May 2010

Things will heat up this month, but Bangkok has mastered the great indoor escape just in time. This month you can beat the heat in art galleries, theatres and concert halls. Especially concert halls. It’s strange, after years of being a musical no-mans-land for foreign acts, suddenly a slew wash up on Bangkok’s shores. Not that we’re complaining – "Viva the live music renaissance" say we! In March alone you can treat your ears to an aural feast of hip and not-so-hip live bands, from Norweigan folk-popsters Kings of Convenience and androgynous mope-rockers Placebo, to hip-slinger Tom Jones and 70s soul funk disco heroes Kool and the Gang.

Of course, where you really want to be at this time of year is plonked under a palm tree, with a gentle sea breeze lapping at your face. This is where this month’s feature – on Trat province’s Elephant Island – should come in very handy indeed. More popularly known as Koh Chang, this verdant leviathan  on the south east coast has been on a mission to catch up with Samui and Phuket over the past decade... but still sucks in way less tourists. End result: comparable luxury, less sleaziness, cynicism and people trying to punt you things. In other getaways, Over the Border revisits not-as-sterile-as-it-first-seems Singapore, while closer to home we delve into the wonderful House of Museums, one man's ode to 20th century Thai culture.

Back in town, John Burdett, author of Bangkok 8 and its bestselling sequels, spills the beans on his writings and city haunts. He’s been on our to-interview list for years… and he didn’t disappoint. Over in Making Merit we’re out with the Sanuk My Saturdays crew, a bunch of driven expats who teach underpriveleged Bangkok kids for a couple of hours on Saturday afternoons -- and have an absolute blast doing so. Reviews this month include joints we’d missed, like Imoya, as well as new ones like La Table de Tee and Bistro'y.  See you back here, same place, same time, next month, when we’ll be dodging water buckets in an attempt to show you the saner, more traditional side of Songkran, Thailand's New Year.

Enjoy.