How did you start dancing?
I saw a TV show that invited hip hop crews in to show their moves. They blew me away. I never knew you could dance like that. So I told my mom that I wanted to start dance classes and she sent me to learn hip hop dancing. I was eight years old. I kept practicing until one day I felt the need to share my moves with people to get their opinions, so I started uploading video clips of my dancing to YouTube. It drew attention from RS’s Kamikaze Records who later signed me up.

How did you get on Dancing with the Stars?
The producers were impressed with my dancing after randomly watching my music video for “No More,” so they asked me to audition. Honestly, I’m not as famous as the other competitors who are singers and actors, but I’m really proud that I used my skills to get into the competition and win the first season.

What was your favorite week of the competition?
I liked them all because they each featured different dance themes. I’m not a ballroom dancer; all I know is hip hop and freestyle. Of course, I felt more comfortable in those weeks when there was a faster beat for me to show my moves. The week that I loved most, though, would have to be the week that I won. I only had four days to practice and I still managed to win people’s hearts. I never thought I would win because I was the youngest in the competition, but I’m really happy that I passed the test. I feel like I’ve won approval from people all over the country.

What’s next for you?
I will continue with my dream of dancing and singing. I’m going to release a new single, “In Time,” next month. It will see me introduce a new style of dancing called “rocking.” It’s really hard work as you must be creative and it’s very physically demanding. I don’t see many people here who are capable of it. I’m trying to practice it at least three to four hours for three days a week. I’ll also be going to university, as I’m finishing my final grade at St. Gabriel College. I want to study psychology or communication arts. I’m still weighing it up.

Any dance tips you’d like to share?
For young people who love to dance, just keep practicing because it’s the only way for you to get better. I’m all for encouraging more people to get out and dance. It doesn’t have to be B-Boy or hip-hop. It can be ballroom dancing. You can dance at any age. It’s a great way to exercise, as it’s also fun. Don’t worry about your size, either. You don’t have to dance beautifully, just love to dance it off!
 

I dreamed of being a cartoonist. I loved storytelling. But I sucked at drawing so I finally gave up.

Watching indie movies made me realize that I could make a movie, too. And they’re just as cool as big budget blockbusters like Jurassic Park and Titanic. It’s all about the ideas.

I’m a realist so I have to plan everything very carefully. That’s why I chose to study liberal arts instead of motion pictures, as I wanted to earn a living even if I couldn’t make movies. I thought that I could always learn the techniques to make a film later.

Never abandon your dreams. Even though I studied liberal arts, I still chased my dream of making movies. I’ve been doing shorts films since I was a sophomore at Chulalongkorn. One of my movies, See, won the popular vote and finished second at the Fat Film Fest 4 in 2006.

Graduating is a real test of your determination. It’s a time when everyone ponders where their life is really headed.

Push yourself to the edge when it comes to things you want, and then you will know whether you’ve got what it takes. I quit my first job and applied to be an intern at GTH as I wanted to learn film editing techniques. I ended up as one of their scriptwriters thanks to my movie See.

Live your life according to your own reality. Everyone has different ways of managing their lives, so you can’t use the same logic as others. I always remind myself that my family isn’t rich, so I can’t pour all my money into making a movie.

No matter how much you say you don’t care about making money from your film, you still need money to live.

Making a movie is like mixing chemicals. It’s experimental and you never know what the outcome will be, until you sit down in the editing room. Sometimes unexpected magic happens during shooting, like beautiful birds flying into the frame. This is the big charm of making films.

There is no way you can stick 100% to a plan when shooting. My friends always joke that I love to make detailed plans but I picked a field where you can’t control anything perfectly.

There’s nothing to be gained from not trying. I sent 36 to the Busan International Film Festival because I wanted to reach a bigger audience. It only cost B200 to enter, so I sent it off. I was really surprised that it won the New Currents award. Just recently, mine was one of only three film projects chosen to receive funding as part of the Biennale College – Cinema of the Venice International Film Festival.

People need to stop judging movies on whether they are indie or mainstream. Indie does not automatically mean cool, nor does mainstream mean bad. You can take valuable insights from all sorts of films; for instance, Thai people’s love of comedies and ghost movies reveals a love of light-relief and superstition.

Making movies is about making something new. Gaining awards just makes more people interested in my work, so I don’t really feel any extra pressure over whether my upcoming projects will be successful or not.

You don’t need to think big to get what you want. I believe in doing small projects to the best of my abilities. The end result is bound to be more satisfying.

Screening movies is now easier than ever before. It was almost impossible to get a screen in the theaters in the old days because of all the middle-men. Now movie-makers can just talk to places like BACC, Apex, Alliance Francaise or House RCA directly. The elements of a screening are simply a room, a projector, speakers and chairs. That’s all.

Social media is the only tool to really communicate with people for free. I had no choice but to use it to promote my movies, including 36. Originally I only wanted to screen it for a small group of people, rather than take it nationwide.

New technologies always change people’s behavior. But some don’t notice this. It affects relationships, too. Now those who don’t have a mobile phone, it’s like they are cut off from the world.

We grow up with yes or no choices in exams, and when it comes to real life, people are left seeing things in black and white. Thankfully, in recent years, more people are realizing that there are grey areas, too. Online discussions also help people think carefully, as they learn to listen to both sides before criticizing.

Sorry seems to be the hardest word for people nowadays. Everyone makes mistakes, but many are too egotistical to admit they are the one in the wrong.

I love work that I can do on my own, like writing books, as I often do, or designing t-shirts. It’s all me. Even movies, I’d love to do it all by myself, but it’s just not possible.

Reading is so important. The older I get, the more I realize that. A book lets you travel without stepping out of your room. I love the fact that books are full of details, while movies are more filtered by directors. It’s up to you to get the most out of books.

Book shops are my heaven. They’re quiet, but they’re always changing as new stock is brought in. I love picking something up off the shelf that I’ve never seen. It’s a new discovery every time.

How did you become a fortuneteller?
My life is like a rollercoaster. I started working as an MC for car auctions which taught me to use a strong voice in my fortunetelling. I got married and broke up while I was pregnant. I was homeless and slept along Ladprao Road until I gave birth to my first child prematurely. Luckily, my family found out about me and took me back to live with them. The turning point came when a friend suggested I take a PR job with Mor Luck Fun Thong, the famous fortuneteller. After working with him for only six to seven months, he told me to quit the job and become a fortuneteller myself. He predicted that in no more than five years, I would be famous. I then studied all kinds of astrology. I made my first prophecy in 2005, and then started taking the job seriously the year after.

How did you start using chess for fortunetelling?
I realized that many fortunetellers were using the same methods, so I needed to come up with a new and unique way so that customers would get their money’s worth. One day at the market I saw people playing chess; the game is played in a very deliberate and attractive manner, sometimes smooth and sometimes rough, slow and fast. Later, I invented a way of fortunetelling using a chessboard set up to show the position of the stars in Thai-style astrology, as well as cards and feng shui, in which each star indicates your horoscope. The method was completed in 2010, and the first person I used it on was my husband.

Is it more accurate than other methods?
To be honest, it’s pretty much the same because I use all types of sciences to prophesize.

How much do you charge?
I charge many prices, starting at B1,000 and B1,500. A yearly membership is B6,000, meaning you can come see me whenever you please. Most of my customers are soldiers and police who want to know when they will be promoted. I also work as a co-host on horoscope shows on satellite and cable TV.

How can people ensure they’re not being duped?
People nowadays are tricked more easily because they are more distressed. They want something to hold on to, so they seek something to make them feel secure. But you need to do your research; find out if a fortuneteller has been on TV before or check their credentials with friends and family before you make a monetary commitment.

What are your future plans?
Fortunetelling is not a prosperous job; if you’re not famous, you earn very little. So I want to form a team of effective fortunetellers with the one main rule that we don’t deceive customers. In doing this, I hope we can improve the reputation of fortunetellers. I also want to do a fortunetelling TV show and give opportunities to new generations of fortunetellers.
 

Contact Ajarn Nong at www.facebook.com/nongpayakorn

I grew up poor but I never thought it was that bad. I lived in a small barn my father built for me and my grandma in Buriram. I quit school to start working in a lathe factory with my dad because they had no money to keep sending me to school.

Beau Sunita (famous singer) is the best thing that’s happened to me. I saw a TV show where she talked about her dream of becoming a singer. It’s like she passed on her dream to me. I was working in the factory and she lit a fire in me. I thought, wouldn’t it be great if one day I had a story like hers to tell.

I don’t believe in luck. I wasn’t going to wait around for some agent to pluck me from obscurity and sign me to a record label. There is no such thing as luck, especially for someone with a face like mine!

I’m just like I was back then, a boy who believes I can be anything I want. I even tried to flirt with the factory owner’s daughter! Sure, she wouldn’t have a bar of it, though.

I always throw myself into things I like. At the factory, I spent my lunchtime playing guitar while the other workers slept in their rooms. I also continued my education at weekends, graduating from twelfth grade.

My friends and I did walk-in auditions to perform music at pubs but no one wanted us. Just as I was about to go back to work in the factory, a pub called us to come play. There, I met members of the band Mono who asked me to join them. We released two albums with RS, but they weren’t really a big success.

I fell in love with life on the beach when I visited Koh Chang years ago. I went there with my bandmates and saw some musicians playing by the sea. I thought that’s fucking right for me. I dreamed of playing music on the beach.

If you think too much, you will never get what you want. I didn’t bother myself with all the consequences when I decided to leave Mono to move to Phuket. 

Most people are afraid to follow their dreams because they think too much. They can’t handle all the questions from others, like who are you going to live with? What about your parents? How will you take care of yourself when you’re sick? My instincts told me that I could live in Phuket.

I knew so much of my life was ahead of me so I wasn’t afraid of losing my chance at signing with a record label. I knew my life was just beginning, so I packed my bags for Phuket right away.

My friends in Phuket are like the high school friends I never had. We are so close and always help each other out. I met Pong Monotone there and he asked me to put out an album on his new record label, Pollen Sound. The result was my debut release Singto Numchoke in 2010.

There’s always a way if you’re really determined. And to be honest, Google can help you. I had no idea what a ukulele was when I first saw a foreigner play one. But after searching on the internet I found tons of information. I started playing and then I won the big prize at the first Thailand Ukulele Competition: a B16,000 ukulele. I was really happy.

I’m proud that people compare my songs to big artists like Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz and even Bruno Mars. Wow! They are world class! I’m just a normal singer. I’m sure that if people listen to my music deeply, they will know that it’s just the same genre, not a copy.

Playing a guitar is like talking for me. Wherever I go, I have to play guitar for at least five minutes every day. If I don’t have one with me, I have to borrow someone’s to play.

I never get bored of what I’m doing. Those who do, should ask themselves: what are you actually bored of, yourself or your work?

Heartbreak always hits me hard. Nothing else makes me so sad. One time after breaking up with my girlfriend, I lay down on the sidewalk and cried out loud. It’s kind of funny when I look back at it now.

I love to see life in the simplest terms possible. No matter what you encounter, it’s never that big a deal.

I’m currently trying to learn piano. It’s such a beautiful instrument. In my free time, I love to check out the new instruments at Woeng Nakhon Kasem and the market behind the Interior Ministry. It’s my happiest hobby. I also have a small custom-design bicycle project called Stickie Ride.

I’ve achieved my dreams already. It happened step by step. I dreamed of being a singer; it happened. I dreamed of playing guitar; it happened. I dreamed of writing my own songs; it happened. I’m already happily living my dream as a musician.

I still get excited every time before I jump on stage. I’m worried for a moment, but once that passes, it’s real fun.

I wish to spend the rest of my life releasing new songs. It’s the only thing I want. I’m releasing an English-language album to sell internationally as Universal Music found my music interesting.

Never give up on life. Always remember that good things are waiting for you. You only need to compete with yourself, not others, to make yourself better.

Trust your instinct. I love following mine. It’s the best thing about me. It always leads me in the right direction.

How do you start B-Boy dancing?
Guide: I fell in love with it since I was in 11th grade, after seeing my seniors dance at my school back in my home of Pichit. I’ve been dancing since then, so it’s been about two years, now.
Ae: I just joined Guide a half year ago. I was impressed by this style of dancing for a long time but didn’t have a chance to start and I used to do a lot of skateboarding instead. Then I saw Guide dancing all alone here at the same time that my board was broken, so I decided to join him.

What did you do before?
Ae: I left school after grade nine and have done lots of jobs since then. I worked in a factory in Petchaburi province then moved to work at a ramen place in Arena 10. Here, I started seeing Guide and started dancing with him. I then quit from the ramen place to work at a wedding studio because working at the restaurant involved late nights and I had no time to dance. I decided to be a motorcycle taxi driver because I couldn’t get on with some of the staff at the studio.
Guide: I just graduated from high school and came to Bangkok to get into a university. My dad was already a motorcycle taxi rider here and he suggested I join him to start saving for university.

Do you enjoy doing this job?
Guide: I do. I first thought that it might not work out as I might not earn much money. But it turned out that it’s quite a good job. I can earn about B15,000-B20,000 a month. I can buy stuff on my wish list like a Game Boy and iPod. I planned to buy an iPad too but I just had a minor motorcycle accident so I had to pay for that.
Ae: It’s a pretty risky job. Thonglor is always busy and it has tons of cars everyday. You must be very careful riding here.

Have you ever be injured dancing?
Guide: I have. It happened three months after I started. I tried practicing a handstand but I wasn’t strong enough so I fell onto my arms fracturing my right arm.

Do you plan to enter any competitions?
Guide: No, not yet. We aren’t that good. They are all the real-deal while we’re still amateurs. We need to practice lots and lots to get into competitions. We try to practice every day between 8-9pm. Sometimes some of our friends, and even random expats, join us.

What’s next?
Ae: I want to start my family as I just got married. I am also trying to save up money to build a house in my home town of Yasothon.
Guide: I want to improve my English so I plan to study an English degree at Ramkhamhaeng University. I also dream of opening a clothing and accessory shop selling hip-hop stuff.

Water has been part of my life since I was born. I grew up among plantations on the Thonburi side of Bangkok. I helped my parents take care of our plants and traveled the canals by boat.

Going to school was the hardest thing about my childhood. I walked four kilometers each morning to catch a bus to school and did the same in the evening.

My parents’ encouragement kept me moving forward. They always told me to study, so I wouldn’t have to work hard like them. 

I love math and science so I wanted to study engineering. I chose to study Irrigation Engineering at Kasetsart University instead of attending Chulalongkorn. People said I was a fool, but the truth is I had already paid my tuition and dorm fees to Kasetsart before Chulalongkorn announced their results. My parents weren’t rich so I didn’t want to waste their money. 

Staying in a dorm can really shape your life, for better or worse. You have the freedom to do anything. I picked up smoking from my time there. I finally kicked the habit when I was 28 after listening to a famous monk preach about how stupid it is to harm oneself by smoking.

Working for my country is always an honor. I realized this when I decided to become a public servant whether it was the best thing for my career or not. 

A public servant’s low salary is no excuse for corruption. When you choose to work as a public servant, it’s your duty to serve the country, not exploit your motherland. 

I thought I would work in the jungle forever after I got a job with the Royal Irrigation Department in 1968. They sent me into the deep jungle to build Kaeng Krachan Dam. One day, they recalled me to go study in the US through a scholarship from the Anandamahidol Foundation. I came back to follow HM the King’s work more closely. 

“Impossible” isn’t in the King’s dictionary. If he planned to visit the deepest village in the mountains to help people, he would. He spent seven months a year in rural areas to carry out royal projects. 

Consider all aspects of every decision. Working with the King for decades taught me this philosophy. He always told us, “My words aren’t a royal command, they’re ideas, so think carefully so that they may really benefit people.” That always made me think twice! 

I didn’t want to be an old man who just stays home and takes care of his grandchildren when I retired. So I resigned from my last post as the director of the Royal Irrigation Department to run for a seat in the senate in 2000.

Old people still have the power to contribute to society. It’s just a matter of encouraging them and others to embrace their experience. That’s why I joined the Elder Energy group (www.facebook.com/elderenergy).

I work seven days a week, almost every week, at the age of 73. I don’t play golf or surf the internet all that much. I enjoy nothing more than working in the field with people who still ask my help. To be honest, it’s pretty annoying to be told that my friends are on the course playing golf whenever I need to talk to them. 

Bangkok’s governor candidates are all talk. I don’t see any policies that set big goals to be realized in future decades.

Bangkok is so dirty now. Back 10 or 20 years ago, it wasn’t as messy as this. There are vendors and waste everywhere. Some people say it’s part of our charm, but I ask, “Is this really how you want your city?”

Bangkok’s road drainage system is outdated. It was built decades ago and Bangkok is sinking every year. Sukhumvit and Petchburi roads have sunk more than 1.80 meters since the drainage system was put in place. 

I want the next Bangkok governor to pay more attention to our canals as they play a huge role in flood relief. Start by resettling the nearby poor people and modifying the banks to ensure the canals are clean and flow smoothly. 

Bangkok’s problems can’t wait any longer. If we don’t start fixing them now, it doesn’t bear thinking about how bad it will be in 10 years’ time. We need long-term plans in place that don’t simply end with a change of governors. 

I’m afraid that the government’s ongoing floodway project will end up being worse than Hopewell. The budget is too low and the bidding companies only have rough plans.

I dream of improving communities’ capacity for protecting themselves from floods. The government can’t save everyone, so people must take their own precautions.

Hurry to do things you want to do. The King is my inspiration for volunteering for my country. He’s worked until he’s frail, while I still have energy to do things for my country. I always remind myself that I don’t have much time left, so I better hurry.

Success isn’t achieved by chasing money. Complete your task to the best of your ability, then you will be a successful person. 

What was your dream growing up?

Also read: Governor Policy Watch: Bangkok's Candidates in the 2013 Gubernatorial Election

GREENER CITY

Decha Boonkham: National Artist, landscape architect, designer of Benjasiri Park and Suan Luang Rama IX

Why isn’t Bangkok a greener city?
Our city planning has been a failure for half a century, as we haven’t had a master plan. When Bangkok finally developed, the land prices were high so they had to build tall buildings to make a profit without thinking about the carbon footprint. It’s both our life and death. If we keep developing like this, all the real trees will disappear from the city.

What would it take to make Bangkok greener?
Bangkok’s remaining street trees are the ugliest on earth. They were both incorrectly chosen and badly planted. It doesn’t help that they have lots of enemies: pollution, electricity lines and drains. The BMA don’t take good care of them either. They need to employ proper tree surgeons to look after the trees rather than hire companies who just go in and chop off all their branches and leaves. I can guarantee that if the BMA started applying the right methods to our street trees, Bangkok would be a much greener city within five years. There are also tons of empty spaces that the government own, such as the Treasury Department, which could be made into parks. Ex-governor Bhichit Rattakul already showed that it can be done with the conversion of Suan Rod Fai.

Oraya Sutabutr: Big Tree Group

How can the Bangkok governor expand the green spaces in the city?
Bangkok has only about 3-4 sq. meters of green space per person, whereas the standard should be about 30 sq. meters per person. In terms of power and money, it’s pretty hard for the governor to create more green spaces in Bangkok but in terms of leadership, he can definitely make it happen. As land prices increase, he must act as a coordinator to negotiate with the private sector to develop more green spaces beside new properties. It’s clear the world over that green spaces boost land prices—just look at properties next to Central Park in New York, they’re some of the most expensive in the world.

BICYCLE CITY

Noppakun Dibakomuda: Head of the Smile Riders group and producer of the TV show Pan Hai Loke Plien (Ride to Change the World) on TPBS

Can Bangkok ever be a bicycle-friendly city?
The number of cyclists in Bangkok is on the up, but education about cycling in the city is still really low. We have a situation where more and more people are riding bikes on our roads, but motorists don’t really know how to deal with them, while some cyclists don’t even know how to ride correctly. The bicycle policy that is being implemented now is nothing but an illusion. Problems are being fixed in purely political ways; for instance, riders demand a bicycle lane and administrators respond by painting a color on the road and calling it a bicycle lane. This is totally wrong. What we need is well-planned traffic engineering so that we can efficiently blend bicycling with the city’s other forms of traffic. The only legitimate bike lane in this city is the one in Rattanakosin district, which is approved by the Thai Traffic Police. The rest are simply unlawful.

So, does the governor really matter?
Definitely, but he must be really determined to make things happen. He can be a big inspiration, like the Mayor of Bogota, Colombia, who devoted his time to improving bicycling conditions. As a bike rider himself, he was really invested in the situation, whereas our governor just jumps in and out of cars to get around. We don’t have to copy and paste cool policies—just let traffic engineers from all traffic departments sit down and plan out something that best suits our city. We must also educate people on the rights and safety of bicyclists. The next governor could start by introducing a bicycle course at all of Bangkok’s 400 schools. He could then start cycling to work once a week to set a good example for other people in the city. Being governor is more than a title—a real leader can bring true progress to the city.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Rotmaethai.com: We speak to the representatives of this volunteer public transport advocacy group specializing in bus transportation

How much power does the governor have to manage public transport in the city?
Being governor of the BMA is actually like being president of the student council. While he’s voted in by the students, all matters of policy and projects must be approved by the headmaster or principal—in this case, the government. Public transport is a massive headache because most of the power is out of the BMA’s hands: the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) is under the Ministry of Transport, the MRT is under the State Railway of Thailand and boats in canals like Sansaeb are under the Marine Department. The BTS is overseen by the BMA, but really this only applies to its extensions, such as the introduction of stations beyond On Nut on the Sukhumvit Line or Sapan Taksin on the Silom Line. Only the BRT is solely managed by the BMA. Problems between the government and the BMA always arise because of this lack of control. The BMA can’t control delayed government projects that affect the city, such as the purchase of 3,000 new buses for the BMTA which has been pushed back for years.

What do you make of the candidates’ policies on transportation?
It’s pretty hard to see a policy like free buses actually happening as it would need a huge budget. As the BMTA comes under the Ministry of Transport, the BMA must find the money to pay the BMTA, which is already in B70 billion of debt. So the question is, how does the BMA find this huge budget?
So, does the governor really matter?
They’re important, sure, but what we need is a leader with clear plans on how to improve the daily commute for people living in Bangkok’s outskirts coming into town. Regarding BTS extensions, it’s up to the government to approve the budget as all new routes are heading out of town, and beyond Bangkok’s administration. But the head of the BMA must still examine the project closely so that the city’s transport system flows efficiently. He must be the coordinator who brings everything together.

BANGKOK CONSERVATION

Pongkwan Lassus: Chairman of the Architectural Conservation Committee of the Association of Siamese Architecture

How important is the governor to conservation matters?
While the Fine Arts Department looks after conservation matters, the governor is still crucial to preserving old culture around town. Administrators don’t understand the importance of city planning, that’s why the Department of City Planning has a much smaller budget compared to the Public Works Department. But city planning plays a big part in conservation. Our culture is Bangkok’s biggest tourist attraction and brings untold amounts of money to the city, whereas public works is all about spending. The new city plan for Bangkok that’s going to be implemented in May does not include conservation. Some areas like Yaowarat have been placed in the Red Zone, which allows full access to development projects in the area, even though it is packed with 100-year-old buildings. The BMA could prevent such oversights by being stricter with their city planning, but as yet they haven’t been.

Sirinee Arunanond: Charoenchai Community, Yaowarat

What needs to be done to improve conservation in Bangkok?
I want the BMA to work more closely with communities, to find out their wants and needs, before they decide to do anything with the city. For instance, with the MRT coming to Yaowarat, many people stand to be affected. We tried negotiating with the BMA to keep the 100-year-old buildings in front of the Charoenchai community as the entrance to the MRT station but they refused. They said they will build a new entrance in the old architectural style, but, honestly, how can this compare to the original buildings? The new city plan is worrying us, too. With Yaowarat in the Red Zone, we don’t know which old buildings are going to be torn down in the future. Yaowarat is unique, with a history dating back to the early Rattanakosin era. 100% of Bangkok’s tourists come here and are drawn to its charm, but who will protect it?

DISABILITY-FRIENDLY CITY

Monthein Buntan: Senator and member of United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

What do you make of the candidates’ disability policies?
None of them have good visions for how to make Bangkok a disability-friendly city. The city planning and transport has never been designed to serve all people. Administrators just install whatever comes to mind without a master plan. Anyway, while the governor can’t change aspects of the city that are fully developed, he can improve things like footpaths and ensure they are clean and clear to best serve peoples’ needs.

What is the biggest challenge to developing Bangkok?
No one has the full power to develop this city. It ends up being all the different sectors carrying out what concerns them. Running Bangkok is a really big challenge as it is a big city with no city plan. This could change with the involvement of all sectors of society in matters of city management. The people must be put first and the governor must work closely with them. When the majority of society joins together and agrees that things should be developed a certain way, the government and politicians can’t stand in their way. It’s the power of the people.

What should be the blueprint for Bangkok’s future development?
Bangkok must be developed with the principals of universal design in mind. Administrators should stop trying to sell Bangkok as a shopping haven and focus on developing the city to sustainably serve all kinds of people, and I’m not just talking about the disabled. This kind of development would have wide-scale economic benefits for our country, as we could attract richer and older tourists. Tourists would pay well and stay longer if the city were designed to be more friendly for everyone. So many projects for the disabled are done without continuity. The government should build a system to serve people, not just make people adjust to poor facilities.

WALKING-FRIENDLY CITY

Ratchapol Kraijirachote: Owner of Center One Shopping Plaza and member of We Love Victory Monument Group

What’s happening at Victory Monument?
The public spaces around Victory Monument are being encroached upon by vendors and minivans. These spaces were meant as a garden and memorials to war veterans, but when Samak Sunthornvej was governor, the BMA gave concessions to private companies to rent the spaces claiming it would improve the landscape. But it turned out that the company just built stalls and sub-leased the spaces to vendors—now it’s a mess with beer parks and market stalls everywhere. The BMA has assigned only seven tessakit (municipal officers) to the area, so it’s hard for them to supervise it all.

What sort of change is your group pushing for?
When the contract neared completion last year, we tried to block its renewal. But the BMA’s Traffic and Transportation Department went ahead and renewed it, despite our objections. We are still trying to stop the company’s construction work by urging the BMA to halt the plan, but they said they would let the project finish first before seeing what can be changed. That’s absurd. Why wait when they can stop it easily now? When new vendors set up shop in the future, it’s only going to be harder to change.

Why should the BMA listen?
The BMA only gets about B4 million a year from this contract. This is small change compared to what we have lost. Some 400,000 people visit Victory Monument everyday—what about their convenience? If we let this mess grow, there will be no footpaths for pedestrians. And don’t even get me started about the number of vans parked all over Victory Monument, because this should be the responsibility of the Department of Land Transportation and police. We need effective space management to ensure Victory Monument looks its most beautiful.

Cooking makes people happy. It’s art you can taste, rather than simply appreciate with your eyes.

My parents weren’t a plastic family. They always cooked for us and I always helped by preparing ingredients.

Don’t waste your time on things you don’t like. I nearly gave up studying liberal arts at university. I didn’t see the benefit. I told my mom that I wanted to study cooking and she said I had to finish my degree. I ended up moving to Australia to finish my degree in restaurant and catering management and followed it up with my master’s in Thai gastronomy.

I applied to more than 40 places [in Bangkok] but no one responded. I finally got a job after a walk-in interview with the JW Marriot and later moved to The Met’s kitchen where I started working as a commis chef under Head Chef Amanda Gale. She introduced me to David Thompson, of Nahm, who later gave me the chance to work with him in London for nearly two years.

Living in London was tough. I worked so hard that I ended up at the hospital five times in two years.

Bo.lan wouldn’t be what it is without Dylan (Dylan Jones, her husband and Bo.lan co-owner). When I talked to him about going back to Thailand and opening a restaurant, he said he only wanted to open a Thai restaurant.

You can never know whether a decision is right until you make it. People thought we were stupid to open a fine dining Thai restaurant in Thailand, as we had mostly studied Thai food from a foreigner’s perspective. But we’ve long proved that we could make it.

Don’t compromise on your philosophy. The thing that I’m most proud of is that our business is doing well and we’re sticking to our principles. We still serve tomyam with chili and don’t serve Thai food in Western-style courses, but you still get to enjoy a great ambiance. That’s where we’re different.

I want to spread Thai food culture throughout the world but in the right way, where we actually eat everything at the same time. Many chefs think they can make Thai food more luxurious by separating it into courses like Western cuisine. This isn’t right. If you ask a French chef to serve all the dishes at the same time, as in Thai cuisine, they will kick you out. I want the opposite to be the standard for Thai kitchens, too. Stop making tomyam as an entrée!

Some people question how we can charge so much for Thai food. I reply by asking, “And you’re happy to pay B380 for a rocket salad with balsamic dressing?” Thai food requires lots of knowledge and effort to produce, and it’s all by hand. Please appreciate this.

Arguments make our dishes tastier. Dylan and I always fight in the kitchen. It’s a good thing that we do. It’s a form of brainstorming that improves our cooking.

I actually enjoy cooking Western food as it’s less complicated than Thai food.

Thai food is all about individual preference. That’s why we have seasonings and fish sauce on the table.

There’s no single authentic Thai food, for me. In the past, families cooked their own food so their recipes varied and were influenced by ancestry, whether it was Thai, Chinese or Indian. So it’s hard to define what, if anything, is authentic.

I want to be a food activist. I want people to know their food and why it’s important to cook their own. You can’t always rely on others as you never know what they put in your food.

Your food is your flesh and blood. People these days rely on industrial or mass produced food. They buy it for convenience, not quality. Some blame capitalism, but you still chose it. Capitalism is just a concept.

Humans neglect the four necessities these days. People can’t build their own homes, can’t make their clothes, can’t make their medicine and can’t grow their food. You can live without the first three, but you’re dead if you don’t eat.

Cooking is the easiest way to be healthy. I try to convey this message whenever I can, especially when I appear on the TV program Kin Yoo Kue [Eat, Live, Being] on TPBS and when I hold classes at culinary schools.

Having a baby changed my life completely. It’s a love I never knew before. My son teaches me about sustainable life. Babies can laugh without money or belongings. Happiness isn’t about how much you have.

Fusion food in Thailand is annoying. It only works if you know the best of both cuisines. But mostly it’s interpreted in a messy way.

I want new Thai chefs to take Thai cuisine seriously. Many focus on Thai food because they want to work abroad. I want new chefs to fight to preserve our cuisine.

Chefs must have ethics when it comes to preserving the environment and people’s health. I get really irksome with all those Sunday brunches with foie gras, oysters, salmon and snow fish! Chefs must know that they can influence people on these big issues.

I dream of writing a Bo.lan cookbook for posterity. A panang [red curry with peanut] that was cooked a hundred years ago isn’t like a panang that’s cooked today. I want to preserve these recipes for the future.

BK: When did you first get into ice sculpting?
I graduated with an electrical engineering major, but I didn’t do well at school so I couldn’t get a job. Then my brother-in-law introduced me to ice sculpting. He taught me and I started to like it. I first worked at the Indra Hotel and moved around to other hotels before I joined the Royal Orchid Sheraton 18 years ago.

BK: How have you fared competitively?
I’ve entered many ice sculpting competitions around Thailand and Asia, and I’ve already won the Asian Championship, but I wanted to go further, to use my talents to do my homeland proud, so I targeted the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival. My first time, five years ago, was a total failure. I knew nothing of the rules and temperatures because no one from Thailand had ever entered before. I even had to pay for the tickets of two other members, because they didn’t have the money. The next year was also a big disappointment.

BK: Why didn’t you give up?
I nearly did because I had no money to continue. But my colleagues encouraged me to find sponsors and I sent out proposals to about five places. Luckily, the Singha Corporation agreed to sponsor me. We came in second in ice sculpting in 2011 and this year, out of 20 teams from 11 countries, we won third place in snow sculpting. Our piece is titled “The Emotion of Human” and deals with the concept that humans have good and bad sides, so we have to decide which one we want to be. It’s in a heart shape, on one side is the face of a giant and on the other is the face of an angel. It took us three and a half days to finish.

BK: What’s the difference between the ice and snow sculpting categories?
The size of the ice is smaller and requires fewer members, but it’s more difficult work because it’s very solid in the cold weather conditions. Balancing your force is the key. If you put too much force into it, the ice will explode. Snow is soft, but you have to plan the proportions very well, because of the very large scale (4m height, 3m width, 3m length).

BK: What are the difficulties of the competition?
Firstly, the language, because most people speak Chinese. Then it’s the temperature; some sculptors were in shock. Unlike some teams, our snow sculptures have never collapsed. There have been times when I’ve been working on ice and snow sculptures too hurriedly and I fell from the scaffolding. Ice sculptures are not as tall, but the ground is really hard so falling hurts a lot more.

BK: What’s your view of ice sculpting in Thailand?
There are many talented Thai ice sculptors, but they lack support because people here don’t see it as an art, unlike people abroad who respect these professionals as artists.