Bangkok Inside Out

[ratcatcher]

 

Thai government gets it inside out

The Thai Ministry of Culture says the book Bangkok Inside Out taints the image of Thailand and its people, and the country's booksellers have apparently been told that anyone selling it is subject to a fine and/or imprisonment.(Possibly crucifixion or a good stoning) Not only have the officials totally misunderstood the book, but their action itself taints Thailand's image.

introduction (PDF, 300KB),the “offensive” chapter on Patpong (PDF, 544KB), and the press release (PDF, 170KB)

ISBN  : 979-97964-6-6

Size  : 17 x 22 x 2 cm

Weight  : 500 g

Pages  : 176

Format  : Softcover

Price  : USD 19.95

 

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BANGKOK INSIDE OUT

By Daniel Ziv & Guy Sharett

Put aside those clichéd tourist brochures with their exoticized musings on smiling Thai people, golden temples and ‘authentic’ floating markets. Forget those trashy exposés of go-go bars and sex shows. The authors of Bangkok Inside Out take readers on a humorous, no-hold-barred journey through the real Bangkok – a fascinating, chaotic 21st-Century Southeast Asian city that rarely slows down to explain itself. It’s a journey that focuses on Bangkokians in their urban landscape, on life along the city’s backstreets and on its powerful pop culture. And it's not your typical journey, because the guides actually dish out the truth about Bangkok: the proverbial Good, Bad, and Ugly.

Bangkok Inside Out quite literally turns Bangkok inside out, explaining the city’s quirks piece by piece. It leads readers into kickboxing gyms and construction sites, convenience stores and super-slums. It takes readers on speeding buses and karaoke taxis and into glitzy shopping malls, late-night pharmacies, gambling dens and open-air markets. And it covers topics like urban elephants, tabloids, student cafes, ladyboys, fortune tellers, traffic, dog masseurs, lottery, energy drinks and indie music.

Like Bangkok itself, Bangkok Inside Out is packed with idiosyncrasies, inside scoops and hilarious anecdotes, and is required reading for any visitor or resident wishing to make sense of the madness. Written in a punchy, irreverent style and illustrated with striking street-level photos of life in the city, Bangkok Inside Out offers an unprecedented look into the everyday chaos and charm of life in Thailand’s capital.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

DANIEL ZIV is author of the critically-acclaimed Jakarta Inside Out (2002), an Indonesian bestseller. In 2000, he founded and edited Indonesia’s irreverent, often controversial monthly, Djakarta! – The City Life Magazine. Daniel first visited Bangkok in 1991 and has since made an estimated 27 trips back to the city, which was his base as a freelance Southeast Asia correspondent. He has worked, studied or idled in Vancouver, New Delhi, London, Nairobi, Jakarta and Jerusalem, and holds an MA in Southeast Asian Studies from London’s School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS).

GUY SHARETT is a Bangkok-based journalist, media consultant, and linguist. He is a contributor to BBC World Service radio, Thailand’s The Nation, and Voice of Israel radio. He was Southeast Asia correspondent for Israel’s largest daily newspaper, and now reports for Israel’s Channel 10 TV. He also works as a consultant for Internews, a leading media NGO. Guy collects languages (he’s fluent in Thai plus six others) as well as airline timetables and retro posters. He holds a BA in linguistics and an MA in Southeast Asian Studies from SOAS.

Apparently this book has been banned in Thailand by the myopic minions at The Ministry of Funny Talks aka The Ministry of Kulcha. Talk about farcical. I am lost for words. Tainting Thailand's image???????????? Cor blimey wot the <deleted> does that mean?

Edited December 7, 2005 by ratcatcher

[opothai]

chairman toxin and his control freaks at work again

[Maestro]

 

The Thai Ministry of Culture says the book Bangkok Inside Out taints the image of Thailand and its people, and the country's booksellers have apparently been told that anyone selling it is subject to a fine and/or imprisonment.

ratcatcher, you’re slower at catching rats than I am. I caught mine 5 days ago and posted this.

Incidentally, what’s the source of the article from which you quoted?

[ratcatcher]

 

The Thai Ministry of Culture says the book Bangkok Inside Out taints the image of Thailand and its people, and the country's booksellers have apparently been told that anyone selling it is subject to a fine and/or imprisonment.

ratcatcher, you’re slower at catching rats than I am. I caught mine 5 days ago and posted this.

Incidentally, what’s the source of the article from which you quoted?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Indeed you are maestro, my compliments. The source you requested :http://www.equinoxpublishing.com/bio/default.htm

Is it available anywhere in Thailand still or I suppose we will have to get friends to smuggle it in?

[corkscrew]

That is amazing! This must be a spoof....how could anyone want to ban this book?

[kat]

I have the book and it was not much more than an enjoyable, superficial speedread with good visuals.

Now the Ministry has made me much more curious, and I will probably pay a lot more attention the book now

[cclub75]

It makes perfectly sens... the authors made ONE big mistake : they put a picture.

I mean, the people working in the ministery DON'T know how to read. So it's clearly not the issue. We have books with texts much more offensive.

But, yes the picture, that what too much for them...

Remember the obsessive motto of thai society : "image".

Now you start to get the... picture.

[OldAsiaHand]

I have the book and it was not much more than an enjoyable, superficial speedread with good visuals.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, I agree. It was a pretty bland picture book that I flipped through for about ten minutes and then shelved. That's probably why it's all but disappeared from most bookstores, not because it was pulled out.

The publisher is now no doubt thanking Christ for all this publicity. After all, what could be better for energizing sales of a very ordinary book that the tag line, 'Banned in Bangkok!' Wow.

Edited December 8, 2005 by OldAsiaHand