Bangkok Moves out of Lock-Down.

THE BANGKOK lock-down was officially over early last month and to celebrate and raise money for local skateboarder Shawn Ward’s critical illness fund the Bangkok Island team held a skate jam  musical extravaganza aboard their sand barge party boat. Local bands Plague Pits and Stay Awake headlined the show. The weather was kind, the crowd was in good spirits, the slop chest was drunk dry in piratical style.  
  

   

Half-way through Stay Awake’s set a member of the audience climbed up to the ceiling rafters and monkey-swung across the ceiling. Had he slipped carnage would have followed. Claret everywhere as we sailed back to the Port of Thieves. 

Twenty feet lower on the ship's dancefloor the crowd were oblivious to the potential disaster waiting to happen.

Oh, well, we thought as he swung across the ship, worse things happen at sea. 

We survived. On the river all was well. Somehow the party swinger made it back down to what passed as terra firma on the Bangkok Island, proving that even during co-vid19 not all heroes wear masks. It was that kind of night – danger, excitement, temptation. 

Watch out for more events on the Bangkok Island and for a chance to rock the boat. Let's hope they fully stock the bar next time. 

Brownstone were also back in action with their Comeback Concert. Again Stay Awake were on the bill alongside Born from Pain, Of Victims and Pray, while Venn, Jennifer Lackgren, and Fiffi rocked the acoustic stage. Good to hear music back in the city, and see the old venues reopening. 

Artwise the Andy Warhol show opened on the 12th August and runs until November at the River City. So if soup cans and Marilyn are your bag head on over. Oh, and graffiti art, break beat legend and global personality Goldie opened his Aurum gallery in Chareon Krung showcasing contemporary, urban, and street art from around the world. The boys at This Strange Life Podcast caught up with Goldie for a chat about Thailand, art, and the exact location of a Mintaur's Johnson.  

For things literary a Charles Bukowski centenary celebration was scheduled for the 16^th August at Fatty’s Bar and Diner, but they cancelled last minute due to a lack of water mains pressure. I'm pretty sure the decadent LA novelist and poet who lived on the brink of chaos would have let the show continue as long as the beer was flowing. The show is rescheduled for this Friday 21st August.    

Photo credit: Minsida Kantanarkit

The Beat Goes On. 
JD. BKK. 17.8.20

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Bangkok Transport Survival Guide.

Meter-taxis.

Does he know where he’s going? Does he even care? Sure he does. He's your friendly farang loving taxi driver. Just jump in and point to the meter. Sit back. Relax. Enjoy the Bangkok scenery crawl past for an hour or so before your driver admits he hasn’t the foggiest idea where you are. Last week he was planting rice in Surin. Now he's in Bangkok City. Pay the fare (with a generous tip ) and step out onto a strange street lined with stalls selling fried insects. There's a funky smell in the air. Don’t be alarmed. Just hold out your hand to the oncoming traffic. There are hundreds more clueless taxis itching to whisk you away and spit you out at your unintended destination. Repeat until intelligent driver found.

Tuk-tuk.

Tuk-tuk mister? Speak English? Only 20 baht? Where you want to go? Sexy lady? Now Happy Hour? Look only? Yeah. You have to love these guys. Great for tailor-shops, government gem stores or anywhere else the driver has a nasty little scam brewing. Don’t believe the temples are closed. They aren’t closed. Temples never close. Use Tuk-tuks only once. Take photograph. Post photo on facebook. And never use one of these two-stroke scamming pollution buckets again.

Skytrain.

Now we’re talking. Great for those that haven’t yet figured out the bus routes or enjoy travelling like cattle on the way to market. The views are great and the only way to travel lower Sukhumvit to Siam if you don’t have a more than a week to make the journey. Avoid use during sociable hours.

MRT.

Frighteningly modern. The rotfia shuttles beneath sin city with the precision of a polished lug through the barrel of a high-class bean-shooter. Climb down into the subterranean utopia. The London Tube this is not. Clean, precise, fast. Only the Germans could achieve such a thing.

Airport Link.

So modern. So clean. So smooth. How did they do it? Siemens again. So German. Over ten minutes wait between trains excludes this as a commuter option. But for getting into the city from the airport (what it was intended for) this is a thing of beauty. Just make sure your hotel is next to the airport link stop. I hear the Nasa Vegas is nice. Otherwise refer to the rest of this list and the best of British to ya.

Bangkok Buses.

Wow. What a network? Bangkok bus system reaches every nook and cranny in the city. The fast-track-training scheme for drivers gives Somchai from Ubon another chance in life. Last week he was driving an old beat up Honda wave and drinking white whiskey on the farm. He was thinking about suicide daily. Now he has a fast speed passenger vehicle and enough ya ba to propel him to work double shifts. Accidents? Pah. He fed a mangy soi dog some sticky rice this morning so there’s no way this love boat's gonna crash, baby.

Motorbike taxis.

An unemployable toe-rag buys a vest from the mob. Cost? anywhere from 1k to 500k. He joins the motorcycle taxi gang for life. You need to find out a bus route? Want to pay a bill? Deliver a package? Ask a motorbike taxi. You want to find out where the cheap accommodation is? Ask the dude in the orange vest. Motorbike taxis know everything. Everything apart from how to drive a motorcycle. Use only in emergencies and keep in mind if you do crash and need immediate medical attention you are in luck. A motorbike taxi is the only means of transportation that will get you to the emergency room with any chance of being alive on arrival, as long as you don't crash again, on the way.


Foot.

You. Are. Never. Safe. On. Foot. You see those black and white lines painted across the road? Now, they may look like zebra crossings. In fact they are designated suicide zones. Cross by all means, but don’t expect to live. See those red lanes painted on the sidewalk with pictures of bicycles painted on them? Those are motorbike lanes. In fact all sidewalks, pavements, and footpaths are motorbike lanes. Bangkok is the only city in the world where you can skilfully cross four lanes of traffic and make it to the pavement the other side of the road only to be mowed down by a Honda Wave 125cc.

River taxi.

Wet.

Conculsion.

Enjoy travelling in Bangkok. And when that bus races through lanes of traffic, narrowly avoiding collision at every jerk of the wheel spare a little thought. When that Tuk-tuk pulls a wheely in rush-hour traffic. When the guy in the orange vest doesn't have a spare helmet. Remember In Thailand death is not the end. It is simply the transition to a better life.