Suan Amporn Garden 100-year Carnival Photos

Here are some pictures I took at the Amporn Park (Thai: สวนอัมพร) fair which runs from 12 to 16 November 2008 (10am to 9pm), near Royal Plaza. Oh and the admission is free!



The event is held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the equestrian statue of King Chulalongkorn. The fair, organized by the Royal Thai television foundation, has recreated the atmosphere that surrounded the new statue exactly a century ago at Royal Plaza. The equestrian statue of King Chulalongkorn traveled all the way from France, and arrived in Bangkok on November 11, 1908.



At the entrance to the carnival I was greeted by cycle rickshaws offering a short ride within the fair for 10 Baht to get a taste and feel of good old Bangkok. I had the opportunity to photograph a group of Thais who were all dressed up in Rama 5 style Thai traditional costumes.



The market section was full of Thai dishes and desserts popular in the last century. A stage was also set near the market with amazing performances including martial arts and traditional Thai dances. A pair of young girls performed a thrilling Thai sword fighting duel, with sparks flying every time the swords struck each other.





Moving over to the exhibition, there were lots of photographs of King Chulalongkorn and other interesting pictures from the last century. A dome with several projectors screened the story of the struggle back in those days. A special postcard with the picture of King Chulalongkorn was being given away to fairgoers for free.



Thailand Post had a booth with postcards and special stamps for visitors to send them off to friends!

Most of the visitors to the fair wore pink, which was the color of King Chulalongkorn. The atmosphere at the carnival was very pleasant, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, also because I went there on Wednesday, which was Songkran festival. I'm planning to show up at the fair again this weekend, I just loved the Som Tam at the market.

K-Bank gives me candy, shows me money

I walked into Kasikorn Bank today for my usual "show me the money" banking transactions and was greeted by a pretty KBank girl who smiled at me and also gave me a strawberry candy. This candy or khanom (Thai: ขนมลูกอม) carries the brand logo "K Excellence" with the words Kasikorn Bank Group below it (seen in the picture below).



I've never received a candy from a bank staff member before so I'm not sure whether this candy is meant only for KBank employees and I got lucky, or is it meant for handsome customers like me as well ;). Or could they be sharing it with every other Tom, Dick and Somchai?

As usual I got my job done quickly, and KBank has once again excelled at making me a happy customer. I'm happy to have recently closed my Bangkok Bank account. I'm too tired of waiting at Bangkok Bank, good bye.

The candy tasted excellent no doubt, not that it was any better than any regular candies sold elsewhere, but it was given to me by a cute Thai lady with a beautiful Thai smile - this was enough to make the candy more tasty.

Hey Tourists: Thailand is safe to travel!

Having concerns regarding the political situation in Thailand?
Let me assure you that the tourism situation in Thailand is safe for travel.



Many tourists at Chatuchak Weekend Market, Suanlum Night Bazaar, Temple of Emerald Buddha, Khaosan Road, Siam, MBK, and many other places were interviewed about their vacation and safety in Bangkok. The tourists interviewed were from U.S., Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, England, Scotland, Australia, Japan, Norway, Nigeria, and all of them said that they feel safe and that the political unrest in Bangkok hasn't affected their plans at all.



A German tourist at Chatuchak Market stated that the situation has neither affected his visit to Thailand nor to the tourism in Thailand. He feels everything is still safe, just like his earlier visits to Thailand. He was just told to avoid going to the demonstration areas near Government House.

You can watch the YouTube videos of their interviews at www.youtube.com/thailand

As usual, you are always welcome here in the the Land of Smiles.

So what are you waiting for? Board the plane and make that trip you've been planning for!

Bangkok Dangerous: Perfect timing?

Bangkok Dangerous, an R-Rated action movie starring Nicolas Cage and Chakrit Yamnam (Thai: ชาคริต แย้มนาม) released at cinemas in Bangkok yesterday. The film has been released just two days after a State of Emergency has been declared in Bangkok by Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej. Sounds like a perfect timing? Déjà vu?



The movie title says it all, as countries like Britain, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan have issued travel advisories telling their citizens to avoid traveling to Bangkok unless necessary. The situation has severely affected the tourism industry, as many tourists have canceled their tickets to Bangkok.

The question is, is it really unsafe to travel to Bangkok? Is Bangkok dangerous or not so dangerous? I personally think that the streets in Bangkok are safe except for the areas around Government House and Saphan Makkawan Bridge, which should be avoided. The emergency decree is having little effects on Bangkokians, as they carry on with their lives as usual, go to work, visit their dentists, and freely wander from place to place in search of food and clothing, and some entertainment.

Buses, taxis, tuk-tuks, songtaews, skytrain, subway are running as usual in Bangkok and so are hotels, restaurants, resorts, shopping centers, markets, you name it... its business as usual in Bangkok.

Bangkok Dangerous is written and directed by Hong Kong-born identical twins, Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang, also known as Pang Brothers, and is a remake of their original 1999 Thai film of the same name.

Bangkok Dangerous 2008 was actually shot in Bangkok in 2006 during which a military coup was going on!

Wise Kwai mentions in his blog that "One of the stories told about the production is that the only gunshots during the coup were fired on the set of Bangkok Dangerous. But this is perhaps apocryphal, as Danny tells Hollywood Reporter that they "were advised to film silent gunfire shots for their numerous gunfight scenes".

The films picks up the story of a loner assassin, played by Nicolas Cage, who goes to Bangkok to pull off a series of assignments and find himself falling in love with a local girl. The Thai actor Chakrit Yamnam plays an "errand boy" character.

The current tagline states: "It's all in the execution", after the "One Man. One Bullet. One Shot." was shown on previous posters.



The adrenaline-charged thriller is expected to rake in $10 million in North America and top the weekend's box-office rankings, as it is the sole major release hitting the U.S. multiplexes.

Bangkok Dangerous Reviews

Times Online UK writes:
"Cynics may be tempted to dismiss Bangkok Dangerous as money for old rope but the Hollywood firepower under its gleaming bonnet would make a Top Gear presenter shiver with pleasure. Nicolas Cage is a ruthless hitman who is as reliable and expensive as a Swiss watch. His kills are immaculately planned pieces of art."

Mercury News writes:
"Heavy on the spice and cheap on the meat, "Bangkok Dangerous" adds plenty of Thai seasoning to the Hollywood lone-assassin recipe, but the result is only mildly pungent."

Featured Blog of the Day at FuelMyBlog!

My blog "HaPPi Like a HiPPo" has been featured as blog of the day at FuelMyBlog.com today!


The above picture I received from FuelMyBlog is my award award for the occasion :)

Blog of the day features a different blog every day, and today is my day.
If you liked my blog please vote for me by clicking on the image below:

Let this blog enjoy the limelight for today!



Below is a screenshot from FuelMyBlog with my blog displayed on the top left-hand corner under "Blog of the Day".

Toys R Us at Bangkok Central World, a children's paradise

Last week I happened to visit Esplanade shopping mall on Ratchada and found a large Toys R Us booth at the ground floor with some nice quality toys up for sale. Being a "flagship guy", I decided to check out their flagship store yesterday, so I stepped into the large Toys R Us (ทอยส์ "อาร์" อัส) store on the 6th floor of Central World. At the entrance to the store there is a huge Geoffrey the Giraffe smiling at you with a traditional "Thai Wai". The moment I entered the store I felt like I got into a fantasy world which reminded me of my days when I was a kid. I saw colored balloons, action-hero characters, Star Wars & Masked Rider characters, teddy bears, Barbie dolls, Dress-up Sets, Role Play items, Playhouses, board games like Scrabble and Monopoly, toy guns, Rubik's Cube, DVDs, XBox, Game Boy, PlayStation, electronics gadgets, and lots of other cool stuff. It's not just a place for kids, since as an adult I found the place really amusing, as I love to spend time with electronic gadgets!

They have a digital clock that is set on a count down to July 26, 2008, and after some googling that evening I found out that on this date more than 225 of those stores will open at midnight to sell toys from the latest Star Wars film, The Clone Wars which is the first fully animated Star Wars movie that hits cinemas in the United States on August 15. Two of the retailer's flagship outlets, one in San Diego's Mission Bay and the other in New York's Times Square, will hold costume and trivia contests that night as well, and will give away limited-edition Star Wars toys with every purchase. Even McDonald's is getting involved, with its first ever Happy Meal promotion for a Star Wars movie, called the "Clone Wars Happy Meals". Each will come with a specially designed box and one of 18 exclusive toys.


Children can be totally overwhelmed by the sheer variety of the toys at the store. The store greets visitors with a colored store map that gives the kids some idea on what to find and where to go. The map uses different colors to show the various zones of the store. The blue color is for the boys looking for guns or Star Wars stuff, pink color for the girls looking for Barbie dolls, and purple for adults wanting to check out PlayStation game consoles and other electronic gadgets. They have 8 major zones which are Hot & In Toys, Girl Toys, Boy Toys, Educational Toys, Sport and Outdoor, Baby Toys, Electronic Gaming and Family Fun & Games. The store uses a 'Boutique Zoning' concept which displays most products on eye-level shelves, instead of the hypermarket style display from floor to ceiling.

Some facts About Toys"R"Us

Toys R Us is a leading international retailer of toys and baby products founded in 1948 in Washington D.C by Charles Lazarus during the post war boom era as a baby furniture retailer, then known as Children's Supermarket. Toys R Us has 1256 retail stores in 36 countries worldwide, including 586 locations in the United States alone. Outside of the US, Toys "R" Us, Inc. operates, licenses or franchises approximately 670 stores in 35 countries under the Toys"R"Us name. Babies "R" Us comes under the umbrella of Toys "R" Us, a thorough baby world dealing with baby products and leads the juvenile industry. The glass-enclosed flagship store in New York City's Times Square is the largest toy store in the world at 110,000-square foot, featuring a colorful 60-foot tall indoor Ferris Wheel offering customers panoramic views of the stuffed toys, action figures, dolls, science kits and electronic games available on three floors. They are also Britain's biggest toy megastore.

Interestingly, their stores in Bangkok have a low price guarantee which states that if you find the same Toys R Us toy or product being sold elsewhere at a lower price, you can bring them your original Toys R Us receipt within 7 days and they will gladly refund the difference. They also have a free gift wrap service for any purchase at a Toys R Us store.

Toys R Us Store Locations around Bangkok are listed below:

Bangna Store:
Level 6, Central City Bangna, Bangkok.

Rama IV Store:
G level, Carrefour Rama IV Road, Bangkok.

Lad Prao Store:
Carrefour Lad Prao, 2nd floor.

Central World Store:
Central World, 6th floor.

Toys R Us Fashion Island Store (opened recently):
Fashion Island, 3rd floor.

Toys R Us Central Festival Pattaya:
Central Court, 1st floor, Pattaya.

Top 100 English Blogs in Thailand, I'm on!

My blog is featured in the Top 100 Thailand Blogs compiled by The Lost Boy, a blogger based in Phuket, Thailand. HaPPi like a HiPPo is currently ranked 59th in the list, which has grown upto 155 entries as of now. You can take a look at the list and vote for the Thailand blogs you like, but please don't forget to vote for my blog (listed as HaPPi Like a HiPPo) if you liked it, thanks in advance!



Kudos to Matt, The Lost Boy, as he has spent a long time compiling this list, searching for active Thailand blogs, and introduced the list on April 26, 2008. Most of the blogs are in English, although some of them are in French. An explanation of how the list was compiled is here, which is based on a combination of Google's Page Rank, Alexa rank, Technorati rank and user voting system.

The Top 10 blogs currently listed are:

1. New Mandala
2. 2Bangkok
3. Thailand Land of Smiles
4. Thailand Blogs
5. The FARANG Speaks 2 Much
6. Bangkok Pundit
7. Wise Kwais Thai Films
8. Bangkok Metblogs
9. Bisean
10. Absolutely Bangkok

I did have a look at some of the blogs in the list and found some interesting ones, which I think is a great way to explore what other bloggers from Thailand are saying.

Tracking my weight loss with Gyminee

I began taking my weight loss & fitness more seriously since mid 2007, and I've been using this new social network website called Gyminee which focuses on health and fitness. Gyminee allows you to keep track and visualize your fitness progress and goals, workouts, monitor your diet, and it has lots of workout programs to follow (videos included) and share with your friends.



Gyminee also allows you to track your weight, waist size, nutrition, calories, protein intake, and much more. You can create your own workout plan or even join another member's workout plan. You can search for other members and add them as your Gym Buddies, or you can even join a Gyminee Group for extra motivation! It has a Locker Room where you can set and view your goals and progress visually in a colorful graph. It also has a cool iPhone/iPod Touch web application which you can use from your Touch to add your workout log through WiFi access.

The best thing about all this is that it is free! But it also has a pro version where you get more features like exporting your workout calendar to Google Calendar and more statistics and tools.



Since day one I've been using it frequently to enter my weight loss goal, workouts and favorite foods that I eat regularly which includes Thai Som Tam Salad. My favorite feature is the Body Tracker which displays a graph of my weight loss progress over a period of time, and also the Exercise Status ratings on the Locker Room which reminds me about the number of days I have exercised in the current week. I have lost almost 5 kgs since I started using Gyminee regularly from Jan 2008.

If you plan to get fit, lose weight, and get in shape I highly recommend Gyminee to stay motivated, have fun and get fit!

HTC Touch Diamond, an innovative iPhone rival

HTC's flagship mobile phone for 2008, the HTC Touch Diamond is a rival to Apple's iPhone. HTC Touch Diamond's dimensions of 102 x 51 x 11.5mm and 110g weight really put it among the most compact Pocket PCs on the market. It has 4 GB of internal storage, built-in GPS, WiFi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth v2.0, 3 megapixel camera, YouTube application, a specially designed mobile browser created by Opera Software, and a new 3D touch user interface called TouchFLO 3D. The Thai price is 29,900 Baht.



The device runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and supports high speed mobile Internet access with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA wireless connectivity - including WCDMA 900 MHz and 2100 MHz. Other connectivity options include Bluetooth 2.0 EDR+ and WiFi 802.11b/g. The HTC Touch Diamong also comes with a built-in GPS.

HTC is providing a new customized mobile Web browser that enables easy viewing and navigation of websites in the way they were designed. As part of this browsing experience users can zoom and pan Websites with one-hand and automatically view optimized content that has been specially created to fit the display. Turning the device sideways automatically rotates the web page view from a portrait to landscape view, thanks to built-in tilt sensors.

In addition to Web browsing, the Touch Diamond includes a customized new, HTC-developed, YouTube application for watching a variety of user generated video content as well as utilizing Google Maps for mobile for mapping and traffic data.

The drawback to this phone is that it has no microSD card slot, the battery life isn't great, and it lacks a dedicated audio mini-jack.

HancocK Eyes Bangkok Billboard & Review

This is the billboard of Hancock movie at BTS which says "HancocK Eyes Bangkok", a good play on words that rhyme pretty nicely.

I watched the movie yesterday evening at Central World SFX Cinema, a day before the official release since it was a special screening for winners of KBank's ATM SIM promotion in which I won 2 free tickets! I think the trailer of this movie was really cool, but the movie was great only in the first half, the second half was just sort of OK not as good as expected. Will Smith plays a superhero who can fly and doesn't get hurt by bullets but whiskey gives him hangovers, and he does not have any friends at all. It could have been made more interesting if Hancock had some friends, hobbies, or some toys to play with. I would rate this movie at 3 out of 5 stars.

Checkout the poster above, Hancock has this look with deep concentration and the left-side of his lips slightly lifted.

Samsung Soul SGH-U900 Slider with Magic Touch

Samsung's flagship mobile device for 2008, the Samsung Soul Magic Touch is a slim slider mobile phone with dual-screen, touch control, a 5 megapixel digital camera, 3G conenctivity, and HSDPA mobile broadband. The Thai price is 15,900 Baht.

The Soul, derives its name from "Spirit Of ULtra". The metal clad Soul is 12.9mm thick and measures 106mm x 50mm (4.2" x 1.9") in size.

The Soul makes use of a high tech navigation control cluster that morphs based on what the user is doing. It looks like a cross between the LG Venus' secondary touchscreen and the Motorola E8's morphing keypad, this new navigation cluster makes controlling the Soul more intuitive.

Feature highlights:

• UMTS/Quadband
• TFT-LCD with 16 million colors
• Bluetooth v2.0, USB v2.0
• A2DP Bluetooth Stereo
• EDGE
• External micro SD memory card slot
• MP3/AAC/eACC+/WMA player
• FM Radio

New KFC Thailand website, where are the chickens?

The new KFC Thailand (Kentucky Fried Chicken) website looks really fancy and out of this world, but it's very slow and is too many clicks away from a chicken. It has a splash page where a chicken man with a cap performs a traditional "Thai wai" saying "Please choose language", but the English one isn't up so Thai is the only option available now.

Clicking on the Thai flag pops up a window in which you see cool humans being transported into a KFC alien spaceship that blasts off after a countdown. This leads to another world which is filled with all kinds of KFC product menus with a 1150 KFC satellite displaying live streamed images of KFC menu brochures on a giant screen. A new KFC song plays in the background which is catchy and funny, along with voices of people dining at a KFC outlet. All this took quite a long time to load and a I still couldn't find a chicken menu image, which was a few more clicks away.



The new website is too fancy but requires a lot of patience to find what items you are looking for before deciding to place an order by phone for delivery through 1150. The good old website was way better and faster with everything easily accessible with just 1 or 2 clicks, and it also had an English version.

Canon EOS 450D DSLR camera, top on my list!

The Canon 450D (Digital Rebel XSi) is finally here with the Thai price at 27,900 Baht (Kit includes Lens 18-55 mmIS + 1GB SD card). One of my friends is getting one for just 25,500 Baht somewhere in Ladphrao, I think he said Powerbuy Central Ladphrao. I just can't wait to get my hands on this one!

Here are some highlights that make this one interesting:

• 3.0" LCD with Live View shooting
• 12 megapixels
• DIGIC III image processor
• New and improved 9-point wide-area AF system
• 3.5 fps continuous shooting
• SD/SDHC storage
• New higher capacity battery with built-in secondary battery
• Built-in, retractable, auto pop-up flash
• Flash-ready Indicator
• Compact and Lightweight body - 475g (body only no battery)
• Fully compatible with all Canon EF and EF-S lenses and EX-series Speedlites
• User-defined My Menu tab for instant access to frequently used settings

All these features make it highly recommended and irresistible.



The EOS 450D is designed to make photography a fluid experience for photographers of all levels and experience. It features an improved grip design that provides a natural, ergonomic fit with the user’s hands. Several custom functions are available to optimise the quality of photos captured in a range of situations. Photographers can also enable additional noise reduction for shots captured at high ISO speeds. A new high capacity battery extends shooting time on a single charge to a maximum of 500 shots!

King Cobra 2008 Speed LD F driver review

The all new King Cobra Speed LD F driver 2008 which is designed for the fast-ball-speed players, delivers an impressive 5000+ MOI for greater distance, accuracy and consistency. The square alignment and precisely tuned clubhead and shaft generates a high launch and a low-to-mid spin, along with a slight draw bias, giving a much higher level of performance to maximize distance and accuracy. The Cobra Speed driver 2007 has added about 15 to 20 yards for some folks.

Average Drive: 220 - 275 yards
Swing Speed: 97 - 108 mph
Current Ball Speed: 125 - 155 mph
Head volume/face angle: 460cc/Slight Draw Bias

Light Dimensions, Enhanced Fast-Back Crown and Deep Dimples
By taking the clubhead dimensions to the USGA limits of 5" * <5", style="font-weight: bold;">Large Face with milled Dual Rhombus Face Insert
The King Cobra Speed LD face utilizes a dual rhombus face insert technology to maximize COR. These technologies provide the ultimate in ball speed and distance.

Frequency Tuning
Furthermore, the new Speed LD drivers feature an internal Frequency Tuning for the perfect combination of satisfying sound and power.

After the successful King Cobra Speed LD F driver 2007 inertia 5000 the King Cobra 2008 Speed LD F driver has also appeared in Golf Digest's 2008 Hot List.

Nike or Adidas sneakers, which one to buy?

I've been looking around Bangkok for Nike and Adidas running shoes as my Puma is wearing out. I've been to Central Department Store, Robinson, The Mall, Seacon, Super Sports, Sports World, FBT Sports, and some other places too but I haven't found an impressive pair so I have yet to buy one. All these places have lots of running shoes but I don't see that much variety under Nike and Adidas. They also have lots of other brands like Reebok, Puma, Diadora, and stuff.

There was a "Adidas Grand Sale 2008" in Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in March but the sneakers there were not cool. I'm wondering if there is going to be a Nike grand sale somewhere. I am more impressed with Nike shoes now.

I have a list of sneakers below which I'm trying to locate but so far I have only been able to spot Nike Shox, Nike Air Max, and Adidas MegaBounce.



Below are some of my favorites:

Nike Shox Turbo VI



Nike Shox Turbo VI



Nike Air Max 180 III



Nike Air Max Turbulence



Nike Impax Tomahawk



Nike Shox Saya



Nike Shox Experience



Adidas MegaBounce 2008



Adidas Redwood Trail



Adidas Response Trail



Adidas Supernova Cushion




Adidas Supernova Trail

Samsung G800: a camera with a phone that's chubby

The stylishly designed Samsung G800 camera phone is dubbed as a digital camera that makes phone calls. This most hyped handset is the first 5 megapixel camera with a 3x optical zoom which is good for photography enthusiasts! The Thai price of Samsung G800 is around 17,000 Baht in Bangkok.

It has the following features:

• Autofocus
• Xenon flash
• Weighs 134 grams
• A large 2.4" QVGA 256K color display
• EDGE and 3G (with HSDPA)
• Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP support
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Comfortable keypad

Some of it's disadvantages are:

• Quite chubby
• Bad display processing
• Very slow memory card reading
• Weak sunlight legibility
• Volume/Zoom key is very hard to press, so you get to develop stronger fingers as you use
• Lacks WiFi

The phone is able to take good quality pictures comparable to the Sony Ericsson K850.