Bustle is Back in Bangkok

BANGKOK — When friends heard that I was coming to the Thai capital, their first reaction was one of apprehension, “Isn’t it risky to go there?”

The invitation came from Len Rivera, marketing representative of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in the Philippines and it was irresistible. Along with Shirley Pizarro of Bulletin as teammate, I was going to compete in what the TAT called The Amazing Thailand Grand Sale Shopping Challenge against teams from China, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia and South Korea.

With Shirley and me was Amber Burac, production/special events whiz and all-around media person, who showed “amazing” stamina throughout the two-hour challenge that we clocked in 55 minutes(!).

Oops! I’m going ahead of the story.

As soon as we landed at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport via Thai Airways (almost three hours flight from Manila), our hidden fears vanished. On the way to the Novotel Hotel where we were billeted for three nights (June 16 to 18), we were pleasantly surprised not to see any signs of the disturbances played up in the international media these past several months. The short-lived curfew had been lifted before we arrived.

Yes, the bustle is back in Bangkok. Business as usual. Things are coming back to normal barely one month after the coup. The city is coming back to life, as if it’s waking up from sweet slumber and not a troubled dream.

After checking in at Novotel (in the Ploenchit district; there are five more around the city), I texted my friends back home, “It’s safe here. Nothing to fear, nothing to worry about.” I am…that word again!...”amazed” by this city’s ability to bounce back, showing no “scars.”

The pre-challenge activities included a quick tour of Novotel (cozy/homey rooms, friendly staff including two pretty Pinays at the front desk/reception, with a sweeping view of the city from the 29th floor where premium guests take breakfast, etc.) and the newly-opened Century Embassy, touted as “the new luxury retail” where you can find high-end shops (Kris Aquino and her friends can squander to their hearts’ content), and capped with walk-around at Siam Paragon which is one of the three malls (including CentralWorld and Gaysorn) in the popular shopping districts Ratchaprasong and Siam covered by the “amazing” challenge. 

The race happened last Wednesday, June 18, from 2:30 to 4:30 in the afternoon.

Each team was given a shopping bag and 10,000 baht with which to buy certain items at specified shops in the three participating malls. The team that spent the least time and at the least cost of the items (listed in seven sealed envelopes to be opened only by a guide instructed not to help the contestants) was declared the winner. (Prize: 100,000 baht.)

Our team ran around looking for the items like we had never run before. We rushed to the starting point back with our teeming bag, clocking 55 minutes and placing…sigh!!!... seventh. And the winner was China.

That, ladies and gentlemen, was how we lost “it” in Thailand.

But we felt like winners just the same when our team’s hostess, Wipaporn Waleesajjakarn (TAT marketing officer based in Singapore), treated us to another dinner (burp, burp, burp!!!) and let us watch (on our first night) Muay Thai Live (The Legend Lives), “a spectacular show featuring hyper-real Muay Thai fights, breathtaking stunts and jaw-dropping special effects, with the riches of Thai history as its gorgeous backdrops” and Nanta, a theatrical percussion show, very much like the Stomp (now playing at the CCP in Manila until tonight…catch it, fast!), in which the performers are dressed as chefs making music with kitchen utensils.

We should be back home recharged with the “Amazing Thailand” spirit.

(E-mail reactions at entphilstar@yahoo.com.)