Since 2008, George Town, Penang has been a World Heritage Site, along with Melaka, both port cities of the Straits of Malacca.  This dual award was the first for Malaysia; and contains a large part of both cities.

Penang’s citation speaks of two aspects.  The built environment is fabulously rich in colonial architecture, specifically British colonial architecture of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.  The old town is a wonderful tapestry of different cultures, living happily side-by-side, constantly adapting, accommodating and influencing one another.  The mix has variously been Asian and European, with the Asian part of that being Chinese, Indian and Malay.  There has been genuine cultural exchange, arising, initially, out of maritime trade.

I spoke lengthily to a taxi driver who was fearfully proud to be Malaysian, fearfully proud of Malaysia’s achievements.  He was equally proud of his Indian, and specifically South Indian background.  He was unimaginably proud that the different ethnicities get along so well (implying that there was a model for other countries) and speak each other’s tongues.  He regarded Malaysia’s state educational system as a key achievement in this.

Little India is certainly a key area in Penang, if only as a place to take lunch!  It is a melange of street hawkers, small restaurants, Indian jewellery and music shops.  It has a different feel to most Little Indias and certainly a different taste, as the migrants here were mostly South Indian.

I was able to indulge my South Indian vegetarian tastes.  Firstly , I ate at a restaurant, a tasty meal for just over £1.  In fact, the idly were so good that, now in the mood, I indulged in more from a street hawker at 10p each.  Heaven!

Whereas Little India is always vibrant, busy, Chinatown is often rundown.  Specifically, it is very sad to see the rundown state of many of the shophouses.  This was commented upon by UNESCO as an area of concern.

Should you want to see the opposite, good conservation practice, not a hint of over-restoration, visit Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion.  In 2000, the Mansion won UNESCO’s Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Conservation.

Cheong Fatt Tze was a highly successful Chinese trading entrepreneur who came to Penang in 1890, completing the construction of his opulent mansion in 1904.  The mansion is both lavish and well-considered.  The ambience just can’t be described.

There are two public tours of the premises daily.  But, better still, why not stay there?  Don’t expect corporate slick – the service can be quiet variable.  But staying in this wonderful building, amidst its lived-in antiques, is simply something unrivalled.

You must stay here at least a night or two.  By local standards, prices are quite high, but this will be among your lifetime’s best expenditures, even given heavy noise intrusion from the entertainment at the night restaurants next door.

I include an image of my room, Towkay.  Given very lengthy pre-warning, we can sometimes book rooms in Cheong Fatt Tze.  There are only 12 letting rooms; and the place is immensely popular.  Contact marktimetravel@yahoo.co.uk

At the other end of the scale, backpacker cheap, there are numerous hotels along Love Lane.  As the name implies, this was George Town’s red-light district; and these the by-the-hour joints.  Now my memories are of relaxed backpackers happily taking a coffee and fruits for breakfast in the sun.

To step-up the tempo somewhat – but Penang is never going to be Bangkok – go to Upper Penang Road in the evening.  This is George Town’s charming nightlife district. 

Finally, some words on navigating George Town.  The city is small.  You will be able to cover everything in the historic centre on foot.  Penang Heritage Trust, a hugely knowledgeable and important lobbying organisation, produce the best maps; and these are available free.  Additionally, the Trust has established a number of heritage trails, again with free guides.

Mark Azavedo

I guess Bangkok has the reputation for making you feel different about yourself through the surgical option. I found something cheaper than Bangkok’s bargain basement surgery rates. Something I could afford. Something I was more inclined to. Something equally effective. Bangkok tailoring.

That said, not any old Bangkok tailor, but Jesse and Victor Gulati, the father and son team of Rajawongse at 130 Sukhumvit, by the Landmark Hotel. Assuredly not tailors to the tourist trade. More tailors to the diplomatic community.

Jesse and Victor work very closely with the US Embassy, dressing ambassadors down to marine guards.

These have recommended the Gulati’s tailoring to visiting politicians, though the recommendation to George W Bush was from Dad, George Bush. Other famous names from the USA political community that have been dressed by Jesse and Victor include Sen.John Kerry, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and Nancy Reagan.

For Nancy Reagan they also produced a fabric backdrop for a television appearance that matched her dress and earrings.

She must have been one mightily persuasive lady. I don’t see Jesse and Victor often deviating from their brief of classic quality tailoring. They precisely give off an air of doing what they do best, doing it to perfection and in an atmosphere of measured calm (quite something in the freneticism of Sukhumvit).

Tailoring is a very serious issue at Rajawongse, though Jesse and Victor are happy to laugh and joke about other issues, discuss their travels, give recommendations. At all times you are addressed by your first name; and that is remembered.

When it is time for a measurement or fitting, a hush descends. The attentiveness made me feel good, the results even better. I literally felt different about myself. Silly really, as I hadn’t changed. Presumably the underlying thought was I can’t be so odd that I can’t be accommodated!

I had shirts made. For my big collar size, the arms are always too long. The body billows, unless I buy slimfit – then it’s too tight!

With Jesse and Victor I received perfection, and in the finest Egyptian cotton. Victor allowed himself a moment of wry humour at the fitting: “It could have been made for you, Mark”.

And the cost of perfection, of feeling good about myself, 1000Baht (approximately £18). A lot cheaper than surgery, even at Bangkok rates!

Mark Azavedo

http://dress-for-success.com/

Having spent the umpteenth hour of my life browsing in the food hall of Central Department Store, Chidlom, I decided it time to announce it as a tourist destination in its own right. The place is truly fantastic, an oriental Harrods food hall; and you can have an extraordinary self-service lunch there, very cheaply, too.

Alternatively, around the nearby Ploenchit/Wyatthu intersection, down Wyatthu and between Ploenchit and Chidlom there are many very good stalls for lunchtime street food. This is an office workers area.

Why not take your spoils to nearby Lumphini Park for a picnic lunch. Lumphini is one of the world’s great urban parks. Walk through to Silom , including walking on to Surawongse. These streets and the Sois between them are a major shopping area. You’ll also find the infamous Patpong here (boy do I hate that market – go to the real thing at Chatuchak at the weekend BTS Skytrain Sukhumvit Line Mo Chit). You can walk on down to the river.

A quick cut down to the river is by taking BTS Skytrain down to Saphan Taksin. If you are flush you’re hopefully staying at the (Mandarin) Oriental or the Peninsula. If not, it’s still a lovely area with OP Place my favourite place for a coffee and antiques browse. If you get off two stops before Saphan Taksin at Surasak, the Blue Elephant Restaurant and Cooking School is right there.

At the opposite extreme to all this loveliness, for a huge Tesco, available without a car, take BTS Skytrain Sukhumvit Line to On Nut. Why go to Tesco on your holiday? Well, truth is that it’s often massively cheaper than elsewhere. Also, you don’t have to haggle prices.

I know what prices should be but, frankly, can’t be bothered to haggle down to the minimum. I just go for a token first round to not look too stupid. It’s not that Thais are great at haggling either, it’s just that they can handle the heat. You’ll find being cool well worth the lack of negotiating effort.

If you use On Nut Tesco, there is a night market there too.

If my references to street food are not to your liking a very cheap restaurant, where you can eat for around £1 is Santa’s in MBK Centre BTS Skytrain National Stadium. Another cheap place I found recently, where the food is very good, worthy of dinner, is C Cup on Sukhumvit Soi 8. 

A suggestion for the Bangrak area (Silom, Surawongse, etc) is the basement of the Bangkok Gem and Jewellery Tower, 322 Surawongse (or Surawong) Road, again an extremely cheap place for all the local office workers, but not way off the tourist track.

In all this super-cheapness, don’t forget the sheer value of the lunchtime specials at the (Mandarin) Oriental.

Finally, in all this discussion of food and drink, a plea. I’ve noticed an increasing number of foreigners eating and drinking on BTS Skytrain. This is banned. Thais obey the ban, regarded rather quizzically at first. It is disrespectful to do differently. The superb condition of Skytrain 10 years on is testimony to the value of such rules.

PS: Suan Lum, Bangkok Night Market/Bazaar is still there, contrary to some reports. It is next to Lumphini MRT; and is, in fact, expanding.

Mark Azavedo

Yet, for all this extravagance, it was all held in abeyance to the whim and pleasure of the Great Mogul !  The emperor in Dehli could grant lands, titles and gadi to whoever he pleased.  Sons of royal lines stretching back to antiquity lined up to be generals and governors in the employ of the Emperor.  One particular painting reinforced how even the proud Maharanas of Marwad were forced to bow before a mogul prince.  Having given their daughters to the Emperor, other Rajput princes stood, heads suitably bowed.

The next room dealt with the rising power of the East India Company and culmination of this in the Imperial Darbars of the British Raj.  As the time of the Moguls came to an end, the Indian princes and kings shifted their dependence and loyalties to the Company !  They could have declared their independence at this point, but instead, they preferred to have someone lord it over them !  They asked the British to keep peace between each other, guarantee their borders and provide security to their state !!  They invited a third party to mediate in their internal quarrels and gave up their own independence to hear someone else pronounce “justice” for them.

The British used this opportunity to expand their influence and later their territories.  Any prince or king who did not follow their “treaty” to the letter was heavily punished with fines and even confiscation of their lands.  Kings could no longer marry or adopt sons without British consent !  Traders became the political agents mediating between princes and later became the defacto rulers of the land ! 

In 1857, there was an opportunity to get rid of both the Moguls and the British, but, the sepoys went to the Mogul emperor and most of the royal princes helped the British.  Result was the abolishment of the house of Timur and ending of the Company rule.  Indian princes were now to be ruled by the British Raj !  In 1877, at a glittering assembly of Indian royals, a foreign queen became the “Empress of India”.  Celebrated in a room size painting, the scene was poignant with irony as proud men sat on gilded thrones, accepting a woman as their liege-lord when their own women still lived in strict purdah !  Subsequent Durbars were even more impressive.  In 1911, the reigning Emperor came in person to accept the pledges of his loyal royals.  Proud princes bore the train of the royal mantel as their fathers bowed and walked backwards to honour the King Emperor !!

Fantastic costumes, jewels, letter written in gold ink by the Rani of Jhasi, video footage of the great Darbar of 1911 and more paintings.  This room houses some fantastic gifts send to the British royalty as tribute by “native prices and chieftains of India”.  Note the irony of how kings and maharajas were demoted at a single stroke to native princes and chiefs ! 

In addition to the taxes and fines paid to the British governemt, silver thrones, palanquin encased in carved ivory, jewelled sword with a scabbard covered with 719 large diamonds were gifted to the British Kings by the kings of India !  Victoria and Albert Museum writes with sad irony that what the Indian princes got in return for these extravagant gifts were only Bibles and dictionaries !!  British clearly felt that the poor benighted natives of India desperately needed the civilisation offered by their new religion and modern education.  What a slap in the face it must have been for haughty rajputs kings and princes, to get bibles and dictionaries as return gifts for all the diamonds and jewels they offered their British overlords !!

Change in style of the royals was evident from the objects on display in another room. Kings no longer dined in gold and silver.  They no longer drank from jade cups.  Instead, they used expensive glass marketed as “Belgian crystal” !  Palaces were now of the new Western styles.  A 15 foot photo showed the different styles of palaces, stretching out in to the countryside outside the town !

The last room showcased the elegant, Eton educated Maharajas of the 20^th Century.  Diamond necklaces designed by Cartier and Van Cleef, Art Deco furniture, princes and princesses posing in Indian and Western outfits with great sense of style and showmanship in both !  A huge Rolls Royce stood in the middle of the room to show the sophistication of the ultra modern rulers of India. Their genuine desire to live in the past whilst bringing modernity of education and good governance to their people was touching to see.  Many died in the two world wars to show their loyalty to the British Raj.

It all came to naught though.

Princes had not learned from their history.  Their bards recited the long list of royal heritage going back for 100 generations, but no one was listening to the lessons of this millennium long history.  Princes forgot that you have to rule to be royal.  Gallivanting in Europe and bathing in champagne makes you rich, but not royal.

At independence of India, in 1947, the princes were once again poised at the brink of history.  To declare independence of their own or to give up everything they stood for, so that India and Pakistan could be “whole nations” and not be “moth eaten”!  Having abdicated any meaningful sovereignty for so many centuries, they did not know which way to turn.  Most took the advise of their Viceroy and gave up their kingdoms – 563 of them – to the two new nations.  Only Kashmir and Hydrabad tried to remain impendent.  Pakistan forced the hand of Kashmir, making it embrace India in a desperate hurry after an ill-concealed invasion.  Hydrabad was unceremoniously absorbed into India a few years later.  The greatest insult was yet to come. 

In less than 24 years after having voluntarily signed over their lands to the new Republic, princes and kings of India found themselves exposed again.  Daughter of the man they gave their kingdoms to, unilaterally took away their privy purses and rescinded even their titles !!  Indira Gandhi’s persecution of the princes was mean spirited and in breech of the constitution and promises made by her own father.  Yet, no one protested.  No one rose up to challenge the breech of faith.  There were no more loyal subjects to fight for the royals !! 

Staring poverty in face, the princes have on the whole reinvented themselves as “heritage hoteliers” now.  Palaces, once the preserve of the privileged few, can now be rented by the hour !!  Indeed, how the mighty have fallen !!

What remain are the glittering remnants of the past.

Exhibitions like these help us learn lessons from shards of history.

This article is copyright Bhagwat Shah and appears by kind permission of the author.

Thailand Beach Resorts
Pattaya and Hua Hin, one either side, just over 2 hours from Bangkok

Pattaya and Hua Hin are the two top resorts in Thailand, but their attractions differ. Hua Hin appeals to a more sophisticated clientele, Pattaya draws the fun-seeker.

Thai Royal Family and High Society in Hua Hin.

Just off Hua Hin lie two gunships. Are we at war? Has ex-prime minister Taksim Shinawatra finally mounted the counter coup? Should we pack our bags and decamp? No, the King and Queen of Thailand are in residence and the naval vessels are just the outward display of their presence in the beachside Royal Palace at Hua Hin.

The fact that the Thai royals plus the elite of Bangkok society, the so-called “hiso”, choose to holiday here has transformed this former fishing village into a smart beach resort.

Despite the loss of most of its traditional wooden housing, and the fact that the squid hung stands along the beach have been replaced by guesthouses, Hua Hin still manages to retain much of its Thai charm.

Hua Hin, Spa Capital of Thailand

Nowadays it is known as the Spa capital of Thailand, each Spa taking their cue from the world famous Chiva Som Spa which was the first to offer holistic treatments in the area and offering a wide range of holistic activities including massages, exercise regimens, facials and body polishing, as well as medical programmes and stress management. One of the best is the Deverana Spa in the Dusit Thani Hotel, Hua Hin.

Golf and Elephant Trekking in Hua Hin, Thailand

There are those who claim that playing golf on one of the six international style golf course around the town is stress management enough, and others who will recommend a day spent elephant trekking with the gentle giants who once worked in the jungles of northern Thailand.

Dining in Hua Hin, Thailand

Off Naresdamri Road are many narrow sois lined with cafés, restaurants, bars, tailor shops and guesthouses. The multilingual menus displayed testify to the international clientele now attracted to the town. The “catch of the day” is available at all restaurants and at the night market on Dechanuchit Road where tiger prawns, crab, crayfish and pancakes can be sampled. This can be followed by home made ice-cream served from an old-fashioned freezer on wheels, ice-cream which, it is said, is delivered to the Palace once a week as it is a favourite with the royal family.

Pattaya, Thailand, night-life and other diversions.

Across the Gulf of Thailand lies the brasher Pattaya whose risqué diversions attract quite a different clientele. The neon-lit nightlife for which it is famous has totally transformed what was once a fishing village as quiet as Hua Hin until it became an R. & R. resort for Americans during the Vietnam War. Nowadays, South Pattaya is full of bars, beer gardens, pubs, discos and transvetite cabarets, many of which have earned the town a reputation for sleaze.

Dining in Pattaya and other entertainment

But sleaze is only one side of Pattaya. The other side is a range of excellent restaurants offering some of the best food in Thailand and PADI licenced Dive operators offering the best water-sports facilities in the country. However, the main beach is noisy and crowded and the vendors who patrol the narrow stretch of sands can be persistent. The few who come here in search of a bit of peace and tranquillity usually head for nearby Jomtien Beach.

Hua Hin or Pattaya – Thailand offers a choice.

Hua Hin is short on malls and top class shopping in shopping plazas as befits a quiet, tranquil resort but numerous side trips can be made to scenic areas and historical palaces. Pattaya offers parasailing, windsurfing, diving, offshore islands, an orchid farm, several theme parks, golf, tennis and archery.

To sum up, Hua Hin attracts an older, polyglot group of people whose main thought is to relax while still having fun, whereas Pattaya attracts a group who want to play hard and who eschew relaxation in favour of fast living.

This article is reproduced by kind permission of Mari Nicholson, its writer. Mari is a well-known travel writer, who specialises in Thailand.

We say that when in Hua Hin you must visit Hua Hin Hills Vineyard, especially on a jazz day.

I’m in the pristine grounds of Nai Lert Park Hotel, close to the embassies of Wireless Road, miles from Patpong or Nana or any other of Bangkok’s fleshpots.

Note, those places are replete with stories of bar girls waving phalluses around in club doorways before the start of business to bring good fortune, a successful session.

Here it is Sunday afternoon. The gardens are quite famed botanical gardens. Young students take notes. Families photograph each other. A group of nuns take a constitutional amid the beautiful orchids. Scantily clad bathers laze by and in the pool. All a rather bizarre combination.

But nothing prepares you for the strange sight tucked behind the service entrance to the hotel, and next to a car park.

Here is something like a mushroom field of phalluses or lingams, spreading out under the branches of a ficus tree. There are lingams of all sizes, some upto several feet in length. Some are made of wood, some stone. In their midst is the Mae Tuptim Shrine, signified by a spirit house about which are offerings of fresh food and drink, all presided over by a plastic model or two of a Thai traditional dancer.

I’ve never seen anybody at the shrine, but certainly the offerings always appear to be newly placed. It is suggested that particularly women come here to pray for pregnancy.

For me being surrounded by phalluses is its own peculiar hell, for reasons I’m largely at a loss to explain. My only guess is that I’m offended by the redness of all about me.

Certainly, that the phalluses are mostly red has been a talking point. Thereagain, their presence at all has been a talking point, as has the whole question of who Mae Tuptim was. There’s also the matter of the relationship between Mae Tuptim and the phalluses.

Less of a question is how the Mae Tuptim Shrine came into being. It was likely built by Nai Lert as protection for his new hotel. Certainly there is a large concentration of shrines in another area of Bangkok, Rajaprasong, built by shop and hotel owners to protect their enterprises and bring well-being. These include Bangkok’s most famous shrine, the Erawan Shrine, associated with the hotel of the same name.

The peculiarity of all these shrines, in a Buddhist land, is that they are shrines to Hindu deities. Thereagain, animist elements are also in the mix for good measure.

Mae Tuptim shrine, or worship at it, embodies a similar multiplicity of strands. That said, of course, motives come down to the individual worshipper. In the face of dozen upon dozen lingams about the shrine, the obvious thought, “fertility”, may well be the truth for most worshippers.

There is a simple folklorist story supporting this that a woman came to the shrine wishing to become pregnant. She prayed and her wish was granted. To celebrate the birth of her child she returned to the shrine with an offering of a lingam. As they say, “the rest is history”, as others emulated her.

Equally, still keeping things simple, it isn’t such a jump from the idea of fertility to general good fortune.

The trouble is that for the Mae Tuptim shrine lingams and association with fertility may equally come out of Thai animist traditions.

The belief here is in spirits. These spirits may be appeased to create good. More specifically procedures are available through which the spirits will do your bidding.

The bright red of most lingams at Mae Tuptim Shrine has alternately been associated with pomegranate juice or menstrual blood.

The association with pomegranate juice sees Tuptim as a corruption of Taptim, Thai for pomegranate. The relationship with menstrual blood relies upon the Tantric belief that the most powerful time for sexual intercourse is during menstruation.

There is plenty of room for thought here, including what of the prominent virginal white lingam?

Whatever, remember that, having taxed your brain and camera, maybe improved your fertility or fortune, there is the beautiful orchid collection to see. Also, the Mai Lert Park does the meanest fruit juice cocktail!

Mark Azavedo

It’s late evening. The storms had caused plane delays. I’ve one Saigon address – reputedly the one affordable Saigon address. They’re full.

But I’ve one ace card as well, and I play it. “Ah, Mr Derek’s friend”. Miss Joan rolls her eyes from side to side and sucks in her cheeks in a great display of thought.

My room is a vast apartment, but I don’t enjoy it for long. Knock, Knock. “Miss Joan say you need eat”. I follow obediently downstairs – not quite sure what to expect.

I’m ushered onto a moped parked in reception. And so it was that my first sights of this traffic-packed, moped-ruled city were from the back of a moped in the middle of the night.

Our problem was that we were running across the the flow in Saigon’s unlit, rutted streets. Mr Derek was not my best friend for those few minutes. Any physiotherapist – or maybe psychotherapist – would have been.

Old friendships renewed, though, when I crossed the same roads on foot – friendship with Mr Derek, friendship with God. Though round here there seemed little difference.

Meantime, I enjoyed my meal in the recommended restaurant – My Mouse. Yes, it is not an auspicious name. All the expected thoughts ran through my head. “Are they proud they only have one?”

Ultimately, I settled on a comforting thought. Throughout South-East Asia people love cartoon characters – particularly cuddly, furry, rodenty ones. For sure this was just a mis-translation of Mighty Mouse. An appropriate logo was in preparation, and its sister restaurant, Rollin Rat, was just around the corner.

Several days passed without intervention from Mr Derek. So I spent them doing the things you do in Saigon – not much. Take in the markets, take in China Town, chat with the old cyclo boys, gawp at the Floating Hotel brought from the Barrier Reef.

Then Madam Lai arrived. “A friend of Mr Derek. You will come with me to Vung Tau”

I had the feeling nobody had ever argued with this woman – particularly her ex-husband. He just left. I did too – but with her.

Which is how I met Miss Lai. You see, Miss Lai is Madam Lai’s younger, unmarried, sister. The one inside the vast party dress – from which I gather, we’re supposed to party.

But, then again, I didn’t want to party tonight – probably because I’m tired from travelling. We could spend a day on the beach together tomorrow. Or, we could go for a country walk. Or, take a ride around the sights. Or, take a walk around town. Or ……..

I dislike so many things. She said I was boring. I agreed I am boring, ever so boring. But there she was at 9am the next morning, moped ready to rev.

She was certainly taking hospitality to Mr Derek’s friend to extremes. Just as her sister had when she insisted on coming with me in the taxi to Vung Tau. Or when her other sister had finally found me that room upon my arrival.

I leave Vung Tau alone. I’m unable to confirm whether ear lobes really are such a big deal with Vietnamese. Or whether mine really are such a deal in the lexicon of ear lobes.

In Hanoi, Mrs Wen introduces me to Mr Jim, an Oz Cathay pilot. He’s in a happy mood today. It’s his first day with a room. He’s been sleeping rough in reception for a few days.

Jim and I hang out. In particular, we hang out in the piano bar, which is where he and Derek hang out. But, then again, everyone hangs out there. It’s the place for good conversation – and piano.

Mr Wen keeps up a constant barrage of politically incorrect jokes about boat people. The US Missing in Action Team tell us all about their work and travels – often difficult in Laos, never so in Vietnam. But ultimately, they get drunk.

In the meantime, girls from the university play amazing piano. And the young bar girls stare. Occasionally they touch – fascinated by westerners, particularly Mr Jim.

Those slightly reticent smiles, stolen touches and glances are a far cry from the South, where some country women pinched me all over, covering me in bruises.

But, alas, it was time to leave Hanoi. Mrs Wen offered me some business cards. I said Derek had already given me plenty.

“You know Mr Derek?” The room price sank. I was given a t-shirt.

by Mark Azavedo    Originally published in Traveller Magazine

A visit to Yaowarat, Bangkok’s famous Chinatown, is sometimes better made after the Chinese New Year, as during the celebrations for that festival, the streets are crowded and restaurants are full. Like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, or Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival, the revelry in the streets continues, but quiet places for contemplation can still be found hidden away in side streets. And, of course, food from every province of mainland China is on offer in Yaowarat.

Chinese Temples in Yaowarat
There are Chinese Temples that pull in devotees, especially on the occasion of the Chinese New Year. The Year of the Pig doesn’t promise all sweetness and light and perhaps this is why the air is so thick with smoke from joss sticks. Wat Mangkorn Kamalawat, Wat Kalayanamit, Chao Poh Sua Shrine are all busy with people praying and making offerings to their ancestors and holy spirits.

On Trimit Road is the Trimit Temple which houses the famous shrine of the Lord Buddha cast in gold, a metal that has always held a special place in the hearts of the Chinese. Called simply the Golden Buddha, it supposedly weighs five and a half tons and is the heaviest Buddha statue in the world.

Surprisingly, the Golden Buddha was hidden inside a plaster cast for several centuries until 1954, when workers trying to remove the heavy sculpture found a code on the base of the statue relating to its contents. They broke the plaster cast and this unveiled the statue.

Gold Shops in Chinatown, Bangkok
In Yaowarat Road lie the Chinese gold shops for which the area is famous, and if you are of a mind to buy some gold, then this is as good a place as any. The gold is sold by weight which can be found in the daily paper, but there is the added value of the workmanship which is the extra charge. It is expected that you will barter and you should sttart by offering half the price asked and then settle for three quarters, or whatever you feel you want to pay. Buy what you like, pay what you can afford should be your motto.

Visit the museum on the upper floor of the first gold shop to open in Bangkok 130 years ago, Tang Toh Kang,but an appointment may be necessary (02-224-2422) In the downstairs shop, they still use many of the tools used in the early days of the shop, while embracing some of the more technically advance tools as well.

Yaowarat is an island of Chinese culture in the modern city that Bangkok has become, and should not be missed.

This article is reproduced by kind permission of Mari Nicholson, its writer. Mari is a well-known travel writer, who specialises in Thailand.

In the (fashion) photographic days, Helmut Newton was my major influence. I´ve been in Berlin to the Helmut Newton Foundation, paying homage.

Specifically, I wanted to see the mammoth Sumo project (the exhibition continues through to January 2010 – so you´ve plenty of time to catch it).

It doesn´t disappoint. It was fascinating to see such a large body of work. Paris was Newton´s highpoint. He was clearly excited by the city, making wondrous explorations of “la zone” as well as photographic technique.

Above all, though, Vogue France simply commissioned in an adventurous way – hard, hard-hitting, graphic, sexy images. By comparison, the American Vogue images look soft and pale.

Alongside Sumo is Private Property. In this section is a video installation of Newton at work, shot by June, his wife. It is simply unrivalled as an insight into the photographic process. I want it on continual “loop” in my home!

What of the rest of my time in Berlin? Spent almost entirely in the creative, alternative, high-immigration zones of Kreuzburg and Mitte. Think Oranienburgerstrasse and surrounds in Mitte and Oranienstrasse and surrounds in Kreuzberg.

Tacheles “art centre”, in fact a loose co-operative of creatives, on Oranienburgerstrasse is a highspot. Good restaurants are there too. Nearby is Hackescher Markt, a great market on market days, and always a wonderful area for eating out and catching the buskers. Close to Hackescher is Museum Island.

Generally, Germany does BOHO/Alternative well, especially Berlin. That said, my preference is Hamburg, where a weekend in the St Pauli and St George districts is a weekend well spent.

What you will never find in Hamburg, though, is the Berlin Wall!  Particularly worth a visit is East Side Gallery, on Muhlenstrasse near Ostbahnhof, a 1.3 Km preserved section of the wall, decorated with paintings.

It is periodically restored; and the latest restoration began on 14th April 2009.  You can go and watch the artists at work.

This said, my preference is for flipping through a hole in the wall to see the spontaneous artwork that has appeared over the years.

The other advantage of doing this is that, in summer, this is one of the areas by the River Spree that is turned into an artificial beach.  Hit the sunloungers, unless someone has put a towel there first!!

Hotel City 54 was a real find. Doubles are in fact apartments with a small separate kitchen and huge, well-appointed, separate bathroom. All for Euros 42! Go to Hotels search at www.marktimetravel.com – availability is at booking.com

Mark Azavedo

My relationship with Thailand goes back a long way. I have worked and holidayed there often.

At first, I used to feel like a GI from Vietnam on R & R. I remember “Let it Be” blurting out under the old whirring fans of the Ambassador Food Court (sadly, now long gone) and fake Rolexes for sale on every street corner.

My friend, Julie, always insisted on eating out at Thai Room. It was the old Peace Corps hang out; and, assuredly, had not been decorated since the Vietnam days. Julie liked the full-on Bangkok experience, but would only “go for it” when either Keith or I was around. In those days Patpong wasn’t quite the place for a lone western woman.

Fast forward to Bangkok now. A lone western woman wouldn’t be noticed. Western businesspeople are everywhere. A tide of concrete has hit Bangkok, not to mention Skytrain, an underground system, a new airport and a new airport link. There are fabulous new shopping malls and department stores.

An awful lot of concrete. But Bangkok is the same city, in many ways a better city. What dilapidation was there where the fabulous OJ Place trades upscale antiques and offers a wonderful place to have a quiet coffee or fruit juice? What of the fantastic “colonial” house that is now Spa 1930? Did the Oriental look as good as it does now?

And, above all, if any city in this world is made of people, not places, it’s Bangkok. Not without reason has the Land of Smiles earned that sobriquet – not that “earned” is quite the right word. Charm, graciousness and half-full glasses come effortlessly to Thais.

Not that Thais are without an eye to the main chance. Changes in Western lifestyles and interests have been well understood to produce a range of holiday add-ons unheard of only a few years ago.

The internationally acclaimed Oriental and Blue Elephant Cooking Schools offer day courses in Thai Cookery, starting with a trip to market to buy ingredients, ending by dining on the meal you have cooked. Even at these highly upscale establishments, prices are only in the range of around £50 to £70.

There are cheaper well-established day courses, again hands-on, at such places as Baipai Thai Cooking School and Silom Thai Cooking School. Prices range from about £18 to £32.

Several establishments offer massage courses, be that traditional Thai or oil-based massage. The benchmark is the well-known Wat Po School of Massage and Traditional Thai Medicine. 5 Day courses range from £117 to £153, depending on school of massage followed.

Another developing area is medical and dental tourism. You may develop immediate “pass on that” images of cosmetic surgery. But what of simple teeth whitening, taking around an hour by laser, and costing a fraction of Western rates?

And , failing all this new stuff, there is still the unmissable old stuff, such as Wat Phra Keo, Wat Arun, Wat Po, The Royal Palace, The Royal Barge Sheds, Erawan Shrine, Jim Thompson’s House (also a great place for coffee or a fruit juice by the pond, not to mention the fabulous silks shop), and Chatuchak Market.

Finally, a plea to frequent the Cabbages and Condoms restaurant off Sukhumvit (10, Sukhumvit Soi 12). All profits go to support a brilliant sexual health and development charity. The food is good and sensibly priced. Go upstairs if the weather is good.

Our knowledge of Bangkok in particular and Thailand in general is unparalleled. Do contact us on 02089852161 or get booking from our fantastic accommodation bank – button on home page of this site!

Mark Azavedo