Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008--Bangkok (Continued)
Returned to my room and washed a couple of shirts and my shorts. Then I just relaxed inside the rest of the afternoon. Went to the area Night Market in the evening and ate fried rice with chicken for dinner.
Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008--Bangkok to Delhi
I had my last breakfast at the hotel today. I will miss them, but I imagine I have been gaining some weight while staying here and eating so much each morning.
I also finished reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I had picked it up at my guest house in Mae Sariang and had been reading it slowly. It was quite interesting, since I have seen 2-3 of the movies but have never read the original source. As with so many stories, there was more to the book than has been in most of the movies. I gave the book 3 stars out of 4.
My experiment works. The bus stops at a number of bus stops on the way to the airport, including one near the MRT Subway Station at Asoke and Rama IX. It will make it easier to get to the airport in the future if I stay in the same area where I have been staying.
My plane arrived in Delhi about 30 minutes early. It was only about 60% full, so I had plenty of room to relax. I am staying with my friend Anil whom I've known a little over a year. He came to the airport to pick me up, but he wasn't there when I was ready to exit. I was surprised to find that there were three exits for passengers, so I needed to call Anil and make arrangements to meet at one of them. He has only lived in Delhi a few months, so he didn't know the international terminal and how it is arranged. Nikhil, a manager for Oberi Hotels was in the lobby and helped me. About 15 mintues later, Anil arrived where we had arranged. I saw him before he saw me. Soon his driver came around with the car and we headed out of the airport.
Anil has a nice apartment in southern New Delhi. It's in a gated compound and has high ceilings, terrazo flooring, two bedrooms, two baths, etc. We ate a snack and visited for a while. But he was tired from a long day of work (as a sales representative for an international power broker) and I was tired from my flight and the change in time zones.
Friday, Aug. 8, 2008--Delhi
Anil had to work today. But he did some work via computer from the apartment for the first part of the morning. His maid came and prepared lunch. He left about 10:30 and told me to have lunch later and then put the leftovers in the refrigerator. It was delicious--beans, rice, and a spicy vegetable.
I remained in the apartment much of the day. It is the monsoon season here, so there were rains. The TV reported some heavy flooding in the downtown area. Out here, there are some big puddles along the sides of the streets, but the rain hasn't been that heavy. I am now across the street at a cyber cafe. It's more expensive than I am used to using, so I will have to find another one before I post again.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
ATW IX Starts Tomorrow
Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008--Bangkok
Today is my last full day in Bangkok. I went to the main shopping area hoping to see a film. One that I wanted to see is not showing. Another that would have been acceptable wasn't scheduled until 14:30. I went to the IMAX to consider seeing The Dark Knight, and it had just started at 11:00 (and it was then 11:15). So I gave up and left the area. I will just relax today. I'll probably return to my hotel this afternoon and go up to the pool to read and occasionally cool off in the water.
I dreamed about Arne last night. Because he was on my mind, I was thinking about him at breakfast today. He would have truly loved having breakfast at my hotel. They have whole grain breads, brown bread, butter, jams, fruits, yogurts, Asian dishes, French toast, eggs of various kinds, ham, bacon, sausages, etc. Even the coffee would be dark enough to please him, I think.
I won't connect to the Internet tomorrow. I will stay at the hotel until noon when I will check out. Then I will head to the airport. I think I will experiment to see if I can take the subway to a stop where the airport bus passes and see if I can get it to pick me up there by the subway stop. I know it has stopped to pick up passengers before when I have taken it from Victory Circle to the Airport. My flight isn't until 17:45, so if the bus doesn't stop for me, I can still take a bus to Victory Circle and switch to the airport bus with plenty of time for getting to my flight. By the way, the bus let me off at the subway stop coming INTO town from the airport, so that is another reason why I think I could get it to stop for me on the way out.
Today is my last full day in Bangkok. I went to the main shopping area hoping to see a film. One that I wanted to see is not showing. Another that would have been acceptable wasn't scheduled until 14:30. I went to the IMAX to consider seeing The Dark Knight, and it had just started at 11:00 (and it was then 11:15). So I gave up and left the area. I will just relax today. I'll probably return to my hotel this afternoon and go up to the pool to read and occasionally cool off in the water.
I dreamed about Arne last night. Because he was on my mind, I was thinking about him at breakfast today. He would have truly loved having breakfast at my hotel. They have whole grain breads, brown bread, butter, jams, fruits, yogurts, Asian dishes, French toast, eggs of various kinds, ham, bacon, sausages, etc. Even the coffee would be dark enough to please him, I think.
I won't connect to the Internet tomorrow. I will stay at the hotel until noon when I will check out. Then I will head to the airport. I think I will experiment to see if I can take the subway to a stop where the airport bus passes and see if I can get it to pick me up there by the subway stop. I know it has stopped to pick up passengers before when I have taken it from Victory Circle to the Airport. My flight isn't until 17:45, so if the bus doesn't stop for me, I can still take a bus to Victory Circle and switch to the airport bus with plenty of time for getting to my flight. By the way, the bus let me off at the subway stop coming INTO town from the airport, so that is another reason why I think I could get it to stop for me on the way out.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Final Days in Bangkok
Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008--Bangkok (Continued)
After posting in the morning, I took the bus out to the weekend market. It's a popular place for tourists, and I usually go out there for a while each time I am here. It's a good place to watch people. As usual, it was HOT there. I wandered the stalls for a while, but I wasn't really shopping. The most fun was going through the pets area where I could see (and touch) the dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, etc. It wasn't just me who was interested in them. That area consistantly has people stopping at the stalls to look and interact.
The bus back to town was slow as usual. It goes through the major shopping district of Bangkok, and traffic is so heavy going there on Sunday afternoon that it always stalls. Bangkok is known for its traffic jams anyway, and my return trip took about 2 hours vs. the 30-45 minutes it took to go out to the market along the same route in the morning.
I went to the Silom Sauna which is in the neighborhood behind my hotel. It's the same sauna I visited last year and is much better than the one I visited a couple of days ago. It has a bigger pool, more seating area, more personalized service, a wider range of ages among its clientelle, etc. I stayed for over three hours.
On the way home, I stopped at a street stall and had some HOT noodle soup. I didn't realize it was already so spicy, so I added some crushed red pepper. Wow! My nose was running and my eyes watering by the time I finished it.
Monday, Aug. 4, 2008--Bangkok
Turkish Airlines has an add on TV now that shows them rolling out a red carpet for individual customers. Well, I didn't find the red carpet when I went to their office today. I wanted to get a seat for my flight from Mumbai to Istanbul on Aug. 18, but I found out that they do not allow seat assignments until one week before a flight. Also, they do not offer economy extra or plus for customers who buy full-fare tickets and/or are classified as elite in the frequent flyer programs of the Star Alliance.
I also went to the offices of Lufthansa and Swiss. I got my seats with Swiss. But Lufthansa classifies its flight from Georgia to Munich as a European flight (even though Georgia is north of the Middle East and the flight is several hours long). Therefore, they would not let me reserve a seat. (Like most European airlines, they do not allow economy seats to be reserved in advance for non-international flights.)
While in the area, I went to the RCA Cinema, an additional complex that has foreign films. I seldom go there, because it is rather far away from where I usually am. Anyway, I saw the film A Year without Love. I had read the book, so I remembered much of the story.
I returned to the restaurant where I had such a good meal two days ago for my dinner. This time, I had a similar dish to what I had before, but it was with pork instead of with chicken.
Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008--Bangkok
I returned to the north side of Bangkok today to find the Center for the Blind. Sure enough, it was where I expected it to be. I had to go a bit out of my way getting there due to bad directions, but when I reached it, it was very near to where I had already decided it should be on the map.
The massages there are a bargain--120 baht for the fan room and 160 baht for the a/c room. That's for a 1 1/2 hour Thai massage--a massage that is mostly built on pressure points. The man who gave me mine was excellent. He paid close attention to what he was doing and was firm, but tender enough not to hurt. Because it is so far north of town, the trip took 6 hours including the massage.
I got off the boat at River Center Mall, the mall that specializes in Asian antiques here in Bangkok. It is just down the street from my former hotel and from where I like to use the Internet. Now that I am finished with the computer, I will eat in the neighborhood before heading back to my hotel for the night.
Tomorrow is my last full day in Bangkok. I've stayed very busy here this time, often being gone from my hotel whole days at a time. Tomorrow, I will return to the main shopping area to see one last film if all goes well.
After posting in the morning, I took the bus out to the weekend market. It's a popular place for tourists, and I usually go out there for a while each time I am here. It's a good place to watch people. As usual, it was HOT there. I wandered the stalls for a while, but I wasn't really shopping. The most fun was going through the pets area where I could see (and touch) the dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, etc. It wasn't just me who was interested in them. That area consistantly has people stopping at the stalls to look and interact.
The bus back to town was slow as usual. It goes through the major shopping district of Bangkok, and traffic is so heavy going there on Sunday afternoon that it always stalls. Bangkok is known for its traffic jams anyway, and my return trip took about 2 hours vs. the 30-45 minutes it took to go out to the market along the same route in the morning.
I went to the Silom Sauna which is in the neighborhood behind my hotel. It's the same sauna I visited last year and is much better than the one I visited a couple of days ago. It has a bigger pool, more seating area, more personalized service, a wider range of ages among its clientelle, etc. I stayed for over three hours.
On the way home, I stopped at a street stall and had some HOT noodle soup. I didn't realize it was already so spicy, so I added some crushed red pepper. Wow! My nose was running and my eyes watering by the time I finished it.
Monday, Aug. 4, 2008--Bangkok
Turkish Airlines has an add on TV now that shows them rolling out a red carpet for individual customers. Well, I didn't find the red carpet when I went to their office today. I wanted to get a seat for my flight from Mumbai to Istanbul on Aug. 18, but I found out that they do not allow seat assignments until one week before a flight. Also, they do not offer economy extra or plus for customers who buy full-fare tickets and/or are classified as elite in the frequent flyer programs of the Star Alliance.
I also went to the offices of Lufthansa and Swiss. I got my seats with Swiss. But Lufthansa classifies its flight from Georgia to Munich as a European flight (even though Georgia is north of the Middle East and the flight is several hours long). Therefore, they would not let me reserve a seat. (Like most European airlines, they do not allow economy seats to be reserved in advance for non-international flights.)
While in the area, I went to the RCA Cinema, an additional complex that has foreign films. I seldom go there, because it is rather far away from where I usually am. Anyway, I saw the film A Year without Love. I had read the book, so I remembered much of the story.
I returned to the restaurant where I had such a good meal two days ago for my dinner. This time, I had a similar dish to what I had before, but it was with pork instead of with chicken.
Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008--Bangkok
I returned to the north side of Bangkok today to find the Center for the Blind. Sure enough, it was where I expected it to be. I had to go a bit out of my way getting there due to bad directions, but when I reached it, it was very near to where I had already decided it should be on the map.
The massages there are a bargain--120 baht for the fan room and 160 baht for the a/c room. That's for a 1 1/2 hour Thai massage--a massage that is mostly built on pressure points. The man who gave me mine was excellent. He paid close attention to what he was doing and was firm, but tender enough not to hurt. Because it is so far north of town, the trip took 6 hours including the massage.
I got off the boat at River Center Mall, the mall that specializes in Asian antiques here in Bangkok. It is just down the street from my former hotel and from where I like to use the Internet. Now that I am finished with the computer, I will eat in the neighborhood before heading back to my hotel for the night.
Tomorrow is my last full day in Bangkok. I've stayed very busy here this time, often being gone from my hotel whole days at a time. Tomorrow, I will return to the main shopping area to see one last film if all goes well.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Exploring Unknown Parts of Bangkok
Friday, Aug. 1, 2008--Bangkok (Continued)
When I returned to my hotel, I went to the Sathorn Sauna. I have never been to it before, although I had noticed their building as I had passed it when it was on Rama IV Blvd. That is now the site of a multi-level office building, and the sauna has moved to a neighborhood behind my hotel in an old home. It was okay, but I did not like it as well as the nearby Silom Sauna which I visited last year due to limited space and facilities. The Silom has a bigger pool, more seating area for resting between bouts in the sauna, and also gets a more varied clientel--a mixture of ages including families, whereas the Sathorn gets mostly men in their 40s and 50s.
Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008--Bangkok
Yesterday morning at breakfast, I could not find the chile sauce to have with my omelette and potatoes. As I asked for it, a nearby man of Chinese descent overhead and pointed it out to me. Then last night as I returned to the hotel to pick up my key, he was at the front of the hotel himself making arrangements for leaving today. He recognized me and said hello. Well, this morning, he came for breakfast while I was there and joined me. His name is Kee and he is an IT specialist with a company from Malaysia that services banking operations. He has been here on business.
As we visited, I learned that his flight wasn't until the end of the day. As he asked me about my visits to Bangkok, he was interested in information about the sauna and about the blind massage parlour I plan to try to find this time that is in the far northern part of Bangkok. By the time breakfast was over, we had made plans to go together to try to find the massage parlour today.
We took a bus to the riverfront where we caught an express boat to its last stop--Nontaburi. Then we caught a 32 bus to take us to the area of the sauna. All we knew was that it was on a side street to this major street. Unfortunately, it is such a long street that it has side streets with similar names within different sections of northern Bangkok. We got off the bus too soon, I think, and were searching on the street with the right name but in the wrong neighborhood. Kee's time was running out, so we had to reverse ourselves and get him back to the hotel to catch a taxi to the hotel. But I promised him I will go back out to the area and find the massage parlour one day this week and will send him directions, since he comes to Bangkok often on business. I think I have a better idea where to look now.
It was fun spending the day with Kee. He's a nice young man (33 y.o.). Since I will be going through Kuala Lumpur where he lives next year, I will probably stop now. I had planned just to transit through there. But Kee told me there are foreign films with English subtitles there. And it would be nice to see him and explore his city with him for a day or two. Maybe we can find a blind massage parlour there in KL!!
I went to the night market across the street from my hotel to try to find a place to eat. I didn't really see anything I wanted, however. It is much like the Weekend Market--a huge development with lots of stalls selling just about anything anyone could imagine. But the number of food stalls was limited. Most people going there seem to eat in restaurants. I didn't want to pay the price for that, and I didn't want to occupy a table by myself on a Saturday night when others would be wanting tables.
I returned to the area behind my hotel and searched. I found a small food stall with tables there where a woman was preparing a dish that looked fantastic. I ordered the same. It was stir-fried egg noodles with fresh tomatoes and onions, fried egg, and chicken. It was so tasty and delicious!!!
When I returned to my hotel, I went to the Sathorn Sauna. I have never been to it before, although I had noticed their building as I had passed it when it was on Rama IV Blvd. That is now the site of a multi-level office building, and the sauna has moved to a neighborhood behind my hotel in an old home. It was okay, but I did not like it as well as the nearby Silom Sauna which I visited last year due to limited space and facilities. The Silom has a bigger pool, more seating area for resting between bouts in the sauna, and also gets a more varied clientel--a mixture of ages including families, whereas the Sathorn gets mostly men in their 40s and 50s.
Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008--Bangkok
Yesterday morning at breakfast, I could not find the chile sauce to have with my omelette and potatoes. As I asked for it, a nearby man of Chinese descent overhead and pointed it out to me. Then last night as I returned to the hotel to pick up my key, he was at the front of the hotel himself making arrangements for leaving today. He recognized me and said hello. Well, this morning, he came for breakfast while I was there and joined me. His name is Kee and he is an IT specialist with a company from Malaysia that services banking operations. He has been here on business.
As we visited, I learned that his flight wasn't until the end of the day. As he asked me about my visits to Bangkok, he was interested in information about the sauna and about the blind massage parlour I plan to try to find this time that is in the far northern part of Bangkok. By the time breakfast was over, we had made plans to go together to try to find the massage parlour today.
We took a bus to the riverfront where we caught an express boat to its last stop--Nontaburi. Then we caught a 32 bus to take us to the area of the sauna. All we knew was that it was on a side street to this major street. Unfortunately, it is such a long street that it has side streets with similar names within different sections of northern Bangkok. We got off the bus too soon, I think, and were searching on the street with the right name but in the wrong neighborhood. Kee's time was running out, so we had to reverse ourselves and get him back to the hotel to catch a taxi to the hotel. But I promised him I will go back out to the area and find the massage parlour one day this week and will send him directions, since he comes to Bangkok often on business. I think I have a better idea where to look now.
It was fun spending the day with Kee. He's a nice young man (33 y.o.). Since I will be going through Kuala Lumpur where he lives next year, I will probably stop now. I had planned just to transit through there. But Kee told me there are foreign films with English subtitles there. And it would be nice to see him and explore his city with him for a day or two. Maybe we can find a blind massage parlour there in KL!!
I went to the night market across the street from my hotel to try to find a place to eat. I didn't really see anything I wanted, however. It is much like the Weekend Market--a huge development with lots of stalls selling just about anything anyone could imagine. But the number of food stalls was limited. Most people going there seem to eat in restaurants. I didn't want to pay the price for that, and I didn't want to occupy a table by myself on a Saturday night when others would be wanting tables.
I returned to the area behind my hotel and searched. I found a small food stall with tables there where a woman was preparing a dish that looked fantastic. I ordered the same. It was stir-fried egg noodles with fresh tomatoes and onions, fried egg, and chicken. It was so tasty and delicious!!!
Friday, August 01, 2008
Changes in Bangkok
Thursday, July 31, 2008--Bangkok (Continued)
After being on the Internet, I decided to eat at the street stalls near here where I have often eaten on my previous trips. I picked out one that seemed to look good and had noodle soup with slices of red pork. It was delicious.
I was tired from a long day. I stopped at the supermarket and bought a few items for the room, and then returned for the night. Did you know that Oreos are now being made with a peanut butter filling? I tried them, but they still needed a bit more of a peanut taste, I thought.
I have a new item to put on my packing list when traveling: a strong light bulb. So many rooms, especially in Asia, have limited lighting. Where they do have lights, they are low-wattage florescent ones. Here, the florescent bulbs are made with U-shaped tubes, and the typical hotel buys the ones with only two tubes. That's probably the equivalent of 35-40 watts for an incandescent bulb. I want to pack myself a bulb with 3-4 tubes so I can put it in place of theirs when I want to read or see well for grooming.
Friday, Aug. 1, 2008--Bangkok
I awoke wondering if the breakfast at my new hotel would be as good as the one I have enjoyed at the Mandarin for the past few years. Going to breakfast there each morning has been a special treat. Well, the Pinnacle has just as good a breakfast. In fact, it is better in some respects. It is a buffet, and I followed my usual routine. I started with a plate of non-sweets--omelette, cheese, grilled tomato, ham, chicken sausage, mixed Asian vegies, fried potato chunks, and chile sauce. Then I had a plate of French toast with bacon. (The bacon was tough and not as tasty as at the Mandarin, unfortunately.) Then I had a plate of fresh fruits (watermelon, papaya, and pineapple) and pastries (cinnamon pastry and cheese pastry). I drank pineapple juice and coffee. UMMMM!
On my way to the dentist this morning, I passed the United Airlines office, so I got my seat assignments for my 3 flights with them on the new ticket. While here, I also need to go to the Turkish Airlines and the Lufthansa Airlines offices to get seat assignments.
Although I had an e-mail confirming an appointment, it somehow didn't get on the books at my dentist office. They were fully booked for the time I expected, too. But they have a second office just 3 blocks away, and there was an available dentist there. I was surprised when the dentist found four cavaties. I haven't had but one cavaty in the last 35 years or so. The only fillings I have been getting are along the tops of the teeth where I've had receding gums due to aging. Anyway, 3 of the four were apparently very small and the other was a bit bigger. He drilled and filled all four of them in less than 20 minutes. Then he cleaned my teeth. I was out of there in about 45 minutes total. The cost this time was a little over 4000 Baht--about $120 U.S. for inspection, cleaning, and filling 4 cavaties.
I knew that the foreign films normally begin at noon here, and it was 11:50 when I left the dentist's office. I rushed to the local theater nearby and got a ticket for the noon showing of Red Cliff, a John Woo film. I didn't realize it at the time, but it was only half a film. It ends with the words, "To Be Continued." So there will be another film coming out showing the great battle that is about to happen when the film ends. It was interesting. I enjoyed the story. I had trouble at times telling the characters apart, since they all wore similar armor and had similar facial features. I hope I will remember to see Part II when it is released.
Unfortunately, there aren't many choices in foreign films right now. There are too many American big-budget films showing. I had hoped to see 3-4 films as I usually do. I will be lucky to see more than two this year.
It's fun to see the changes when I return to Bangkok each year. Finally, a two-tower construction project I have been watching for years has been finished. It actually began about 10 years ago, I guess, but it was a victum of the economic bust in Asia that occurred back then. The towers stood as a skeleton for years. Then construction began again maybe 4 years ago. They are just now opening. One is an office tower, the other is a condo tower, and between the two is a food court/shopping area. Only a few establishments are open in that lower area, but there is much work to open more in the near future. It's just good to see the metal fences removed and the huge area coming to life.
Another fascinating change is with the shopping mall called Siam Center. It was built years ago as a mall with exclusive boutiques by major designers. But then two more malls were built on either side of it and stole those retailers from them. Last year, Siam Center was undergoing remodeling while staying open. Well, this year it is a totally different mall. It is being called the Siam Center for Fun and Fashion, and every store in it is for the trendy young crowd. The only designer names or major retailers there are the ones that cater to the young--Esprit, Swatch, etc. Most of the stores are names that are unknown. And all of them have unique and exciting options for the truly young--high school and college crowds for the most part.
I stopped at the university to go through their gallery as usual. There was nothing of interest to me this year. One of the smaller galleries that usually has some good exhibits isn't open right now. Maybe a show will open in the next week while I am still here. In the meantime, I also went to the floor in Paragon Center that has the contemporary furniture stores to see whether they had anything of interest. I did see a nice dining table, but not necessarily one I would want. It was fun to look, however.
After being on the Internet, I decided to eat at the street stalls near here where I have often eaten on my previous trips. I picked out one that seemed to look good and had noodle soup with slices of red pork. It was delicious.
I was tired from a long day. I stopped at the supermarket and bought a few items for the room, and then returned for the night. Did you know that Oreos are now being made with a peanut butter filling? I tried them, but they still needed a bit more of a peanut taste, I thought.
I have a new item to put on my packing list when traveling: a strong light bulb. So many rooms, especially in Asia, have limited lighting. Where they do have lights, they are low-wattage florescent ones. Here, the florescent bulbs are made with U-shaped tubes, and the typical hotel buys the ones with only two tubes. That's probably the equivalent of 35-40 watts for an incandescent bulb. I want to pack myself a bulb with 3-4 tubes so I can put it in place of theirs when I want to read or see well for grooming.
Friday, Aug. 1, 2008--Bangkok
I awoke wondering if the breakfast at my new hotel would be as good as the one I have enjoyed at the Mandarin for the past few years. Going to breakfast there each morning has been a special treat. Well, the Pinnacle has just as good a breakfast. In fact, it is better in some respects. It is a buffet, and I followed my usual routine. I started with a plate of non-sweets--omelette, cheese, grilled tomato, ham, chicken sausage, mixed Asian vegies, fried potato chunks, and chile sauce. Then I had a plate of French toast with bacon. (The bacon was tough and not as tasty as at the Mandarin, unfortunately.) Then I had a plate of fresh fruits (watermelon, papaya, and pineapple) and pastries (cinnamon pastry and cheese pastry). I drank pineapple juice and coffee. UMMMM!
On my way to the dentist this morning, I passed the United Airlines office, so I got my seat assignments for my 3 flights with them on the new ticket. While here, I also need to go to the Turkish Airlines and the Lufthansa Airlines offices to get seat assignments.
Although I had an e-mail confirming an appointment, it somehow didn't get on the books at my dentist office. They were fully booked for the time I expected, too. But they have a second office just 3 blocks away, and there was an available dentist there. I was surprised when the dentist found four cavaties. I haven't had but one cavaty in the last 35 years or so. The only fillings I have been getting are along the tops of the teeth where I've had receding gums due to aging. Anyway, 3 of the four were apparently very small and the other was a bit bigger. He drilled and filled all four of them in less than 20 minutes. Then he cleaned my teeth. I was out of there in about 45 minutes total. The cost this time was a little over 4000 Baht--about $120 U.S. for inspection, cleaning, and filling 4 cavaties.
I knew that the foreign films normally begin at noon here, and it was 11:50 when I left the dentist's office. I rushed to the local theater nearby and got a ticket for the noon showing of Red Cliff, a John Woo film. I didn't realize it at the time, but it was only half a film. It ends with the words, "To Be Continued." So there will be another film coming out showing the great battle that is about to happen when the film ends. It was interesting. I enjoyed the story. I had trouble at times telling the characters apart, since they all wore similar armor and had similar facial features. I hope I will remember to see Part II when it is released.
Unfortunately, there aren't many choices in foreign films right now. There are too many American big-budget films showing. I had hoped to see 3-4 films as I usually do. I will be lucky to see more than two this year.
It's fun to see the changes when I return to Bangkok each year. Finally, a two-tower construction project I have been watching for years has been finished. It actually began about 10 years ago, I guess, but it was a victum of the economic bust in Asia that occurred back then. The towers stood as a skeleton for years. Then construction began again maybe 4 years ago. They are just now opening. One is an office tower, the other is a condo tower, and between the two is a food court/shopping area. Only a few establishments are open in that lower area, but there is much work to open more in the near future. It's just good to see the metal fences removed and the huge area coming to life.
Another fascinating change is with the shopping mall called Siam Center. It was built years ago as a mall with exclusive boutiques by major designers. But then two more malls were built on either side of it and stole those retailers from them. Last year, Siam Center was undergoing remodeling while staying open. Well, this year it is a totally different mall. It is being called the Siam Center for Fun and Fashion, and every store in it is for the trendy young crowd. The only designer names or major retailers there are the ones that cater to the young--Esprit, Swatch, etc. Most of the stores are names that are unknown. And all of them have unique and exciting options for the truly young--high school and college crowds for the most part.
I stopped at the university to go through their gallery as usual. There was nothing of interest to me this year. One of the smaller galleries that usually has some good exhibits isn't open right now. Maybe a show will open in the next week while I am still here. In the meantime, I also went to the floor in Paragon Center that has the contemporary furniture stores to see whether they had anything of interest. I did see a nice dining table, but not necessarily one I would want. It was fun to look, however.
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