A Pokemon Go Trainer in Bangkok

Unlike the Hindu or Chinese gods, the gods from Greek and Roman mythology were not worshiped nor prayed for a favor in Thailand, i.e., no incense-sticks and offerings. Most Thais did not know anything about them except in passing from movies and series. However, many statues had been erected for decorating purposes in Western-themed buildings or gardens. Neptune/Poseidon The name of the Greek God of the Sea had been most probably most widely known of all the Greek/Roman gods in Thailand. Unfortunately, it was due to the Poseidon Entertainment Complex on Ratchadapisek red-light district which offered adult-oriented hospitality. According to their website, the business ranged from the restaurant, karaoke, Thai massage, soapy massage, and many more. Hence, the name Poseidon had a sleazy undertone meaning in Thailand. Eros/Cupid The statues of cute and chubby cupid with little bows aiming for love has positively well-received as garden decorations. I don't think that I had ever s...

The community mall Sena Fest was open for business in 2013. It was located on the south side of the Taksin Bridge on the west bank of Chao Phraya River, usually called Thonburi area. Sena Fest featured similar characteristics to other community malls. The central space was not air-conditioned; the ceiling was very high, so it was not uncomfortable. Actually, I quite liked the arrangement as it consumed much less energy and far greener than a typical overly cool, big shopping mall. There were many restaurants, bakery, coffee shops, and other miscellaneous shops on the main floors with a supermarket on the ground floor. There were also clinics, banks, children playground and educational areas. While there were no expensive brand name shops for clothes or cineplex as in the large shopping malls, the diversity of services were sufficient. Actually, the facility was definitely on the high-end side with an Apple service shop, a Starbuck, Villa Supermarket and strings of upmarket restauran...

Brahma Indra Vishnu This Narayana astride Garuda was one of the eight gods of Ratchaprasong, arguably the most holy intersection in central Bangkok due to the high density of Hindu gods. In Thai, the posture was called narai-song-suban; the gym label was a mistake as the focus was more on the god than the stead. This posture was also made into the bow of the newest royal barge that was completed in 1996. Narai Song Suban H.M. King Rama IX : National Museum of Royal Barges Listed in the Being Thai and page,

Captain America This Captain America once stood at the Werng Nakhon Kasem trading community. However, the land was sold in 2012 and closed down in 2016 for re-development. All the old shops were either closed or relocated elsewhere and the location of this statue was not known. Star Wars This Death Star looked very pretty. Unfortunately, it came from a gift, so I did not know where it was. Pop Eyes I have no idea where is Pop Eyes statue was. However, the logo on the hat and left arm looked like a Thai company that sold coffee, among other products. Personally, I really wondered about whether this was a copyright infringement case.

The Pokemon Go screen action provided some hilarious moments with certain positional arrangements. Here was my collection. Listed in the Being Thai page.

The Thonburi Era, when the Thonburi was the capital city of siam, started in 1767 and ended in 1782 with only one king. King Taksin was born Sin from a Chinese descent father and a Siamese mother in 1734. He became the governor (Phraya) of Tak and became known as Phaya Tak (Sin). The name was there shorten to Phraya Taksin. In April 1767, the Burmese army successful captured and ransacked the capital Ayutthaya after a year-long siege, ending the Ayutthaya era in Thai history. Taksin was part of the defending army; he thought that the situation was hopeless a few months before the fall and led a small force breaking through the encirclement. He captured the Chantaburi Province as his stronghold. Instead of going back to the fallen capital, he selected the downstream port, Thonburi, as the new capital and was crowned king on 28 December 1767. His early reign was focused on unifying Siam by defeating other Siamese forces that arose in major provinces throughout the country. Then, ...

Thai cultures have been heavily influenced by India ones. While most Thais are Buddhist, the Hinduism influence is undeniable. There are shrines to Hindu gods everywhere, from the royal court where the image of god-king was adopted to emphasize the power and majesty, to commoners who prayed for good luck. They also function as divine patrons of professions. Some people came to pray at these statues even though they were not Hindu, mainly for good luck in love, works or exam as well as for confidence in general. Frequency, a table will be placed near the statute for offerings and incense stick receptacle. There might be an annual or regular ceremony to pay respect as well. Personally, I think that it was the mythical storytelling and fascination with divinity that these gods that helped fulfilled gaps in people's mind. Shrines of these Hindu gods dotted around the country at a surprising density and many became Pokemon landmarks. Previously, I overlooked them and started noticin...

The triple numbers - 111, 222, ..., 999 - had a particular word in Thai, Tong (ตอง). For instance, 111 could be called 'nueng roi sib ed' (หนึ่งร้อยสิบเอ็ด, one hundred and eleven), 'nueng nueng nueng' (หนึ่งหนึ่งหนึ่ง, one one one), or 'tong nueng' (ตองหนึ่ง, triple one). The word was probably originated from a traditional Thai card game, Pai Tong (ไพ่ตอง), which was too complicated for me to play. I guessed that the word became popular in daily life because it was short and provided a quick mental grasp. Some Thai attached significant meaning to these repeating numbers and believed that these numbers could influence one's life. Specific car license and phone numbers were sold at exorbitant prices for luck or showing off the wealth and power in acquiring that unique numbers for personal uses. The most desirable numbers in Thai language is '999' as it was pronounced 'kao kao kao' (เก้าเก้าเก้า), which is very close to 'kao k...

Food at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport has been generally expensive; breakfast could easily be higher than 300 Baht in the arrival and departure areas. The prices in the international zone were even higher. For budget travelers, there was another choice, the Airport Street Food: Magic Food Court. The food court was located on the first floor, near the exit no. 8 which was at the far end of the terminal. The entrance was small and quite easy to be looked over. The place was operated as in a department store food court. Customers had to buy coupons which came in a book worth 100 Baht. The unused coupons had to be redeemed on the day. There were selections of Thai street foods from many well-known vendors. I thought the taste was alright but not particularly impressed. The food was priced somewhat higher than street food stalls, but comparable to prices in shopping malls. The budget for a meal could be easily kept under 100 Baht. Concerning the Pokemon GO, there was no Gym n...

Thais are very big on eatings. There had been hosts of restaurant and hotel buffet reviews around. This blog was not particularly into this category due to my ineptitude in photo-taking. If you wish to see the photos, please follow the provided external link. The Espresso has been a restaurant in the InterContinental Bangkok in the shopping district of Ratchaprasong. It offered breakfast, lunch, and dinner international buffets. The menu included appetizer, salad, bread, sushi, dim sum, soup, pasta, rice dishes, noodles, seafood, and roasted beef, etc. For desserts, there was a good selection of cakes, pudding, ice cream and fruits, followed by hot chocolate, tea or coffee with occasional late arts. There was no cheese platter, though. In short, it had all the trapping of buffets in a 5-star hotel. For Pokemon Go trainers, this restaurant had an added bonus; it practically situated on a Pokemon gym. To be precise, the gym was located at a statue in front of the hotel, abo...