Nan

“I am a small town woman. I admire smaller communities where I can grasp how people live, their environment. Nan is like that. When traveling in the winter season, with the cooler air, you can just hop from temple to temple, walk along tiny streets, and get the most of Nan’s soul. Nan’s hidden gem must be Bo Klua, a small village uphill where they have been producing rock salt for nearly a thousand years. Small resorts at Bo Klua are shining examples of what happens when simple architecture made from mud, wood and bamboo meets panoramic views of the mountains—especially Bo Klua View Resort that whips up very tasty local cooking.”—Suriyapa Bunnag, Vice President – Communications, Nok Air

Songkhla and Bhutan

“In Thailand, I love Songkhla, a quiet yet charming province in the South. Blessed with pristine, quiet beaches, you can also enjoy walking through the town where much vintage Thai-Chinese-European architecture remains. It’s a totally charming ambiance. Get a sam lor taxi for a day-trip city tour and don’t forget to drop by Nang Ngam Road for a selection of local food.
“Abroad, Bhutan is on top of my list. In October there will be the king’s royal wedding so it’s a great occasion to visit the kingdom while everyone is celebrating. Oct-Jan is also the best time to travel to the beautiful plateau hugged by the Himalayans as the weather is chilled and the sky is a bright, clear blue. If the capital city Timpu is too busy for you, travel further east to the central provinces, like Trongsa or Bumtang, to find yourself amid the beauty of pristine nature and traditional cultures.”—Rathasiam Sinlakhun, Editor-in-Chief, Lonely Planet Magazine Thailand

Con Dao, Vietnam

“Having lived in big cities like Hong Kong and Bangkok for the past 20 years, it’s always great to get away to a quiet, little-visited corner of Asia. I haven’t been yet, but friends who have visited have sold me on the charms of Con Dao, Vietnam, a 45-minute flight from Saigon. Beyond the clichés like secluded and unspoiled, they paint a picture of an island fringed by turquoise waters and topped off with jagged stone peaks. In place of high rises along the beaches are lush hills. I have to come clean and admit that, if I had to choose one cuisine, my favorite food would be Vietnamese. There are banh mi cha ca (fish-cake sandwich) vendors here, so I’m set. Still, change is coming to this group of 16 islands, four-fifths of which are protected. It’s kind of strange that this would make for a great escape today: Con Dao is a former French penal colony.”—Chris Kucway, Editor-in
Chief, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia Magazine

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

“As much as I dislike traveling long distances, I still love Rio de Janeiro. This marvelous city is definitely like no other: the culture, food and way of life—everything there is fun. Forget about your worries and concentrate on partying, eating and the people. That’s how to become one of the beautiful Cariocas [a person from Rio de Janeiro]!
Why go this season? December-January falls right in mid-summer where temperatures can reach as high as 40 degrees Celsius. That means everyone is at the beautiful beaches and you get to see all these beautiful people dancing to the rhythmic Samba groove. You will need at least two weeks to enjoy Rio and maybe a couple of other spots in Brazil considering the flight time is already more than 20 hours from Bangkok.”—Ekkaphon Nanta-o-sot, Regional Corporate Communications Manager, Bangkok Airways

India

“India is one of the most charming places to visit, especially during the winter months. When the weather is cooler, there’s a completely different atmosphere and feel from India’s hot summer months. The colorful scenery, the intricate art, and the stunning architecture of forts and palaces make this country an endless playground for travelers. People can experience India as a backpacker or a luxury traveler and still enjoy all its rich flavors and cultural heritage.”—Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO, Thai AirAsia

Koh Payam and Bo Klua

If you want to avoid the crowds, Koh Payam in Ranong is your answer. Not very popular yet, this remote island is home to powdery sand beaches, mangrove forests and a few pretty resorts. But if you really want to feel the winter breeze, travel to Nan in the North and visit Bo Klua. A curvy road through lush forests and rice terraces leads to a thousand-year-old salt mine where locals still carry on the traditional process of salt production. Up there, a few baan-baan resorts sit overlooking a hilly panorama. Just pick one to extend your stay.”
— Anurak Hutasing, Executive Editor, Anywhere Magazine

Read more: The Season's 7 Hottest Destinations

Read more: New hotel openings in Thailand

I was born in Khon Kaen. I started working after fourth grade because my family, who are farmers, couldn’t afford to send me to school. I first helped my aunt sell khao gaeng [prepared food] in town, before moving to Bangkok to find work.

I was a construction worker at first, then became a factory worker. I haven’t changed jobs ever since. It has been 35 years now. I’ve never changed jobs because I figure that wherever I go, I’ll have to be an employee. I don’t have the education to do something else.

I started being a labor activist in 1981 because my friends, who were involved in the cause, asked me to join. I also wanted to do it because, back then, workers didn’t have any welfare benefits. They faced many hardships, from being fired or getting sick to being injured at work, with no compensation or pension from the employer. There were no laws giving us security in our lives.

Once, my friend’s sister’s legs were broken when she was hit by a car. The hospital didn’t accept her because she had no money. My friend had to run out to sell her gold necklace for money. That wouldn’t have happened if we had social welfare.

Living in poverty is really difficult. You can’t get medical treatment and your relatives get nothing if you die. You don’t get money when you’re sick and can’t go to work. So my friends and I have been working hard to push through a plan to create a social security system.

I participated in a hunger strike in front of parliament. Labor activists were there for three days until the government passed a law that granted the first social security rights for Thai
workers.

The prime obstacle in fighting for labor rights is persuading the other side to sacrifice their own benefits. The employers and the people in power, politicians, entrepreneurs and the government, are all on the same side. So it’s quite hard to make them accept our demands.

Social security is meant to provide security for workers when they can’t work. It’s social welfare for the poor. We work and save with the hope that we can spend it when we’re old.

But the Social Security Office spends too much money on PR and study trips abroad. Why did they spend B2.3 billion on computers for the Labor Ministry? Why use SSO funds for this?

The hardest time in my life was when I was listed as a troublemaker for joining the PAD protest. But, in the end, I wasn’t charged with anything.
I work from 8am to 5pm. If I have to go out for union-related duties, I inform my boss. I don’t get paid if I take leave, so I don’t need to worry that they’ll disapprove of what I do.

My wage right now is B257 per day. It’s a little above the minimum wage, which is now B215 in Bangkok and the suburbs. Most of my money goes towards my savings and to my family back home. I’m helping my sister send her kids to school.

I agree with the B300 minimum wage policy but the problem is making it real. We will demand that [the government] make good on their promise and will protest if they don’t.

Wages have always been chasing the cost of living. We’re never ahead. We’ve always had to endure this condition.

People always panic when wages are raised by even 2-5 baht. They think it’s going to raise the cost of living. They don’t focus on the fact that others have gotten richer. Workers never get a piece of that cake. Employers get more money and send their kids to study abroad, but workers spend their money paying their debts at the shops where they buy
groceries.

Inflation is the government’s problem. They are the ones who have to handle it, no matter by how much minimum wages are raised.

Politicians must remember they work for the people. We hire them with our taxes. If they don’t fulfill their promises, the people will come after them.

I dream of going back home after I retire. I will raise animals and grow vegetables on my family’s land. Just a simple life.

BK: Why did you decide to work here?
There is nothing to do at home. Mostly I work in our rice field. I was born in a poor farming family. I lived and worked in the village until I was 19. Then I decided to cross the border to work in Thailand, hoping there would be more jobs for me here.

BK: What was your first job in Thailand?
I started working at Klong Toei Market right away. I first worked at a mushroom shop for eight years but I finally got bored. Then I changed to work at a fish stall for three years before I became a cart pusher last month. Working at the fish stall was quite hard. I worked from 8pm till dawn, carrying these huge fish tanks and stacking them up on a truck. Then I’d sit and fillet the fish for vendors who came to buy it.

BK: When did you start working as a cart pusher?
I applied for this job with the company who runs the push cart business in the market last month. I have to rent the cart, basket and waistcoat with the number from them. It comes out to B2,300 per month. I get about 14-15 customers per day and I make B20-B30 baht from each of them. As I’ve just started doing this job, I don’t have many regular customers like the others.

BK: What is your daily routine?
I work from 6am to 5pm. The market is most crowded at 3-4am but I don’t come to work then because I don’t have customers. The market is busy at night, but mostly with professional buyers, and they mostly call on the pushers they know. It’s different during the day. Day shoppers call anyone near them. But I do get some regular customers who pick me, because they know me from where I used to work.

BK: What’s the hardest thing to carry?
I don’t like to carry fruits like bananas, or vegetables. It’s hard to control because these kinds of things are easy to bruise and get mushy. If I damage them, I get complaints from customers. Pushing dry stuff is much easier—like garlic or noodles.

BK: What’s your family situation?
I have a wife and a kid, who is just eight months old. I rent a room to live with my wife for B1,500 a month, not including the electricity and water bills which are about B300-B400. We had to send our kid to live with my wife’s mother in Savannakhet. My wife and I used to live in the same village, but we fell in love when we met here a few years ago. Now she works at a kanom jeen [cold rice noodles] stall. We go back home once a year during the holidays. No one else in my family has ever crossed the Mekong River to work in Thailand. My mom and sisters stay at the village while my brothers all work in Laos.

BK: Do you dream of doing something else?
If I can save up enough money, I want to go back home and open a grocery shop. But it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen, because I have no money.

How would you describe your sound?
When I first became passionate about music, I was listening British outfits like The Smiths and The Jam. So I’m a product of that kind of sound.

Tell us about how your latest project got started.
This is my first solo album. I had composed some of the songs for Day Tripper but they were never used. Later, I met and hung out with Pong and Patrice and we started talking about putting together a band. So I picked up those songs again to use here.

How is the sound different from Day Tripper?
Day Tripper’s music was composed by Tuan and me. Tuan’s songs were influenced by heavy metal, while mine were more like 70s-80s Brit and punk. So this album will definitely be more Brit rock and nu-wave as it’s been composed solely by me. But yeah, it can’t be exactly the same as I listen to new things all the time.

What else are you doing?
Everything related to music: composing music for advertising, spot dubbing, DJing at Prop Bar, Green Space and Motorcycle Emptiness Bar and other composing jobs.

What do you think of today’s music scene?
There are more opportunities for bands, because Thai people are more open to new things. Crub was the very first Thai indie band, in the 90s, and it was hard to find places to play live, and people didn’t seem to understand the songs. Now we are in the social networking age; it’s easy to be famous and be accepted. Technology has however tortured music careers a bit as people download songs instead of buying them.

What has been your best moment as an artist?
When I worked with Crub. At that time, when we recorded, we had to play everything live, while now the computer makes things a lot easier. I loved that feeling when everything seemed fresh and you could really feel the music.

If life throws a curveball at me, I’d… grab it with my right hand and pass it to my left.

If I’d gone with another DJ name, it would be… Jemdad.

If I wasn’t a sonic shaman, I’d be a… counselor.

The last time I was happy, it was… today.

The last time I was trashed, it was… yesteryears.

I’d die in peace if I got to met… Jesus.

My guilty pleasure is… chocolate cake and ice cream.

If tech makes you groove, Jeremy Boon plays on Sep 10 & 17 at Velvet Underground.

Claire Tham is famous for creating vivid characters. How did you get into the various roles?
I play three different roles—Lina and two interrogators. There is no costume change so the body plays a very important part in my getting into character. We have explored each character’s body shape, movement, and habits. The actor’s voice is integral to the discovery of these distinct roles as well.

In real life you’re a mother of three, yet Lina is a rather absent Mom. How did one inform the other?
My real-life role as a committed mother informs Lina of the deprivation of opportunity that she has. I am conscious not to play her as a mother who is judged as a lesser being just because she loves her job more than anything else in the world. She is a mother no less, but faced with a conflict that defines her as she is. My real life role as a daughter plays a part too and I have tapped on encounters with my own mother in my exploration of Lina’s role.

In the local theater scene, who inspires you the most?
Kuo Pao Kun. He was my mentor when I was in university majoring in drama and was a great influence in my involvement in theater. I have worked closely with Pao Kun on several productions and he made me relish the joy of working with multiracial actors from this region. He also instilled the value of staying true to the work we do as artists.

What would your dream role be?
I find this very hard to answer but I would like a substantive role in a Malay musical that plays in both Singapore and Malaysia.

The Gunpowder Trail runs through Sep 10 at the Esplanade Theater Studio.

The reason why human beings find the need to create is because we were first created. My hope is that every image I make will be a collaboration between the human and the divine.

Andre Gide once said that “Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.”

My first encounter with art was perhaps through the paintings that my father did. He was really good at drawing and painting and it was he who taught me how to draw and color.

I daydreamed a lot as a child and even made and played my own games.

I also wanted to be in a gang because I thought it would make me look cool. Quite silly really. I am glad that did not happen.

The process of creation is very self-absorbed. After all, you are trying to create a world in your own mind and it can be very draining after a while. You get frustrated and depressed.

Exercise relaxes the mind. Energy is being transferred from the mind to the body, so it definitely is a big part of the process. I don’t really like the word process but I can’t think of anything else.

Prayer on the other hand is something I do because I really do think that it is during prayer that the seeds of creativity are planted. I know it sounds like esoteric nonsense, but it has really worked for me.

Actually, I am happy most of the time. Not deliriously of course, but I am quite happy.

Occasionally I feel slightly lonely but these phases come and go. Maybe I was really, really happy when I was in college. I remember my time there very fondly. I was doing well in school and I was in love. It was really nice.

There were parties to go to every weekend. I didn’t find myself wondering what I ought to do with my life. I was in the midst of a tried and proven track, doing my A Levels as any good student would.

When I discovered a passion for photography, things naturally became more complicated. Not that I became less happy but I realized that I wanted more than just “cheap” happiness.

I wanted purpose and I wanted to doggedly pursue a passion. These things require a certain amount of sacrifice.

Sacrifice and suffering isn’t exclusive to just artists. I think anybody who loves something and desperately wants to be good at it will go through some pain and suffering.

It is never all pain. Maybe it is painful at the start to make good works, but after a while the ideas and visions start to take shape. There is joy to be had. Life is not so one-dimensional.

I look up to people who have made a lasting impact on the realms to which they have been called; people who are not necessarily famous, but very important.

Kachen Sodsiri, 24, client service staff
“I ordered chicken rice for my dinner, had a few bites, then suddenly felt a weird texture in my mouth. I knew it wasn’t rice nor chicken so I pulled out the unknown object to find part of a baby cockroach.”

Benjawan Daengbuppha, 25, graduate student
“I was eating lunch with my friends at this food court. Everything was OK until the ladies sitting next to us started having this catfight and suddenly a noodle bowl landed right on our table.”

Maprang Prawatpattanakul, 29, senior coordinator
“I saw a cleaner using the same broom and mop that she had just used to clean the floor, to wipe the tables.”

Nicky Srisirungsimakul, 26, graphic designer and retoucher
“Sometimes sellers use their bare hands to do everything: touch the food, cough, sneeze, etc.”

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Back to The Battle of Bangkok's Food Courts

Are you a fan of dessert wines? In Thailand, we’re not much into them.
I don’t drink a great deal of dessert wines either although German Rieslings—dry and dessert ones—are a favorite. Good dessert wine relies on acidity to cleanse the mouth of all that sugar. Without acidity, sweet wines become cloying and difficult to drink, even the highly regarded wines from the Bordeaux satellite region of Sauternes. While there are, of course, many great Sauternes, sweet wines from regions of Australia, Austria and other parts of France, the most exhilarating are those from Germany, particularly those that live on the razor’s edge of scintillating acidity, low alcohol (8%-9%) and scented sweet fruit from the Mosel, the coolest region of Germany. These wines are so impeccably balanced that they can be drunk with or without dessert. Thai sticky rice with durian and/ or coconut milk/ cream will go with any number of these wines. I don’t think that there is much of a market anywhere for dessert wines, sadly. Contemporary lifestyles simply don’t marry well with them.

What are your thoughts on the wine market in Thailand?
Thailand seems like an immature wine market with little know-how about how wine is served— temperature, protocol, etc. Most wine in the market appears to be entry-level to mid-market wine due to the prohibitive taxes. The tasters I observed also tend to have a predilection for big, rich wines which is something that many new to wine have. Nevertheless, this is the same the world over and tastes change with experience and over time. What is wonderful about the Thai approach to wine however, is that wine is consumed over conversation—standing or sitting, while dancing even—and at a number of fashionable wine bars springing up all over Bangkok.

I was not born into a musical family. My father had a collection of about 50-100 records of Thai songs, but I wasn’t interested, not until I revisited them after coming back from the UK.

I studied fashion marketing when I was in London and worked as creative director for an advertising agency, only to find out that I didn’t like it at all. I’ve never had any music classes. I’ve just expanded my knowledge by listening to a lot of music.

I started listening to house and hip hop. House music has samples from disco, Latin and African music, while hip hop has its roots in soul and funk. Gradually I started to find the sources of those samples and stepped into the world of world music.

An MP3 is like air. It’s got no dimensions. I’ll buy the CD first, but if it’s a record I really like, I’ll buy the vinyl. The sound from a vinyl is much more than an mp3 can give you. And it’s got cover art and everything that makes the music tangible.

The first time I DJ’ed was at Market Bar in London for a free beer. I met the resident DJ of the place at a record shop in London, and most of the records we bought were the same. So he invited me to join him.

I decided to stop working on fashion and pursue my dream—music. For four years, my main income came from DJ’ing. Then I came back to Thailand and attended some sound engineering classes, but I didn’t like that. But then I found my dad’s music collection and got deeper into Thai music.

I bought Thai records, mixed compilations and promoted Thai music. After a while, I decided to do it on my own, under ZudRangMa Records.

Someone once told me I had the bad taste of a taxi driver, when I launched my first compilation. I didn’t really mind. Thai people hadn’t opened their minds much then. That’s why I distributed my first compilation in Europe.

Look thung is like durian. It’s hard to get into for first time listeners, and you either love it or hate it. I kept pushing it until I had more Thai fans that didn’t reject my work.

My first Paradise Bangkok party was in 2009 with Chris Menist. I met him at a record shop. The first and second parties were very successful, even though we didn’t promote them that much. We mixed Ethiopian music, reggae, African and other world music with Thai funk and look thung.

My purpose is to bring all the music in the world together and make Thai people proud of our own sound. Lately, many people have asked me to play only Thai songs, but that’s not what I want either.

Isaan Dancehall is my second party which focuses more specifically on Thai molam. We have a lot more Thai records now, and I feel it’s important to mix this with dancehall music. It really worked when I first did it in Japan.

“I can’t play in Bangkok; everyone hates molam,” Dao Bandon told me when I booked him for Paradise Bangkok. It turned out to be a very fun party and he thanked me the next morning. Thai people are more open now.

I don’t think I have sophisticated tastes. I like songs that I can feel, and they happen to be these Thai country songs. But I hate look groong like Suntraporn’s. I want to puke every time I hear it.

I’m not a fake kid who pretends to love look thung songs. I’ve had a fight with a taxi driver on this issue. I said I loved Angkana Poonchai and other artists from the same period. He answered that I had the tastes of an old Isaan uncle, and he wouldn’t listen to that stuff even though it’s from Isaan. I think that’s pretty ridiculous.

I buy a vinyl as soon as I see it, otherwise it might be destroyed. I once went to buy a specific record at the Cambodian border, but the owner told me he had just burned 20,000 of them. These guys destroy the history of music! Some of these songs only have 300 copies in the world. If we don’t save them, they will disappear.

I have 50 copies of some records. That’s why I decided to open a record shop.

I believe that the Bangkok music scene has a future. Today people seem to be more open to new things. One day a high school boy came into my shop with his mom. He picked up a spiritual jazz record by New York artist Moondog and bought it after I played him a sample. Apart from Japanese and European collecters, I think the only other Thai person who has it is Pod Moderndog.

We do our part to create variety in the Bangkok music scene, with the belief that the industry can break through the commercial pressure.

Follow ZudRangMa's updates on parties and CD releases here: 
https://www.facebook.com/zudrangmarecordsthailand.