the censorship issues related to “Sang Sattawat” the film directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Bangkok-ok also has a post about a meeting at House cinema on Monday 23rd with several speakers about film censorship in Thailand.

Richard Barlow writes about his trip to a Thai prison where he visits Panrit “Gor” Daoruang a well known blogger who wrote about his life at thailandlife.com. Gor has even been writing for the Bangkok Post before, but got caught with drugs and is now in Samut Prakan Central Prison. Interesting read and not as shocking as some other accounts of Thai prisons.

Bangkok Pundit reviews some of the literature and statistics available on economic progress in Thailand’s south. Very interesting reading, which shows rising income and falling levels of poverty for the last couple of years, so what is the root cause for the ongoing violence?

The Lost Boy meanwhile gives some insight into the hiring process at the company he works for. Apparently it is more important to have a small face than speak good English. Thank good for HR. His blog also has a new layout now. 

And finally the 4am expat has a funny story which happened to a friend of his. This friend had a party at his apartment at which some of his guests played around with the camera in the lift. On the next day received a note from his landlord which ended with the sentence: “I'am Watana. I fuck you.”

Picture stolen from bangkokbob.net/strange.htm

Here is the background:

As part of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Thailand has to submit a report to the United Nations next year on racial discrimination in Thailand. The report is prepared under supervision of Justice permanent secretary Jarun Pukditanaku.

And here it comes: “Mr Jarun expressed confidence that the country has no problems related to racial discrimination, saying Thailand would be in the forefront of giving and protecting racial equality”

A hangover occurs when the body becomes dehydrated and the blood sugar level is depleted due to drinking an excessive amount of alcohol.

However don't think that mixing sugary drinks with your alcohol will help. In reality, diluting your drink with sugar will only make your hangover worse, as you will probably end up drinking more, and because the sugar in your liver will slow down the healing process.

That being said, we now present to you 10 ways to both help prevent hangovers and recover from a night of heavy boozing.

Here are some of the April fool’s jokes found in the English media in Thailand. With so much nonsense flying around, sometimes it’s hard to identify them though. The Bangkokpost.com took up the issue of nude pictures used to raise funds for sociable causes:  

Govt figures urged to disrobe for charity

A remote temple in the Northeast yesterday appealed to elder statesmen and women in the government to help raise funds for the terminally ill patients it shelters by shedding their formal suits and skirts and posing naked for a charity photo shoot.  

A spokesman for Wat Pa Samun Prai said proceeds from the fund raising effort would be acceptable because the ministers would be reminding people of the way long and unyielding years of public service can take its toll on the human body.

 

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It always saddens me when I come across foreigners who seem to take advantage of Thailand’s lenient culture. We just recently picked up the story that there is a Dutch beggar working in Bangkok who is pulling in over 30,000 baht per month with as little as 6 hours per day. Here you can watch the video of an interview from thaiso.com. Apparently, this is more money than he could make teaching English if you can call that an excuse.

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