All stand (still) for The Royal Anthem Thailand

The Royal Family is venerated in Amazing Thailand, and rightly so, the King and Queen are not only the longest reigning monarchs in the world, jing jing, but they have done untold great things for this country and its people. Just last month he celebrated 66 years on the throne, a world record.

In just about every office you will see pictures of the King and Queen in the lobby, even giant posters several stories tall outside office buildings in Bangkok.

Travellers should also be aware that the Royal Anthem is played often at 8am and 6pm daily. You will notice that Thais will stop dead in their tracks and listen quietly and attentively while it plays for a couple of minutes. You are expected to do the same (just yesterday, it was quite funny to watch those tourists who were not in the loop wandering about and wondering why suddenly everyone has frozen stiff in the spot where they were).

If you go to a movie in Thailand - and the cinemas in Bangkok, Samui, Phuket, Pattaya, etc are excellent and cheap and play new release* movies that are on the same time schedule as the rest of the world - they will also play the anthem before the movie starts.

You should stand and listen quietly. I have seen farangs not do this, and it is openly disrespectful to local customs and to the locals who have genuine adoration for the Royals.

So if you're sitting, get off your fat ass and stand up. If you're walking, just stop where you are. And enjoy the fact that at least one country has a stately figure head who is actually worth respecting.


* Spiderman, Abraham Lincoln and The Dictator are currently showing in Bangkok cinemas and around the country.

Book Live Music Concert Tickets, Bangkok Thailand

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Live Music Concerts in Bangkok Thailand

Really enjoyed myself last night watching my first real stadium concert in Bangkok, at Impact Arena.

A great gig. Oops, I should probably rephrase that ... You see, gig in Thai language refers to, well, a side project, someone in musical circles might call it. A dalliance with someone not your regular wife, husband or partner.

Anyway, this blog will not even attempt to deal with or understand the teeming hornets nest that is Thai sexual politics. No deviations on bar girls nor ladyboys this time. So back to the story...

As I blogged last time, Lady Gaga was playing here just a little while ago, and took time out to see ( and rave about) the Calypso Cabaret show. Last night's show was a little milder: Jason Mraz.

Question: how do you pronounce his name name? Is it IM-razz, Ma-razz or um-RAZZ???

Let's start with the venue. Impact is a bloody long way out of town, nowhere near any public transport. However, even in the driving rain we did manage to get a taxi to get us there in just 45 minutes for less than 400 baht (how far would a $13 cab fare get you in your country?).

Thais love a good party, and the convivial atmosphere was tangible an hour enforce the show. And everywhere, the beautiful people on parade. Spray-on tight jeans here, jaunty hat there. Crazy teetering heels everywhere. And that was just the boys, jing jing!

Pizza and fried chicken stalls did bustling business, and the Singha beer queue was literally a walk- up start ... No queue. Soon we were quaffing a very very large plastic cup of icy cold beer. I reckon it was at least a pint, which would ensure I would be carrying my partner home, she being somewhat a lightweight in the drinking stakes.

Impact is a barn of a place, which looks like most other stadiums you've ever seen which seat between 10-12,000 punters. The seats around the edge rise dramatically into the nose-bleed sections.

Personally, I like concerts which have a support band, some local guys prepared to trade off a few well-aimed tomatoes for wider exposure. It gives them a break, and warms up your ears for the main act. But it doesn't seem to be the norm here.

So as a result, my ears went from 0 to 100 in a heartbeat when the house lights dimmed and the full house screamed like it was The Beatles invading America in 1964. Having missed that tour, I have never heard anything like it.

"WE LOVE YOU JASON!!!" All night. In 5-part harmony. And then all the other Thais would get excited that someone was so excited, and reacted to that with their own laughs and screams.

Finally the MrazMan said: "I love you too," and you would've thought the girls had just won a million dollar lottery, a Mercedes Benz SL500 sports car, and experienced multiple orgasms all in one go. Over the top. Blew the lid clean off the stadium.

But all good fun. Anyone who thought Thais were a reserved lot would promptly change their mind heard the singalong to his big songs, such as I'm Yours, which served as a rousing finale.

Only his clearly-annunciated thank yous and goodbyes in Thai -- along with humble and corteous wai gestures to each corner of the room -- drew a bigger response. Gee, I'd love it if every Thai lady I ever waid gave me such a screamingly rapturous reception.

Then off into the night shuffled the crowd. We were lucky enough to bump into friends, otherwise I suspect we may still be standing there waiting for a taxi ride home. But other than the transport logistics, I really recommend you take in a Bangkok concert to capture the true emotions of Thais at play.

Now if I can just get the ringing reverberations of "We love you Jason" out of my ears ...


Where to see live music concerts Bangkok: try these websites

Impact Arena
Hua Mark Stadium (also known as Rajmangla Stadium)
Thai Ticket Major (tickets for most major music shows)



Question: what's your favorite Jason Mraz song? Alternatively, which of his songs do you hope you never ever hear again in your life?

Grand Palace Bangkok - top attraction In Amazing Thailand??

Part of the 218,000 sq metre palace complex.

Wow, I can't believe I have not blogged about the Grand Palace Bangkok before. After all it's is the biggest attraction in Bangkok; well, the most visited structure lets put it that way.

How could I have not wanted to rave about it before now ... The world's longest painting in the form of the diorama depicting the Ramayana which runs for seemingly kilometers along the inner wall of the temple complex. The intriguing story of the origins of the Jade Buddha Temple (or Emerald Buddha, depending on who is telling the story). The glinting 24 carat gold leaf on just about every surface except the floor. The millions of shards of crushed glass and crockery painstakingly placed to embellish decorative walls. And so on. And so on.

Hence my surprise that I haven't covered it before.

Whoever coined the phrase the Grand Palace was sorely underselling it. (What is the opposite of hyperbole anyway?)

I mean if a Hyatt hotel can be Grand, then surely this is Awesome, Stupendous, fantasmagorical, or The Friggin Amazing Palace, to be more colloquial. Bigger than Ben Hur. More pulling power than Lady Gaga. You get the idea ...

Speaking of which, Lady Gaga found herself embroiled in a little controversy last week -- when she landed she tweeted 'I'm in Bankok honey and gonna go the the lady market and buy a fake Rolex'. Well that's just ridiculous, Lady! What kind of town do you think this is??? Lady market? Like you can just go anywhere and buy one of their bar girls from their stock. Huh. As if. Fake Rolex? Like you can just buy pirated goods here. Huh again. As if. What kind of outdated stereotypical perceptions of Amazing Thailand you have, Your Royal Gaganess.

Buddha is in the details.

Anyway, back to the Grand Palace. The complex comprises Sri Lankan, Cambodian, Burmese and Indian temple styles, an eclectic mixture, plus the Euro-classic stylings of the king's former residence and halls, now only used for ceremonial banquets and state functions. There's even an original scale model of Angkor Wat dating back at least 200 years,showing the reverence for that temple in the Buddhist world even back then.

Any downside to being the biggest tourist attraction in Bangkok if not the biggest attraction in Thailand?

Yes, it attracts scam merchants, snake oil salesmen, touts.

Ignore the gap- toothed clown at the taxi stand telling you that foreigners must buy tickets up at the top gate. No! They are available only officially at the main central gate entrance. 400 baht per head for the temple and palace. Also ignore him when he tells you it closes at 1.30. Bullshit -- you are good till 4 pm.

My guide, Khun Tavee. Or maybe this is something from the Ramayana.

And make sure you hire a guide. Once again make sure he or she is qualified, with the appropriate badge of accreditation. A 45 minute tour should cost no more than 500 baht (for a couple).

Kuhn Tavee was a cheerful chap with plenty of dignity even if he didn't veer one word from his script. There again maybe he did ... when describing the 5 pillars of Buddhism. When he came to the last one, 'thou shalt not drink alcohol', he paused.

"Many Thais are bad Buddhists," he said, "because many of us drink. But 4 out of 5 is good enough ... "

He gave me a big grin and a conspiratorial wink. Indeed an ice cold Chang beer is exactly what I needed on that boiling summer's day. Oh, and maybe something from the lady market and a fake watch, too.

Google Street View now in Amazing Thailand

So, Thailand has become the 35th country in the world -- and second in South East Asia after Singapore -- to be StreetViewed (Ok, maybe that product name is not a verb yet).

Well, parts of it anyway ... Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai for starters. And Google claims that 90% of all streets are covered.

That in itself is a BIG number, and, dear readers, I am not about to go out and double check it. But Bangkok is riddled with streets, sois, minor sois, sub sois, sois off sois, and little access ways that just don't plain exist on any map.

After all, where do you think U2 got the inspiration for their song Where The Streets Have No Name?

Does Google Street View really cover 90%? That's not the point. The point is that as a tourist in Thailand or before your travel to Bangkok etc, you can have a look at some of the places you might want to stay ... such as Khao San Road. Maybe some of the dreadlocks and tattoos you spot on incidental passersby or brochure-toting touts will put you off. Or maybe make you say, Get Me There Now, Darnnit!

Street View makes you virtual judge and jury. But it's never as good as being there and seeing it for yourself.

Amazing Thailand Songkran 2012 festival

It's that time of the year again ... summer, when the mercury hits about 400 and there's 'mango madness' in the air.

Pattaya - Sleazy does it.

Just returned from a weekend in Pattaya in Amazing Thailand, and pleased to say that NOTHING has changed form my last visit! ;)

See my previous blog http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=1464710307120745531&postID=8292168080960829518 about the bars, great new Pattaya hotels, bars, the red hot Walking Street, bars, the beachside attractions, bars, and more.

Pakasai - at home with nature in Ao Nang near Phuket

Pakasai Resort is burning up a lot of energy in their going green eco travel program ...


'We tried hard for 4 Green Leaf stars but only get 3,' explains their convivial GM, Khun Umaporn. 'Now we change a lot of materials and get involved in more CSR.'

This sister of Red Ginger, a little down the hill from here in the Ao Nang/ Krabi district, is the only hotel in town with 3 Leaves, but its clearly not good enough for her. Umaporn drives the eco-tourism initiatives 'from the heart -- if there's a chance for us to do something green we will do it.'

The Pakasai offers a Green Traveller package in which guests get to plant a tree at neighbouring school with the excitable kids. 'Something like give something back for your holiday.'

'Lovely people, lovely city, Krabi. They care for their environment here,' says the lady who spent 15 years in Phuket before, clearly enjoying the relaxed and quiet atmosphere of her adopted home town here.

And what's not to appreciate?

Pebbled walkways are sided by soaring palms and ferns and ginger. The resort's newly renovated cream buildings are accented by big wooden railings. It whispers tropical playground from every shaded grove.

The Adora suite fetches 9000 baht (about US$300) in the high season, well worth it with its aquarium-sized oval bath, and you'll-definitely-get-lucky-tonight romantic in-room dining setting adjacent.

After an Everest base camp-assault on a meandering staircase, we reach the Chalet - a huge open plan room overlording resort from behind, with a sprawling rustic balcony, and a birdcage overlooking the trees. 'Our guests need to exercise first,' she says with a rather wicked grin.

She's damn right about that. I feel a king-size hunger coming on after that and a few laps of the pool at sunset. Dalah restaurant overlooks the gardens and pond, with a soothing fountain gushing in the background. Seafood tom kah, squid and chicken with pepper, fish with coconut curry, extinguished by mango stick rice with passion fruit and coconut milk. Aah! No wonder it's good -- the Chef used to work at Sofitel Krabi before, and gets all his stuff fresh from the boats at the nearby jetty.


Then a funny thing happened: I was trying to read their eco-tourism brochure but was straining my eyes.

'Sorry, we only use low energy lightbulbs!' laughs Umaporn.