The ones that got away

12 08 2017

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Even with a relatively long vacation, I couldn’t see and do everything I wanted. Bangkok is not a beast that can be easily tamed. Here are some of the ones that got away:

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Most crushing disappointment was a near miss with the Mustang Nero, an instragram extravaganza of an airbnb with rooms named after individual animals (The Flamingo, The Wolf, The Octopus’s Garden) and fitted out with outrageous taxidermy ( a full sized giraffe, the interlocked skeletons of two deer fighting) and luxuriant tropical foliage. My boyfriend, who was staying an extra night, managed to secure the last available booking while I missed out, so I only have other peoples’ pictures to post… Also:

WAON Piano & Scotch: an “acoustic karaoke” bar on a Sukhumvit side street where an elderly Japanese gentleman plays requests on the piano while you sing along.

Chooseless: An artfully mixed-up bi-level multi-brand boutique/cafe in Ekkamai.

12 x 12: For African music (see above)

A new “underwear only” gay gym where hunky Caucasian intructors teach you how to “wrestle” (which I declined for obvious reasons).

The newly opened-to-the-public Bang Khun Phrom palace

A ‘secret” dive bar serving brewksies inside the city’s US intelligence headquarters (!)

And finally the interesting architecture of the 1971 Thailand Islamic Center, which has been on my hit-list for ages. I’ll make it one day :

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The skinniest building in Chinatown

12 08 2017

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Islamic Art of Thailand Foundation

12 08 2017

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Infinity

11 08 2017

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The Infinity Spa on lower Silom Road wows with its Wes Anderson pale green lobby and then Kubrick-esque styrofoam-padded space cells above: the ultimate in stylish relaxation.





Monochrome

11 08 2017

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Garuda

5 08 2017

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Lording over the collection at the Bangkok Scuplture Center is this powerful copy of the 1938 garuda bust adorning the city’s former Central post office. The original can now be seen up-close from the newly opened roof garden of the new Thailand Design and Culture Centre in the restored building on Charoen Krung.

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Day 8th National Theatre 4pm

29 07 2017

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Chang Chui

29 07 2017

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Chang Chui is an ambitious new shopping and eating complex in the Western suburbs – basically a hipster themepark. Centred around a decomissioned aeroplane (soon to house a taxidermy-themed restaurant) stands a cluster of cafes, bookshops, a documentary theatre, live music venue, instagram-ready statues, a craft beer bar, barber and a fine dining insect restaurant named after a Thai indie flick (” Insects in the Backyard”).

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26 07 2017

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Bangkok: Architecture of the unexpected

26 07 2017

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The Bangkok suburbs are treasure troves of architectural whimsy from the city’s distinctive quasi-Islamic bank branches, to the actually Islamic “Thai Muslim Womens’ Fund for Orphans” (below) and this strange cave-like hangar containing a condo development in the upscale backstreet of Sathorn Soi 1.

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Day 9.30am The Old Customs house

25 07 2017

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The original filming location for the external shots in Wong Kar Wai’s “In the Mood for Love.”

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Day 4 10am The troks of Charoen Krung

25 07 2017

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Day 1 12.20pm Baanai hotel

24 07 2017

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Lunch at the Baanai Hotel, a restored 1920s mansion. I had hoped toot try khao chae – rice soaked in ice jasmine water – but as it was out of season I tried the cotton-fruit-and-dried-pork salad instead.

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Day 1 3.30pm Cafe Puritan

24 07 2017

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New Shanghai landmark

21 06 2017

 

The graceful moving facade of the new Bund Finance Centre, Shanghai.





31 05 2017

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Southeast Asia Weird

17 05 2017

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In just about the least horrifying news out of Indonesia this week (scroll up) , the decomposing body of a “sea monster” washed up on one of its beaches. It is, most likely, the carcass of a whale.

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Meanwhile Bangkok experienced a new food fad, with a bakery in Pathum Thani gaining online fame for this adorable/creepy dog-shaped coconut puddings. Can’t wait to eat on of these puppies…literally.

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And finally in Singapore, a new “vending machine” for luxury cars opened in the form of an arrestingly designed showroom where with the flick of a switch you can “select” the car you want to test.





HK googie

16 05 2017

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“Googie” was a 1950s architectural movement centred in Los Angeles. It celebrated the sharp angles and aerodynamic planes of the automobile age to leave a legacy of gas stations, motels and freeway diners designed to evoke the sleek jetset age. Reading about the now obscure movement, I realised that there is actually a (modest) example much closer to home in a building I have always enjoyed: the Esso gas station on Wong Chuk Hang Road, with its clean concrete lines.

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10 05 2017

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Emmanuelle Moureaux’s Forest of Numbers at Tokyo’s National Art Center.

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The elusive rainbow

1 05 2017

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On the way back from Sai Kung, my minibus stopped at Choi Hung and I hopped out to look for a Hong Kong icon – the much photographed basketball courts at the Choi Hung “Rainbow” public housing estate, often used as a kitschy backdrop for fashion shoots.

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I was unsuccessful though. Although I located the brightly coloured towers, the exact and frequently-shot view of the basketball courts eluded me. A website I consulted had directed me towards the roof of the carpark which seemed to be closed; perhaps the residents are tired of being a tongue-in-cheek fashion punchline?

I did however wander into the interior of some of the blocks – which seemed much more drab, and indeed soul-crushingly dystopian, on the inside….

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Singapore: art

1 05 2017

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A stunning installation in Singapore of giant, luminous crocheted sea urchins (!!) by Korean and American architectural firm Choi & Shine.

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