Go Rays, Go!

The word for the week is: Rays. That’s the Tampa Bay Rays, to be specific. This baseball team has become one of the most remarkable, and inprobable, success stories of the decade, going from the cellar to the penthouse almost overnight. In their first ten years of existence, the Rays (or Devil Rays, as they used to be known; a nickname that surely drove the local Christian community up the wall --- a shame they changed it!), the Rays finished dead last in their division nine times. They never came remotely close to even having a winning season; just an awful team run by an awful organization. But things started to change about two years ago: new ownership, a new manager, and an infusion of talented young players. It took a bit of time for these ingredients to gel, but this this year the Rays started off hot and stayed hot, defying the predictions by “experts” that they would wilt.

And to think they play in a park that is only about two hours down the highway from my old home in Orlando. A world series comes to Central Florida? Never thought that would happen in my lifetime. Hard to imagine what the atmosphere is going to be like in the I-4 corrider from Orlando to Tampa and St. Petersburg. If anything, it may cause the locals to stop thinking about football for a few more weeks. I hope the Rays --- devils or not --- can pull off an amazing series win.

While I’ll be cheering for the Rays, my enthusiasm doesn’t extend to my wallet. Yes, despite my fondness for the game of baseball, I’ve become very disenchanted with the current state of professional sports, particularly the outrageously high salaries that athletes now command. Compare the average salary of a baseball player (or even worse/higher, an NBA basketball player) to the average salary on an American worker; the discrepancy is huge. Of course, there has always been a big divide, but in recent years the gulf in salaries has only become bigger. I became so disgusted by this out-of-whack money thing that after attending the 1991 World Series (games 6 & 7 between the Braves and Twins in Minneapolis; two truly magical games), I went cold turkey and stopped paying to attend any more games -- the only exceptions being a handful of spring training exhibition games the following year. I was over it all: no more road trips to baseball games in Atlanta or points beyond (I went to games all over the country; from Fenway in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago, to now defunct places such as the Astrodome in Houston, Riverfront in Cincinnati, and Candlestick Park in San Francisco), and I stopped making trips to see the Orlando Magic play basketball at an arena only ten minutes from my house. It didn’t matter how “convenient” it was; I vowed that my money would no longer support such financial lunacy, even if I did still love the sport. Now that I live in Thailand, my separation from baseball has become even greater. When I first moved here, in 1996, there was virtually no coverage of baseball in the local papers. The only way I could keep track of stats and boxscores was by buying the internation edition of USA Today. But nowadays, with easy Internet access, I can check baseball and basketball results via online boxscores. But I don’t miss shelling out big bucks to see the games in person.

Back in the early 1990s, the average salary of an average player (as opposed to the the mega-contracts that the superstars get) was already over a million dollars per year. By 2007, the average salary for a major league baseball player was almost three million dollars ($2,824,751) per year! And these guys only “work” seven or eight months out of the year. Does anyone else see something wrong with this trend? But even with the current financial chaos rearing its ugly head, I’m not holding out much hope that spiraling salaries in pro sports will come back down to earth anytime soon.

04:45 AM PDT Permalink |

Up All Night

I didn’t get much sleep last night. The reason being: the new Michael Connelly novel is out and I stayed up late to read as much of it as I could before I gave in to sleep. I had heard that Connelly’s new book, The Brass Verdict, was being released this month, but nevertheless I was still surprised to see it on the shelves in a store in Bangkok already. I dropped by Kinokuniya after work on Saturday, ostensibly to look for a dictionary of English language idioms that a friend in Myanmar wanted. But of course I couldn’t walk into a bookshop without browsing the new releases, and I noticed that the new Jonathan Kellerman book, Bones (and yes, it’s part of the Alex Delaware series), was out. But the copy they had was a hardcover, priced around 900 baht, so I passed on it. Thinking that maybe the nearby Asia Books branch might have a cheaper paperback copy (quite often the Bangkok shops get those jumbo sized paperbacks from the UK at the same time as the hardcover US editions are published) I poked my head in there. And sure enough they did: copies of Bones were selling for 595 baht --- as was the new Michael Connelly book. I scooped up both of those jewels and sprinted to the cash register. For reading order, the Connelly book is priority. This one features not only the irrepressible Harry Bosch, but also Mickey Haller, the character featured in his The Lincoln Lawyer novel a few years back.

I also picked up a copy of the new Mojo music magazine while at Kinokuniya. Some of you might remember that I declined to buy the previous month’s issue because Queen, a band that I thoroughly detest, was on the cover. But this time I didn’t hesitate: the Joe Strummer and his Clash mates were on the cover, and the rest of the issue’s contents were of interest too. Plus, the free CD they included (this month a compilation of “protest” songs, including the likes of Bob Marley, Gil Scott-Heron, and Billy Bragg) looked good.

I finally got around to reading my first John Updike book this past week.Updike was one of those authors that people raved about but for one reason or another I never felt compelled to read one of his books. But when an old copy (and I mean old: this one was a paperback from 1968) of Rabbit, Run showed up in my bookshop recently, I decided to take a crack at it. After finishing the novel I must concur with the critics: Updike is an enormously talented writer. What I found most interesting, apart from Updike’s rich prose, is that a novel as “scandalous” as this was written and published back in 1960. Nothing terribly wicked by today’s standards --- some adultery, sexual scenes, religious doubt, a bit of profanity --- but I’m guessing that books like this created quite a stink amongst the conservative masses back in those days. The next entry on my “Why haven’t I read a book by this author before?” list: Phillip Roth.

05:28 AM PDT Permalink |

Korean Basketball Songs

Myriam Grest of Myanmar Travel Ltd. is a travelling woman, to say the least. Now based in Bangkok, but still operating her travel agency in Yangon, she is busy travelling around Asia, searching for more fascinating and out of the ordinary travel experiences for her clients. Recently she returned from her very first trip to North Korea. She reports that the country was “very beautiful” and well worth exploring. Meanwhile, the efficient crew at Myriam’s travel agency in Yangon have secured a “Visa on Arrival” for me. Along with a friend from the US, I’ll be taking another trip to Myanmar next month.

Fellow Things Asian blogger Janet Brown (“Asia by the Book”) has just moved back to Bangkok after a seven year absence. I finally got to meet her in person when she dropped by my bookshop on Saturday afteroon. Her visit also seemed to have brought good luck: Saturday turned out to be an insanely busy day, easily our best sales day in over two months. Janet’s first book, Tone Deaf in Thailand, will be published by Things Asian Press early next year. Welcome back to the Big Mango, Janet!

Most Thai public schools are taking a mid-semester break this month, as witnessed by the scads of youngsters seen scampering around local shopping centers and on public transportation. I witnessed more evidence of the “school is out” syndrome on Wednesday morning when I was taking one of my morning basketball sessions at an outdoor court in my neighborhood. Normally, there isn’t a sould around when I venture out in the morning. Most games take place in the late afternoon or early evening when people are out of work or school. But on this morning, as I was shooting baskets, a trio of boys, none of whom looked older than ten, gathered to watch my prowess. Actually, I WAS shooting better than normal that morning, but it’s safe to say I’d never dazzle any NBA scouts. I asked the kids of they wanted to play, and the two older ones took up the challenge. These two resembled a Thai version of Laurel and Hardy: one was stick thin and the other had more of a bowling ball physique. Neither one looked as if he had ever shot a basketball before, but they tried hard and when they actually made a basket (the skinny kid was by far the better shot) it was cool to see the look of joy on their faces. I would shout encouragement in Thai, saying things like “very good” or “you’re very talented” whenever they made a shot. And when I would make a three-pointer, or something similarly impressive, they would hoot their approval. Good fun, and a good way to get my morning off to a good start.

The albums blasting (but not deafeningly) from my stereo this month, helping to keep me sane:
Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark
The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American (Deluxe Edition)
Teddy Pendergrass – Teddy Pendergrass
Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection
Radiohead - The Best of
Josh Ritter - Golden Age of Radio
Sharon Jones - Naturally
James Brown - 50th Anniversary Collection
Robert Palmer - Secrets
Tommy Bolin – Private Eyes
Chicago – Chicago V
Manu Dibango - Afridelic: the Best of
Lonnie Liston Smith - Expansions
Various Artists – Blame it on the Dogg: the Swamp Dogg Anthology 1968-1978
Tim Buckley – Morning Glory: the Tim Buckley Anthology
Ike & Tina Turner - Bold Soul Sister: the Best of the Blue Thumb Recordings
Friends of Distinction - Golden Classics
Velvet Crush - A Single Odessey
Various Artists – Midwest Funk: Funk 45’s from Tornado Alley
Ohio Players - Orgasm: the Very Best of the Westbound Years
Bettye LeVette - Scene of the Crime
Muddy Waters - Hard Again
M. Ward - Post-War
Various Artists – Rough Guide to the Music of Madagascar
Ramsey Lewis - The In Crowd: Anthology
Graham Central Station – The Best of
Rembrandts - Greatest Hits
Doll By Doll - Remember
Four Tops - Keeper of the Castle: Their Best 1972 to 1978

08:34 PM PDT Permalink |

Banks are Evil ... and other rants

Reasons why I hate banks (#485 in a continuing series): I’ve been holding a check (from my store account to myself) since the first of the month, waiting to cash it until all the other checks we’d written had cleared (rent, employee payroll, tax payments). So, I went to the bank (the bank that my store had an account is not the same as where I have my personal account) on Friday morning, but they wouldn't let me cash it! The guy at the counter said it was because of "crossing." I wasn't exactly sure what he had said due to his poor pronunciation, so I had to ask him to repeat it three more times: Closing? Koh-sing? Crossing? What was he trying to say? It turns out I couldn’t cash the check because of what he calls "crossing" --- three ink marks, or slashes (or crosses, if you’re a bank weasel) on one side of the check next to where my name was written. So I e-mailed my business partner, Kaweewut, who had written all the checks before he left for Japan two weeks ago, and asked what this “crossing” thing was all about. He told me that many Thais do it to prevent someone from stealing your check and cashing it. But that didn’t make any sense to me: even Thai banks ask for an I.D. before they will complete any such transactions, so what real purpose does this “crossing” serve except to irritate people --- something that banks do a good enough job at already.

We hired a new employee this month at my bookshop, a Thai man in his early 20s with reasonably good English language skills. He showed up every day for the first week (not always on time: one day he “overslept” and came in an hour late for a shift that started at noon!) but this week he simply disappeared; no phone call or explanation of any sort. I’m not sure what happened: was he bored or just didn’t like the work? Was it all too difficult for him to comprehend? Or was I that much of a slave driver? Perhaps my warning to be careful when sorting out the Kellerman books (keep Faye, Jesse, and Jonathan in order!) drove him over the edge.

The afternoon rush at my bookshop was over and I was eating some papaya slices and reading the Bangkok Post on Thursday. After I had digested both the hard news and the papaya, I thumbed through the paper’s travel section, “Horizons” … and was surprised to see one of my photos on page two! The travel section asks readers to share photos of people they have met during their travels, so about two months ago I did just that and sent them three shots I’d taken during my most recent trip to Myanmar. A month went by, so I lost hope that any of my pics would ever be chosen. It’s not as prestigious as getting a photo published in a magazine like National Geographic, but I’ll take it! Here’s the link for the online version of the photo (taken at a village school near Yenangyaung) and the description:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/091008_Horizons/09Oct2008_hori73.php

Meanwhile, back on the US presidential campaign trail, the manure continues to pile up. The McCain campaign is running new and even more outrageous ads, including blatant distortions such as this snippet from a 90-second ad:
“Barack Obama and domestic terrorist Bill Ayers. Friends. They've worked together for years. But Obama tries to hide it."
Clearly, the McCain-Pailhead juggernaut will stop at nothing to strike fear and uncertainty into the minds of the voting public. One woman, at a rally in Minnesota (normally, a very nice place) told McCain: “I don't trust Obama. I have read about him and he's an Arab." To his credit, McCain politely tossed that stinkbomb back at the crazy lady: "No ma'am, no ma'am. He's a decent family man... [a] citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. That's what this campaign is all about."

And it certainly SHOULD be about issues, not childish personal attacks and pathetic insinuation. The Minnesota lady’s comments are laughable on one level, but when dimwits like that are allowed to vote, and spread lies and rumors, then there is real cause for concern. The polls say that Obama is building a comfortable lead, but I’m not feeling comfortable or confident that he’ll win at all: any nation that can elect an obvious idiot like George W. Bush (not once but twice!) is capable of making other disasterous decisions.

Adding to the nasty tone of the election, I received a blatantly racist e-mail (some would call it a “cute” Obama joke) this week … from a member of my own family! And they wonder why I don’t return home for visits. I’m quite the black sheep of my family, and being surrounded by a bunch of right wing Christians who rage about “evil liberals” like Hillary, Bill, and Obama, while pondering which new model of SUV they should buy, holds no appeal to me whatsoever. Go “home” for the holidays? I do believe I’ll pass on that particular form of torture, thank you. I’ll remain here, happy and healthy, amongst the so-called heathens.

12:10 AM PDT Permalink |

Thai Turmoil

Yes, the chaos continues here in Bangkok. But, as anyone who lives here can attest: all protests and isolated acts of violence are confined to a very small part of town. Elsewhere, life goes on. One article, in the Business section of today’s Bangkok Post, was titled: “Violent clashes likely to scare away tourists.” This is another good example of bad journalism, or why editors need to be more attentive. Here is the first paragraph:
“The clashes between security forces and the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have badly affected the tourism industry and destroyed the country’s image.”
First of all, while these clashes MAY cause SOME tourists to cancel trips to Thailand, such a trend hasn’t happened yet. Any decline in tourist arrivals thus far this year is more likely due to economic reasons, not because some backpacker read about protesters taking over government buildings in Bangkok. Secondly, none of these events have “destroyed” the country’s image. Even though the situation yesterday WAS pretty nasty --- two people died and hundreds were reported to have been injured in the mayhem --- it would be more accurate to say such clashes have damaged or tainted the country’s image. Let’s leave “destroyed” for something truly catastrophic.

Nevertheless, these continuing protests, and the government’s harsh reaction to them, are definite cause for concern. Things could more likely get worse before there is a resolution to this conflict. The same article in today’s paper had a comment from Natwut Amornvivat, the president of the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau. “We must inform tourists that the clash area in only one spot in Bangkok,” he said, “and far from shopping, commercial areas, and exhibition and convention centers.” In other words, we won’t worry about a few people (a few dozen, a few hundred, a few thousand, it doesn’t matter: Mai Pen Rai, baby!) getting killed or maimed, as long as it doesn’t affect people’s ability to go shopping things are fine! Yep, this is Thailand.

The first three customers on Saturday morning were all dudes wanting to sell books, all which (both the dudes and the books) smelled heavily of cigarette smoke. We’re talking thoroughly caked and reeking of nicotine. It’s as if these books had been sitting in a room full of Chinese gamblers for the past ten years. I had to wash my hands twice after I had finished sorting through each pile of books.

And then on Sunday morning we were treated to no electricity for a few hours. The good thing was that we were prepared for this outage; the city had sent notices earlier in the week announcing the power cut, but warned it might last from early morning until early afternoon. Luckily, the power came back on shortly after eleven that morning, just before the first big sale of the day and things had become too toasty inside the store.

I got a phone call last week from my kids in Cambodia (children in the Tri family, whom I have been helping put through school the past few years), wanting to know when I was coming to visit. I was hoping to come over this month for a few days, but after having to make the unexpected visa run to Malaysia last month, and trying to save my for scheduled trip to Myanmar in November, I just won’t have enough money to do it. So, I had to tell the kids that I would have to postpone my visit until around the first of the year. But I wanted to get some money to them, and told them to call me back this week and I would tell them when to expect the funds. Normally, if I can’t make it to Phnom Penh (the family lives about 20 km outside of town) I will go to Western Union and send money to my friend Reang Sey at her hotel in Phnom Penh. The kids can then go by and pick up the money from her. But this time I found out that my friend Andy (just back from a fantastic trip to Myanmar) was going over there in a few days, so I gave him a chunk of money, which he promptly delivered to Reang Sey. So, when Huot called me this week, I was able to give him the good news: you have some money waiting for you at the hotel. And I hard further words of advice: Just keep studying hard, eat your vegetables, and don’t blow it all on new clothes or playing computer games!

12:50 AM PDT Permalink |

Fights and Bites

There was an interesting online AP article this week about the Bangkok governor’s election. Most of it focused on Chuwit Kamolvisit, the colorful retired/reformed massage parlor tycoon (note to John McCain & Sarah Palin: this is what you call a real maverick candidate!). Here are a few excerpts:

“Politics is so dirty, so ugly," Chuwit Kamolvisit sighs. "I would rather sit tight in the nightclub, surrounded by girls, smoking cigars, drinking brandy, champagne. That was the perfect life." As for those who disapprove of his years in the hot tubs, Chuwit shrugs. "The sex business is not a problem," he said. "If you don't have sex, that's a problem.”

The next day Chuwit made front page news in Bangkok after getting into a scuffle with a local TV anchor-weasel. Chuwit certainly lost points in the eyes of many voters by losing his cool and throwing an elbow jab at the TV creep. But after reading a translated transcript of the interview that inspired the attack, I can almost sympathize with Chuwit. Yes, Chuwit was evasive and gave murky answers to many questions, but much of what the interviewer asked him was pointless and inane. The oddest moment was one accusation he tossed at Chuwit: “you dare not speak about your weakness.” Huh? If nothing else, it’s an example of how TV journalism has disintegrated (perhaps it’s always been this bad here in Thailand) and how some TV talking heads would be better off seeking employment as hair stylists.

As I was exiting the Skytrain at the Ekkamai station last night at about nine o’clock, my cell phone rang. It was my friend Jay calling. The conversation went something like this:
JAY: “Were you working at your store tonight?
DON: “Yeah, I was there all day, open till close.”
JAY: “Was Kiwi working there too?”
DON: “No. He’s been in Japan all week. It was just me and one of the girls.”
JAY: “That’s weird.”
DON: “Why?”
JAY: “Man, you’re never going to believe this. I just ran into Jimmy Page at the Phrom Phong Skytrain Station. We were talking and I noticed he had a book in his hand. He said he had just bought it from a used bookshop down the street. He told me that a Thai guy sold it to him, that’s why I asked if Kiwi was working at your shop tonight.”
DON: “Well, I don’t look Thai and I’m pretty sure he didn’t buy it from me. With all the rain, we only had a handful of customers after six tonight and none of them looked remotely like Jimmy Page.”
JAY: “I guess he got it from that other shop across the street from the Emporium.”
DON: “Oh well, we missed another celebrity.”

If I’m keeping track correctly, this is the third Jimmy Page sighting in Bangkok this year, two of them by Jay. The Led Zeppelin guitar guru must have fallen for the city of angels, or perhaps fallen for an angel in the city.

One of the regular customers at my shop is an American woman named Sherry. To celebrate her 60th birthday this month, she is taking a trek in Nepal with some of her friends and her son. But just a few weeks ago she wasn’t sure if she was going to make the event or not. She had to be hospitalized for several days after a cat bite became infected. The crazed cat in question was left in her care several years ago, but apparently never acclimated properly. While the cat was being taken to the vet last week, it managed to claw its way through the holding case and jump out the window of a moving taxi on Sathorn Road. No sign of it since then. Sherry doesn’t seem concerned with the fate of the feline: “Good riddance!”

02:10 AM PDT Permalink |

Reading Lists

Not only do I have a definite book addiction, I’m also curious about what other people are reading. If I see someone with a book on the Skytrain or in the airport, I’ll peek to see what they are reading. I run a bookshop, so you would think books would be a natural topic to discuss with friends and family, but for some odd reason I am rarely privy to what others have been reading. To satisfy my curiosity, I sent out an e-mail this week and asked: What are you Reading? Happily, I discovered that reading is not the dying pastime that it’s supposed to have become --- at least among some of the people I know. Lots of people are reading lots of books. Here are a few of the responses I got to my query:

Dave in Orlando: “War by Revolution” by Donald M. McKale, “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Victory 1918” by Alan Palmer
Patrick in Paris: Amitav Ghosh, George Soros, “Great Railway Bazaar” by Paul Theroux, “Canoe to Mandalay” by Maj. R. Raven-Hart
Dennis in Michigan: “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson, “Water for Elephants” by Sarah Gruen, “Adventures of a Female Nomad” by Rita Golden Gelman
Jay in Bangkok: “Suite Francaise” by Irene Nemirovsky, “Fiasco: the American Military Adventure in Iraq” by Thomas Ricks
John in Atlanta: “Running with Scissors” by Augusten Burroughs, “Tales from Margaritaville” by Jimmy Buffett, “Mike’s Election Guide 2008” by Michael Moore
Susan in Hawaii: “Power vs. Force” by David R. Hawkins, “The Revolution” by Ron Paul, Robert B. Parker “Spenser” novels, T. Jefferson Parker, Bill Pronzini westerns
Jim in Florida: “Killer Angels” by Michael Shaara, “Shock Doctrine” by Naomi Klein
Lyle in Bangkok: “Breaking the Code” by Gyles Brandreth, “Humble Pie” by Gordon Ramsay, “Father Brown” mysteries by G.K. Chesterson
Pascale in Paris: “Milennium” trilogy by Stieg Larsson, “Echo Park” by Michael Connelly, “Guns Germs & Steel” by Jared Diamond, Arturo Perez-Reverte, Fred Vargas, Paul Auster
Caroline in England: “Dreams of Water” by Nada Awar Jarrar
Yehuda in Havana: “Sea of Poppies” by Amitav Ghosh, “Leo Africanus” by Amin Malouf
Ursula in Bangkok: Doris Lessing short stories, Agatha Christie mysteries, Mary Higgins Clark, Graham Greene
Daniel in Bangkok: “Eat Pray Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert, “Brothers: the Hidden History of the Kennedy Years” by David Talbot
Louise in South Carolina: “Hot, Flat & Crowded” by Thomas J. Friedman, “Nature Girl” by Carl Hiaasen, Doris Kearns Goodwin book about the Lincoln cabinet
Thanegi in Yangon: “Birds without Wings” by Louis de Bernieres, “Carter Beats the Devil” by Glen David Gold, “By George” by Wesley Stace, “Theft” by Peter Carey
Bob in Winter Park: “Child of God” by Cormac McCarthy, “Not in the Flesh” by Ruth Rendell, “The Lightning Thief” by Rick Riordan, “Quiver” by Peter Leonard
Laurie in California: “The Open Road” by Pico Iyer, “Divisadero” by Michael Ondaatje
Carol in Orlando : “All About Lulu” by Jonathan Evison, “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” by Joseph Campbell
Jill in Atlanta: “Freak Unique” by Pete Burns, “Old School” by Tobias Wolff, “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak, “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, Chuck Klosterman
John in California: “The Nine” by Jeffrey Toobin, “The Wisdom of Insecurity” by Alan Watts, “Dirty Sweet” by John McFetridge
Joan in Greensboro: “Kite Runner” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini, “Wideacre” by Philippa Gregory
Roger in Taipei: “A Prisoner of Birth” by Jeffrey Archer, “Blind Faith” by Ben Elton, “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins
Ben in Atlanta: “Dangerous Tides” by Christine Feehan, “Nothing to Lose” by Lee Child, “The Narrows” by Michael Connelly, “Critical” by Robin Cook, “Lessons in Becoming Myself” by Ellen Burstyn, “Protect and Defend” by Vince Flynn, “Where Have all the Leaders Gone” by Lee Iacocca, “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch, “Audition” by Barbara Walters

One of those who responded, Bob Morris, is an accomplished author himself; three of his entertaining Zack Chasteen mysteries have been published this decade. Bob is one of the judges for this year’s Edgar Allen Poe Award, given for best first mystery novel in the U.S. “That means,” says Bob, “I'll be getting 75-80 books to read before the end of 2008.” Damn, that almost sounds like real work. Doesn’t like look much hammock time this fall for Mr. Morris! Bob’s new book, A Deadly Silver Sea, will be out on hardcover in December. And he’s already at work on another one, Baja Florida, which he describes as “a modern-day western set in the Bahamas.” For more on what Bob has been doing, see his blog:
http://surroundedonthreesides.blogspot.com/

The election for Bangkok governor will be held on Sunday, which means the usual moratorium on alcohol sales … starting on Saturday. That’s right; no beer or anything else to make you tipsy all weekend. I’ve talked to more than one local who is heading to Pattaya for the weekend, just so he can sip his Singha without getting busted. The logic behind this odd ban is that the Bangkok authorities don’t want any inbrebiated voters going to the polls. But that certainly never prevented several fairly dubious characters from getting elected to national office in recent years.

Customer comment of the week: One man noticed a copy of “Weddings for Dummies” on a wall display in my bookshop and remarked: “Now there’s any oxymoron for you!”

04:22 AM PDT Permalink |

Film for Thought

One of the regular customers at our bookshop, Ing, is also an artist and filmmaker. She is Thai but attended university in England, is a voracious reader, and speaks flawless English. She and her husband Manit Sriwanichpoom also run the Kathmandu Gallery in Bangkok. Ing’s latest film, Citizen Juling, is showing at the Bangkok Film Festival this week. She produced the film, under the name Ing K, along with Manit and Kraisak Choonhaven. It’s the true story of a young Thai teacher who was tragically murdered by Muslim extremists in Thailand’s Deep South two years ago. But the 220-minute film (yep; nearly 4 hours!) is much more than a documentary of a senseless killing and the unrest in the Deep South, it also delves into the cultural and political complexities of Thailand. The film premiered last month at the Toronto Film Festival. One reviewer called it “powerful and compelling, offering an unflinching and achingly human view of some of Thailand's social conflicts.” It opened at the Bangkok fest on Friday, and will be shown again on Monday. After that, the next scheduled festival appearance will be early next year in Berlin.

I like to follow politics but I’m going mighty annoyed by the B.S. being spewed during the US presidential campaign. The next time John McCain says “my friends” during a speech someone should squirt the contents of a fire extinguisher all over him. Enough with the fake folksly “my friends” shtick already! For a guy who used to seem fairly level-headed, McCain is frequently displaying bizarre behavior. I don’t mind his flip-flopping so much (hey, changing one’s opinion is certainly healthier than stubbornly sticking to mistakes), but the strangely nutty act of picking strangely nutty Sarah Palin to be his running mate shows very poor judgment. While not as sleazy at campaigning as the Rove-ian Republicans, the Democrats are also bombarding the public with inane messages and utter rubbish, such as their “tactic” of repeating the idea that voting for McCain is the same as voting for four more years of Bush. Sorry, but nobody, even a right-wing ex-maverick like McCain, could be as much of a disaster as Bush as been. Sarah Palin, however, is another story. Someone with her “credentials” should not even be part of a presidential ticket. Another embarrassing aspect to the dizzying downward spiral that America is undergoing.

The campaign for Bangkok Governor has been a predictably colorful and noisy affair so far; the campaign trucks are making their daily rounds on the streets of the city, blasting out songs and slogans, while the occasional real life candidate waves to the stupefied masses. On Monday afternoon a tuk-tuk with Chuwit signs passed me as I was walking down Sukhumvit Road near the Ekkamai intersection. I noticed a fellow waving from the back seat, and as he turned his head I saw that trademark moustache: Chuwit himself! Another underdog candidate, Leena Jung, has been doing her best to attract attention in the race, but this week’s events went not according to plan: her falling into Klong Saen Saeb on Wednesday was a bit comical, but a stunt the following day turned tragic when her campaign manager drowned in another city klong.

When my friend Walter went to Myanmar last week, I gave him about ten envelopes with money in them to distribute to friends in Bagan and Mandalay. Yesterday I received a reply from one of the recipients in New Bagan:
“Thank you very much for your kindness and your friendship and also for some tip money for our children through your friend. This tip money is very helpful for the children because now is the time for every family in need of money. Our family wish you good luck, good job and good future. Zin Zin & Family.

Getting a note like that only reinforces to me how important it is that tourists visit and support the people in towns like New Bagan. Myanmar tourism was barely chugging along earlier this year and then Cyclone Nargis struck and virtually paralyzed things. The plight of the people living in the delta area has been well publicized, but what’s less discussed is the economic devastation that occurred in towns that depend almost solely on tourism; places such as Bagan, Nyaungshwe (near Inle Lake), and Hsipaw. With the dramatic drop in tourist arrivals these communties are reeling.

04:11 AM PDT Permalink |

Books … Baseball … Bagan

I walked into the Kinokuniya branch in the Emporium on Monday night, aiming to buy a copy of the new issue of Mojo magazine. They had several copies, but one thing made me hesitate from buying one (other than the exorbitant price): the band Queen was on the cover. Yuck! If I decided to make a list of the “Ten Bands I Could Live the Rest of My Life without Hearing Again,” surely Queen would rank near the top. So when I saw them on the cover of the magazine, which also included an article about the making of the Beatles “White Album” (great record, but I don’t need to read about it ad nauseum), I decided to pass. Instead, I used the nearly 500 baht in savings to buy a book that caught my eye: By George, the latest novel by the talented Wesley Stace. As detailed in this blog earlier this year, Wesley Stace is the real name of the musician known as John Wesley Harding. His first novel, Misfortune was outstanding, evidence of just how talented this man is: great singer, songwriter, book writer, and all around nice person. He even plays a good game of tennis, something I can personally attest to: he and his girlfriend Denise demolished me and a friend in a doubles match about 15 years ago. Watch out Wes, I’ll seek my revenge on the court again one day!

I had thought about Wes just the week before when I read a notice about a new CD, Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails by a collective called the Baseball Project. When I found out which musicians were involved in this project I became quite excited: Steve Wynn (ex-Dream Syndicate and other projects), Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows, Minus 5, R.E.M.) and Peter Buck (R.E.M.). The album is full of baseball-inspired tunes, including “Satchel Paige Said,” “Ted Fucking Williams,” “Sometimes I Dream of Willie Mays,” “Harvey Haddix,” and a song dedicated to Curt Flood. Makes me wish I still had my baseball card collection. The reason I associated Wes with this project was because during that tennis weekend all those years ago, I also attended an Atlanta Braves baseball game with him and Denise. At that game Wes mentioned that Steve Wynn had taken him to see his first baseball game in L.A. the previous year. After that initial exposure to the grand game, Wes became hooked himself. Wes is now living in New York, but hopefully he never became a Yankees fan.

Cool commuter of the week: the western man I saw on the Skytrain on a rainy Friday night, clutching a David Lodge book in his hands. Good taste!

Bizarre customers of the week: The Thai couple who showed up on Sunday evening and stayed for two hours, nursing a single cup of cocoa (why do Thais always order cocoa and rarely coffee?) for nearly two hours and reading the books they had bought from … Kinokuniya down the street. Very odd.

I’ve talked to several people who are traveling to Myanmar this month, including my friend Walter and Andy from the USA. They both report that getting tourist visas from the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok is now easier, but apparently requires an interview. Andy met his mother in Bangkok earlier this month and is showing her around the region. After Thailand, they headed over to Cambodia and then to Laos. This week it’s Myanmar. Both Andy and Walter were kind enough to take some books to the Kuthodaw Library in New Bagan for me. Win Thuya, who started the library, sent me an update on the library’s status this week:
“We are very happy to tell you that after 3 years of work, the Ministry of Public Relations has decided to approve the licence for Kuthodaw Library. The licence is good for one year, starting 25 August. This will make it much easier for us to organise seminars and workshops.”
The library is located just off the main road in New Bagan, diagonally across the street from the morning market. They shut down for an hour or two for lunch each day, but otherwise are open daily. Tourists are always welcome to visit. Thuya and his friends have done an outstanding job stocking the library with books in both English and Burmse, along with lots of newspapers and magazines. The library is free for locals.

04:02 AM PDT Permalink |

One Step Forward

One of the things that I continually complain about in Bangkok is the case of the directionless zombies who plod down the footpaths, stairs, and escalators of the city; weaving to the left, weaving to the right, clogging the middle of the path. Actually, if they plodded that would be a big step forward --- literally. But many of these so-called pedestrians are simply frozen in one place; either chatting with their friend, talking on their cell phone, or texting on their phone. Obviously, they are incapable of walking and performing any other acts at the same time. And all too often on escalators they are standing smack dab in the middle of the aisle so that it’s nearly impossible for someone who is actually moving their feet to get around them. So, imagine my delight when I went to Kuala Lumpur last week and discovered that they have adopted a wonderful, organized system on the escalators: those who want to stand keep to the left, while those who prefer to keep walking can do that on the right side. Incredibly efficient! If would be marvelous if such an organized system was used in Bangkok, but I doubt that the locals would consider anything so logical or efficient.

It’s been an eventful week for weird injuries; I closed the door twice on my left hand, and this morning, while raising my arm in the air (part of my disco-jumping exercise routine) I managed to get a finger caught in the ceiling fan. After I had stopped the flow of blood and washed the wound I rushed off to work, hoping the pain would soon subside. You can bet I looked both ways before crossing any streets.

After the train crash in California last week, the state not only banned train operators from sending text messages while on the job, but they banned all cell phone devices. Good for them. But I highly doubt that such a law would ever get passed in Thailand. I can just hear some freak whining about not being able to use their meu teu. But in light of all the accidents (there was a crash this week in Nakhon Panom; two bus drivers had been racing!) and bad driving habits that abound in this country, it would certainly be a good thing to consider.

I noticed a business sign in Siam Square earlier this week: “Miss Puke Massage.” Doesn’t exactly sound enticing, does it? But Thai words, being the way they are, aren’t always what they seem. Take a word like “Puke.” In the Thai language it would not be pronounced like you think it would. No doubt, it sounds more look “Pook” or perhaps “Pookie,” but certainly not anything that sounds like “Pyook”. And won’t she be surprised when someone explains what “puke” means in English.

Another sign that I saw in a local restaurant this week: “Happy Birthday Mr. Porn.” I was dining with my friend Walter at the time and I kidded him: “Looks like they discovered your nickname!”

05:14 AM PDT Permalink |

Browsers & Politicians

We frequently get guidebook browsers stopping in my bookshop; most of them aren’t looking to buy anything, they are just curious about traveling to another country and want to cull a bit more information before they take their trip. Once in a while someone will actually buy a book but the majority of browsers just look and leave. Not a big problem. But … we also get the total freeloaders; cretins who come in to conduct extensive trip research with no intention of buying anything. We had two hippy-chick backpacker types in the store on Saturday, a pile of guidebooks from various Southeast Asian countries spread out on the table in front of them. The girls huddled, spoke in whispers, and took copious notes. At least they ordered a couple of coffees to drink while they were scribbling --- which made them only semi-scum as opposed to full-fledged scum. The day before we were treated to a single guidebook notetaker; a young Thai woman who studied every single book we had that covered a country in Europe and Africa. Not sure if she was interested in learning more about those countries, preparing to take a very long trip, or just killing time. But like the browsers the previous day she didn’t buy a single book!

Last Saturday I attended a birthday party for my friends Myriam and Denise. Their birthdays are nearly a month apart, but this was their way of combining the dates into one festive party. I met some interesting people of various nationalities (Swiss, French, German, Filipino, Indian), including the remarkable Cherie Aung Khin, the owner of the Green Elephant Restaurant chain in Myanmar. In addition to the outstanding restaurant in Yangon, she has also opened branches in Bagan and Mandalay.

The election for a Bangkok governor will be held on October 5, but the campaign is already heating up. Judging from the number of signs around town, the three frontrunners are incumbent Apirak Kosayodhin, ex-massage parlor tycoon Chuwit Kamolvisit, and Kriangsak “Dr. Dan” Charoenwongsak. Chuwit’s signs --- picturing him with an angry grimace, lower teeth bared, as if he is going to bite someone --- are by far the most entertaining. “Problems?” the signs ask in Thai, “Give Chuwit a chance.” But will voters put their faith in such an energetic and colorful, but unpredictable and controversial character?

On the increasingly ridiculous national political front (has any other country in the world had a Prime Minister who was forced to resign because he hosted a cooking show?), there will be another attempt to name a new Prime Minister this week. But the only candidates being mentioned are all cronies of disposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra, and the leading contender is actually his brother-in-law! Ratcheting up the absurdity factor, one of Thaksin’s sisters is involved in the decision making process. All of which makes the chance of the Thai government becoming “legitimate” anytime soon an almost impossible goal.

New vocabulary words, or ones not often used, tend to slip into common usage during political campaigns (or ballot counting) in the USA. Eight years ago we were treated to “Hanging Chads” and this year we have a puzzling new one: “Earmarks.” And of course Watergate, which occurred more than 35 years ago, continues to inspire a vast pool of silly terms, including this year’s “Troopergate.”

At yet another party I attended recently (two in one month: there goes my anti-social reputation!), there was a discussion amongst expat residents about the Thais and their lack of English language skills. The “discussion” bordered more on complaining and whining: most of these expats belittled the Thais for not having better English skills and not making an effort to improve. Of course that’s a stereotype, and perhaps it’s not fair to say that all Thais have weak English skills. Some Thais actually speak very well, but usually they are ones who have lived or studied abroad. But what about the foreigners who live and work in Thailand and never attempt to learn the language? Most of the whiners at the party couldn’t speak more than a dozen words of Thai, yet they expect the locals to communicate solely in English. It’s always been my belief that if you live in a foreign country you should learn as much of the local language as possible. You don’t have to be fluent, but at least make the effort to learn a few phrases. Before moving to Thailand I studied the language, even learning to read and write. Still, after living here for more than a decade, I’m nowhere near fluent and that frustrates me. Part of that is sheer laziness, plus my focus has been diverted, attempting to learn Cambodian and Burmese. But if I want to get to the next level in Thai, I’m going to need to make more of a real effort. Just chatting with my fruit vendor and taxi drivers ain’t going to do the trick.

04:07 AM PDT Permalink |

KL Trip

The streets of Bangkok were wet when I returned from Kuala Lumpur yesterday morning, and it has pretty much stayed that way in the 24 hours since then. Nevertheless, it’s good to be back in silly old Bangkok. Kuala Lumpur was interesting, and I successfully obtained a new one-year non-immigrant visa at the Thai embassy, but it’s not a place I’d rush back to visit. I don’t know whether it’s because of Malaysian culture, or the heavy Islamic influence that pervades the society, but the overall vibe is not nearly as friendly or feel-good as I find in predominantly Buddhist Southeast Asian countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. I’m sure there are some delightful people living in Malaysia, but for some reason I didn’t find many examples in KL.

But I did find one amazing used book shop, a branch of Tower Records (I thought they had all closed!), many good restaurants, and enjoyed just walking around the city and seeing the sights. The LRT underground train system, along with a monorail service, makes it very easy to get around town. I only used a taxi once, and that was because the LRT wasn’t running at five in the morning when I needed to go to KL Sentral and board the airport bus.

While at the monorail station one night, after enjoying dinner at The Ship near Bukit Bintang, I looked over at the Lot Ten shopping center across the street and noticed a “No Music No Life” sign in the window of one shop. That, of course, was the old Tower Records slogan, one that was used at the stores here in Bangkok when I worked for them back in the late 1990s. The Bangkok stores changed their affliation to CD Warehouse, but Tower Records Asia kept open stores in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia. The parent chain in the US filed for bankruptcy not once but twice and eventually ceased operations about two years ago; which was why I surprised to see any remaining Tower stores still open. The one in KL was pretty well stocked and I purchased seven CDs that I haven’t found in Bangkok stores.

The bookshop that I stumbled upon one day while walking back from Central Market in the Chinatown area was even more of a delight. Despite its name, the Junk Book Store, is a treasure trove of literary jewels. Okay, the old store IS a bit junky in appearance, and the stock could use a major reorganization (Alphabetical order? Not here!), but the vast selection of books they have almost took my breath away --- or perhaps that was the carbon dioxide fumes coming from the adjacent street. I found some rare books about Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, along with some hard-to-find mystery goodies from the likes of Rex Stout, Donald Westlake (and his alias, Richard Stark), Ed McBain, Ross Thomas, John Straley, and David Wiltse. The prices weren’t dirt cheap, but when it looked like I was going to buy more than a couple of books, the owner, Adelyn Koh, offered to give me a 20% discount. They have two floors of books, all arranged in haphazard piles. All books by certain authors are conveniently grouped together, and most (but not all) mysteries are in the same section of the store, just don’t expect to find John D. MacDonald in the same row as Ross MacDonald. There is also an additional floor of rare titles that Adelyn will be happy to unlock and show you. For more info on the store, check out their website: www.junkbookstore.com

The array of food choices was wonderful; everything from Malay, Chinese, and Indian places, to international cuisine and the usual fast food franchises. The McDonald’s branch near Central Market, though, had a nice art deco design, making it blend in with the rest of the architecture in the neighborhood. I was using a 2004 edition of a Lonely Planet guidebook, and three restaurants I was looking for had either closed or moved, but the rest of the joints I discovered were all very good.

My favorite dining experience was at an old restaurant called The Coliseum, located next to the movie theatre (opened in 1920) of the same name. It was located only a block from my hotel, in the Little India quarter, so I ended up dining there twice. The food, expecially the “sizzling” steaks, was very good, and the portions were generous. Plus I liked the ambience of the old place, and the efficient service by the veteran waiters, none of whom looked to be under sixty.

09:31 PM PDT Permalink |

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I’ll be leaving the country next week --- but only for three days. Due to an idiotic new twist in the Thai immigration laws, negligence on the part of our accountant, or perhaps both reasons, I must make a visa run to Malaysia. Despite the fact that I have a work permit and I’ve renewed my visa right here in Bangkok the past four years, I must now leave the country and apply for a new non-immigrant visa from a Thai embassy in another country. From all reports, the best place to do this is in Kuala Lumpur. I’ve been to Malaysia for visa runs twice in the past, but those were both done in Penang and happened ten years ago. I’ve never been to Kuala Lumpur before so there is an element of excitement about the trip --- discovering a new city, sampling restaurants, and perusing the bookshops. But I’m still pissed that I even have to make this trip. Meanwhile, I’m collating paperwork that I need to take to the embassy, making photocopies, and of course signing and stamping each ridiculous page. Urrrggghhh!!!

I only hope my flight next week isn’t delayed or cancelled due to those assholes from the PAD (People’s Alliance for Democracy) blocking the road or hijacking the terminal, as they have done this past week, shutting down airports in Krabi and Phuket, and twice in Hat Yai. I can’t fathom how the authorities could allow this to happen. Thai tourism takes another hit. This time, with the lingering uncertainty of just what the hell is going to happen, I fear the economic damage will be heavy. I’m no fan of Prime Minister Samak and his awful People Power Party, but the recent antics of PAD (taking over government buildings!) strike me as very inappropriate if not dangerous and counterproductive.

My regular fruit vendor had additional bad news for me on Monday morning: no papaya today. But thankfully, two days later, his papaya supply had returned and I was a happy camper once again. The day just isn't complete without that luscious fruit!

Anyone been following the Republican convention in the USA this week, especially the news about surprise VP pick Sarah Palin? It all sounds more like Michael Palin and an episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus: truly wacky episodes packed with ridiculous characters making outrageous comments. If nothing else, the week’s events are proof that the absurdity of politics has no limits. One of the most disturbing reports from the convention was an incident in which Republican delegates repeatedly burst into chants of "Drill now, baby, drill now!" during a speech by Palin. A very selfish --- and frequently nasty --- group of people. I can visualize the Republicans' catchy new bumper stickers already: “I’ll give up my SUV when they pry my cold dead fingers off the steering wheel!”

I picked up the latest issue of Mojomusic magazine at Kinokuinya last week. Being an imported copy from the UK it was damn expensive, but in my mind worth the expense: Mojo is always full of interviews, album reviews, and other music news. There’s a depth of coverage that I don’t find in other music magazines. In this issue there was an article about the 25th anniversay of REM’s legendary Murmur album, including interviews with band members Peter Buck, Michael Stipe, and Mike Mills. It brought back memories of when I first discovered the band in 1982, after hearing this mesmerizing song called “Radio Free Europe” at the 688 club in Atlanta. A year or so later REM finally had an EP out, Chronic Town, followed by Murmur. Shortly after that album was released I interviewed Stipe during a concert appearance the band made in Daytona Beach. And next month will also mark the 25th anniversary of the retail store I opened in Orlando; Murmur Records. And yes, I named it after that beloved album.

02:02 AM PDT Permalink |

Accidents will Happen

When accidents happen here in Bangkok, there are always time-consuming complications --- not factoring in the bizarre tendency of drivers who “flee the scene” and abandon their battered vehicle. Take the fender-bender that happened in front of my store on Sunday. A city bus bumped into the back of an SUV, not once but twice! Thankfully, nobody was injured, but all the passengers on the bus had to disembark and walk a block up the street to wait for another bus to come along. The SUV driver and passenger waited for the police and insurance rep to arrive on the scene while other vehicles drove around the scene of the accident. This wait took over an hour, and the ensuing inspection and paperwork process took another two hours. Meanwhile, the bus remained parked in a lane of traffic for almost the entire afternoon, making the afternoon congestion much worse.

On Friday I received an e-mail from my friend Nine Nine in Bagan. He was one of the recipients of some money I had sent via another friend last week. Nine Nine’s plan is to sell souvenirs at one of the popular sunset pagodas in Old Bagan. But he needs transportation to get there from his home in New Bagan. He’s also going to need customers; he hopes tourism picks up before the end of the year. Thus far, this year has been a disaster for the locals who depend upon tourism for their livelihood. Anyway, here is what Nine Nine had to say:
“I would like to request something from you, because if you allow I would like to buy one bicycle to sell my souvenirs arround bagan. If you not allow I will not do like that.”
Well that was considerate, but he certainly doesn’t have to ask my permission for something like that. The money is his and he can do what he thinks is best with it. But still, it was nice that he asked: more bonus points for that kid!

Baseball player name of the week: Rocky Cherry, a pitcher for Baltimore Orioles. That sounds more like an ice cream flavor than a real name. He should team up with Coco Crisp of the Boston Red Sox for a new taste sensation!

The Perspective section, a weekly Sunday supplement of the Bangkok Post, appeared for the last time yesterday. In a mysterious farewell, the Perspective editor wrote: “This is goodbye, no more do we fight a losing battle … with today’s publication the inevitable demise of Perspective will be my biggest personal loss.” But nowhere in the paper is there an explanation as to why this popular section of the paper is being shelved. A losing battle against what? Bureaucracy? Rising costs? Government censorshop? The mystery lingers. And yet the Post continues to print junk sections such as “Guru” and “My Life.” What’s going on over there?

And in Monday morning’s edition of the same newspaper, readers received yet another surprise: a price increase! The cost of the Post is now 30 baht, a five baht spike. A note from the editor on the front page attributed the price hike to the soaring cost of newsprint, but they promised additions to the Sunday paper: “new content, more reading and greater depth.” More reading? What exactly does that mean? A higher word count? Less crap? Less advertising? Whatever the content mix, it’s going to come at a price: the cost of a Sunday Bangkok Post will now be a hefty 40 baht!

In that final edition of Perspective there was a good article about a group of American expats in Bangkok, the Democrats Abroad Thailand, (DAT) who are trying to “awaken the overseas electorate” and get them to vote in the upcoming US election. Good luck. The fact is, that despite the convenience of now being able to obtain a ballot online, overeas American residents must still mail their ballot to the US (specifically, to the state and county in which they last resided) and hope that it makes it through the various postal mazes (both Thai and American) and arrives before the voting deadline. Why can’t a US citizen simply go the American embassy, show their passport, and vote there? It’s absurd that voters still have to mail their ballots overseas and hope that it’s received and counted. There has to be a better and more efficient way to do this.

12:28 AM PDT Permalink |

Reading Binge

I just finished reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a new book that was recommended by my friend Margaux in Paris. This book has been creating a big buzz this year, selling more than five million copies around the world. Originally written in Swedish, copies have been translated into several languages, including English. Sadly, after writing the three books in this trilogy and delivering the manuscripts to his publisher, the author, Stieg Larsson, died of a heart attack in 2004 at the relatively young age of fifty. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo more than lives up to the hype; it’s a stunning thriller packed with plot twists and memorable characters, most especially Lisbeth Salander, the anti-social computer hacker/security specialist; a tattooed lady you don’t want to underestimate. I’m looking forward to translations of the other two books in the series.

I also just finished the new Paul Theroux book, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, one that I mentioned in a post last week. As in Theroux’s other travel books, this one is full of funny, wicked, and accurate observations about the people and places that he visits. I don’t agree with all of Theroux’s comments, but if nothing else, he shares his opinions without glossing over anything. During this trip he takes the train from Bangkok to Nong Khai, and across the border to Vientiane, Laos. Theroux had visited the city back in the early 70s, when it was a “wide-open town” catering to US soldiers during the Vietnam War. But on this trip, he encountered “no more than a dusty riverside town, with warm weather and friendly people and a government with obscure intentions.” Theroux ends up leaving town “satisfied that the depraved Vientiane of whores and stoners I had known was gone, replaced by a Vientiane of budget travelers and backpackers.” Come on Paul, give the new Vientiane a chance! Granted, Vientiane is a sleep burg these days, but I think it’s unfair to stereotype it as nothing more than a boring backpacker ghetto.

During his train journey back to Bangkok, Theroux meets an American woman who is “unofficially” working as missionary in Thailand, “spreading the word.” Theroux tells her that, in his opinion, Thais have plenty of spirit already. “Not Christian spirit. They need Jesus” is the woman’s response. At this point, Theroux can’t contain himself any longer. “What is it with you people?” he challenges the sandwich-chomping Jesus freak. I certainly share his perplexed rage. Why do these missionary sorts feel the need to go around other countries (usually ones that they perceive as “Third World”) trying to “save” people who they think are heathens?

Another city that Theroux returned to was Yangon, then known as Rangoon, in Myanmar. In his description of the city this time around he writes: “Soldiers were everywhere, even in the sepulchral back streets. It looked pessimistic, unlucky, and badly governed. It had no bounce. It was a city without visible ambition: no challenge, no defiance.” No bounce? I would certainy debate that and some of his other observations. Each visitor no doubt has a different take on what they see, but to say that soldiers are “everywhere” is just plain wrong. Unless a vistor happened to time their visit during a rare public demonstration or the anniversary of such an event, they are not going to see troops in the streets. In fact, it’s quite rare to see a military presence around town at all. But Theroux redeems himself in the Myanmar chapter by detailing a very generous act he performed while in Mandalay. It’s a very touching moment, one of the highlights in the book.

In other travels, Theroux revisits his old stomping grounds in Singapore (he worked there as a University lecturer for three years) and is horrified by the changes that made the city “unrecognizable” to him. He lobs his biggest batch of verbal grenades at former Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew. In one pargraph Theroux calls him “a cold and single-minded control freak, a puritanical, domineering know-it-all, oddly resentful in the things he says; and Singapore society reflects everything in Lee’s personality.” Later in the same chapter Theroux continues his tirade: “Lee is a vain and domineering patriarch, and with the passing years he sounds more and more like the head of a cult than a political leader. Theroux also takes aim at how Lee has aged: “He had … withered, almost simian features --- not the thuggish scowl of a Triad chieftain he’d had when I’d last seen him, but a pinched and unforgiving look that I associated with unhappy captives, like a caged thing scowling through bars.” Ouch! Theroux certainly sounds like he can’t wait to get the hell out of Singapore. But before the chapter is over, he notes: “And here is the contradiction. Everyone I met in Singapore treated me with the utmost courtesy. I was driven around by the sweetest most solicitous people I’d met on my whole trip.”

The rest of the book is full of more pro and con travel summaries: he likes Istanbul and Hanoi, but isn’t crazy about Phnom Penh or Kunming. He hangs out with fellow writers Orhan Pamuk in Turkey, and Haruki Murakami and Pico Iyer in Japan. All in all, this is another fascinating addition to the ouvre of Paul Theroux.

09:57 PM PDT Permalink |