2001

Nice to meet you. BK Magazine was launched in March—free, as it is now and will always be, but bi-weekly instead of every Friday, like clockwork, as it is today. Talk about visionary: long before they were officially an item, we had Paradorn and Tata on the cover of BK No. 001. And our current editor (who was not our editor then) was included in our Hall of Fame, as “class wit” (or was that “nitwit”? It’s so long ago we can’t remember).

The Year of the Snake was, appropriately enough, the start of the Thaksin Era, which began with the “historic victory” of his newly-formed party in the January 6 election. In four years, Chairman Maew promised, Thailand would be free of the scourges of drugs, corruption and poverty. If that sounds ridiculous to you now, don’t forget that he was also crowned the Sexiest Man in Thai Politics by Durex.

Though it seems like we’ve been connected by the ears for longer, it was only six years ago that the iPod was launched. These 5GB devices with “click wheels” that really clicked and batteries that died all-too quickly weren’t the first MP3 players on the market, but, judging from their ubiquity (and Apple’s stock price), they were clearly the best.

We’d rather not remember, but there’s no forgetting the events of September 11, which changed the world forever. In Thailand, we reacted—at times with questionable taste: soon t-shirts of Osama bin Laden were on sale next to t-shirts of George W. Bush, and rapper Da Jim’s “Bin Laden” became an inescapable underground hit.

Speaking of bad taste, let’s not forget about Father of the Year Chalerm Yoobamrung and his completely innocent and misunderstood offspring, who now have different names than they did back in 2001. The exploits of the bar-brawling brothers served to highlight, among other things, the public’s lack of confidence in the rule of law, the shaky relationship between the police and the military, a justice system weighted heavily in favor of elites and the dangers of Bangkok nightlife. Watch where you step.

In sports news, Paradon Srichaphan rose to no. 9 in the world tennis rankings and became the hottest property in town for advertisers as well as saow Thai, specifically dara luk-kreung like Odette and Tata. Speaking of luk-kreung, Tiger Woods, who is understandably tighter with Roger Federer than Ball, paid a high-profile visit in 2001. While his mom Kultida talked about her son on TV, Tiger went on to win the Johnnie Walker Classic, which was played on former temple land that may have been illegally turned into a golf course by godfather Sanoh and then sold to his buddy Thaksin.

It was a big year for film, but not so much for the overly hyped, overly long but predictably award-winning Suriyothai (thankfully it only hogged every screen in town for a week) but for international multi-part franchises Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Captain Wannachai is cute, but he’s no Orlando Bloom—or even Daniel Radcliffe (well he might be...naked).

The big news in the entertainment world was the arrival of Ministry of Sound, which took over the Sukhumvit 12 space that was previously Discovery discotheque and not in RCA or on Ratchadaphisek as it probably should have been. Immediately tagged Best New Night Spot, Best DJ and Best Place to Dance by BK readers, MoS was gone less than two years later, leaving everyone wondering what went wrong. Enforcement of early closing times, maybe?

2002

In the Year of the Horse, we started riding low cost airlines, and soon more people than ever were able to experience flight delays, cancellations, technical problems and shoddy service. Of the early birds, AirAsia is now flying highest, with Orient Thai still One-to-Go-ing along, PB Air out there somewhere and Phuket Air, grounded or not, still giving us nightmares. Go Nok!

The hottest TV program of 2001 was more than just a game show. Kamchad Jud Orn (The Weakest Link) became a phenomenon thanks in part to uni lecturer-turned-host Krittika Kongsompong and her stern sendoff (“You are the weakest link! You loser!”). What also made The Weakest Link controversial, and popular, is that it showed real people being nasty in order to win. Good thing life isn’t like that.

The year saw the second coming of RCA, which was previously left for dead after its first rise and fall. This time celebrities moved in to open their own pubs (Caramile, Chomrom Chom Chan, School Bus) for drinking, dancing, drinking and maybe a bit of other-ing in the underground parking lot if you couldn’t afford a motel. Other hotspots included Route 66, Morgan, Sailing, Cisar and Old Leng.

Unfortunately this was also the era of Purachai Piumsombun, who held RCA and other nightlife areas and venues up as examples of all that was wrong with society. They roamed the strip with cameras and reporters in tow, and called in squads of pee-collecting cops who were particularly sensitive to the color purple. Special nightlife zones were drawn up and closing times were strictly enforced. Punters started looking elsewhere—like Singapore.

Hand in hand with the moral crusade came more government-designed distractions such as pride-building patriotism and record-setting. Grammy was commissioned to create some new versions of the national anthem, which were intended to attract the younger generation; they should have asked Bakery Music instead. Then there was the world’s biggest aerobic session; among the 46,823 participants were celebrities, atheletes, politicians and, of course, then-PM Thaksin, who looks great in Spandex. 

2003

In 2003, SARS horrified the world and slapped Asia particularly hard. What began in China spread throughout the region, leaving in its wake deaths—two reported in Thailand—and hitting tourism-dependent economies right where it hurt most. The government responded with another bright idea of that clever boy Thaksin, a B10 million insurance policy for foreign tourists. You die, we pay.

In the Year of the Goat, we flocked like sheep to theaters to see Fan Chan. This feel-good flick was the first movie of the year to gross B100 million. Now one way to ensure a film’s success is to give it a tagline like “A movie from one of the Fan Chan directors,” “A movie from one of the assistants of one of the Fan Chan directors” or “A documentary from a highschool friend of one of the Fan Chan directors.” Thailand also welcomed a new hero, Tony Ja. With his “No Sling, No Stunt” motto, Ja Phanom made Onk-Bak a huge hit and set the stage for international distribution of his next mindless action film, Tom Yum Goong.   

Soap opera star Suwanan Kongying compromised relations between Thailand and our neighbor by saying mean things about Cambodians that were quoted in the Rasmei Angkor Newspaper. Only she didn’t. Unfortunately, no one heard her tearful denials until it was too late: Hun Sen was enraged, angry mobs torched the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, Thai flags were burned, Thai businesses vandalized and Thai people attacked. And of course Suwana’s soap operas were banned. 

2004

In the Year of the Monkey, Bird Flu invaded Thailand and we were scared senseless, until the PM announced it was again safe to eat properly cooked chicken. Hello, KFC! More monetary reassurance: If you were lucky enough to die of H5N1, the government would pay you B3 million. 

The tragedy of the year was the unexpected tsunami disaster. The upside of the tragedy was that the world showed how much it cared by sending money, blood, supplies and more.

The most violent and entertaining battle of the year was the governor election. Fun characters like the massage parlor king and Leena Jung appeared, the latter being disqualified as she paraded around with her transgender dancers.

In 2004 J-Avenue opened as a new hub for the young and trendy crowd. The beginning of the end for predecessor H1, in no time the gorgeous boys and girls had moved down the street and were peacocking at Au Bon Pain.

The reality TV trend kicked off locally with Academy Fantasia, which was soon followed by The Star, Big Brother, Thailand’s Next Top Model and Thailand’s Perfect Man.

But when it comes to real reality, it was a notorious year for celebrities, beginning with fading pop singer Power Pat, and Triumph Kingdom member Joyce, who were both arrested for selling amphetamines. The Casanova rapper Joey Boy got into trouble for joining a sex party, but later claimed he was taking prescription medication—er, sorry, wrong excuse: he said he was just there to watch, not actually participate. And 2004 was also the year Nong Nat became a VCD star and a household name. You go, girl!

As in most years, there was no accounting for taste in 2004. Taiwanese boy band F4 were tops: tickets to their Bangkok Fantasy concert were among the most expensive in town—even more than Mariah—and all 5,000 of the B6,000 tickets sold out within two hours. This was also the year of Tata Young’s comeback. Leaving her cute tomboy look behind, Tata appeared with longer hair, shorter pants and heavier… burdens. Not quite Nong Nat, but her hot-hot-hot videos sparked the usual “youth going down the toilet” debate.

2005

Forget diamonds, gold, and expensive watches. In 2005, wristbands began as fashion for teenagers who wore those multicolored rubber bracelets without a clue as to what they meant or who Lance Armstrong was. But soon, even your grandma had one. The most popular one, without a doubt, is the yellow Long Live the King wristband.

In the Year of the Rooster, Thaksin Shinawatra was named top cock (Person of the Year) in an ABAC Poll. Wow, things can sure change in two years. And we thought love is forever.

Speaking of cocky, Rain flooded Asia with his songs, TV series and images of his sixpack. We were lucky enough to talk to him in BK No. 095. Favorite book: “I don’t have time to read,” Favorite publication: “No magazine in particular,” Favorite website: “I’m too busy to go online,” Favorite song to get you on the dancefloor: “No song in particular.” What a guy.

Siam Paragon ads were on every BTS, wall, leaflet and TV in town. With this kind of marketing, we almost expected to be let down by the “glorious phenomenon.” Truth is, Paragon has lived up to our expectations. 

The rise of RCA came again in 2005, when Slim opened its doors and the king of the strip, Route 66, returned with a new-and-improved look. While everyone lemminged along with the rise of hip hop and bling-bling, Astra filled its bare bones interior with more than one kind of music. By the way, despite the rumors it’s still open. 

Even bigger, buzz-wise, was the arrival of Mystique. With its aquariums, curtained cubbyholes and comfy Bedouin rooftop retreat, this supposedly New York-style club gave Q-Bar and Bed a run for their money until the neighbors decided they’d had enough of the noise, traffic and wasted punters. 

2006

We don’t need to remind you of the coup d’etat and the New Year’s Eve bombs—and we don’t have to tell you what a crap way it was to end the year. But the Year of the Dog wasn’t all bad…

BK loves you way too much to spend an entire two weeks without getting in touch. To spend more time with you, we increased from bi-weekly to weekly—but the official reason was to help you plan your weekend every Friday.

The biggest and most spectacular celebration of this year was for the 60th Anniversary of HM the King’s Accession to the Throne. The country found peace for the occasion as Thais united under one color—the royal yellow. HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn stealing shots from the balcony, the human sea of yellow stretching as far as the eye could see, the royal barge procession, the world’s royals gathered to pay homage (and of course the super-hot then-Prince Jigme of Bhutan) were just some of the many touching and moving moments of the celebrations.

Aimed at boosting tourism in Chiang Mai, Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 2006 turned out to be a giant phak chee roy na picnic. What, people don’t visit Thailand for our flowers???

Having newspapers, TV and radio wasn’t enough for Sondhi Limthongkul: what he really wanted was to bring down Squareface. It took a marathon runner’s stamina to campaign and rally week after week, but he was there leading the cheers until it all came tumbling down.

In November, mobile phone numbers switched to 10 digits. As if we needed more stress.

We thought of inviting NASA to Thailand when unidentified objects began popping up in Uthai Thani. When they failed to deliver winning lottery numbers, the painful truth had to be accepted. The UFOs were nothing but water-gorged fever relief pads fallen from a plane.

Speaking of foreign round objects, Roti Boy had Bangkokians queuing for hours just to get a taste of those those cloyingly sweet coffee, butter, and sugar buns.

The alcohol advertisement ban for all media cast its shadow on TVs, radios and magazines. At BK, fearing for our jobs, we started drinking more heavily than ever, increasing sales of booze.

After 46 years of the nong ngoo hao project, Suvarnabhumi International Airport came to be in September. We’ll really miss Don Muang, especially that tunnel that was like being in some sick monster’s intestines that went from the domestic to the international terminal. Oh, but wait, DM is back!

Top 10 BKs

Every one of our issues is like a child to us, so you can imagine how painful it was to choose which ones we liked best. If you missed these, shame on you.

		Issue: Mar 16-Apr 5, 2001. Class of 2544. Why: This was our launch issue with Paradon, Tata and a puppy on the cover. We were very excited and we wanted to cover everything in town, review every restaurant, every bar, and interview everyone. We haven’t done too bad.
		Issue: Oct 5-18, 2001. Free & Easy. Why: We know that you love free stuff—we do too—so we went out and found everything you can get for B0.00: movies, arts, concerts, fitness and beauty trials, free food—and even condoms.
		Issue: Oct 3-16, 2003. Technicolor Dreams. Why: Our Fall Fashion Issue was so elegant, Vogue must have been jealous—with distinguished photographer Thananon Thanakornkarn.
		Issue: May 2-15, 2003. Ms. Thang’s Weekend. Why: It’s the birth of our Khun-nhu character who spends her time and money living the high life. She had such a blast, she made a comeback in BK No. 19, Aug 6-19, 2004 issue.
		Issue: Jul 16-Aug 5, 2004. Haiku. Why: It’s not often that we feel poetic and come up with haikus about what we needed Bangkok to be.
		Issue: Feb 4-17, 2005. Love, International Style. Why: This is one of the most talked about issues. For Valentine’s Day, we explored the complex business of love between Thais and foreigners.
		Issue: Jun 3-16, 2005. Be Good. Why: Because we want a better world—and not just great food and cool bars—we rounded up ways to change society for the better.
		Issue: Apr 7-27, 2006. Water World & Singapore Spree (double issue). Why: It was the first issue of BK with two front covers and no back cover. One side we told you how to survive the Songkran festival, the other heralded a complete shopping guide to Singapore.
		Issue: Jun 9-15, 2006. Big on Japan. Why: This one was a real big hit (and a small headache). You read it backwards, Japanese-style! Everything inside had been Nippon-ized as well.
		Issue: Jun 22-29, 2006. Good to be Gay. Why: It’s not all about the cute model on the cover. It was also about celebrating all things LGBT—Venus Flytrap, flavored condoms, and all the things that make being gay so good.