Final three weeks

Well, it's time to move out from Bangkok once again, a little over a year after I came back. That's life: you go wherever the wind takes you. I could, of course, resist not uprooting my self from what I regard as my second home, but it's more of a strategic career decision for me to follow where better opportunities are found.

Another three weeks and I'm off to another city in another country. The worst part about it is leaving Bangkok and my friends here.

I've always expressed my love for this city, imperfect as it is. But over the seven years here I've grown intimate with its idiosyncrasies and rhythms. I'm braver to entrust my life on a raging motorsai driver. I don't mind getting a sprinkling of stinking canal water while taking a boat ride on Saen Saeb. Or I can confidently say mai sai cho rot and the cook actually understands it because I have perfect tone now (or so I'd like to believe).

It's definitely tempting to just get cozy with my life here even if it does not give me long-term security (especially job-wise). In Bangkok, one somehow always gets by.

I question the idea of starting all over again in all aspects of my life: career, friends, habits, brand of toothpaste, etc. I am too old for having to go through the trouble, chai mai?

As I'm on the cusp of a major transition I really don't have answer to these questions yet. I have to wrap things up at work and in my apartment in the next three weeks, not to mention the apartment search in a city completely unfamiliar to me. So, there are more important things at hand than wax lyrical about the end of my love affair with Bangkok.

Anyway, in my last few days here I tend to take all experiences in while they last. I seize the noise of the city outside my window, or take a mental photo of this today's sunset, or slurp my noodle soup a bit louder. There's also not missing on every opportunity to spend time with friends.

But I'm not going far away. I'm just going to a neighboring country. I'm sure Bangkok will always be here to welcome me back.

Not a Sex Tape

Well, well, well, it's 2015! The past year went by so fast, which is always good cos that means I've been busy (sort of) to even think of getting bored. No, I'm not doing a stupid look-back cos that's so... last year.

Ooops, I'm actually posting stuff that happened in December and then the early part of January, a kind of look-back. I've been lazy with blogging for the past three years, so it comes as no surprise that I'm late in posting this update.

But really, it seems like I'm shifting careers... from blogger to videographer. Charaught! Videographer, is there such a word?

The point is, I've recently taken an interest in taking videos, starting with my Las Islas Filipinas holiday. I'm well on the path of becoming the Queen of all Media!

So, I'm proud to present two recent, ehem, productions.

First, is my trip with Putney's power couple to Koh Samet. The Londoners (follow them on Instagram through @kinoyblog) dropped by the City of Angels on their way to Manila and Wellington.

We had a week of debauchery and more debauchery (in my mind!), and in between we took a two-night trip to Koh Samet where all this gay-ness happened.



And the second video is of my New Year holiday in Hanoi with the Pinoy Mafia in Bangkok.

We had planned this several months back with the idea of going to somewhere "wintry". Since the North Pole is too expensive, Hanoi is the closest and cheapest place where they have a semblance of winter, and not the "winter" that Bangkokians claim to have at the moment.

Hanoi is perhaps one of my favorite cities in Southeast Asia, but the last time I visited it was in 2008. I was just happy to be back and rediscover its craziness and charm. We even visited Ha Long Bay!



So in 2015, expect more videos from me. I might drop one or two sex "tapes"!

Back to the (Shutdown) City of Angels

So I've been in Bangkok for over a month now. There's really nothing else to say but that I'm happy to be back in what I feel is really my home for now.

There were so many things I missed about Bangkok that I immediately went around eating chicken rice and kapao gai and getting a Thai massage on my first day here. There were also endless meetings with Bangkok-based friends during the first two weeks of my return.

I wouldn't pretend I needed to adjust in Bangkok, after all I was gone for only a year. Everything felt the same (except that we had a cool first weeks of 2014). Returning has been just like effortlessly sliding back into the good old things: the food, the people, the city, and avoiding to get run over by a motorbike - an essential survival skill here.

But what's with this this #BangkokShutdown business? Ooops, I'm sorry. I don't do politics on this blog.

Oh, there are major changes in my Bangkok experience that I have to mention though. A few of my very close friends have left the city to seek greener pastures. Bubbles is now in the land down under. La Viviana and Genesis have also returned to the Philippines.

While some people are leaving some are also coming to stay in Bangkok... although I have to keep the identity of those people relocating to Bangkok under wraps lest I be sued. Needless to say, I'm thrilled to welcome more fairies into the fold (you know who you are!).

So what have I been up to the fast few weeks?

Well, for a start, I've managed to find an affordable place of my own. After living in the posh side of Ratchada in Rexona Gomorrah's mansion for three weeks, I moved to the poorer side and settled in a small room with a view of my neighbor's balcony. Since then I've attempted to make the room habitable and functional and somehow I'm developing a love for it despite the sorry state of the bathroom and the stink of cat's piss in the lift. But hey, I'm not complaining; I'm just being my usual bitchy self.

I do miss my old neighborhood in Thewet though as my current one is not as charming. On the other hand, I have a better appreciation of being just a few meters away from the underground, which makes going to the center of town a breeze... well unless you're caught in the frenzy of rush hour.

On the job-hunting front... nothing depresses me more. I don't even want to write about it here. Suffice to say, I'm as useless as I've ever been while the money in my bank account is quickly being depleted.

And then I have to face the life of being on a tourist visa, which required me going on a visa run to Vientiane last week. I never had to think about my visa when I used to work here. But now it feels like I have a terminal illness and the doctor just told me I have 60 days to live, but with the possibility of a 30 day extension.

So here I am back in Bangkok in the most imperfect circumstances. But at least I'm here and I'm here to say (if I get a job).

Five Years in Thailand

Today marks my fifth year in Thailand. When I arrived here I knew for sure I'd be staying for a year as my first work contract stated. And then when my first contract expired I was given two years and then another three years. (My current contract expires in 2013.)

It's surprising how the years piled up, and true to the cliche, I hardly noticed time passing by. Probably it shows how much I like my life here. Well, I can't complain about most of my experiences and I owe it to Thailand that the past five years had been nothing short of great.

Everyday I still find many fascinating things about Bangkok... its small streets, its ever changing landscapes, and the kindness of the people... basically the same things that have enamored me since I arrived in Bangkok.

The Ladies Who Brunch

The Pinoy Gay Mafia made a short trip across the Chao Phraya River two weekends ago. I've heard of the Bangkok Tree House about a year ago, back in its construction phase. Its concept of being an eco-friendly hotel immediately caught my attention. Its location in the so-called lungs of Bangkok is equally interesting (I've written about a previous visit to Phra Padaeng).

Norlash organized the little brunch on a Sunday morning. We just rode the Skytrain to Bangna, took a short cab drive to the river, and then a quick trip on a boat. It's that easy but being in such a verdant place made us feel like we were far from the city.

One of the things that we noticed right away are the wooden decks draped with white cloth. I know, it's a dramatic welcome (not exactly intended for us though). I was also immediately impressed to see the mirrored exterior walls of the rooms, thus reflecting its surroundings of lush palm leaves. It's like double the view!

The restaurant has all these bamboo tubes, for lack of a better term, hanging from the ceiling, which are then reflected by the mirrored table tops. The bayots instantly fell in love with the place.

Brunch lasted for about four hours of delicious food, very friendly staff, and a pleasant breeze from the river. (It was still freaking humid though as it is the height of summer in Bangkok.)

The staff offered to bring us around the rooms, which I've seen in many blogs and such. The first floor is basically the shower and toilet, the floor of which is glass. You can watch the crabs and fish as you sit on the throne!

An odd-looking staircase leads to the bedroom on the second floor. And then one floor up is the roof deck, perfect for sunbathing at daytime or stargazing at night.

The Pinoy Gay Mafia is already cooking a plan to spend a weekend there (hopefully when it's not as humid anymore).

After brunch, we walked around the swamp... well, we were walking on narrow concrete planks or walkways. It is in fact the perfect place to get lost in on a bicycle. Well, that should be for next time.

Visiting Baan Silapin

My Pinoy friends in Bangkok visited Baan Silapin (Artist's House) on the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya River last Sunday. Norlash read about it in an in-flight magazine and next thing we know we were following the twisted sois leading to the house.

Baan Silapin is located along one of the canals zigzagging through Thonburi. I heard that before the days of concrete roads one goes around Bangkok on boats plying the canals. The place must give Bangkokians a nostalgic kick because there's quite a number of Thais paying the place a visit last weekend.

We got there early, so for roughly an hour we had the place to ourselves, just exploring the spacious wooden house. Half of the space on the first floor is for art crafts stuff like lithography and mask painting, and the other half is dedicated to masked dance performances. The second floor has lots of open spaces with the walls filled with oil and watercolor paintings of the house and its neighborhood. At the center of the courtyard is a brick chedi that's 300 years old.

Soon enough the house was filled with mostly local tourists. Doing the lithographs proved to be popular, with various levels of success (mine was a bloody mess). As the house is along the route of tourist boats, there's always a boat or two passing by, and their passengers always bring out their cameras to take pictures of the house and its visitors.

In the afternoon we were treated to a puppetry performance.

The visit is a refreshing break from the malls of Bangkok, where we usually spend our weekends. I used to be quite earnest in exploring places similar to Baan Silapin, such as old neighborhoods, temples, and museums, but I had been lazy the past few years. Visiting Baan Silapin is a welcome reminder that I should spend less lazy weekends and instead explore more this beautiful city.

Art is in the Details

The 57th National Art Exhibition has been on show at the Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre for several weeks now. The exhibition is also an art competition. The first time I went there I was very much awestruck by the pieces, so I went back there yesterday to take photos, which I'm sharing here.

By the entrance of the exhibition is Phanee Phoudom's 'Society of Consumerism'.

Also near the entrance is Sittichoke Wichian's 'Kite and Bond No. 2', a mixed-media installation employing traditional kite techniques.

This massive piece is entitled 'Woods (Painting Embellished with Glass No. 2)' is by Kajondet Niwyin.

This is my BF's favorite, a very intricate, and presumably tedious, drawing on canvas by Jiratchaya Pripwai called 'Meditation Therapy No. 1'. The piece is huge, so you can only imagine how much time was spent on this amazingly executed drawing.

My favorite, on the other hand, is Suporn Kaewda's 'Formation of One Thing Lies on the Deterioration of Another No. 3', a 2.5 x 3.5 meter oil pastel on canvas. I believe this is the Grand Prize winner. The ripples of the water are very mesmerizing as they are, but if you look closer the ripples are in fact made up of detailed drawings of mythical aquatic creatures (at least that's how the figures look to me).

I was mainly drawn to the paintings that were heavily detailed, such as Attapon Seetrongprasert's 'Heritage No. 1', which looked like it was made of ancient hieroglyphics.

Also intricate is Hathairat Rodkeaw's 'Southern Path No. 2', which used acrylic tempera on rubber. The "leaves" have drawings of monks, fish, and other cultural aspects of Southern Thailand on them.

There's also something raw about the Wiwat Jindawong's 'Agricultural Way of Life No. 5', a drawing measuring a massive 2.6 x 2.95 meters.

Equally massive (1.92 x 3.5 meters) is Pradit Tungprasartwong's 'Panna or Wisdom: Means of Survival' (oil on canvas). I guess this is also one of the winning entries, but I find it somewhat gimmicky for my taste.

Not as big (only 1.83 x 1.11 meters), but with heavier impact on me, is 'Self', a digital print and hand-cut paper by Kamolpan Chotivichai.

Among the sculptures, of which there are many, Surasok Sannung's 'Sustainable Happiness No. 1' made a very good impression. It used local pottery techniques.

I was also struck by the rigidity of the angles of 'State of Surrender', a fiberglass casting by Pangsak Nateetornmongkol.

My favorite sculpture there is Yutthasilp Siritap's 'Suffering from Malignant Disease'. The size is stunning, rendering it so much power. The subject of fierce dogs and hungry crows tearing apart a man's body into pieces has such a visceral impact on me. It was placed near the end exhibit, a fitting conclusion to a celebration of the talent of Thailand's artists.

And some more photos....