BANGKOK - DAY 10

We get the daily paper with our room...The Nation, and saw a listing for a talk at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT) with the topic - View from the Trenches: The Dramatic End to the Red Shirts' Rally - Cameramen and journalists discuss their first-hand experiences.
We knew we wanted to go for this, but it was impossible to take Meg along...so we had to decide who would go...no prizes for guessing who did...
Besides the talk, there was an exhibition titled "Through the lens: Bangkok's political unrest" which I didn't get to see. Both Meg and I went along to the FCCT with MJ in the hope that I'd get to see the photo exhibition at least, then leave with Meg while MJ stayed on for the talk. But the exhibition was inside the room and one had to pay 300B for entry for non-members so I asked MJ to take photos of the photos so I could have a look.
There weren't many and the prints were quite small, about A4 size.
Photographers whose works were on exhibit included - Agnes Dherbeys, Athit Perawongmetha, Masaru Goto (who was also on the panel), Nick Nostitz, Olivier Sarbil, Patrick de Noirmont, Roger Arnold and Siripong Kanjanabut.

This one's a sure winner at next year's World Press Photo competition...Key red shirt leader and rogue army officer Maj-Gen Khattiya Sawasdipol moments after he was shot in the head by a sniper's bullet on 13 May 2010. Very few photographers were near him when he was shot and not many got this pix, only two that I know of.
Tribute was paid to two journalists who lost their lives during the clashes, Japanese cameraman Hiro Muramoto from Reuters, who was shot and killed during armed conflict between the government and protesters on April 10 and freelance Italian photojournalist Fabio Polenghi, 45, was shot in the stomach and died on May 19, 2010.
(L-R): Todd Ruiz and Olivier Sarbil, the two journalists (Sarbil was the photojournalist) were the only two people who gained access to the "Men in Black" the real people to be afraid of...more below.
ST's very own Nirmal Ghosh was introduced as "the esteemed Nirmal Ghosh from The Straits Times", which shows that he is well respected amongst the foreign journalists in Thailand. He was asked for his views on "What's next for Thailand?".
Nirmal only appeared briefly and then disappeared. Perhaps he had a deadline to meet for the paper?
Unedited footage with ambient sound and all was shown and apparently affected quite a few people in the room. I've asked MJ to write something about the evening for this blog.
Here's his account:

The session at FCCT (The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand) was highlighted in the local English paper, The Nation, on the eve of our departure from Bangkok. Titled: "View from the Trenches: The Dramatic End to the Red Shirts' Rally - Cameramen and journalists discuss their first-hand experiences." It would be a rare opportunity to hear what they say and witnessed.

The plan was for me and Steph to go there and take turns to view a concurrent photo exhibition while one of us stayed outside with Meg since we knew the pictures would definitely not be kid-friendly. When we reached there, FCCT was packed to the brim with lots of journalists, freelancers and some members of the public. As the photo exhibition was held in the room where the talk was to be held, and non-members have to pay to enter, Steph "sacrificed" and volunteered to bring meg to Siam Paragon while i attended the session.

As a non-member, I paid 300 baht to attend. The room was alive with chatter, laughter and bonding among journalists, both broadcast and print. I recognised a few faces (although they don't know me) from twitters and internet coverage of the crisis which I'd been following quite closely throughout. It felt surreal to be in the same room with these people who went through the dangerous times together.

We, in the packed room, were reminded by the coordinator that the purpose of this session is to come together to share and discuss what each other had witnessed and experienced and to keep our emotions in check during Q and A. Footage and still photographs were shown on a few screens around us. BBC kicked it off by showing some footage. But it was the footage of two other video journalists on the panel which made our hearts stop and as I briefly scanned the faces of the audience, it was intense and some tried to hide their emotions. One video journalist commented that as there were so many views, opinions coming from different sources, he felt he didn't know what was true anymore. Thus he presented his footage raw, unedited, and in chronological order. The only request he made was to have the volume of the ambient sound turned up since there was no voice over. In his footage, the loud booming sound of home-made bombs going off, the shrill screams of one Thai when someone related to him died, the chaotic run for cover with the video recording still on, the sound of bullets piercing through the air permeated the entire room. But it was the footage of Italian photojournalist Fabio Polenghi being shot and pulled away by fellow journalists at the scene that was most unbearable to watch. The chaotic scene of Fabio being dragged off the street by journalists in midst of fire, at one time someone lost a grip of him and his head, helmet on, hit hard onto the ground, made us cringe even more. Incredibly he was put in a sitting position on a motorbike leaning against the rider and supported by another guy behind him. All 3 of them on a small motorbike, rushed to the hospital. It was reported Fabio died in hospital. We were watching someone from our occupation die as he was doing his job. I stole a glance at the panel which also comprised Japanese photographer Masaru Goto who was at the scene as well. There were no words to describe their expression.

Coverage of the crisis by these journalists had apparently taken its toll because when a question was posed to another video journalist on how he felt, he said something briefly before stopping, apologised and leaned back, emotionally drained, unable to go on.

Among the panel members were two freelancers, journalist Kenneth Todd Ruiz and Olivier Sarbil, a photojournalist. It was believed that they were the only ones who were in the tent with the infamous para-militaries, dubbed ''men in black'' by the media, as they prepared for war. The group allowed them inside their secret world with one condition: if they took any pictures, they would be killed.

Still pictures by Masaru Goto were awesome. Incredibly close, incredibly brave, incredibly dangerous. He explained the picture of Major General Khattiya Sawasdipol, also known as 'Seh Daeng' after he was shot by a sniper at Lumpini Park. He said when it happened, he thought Seh Daeng had just fainted, since no gun shots were heard at all. Then on auto mode, he pressed his camera shutter. Only a few seconds later, people, including himself realised what had really happened. On another picture of a volunteer fire fighter who was shot in the head as he was trying to help a demonstrator, Masaru commented although they were all a few centimeters away from him, no one could help as guns were going off in their direction, preventing anyone from doing anything. Although he did not mention this, I later discovered that Masaru was photographed by an AP photographer helping an injured protestor. In a brief apperance on a video shot by another video journalist, I believe I saw Masaru helping to carry Fabio, took some shots before helping again. It was a telling moment to all that photojournalists, even in times of danger, will help someone in need first before photographing.

As we moved to the Q and A, it was clear there would be no clear answers even in the room filled with journalists.

Questions such as these were fired all around:

a) Who were the black shirts? Were they really different from the red shirts?

b) Were the red shirts not armed at all?

c) How many "Men in black" were there?

d) Were the media biased?

e) Who saw armed black shirts with their own eyes?

f) Who saw armed red shirts with their own eyes?

d) What is next for Thailand?

There were different accounts of who the red and black shirts are, whether they were armed or not, as different journalists were at different places. It even prompted someone to ask, what difference does that make anymore?

The session ended with more questions than answers for me. Of cos, I didn't expect answers at all in the first place as there are so many layers beneath this crisis. It's more important for Thailand to have the answers and recover fast as it is a country with a rich culture and friendly people. I proceeded to look at the photos shot during the crisis on the wall in the room. At the entrance , there were two pictures. One of Japanese video journalist, the other Italian photojournalist Fabio, both whom died during their coverage of the crisis. As I took a picture, someone behind me, apparently having a conversation with another, said Fabio was cremeted in a Bangkok temple. "Oh when was that?". "MAy 24th" came the answer, the date of my birthday.

I walked out with a slight chill in my bones. Maybe it was the airconditioning, I told myself. The walk to the BTS was eeriely quiet. On the platform i came across familar faces who were also at the talk. None spoke even though they were in a group. The journey back to the hotel in the train was unusually quiet too. I expected to see the familar MTV they keep playing on the trains, a 'national song' recorded by Thai artistes of the recovery from the crisis but it was not played. In my mind the images and sound of the crisis shown on video earlier kept playing in my mind, the shrill scream of the protestor, the pool of blood left by Italian photojournalist Fabio. In a way, I am glad that wifey did not attend the talk at FCCT.

In the meantime, yours truly was engaged in a rather trivial (when compared to the FCCT talk) activity of having a last treat of local durians. I'd only had it once at the start of the trip, and it was fitting that I should end the trip with it too. I bought two different kinds this time. The Kanyao (which I've never heard of) and the Monthong. The Kanyao is smaller in size and more expensive, but the woman at the supermarket told me that the Kanyao is "Thailand no. 1 durian" and the Monthong is no. 2. How not to try it after she said that?
Four seeds of Kanyao cost 200B and the seeds are bigger than the Monthong with less meat.
They also have a deeper yellow colour and generally tastes sweeter than the Monthong.
Having now tried both, I think I still prefer the Monthong. It's creamier, has more meat and is generally more satisfying to my taste bud. Now I'm longing for another one....

BANGKOK - DAY 9

Today was a pretty quiet and lazy day. We started off at lunchtime as usual, with a trip to Soi Lalaisap, a must-visit on every trip to BKK, introduced by my friend Sue. The name of the soi in English means 'money-disappearing lane'. Like Chatuchak, it's highly likely that you'll leave the place with a lighter pocket. This is a local market that's popular with locals and is especially crowded during lunchtime. I don't believe I saw a single Caucasian when we were there. One can have a cheap, delicious meal at any eatery if one can find a seat. The stuff is cheap, especially baby and kids' clothes, about a dollar a piece. I left the place with a bagful of clothes for Meg and my friends' kids, thoroughly satisfied! Be prepared to sweat it out though, it's hard work going through a binful of clothes in the sweltering heat!
Too tired after Lalaisap, we went back to the hotel room to rest and freshen up, and then headed down to our favourite Siam area for dinner. We purchased a BTS pass so that we wouldn't have to buy tix everytime we rode the BTS. There was a special promotion at the time, 25 trips for a flat fee of 22B per trip. We didn't eventually use up all of it with about 8 trips left.
I don't know what it is about Vanilla Industry but we ended up there again for dinner, the branch at Siam Square. The food is good, the cafe inviting and they've got lovely cakes and sweets on the ground floor bakery. MJ wanted to go for a patisserie making class up on the third floor, but the procrastinator didn't get round to it.
The prawn bisque soup is heavenly...all three of us were dipping our spoons into it furiously!
The calamari was good, but not special...
The tea is served on a small cute tray, complete with a cookie which Meg never fails to have at the end.
It comes in many flavours...MJ picked 'Black Vanilla'.
Their crepes are very good. We had two, bacon and egg and ham and mushroom, both came with a complimentary banana and nutella crepe each!
We were stuffed at the end of the meal!
One pretty soi at Siam Square decorated with tree lights.
At first we thought it was just Christmas lights strewn around the tree, but upon a closer look, we saw that the entire tree was fake and the leaves were actually lights which changed colour every few seconds.
After dinner, MJ went for a massage opposite Novotel while Meg and I went back to the hotel room to start packing.

BANGKOK - DAY 8

We visited the Bangkok Sculpture Center located in the outskirts of Bangkok. It's quite a distance away and not a very popular place even among the locals and the cab driver had difficulty finding it. The journey was more than half hour and the distance more than 20km from the city centre. Still, the place is worth visiting at least once, just to appreciate its architecture and collection, which we weren't allowed to photograph and had to be accompanied to view as the doors were all controlled and one needed a security pass to get in and out.
The outdoor sculpture garden was nice and we hung around a bit to photograph it while the guide who brought us around waited patiently by the side.
The serene sculpture garden.
Behind the beige wall at the far end of the pix is where the main sculpture collection is housed and the layout of the exhibition area is rather unique. The owner of this place also manages an event company dealing with lights and sound systems and while the sculpture pieces are on a mezzanine level, it overlooks the warehouse area where the lights and sound systems are stored. Workers were busy moving stuff around beneath us. We could see them as it's designed as an open concept. Rather strange and unique way of housing a sculpture collection!
Some pieces located on the ground floor garden.
Others located outside the glass lift core.
Meg being playful.
We headed to another place which is in the same vacinity but not exactly nearby...a huge warehouse which stores old retro furniture and stuff. This place, called 'Papaya' is one mindblowing sight. I've never seen so much old and funky stuff in one place before. Singapore's version of something like this, 'Lorgan's' is nowhere close to this! It was quite a challenge finding the place, and our taxi driver was getting quite annoyed having to go round and round searching for this blasted fruit place. We finally found it and boy was it worth finding!
Everything retro you've ever seen or wanted can be found here. Most of the stuff doesn't work though, like clocks and telephones, and are only good to be used as props.
The owner of this place must've spent years scouring the world for all this stuff...
Really cool TVs! We wanted to buy that small circular clock on the top left of the pix but it's not working and was going for 6000B, about S$265!
We also wanted to get a 'candlestick' phone. It's solid and heavy, but isn't working anymore. It cost too much, the owner wanted 8000B for it, about S$350. We could've bargained but decided against it. Would've gotten it if it were around S$200 but I don't think he'd slash the price that much. Also, there's the problem of bringing it back with its weight and all.

Part of the furniture...
You've got to be there to really appreciate the amount of stuff that's on display. It's really a blast from the past! If only the stuff was more affordable...
After all that eye exercise, we decided to work on our mouths...and headed to the beautiful Vanilla Garden in Ekamai. We'd read about it in this book (which also featured Papaya). Vanilla Garden consists of 3 entities - Sauce, a modern bookshop carrying mainly cookbooks; Royal Vanilla which serves Chinese food and Dim Sum; and Vanilla Cafe, a cool cafe that serves delicious desserts and drinks. The entire place is modelled after a Japanese Garden and its concept is clean, green and zen-like.
Seating area is available along the window walls of Sauce, with a fountain as a centrepiece of the garden.
The second level of Sauce.
Cherry Lemonade and White Malt Cake.
A lovely way to end the day...

BANGKOK - DAY 7

This is what Bangkok is to us...its unique way of life, the less touristy bits, real heartland type of activities that people like us don't see unless we go looking for it...Old Bangkok. We started off the day with a boat ride with the locals along the Chao Phraya river. I'd read up on the best way to ride up the river and one of the cheapest and scenic way was to take the Chao Praya River Express Boat with the orange flag. This only costs between 14 and 20 Baht per person and it was free for Meg. The advice is not to travel on these during peak periods as it's extremely crowded with standing room only, if one's lucky. We thoroughly enjoyed our short boat ride and will probably do it again the next time we come back.
Our destination for the afternoon: Tha Tien pier, a place where dried seafood is sold. The fishy smells permeated the air as we got off, and the pier, although a little run down, was filled with shops selling tourist souvenirs. The area still has an old-world charm feel to it, and this pier is directly opposite Wat Arun across the river and is also the stop for the Grand Palace and Wat Pho which are just a stone's throw away.
This is a typical scene one would encounter in Vietnam or Cambodia...and Bangkok.
The small area adjoining the pier which has a few wholesale dried seafood shops.

The beautiful spires of Wat Pho. We didn't go inside as we were inappropriately dressed. In our numerous visits to Bangkok, we've yet to visit a temple. I've always wanted to go to the Grand Palace but one has to be dressed in long pants, collared shirt and covered shoes to go inside. In this heat, the thought of wearing all that is a little off-putting but we'll strive to do that next time.
We walked south along Maharat Road which is parallel to the river to visit a bookstore called River Books Shop. We'd read about it in a book but the shop doesn't carry that many titles and is not really worth a visit in itself but the journey along the way was quite an experience. We stopped by a riverside cafe next to this very nice looking boutique hotel called Aurum. What better way than to relax by the river on a balmy late afternoon, cheap drinks in one hand, camera in the other...
On our way out of the riverside cafe soi, we came across a group of school kids having a meal. MJ went up to them to chat, and found that most students their age can speak English. The ones in lower Primary, however, don't really speak it. Perhaps they learn it when they're older. Love the colours in this pix!
Ahhhh..one of the highlights of the day...FOOD! We came across a streetside vendor making fresh Thai-styled pancakes, known as "Khanom Buang" outside a school that was about to end for the day. She made mini ones at only 1baht each! We ordered 10 at first, but after popping just one into our mouths, went back to get another 20 pieces! They're super delicious!
It was mesmerizing to see how the lady expertly made these snacks and how she knew just when to take them off the hot plate and to fold them with a flick of the fingers.
Adapted from the internet: Khanom Buang starts with a simple batter made from wheat flour, rice flour, mungbean flour, eggs, salt, palm sugar and water. The batter is carefully spread on the hot electric stainless grill, then as it's cooking various toppings are added. Toppings include dried coconut, fried coconut, raisins, foi tong (a Thai sweet dessert), minced shrimp, cilantro, sesame seeds, and our favorite--a basic white cream made of egg whites, palm sugar, and a few drops of lime juice. We love the sweet ones with the yellow dried coconut with the white cream. Heavenly!
School lets out at 5pm and it's a typical scene all over the world, where parents clog up the entrance at the gate and cars jam up the road in front of it. What's different here is that the street to the left and right of the gate is lined with vendors selling cheap snacks and knick-knacks for the kids. Business is brisk as it's not just the kids who patronize these vendors, but their parents and guardians as well!
We walked on and arrived at Pak Klong Talat, the biggest flower and vegetable market in the city. Basked in evening light, both MJ and I went crazy shooting shadows and activity against the golden light while poor Meg observed but not without some impatience, pleading with us every so often to go back to the hotel. I managed to bargain with her to allow us to stay until the sun set in return for a tuk tuk ride, one of her favourite activities in Bangkok.

The amount of flowers being transported is amazing. One can just stand at the side of the busy road to observe for hours, workers pushing and pulling their carts up, down and across the road. We had to make an effort not to get into people's way!
The scene was overwhelming...something was happening at every corner of eyes that we didn't know where to look. The light was brilliant and we were frantically making shots so we wouldn't waste the rare opportunity of capturing nice long shadows amidst a bustling scene.
Still, we stayed on the main road and didn't venture deeper into the little lanes and inside the markets itself. There was already so much to see outside. The evening light disappeared all too quickly but left us photographically satisfied.
This is the real Bangkok that tourists like us don't often see, especially if one comes to Bangkok just to shop and eat. It is, however, quite difficult to indulge in photographing a place full of visual potential like this with a child in tow. But Meg has been pretty good about it so far and we can't expect more from her.
The tuk tuk ride we promised Meg we'd take.
We managed to squeeze in a short quick visit to Khaosan Road, or the backpackers' area since MJ has never been there before. It wasn't that bustling on this Monday evening and we walked the short stretch in less than half an hour, avoiding the numerous street touts selling wooden croaking frogs, fake student IDs, streetside Pad Thai, Tshirts, cigarette lighters etc. The place is teeming with Caucasians who simply love to sit by the pedestrianized road, people watching as they guzzle their beers. To us, it's yet another tourist trap and we were just there to 'take a look'.
Khao San at dusk.