Saturday, November 18, 2006
The movie has wrapped and I'm on "The Beach"
The movie filming has finally wrapped and I've been invited to attend the WRAP party tonight on the beach in Ao Nang by Horace who has styled me with the title "The Location". Why? Two days ago, the hotel manager contacted me to ask if I would allow the crew to film a scene from my room balcony which has the perfect view of the small swimming pool where they were filming the crocodile attack on the corrupt businessman. I agreed. Then the film's location manager came up to me and offered me a free dinner for two and bottle of wine, plus cocktails during happy hour. Which was just fine with me as it was 'no skin off of my back' to oblige. The next day, he informed me that they needed to film from my room again. I stayed to watch and then went down to sit beside the director who was filming the gory scenes when the crocodile eats the guy. It was fascinating. To make the pool look like it was filled with blood, they filled it with this thick Malaysian rasperry juice then stuck this huge, fake rubber crocodile in it and thrashed it around. Next, they had the businessman who was to be eaten shoot some scenes where he is scrambling to get out of the pool unsuccessfully.
This actor was really friendly and let me take his photo. He was half Thai, half American and spoke perfect English and Thai. In between sets, he gave me a quick lesson in Thai pronunciation and talked about the tonality of the language. Horace and I then proceeded to have a delicious meal of Thai Green curry and got drunk on plenty of Mekong (local Thai rum) and cokes.
In between the film excitement, I've been enjoying the southern Thai beach landscape which is truly stunning. Imagine white sand and emerald green water with these massive limestone formations covered in trees and plants rising out of the Adaman Sea. Stunning! Two days ago, I went on a day-long excursion where about 30 of us visited several islands (Bamboo Island, Monkey Island, Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Le) and did some swimming, snorkelling and sunbathing. The snorkelling was so beautiful. The fish are so colourful and you can feel them nibbling at your hands as you throw them bread. The water was beautiful and deep (12 metres in some places) but surprisingly warm. We had a lunch feast on Phi Phi Don, site of a village badly-hit by the tsunami. It was really sad to see the place where about 6000 people lost their lives. They are busy re-building but locals say it's a shell of it's former self. (This is where they filmed "The Beach" starring Leonardo di Caprio.) Yesterday, I hung out by the pool at this resort but today, I took a longtail boat to East Railay, another beautiful beach. I could only stay for three hours since the sun was so intense. I decided to be adventurous and took local transportation all the way back - what is known as a songthaew which is basically a pick-up truck with an open back with a bench along each side. You just squeeze in with a bunch of locals, grab on to something and speed away. The plus is that it costs nothing.
I'm staying at this really nice resort but I'm so thankful that the friendly film crew is here. Besides them, it's mostly filled with 50-something-ish European couples. It's shocking how anti-social they are. They stick to themselves and make no effort to interact or even be friendly with fellow hotel guests. I tried to strike up a friendly conversation with a guy who approached me about a mixed up bill and you could see that he was just so uncomfortable with the contact. (I later saw him having dinner with a demure Thai woman.) After living in Europe for several years, I'm still not used to the coldness of some of the people.
Yesterday during dinner, I made the remark that my guidebook mentioned that sex tourism between Thai women and foreign men really took off because of the American military presence. Horace almost jumped out of his seat and responded that this was complete horsehit. According to him, sexual exploitation has existed for years in Thailand, long before Western men came along. He said that Thai culture has a long tradition of men having wives and several concubines, even claiming that still today, Thai businessmen, generals, and wealthy men maintain loads of women on the side. The difference is that it's frowned upon when it involves a farang (foreigner). The funny thing is that while I've seen literally hundreds of couples composed of Thai women and white European or American men, I have not seen one single, solitary example of a Thai man and Western woman. I wonder why that is?
This actor was really friendly and let me take his photo. He was half Thai, half American and spoke perfect English and Thai. In between sets, he gave me a quick lesson in Thai pronunciation and talked about the tonality of the language. Horace and I then proceeded to have a delicious meal of Thai Green curry and got drunk on plenty of Mekong (local Thai rum) and cokes.
In between the film excitement, I've been enjoying the southern Thai beach landscape which is truly stunning. Imagine white sand and emerald green water with these massive limestone formations covered in trees and plants rising out of the Adaman Sea. Stunning! Two days ago, I went on a day-long excursion where about 30 of us visited several islands (Bamboo Island, Monkey Island, Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Le) and did some swimming, snorkelling and sunbathing. The snorkelling was so beautiful. The fish are so colourful and you can feel them nibbling at your hands as you throw them bread. The water was beautiful and deep (12 metres in some places) but surprisingly warm. We had a lunch feast on Phi Phi Don, site of a village badly-hit by the tsunami. It was really sad to see the place where about 6000 people lost their lives. They are busy re-building but locals say it's a shell of it's former self. (This is where they filmed "The Beach" starring Leonardo di Caprio.) Yesterday, I hung out by the pool at this resort but today, I took a longtail boat to East Railay, another beautiful beach. I could only stay for three hours since the sun was so intense. I decided to be adventurous and took local transportation all the way back - what is known as a songthaew which is basically a pick-up truck with an open back with a bench along each side. You just squeeze in with a bunch of locals, grab on to something and speed away. The plus is that it costs nothing.
I'm staying at this really nice resort but I'm so thankful that the friendly film crew is here. Besides them, it's mostly filled with 50-something-ish European couples. It's shocking how anti-social they are. They stick to themselves and make no effort to interact or even be friendly with fellow hotel guests. I tried to strike up a friendly conversation with a guy who approached me about a mixed up bill and you could see that he was just so uncomfortable with the contact. (I later saw him having dinner with a demure Thai woman.) After living in Europe for several years, I'm still not used to the coldness of some of the people.
Yesterday during dinner, I made the remark that my guidebook mentioned that sex tourism between Thai women and foreign men really took off because of the American military presence. Horace almost jumped out of his seat and responded that this was complete horsehit. According to him, sexual exploitation has existed for years in Thailand, long before Western men came along. He said that Thai culture has a long tradition of men having wives and several concubines, even claiming that still today, Thai businessmen, generals, and wealthy men maintain loads of women on the side. The difference is that it's frowned upon when it involves a farang (foreigner). The funny thing is that while I've seen literally hundreds of couples composed of Thai women and white European or American men, I have not seen one single, solitary example of a Thai man and Western woman. I wonder why that is?
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
On the film set of "Crocs"
Too cool! I have just left the set of a movie which is being filmed at the resort where I'm staying (beside the pool, to be exact). The film is called "Crocs" and it's part of a made-for-TV series called "Man-Eaters" and it stars Michael Madsen ("Kill Bill", "Resevoir Dogs", "Thelma and Louise", "Wyatt Earp", etc.) The movie's premise concerns an unscrupulous businessman who gets eaten in his pool by a crocodile: karma. They had a specially-trained dog barking in some scenes to warn about the croc's presence. They also had a cameraman filming under water. It' s totally true: the director does call out "action" and "cut". This director had a really cool way of working and frequently changed the dialogue to make it more natural.
It was fascinating to observe the production process. Apparently, the director is very well-known, Stuart something-or-other, and the film is being produced for a tiny budget of only US$1.5 million. It's part of a five-movie series and they're filming one movie right after another here: one movie wraps, the next day another one begins.
I learned all of this from a really cool retired man who I met during dinner (let's call him Horace since he lives here and might not want his views widely-known). Horace and his Thai wife moved over here permanently two years ago when Horace retired after a successful career in St. Louis, New York and L.A. Horace wrote a book about insurance fraud which was published by an Asian publishing company and the same production company filming "Crocs" is potentially interested in filming a screenplay which Horace is currently writing.
Horace and his wife also provided some really interesting insights about the Western man/Thai woman dynamic. He said that Western men are fed up with nagging, aggressive Western women who aren't satisfied even with the equality and gains they've made which drives certain men away to women from less aggressive cultures. He quickly qualified this by saying that while Thai women are often second-class citizens, they are the force in society which "wears the pants" in many ways. He also said (and his wife concurred) that you often see beautiful, young Thai women with old, ugly or overweight guys because they have a very different concept of what's attractive. Simply put, Buddha. So if you're a guy with a gut and jowls, you qualify for the Thai woman's 'Most Sexy Man' category. Horace even said that what's particularly attractive to Thai women is a man with a mole. The longer the hair growing out of the mole, the more desirable the man.
We talked about creativity, innovation and making money in Asia and he says that Asia is still very far behind North America, Europe and the West as they still have a very traditional outlook. For them, it's easier to pirate or copy, rather than to come up with original concepts, plots and ideas. He did say that the movie industry is using places like Thailand more and more, to the detriment of places like Canada, since it is much cheaper to film here and the technical staff are exceptional.
So look out for "Crocs" which will be coming to the Hallmark Channel, DVDs and an iPod near you!
It was fascinating to observe the production process. Apparently, the director is very well-known, Stuart something-or-other, and the film is being produced for a tiny budget of only US$1.5 million. It's part of a five-movie series and they're filming one movie right after another here: one movie wraps, the next day another one begins.
I learned all of this from a really cool retired man who I met during dinner (let's call him Horace since he lives here and might not want his views widely-known). Horace and his Thai wife moved over here permanently two years ago when Horace retired after a successful career in St. Louis, New York and L.A. Horace wrote a book about insurance fraud which was published by an Asian publishing company and the same production company filming "Crocs" is potentially interested in filming a screenplay which Horace is currently writing.
Horace and his wife also provided some really interesting insights about the Western man/Thai woman dynamic. He said that Western men are fed up with nagging, aggressive Western women who aren't satisfied even with the equality and gains they've made which drives certain men away to women from less aggressive cultures. He quickly qualified this by saying that while Thai women are often second-class citizens, they are the force in society which "wears the pants" in many ways. He also said (and his wife concurred) that you often see beautiful, young Thai women with old, ugly or overweight guys because they have a very different concept of what's attractive. Simply put, Buddha. So if you're a guy with a gut and jowls, you qualify for the Thai woman's 'Most Sexy Man' category. Horace even said that what's particularly attractive to Thai women is a man with a mole. The longer the hair growing out of the mole, the more desirable the man.
We talked about creativity, innovation and making money in Asia and he says that Asia is still very far behind North America, Europe and the West as they still have a very traditional outlook. For them, it's easier to pirate or copy, rather than to come up with original concepts, plots and ideas. He did say that the movie industry is using places like Thailand more and more, to the detriment of places like Canada, since it is much cheaper to film here and the technical staff are exceptional.
So look out for "Crocs" which will be coming to the Hallmark Channel, DVDs and an iPod near you!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Bangkok Appendix
Completely forgot to write about my visit to Patpang, Bangkok's red light district last night. I was going to avoid the place altogether but I thought I have to see it since it is such a part of Bangkok life and lore. So I took the Skytrain over at about 9 p.m.
Patpang is this weird mix of market, restaurants, bars and strip clubs teeming with tourists (I even saw several couples pushing baby strollers), local sellers, prostitutes and these annoying hawkers walking around with laminated cards which contained lists of sex acts being performed at various clubs (eg. ping pong balls, bananas, smoking, etc.) Patpong is different than Amsterdam's red light district in that it's much bigger and more lively and for me at least, less depressing. At least in Patpang, the girls tend to be out in the street together laughing and flirting with customers side by side or dancing on platforms in a group. It's a much more social, personal experience than in Amsterdam where the women are sitting alone in a claustrophic room behind glass. (I'm sure Camille Paglia would have some interesting analysis of this.)
I decided to check out the night market which is quite lively and extensive. Fake watches, fake purses, pirated CDs, cheap carved Buddhas, poor quality Thai silk cushion covers and everyone yelling, "Come. Where you from?"
I decided to drop in at a shop which specialises in imitation designer purses produced with real leather. They are quite presentable and the leather is nice but often the colour is a little off or the finer details are missing. A slate blue Hermes knock-off caught my eye but there seemed to be something so pathetic about buying a fake for the equivalent of EUR 350. I'd rather save up or wait to afford the real thing (probably won't happen for a long time). My personal feeling is that if you're going to buy fakes, then buy the smaller sizes since the bigger the bag, the less authentic it looks and the less likely one is to be able to afford it (and buy matching quality accessories like shoes and jewelry).
The weird thing about Bangkok is that here I was in this very busy place where the people are very Zen-like and Buddhism is evident everywhere. Yet, sex, prostitution and the exploitation of women is everywhere and totally accepted. The hotel where I stayed in Bangkok (Best Western Elegance Suites near Silom Road) was full of older, ugly or grossly-overweight guys (mostly British and American) accompanied by gorgeous, younger Thai women dressed to the hilt. I chatted with this British man who looked like he was about 65 who had this beautiful Thai woman on his arm. He gave me some directions and announced that they were off to finalise the purchase of a home in Bangkok. He was obviously quite wealthy. He said that he had a home close to the Tower of London (big bucks) and spent part of the year at another home in France. Who knew what his story was. Perhaps his wife had died. Perhaps he was divorced. Perhaps he found that women in Britain or France were simply not interested in an older man like him. There's a tacit acceptance of this dynamic here. I'm dying to know what Thai mothers, grandmothers, husbands, brothers, even the Thai royal family think of this. Or is life such a struggle that they accept it?
This afternoon, I flew down to southern Thailand to begin a beach holiday. I'll be spending time on the beach in Ao Nang, Ko Phi Phi and Ko Lanta. The resort I'm staying in is very luxurious. Too hilarious. When I checked in, I was required to fill out this guest form. It asked for my title and I put down "Director" meaning Director of Sales and Marketing. The receptionist, not speaking very good English, suddenly beamed at me with awe in her eyes and started blabbering about the movies. I was about to correct her when she announced that she was upgrading me to a deluxe suite and which point, my mouth clamped shut and I just nodded demurely. I consoled myself by thinking that technically, I haven't lied. I am a director, just not the kind she thinks I am ;-)
Patpang is this weird mix of market, restaurants, bars and strip clubs teeming with tourists (I even saw several couples pushing baby strollers), local sellers, prostitutes and these annoying hawkers walking around with laminated cards which contained lists of sex acts being performed at various clubs (eg. ping pong balls, bananas, smoking, etc.) Patpong is different than Amsterdam's red light district in that it's much bigger and more lively and for me at least, less depressing. At least in Patpang, the girls tend to be out in the street together laughing and flirting with customers side by side or dancing on platforms in a group. It's a much more social, personal experience than in Amsterdam where the women are sitting alone in a claustrophic room behind glass. (I'm sure Camille Paglia would have some interesting analysis of this.)
I decided to check out the night market which is quite lively and extensive. Fake watches, fake purses, pirated CDs, cheap carved Buddhas, poor quality Thai silk cushion covers and everyone yelling, "Come. Where you from?"
I decided to drop in at a shop which specialises in imitation designer purses produced with real leather. They are quite presentable and the leather is nice but often the colour is a little off or the finer details are missing. A slate blue Hermes knock-off caught my eye but there seemed to be something so pathetic about buying a fake for the equivalent of EUR 350. I'd rather save up or wait to afford the real thing (probably won't happen for a long time). My personal feeling is that if you're going to buy fakes, then buy the smaller sizes since the bigger the bag, the less authentic it looks and the less likely one is to be able to afford it (and buy matching quality accessories like shoes and jewelry).
The weird thing about Bangkok is that here I was in this very busy place where the people are very Zen-like and Buddhism is evident everywhere. Yet, sex, prostitution and the exploitation of women is everywhere and totally accepted. The hotel where I stayed in Bangkok (Best Western Elegance Suites near Silom Road) was full of older, ugly or grossly-overweight guys (mostly British and American) accompanied by gorgeous, younger Thai women dressed to the hilt. I chatted with this British man who looked like he was about 65 who had this beautiful Thai woman on his arm. He gave me some directions and announced that they were off to finalise the purchase of a home in Bangkok. He was obviously quite wealthy. He said that he had a home close to the Tower of London (big bucks) and spent part of the year at another home in France. Who knew what his story was. Perhaps his wife had died. Perhaps he was divorced. Perhaps he found that women in Britain or France were simply not interested in an older man like him. There's a tacit acceptance of this dynamic here. I'm dying to know what Thai mothers, grandmothers, husbands, brothers, even the Thai royal family think of this. Or is life such a struggle that they accept it?
This afternoon, I flew down to southern Thailand to begin a beach holiday. I'll be spending time on the beach in Ao Nang, Ko Phi Phi and Ko Lanta. The resort I'm staying in is very luxurious. Too hilarious. When I checked in, I was required to fill out this guest form. It asked for my title and I put down "Director" meaning Director of Sales and Marketing. The receptionist, not speaking very good English, suddenly beamed at me with awe in her eyes and started blabbering about the movies. I was about to correct her when she announced that she was upgrading me to a deluxe suite and which point, my mouth clamped shut and I just nodded demurely. I consoled myself by thinking that technically, I haven't lied. I am a director, just not the kind she thinks I am ;-)
Monday, November 13, 2006
Bangkok: Great city but get me out of here!
As I'm sitting and typing this blog, to my left is a Buddhist shrine in front of the hotel which is covered in floral wreaths with burning incense, glasses of water and two plates filled with fruit, fried rice, and curry. It's so interesting to be in a non-Western culture where 95% of the people are non-Christians (Buddhists) and very strong believers. None of this evangelical, hardcore proselytizing or fudamentalist attitude that we are so exposed to in the West. People just seem to go about their lives and incorporate their values into their daily routines. There's a real calmness to the people. You don't see many displays of anger, impatience, rudeness, hustle and bustle that you see all the time in North America and Europe.
Bangkok is truly an amazing place. It's quite unlike any other city I've visited. It's very commercially-oriented but people haven't seemed to have lost their souls to capitalism like us in the West.
Yesterday, I visited the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo. The Grand Palace is breathtaking, probably one of the most impressive palaces I've ever seen. The complex is huge with different temples, assembly halls, residences, etc. What really struck me is the Thai culture's love of gold and glitter. The temple roofs are trimmed with gold, some of the walls are gold-covered, paintings depicting Buddhist mythology include gold filigree, some of the columns supporting the temples are made of gold. Adding to the shine here are tiny mirror mosaics on the walls. There are Buddha statues which are covered with very thin pieces of gold which blow away in the wind. (The other day, I saw this man jumping around in a temple trying to catch a small piece. He seemed to be Thai.)
The wat is a private temple which contains the famous Emerald Buddha. Actually, the Buddha is not emerald at all but made of jade. It's very impressive: the shrine around and below it is made of gold with lots of statues. Despite all of the gold, it's a very peaceful place.
In the morning, I visited the famous Jim Thompson house. Jim Thompson was an American, ex-CIA agent who settled in Bangkok at the age of 40 and played a key role in building out the Thai silk industry. In 1959, he built a beautiful house (compound of several buildings) made of six teak houses brought in from different parts of Thailand. The house is amazing and was built without using any nails. He was an architect and designer by training and incorporated and altered the houses eg. flipping beautiful woodwork which was traditionally on the outside of Thai houses around to be displayed inside the house. He also collected some beautiful Thai antique sculptures, ceramics and woodwork. Thompson mysteriously disappeared while on vacation in Malaysia in 1967 and his body has never been found. The silk on sale was beautiful but silk just ain't my thing.
The day before yesterday, I was supposed to take a tour through the canals of Thonburi with Cherelle and Naomi but they didn't show up as agreed. So I hooked up with a really nice Australian, retired couple (Peter and Heather) from Brisbane and we took a longboat cruise. It was beautiful to cruise off the beaten track through canals where Thai people live in houses on stilts. Some were gorgeous and modern, others were ramshackle, run-down wooden things which looked like they were about to collapse. But the flowers: everywhere people had the most beautiful orchids and potted plants. Peter and Heather were hilarious: very passionate about reducing global warming, referring to Johnnie Howard as being totally irresponsible and repeating many times how they loved Michael Moore.
Anyway, today I fly down to Krabi which will be my base as I explore the beaches of the Adaman Sea and Ko Phi Phi (where the movie "The Beach" was filmed). Can't wait. I really enjoyed Bangkok but ENOUGH ALREADY!
Bangkok is truly an amazing place. It's quite unlike any other city I've visited. It's very commercially-oriented but people haven't seemed to have lost their souls to capitalism like us in the West.
Yesterday, I visited the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo. The Grand Palace is breathtaking, probably one of the most impressive palaces I've ever seen. The complex is huge with different temples, assembly halls, residences, etc. What really struck me is the Thai culture's love of gold and glitter. The temple roofs are trimmed with gold, some of the walls are gold-covered, paintings depicting Buddhist mythology include gold filigree, some of the columns supporting the temples are made of gold. Adding to the shine here are tiny mirror mosaics on the walls. There are Buddha statues which are covered with very thin pieces of gold which blow away in the wind. (The other day, I saw this man jumping around in a temple trying to catch a small piece. He seemed to be Thai.)
The wat is a private temple which contains the famous Emerald Buddha. Actually, the Buddha is not emerald at all but made of jade. It's very impressive: the shrine around and below it is made of gold with lots of statues. Despite all of the gold, it's a very peaceful place.
In the morning, I visited the famous Jim Thompson house. Jim Thompson was an American, ex-CIA agent who settled in Bangkok at the age of 40 and played a key role in building out the Thai silk industry. In 1959, he built a beautiful house (compound of several buildings) made of six teak houses brought in from different parts of Thailand. The house is amazing and was built without using any nails. He was an architect and designer by training and incorporated and altered the houses eg. flipping beautiful woodwork which was traditionally on the outside of Thai houses around to be displayed inside the house. He also collected some beautiful Thai antique sculptures, ceramics and woodwork. Thompson mysteriously disappeared while on vacation in Malaysia in 1967 and his body has never been found. The silk on sale was beautiful but silk just ain't my thing.
The day before yesterday, I was supposed to take a tour through the canals of Thonburi with Cherelle and Naomi but they didn't show up as agreed. So I hooked up with a really nice Australian, retired couple (Peter and Heather) from Brisbane and we took a longboat cruise. It was beautiful to cruise off the beaten track through canals where Thai people live in houses on stilts. Some were gorgeous and modern, others were ramshackle, run-down wooden things which looked like they were about to collapse. But the flowers: everywhere people had the most beautiful orchids and potted plants. Peter and Heather were hilarious: very passionate about reducing global warming, referring to Johnnie Howard as being totally irresponsible and repeating many times how they loved Michael Moore.
Anyway, today I fly down to Krabi which will be my base as I explore the beaches of the Adaman Sea and Ko Phi Phi (where the movie "The Beach" was filmed). Can't wait. I really enjoyed Bangkok but ENOUGH ALREADY!
