Jim Thompson House

A relaxing place to spend a few hours. Just a short walk from the Stadium BTS station down a quiet lane. It is located at the end of the lane on the left just before reaching the canal. Quite fascinating the way he reconstructed the Thai house with the wooden walls and floors. It has a real cozy feel to it and at least for me, a fascinating mix of ceramics and Buddhist statues and paintings throughout. I'd like to live there! The garden is quite lush. You must go on a guided tour inside the house but it is worth it as they explain a lot of things you would not have known. It takes about 1/2 hour. And its only THB 100 (a little over US$3). Had a nice lunch of a Thai salad on the outside terrace facing the house next to a sleepy fish pond. There is also a shop as well as another gallery with changing exhibits upstairs. Bathroom was very clean and you can smoke in a special place right by the entrance.

Note: For people who do not want to walk down the lane, there are golf carts from Jim Thompson that will take you from the beginning of the lane down to the house.

Vertigo Grill and Moon Bar: View with a price

Located on the 69th floor of the Banyan Tree Hotel, Vertigo offers exhilarating open air views of Bangkok. There is no doubt that the atmosphere is spectacular. However if you eat there, it is questionable whether the view is worth the price. The menu is fairly varied--sort of a Pan-Asian, international fare. I had the grilled prawns which were tasty as were the accompanying vegetables; the potatoes it came with were however formed into a rectangular shape, somewhat hard to cut and not very tasteful. As an appetizer the texture of the lobster spring rolls was off and they fell apart too easily. Similarly the mango cheesecake was too airy.

Though the service is efficient, it felt artificially friendly and pushy. The waiter seemed disappointed that not everybody in the party ordered an appetizer. I opted for the house wine but the waiter tried to convince me to order a higher priced bottle with a condensing air. The wine was poured way too fast with the bottle finished before our main course came; it seemed to me that it was intentional to encourage us to order another. At the end of the meal I was asked to fill out a questionnaire which I found a bit tacky in a place striving to be special.

I doubt if the restaurant was on ground level, it could charge the prices it does. While the food is good, it is not memorable and the service is OK but a personal, friendly touch is missing. The view is definitely worth it but it would be far cheaper to just go for a drink at the bar.

Gianni

Cozy ambiance suggestive of Italy and except for the Thai waiters, you could almost imagine you are in Rome or Florence. Varied menu with a number of daily specials. We had the lobster, linguine with tomato sauce, mozzarella and tomatoes and risotto with asparagus; they were all tasty. Service is efficient and friendly. Diners seemed for the most part to be local expatriates. Worth it if your budget permits.

Chatuchak Weekend Market

One of the largest weekend markets in Asia. Although it is massive it is pretty well organized with the layout organized by the type of product. There are maps available. Given its large size it is unlikely you would be able to see everything so unless you are going with the intention of buying something specific, it is best to just take it easy, stop a lot, have a drink, etc. Stalls include ceramics, clothes, handicrafts, food, pets, furniture and a number of places to eat in the various courtyards that the alleys flanking the stalls lead to.
It is next to the Mo Chit BTS which gets quite crowded.

Chao Phraya River

Hop on one of the public transport boats at the various stops along the Chao Phraya River for a relaxing break and a different perspective of Bangkok. They can be pretty crowded during certain times.

  

Wat Pho

One of Bangkok's more famous Buddhist temples. The long reclining gold Buddha takes some time to walk around given its size and the large number of tourists. The complex is quite extensive and nice to walk around to escape the hordes of tourists that mainly linger at the reclining Buddha. There is a massage school located on the complex where you can get Thai massage from trainees.

Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

Hillwood is the estate left by the millionairess Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to the cereal fortune. She collected an abudance of art, particularly Russian. Items include icons, Fabergé eggs and ceramics. My favorites include the paintings, particularly the one on the right. The art is displayed in their original setting in her house making it an intimate place to see the collection. The estate overlooks Rock Creek Park, away from the tourists of downtown DC. Worth a visit!

Portrait of Countess Samoilova, Karl Briullov (1832-1834)

Ansel Adams exhibition at the Corcoran

"In Glacier National Park" By Ansel Adams, Montana, 1941. National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the National Park Service
Saw the Ansel Adams exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in DC which was running concurrently with the Annie Leibovitz exhibition. An overdose of mega photography! In this age of disposable, digital, daily images, it is refreshing to see really good photos taken by people with a special perspective and with the final result nicely printed and displayed. Adam's nature photographs are Zen-like--they draw you in and make you think philosophically. There was a thread running through the Adams photos--I have a painting of a flower by a woman named Ellen Hathaway that reminds me of Georgia O'Keefe. I mentioned this to Marion who gave us book on O'Keefe for Christmas. Now just a few days later, it turns out that Georgia O'Keefe was a friend of Adams and there are a couple of enigmatic photos of her in the exhibit as well as some photos of her paintings.
The Leibovitz exhibit is bold, big, bright and brash. What is fascinating is the juxtaposition of her personal family photos with celebrities.
An interesting photo is one Leibovitz took of Adams for a Rolling Stone magazine article back in 1976 that she had printed when she found out her show would be next to his. It is in the hallway between the two exhibits and unfortunately missed by most people.

MDG Photo

Was browsing through a UN publication entitled "The Millennium Development Goals Report" when I found a picture I took on page 33. It's a scene from Phnom Penh, Cambodia taken back in July 2001.

Spice Tour in Zanzibar