LatASIA

The sexy Thai boys will have found it chilly in their speedos this morning!Well, well.  We woke up this morning to some rather chilly weather.  At work today everyone was bitching about the cold and having to wear a sweater to work.  Yes, winter has finally arrived in Bangkok and we saw the thermostat dip to a freezing 17 degrees Celsius for at least 1 hour. 

Soft Nipples R Us!

We are a fragile lot in Bangkok and don't like it if the temperature dips below 29 degree Celsius.  After all, that chilly nonsense is for the poor people in the North to contend with.

Fortunately the winter chill was only a blip and we were back to feeling the sun warm our asses by midday.  Winter is actually the best time for tourists to visit Bangkok.  The humid weather has disappeared and we are left with pleasant temperature in the high 20s/early 30s.  What more do you want in December and January?

Perfect Time for a Romantic Hotel Break in Bangkok

So, if you are looking for a hotel in Thailand then you should think about coming at this time of year.  No rain, no freezing temperatures and, for the moment at least, no more law-breakers masquerading as rich folk concerned about democracy.

MBK Security - All Part of the Amazing Thailand Experience

MBK is probably the most famous shopping mall in Bangkok.  Akin to a giant indoor market (and I do mean giant) it is very popular for those people wanting a bargain.  I have to say that it is not anywhere near as cheap as it used to be (even compared to 2 years ago).  The vendors there are very greedy and ask ridiculous prices for counterfeit goods.  500 baht might seem reasonable for a pretty good copy of a Billabong polo shirt, but you can probably get the real thing in a good sale for just another couple of hundred baht.

Gucci Prices. Chinese Quality!

It is time that some of the MBK vendors had a reality check with their prices.  Mind you, the greedy company that owns the Mall, and the adjoining Pathumwan Princess Hotel, is probably squeezing every penny out of the vendors, as is the Chinese way.  So maybe they are not making the huge profits that the prices suggest they should be.

Laughing With Them, Or At Them?

You gotta laugh when you live in Bangkok. If not, you will cry for sure!One of the things that makes me laugh here in Thailand is the utter stupidity that large companies demonstrate on a daily basis.  The people that run MBK are a classic example.  The board and senior management team must have a collective IQ of 2!

The reason I say this is the idiotic security checks at the shopping mall.  Those of you who go to MBK will know that most of the ground level consists of individual shop units that have a shop entrance coming in from the main street.  Within each unit is another exit, which takes you straight into the MBK Shopping Mall.  McDonald's, KFC, Starbucks, Oishi, Kasikornbank, TMB etc etc.  All shops where you can walk in and go straight through to MBK.  No security.  No need to have your bad searched. No need to be hassled by some comatose-like security guard.

Same, Same. But Different

Seems OK, right?  Ah, but here is the 'Amazing Bangkok' bit.  There are at least 15 of these units that provide free, uninterrupted access into the mall. But there are another 6 or so 'main' entrances to the mall.  At these entrances the dynamic management team has created gauntlets where you have to form a single file line and wait to walk through a Garrett machine that is screening for bombs and guns. 

Add to this the security guards who sporadically and then pick on some poor sod to let them see in their bag.  Not everyone is searched.  Just depends on how awake the guard is.

The Marx Brothers Have Nothing on These Guys!

I am often left wondering if the Marx Brothers run an MBA program here in Bangkok!So you can walk into the mall by around 15 'shop entrances', but they have this elaborate but completely ineffectual arrangement on the main entrances as, clearly, these will be the chosen entrances of your highly trained terrorists. 

Lots of shopping malls have got these Garrett machines.  They all seemed to appear after Thaksin's lot bombed Bangkok on 31 December 2006.  Since then, malls like Paragon have stopped the charade and now just use the Garrett machines to slow you down long enough to force a leaflet into your hand from Subway, Haagan Dazs or Auntie Anne's.

Buy One, Get Another for the Same Price!

To be fair, I expect that there is a good chance that one of the usual corruption elements were at play here and that the malls were politely but forcefully advised to buy the machines from whichever General/Pol Colonel/Mafia boss was in charge that day. 

Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Thaksin?

The favourite position of your average Thai security guard!To be fair, again, I am sure that the (very poorly paid) security guards are just doing what some half-daft, power crazy,  middle manager had told them to do.  But you are left wondering about the intellect of the boards and executive management teams who do not have the basic power of reasoning required to figure out that these security checks are a pile of crap.  All they do is aggravate customers and make them realise that they are not safe shopping in MBK as these clowns cannot actually put in place basic controls over who can access their mall.

Bangkok - Shopping Paradise?

Having said all of this, you should still visit the shopping malls of Bangkok as the city has some great shopping.  Ad do not get annoyed at the security guard as he/she is just doing what some jerk has shouted at them to do.

Friendly Advice for Bangkok Terrorists

Please, Mr Terrorist! We do not want you using the back passage in MBK. Do us a favour and use the front door!And, if you are a terrorist then please, please, please use the main entrances to MBK and not the McDonald's entrance.  Don't worry, chances are that the Garrett machine is not plugged in.  But you will get a great leaflet setting out the latest bargains at Tokyu!