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A
Glimpse of Thailand
January, 2002 - things beautiful, strange, odd, and interesting - Back to A Glimpse of Thailand main page Back to cityrain.com main page If you like "A Glimpse of Thailand," you might also like 2bangkok.com. |
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Neon Bangkok Ratchadapiesek Road has seen a series of stupendous high-class massage parlors built in the last few years. They create a string of neon reminiscent of Las Vegas. New Petchburi Road was the former site of these kinds of businesses. The typical establishment consists of many different parts, such as a series of theme bars (Tropical Bar, Jazz Bar, Johnny Walker Bar, etc.), snooker hall, and karaoke--all populated by "friendly" hostesses. Note the northbound traffic in this photo (on the right side) coming up out of the new underpass at the Huaykwang intersection. There is also an underpass at Suthisarn Road. The southbound underpasses are still being constructed. |
 This "entertainment complex" takes up an entire office building and is right next to a government office that expedites visas for foreigners willing to invest large amounts of money in the country. |
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 The green neon is "Caesars" in Thai (the photo is blurred). Supposedly all signs have to be in Thai (they cannot just be in English), but most new signs in English these days do not have any Thai at all. I guess the rule is no longer being enforced (and neither are trademarks!). |
 More than 1000 miles north of Havana... The latest mega-complex... |
| Conor
Bracken clarifies the Thai on every sign issue: On your site you mention
that all signs have to have Thai text. That's not the case. Let me explain.
All external signs are subject to signage tax depending on their size. I
don't have the figures at hand, but it's quite high. Notable exceptions * It's only *external* signs that are taxed. So some companies have avoided the tax by using signage on the curtains in their windows! * Schools are exempt. That's why ECC and schools have such large signs everywhere. There are three rates: * signs in Thai only * signs in English only (by "English", I mean any foreign language) * signs in both English and Thai Signs in English only are taxed at more than 10 times the rate of signs in Thai only. The tax for the bilingual signs is a lot lower than for English only (can't remember if it's half, or even less). That's why you see the Thai letters made as small as possible. Another important and interesting point. The taxation law states that all of the Thai text must be placed at a higher level than the highest reaching part of the English text. It's practical result of the Thai/Buddhist philosophy that accords greater status to height and the top parts of people and objects. That's why the Thai text on signs is always squeezed into the top right part of signs: it's the least obtrusive area that complies with the legal requirements. |
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 The photo that got away. Here is an elephant sprinting across Ratchadapiesek Road (you can see his legs in the car headlights). Usually they make elephants wear reflectors, but this one was practically invisible. |
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Industrial
Thailand Wires, cement, bridges, and roads... Sitting at a gas station in Lopburi, I was struck by the industrial view that often awaits one even outside of Bangkok. The tower is a cement factory under construction. Pulling out of the station, I noticed this accident under the bridge. Thais have a talent for getting their vehicles in odd crashes. Somehow, someone had managed to jump their truck over a tall cemet barrier and wedge it between the barrier and a bridge support--all at a 90 degree angle to their original path of travel.
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An
Unfinished Building January 14, 2002 Long before the 1997 crash, which was the cause of most of the unfinished buildings around town, this twin-towered structure on Ratchadapisek Road ceased construction for reasons I've never been able to figure out. The bottom section, which was completed, once housed a Tokyu Department Store, a grocery store, and a McDonalds, but now sits vacant along with all the rest. Recently, a huge advertisement promoting a local mobile phone company was put up on one of the rusty towers. Various sources refer to this building as the "Tokyu Ratchada" and the "Ratchada Square Shopping Complex." Bangkok Skyscrapers refers to this building as the Ratchada Square Tower. Some mentions of the structure in local papers: Ratchada Square is now managed by State Man Co Ltd of Santi Prompattana, an individual investor and member of Parliament. (The Nation, September 21, 1998) The Nation had a recent article mentioning the building as a possible location for the planned Sriwara High Tech project: The building project, Sriwara High Tech, is valued at about one billion baht and was transferred to Pojamarn Shinawatra when the project owner closed it down.... Another candidate for the software park is the Ratchada Square project, across from Robinson Shopping Centre. Plans for this software park follow the success of the National Science and Technology Development Agency's software park on Chaengwattana Road. Despite a slow start it now claims full occupancy. (from FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES: Tenant for Pojamarn?, The Nation, December 24, 2001, ) |
Pas
Seangsong of Bangkok
Highrises sent in this earlier photo of the building (from January,
1995) still under construction with a Tokyu in the lower section.
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The
Lord of the Rings
in Thailand The permanent link for "The Lord of the Rings in Thailand" has been moved here.
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