King Taksin's Army

Up in Chiang Mai last week I was slightly concerned when I saw a lady in a yellow t-shirt. Nothing strange there you might think as no Thai wardrobe is complete without a yellow ‘I love the King’ T-shirt. However, upon closer inspection I saw that it was emblazoned with the slogan ‘King Taksin’s Army’. I watched in anticipation as I could not believe that the people around her would turn a blind eye. Yellow t-shirts are worn every Monday (and regularly on other days too) as a sign of respect for this incredibly popular King. I was sure that such a slogan would elicit some kind of response from those around us.

Although the t-shirt could have referred to the 18th Century King who, following an internal political conflict in 1782, allegedly became insane and started to regard himself as the second coming of Buddha, (He was deposed by his ministers, who then executed him in the custom reserved for royalty -- by shackling his hands and feet with gold restraints, sewing him into a velvet sack so that no royal blood touched the ground, then beat him to death with a Sandalwood club), I thought perhaps it could have heralded renewed military support for the deposed prime-minister.

Despite allegations of corruption and a series of demonstrations last April calling for his resignation Taksin still has an amazing amount of support both within in the cities and in rural areas. One friend in Bangkok recently told me that he would vote for Taksin if he returned as he did not feel there was a viable alternative.

I asked our tour-guide in Chiang Mai if he knew anything about King Taksins Army and he just suggested that the woman was a bit crazy and didn’t seem too concerned about the fact that the Kings colour was being used. So amid rumours of a second coup and the threat of further bombs I will be looking out for more evidence of such an ‘army’.

Real Men

I like men. Men of the Aragorn son of Arathorn, Indiana Jones, Rhett Butler variety. Swashbuckling, larger than life, twinkle in their eyes rogues. Tall dark and handsome. Silent and brooding. Rescuers of damsels in distress. Admittedly this probably limits me when comparing them to non-fictional men, which could be where I am going wrong. So I am happy widen my sights to those who hit drums and strum guitars. Somehow even the dorkiest guys suddenly develop sex appeal in a superhero-esque transformation from geek into rock god. So although I have managed to cope with the fact that Thai men may not be the most macho (Katoeys aside there is a lot of handholding and male hugging goes on here - even the police look like they are auditioning for they YMCA video!) I was more than distressed when upon entering a bar with a live band belting out some classic rock tunes I found that the lead guitarist had a baby pink Hello Kitty guitar!

Eggy Bread Love!

Sawatdee Bpii Mai

Happy New Year to you all. I hope you all celebrated in suitable style and had a fantastic night. Not to be deterred by bombs going off around Bangkok I headed out to Winks for the festivities. Avoided all contact with Sangsom but this did not stop us from getting on the mic and some rather stupid dancing.

Have to say I am looking forward to 2007 and I hope it brings you everything you could wish for. Have a wonderful year!

Tom and Ian find themselves in Thailand

A picture says a thousand words..........

Christmas in the Sun

Just back from a lovely week in Koh Lanta and Koh Phi Phi Tom and Ian. Bit of a blast from the past as it turns out Ian and I were at Digby Hall together all those years ago! Spent Christmas day soaking up the rays and a bit of Turkey Pad Thai for lunch. Our Christmas dinner was pretty amazing, if a little spicy for Tom, washed down with some v. dodgy ‘champagne’ which tasted disturbingly like Sangsom.

Randomly walking around Phi Phi when a picture caught our eye outside a tattoo place – a picture of none other than Jamie! – how weird.

I’m sure Tom will fill you Ealing bods in on our island exploits so to pre-empt this: 1) Yes I fell off the boat, 2) it was dodgy prawn alright, 3) Pole? What Pole?, 4) No I am never drinking buckets again.

Bonkers in Bangers

Not only were Tom and Ian staying in Bangkok but we also hooked up with Nick and Caro. Needless to say this involved endless trawling of bars. We drank sangsom at Cheap Charlies, sang carols in the Ice Bar at Titanium, and consumed vodka at Q bar. Yes this led to the most hideous hangover and I have to admit the trip down to Lanta was pretty horrendous – serves me right!