Turning Bangkok inside out<\/p>\n
Ehito Kimura, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Bangkok Inside Out<\/p>\n
Daniel Ziv and Guy Sharett<\/p>\n
176 pp<\/p>\n
Equinox Publishing<\/p>\n
Equal parts insight and wit, Bangkok Inside Out give readers a
\nunique view into Thailand's pulsating capital city. The guidebook
\nconsists of short reflections and sleek photos that together give
\nreaders an honest glimpse of urban life in Bangkok.<\/p>\n
Some themes will be familiar to residents of Jakarta: the
\ncultural melange, the urban cacophony, the trendy nightlife, the
\nnightmarish traffic.<\/p>\n
But readers will quickly find that Bangkok has flavors all its
\nown.<\/p>\n
Amidst a prominent Buddhist culture that reveres the Monarchy
\nlies a thriving kathoey (transgender) subculture. Roaming the
\nstreets aren't just cars and buses, but urban elephants and mangy
\nmutts.<\/p>\n
Many Jakartans will recognize Daniel Ziv's handiwork here.
\nZiv made his mark by founding Djakarta!, an English-language
\nmonthly that covers the city's social and cultural life, then
\nwent on to write his bestselling and widely acclaimed Jakarta
\nInside Out.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Inside Out was notable for its original layout and
\ndesign. Ziv chose some 60 topics on the city -- from \"Asongan\" to
\n\"Wartel\" and wrote a few punchy paragraphs about each. He then
\nplaced a large eye-catching photo alongside every mini-essay.
\nEach two-page spread tackles one topic, but taken together, they
\nform a tapestry of this complex capital.<\/p>\n
Bangkok is another ideal place to apply the Inside Out
\nformula.<\/p>\n
Ziv, with co-author Guy Sharett, take on the City of Angels
\nwith the same enthusiasm, grit and humor of the original. The
\nresult is a book worthy of its predecessor.<\/p>\n
The brief essays in Bangkok Inside Out are a joy to read.
\nThey're sprinkled with anecdotes -- see \"Operation Ding-Ding\" --
\nbits of history, social commentary and political analysis. The
\nwriting is light, hip, funny and smart.<\/p>\n
Only the puns are bad, and they're supposed to be.<\/p>\n
The photography in this book is also impressive.
\nPhotojournalist Sasa Kralj captures city life from the mundane
\n(construction sites) to the outrageous (Jumbo Queen Pageant).<\/p>\n
The photos also reveal the city's yawning economic gap (the
\nlofty \"hi-so\" nightlife vs. Khlong Toey's slums) its cultural
\ndiversity (in Bangkok, bule are called farang) and the everyday
\nactivities of its residents (street food anyone?).<\/p>\n
Let's be clear here, I have my gripes.<\/p>\n
What, no section on tuk-tuk, those lovable three-wheeled
\nrickshaws that sputter along the congested streets? Yes, farang
\nmeans foreigner, but tell the reader it's originally a reference
\nto the French! And a whole spread on \"sounds\"?<\/p>\n
I guess Bangkok has distinctive sounds but come on, how about
\nthose tuk-tuk?<\/p>\n
These shortcomings, of omission and of commission, are
\nadmittedly a little subjective. And to be fair, Ziv and Sharrett
\nhave done an outstanding job choosing their topics to show as
\n\"real\" or \"true\" a picture of Bangkok as they can.<\/p>\n
Academic training compels me to put words like real and true
\nin inverted quotes, but the authors should be commended for their
\nhonest and evenhanded efforts to portray the city in a variety of
\nlights.<\/p>\n
Bangkok is an amazingly complex and contradictory city, and
\nZiv and Sharett are ideal guides. They don't just know the city
\ninside and out, they are also simultaneously insiders and
\noutsiders.<\/p>\n
Said differently, they know the beast but they keep their
\ndistance, and it makes for a refreshing, engaging and candid
\nperspective.<\/p>\n
Ziv's closing essay, \"My Weekend at the Grace Hotel (a stay at
\nthe notorious Soi Nana)\", reinforces this point.<\/p>\n
Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone wanting to
\nunderstand the urban megapolis that is Bangkok.<\/p>\n
But don't read Bangkok Inside Out cover to cover. Flip
\nthrough, skip around, take in the essays and absorb the photos.<\/p>\n
In short, enjoy it.<\/p>\n
The reviewer is a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-
\nMadison Department of Political Science, and worked in Bangkok
\nfrom 1997 to 1999 at a research non-governmental organization. He
\npresently resides in Jakarta, where he is conducting field
\nresearch for his doctoral thesis on Indonesian politics.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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