SAWADEEKAAAAAP!

I honestly had more fun in the last 2 days than I did in almost all of last year!

Where do I begin. Well, we can start from how I found out that '#The Naked and Famous' was playing in Bangkok, Thailand. I was already in Singapore when I started browsing through a friends' iPad. I was already strained by the cost of this trip and another trip in the following month. But for this show, I had to go. I booked tickets immediately.

I arrived in Bangkok on 17th Jan 2012 around midday and needed to make my way to Jazzotel hotel. As soon as I hit the road, my first thoughts were, 'so, time to find a cab'. Immediately I chose the FUN way. I got myself one of those motorcycle taxis and showed him my map where I drew an 'X' and he took me there straight through heavy traffic. I swore my knees were inches away from cars and trucks but it was exhilarating anyway. Didn't know exactly where the location of my hotel is so, I got on foot and asked locals and managed to find my way.

Jazzotel was quite nice, showed my online booking and got my keys. I also asked for the highest floor on the website. What I failed to add is I'd like to have the highest floor with a view of Bangkok. So I got the opposite side but, I was quite happy anyway. I still had about 6 hours till the show started so, I decided to go out and have a look around but, the moment I stepped out, it started raining. And wow.. it rained and rained and rained. It started to flood in some parts of the streets. I had taken shelter in a motorcycle workshop. I was hungry and couldn't wait any longer so I looked around for a place to eat. I went down a back-alley and found a little Thai restaurant. Suffice to say, they served an awesome meal. Feels like discovering new color.

Once the rain was over, I began to make my way to the venue to collect my tickets and followed where I thought it would be on my map but, eventually, that had failed and dragged on into a long walk down some highway (I actually found out later I was on the right direction but on the wrong street). I gave up and ended up looking for a motorcycle taxi again. He INSTANTLY knew where to go so.. face palm. It wasn't really far. In fact, it was 10 minutes walk from the hotel. It looked a bit like preparation was still underway. I went into the office to ask where to collect the ticket and people were unsure. I guess being almost 4 hrs early was overkill. They asked me if I was press because of my dangling giant camera. I wonder what would happen if I had said 'yes'. Would I have been able to interview the band? hmm, no. I was crazy but not that crazy. They asked me to come back again in about 2 hrs time which I politely agreed to. I was still far to excited to be disappointed by anything at this point.

On the way back to the hotel, I was a bit tired so, I decided to call on a taxi.. like, an actual car just for the A/C. Managed to get one but, the closest route to the hotel was bogged by one little obstacle- it was flooded. I felt like I was in a boat because the swooshing and swirling of the water below could easily be felt. I was nervous and so was the cabbie. He constantly opened the door to see how deep it's gone. It was just centimeters from being able to get in the cabin. I saw my hotel from my window and asked my cabbie politely if I could be dropped off and walk the rest of the way to the hotel. Surprisingly, he agreed and I paid the necessary fare! This would have never been as easy in Malaysia. They would start scolding you and complaining they wont get any passengers while being stuck there and will demand for a bigger fee. Cabbies in Thailand are awesome- and their cars are quite sea-worthy.

I got home, dried up a little, showered a little and chilled at the end of my bed, watching Djokovic and some dude duke it out on the hot courts of the Australian Open. I drifted to sleep.

I woke up feeling quite refreshed with still an hour to go till showtime. I think I panicked a little. I didn't set my alarm. What if I had missed the whole thing?! Anyway, I quickly got into my clothes, left my DSLR behind (thinking they wont allow me in with it) and went out half-running down the road looking for a cab. In the blink of an eye, a motorcycle cab appears out of nowhere. Perfect. I gave him the location and immediately we zipped away down the road. It was still slightly flooded but, we went through anyway and reached the venue at exactly 7 sharp to collect my tickets. I was quite content with everything's been going quite well.

I found myself a bench space next to a girl and asked her if it was taken. She replied 'no' and I went ahead to sit. I got to know her better as we talked. Surprisingly, we got along very well. Every few minutes, she'd point out a band she knows and say hi to alot of people passing by, most of whom she's met on other events. Apparently there's a music-loving club and they have regular meet-ups. I got to meet alot of her friends and we started hanging-out next to the venue where they prepared sofas and drinks and music. She helped translate alot of the things people said. I thought, that was very very thoughtful. There were girls with whole bottles of drinks in their handbags, guys who were in bands, a music critic who wears a trademark shirt at every venue, a graphic artist and someone by the name of 'kittie' if I remember correctly. They were fun. My translator, by the name of Pomme (like 'apple' in French) had an interesting Nepalese scarf she kept in her bag. Seems like everyone had an interesting character. As the venue got crowded, the announcer ushered announced the show was starting and we started making our way in.

As we got in, lights flashed and the riffs crash in. 'The Naked and Famous' began with their hit "All of this". It was a perfect entrance in a giant indoor venue. We could clearly see them and sounds and vocals were raw and real. It was extremely intimate.

They moved on to their next song which got me hooked in the first place: "Punching in a dream". If you haven't heard this song yet, you're missing out. Their music is rock and electronica and when combined, it's a real cocktail of heavy and clean sounds. Set list:

Best video found to summarize everything that they played at the show:

1. All of This 
    
2. Punching in a Dream 
    
3. Spank 
    
4. The Sun 
    
5. The Source 
    
6. Bells 
    
7. Frayed 
    
8. No Way 
    
9. Jilted Lovers 
    
10. The Ends 
     
11. A Wolf in Geek's Clothing 
     
12. 12.Eyes 
     
13. Girls Like You 
     
14. Dadada 
     
15. Young Blood  (People actually jumped up on to the stage! security quickly got rid of them though. actual video below- don't know how long till youtube takes it down)

I don't know if clicking on them will take you to the Youtube links but, you can search them yourself anyway :P

Once the show was over, I said goodbye to Pomme and made my long dark walk back to the hotel. Picked some snacks and drinks at a 7-11 on the way coz I love snacking out in front of the TV under strong AC and thick blankets at hotels. 

I showered and did exactly that. Chips, drinks and the Australian Open again on the telly. Then came sleep.

18th Jan 2012

Woke up at 6am to find that the sky was already turning blue. I forgot about the time difference. Would've been 7am in KL. I wanted to get up early, have my hotel breakfast and checkout to start seeing some sights before I have to get on my flight at 3pm. First thing I did was again, grabbed a motorcycle taxi to the nearest Subway. My next destination was the river taxi and then the famous temples alongside of it. Pictures:

As I stepped out of the exit, a man came out and asked for my ticket. Thinking he was some sort of official, he talked me into seeing a few more sites because this ticket was valid there too. With my 'economic' hat on, I decided to try these places out thinking I would've saved a bit more on ticket fees. He took me to a tuk-tuk (i think that's what you call it) and gave him the directions.

Initially, he was quite friendly and asked some general questions. Our first stop was something called an export center. I went in and found it was a jewelry shop of some sort. An assistant came over and asked if I needed anything. I said 'no, I'm not looking for jewelry' and proceeded to go back to my taxi. This is where it got a little bit scary. His english wasn't great but from what I gather, he was unhappy that I didn't spend time looking around. He mentioned alot of things and kept pointing at the gas tank. I asked him if he needed fuel but he got even more frustrated. I wasn't alarmed yet as I thought how hilarious it was that I didn't know why he was angry, so, he proceeded to the next destination. 

Picture of evil but confusing tuk-tuk man: 

Again, another export center that sold jewelry. This time, as I got off, he kept on going about something. He seemed extremely angry this time and I began to feel a little intimidated. What I gathered was that I'm SUPPOSED to go IN, look AROUND, and go in more then come out and LOOK FOR HIM. I still didn't know why this was so important to him. As he was always highlighting his fuel tank, I offered to pay for it and find another taxi when I come out. He ignored me, drove to a corner and parked.. waiting for me. I went in casually to avoid showing him that I was afraid and was looking to escape. I needed a plan.

I walked into this much larger jewelry shop and was instantly met with staff who offered to assist me. The first thing I mentioned was, "do you have a backdoor?". I was going to make a run for it. She wasn't sure what I was on about either but was still very friendly. I talked about the man outside and she pointed to a sign that said, "tuk tuk drivers are not our staff". It sunk in me that somehow, I may have been in a some weird con somehow. She asked if I would like to look around in the shop for things anyway but instead, I politely asked her for her manager to explain what has been happening. She guided me through the shop and to the far end where I met an old lady with a walkie-talkie. I explained the whole situation to her and told her about how angry this man was and she had the most sympathetic reaction to what has happened and took me very seriously and apologized profusely. I told her not to worry about it and that I would still like to know if there's a backdoor I can slip away through. She asked me where would I go. I told her I needed to get to the airport as it was approaching midday and that I doubt my not-so-friendly tuk tuk driver would help. She told me to wait and came back with a plan. She called her personal driver to move the van close enough to the front driveway so that I would be able to rush out into the van and make my escape. I insisted that I would pay for her help but she refused to take my money. She got the confirmation from the driver that he was in place and ready to roll and we both moved out in a close pattern and escorted straight into the van where promptly stayed low, hoping that he wouldn't see me and go nuts. Again, the manager apologized and said that not all Thai people are like this. I was grateful to her and thanked her. She gave instruction to the driver to take me to the nearest airport rail-transit station. She closed the door and I was on my way. I kept low. I did not want him to give us chase.

As we drove along, I got into a conversation with the driver who didn't speak alot of English. What I did find out however, was that he used to be a professional Thai boxer and represented Thailand in the SEA games. He has won GOLDS and Silver medals. He has since retired after a short coaching stint. His hands were huge and scarred but, built. I thanked him for the trip and tipped him hugely. 

Jimmy the Boxer: 

While at the transit station, I decided to go to a nearby mall just for a look-see and bought a magazine to read. I wanted to find a record store that sold 'The Naked and Famous' but as with many countries these days, large records stores are rare and are only able to sell mainstream music. I left and took the express train to the airport. I was sad to go but, considering everything that's happened, it was exciting, fun, dangerous, adventurous and well, a million other things. It was everything in one. great people, adventure, disaster, serenity and flight. just 2 days.

I want to thank Pomme and her music-loving buddies, The Naked and Famous, Jimmy the boxer, San (mngr of Chin Jewelry) and the evil but confusing tuk tuk man for a very memorable and exciting trip.

Pomme (far right, me next to her) and friends:

"Kob kun kap" and have a nice day :)