Must Watch: Elegy

Last night I skipped the ongoing film festival to watch Elegy (IMDB entry here) with Berkeley. The original plan was just dinner but while waiting for him at Siam Square, I found out that Scala is screening it so I suggested that we end the evening with a film.

Based on a novel by Philip Roth, Elegy goes into the mind of an old university professor having a relationship with one of his former students who obviously is many years younger than him. It's a love story tinged with jealousy and untimely departures. I love the dark mood of the film, and at times it has a European texture to it rather than Hollywood. Well, it was directed by Spanish Isable Coixet, which might explain how foreign the treatment is.

Much of the movie rests on the shoulders of the impeccable Ben Kingsley. With just a glance, he captures the character's restrained longing and deep-seated insecurities with amazing subtlety. Penelope Cruz is of course a reliable actress, but her character lacks enough layers to make her engaging. One actress brilliantly stood out though. Patricia Clarkson plays a minor role but the moment I saw her on screen a gasp escaped my mouth. And I honestly have no idea who she is, but her effervescence captured me in an instant.

The movie is very entrancing, and despite its somber ambiance, many of the emotions the characters go through are very familiar. The ending however is a bit forced, but I can forgive the film for that as still it effectively tugs your heart to keep you thinking of it hours after you've left the theater.

See the trailer here.

Of Legs and Hair

This blog is desperately calling for a vanity post. Oppps, this is what blogging for me is all about anyway, right? Shameless self-promotion, full stop. I couldn't help it really. Like, I don't pretend that I'm profound or anything else beyond my full-time obsession with shopping, travel, and sex. Besides, what else is there to live for besides the three?

That being said, lookie, lookie, I have some recent acquisitions... and more (right, Heidi?).

First, I got my self these dirt cheap leather shoes that are as gay as anything I've seen... ever! Any bayot knows how painful these pointed shoes are. But as the supreme BKK-bound Fuchsiaboy says all the time: suffer for fashion... and that exactly is what I'm going to do. Second, I got these uber skinny brown trousers with barely-there plaid prints. Oh, they are hilariously cheap! I love the stretch fabric coz they cling to my scandalously skinny legs, the latter is courtesy of my daily swim across the Surigao Strait back in the days.

Two nights ago, I got my monthly haircut from "my" salon in Siam Square. I asked for my usual style: cropped on the sides and some layers on the top. I was explaining the hairdresser some twist to my regular cut, which honestly I could not explain to my self either. It's something like two gradients of hair length on the side of my head. I attempted to use pseudo sign language to the hairdresser by drawing two lines on the sides of my head. And he immediately concluded: ok, I'd shave it for you. Hmmm... it was not exactly what I had in mind but I realized I can be daring this time, just for the sake of it. The job is very haphazard, but what the fuck, hair grows back.

To quote mother Ricky Reyes: dis eees our pinis pradak.

Unveiling Muslim Gay Men and Women

The 6th World Film Festival of Bangkok is on since last week. And you know me, give me a bloody film fest and the bayot is there. But since I went on a trip it was only yesterday that I finally caught a film.

I actually sneaked out of the office just to catch A Jihad for Love (see official website here) yesterday afternoon, which I watched with Heidi. The courageous documentary explores the lives of Muslim gay men and women in various parts of the world, particularly South Africa, India, Iran, Egypt, and Turkey.

For the subjects of the documentary, being gay is not only a personal dilemma but more of a political struggle as well. Some of them were even imprisoned or caned, and some found new lives in more tolerant countries and finally escaping the societies that repress or scorn them.

On the other hand, some Muslim gay men and women (in India and Turkey for instance) enjoy a level of acceptance within the society and from their family. Still, as religious people, reconciling their faith with their sexuality is a continuous struggle.

The documentary may resonate for many gay people who live in societies whose norms on homosexuality are restrictive at best. How the subjects faced guilt and social pressures for instance are very familiar.

On the other hand, the documentary is most striking when it pointed out how, for homosexuals in Muslim societies, the private and the public spheres overlap. Homosexual activities Egypt and Iran are still practically illegal.

It seems unimaginable for me but it is a daily reality for many gay men and women in those parts of the world. Thus, the daring documentary has to be seen by many more gay people who want to take a look at the different lives of our brothers and sisters.

Take a peek into the film in the trailer below.

So there, that's one film from the festival. Last night I also caught a Costa Rican film with Shanghai Tang. That one is a bit surreal and familiar at the same time. On the latter, don't we Filipinos always feel a certain intimacy with most South American films because of the shared Hispanic culture?

Anyway, I'm off to see as many films as I can from this festival. Also, this weekend, Bubbles and I will head to House Rama to watch Serbis, that Filipino film that won the Grand Prize for the Southeast Asian section of the recent Bangkok International Film Festival. See you at the movies then.

Photo Credit: Film Catcher

The Hills are Alive

It was raining most of the time last night; fortunately the tent held up, although we woke up with damp hair this morning. I would not say I had the most comfortable sleep though. And yeah, I will definitely not see my self sleeping in a bloody tent for years now, thank you very much.

Last night we also met several BKK-based locals, who invited us to see the sunrise today. We were up by 5:30 am and a songthaew brought us to a hilltop where dozens and dozens of local tourists congregated also to see the sunrise. But there was hardly any spectacular sunrise to speak of as the clouds were heavy.

After breakfast we were carted to a small village where we hopped on a ginormous elephant, basically for picture-taking purposes. I swear it was my first elephant ride, albeit it was only less than three minutes. We then explored the small village of wooden houses. The guide informed us that Burmese, Thai, and Karen (one of the hilltribe folks) live in the area.

From there the songthaew took us to a small waterfalls. We had to go through rice paddies, pumpkin groves, and corn fields. I've never been in a farm for a long time now so it was a return-to-nature of sorts, although I would not say that I had a spectacular time either. I don't know, nature and me just don't go well together. The waterfalls was majestic though. It had several small tiers and the water was refreshingly cold. Unfortunately, camwhoring was not possible as we had to leave our cameras in the car because of the rain.

When we returned to the guest house we finally had a small room for ourselves. I could not be more excited. After napping for a couple of hours we went to a traditional Karen village up in the mountains. It took us about thirty minutes to drive though a winding and undulating rough road. Alas we reached the village just as it was starting to get dark. It was practically impossible to see anything except for the outline of the wooden houses and glimpses of glowing kitchens.

It's drizzling tonight again. I'm an a small internet cafe with boys playing Counterstrike. This, I believe, is as far as Umphang goes in terms of night life. I'm not complaining. We need some serene evenings sometimes, no? Tomorrow, I'm expecting a 12-hour ride back to BangCock.

I Travel, I Whine

The night train to Pitsanulok was crammed. Everybody's going on a holiday, some of the passengers had to sit on the aisle, making the ride in a non-A/C coach almost unbearably uncomfortable. Sleepless, we arrived in Pitsanulok and boarded a bus to Sukhothai. We found a guest house and soon enough Heidi and I were exploring the old Sukhothai town on bicycles.

It was an exhausting ride of course as, one, we were sleepless and, two, the heat was stiffling. Fortunately, the ruins were scattered in a relatively small plot of land, and we pretty much covered the more important sites in less than four hours, including the far-away ruins. Sukhothai is awesome. The majestic temples that are within the main site stand on islands surrounded by man-made lakes. Humongous Buddha statues were ubiquitous of course. At any point, we could not have been away from their gaze.

Now, the second part of this trip was totally spontaneous. Realizing that we were done with Sukhothai, Heidi and I rode a bus to Mae Sot, which sits close to the Burmese border. Honestly, I did not have any idea who were Burmese (there are many migrants in that area, according to the guidebook) and who were Thai in the messy town that was Mae Sot. We did not have enough time to figure that out though as we had to take songthaew (akin to a small jeepney) to Umphang. The largest waterfalls in Thailand is supposedly found here. The ride on the overloaded songthaew took four hours, and I do not want to go into the details of the discomfort. Ugh.

We arrived in Umphang early this evening. The guest house we stopped by had no rooms available and we were offered a tiny tent along the river instead (all other guesthouses were supposedly fully booked because of the holiday). Gawdness! I've never been in a tent years now, so let's see how I fare tonight, although, honestly I'm not the least looking forward to it. Tomorrow we see some waterfalls and a hill tribe village.

I may sound like I'm complaining a lot in this trip, but I do that every time I travel anyway. That's the best that I can do, can't I? Seriously, I'm immensely enjoying all this so far, especially coz Heidi has been more adventurous than I am. We will see how tomorrow goes, and how much more I could whine.

Eat That, Beyonce!

This fucking made my day!!!

First, watch this original video of Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) by Beyonce. Well it's a known fact that the girl can move.

And check out this amazing sistah werking the video in his own bedroom (I found this clip via uber gay blog Gayz of Our Lives). Gawdness!!! If only I can get my hands off Lay's and Coke, which I'm guiltily gorging on AS I SPEAK, I would probably be as skinny as this guy. Such a thinspiration!

Now this is how you werk, Beyonce!

Heading Somewhere?

Bubbles is wrecking havoc in Singapore.

The Czarina of Penang is getting a tan among the fisherfolks of Sugbu.

Fuchsiaboy is touring Phnom Penh and Las Islas Filipinas to catch up with his public.

Even Kylie Minogue is coming to Bangkok. And yeah, Lea Salonga as well.

Well, everybody's somewhere these days. I cannot be left behind, can I? Kase inggitera ako.

So with a national holiday tomorrow, fashionista extraordinaire Heidi and I are werking the ancient Siamese capital of Sukhothai. Oh did I mention it's a World Heritage Site? It's odd that this is only my first visit to a WHS in Thailand when I have seen the others in some of the Southeast Asian countries. So it's about time, no?

Oh, this is going to be a trip full of faggotry (like, haler, what's new?) with Heidi. This is our first trip together and we are taking the night train later (non-airconditioned... like, clogged pores, anyone?) and we come back to BangCock on Sunday.

So bitches, let's see who, between Heidi and me, would out-pout the other.

Photo Credit: (1) thailand.net.au (2) Bow Travel Thailand

Gravity

A few months ago, my ex-uber-colleague, Jay, forwarded me a number of songs through YM. One of the batches he sent was from a certain singer called Sara Bareilles. At that time, I had no idea who she is, but Jay assured me that she is worth listening to. So listened the fagot did. Instantly I was mesmerized by her stirring voice, complemented by her appealing song-writing. She's a bit Fiona Apple-ish and Sarah Mclachlan-ish actually, albeit more upbeat and "popy". Read more about her in her official website.

Since discovering her music, I've been listening to her practically everyday (together with Jason Mraz and Mika). Her best known song to date is Love Song, which I sometimes hear in food courts in BKK, and even in the sidewalks of Silom. Girl is obviously getting more popular by the minute. My favorite song, however, is called Gravity. The official video is found here, and here's a live version of the song.

Gravity
by: Sara Bareilles

Something always brings me back to you.
It never takes too long.
No matter what I say or do I'll still feel you here 'til the moment I'm gone.

You hold me without touch, You keep me without chains.
I never wanted anything so much than to drown in your love and not feel your reign.

[CHORUS:]
Set me free, leave me be. I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity.
Here I am and I stand so tall, just the way I'm supposed to be.
But you're on to me and all over me.

You loved me 'cause I'm fragile, When I thought that I was strong.
But you touch me for a little while and all my fragile strength is gone.

[CHORUS]

I live here on my knees as I try to make you see that you're everything I think I need here on
The ground.
But you're neither friend nor foe though I can't seem to let you go.
The one thing that I still know is that you're keeping me down

Design and the City

I had another weekend at the exhibits at the current Bangkok Design Festival held at various malls in the city. I met up with Shanghai Tang, with girl friend in tow, at Paragon and we then proceeded to check out the show.

According to the booklet of the event, "This year's Bangkok Design Festival is, not surprisingly, full of new forms and functions that advocate both individualism and social responsibility, the flair of the professional and the freshness of the amateur, the dead-serious and the mordantly humorous, the provocative style and the beauty that needs both more time and more heart to perceive clearly." (The design festival also has a number of workshops, competitions, and seminars.)

Whew, what can I say? It's pretty much a hodge-podge of everything design related, including architecture, furniture, sculptures, art installations, photography, and everything else in between. It's a very interesting mix of media and interpretations, although a bit incoherent again (at least in my eyes). The good thing about it though is that with the location of the show being in malls, the organizers welcomed more people of various interests to take a peek into the exhibit. Talk about bringing art to the masses.

One of the more striking sections of the exhibit is the Floating in Bangkok show. The collaboration of Thai, Japanese, and French artists produced Amphibious City Lab, which creates a scenario in which Bangkok is submerged underwater in 2600. It's a bit creepy actually.

Crossing over to the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, a number of exhibits delved into and criticized sprawling urbanity in Bangkok. In a section called Transforming Public Spaces: Change Bangkok, one exhibition took snapshots of everyday Bangkok life, and another takes a prying look at the so-called faults of the city while soliciting suggestions and comments from the audience.

One of the more striking exhibits is called 2-80222-abstract paintings?! are photographs of the roofs of city buses in Bangkok. The layers of paint and rust create sharp patterns that are likewise intriguing.

I'm sooo excited that Bangkok is currently giving more space to art in the city. It's especially remarkable how accessible these are, hence, encouraging people who would not want to go to a museum otherwise, to dip their fingers in contemporary art. And apparently, I've found an art-enthusiast-buddy in Shanghai Tang. As it is, we are planning to check movies in the upcoming World Film Festival of Bangkok as well as take a trip in some Bangkok suburb to check the sculpture park. Lots of things to look forward to indeed.

BangCock's Top Models for Bottoms *

"Too bad you're a top... we could have, you know..." said this flight attendant that I was MSNing with a couple of nights ago. We were just starting some friendly chat when he suddenly veered towards that topic. I couldn't believe I'm having that conversation again and so early into the getting to know each other stage. But what did I expect as this constantly crops up, especially among the locals. It's already getting annoying.

A friend also has this recurrent encounters with boys he chats with on the internet who, upon learning that my friend is a bottom, would say something like, "Well, we can just be friends". Meanwhile, I know of someone who has been dating this guy for a couple of months only to be told that the relationship did not have a future because both of them are top. Ugh.

It was not until I came to BangCock that I faced this top-bottom dilemma. Back home, I had relationships with top guys and the sex was definitely not bad at all. In fact, I hardly had any sexual encounters with bottom men in Las Islas Filipinas. Well maybe becuase back there, most gay men are top, as far I know. Blame it on our macho culture. But then, I certainly didn't mind if there were no bottom around coz obviously there are other ways of enjoying sex aside from a guy poking another.

However in BangCock, your sexual position, if I may call it as such, can obviously make or break a relationship. I've always had the impression that most Thai gay men are bottom (I might be generalizing a lot here), so I wonder how they ever have relationships with each other (maybe they don't?). In fact, my friends and I often tell ourselves that BangCock is such a top's paradise.

Still, the point I'm making is how being top or bottom becomes a major, if not the sole, deciding factor in dating someone. It's a pity that some decide to discard the opportunity of knowing potential dates based on such an inconsequential detail. Is this a matter of meeting men who apparently don't have the creativity on other ways of having sex? Don't you think they are a tad too shallow? Ok, granted that there are men who have a narrow definition of what good sex is, but what seems like a prevalence of such view in BangCock is really disconcerting.

* Thanks to Gibo for the title.

Cravings

I did the unthinkable last night... I ate a small bag of Lay's and a can of Lipton Green Tea, which is not bad per se, but that was after midnight, and I've always been an advocate against eating in the evening. Or eating in general.

God, what I did last night speaks volumes about my self-discipline and will-power.

I don't know, I just got hungry at around midnight and Lay's was the first food that came into my mind. I tried resisting the urge to eat but I could almost feel the salty, crunchy chips in my tongue the more I forced my self to brush off the craving. The next thing I knew, I was in Seven Eleven guiltily picking a bag of chips from the shelf. I swear, I was totally disgusted with my self.

It so happens that disgust is also what I always feel when thinking of food. Ugh. I don't even like talking about it. Eating is the least of my concerns and I think it's the most superfluous of all activities.

I dread meal times. For instance, I even have to drag my self to eat lunch. Such a waste of time! Like, I'd rather watch porn or pluck my eyebrows than stuff my mouth with carbohydrates and animal fat. Ugh.

So what's behind all this contempt for food? Well simply, I'm mortified with the idea of gaining weight. After last night, the first thing I did today was check my Body Mass Index (check yours here, bitches). Thank God, my BMI is still 20, although ideally it should be 18.5 (the lowest in the scale for normal BMI).

Female models, I heard, have an average BMI of 16. Arrrrggggh, I know I'm overweight!

Nonetheless, currently, and to quote Karl Lagerfeld, "I have now exactly the same weight I had when I was 18, 20". Not bad at all considering that I'm still 20 (aha, and you thought I was 18, no?).

Now let's bring this to a related discussion: weight and smoking.

We all know that models smoke a lot mainly to keep their weight down, I heard (in addition to the fact that smoking is just one of the most elegant things on earth!). Smoking helps bring down your craving to eat. This is quite true based on my experience.

Lately I've been smoking more than the usual, especially when prompted by street-style blogs or fashion editorials in which those chic people have a cigarette between their fingers. The next thing I know, I'm sneaking from my desk to grab a fag or two. I know, I'm sooo impressionable.

But we all know that smoking causes wrinkles (I don't care for my lungs as much as I care about my skin) so I decided to cut down on smoking the past week. This brings me back to my food cravings of late. I'm totally lost. I don't want to have wrinkles, but I don't want to be fat either.

Photo Credit: (1) Busplunge, (2) The Fashion Spot, (3) The Sartorialist

An Alternative History?

Saturday was yet another day at the museum for me. This time I visited the Museum of Siam, which opened early this year (April, I think). Located near the flower market of all flower markets (I forgot the name), the museum occupies the former building of the Ministry of Commerce. A section of the museum tells the story of the restoration and renovation of the building, which is definitely fitting because the 90-year old building itself bears a great deal of history.

The vision of the Museum of Siam is to serve as a learning space on the history and culture of Thailand. One thing that was underscored all throughout is "play-learning", thus inviting the visitors to interact with the displays (and taking of pictures is allowed all over). Large touch-screen LCDs entice visitors to play games. Small cupboards open to sound installations. One can simulate being a newscaster when people still had black and white TVs. One of the biggest hit, I noticed, among the displays is a re-creation of a 1960s Bangkok cafe, which back then was patterned after American diners. Here the visitors can re-live the old days as they sit inside the diner with American fried rice on the table.

Indeed, it is very heartening to see kids running all over the museum like it was their play ground. It seems that the idea of the place is to focus less on bombarding visitors with a deluge of information, rather, it introduces people to the history of Thailand in manageable chunks as well as piquing their interest to learn more. In effect, a visit to the museum is breezy and fun.

For me, the most commendable aspect of the Museum of Siam is how it challenges the long-established historical narrative that has been rammed into the throats of many generations of Thais. For instance, it asserts in one section that Thailand is not an ethnically homogeneous country of ethnic Tais, but it also encompasses other ethnicities, such as the Hmongs, Khmers, Malays, etc. Another section of the exhibit drives this point further by citing how after the 1930s a big wave racialist propaganda went mainstream and also leading to Siam being renamed as Thailand.

Similar patterns of establishing national identity - through the delineation of borders, the shift from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy, and the evolution of Bangkok into a "modern" metropolis - were likewise interpreted in a more muti-faceted (and refreshingly critical) manner rather than subsrcibing to the widely-held national narrative. Rightly so, the exhibit's ends with a room that asks: what is Thailand tomorrow? A big blank wall runs through this room and visitors can "write" their answers on the wall through a touch-screen monitor.

The museum certainly appeals more to children, and yesterday there were lots of them around, learning about their history and culture in the most fun way possible. For once, I did was not tempted to break any of those creature's necks.

Not Here, Dear

If anybody noticed, I've refused to write about politics for the longest time now. Ugh, why should I pay attention to it when there are more compelling and urgent things to write about, like, I don't know, shopping for instance? Besides, I don't dare comment on the political situation of Thailand coz I don't (or refuse to) know much about it, not to mention that politics annoys the hell out of me (especially the politics back in Las Islas Filipinas).

But then, anybody who watches the news or reads the papers would know what a mess politics in Thailand has become of late. Ugh, such a long, convoluted story, you might as well check CNN or BBC for that. Or for a more local perspective, check Bangkok Pundit or Absolutely Bangkok.

So why this post on Thai politics now? Well, the epicenter of the demonstrations or protest rallies (a.k.a. "militanteng grupo" in Las Islas Filipinas), the Government House in particular, is just a couple of blocks from my office/house. And they've practically encamped in the said place for four months now. Yes, dahling, four bleeding months; prompting the police to block the surrounding streets. Bangkok's traffic is dreadful as it is, can you think how worse it can get when major thoroughfares are sealed?

To be blunt about it, I couldn't care less what the protesters are crying for but they can bring their demonstrations any where else but in my bloody backyard. Di na sila nakakatuwa ha. For four months now I've been enduring despicable road congestions and traffic rerouting. Can you imagine its heavy toll on my social-climbing and whoring agenda? Ugh.

Things reached a boiling point this week when the protesters moved to the Parliament House. Of course the police has to disperse them. A full-blown collision ensued, resulting to two deaths and 400 injuries, among other damages. The many civil offices that surround my area had to suspend work last Tuesday and yesterday (so I had an instant holiday that I spent whoring around, but work is back today).

With this escalating violence more roads in our area had to be shut. On my way back home last night, the cab had to take a circuitous route, which took me to the actual site where blood spilled just a day before. Surprisingly the area is as serene as it can get.

The political impasse continues however. I learned from my colleague today that the protesters went back to the Government House, which they occupied some months ago (ironically, the Prime Minister is temporarily holding office at the city's old airport).

I wish I can care more for the politics here, but honestly I'm not the least interested. I just wish the protesters can leave my area as soon as they can coz honestly they are not making my life any better.

There, I just needed to release that. Bow.

Photo credit: (1) Reuters (2) Telegraph (3) BBC

Museum Hopping

During the weekend I finally visited the two museums that I've been planning to see for the longest time now.

Last Saturday, I met up with Shanghai Tang (coz he was wearing them expensive shoes) at the National Gallery. I'm not sure if I was exactly interested in the museum coz Shanghai Tang is distractingly gorgeous, I instantly wanted to have his babies. In between paintings of the King we talked about each other's lives. He told me he grew up in Gabon and Ivory Coast when we were in front of this gigantic old painting of the Buddha's life. We talked about our impressions of Luang Prabang while checking that classic sculpture of a boy playing the flute. Portraits of the former kings of Thailand stared at us as we discussed our impressions of BangCock (he just recently moved here). However, we did not have enough time to see the other parts of the museum as it was already closing time.

We moved to Khao San Road for late lunch while exchanging opinions about the art scene in the city. But then, I could not focus. I could not help being drawn to his eyes, especially when he laughs. Sigh. He's a bit shy though, which makes him more endearing. Sigh, part two. We had more time to talk on the cab to Paragon as the traffic crawls (for the first time, I'm thankful that the traffic was bad). Needless to say, Shanghai Tang excites me. Let's see how this goes, girls.

I attempted to buy wine for Bubbles' birthday but there was an alcohol ban coinciding with the elections (held yesterday). I ended up buying fruit juice and then headed to L's house where we celebrated Bubbles' birthday over cheese and raisins. It was a wonderful, intimate evening for us three girls.

The next day, I met L and Bubbles at the newly-opened Bangkok Art and Culture Centre for their current exhibit called Traces of Siamese Smile: Art+Faith+Politics+Love. I know, it's not the most imaginative title I've heard recenlty, but the exhibit certainly made up for it. But before I talk of that, I have to say something about the design of the building, which sits across the popular shopping mecca of MBK. Outside, the imposing edifice looks unremarkable. White, like a blank canvas. The interior is stunning though, as seen in the pictures below. I'm not an architecture expert, but the emotional impact of the building is already an artwork. It is truly a deserving temple for art!

Ok, let's move to the exhibit. I would have to skip discussing the first sections of the show coz they're quintessentially Thailand, namely Buddha heads galore. Maybe for tourists they are fascinating, but having lived in Thailand for some time now, those pieces do not catch my fancy anymore.

The rest of the sections however feature more contemporary and cutting edge works: videos, photos, installations, sculptures, paintings, etc. One of the more interesting pieces that caught the fancy of L and me is this panel made of paraffin wax, which creates swirling and translucent textures. There is also this installation piece of pink condoms piled in one corner of the room. A few smaller rooms are scattered all over the venue. One features an all-black room that reeks of gasoline inside where faces of snarling dogs are displayed on a video wall. Another room shows a mesmerizing clip of young, lithe men pushing cyclos underwater at a beach in Na Thrang. Another video shows a crooning Elvis impersonator. It's a shame that I cannot review art, but take my word for it, the show would keep you inside the building for hours.

The diversity of pieces keep the show captivating. And as the title of the exhibit says, the range of the themes is also broad, thus keeping it far from monotonous (albeit, un-cohesive at times as well). With hundreds of pieces around the the ginormous halls of the museum, the exhibit is worth a second and probably third visit, which I'm doing in the coming weeks.

The opening of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre is certainly a step to the right direction for the art scene in the city. With its strategic location in the shopping district of Bangkok, it should also hopefully attract more people. Probably some folks shopping from MBK would think that they crossed towards another mall only to find out that they are in fact inside a sophisticated museum and they decide to take a look at the exhibit anyway. Shopping malls and museums sitting side by side... why not?

Photo Credit: (1) Bangkok Tourist, (2) Absolutely Bangkok, (3) and (4) Mariliu (Flickr), (5) and (6) Bangkok Post: Outlook