I felt I was always ignored by my parents. Our family was poor. I was the middle child without a strongly defined role.

I was driven by a dream to have money and a better life.

I quit school after grade 10. I didn’t like school so I decided to help my elder brother [Kriengkrai Chetchotisak], who had just opened a record company called Rose Sound (now RS). I preferred working.

Adaptation is a must in business. When Thai copyright laws appeared back in 1979, we couldn’t do business like we used to, selling songs without permission. Many companies died out but we embraced the system by buying the rights from artists and then searching for talented new bands to sign.

Think like you’re a customer. I love all kinds of music but I’ve never tried to upgrade to listen to jazz or classical music. That’s not what regular people listen to. I listen to all the songs that come out of RS and think of them as their potential audience would.

Making music is like buying the lottery. You never know which song is going to be a hit. We were B30 million in debt when we started, which was a lot in those days, but we just believed in what we did. I finally paid all our debts off after five years. Now we are a billion baht revenue company.

Don’t be afraid of change. RS has come this far because we are always ready to change how we think. Even some of my colleagues can’t stand such rapid decision-making, though.

Change before you’re forced to change. I knew the music industry was heading for a dead-end nine years ago when I traveled to Japan and couldn’t find a single CD playing there. I came back and changed all our business plans.

I sold our CD factory that we’d been running for 20 years. It was the hardest thing I had ever done. 2005-2008 were the worst years of my life, I couldn’t sleep well at night.

You just have to be tough. People said we were going bankrupt but I knew that I was just making the company grow in a V shape. The numbers, the profits, would bounce back up once we hit our lowest point.

I have no ego. Successful people can become trapped in their ego. That can lead them to disaster. That’s what happened to Kodak. I don’t try to defy or ignore the current situation.

I admire Steve Jobs. I followed his life since he was first fired from Apple through to when he came back with his huge successes. I love his daring, his craziness and his quick decisions.

There is no successful person who never failed. If you look at a gold medal winner, they always have lots of scars. It’s the cost of being successful.

Make the decision quickly and move on. Many find it hard, and it might be the wrong decision, but you can change it quickly, too. Experience will teach you to make fewer mistakes.

There are opportunities in crisis. While the value of music is down, I see a new opportunity in TV. I only took 30 minutes to negotiate and close the billion-baht deal to buy the World Cup rights back in 2008. It proved to be the right decision. We’ve now expanded to the Euro [Championships] and La Liga, which I aim to make as big a hit as the English Premier League is in Thailand.

Sports is entertainment. Seven years ago people wouldn’t think like this. Now footballers are superstars

I don’t like malls, I’m a home body. I don’t go shopping, I don’t care for all that stuff. My watch is worth a couple of thousand baht and was given to me by my wife.

I love reading and read everything except cartoons and novels. I love reading the memoirs of successful people the most because it gives you an insight into their life experience.

Knowledge doesn’t come from school. Those who get an A are not necessarily smarter than those who get a C grade. The A-grade students are just good at memorizing.

I’m afraid my kids wouldn’t be happy if they were still in the Thai education system. I took them out of school and sent them to Australia after I saw them carrying loads of heavy books to study. I don’t want to blame the system but it’s just not right.

Doing good things will get you good things back. I was really badly behaved when I was young. I smoked, drank, gambled but I stopped everything at 24 because I planned to start a family. Thank goodness I now have that family.

My kids are the best things that have happened to me. They are my dream kids. I treat them like friends. I even taught them to drink and smoke, which is better than to let them do it with others. Now they hate it.

I love Khaoyai. I love its peaceful atmosphere and the weather.

Businessmen can’t say when they are successful. I have exceeded my own expectations but there’s still more waiting.

Bangkok Car-Free Day 2012

In our Aug 17 issue, we asked, “What Really Pisses You Off Bangkok?” More than half of you picked traffic (57%) as your main grumble. That got us thinking about what it would take to fix your number one problem.

After all, we’re currently seeing more and more cars pouring onto our city’s streets (helped in part by government-sponsored B100,000 tax breaks). It appears our solution is to update the city’s infrastructure to make way for all those new cars, by building bridges, fly-overs and parking lots. This means pedestrians are forced to crawl, climb and duck past these cars in an attempt to keep the traffic moving. (Why don’t those two-legged shmucks buy a car already?) The end result is a gigantic traffic jam, terrible walkability, high pollution, high energy dependancy and a massive bill for all those infrastructure upgrades. Moreover, the traffic still sucks. That’s pretty much the model Bangkok is in right now—and its the situation that a lot of major cities like London, Singapore or Paris were facing 10 or 20 years ago.

The alternative solution that most of these cities went for was simple. Encourage people to stop using their cars. You build more and better public transport. You make sure walking is a better experience than driving (tear down pedestrian walkovers and let the cars wait at red lights, for example). You ensure public transport is a better experience than driving (let the cars sit in traffic jams while clean, air-con buses speed down their dedicated lanes). You basically say, “Hey, if you want to have your own personal vehicle, that’s fine, but we won’t sacrifice our city for your lifestyle choices.”

The problem with this alternative solution is it assumes you have a choice: either drive or use public transport. Many people in Bangkok don’t have that choice. Where they live, there’s no public transportation (or no good public transportation). As a result, you simply can’t ask those people to drive less. Here, we’ve listed why people are still dependant on their cars and what is currently being done to address that. Hopefully, it will inspire greater efforts to make Bangkok less reliant on cars so that this month’s Car Free Day is not just be a blip in a never-ending stream of traffic jams.

Problem #1:
There’s no BTS or MRT where I live or work

“I really want to use the BTS or MRT but there are no stations near where I live on Ekkachai Road. Instead I have to drive for over an hour to get into town when there’s traffic.”
Pasaraporn Mongkolruengrawee, 34, business owner. Drives from Ekkachai Road to town 3-4 days a week.

What’s being done: The opening of the BTS Silom line to Bangwa, scheduled for Dec 5, is just the first in a raft of extensions to the existing BTS and MRT lines over the next few years:
2016: Green line (Mo Chit-Saphan Mai, 19km), Blue line (Hualamphong-Bang Kae, Bang Sue-Tha Phra, 27.2km)
Pink line (Carai-Meenburi, 21km)
Green line (Bearing-Samutprakarn, 16.8km)
2018: Orange line (Bang Kapi-Meen Buri, 24km)
2019: Orange line Talingchan-Cultural Center 17.5km) and the Purple line (Taopoon-Ratchaburana, 43km).
Why it’s not enough: The BTS and MRT keep pushing into the suburbs, but nothing is being done to improve transport along the busiest roads in town, such as Phetburi, Ekkamai, Sathorn, Rama 3 and Rama 9—not to mention the lack of interconnections.

Problem #2:
The park and ride service at the BTS and MRT is inadequate

“The park and ride at Mo Chit is convenient for me but it’s prone to flooding during heavy rain. There are no basic facilities, like toilets, either. Also, it’s quite scary at night, as there are not enough security guards. They only show up at 1am to tell you that the parking lot is closed and that you cannot take your car home...Very helpful.”
Wanwasa Kaewchompu, 33, loan officer.
Drives from Rangsit to Mo Chit and takes the BTS to get into town a couple of times a week

What’s being done: The Energy Ministry gave B43 million to the BMA and State Railway of Thailand to create the park and ride parking lots at MRT Bang Sue and BTS Mo Chit, which both offer free parking to 3,000 cars each. At MRT Ladprao there is space for 2,200 cars, at a fee of B10 per hour.
Why it’s not enough: Overcrowded parking lots lead to damaged cars and women don’t feel safe in them. The bigger problem, though, is that park and rides don’t even exist at most end of the line stations, including Bearing, National Stadium and Wongwian Yai.

Problem #3:
Walking to work or to the nearest public transport sucks

“I hate that there are so many things on the sidewalk. For starters, motorcycles always use the pavement as a shortcut. Things only get worse when it rains, especially when the drains don’t work properly. There are too many stalls on my route, too. I don’t want to smell like grilled pork when I have a date that night!”
Pannakan Jiramahakhun, 33, trade marketing.
Walks to and from MRT Ladprao daily.

What’s being done: Seemingly, nothing. The only plan to come out of the BMA for better walkability involved building a “Super Skywalk” that would run along parts of Rama 1-Sukhumvit, Ratchadamri and Phaya Thai, increasing the existing skywalk’s total length from 1.5km to 16km and ultimately 32km in a second phase. The project has since been quietly shelved.
Why it’s not enough: Pedestrian bridges offer terrible walkability: they’re disabled-unfriendly, they block views and they don’t offer comfortable walking because of the steep stairs you need to climb. According to experts, sidewalks should be 2.5 meters wide, with trees and disabled-friendly slopes (see below). Streets should have zebra crossings, not bridges.

Problem #4:
Our buses are uncomfortable and outdated

“I would ditch my car if there was a nice public bus that didn’t look like a motorized wooden shack driven by idiots on amphetamines.”
Alisara Chirapongse, 26, online media manager.
Travels from Pattanakarn to Ploenchit daily.

What’s being done: Bangkok has a total of 7,500 buses, 3,509 of which are operated by the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) and 4,016 by private companies. Some 1,600 of BMTA buses are non-air-con. Finance Minister Kittirat attempted to revive the purchase order for 3,000 NGV buses from China at B3 million per bus but there’s been no news of a signed contract since.
Why it’s not enough: Bangkok needs more dedicated bus lanes so that people using public transport get rewarded with faster commutes, just like the BRT on Narathiwat (which is already packed during rush hour). The MRT, BTS and buses also need to share the same ticketing system, so that people who have to change systems three times to get to work don’t end up paying more than if they drove.

Problem #5:
Taxis won’t go where I live

“I always have problems with taxi drivers. Whenever I tell them where I’m going, they reject me, giving me all sorts of reasons, whether it’s traffic or having to return their car. This one time I tried for hours before I eventually gave up trying to hail a taxi and had to spend another hour on a bus.”
Praorujee,23, official receiver. Commutes from Ratchapreuk Road to Lad Prao on weekdays.

What’s being done: Since this month, taxi drivers can now be fined B1,000 if they reject a fare. Register your complaints by calling 1584.
Why it’s not enough: Taxi drivers don’t take cars off the road, obviously, but good cabs do encourage public transport because they can act as a relay from public transport to your final destination—or take you home when you finish late for those who came into the city without a car. To be fair, taxis in Bangkok are cheap and plentiful, but still reject fares, particularly those most likely to drive into town because they live further away.

Problem #6:
Riding a bicycle is hell in this town

“I don’t understand why people who park their car in a bicycle lane don’t get a ticket from the police. Along Phra Athit Rd., I see everything from cars, metal fencing and even trash blocking the bike lane. The lane along the Ramintra expressway is also bumpy and gets slippery. There are no lights, which makes it even more dangerous. Bike lanes should be separated from the cars.”
Prutikorn Prajansakunee, 26, corporate communications officer. Rides his bicycle to town every week.

What’s being done: Bicycle symbols were painted on roads and sidewalks, such as on Ratchadamri.
What we’ve got: Unconnected bicycle lanes scattered over town, many of which have fallen into disrepair or are regularly blocked. It’s still dangerous to ride a bicycle in Bangkok’s traffic and the sidewalk bicycle lanes are used by motorcycle taxis and occupied by street stalls.

HOW TO Make the Perfect Sidewalk

1.The width should be at least 2.5 meters so that two wheelchairs can pass each other comfortably.
2. The gradient from the sidewalk to road level should not exceed 30 degrees.
3Zebra crossings (crosswalks) at all intersections and every 100-120 meters.
4. Walking is entirely at street level: no skywalks or pedestrian bridges.
5.The Braille block path (for the blind) should be free of obstacles and consistently warn of intersections.
6. Vents in grates should be under a 1/2 inch and perpendicular to the direction of travel so that wheels on strollers or wheelchairs don’t get jammed in the grates.
7. Street vendors should have their own designated space, leaving the sidewalk to pedestrians.
8. Ideally, sidewalks should benefit from some kind of shade, either from trees or awnings. Trees also process carbon dioxide.
9. Bicycles lanes should be on the road, not the sidewalk. They should be one meter wide.
10. Surfaces should be smooth and free of any holes likely to make people trip.

Q&A: Thana Vichaisarn

Director General of Traffic and Transportation Department, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)

Why does Bangkok have so many traffic issues?
It’s down to many factors. Bangkok has lots of laws regarding traffic issues, but the blame must go to both law enforcement officers and to the people who infringe them. We need to promote more moral and social responsibility. We must respect each other’s rights, and then we’ll have less traffic troubles. The BMA must make sidewalks more accessible for wheelchairs, introduce more lanes for bicycles, and ensure motorcyclists don’t take advantage of them. Sidewalks belong to pedestrians, not motorcycles or vendors. Law enforcement officers have a lot to handle so it’s better if everyone took more responsibility for their own actions.
Are there any plans for reducing the number of cars on Bangkok’s roads?
For the short-term we are focused on managing our roads. Hundreds of thousands of new cars are rolled out every year and it’s not possible to build new roads to accommodate all these cars. We need to better manage the existing roads to optimize their use. We’ve already installed LED road signs in 50 areas to keep people updated on traffic conditions. We also hope to develop a mobile phone app with iTIC (Intelli gence Traffic Information Center) to deliver commuters real-time traffic information to help them decide their route. We also just installed detectors which calculate the quantity of cars at 60 junctions throughout Bangkok so that traffic lights best meet the needs of the city. As for long-term plans, we aim to expand our mass transit system, namely the BTS and MRT, to cover all of Bangkok. We also have a plan to build a small monorail system covering the Soi Rangnam-Victory Monument-Dindaeng triangle now that the BMA has moved headquarters to Dindaeng. Finally, we plan to expand transport along the Sansaeb Canal further downstream to Minburi, too. We’ve already built the pier and we’re just waiting to test the route soon.
Are there any more plans to make Bangkok more bicycle-friendly?
We’re going to install a Bangkok public bicycles for rent scheme like what they have in Europe. People will use a smartcard that enables them to refill their money online. There will be 50 parking spots and about 300 bicycles available in Silom, Sathorn, Wireless Rd. and Pathumwan areas. The project just needs final approval. Hopefully we can implement it soon. But making Bangkok a bicycle-friendly city is a difficult task. Introducing proper bike lanes isn’t something that everybody is happy about, especially drivers. What we need is more time to open up people’s minds to such ideas. 

I dreamed of being an astronaut, as I loved science when I was young. I even created homemade rockets when I was in elementary school.

I hated playing piano at first. My dad, an engineer, tried to persuade me to try it because he loved classical music and played a little piano himself. But all I wanted to do was study science.

I got fed up with pop songs all about love and being heartbroken. They’re so boring. That’s why I got into Carabao, whose songs deal with serious issues like drugs and troubles in life.

I realized I wanted to play piano after seeing my aunt teach one of her students to play at her house. I was 13.

My piano skills advanced really fast. I could play Beethoven after just two weeks. Then I started composing my own songs after six months and passed the highest piano exam after two years.

Eventually I met Somtow [Sucharitkul, leading composer and novelist] who showed me the world of classical music. I asked him for his autograph then told him that I wanted to be a conductor and composer. He later took me to study with him after he saw the songs that I had composed.

Working for real is the only way to get true experience. I quit Mahidol’s College of Music to work with Somtow. People might think this was a difficult decision. But my dad, who is quite a progressive thinker, and I agreed that this would really help me become the real deal.

You have to know how to win people’s hearts for them to listen to you. I was only 18 when I went to work as a conductor and resident coach at the Opera Studio Nederland [in Amsterdam]. While most of my colleagues were older than me, I finally proved that I could do the job.

No matter how good a conductor you are, you won’t get the right sound from the musicians if they don’t have faith in you.

Old and young are equally likely to be wrong. As a society, we should question and discuss things more openly. It’s counter-productive if we stick to the rule that seniors are always right.

Being a conductor is a high-pressure job. Things can go wrong at any time, which can ruin the whole show.

I’m nervous every time I meet a new orchestra. I feel like these 60-70 people could eat you alive. So it’s up to me to express my vision and explain the hidden emotion of the music for them.

Conducting is the same as creating music. Like a pianist uses a piano, a conductor controls the whole orchestra.

It’s difficult to reach new audiences with classical music. It’s not considered mainstream here, or anywhere, really. Most people into classical music are quite old.

Classical was the music of the masses in the old days. Guys like Mozart would play in the square in the middle of the city.

I’m at my happiest living in Thailand. This is the first year that I plan to take a break from working abroad. I’ve worked non-stop for 3-4 years, so I haven’t had time to enjoy things like our delicious food. That’s not to say I won’t be busy—I’ve got lots of projects, including working as music director for Reya the Musical.

Television dramas reflect real life. Adultery has been documented since the ancient Greeks, and if it didn’t happen in real life then lakorns [Thai soap operas] like Dok Som See Thong wouldn’t be so popular. Drama is all about showing the bad side of humanity.

Monogamous relationships are against human nature. If we weren’t told that it’s a good thing, it’s probable that we wouldn’t be monogamous. However, I hope to spend the rest of my life with the one person that I truly love.

I dream of being a conductor for the world’s top three orchestras: the Berlin Philharmonic from Germany, the Vienna Philharmonic from Austria and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from the Netherlands. It might take me decades, but it’s something to aim for.

I am driven every day by a need to prove myself. I remember one time a friend of mine saw me trying to compose and he said that I worked haphazardly. I think he might understand what I was trying to do now.

Being naturally gifted only gives you a head start. The best way to succeed is to set yourself goals and work hard to achieve them. I may have quit school but I’ve never stopped learning.

Set yourself goals and believe in yourself. If you keep practicing, then one day you will get to where you want to.

I used to be quite anti-entertainment industry. I had bad memories of it from when I had to sleep alone at night because my mom [famous comedian Noi Pho-ngam] would go perform comedy shows at pubs or be on the set of a lakorn [Thai soap opera] and wouldn’t be home until late. We didn’t have time to do things together.

Comic roles are the hardest in acting. It’s all about imagination. But I might have been a comedian if I’d been born earlier. Seriously, I’m funnier than my mom. But the era of a comedian making a living from gigs at night is over.

You never know what you like until you try it. I never dreamed of being a singer until I was cast as one by GMM. Then I discovered my love for dancing and singing. Touring all over the country opened up a whole new world for me.

I love sad songs even though I am seen as more of a dance performer. I proposed to GMM that I start singing in different styles but they said the time wasn’t right, so I decided to put my whole music career on hold.

I can’t wait until I’m 40 and still doing what I love. Singing is my first love. I look to someone like Jennifer Kim as my inspiration. She’s still singing at that age. If you’re still good, people will listen to you.

I used to reject all acting jobs because I considered myself just a singer. Singing and acting are totally different crafts. It’s not a matter of simply putting down the microphone and you can act.

I love challenges. I used to be looked down upon. People would say that as the daughter of a comedian I couldn’t be a pop singer. But those comments spurred me on. And I have proven that I can be both a singer and an actress.

Compliments don’t make anyone better. Constructive criticism does. It helps you advance yourself.

There is no such thing as eternal fame. You must respect the work you’re doing.

Everyone gets their moment in life. People always say that I’m lucky to get so many acting jobs. I dream that one day I will be able to show all these movies to my children so that they can know what I have achieved

I was so shy when I first met Ryan Gosling on the set of Only God Forgives. He’s playful in person but really serious when he’s preparing for a scene. For one scene he had to act as if he had hurt his leg and he limped around all day, even when he wasn’t in front of the camera.

I am really happy that luuk thung [Thai country music] will finally be recognized in a Hollywood movie. Nicolas [Winding Refn, director of Only God Forgives and Drive] adapted my role to be a singer like I am in real life. It’s so fucking cool to see luuk thung feature in a scene.

Many people label Jan Dara as an erotic movie but I’ve read the book; the storyline is intricate and the characters have great depth. Their humanity is captured in their feelings of love, greed, anger and infatuation.

Sex is natural. Men and women need it just the same. It’s about demolishing the wall between you and the one you love. In the end, it’s about losing yourself and revealing who you really are.

Women who dress provocatively aren’t all asking to be exploited. But I believe that deep down all women love to be touched by the one they love.

You can’t change a person completely no matter how much you try. I’m always the one to end a relationship once I realize there is something we can’t share. It’s not going to work out if we wait any longer. I once waited for someone to change, but I look back now and feel it was such a waste of time.

You can go from having it all to having nothing, just like that. My mom, a single mom, used to make lots of money from her shows. But when they began to flop she had to sell all our things and I was left with only B1,000. But she wouldn’t let me know what really happened.

I’m fortunate to have experienced both great happiness and sadness. It’s better that I’ve tasted all this before it’s too late and I’m old, so that I can properly plan out my life.

I’m so glad to have a mom who is down-to-earth. She has taught me that even when you’re at your saddest, you should try to smile.

You can’t run away from your problems, nor does bad luck last forever. Everyone will have their day.

I dreamed of being a diplomat because I loved the idea of traveling abroad and learning the history of a country. I also love languages so I chose to study political science.

I’m so proud, when I’m abroad and I get to talk to foreigners. I always try to convince them to visit Thailand.

Studying gets my adrenaline flowing. It’s fun. I love learning new things. That’s why I’m currently taking a master’s degree, also in political science.

I love giving things a try. At first I didn’t want to work in the entertainment industry but Channel V was auditioning for new VJs, so I thought, why not? Out of some 500 entrants, I was one of six selected to become a VJ after a five-minute trial in front of the camera.

I don’t want to be the center of attention. I never think of myself as an actress. I’m a person who is lucky enough to do many things in life, and acting is just one part of that.

The media is so powerful today. They can decide who is a star and who is a flop with the stroke of a pen.

People tire of their everyday life. That’s why celebrity news is so popular now.

You must work hard to be truly famous. You can’t survive on a pretty face alone. You have to really invest yourself in your work to ensure it’s of the highest quality.

Don’t judge people until you’ve met them. And don’t put on an act to get close to someone. These are some of the biggest things I’ve learned from being in the business for over a decade.

Thai society today is driven by people only thinking of themselves. I mean, we don’t all need to drop everything and help each other, but a little more sharing would be a good start.

Education is the only way to improve society. It might not happen in our lifetime, but serious changes need to be made. Now kids only learn what the system tells them to, so by the time they grow up they don’t know what they really want. Students should be given more freedom of choice.

I don’t mind that people aren’t reading much. It doesn’t mean that they are lazy. The most important things are being able to distinguish between right and wrong, and being able to analyze a situation.

I used to see love as a fairy tale. Everyone would live happily ever after. Now I understand you can’t change someone to be who you want. However, I still dream of finding a soul mate.

There’s not necessarily any right or wrong in a love triangle. I was caught up in one and it was very distressing. I couldn’t choose between the two as I had feelings for both. I was afraid to hurt the other’s feelings.

I don’t have a clear picture of my life at this point. Many women measure themselves by whether they have a good job or a good marriage. Those who are lucky might have both, but I feel like I have neither. I’ve tried so many things, but I don’t know where my true passion lies.

Money isn’t everything. I don’t want to force myself to do things I don’t like for the sake of money.

I pick and choose my work according to my instincts. I don’t make extravagant demands nor do I necessarily need big budgets or top directors.

I like being a DJ best of all. It’s me. I don’t need to wear make-up. I can dress how I want and be myself.

I’d like to work as a coordinator between the government and the entertainment sector to promote our movies in the international market. Thais shouldn’t just accept foreign culture to the detriment of our own.

I love running. You don’t need any gadgets. It’s all about improving yourself. I had a go at car racing but it wasn’t really me. I have no interest in controlling things. I just want to control myself.

Every day is a success. I think like this in order to keeping moving forward. I don’t know how far I’ll go tomorrow but I know it will be a progression from yesterday.

Pop-up Veggie Gardens

About two years ago, a great empty space opened up next to Ratchathewi BTS station right near the center of town after the removal of a number of old shophouses. With the help of locals like Butdee Jongmoom, 35, a motorcycle taxi driver, the plot now more closely resembles a nature reserve, albeit one that’s overgrown with lush trees and people’s mini farming projects. Butdee tells us about the transformation and how he uses the space to grow vegetables.
How long have you worked around here?
About two years. I don’t know exactly what used to be in this space before because by the time I came all the buildings had already been removed.

How did the gardening begin?
It all started a few months ago when a group of university students came to plant some flowers and vegetables for their course. The crew of a TV show called Joh Jai also came here to plant some trees. But after they left, I realized there was nobody taking care of those trees. They were dying so I decided to transfer all the trees that were still alive into one spot where I also grow things like chili, tomato, lemongrass, basil, pandanus, kale and papaya.
How do you take care of it all?
I water the plants from about 6am. I normally use sewage water but it depends on the rain. This place is also home to many stray cats, so I feed them using money I get from foreigners as well as my own funds.
Why do you do all this?
I just want to do it. That’s it. It makes me happy. It also gives me something to do during the day while I wait for customers.
What hopes do you have for this space?
I want it to be a park. If you look up, there are buildings everywhere. But when you look at this green space, even though it’s really overgrown, it’s far more pleasant than looking at concrete. There are no parks around here, so it would be great to make better use of it. But the land has an owner, so it’s not really up to us.

Concrete Playground

Ten years after the land next to BTS Ratchathewi was earmarked for the construction of an expressway, little has changed. A sign put up by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) still bars people from using the space, but the flat concrete surface boxed in by old graffiti-strewn buildings has become a de facto playground for kids and adults alike.

Street Football

Nearly ten years ago, a small group of sports enthusiasts started gathering to play street football among the debris and rubbish at an empty lot under the expressway near Victory Monument. Then Piya and Marnit Suk-udomlert, two brothers with a passion for football, decided to pour their own money into making the space a proper street football facility for youngsters in the neighborhood. Now it not only attracts regular faces every night, but it also helps nurture young talents, some of whom have gone on to play in the national futsal league and even the national team.

Marnit Suk-udomlert

40, self-employed

What drove you to support street football?
My brother and I decided to help develop this place after we saw that many people were coming here to play football on a really poor surface with only small goals. We thought it would be good to establish a stronger community for football players in the neighborhood, especially as we both just love playing the sport in the evening!
Aside from being a caretaker of the space, what else do you contribute?
Anytime I hear about an upcoming football or futsal competition, I round up the skillful kids we have playing here to compete. I often help with funding for these kids, too.
What reward do you get from all your hard work?
None at all! I return any tournament prize money to the kids and also cover most of the food, travel and accommodations costs. I am extremely happy to do this and don’t think of it as losing money. One year I spent nearly half a million baht. Now and then kids will ask me to help buy them football shoes or apparel. I don’t care about winning championships, I just want to give these kids a shot at playing the sport they love.
Does this space have any rules?
Anyone can join and we’re all considered equals here. The seniors help look after the juniors. Many kids use the space and I don’t want them fighting.
What would you like to see done with abandoned spaces like this?
Firstly, I’d like some new floodlights installed here, as ours are broken. As for other spaces, I think Bangkok generally needs more sporting grounds, so why not transform what we already have?

Street Art

Bangkok is home to countless abandoned spaces, many of which are decrepit and far from beautiful. But for some graffiti artists they’re a blank canvas from which they can brighten up the city and encourage more people to embrace art.

Patcharapol Tangruen (Alex Face)

31, artist

How did you become a graffiti artist?
I always liked drawing and went on to study fine arts. I had a few friends who were into skateboarding which is part of the same urban culture as graffiti. When graffiti became a big trend I pretty much taught myself how to do it. It’s an adventure to go out and spray walls. The first time was so much fun. Now I can’t stop myself. It’s given me a different angle on art.
Where do you get your inspiration?
My art is really influenced by my daughter Madee. Whenever I see her do something, I try to translate it to art. I’ve already carved out a signature style of my own, which I want people to recognize as being specifically Thai.
What’s something cool that’s happened to you while doing graffiti?
A long time ago, one of my foreign homies visited me in Bangkok. While we were spraying some walls around an abandoned space, all of a sudden this guy came up to my friend and asked, “Are you tired? Would you like something to eat?” My friend was totally afraid, but after I translated what was said, we went and had a great meal at this stranger’s house. Most Thai people are really open-minded like this; I rarely run into too much trouble.
What do you make of Bangkok’s abandoned spaces?
Quite obviously, these places are symbolic of our local economy. In a way, they’re monuments of failure and corruption.
What would you like to see done to these spaces?
I want them to be devoted to art. Thai people generally don’t visit art galleries, so maybe it’s better to have it all set outside. Personally, I like the idea of decorating our city with graffiti but these creations must have deeper meanings that really resonate with people. Often when I see a deserted place, I just can’t help but go ahead even without a permit.

Bike Polo

It’s an all too familiar sight in our newspapers: great big pictures of officials shaking hands to open another community gym for the benefit of our children. Sure, many of these are still operational but others, like the one under the Rama 9 expressway on Praditmanoontham Rd., have fallen into complete disrepair before being completely abandoned. This particular gym once had the backing of a famous promoter; now it’s just a space where two boxing rings stand and gather a thick layer of dust. Thankfully, the surrounding concrete space sees a little more action, but it took a bunch of youngsters, calling themselves the Bangkok Hard Court Bike Polo group, to revive this lonely spot through their sport, a variation on traditional polo in which bicycles replace horses.

Suphakit Prasomsook

food stylist and member of Bangkok Hard Court Bike Polo group

When did you start playing bike polo?
About two years ago after meeting others who enjoyed playing bike polo in Saimai district. But we had to stop playing there because my bicycle shop was closed down. That left us having to find other suitable places to play as bike polo requires a large, open space like a convenience store parking lot.
How did you find this place?
My young friend Hilmee told me about this place he said was abandoned and might suit our sport. When I came to check it out, I realized it was the perfect fit. It used to be a community boxing gym but no one uses it anymore, only a group of children who come to play football every evening. So we decided to use the court during the day time when they are not here.
How do you manage the space?
We regularly clean it up because it gets full of dust and garbage. We also built a low wooden fence to prevent our ball from going astray. My friend and I spent about B1,000 of our own money to buy the wood then built it. But as we share the place with others, we have to pull down our fence when we stop playing. We hope to keep using this space because the cover from the expressway means we can play in any weather.
What are your long-term plans for this place?
We all like it here and it’s best that we have a space where we can play regularly, otherwise it’s difficult to encourage more people to take up the sport. We currently play every weekend and we all keep in contact via our Facebook group “Bangkok Hard Court Bike Polo.”
How do you feel when you see similar spaces going unused?
It’s pretty disappointing. People can do lots of fun things with these abandoned spaces. Just imagine if we had a ramp for all sorts of extreme sports under the long Ramintra expressway. Wouldn’t that be cool? I also want more parks. This city is crying out for more green spaces. There’s so little room and every piece of land has an owner. I’d like for some rich people to invest their money in developing more public parks. For now we just have to make do with the spaces we have.

BK ASKS

What changes would you like made to this abandoned space?

Surat  Eiamsam-arng

44, messenger
I’ve lived around here for three years and I see so many kids come to ride bikes or play sports. At dusk some migrant workers also come to play sepak takraw. It would be good to see the place tidied up a bit.

Danu Jintanatham

39, bike shop owner
I’ve already sent a proposal to the BMA to use the space for fixed gear bicycles, but I haven’t received a reply. Some people play basketball and football but there’s also a fair bit of drug use on-site. I’d like it to be turned into a green space, so people can exercise in a pleasant location.

What would you like to see done with Bangkok’s abandoned spaces?

Songkhit Suti

28, futsal player
Many years ago, I was one of the people who first painted the lines for the pitch here. We still source our electricity for lighting from a nearby shop and we all split the bill. We’ve had a little assistance from the BMA who helped put up a fence, but we really need some new floodlights.

I dreamt of being a singer since I was a kid. I was inspired by famous singers like Bird Thongchai. I started practicing with a karaoke machine that I bought myself, by saving up my pocket money. My friends later encouraged me to enter singing competitions.

I was really shy when I first took to the stage. I didn’t know how to sing well enough to impress the crowd. But I got to love it more and more. I wanted to entertain people.

Once, I even danced with my guitar to make the audience like me better, because I knew I couldn’t win with just my voice.

One day my dad told me to send a demo to GMM after he heard that they were seeking new faces. But it didn’t work out until I was called in to join the game show Game Hot Pleng Hit.

I didn’t win the show but they hired me anyway. They saw how much I loved entertaining people. Then I became a member of U.H.T. which was a successful boy band back then.

I never imagined doing anything else but singing. But when the U.H.T. project finished and I had a chance to be a DJ and MC, I fell in love with that too. Now, I’ve spent so much time being a DJ and MC, I don’t feel confident when I have to sing again. I don’t even know how to pose or what to do with my hands.

So what if I used to be in this famous boy band and have a gay look. It’s not awkward to me. I do everything I do fully. And it’s all natural.

I’m not going to confirm whether or not I am gay. I don’t want to lie. And I don’t want to make an announcement. I want everyone to look at my work, not my love life. You guys will get an answer when I get married. If I marry a man, it’s yes; if I marry a woman, then that’s a no.

Sex is like eating. It up to you to decide when  to stop, when you feel you’d had enough. If  you’re addicted to it, your life will be a mess.  Everything has two sides, so do what’s right.

The third gender’s love life is actually like straight people’s. Straight people might see the third gender as love gurus but we have plenty of depression, sadness and heartbreak in our lives, too.

The character in my latest movie isn’t even remotely close to the real me. He is openly gay and believes that having sex is just something for fun. But I believe that we should have sex when the time is right.

Experience will teach you to protect yourself. I was heartbroken because I didn’t love myself enough. My ex-lover is a cheater but I tried to convince myself that I was just paranoid. At the end, my fears were actually true.

Love is uncertain. No one owns anyone. I think that it’s all down to karma. I might have hurt someone in my last life so they came to get revenge in this life. Just forgive and move on.

You will find love when you’re not looking for it. There are many people who come to flirt with me but I don’t click with any of them. Maybe my brutal love experiences have taught me to separate between love and infatuation. Your feelings are the best clue to know who is right for you.

I love to do live shows, where things don’t have to be perfect. I do mostly interviews and my style of talking must feel natural. I don’t like faking it. I’m most happy when we can record the show in one take.

I’m a workaholic because I’ve found what I love to do. I can get bored easily without work.

My parents are my biggest inspiration. They didn’t get a proper education but they managed to raise five children. At one point, they had only B20 left to feed all of us. More importantly, we never found out [until much later]. They really sacrificed themselves for us.

Parents are like our children when they get older. We have to take care of them as best as we can. Some people only realize this when it’s too late.

Parents’ jobs look easy when they raise you, but when you start to earn money and try to raise someone on your own, then you understand how hard it is. So give them support while you can, you’ve got the rest of your life to make more money [for yourself].

My success is beyond my expectations. I already felt complete as a singer and I’m still doing what I love.

I don’t want to be rich. I have my TV production company called Eaky Mouth to do shows for TV. But I don’t want it to expand and become too big. I don’t want to work hard until I have no time to appreciate the things surrounding me.

I never had a goal in life as a child. I just went to school in order to graduate to please my parents and fulfill my duties as their son.

I hate math. It just makes no sense to me. That’s basically why I chose to study communication arts—so I didn’t have to bother with math.

I couldn’t get a proper job after graduating. I got bored easily so I changed jobs a lot. But I was lucky to earn money from being a model and playing music at night with my friend’s band, Kingkong Project.

I even got bored playing music every night. Everything is the same. People are there to get drunk. It’s just not a thing that I love to do.

One day an agency contacted me about a movie role. I rejected it at first because I knew nothing about acting, but they kept calling so I decided to go along and prove that I wasn’t up to it. But they loved me and I landed my first role as Kai Yoi in Dear Daganda (2005).

Acting is the only thing I don’t get bored with. It puts a spark in my life. It’s always exciting planning how to bring a role to life.

I try to base my acting on human behavior. Donald Duck is my favorite cartoon character because I feel he is a realistic portrayal of humanity. He’s not a bad guy but he does have his bad sides. I have many things in common with him—I can be grumpy, bad-tempered and stubborn.

I’m interested in writing screenplays and directing short films. My seniors at GTH have given me the opportunity to explore these sorts of projects.

Thai films like Shambhala are rare. It looks at the great journey of life by tracing a journey to Shambhala [in Buddhist tradition, a mythical kingdom in Tibet]. Most Thai dramas just keep repeating stereotypical plots and characters.

Filming in Tibet was really brutal. I’ve never been so cold. It was like sitting in a freezer without a blanket. It didn’t matter how many coats or sweaters I put on.

The most important part of traveling is the journey, not the destination. Traveling has opened up my mind. I love exploring and experiencing the unexpected, especially abroad. I disagree with people who just aim to work hard, save money and then retire. Enjoy life while you can.

Certain songs have more resonance when you’re sad. I used to ask myself why I felt sad. Is it really worth feeling sorry for yourself? Once you
answer these questions, you can move on.

I’ve had many low points in my life, like when my parents went bankrupt or when I felt I was being ignored by them. We never had much communication in my family, and it pissed me off to be the one who had to solve the problems all the time because we didn’t talk openly. But I’m happy that we’re much closer now.

I’ll never think of myself as weak or a failure. I don’t use my family problems as an excuse to misbehave or become a drug addict. I think many people make trouble for themselves because they are weak-minded.

Being an atheist doesn’t mean I’m savage. I still strongly believe in goodness. I lost my faith after my family fell into crisis and there was not a single soul to help us. Self-reliance is best.

I look down on selfish and irresponsible people because they can only lead a silly life. To improve, society needs people with a solid sense of right and wrong.

When people take sides, they come up with all sorts of outrageous arguments to justify themselves. For this reason, it’s hard to solve our national conflict.

Marriage complicates our lives. Lovers should be able to be together without worrying about social norms or who owns whom. Then if they break up it’s better than divorcing. I guess I have different views and maybe that’s why I don’t have a girlfriend.

Some may say I’m quite individual but I know I’m perfectly normal. I still enjoy using the BTS, taking a cab or walking the streets to get where I want to go.

I can’t drive a car. I don’t see any reason. We’re complaining about an energy shortage, but we still have tons of cars on the road.

I love shopping at JJ market for the rare, secondhand stuff. You can get awesome T-shirts for only 40 baht. They’re not all dirty old things, some just didn’t pass QC.

Cats are the funniest animals. I don’t know why, but they always look nervous. Their poses are hilarious. I just like to watch them in action.

Life is to be enjoyed. But if you only have happiness, wouldn’t that be boring? Trouble is one of the flavors of life.

Special thanks to: Good Question Pub

I had wanted to work in diplomacy because I was good at English. But I ended up studying communication arts at Chula with the plan that I would move on the following year.

This faculty helped me find myself. It made me so happy to meet and communicate with people of many different backgrounds. Everyone was so unique.

I was president of a movie club. I loved watching movies and dreamed of one day being in one.

Everyone has a turning point. Mine came when I had to choose between being a flight attendant or an actress.

I choose to take risks in life because I believe true security can be found doing what you love to do.

It gives me great joy to take what’s a character on a piece of paper and turn it into a real person with real dimensions. That magical moment is why I chose to be an actress.

Acting is about believing, not pretending. You have to learn your character and really believe in them to achieve the purest portrayal.

I’ve grown up with GTH [one of the largest film studios in Thailand]. I started out as an intern, then worked with them as a freelancer before getting my first role in M.A.I.D (2004).

I used to get rejected due to my looks. But I didn’t take it too seriously because you can’t really tell anything about someone from a resume. It’s more stressful when people get to know you and they still don’t like you.

I don’t care when people say I’m not beautiful, because I am in love [with doctor-cum-singer Smith “Oak” Arayaskul]. But I’m still an ordinary person who feels sad sometimes. I don’t stay down for long, though, because I know I didn’t do anything wrong or lie to anyone.

I always get upset when I watch the political news. What the heck are these people doing to my country? We used to live in peace but now our country is in trouble.

Face your problems then move on. This advice might sound cliché, but I still find it difficult. I try to figure out my problems by myself rather than crying to others. But when I look back at some of the tough moments in my life, I feel that I was so silly!

Sometimes you need nothing more than someone to listen to your issues. I have more than half a million followers on Twitter and they often reach out to me about their problems. I reply when I can, if it seems their family members are in trouble or something. But I ignore them if it’s something like a cheating boyfriend.

No one is as stupid as a woman who is in love. This saying is from an ancient Vetala tale and even though it has been said for more than 2,500 years, I think it still applies today. Some women want to die because they don’t feel loved. That’s just absurd.

The young generation must lift their heads out from their mobile phones and social networking to embrace reality. They can learn so much from their family and from meeting real people. They also have trouble speaking because all they do is chat online and read headlines and tweets.

You have to find a balance between work and life. Even though I work seven days a week, I always find time for my family, whether it’s eating dinner with mom and dad, dropping my niece off to school or taking a trip with my grandma.

The world is our oyster; there is so much to learn. I’m not content to slave away and wait until I’m too old to do what I truly want to do. That’s no way to live.

You’re not a failure just because you don’t succeed at everything. If you keep on thinking that your life sucks, it will be that way until you die. Believe in yourself.

I love to read up about the history of a place before I visit, so that I can experience the hidden stories.

I don’t like e-books. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great innovation, but I love to hold a book in my hands. I love the feeling of reading printed word on paper.

Bangkok is the perfect city. I’ve been to many of the world’s leading cities, but none compare to here. There are great benefits to our chaos. In Europe, every shop is closed at 5pm, but here we can eat and shop at any time. We’re colorful 24/7.