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capegabe-blog · 5 years

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you won’t believe who i just saw walking down main street! TOMMY MARTINEZ! what do you mean that’s just GABRIEL “GABE” SANCHEZ? who is HE? a 28-year-old BARTENDER & ART TEACHER…interesting. and the CISMALE is + CHARMING & + LOYAL, but i should watch out for when they are - HOT-HEADED & - IMPULSIVE? will do.

hi everyone! i’m rae (21 almost 22!!, est, she/her or they/them), and this is my bb gabe :D here’s a fun lil bio ~

CHARACTERISTICS !!

full name: gabriel miguel sanchez

nickname: gabe, g

birthplace: el paso, tx

current location: cape hazel, maine

age: twenty-eight

zodiac sign: aquarius

sexuality: bisexual (and panromantic)

height: 6′2′

build: muscular

piercings: none

tattoos: lots!! he’s an artist so a lot of his work is also tattoo’d on his body.

scars: one long scar on the left side of his abdomen from stupid teenager antics (what….he definitely didn’t go cliff diving when he was 16…) (hehe what an adrenaline junkie)

PERSONALITY !!

positive: charming, loyal, compassionate, flirty, open-minded, artistic

negative: hot-headed, devious, impulsive, can be pessimistic

character label: the artist

hobbies: painting, sculpting, graffiti, drawing (his preferred medium is charcoal), rock climbing, hiking, swimming, surfing

hogwarts house: slytherin

primary vice: lust

primary virtue: temperance

element: air

FAMILY !!

father: unknown

mother: camila sanchez

sibling(s): younger sister

children: n/a

pet(s): a tabby cat named picasso

family’s financial status: lower-middle

BIO !!

*tw: drinking, drugs*

bartender on the weekends, art teacher during the week. usually, he’s teaching middle schoolers, but over the summer, he teaches workshops around the Cape for all ages. his favorite age group other than middle schoolers is elderly

fluent in spanish (aka google-translate-spanish bc i’m #trash for a good bilingual muse even tho i only speak english rip #plsteachmespanish #ifyouknowhowtospeakspanish)

he used to be a graffiti artist when he was younger, but now in his free time, he mostly works as a sculptor

went to online college for his bachelor’s in graphic design; moved to ny soon after and was working as a graphic designer for a while before deciding to take some time off to bartend and focus on his art. (19-22 years old)

after spending a year in new york, at age 23, he’d decided it was time for a change of scenery. he was tired of working as a graphic designer at a big tech company. he felt like his art wasn’t being used in the most meaningful way. so, he packed up his car and drove to cape hazel. he wanted to be closer to the ocean. the salty sea air was definitely a nice change from the polluted NYC air.

as soon as he arrived at cape hazel, he moved into a small two-bedroom apartment (roommate connection wanted!) and bartended at a bar (sullivan’s pub) down the street from him. money was okay, but he wanted something more. so, he enrolled in college -- he’d always wanted to be an art teacher, so what better time than now?

he took the full 4 years to complete his degree in art education. now, at 28 years old, he’s working full-time at the cape hazel middle school, as well as cape hazel art studio over the summer. he also runs a side business (non-profit) where he teaches art workshops over the summer at libraries and elderly/retirement homes.

v much based on gael from good trouble heheh

gabe brings a lil lightness and fun into the lives of people he meets bc people can be so Serious and he is basically a big puppy dog who wants his loved ones to be happy

he def presents as an optimist, however he’s super critical of himself, especially regarding his art

has a slight drinking problem, which i’ll prob explore !! also he sometimes takes adderall to help him finish art projects (and i’m like 70% sure he doesn’t have adhd)

is very comfortable and open with his sexuality

quite afraid of commitments

slytherin but could easily be a ravenclaw (think luna kinda ravenclaw)

enfp (we’re twins !!!!!)

chaotic good

has the curliest mop of brown hair u ever did see

#bio #about #chintro

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dantediscoversfic · 5 years

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Chapter 40: The Crap Cave

“Dante! You found us!” Clio said as I hovered awkwardly in the doorway of the art room that first day of school during lunch period.

She bounded over and grabbed my elbow to draw me into the oddly dark classroom. The overhead lights were all off, the window shades partially drawn down and gloomy pop music I vaguely recognized as The Cure droned from a cassette player. About ten kids were sprawled out around the room, most of them sporting various degrees of punk/goth/New Waver style. Two corset-clad girls in billowy skirts drew intricate designs on each other’s arms in black pen; a couple dressed in “normal” clothes was making out with gusto in the corner by the potter wheels; a boy wearing all black continually skimmed his pointer finger over the top of a Bic lighter flame; and the rest were eating lunch, chatting, scribbling in notepads or singing along to the music. Clio flicked the overhead lights a few times to get everyone’s attention, eliciting a few winces and hisses and boos from the group.

“Everyone, listen up, this is Dante. He’s new. He’s from Texas, but try not to hold that against him. He’s a brilliant artist. Dante, this is everyone. That’s Raija, Jane, Sachi, Fletch and Kelly back there sucking face, Joseph, Ann, Dave, Forest and Vee.”

I was greeted with a few head nods and finger waves, except for the couple making out who kept at it with sloppy yet admirable enthusiasm. Everyone went back to their conversations as Clio led me closer to the girls she’d pointed out as being named Jane and Sachi.

“So, Dante from Texas, welcome to 'The Crap Cave’”, Clio said using air quotes. “We have lit mag meetings here and also make our own ‘zines and stuff. Raija’s mom Ms. B is the art teacher—she just stepped out for a minute—so she doesn’t care if we hang out here as long as we don’t you know, perform ritual animal sacrifices or set anything on fire. Again.” She coughed pointedly in the direction of the boy with the lighter seated a few desks down from us and the girls chuckled. Seeing my apparent confusion she said, “See, Joseph’s a bit of a pyro and went through a destruction of property phase last year, didn’t you, Jo-Jo?” The boy in question grinned slyly up at us. “But he’s got it under control now,” Clio continued. “He channels his urges into sculptures where he can use an actual blowtorch from woodshop.”

“Blowtorches rule,” he said and cast me one more glance before focusing all his attention back to his lighter and intrepid pointer finger. I couldn’t help but notice that all his fingernails were painted black and he was wearing eyeliner and dark lipstick like the girls.

I pulled my gaze away from him, not wanting to stare too hard and be rude. “What did you call this room? The ‘crap cave’?” I asked Clio. “Did I hear that right?”

“Oh yeah, you heard me right.”

“Do I even want to know?”

Clio laughed. “Don’t look so scared, we know how to use the bathrooms like everyone else. It’s a sort of long story. You ever hear of The Batcave?”

“You mean like from Bat Man comics?”

“No. Well yes, but no. Same but different. The Batcave is this famous club in London for people like us. Bauhaus, Robert Smith, Siouxie, Nick Cave, Specimen all hang out and play there. Jane actually got to go there this summer, that lucky bitch,” Clio knocked Jane’s shoulder with friendly admiration. “So we kind of started calling it that in homage to the club like a year ago. But then the school had this gross mouse problem and their little poops were, like, this constant presence in our lives, so somewhere along the line we started calling it ‘The Crap Cave’ instead. Because that's how we roll.”

“The mice were perfect and adorable, not gross,” Sachi said.

“Sachi, no. Just no. The mice themselves might have been cute but their poops definitely weren’t.”

The two girls bantered about whether the mice should have been saved and kept as pets or if they were indeed an icky health hazard while I took everyone in, trying not to gawk, and sat down to eat my packed lunch. I was fascinated by the group’s collective style: a motley assortment of teased and spiked dyed hair, leather jackets, ripped band t-shirts, corsets and lace, fishnets, heavy boots, winged eyeliner, black lipstick and nail polish, powdered white faces, spiky hardware chain jewelry mixed with rosaries, crosses and pentagram necklaces. Some of the boys were even wearing makeup, which was something you hardly ever saw in El Paso. Joseph, the pyro boy, was particularly fascinating to me. His raven hair was teased out as much as Clio’s and his dramatic eye makeup accentuated his blue eyes and delicate, almost pretty features. The flame from his Bic lighter cast a warm glow on his ghostly pale skin.

Clio must have caught me staring because she leaned in close to my ear and said, “Don’t worry, Dante, we might look at little scary but we don’t bite. At least most of us don’t. Forest over there is saving up to get his teeth filed, but it’s not for blood sucking purposes. It’s because it’ll look badass.”

“Wow. My old school in El Paso was a Catholic private school so we all had to wear uniforms. It’s so cool you can wear whatever you want here. And be whoever you want. Do you all make your own clothes? I love your corsets,” I said to Jane and Sachi.

The girls grinned at me with approval and Clio said, “I knew you were a good egg, Dante. Jane made the corsets. She’s an amazing designer and sewer. I think the rest of us get by with thrift stores, hot glue and a crapload of paperclips.”

“I’ve never really thought about my clothes before,” I said. “But now I feel so boring compared to you all.”

“Aw, there’s nothing wrong with being a normie,” Clio said and patted me on the back. “It doesn’t make you boring.”

“Well, if you want to try something new, let me know,” Jane said. “Jo-Jo’s my twin brother. I make stuff for him all the time. Cravats, vests, things like that. I’m sure he’d let you borrow something.”

“Wow, thanks. You think I’d look good?”

“Yeah, for sure. But don’t let us pressure you. We dress like this because it feels right, right? But it’s not for everyone.”

The girls nodded.

“How did you all know you wanted to get into goth stuff?” I asked.

Jane said, “Well, for me, growing up I loved making clothes and dressing up since forever. Halloween was my always my favorite holiday. I was obsessed, like obsessed. Like I’d start planning my costume and how to decorate the house six months in advance. And after it was over each year, the next day I’d get so sad and cry for days and beg my mom to keep the decorations up and let me keep wearing a cape or whatever to school every day. So when I figured out that I could dress however I wanted whenever I wanted and basically have Halloween all year round and have my clothes express how I feel inside all the time, it was like a big weight was lifted.”

“Do people make fun of you?”

“I mean, sure, dicks are dicks,” Jane said.

“We get all sorts of ignorant comments at school, on the street, wherever. Like…‘Hey Morticia, Halloween is over,’” Clio lowered her voice to a dopey male grumble.

“Or ‘Errr….Do you sleep in a coffin?’” Jane said.

“Or ‘You look pretty hot for a dead girl!’” Sachi said.

“Or my personal favorite, the classic ‘Going to a funeral?’” Clio said with an epic eyeroll. “Yeah, your funeral if you don’t shut up about it. Please. But there are lots of people who aren’t asshats and you can just ignore the losers.”

“Yeah,” Sachi said. “People say things like ‘Oh, you’d look so pretty if you didn’t dress like that’ but this is how I feel pretty and beautiful. I didn’t feel right before. Now I feel good. Right. Like myself.”

“Raija’s mom is super cool because she’s an old hippie and gets it,” Clio said. “But my mom is still waiting and praying for the day when I let her dress me all in pink pouffy dresses again. Sorry Anita, not gonna happen.” There was an edge to Clio’s voice when she talked about her mom that I hadn’t heard from her yet. It made me wonder what her home life was like.

Sachi said, “Yeah, my parents were all worried at first that I was depressed and wanting to kill myself. They tried to have an intervention with all my aunties and cousins. ‘We’re worried about you, Sachi.’ ‘This isn’t the real you.’ Um, first off, yes it is. And second off, I’m so much happier now than before when I felt like a fake.”

“Yeah, people think that we do this for attention or as a cry for help or because we’re suicidal or worship Satan or are in a cult, but that’s not true at all,” Jane said. “I started making clothes for myself when I was ten. This isn’t a ‘phase’. I’m not going to just grow out of it.”

“And finding people who are into the same bands and fashion and movies and everything makes putting up with all the weird looks and comments easier. We’re here for each other, ” Sachi said.

“And sure, we get attention,” Clio said, “because we stand out with our awesome amazingness. But it’s not like we do it for attention.”

“Yeah, I totally get it.” I said. “I think it’s great.”

The girls smiled at me and I wondered how it would feel to dress like them, if that would feel ‘right’ for me or not. I understood what Sachi had said about feeling like a fake, though, and not liking how that made me feel. I felt that way when I used to tell people my name was Dan and not Dante. I felt that way still, a little. Because I didn’t quite know what it meant to be totally free and open with myself and the world and the universe. Not when it came to the biggest secret I had. In El Paso, I felt like I already stood out by not looking Mexican enough, by liking art and poetry and books and astronomy too much. It was enough to blend in and not get teased or bullied for being a little strange. Now I wondered if I flipped the script and really tried to stand out—if I dressed all in black and put on makeup and spiked my hair and embraced my innate weirdness—if that would make me feel more like me. It might make me feel tough and cool and badass for a little while, but I doubted it would make me feel more like myself the way it did for this group. How did I know, though? I’d never tried it before.

I wondered what Ari would think of my new friends. I bet he’d like them. And then I wondered what Ari would look like in black nail polish and eyeliner. I bet he’d look like a dark glamorous rock star. The thought did funny things to my insides.

Then the art teacher, Ms. Baldwin a.k.a. Raija’s mom, came in. She had gray hair in a long braid all the way down her back and wore a long flowy dress and bangle bracelets. She turned the overhead lights on and said, “Hey darklings, the cruel daylight beckons. Gotta get ready for the next class. Lunch is over in five. And you two, yoo-hoo, Earth to Fletch and Kelly! Please rein in your raging hormones during lunch if at all humanly possible? I can’t have anyone getting pregnant on school grounds.” Everyone cracked up at that and Fletch and Kelly turned beet red but finally disentangled their entwined limbs (and tongues).

I had an art class with Ms. Baldwin later in the day so I introduced myself.

“Hi, I’m Dante Quintana, I’m in your painting class during sixth period.”

“Dante, it’s so nice to meet you. You’re new, yes? This lot showing you the ropes?”

“Yes, Clio invited me to eat lunch with her and be part of lit mag.”

“That would be lovely. I’m the advisor, so I’m sure I’ll be seeing a lot of you. How are you finding Chicago? Settling in all right?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Ma’am! Please, call me Ms. B. Where are you from?”

“El Paso.”

“Ah. I’ve only been there once. EPMA is a lovely museum. Have you been to the Art Institute yet?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“We’ll be doing a field trip later in the year, but if you are a lover of art you must go. It’s one of the prides of Chicago.”

“Thanks, Ms. B, I will.”

"Now if you’ll excuse me, Dante, I have to prep for next period. See you in a few hours!”

Ms. B went over to her daughter Raija, who had been sitting off to herself drawing in a sketchpad for most of lunch, and gave her a quick side hug before disappearing into a supply closet. Since everyone else was getting packed up I ate the rest of my lunch quickly and consulted my schedule to see where I was headed next.

“You’re in sixth period drawing?” I looked up and saw it was Joseph who had asked me the question. Standing up instead of hunched over the desk I saw how truly long and lanky he was. He was about a foot taller than me.

I nodded up at him and tried to smile but had a hard time keeping eye contact.

“Cool. Me too.”

He flicked his lighter a few times in his right hand and then grinned a lopsided grin at me before heading out into the hallway right as the bell rang.

This was shaping up to be a much different first day of school than I had expected.

#aridante fic #aaddtsotu

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viewfromthedrumstool · 7 years

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USA Tour, day 16

Our final internal flight is from Seattle down to California and it’s a much more casual affair than flying international. Sat on the back row next to Lynn from Taiwan I trace the course of the Pacific coast, a clear view in a cloudless sky through the starboard porthole.

Back on Californian soil! I was last here a year ago with my pal Willie J Healey. He and the boys are back out on tour in the UK with Sundara Karma as we speak and as lucky as I am to be here I am missing the craic with the laddies. But I’ll be seeing them soon for the last couple of dates.

Meanwhile back in San Fran the air is warm and there’s a wonderful softness to the light. It’s another city that needs to be seen to be believed - the streets slope up at gravity defying angles (has anyone played Crazy Taxi?) and I hope the park brake on the rental van is secure...

We check in at the Casa Loma Hotel on Fillmore Street, one of the less glamorous residences of the tour but probably my favourite: it’s rich in California vibe and strikingly similar in name and ambience to the Alta Loma from Ask The Dust by John Fante.

However the wonky floor and sloping beds combined with the rolling San Fran streetscape meant I’d have to wait until we were beyond the city limits before I would really know which way was up again.

JMac (FOH) finds a restaurant a few blocks north and some of us head down the hill for dinner. The Alamo Square Seafood Grill is a family owned fish joint and the waitress does a glorious job of remembering all 6 of our starter, main, dessert and wine selections by memory. I have pear salad, grilled snapper and split a peach cobbler and a floating island with Gerard washed down with a few glasses of Napa Valley Grenache. The food is probably the bestest freshest of the tour so far and the restaurant is the perfect blend of quality fare and fine wine but with a comfortable casual atmosphere.

Afterwards we head back up towards the hotel and stumble across ‘Originals Vinyl’ on the corner of Fillmore and Hayes.

Watching Bob Stanley in a record store is witnessing Bob Stanley in his natural habitat. He fingers the records with speed and finesse, his digits rifling rapidly through the racks, eyes scanning the sleeve and his brain computing and analysing the results, cross-referencing artist, issue and condition against his mammoth internal database.

A sparkle in his eye - and his haul of 12″s tucked firmly under his arm (I hear rumours that his house started subsiding on the end that he kept his record collection...) - he leaps between Country and Soul, pauses over Rock to recommend me a Louden Wainwright III, before darting to Disco to dig out that illusive early Bee Gees seven-inch. There’s something almost athletic about his manner, and it’s clear I’m witnessing a master: like watching Picasso paint, Ronaldo in the air or Taylor at the oche.

The rest of the evening I spend back in the casa with the windows open, the cool Cali evening air wafting gently while the Yankees play the Twins on the TV.

Awaken the following morning to a room bathed in soft California sunlight that streaks through the blinds and bounces about every white surface. Gerard, Silvia, James and myself head first to ‘Brenda’s Meat & 3 Three’ for a southern-style breakfast followed by a long walk to the northern coast of the San Fran Peninsula, heading down Fillmore Street, west on Broadway, down the Lyon Street Steps, through Presidio park eventually emerging to gasps and guffaws beside the Golden Gate Bridge.

Yonder to our gig and it’s our biggest show of the tour at the iconic Fillmore. They have a tradition of designing custom posters for shows at the venue and much of the interior wall space is filled with the colourful pieces - the Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, Led Zeppelin, and The Who. Wilco, Sigur Ros, Radiohead, and among them even two for past Saint Etienne shows...!

Afore the show JMac and myself head out to catch the thrilling finale of the Diamondbacks/Rockies wildcard game but have to leave before it ends to catch Shawn Lee’s set. Shawn produced St Et’s recent ‘Home Counties’ album and will be supporting for the final three shows of the tour.

Sarah is in fine voice tonight and we have one of the best shows of the tour. It’s a touching moment when she hands her feather bower to a fan on the front row while all around him celebrate his acquisition and share in his joy. I felt like I was witnessing the very happiest moment of someone’s life and it is was a poignant reminder of just how much these gigs mean to people (another fan turned up in a home-made embroidered ‘Saint Etienne - Home Counties’ denim jacket!).

After the show Pete, John and myself head across the road to the Boom Boom Bar which is a classic dark Cali dive bar where the unseen of San Franciscan society gather to dance to the fantastic house band, a five-piece who’ve been playing here for twenty years. Pete has a hazy deja vu of a night in the same bar some years earlier and I swear there’s a twinkle of recognition in the bass players eye when he spots him sipping a Mojito on the dance floor...

Arise early, a little more shabby than normal, for the long drive down to Pomona Valley, in Los Angeles County. It’s a 6 1/2 hour drive (without LA traffic...), 410 miles: about the distance from London to Glasgow!

Stop at Denny’s for a round of their signature ‘Sizzlers’ followed by a gas station in the middle of Hicksville, CA that sells bumper stickers that say things like “Trump the chumps”, “Obamacare makes me sick” and “One Big Ass Mistake America”...

Continue south to a soundtrack of Jackson Browne. Fruit fields, oil derricks, farm land, a fleeting glimpse of a real-life twister and then more endless brush while an epic hazy mountain skyline scrolls slowly left to right on the horizon like a painted Hollywood movie backdrop.

Eventually the road rises up; traverse a final scenic mountain range; softly softly the rural becomes urban and finally we drop down via the I-5 into the Greater Los Angeles Area.

See signs for Santa Fe, San Bernardino and and Santa Barbara. Something called The Garlic Crab and something called Lemon Cuisine Of India. Pass the Rosebowl as featured in Depeche Mode’s 101 and the Santa Anita Raceway, Bukowski’s favourite track. Moments, snapshots, and characters from all of the greats: Paris, Texas, The Graduate, The Maltese Falcon.

A glimpse of a college football game. Modern American architecture and apartment buildings with communal pools. The LA river. Shopping plazas and strip malls. Interstate 10 and Highway 71. ARCO, Texaco, Petco, and AAMCO; hotels, motels, 7Eleven and Circle K. Endless suburbia, the most epic of all sprawling metropoli, people and their stories everywhere you look. The Tortilla Curtain; Columbo. Liquor stores and a coin laundry. Pawn shops, gun shops, El Pollo Loco. ‘Cadillacs of Crestview’. Palm tree upon palm tree and long shadows on pastel grey sidewalks.

It’s been a long day and it’s not over yet as we round a final No Right On Red and greet the stylish Glasshouse venue! Yours at last from LA, MM

(Middle pic by James Ball! Thanks James)

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seduniablog · 5 years

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9 Incredible Public Art installations in Qatar

Aspire to make Qatar the cultural capital of the Middle East, and the national public art strategy aims to bring art into the public realm by exposing art to a broader audience around the streets of Doha. To persuade local talents to establish an organic connection in art, the local community array various forms of skill in the public area with a range of public art installations by leading international artists around the country. Here we showcase some of the most imposing Public Arts around Qatar; it’s simply amazing!

Written by Ilona, Photos provided by Qatar

Souq Waqif – Le Pouce by César Baldaccini

Marking the most significant success in Qatar’s history, Qatar Museums revealed that a new public art piece by a recognized French artist César Baldaccini. This historic heart of the city with a bit of modern history, blending the traditional with the contemporary. Le Pouce, in the shape of a gigantic thumb, is one of its creator’s signature pieces. It becomes the latest addition to Qatar’s large-scale public art collection, aims to connect public crowds in Qatar with inspiring works of art through unexpected interactions in daily life.

Hamad International Airport – Lamp Bear by Urs Fischer

This giant bronze sculpture by Swiss artist Urs Fischer was auctioned off at Christie for $6.8 million takes centre stage and welcomes passengers in the departures terminal of Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar.

It is a 23-foot canary yellow teddy bear carved from bronze blissfully sit inside a lamp in the grand foyer leading to HIA's world-class duty-free hall. It enlightens the space around it and recalls travellers of precious objects from home.

MIA Park – The ‘7’ Sculpture by Richard Serra

American artist Richard Serra designed the '7' Sculpture features a looming 80-feet tower by the pier of MIA Park (a crescent-shaped promenade). It was unveiled in 2011, the towering piece overlooking the Doha bay and embracing the surrounding greenery of MIA Park.

The number seven has spiritual significance in Islamic tradition, Serra pays tribute in this sculpture and built from seven steel plates. Inspired by a minaret in Afghanistan, this is the tallest art piece ever made by Richard Serra and his first installation in the Middle East. It made from 7 steel plates, each 78 feet high and 8 feet wide and arranged in a seven-sided shape.

Desert of Brouq – East-West/West-East by Richard Serra

Located in one of the most remote areas in Qatar, this imposing East-West/West-East installation spans over a kilometre and comprises four steel plates in the Brouq Nature Reserve. Each over fourteen metres in height. To pledge perfect alignment, Richard Serra examined the topography of the land and appealingly enhanced the vast, bleak space in the heart of the desert. The result is spectacular and timeless, and the American sculptor has called this sculpture his most fulfilling piece.

Salwa Road Tunnel – Calligraffiti by El Seed

Photo credited to Public Art (QMA) on https://www.flickr.com/

In Arab culture, calligraphy has a rich history, and you can often see the beautiful writing adorning jewellery, buildings, or as simple words phrases. When you take it to the street and painting walls, then you get Calligraffiti as French-Tunisian artist El Seed calls his work. Fifty-two large murals blending Arabic calligraphy with the Western art of graffiti, El Seed’s graffiti art is in recognizable feature for anyone travelling along one of the buzzing roads in Qatar. Each mural inspired by an aspect of life in Qatar, it becomes one of the city’s most distinguished example of public art.

National Convention Centre – Maman by Louise Bourgeois

This giant spider sculpture sits in Qatar’s National Convention Centre – a stunning home that makes it all the more striking. It stops visitors in their tracks, allowing them to encounter art in an everyday setting. Louise Bourgeois captures a fragile moment, where a protective mother carries her eggs through marble, bronze, and stainless steel reveals the beauty in an initially intimidating object. The powerful art piece called Maman, meaning “mama” or “mommy” in French. Louise Bourgeois explores the meaning of motherhood and alludes to the strength of her mother, whom she lost at the age of twenty-one.

Sidra Medical Centre – The Miraculous Journey by Damien Hirst

The Miraculous Journey is a set of staggering figures of a baby growing in a uterus. This installation is situated at Sidra Medical Centre speaks the beauty of an extraordinary human process special dedicated to women and children, the venue and pieces empower each other. The outrageous installation is a series of fourteen sculptures, charting the progress of a new life in a uterus, adding a set of twins, and ending with a 45-foot-high model of a new-born baby boy. The first “nude” sculpture in the Middle East, even if it is merely a baby.

Katara Cultural Village – Gandhi’s Three Monkeys by Subodh Gupta

A collection of three sculptures showing heads wearing military gear. Each piece made out of kitchen utensils, old pails, traditional Indian lunch boxes and glass bowls. There are three soldiers’ heads wearing different headgear. “See no evil” head wears goggles, “hear no evil” head wears a balaclava hood, and “speak no evil” head wears a gas mask. Located amid Katara, Doha’s vibrant cultural village, this installation captures people’s attention by tackling the bold theme of war and peace in a domestic setting.

Aspire Park – Perceval by Sarah Lucas

Photo credited to mira66 on https://www.flickr.com/

Adored by children who play in the Aspire Park, Perceval is a bronze sculpture of a shire horse leading a cart containing giant marrows which is the artist’s only famous piece of public art and homage to British culture. That is the unique touch of Sarah Lucas, creating something that would be ordinary in one part of the world but stands out as something unique in another. Lifelike and looking very out of place for the region, this one is a local favourite, probably because it is built to scale and makes a nice switch from the more ordinary found camels.

Calling Art aficionado, make sure you visit these nine eye-catching Public Art Pieces in Qatar on your next vacation. Book your Qatar tour with Sedunia travel now.

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longlistshort · 5 years

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Bleached- Hard to Kill

Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (10/10-10/14/19)-

Thursday

Artist Sadie Barnette and her father Rodney Barnette will be celebrating their shared birthday at ICA LA, with an art talk, DJ, and a performance by Global Street Dance Masquerade- taking place along with her newest project The New Eagle Creek Saloon, a tribute to her father's bar, Eagle Creek Saloon, the first black-owned gay bar in San Francisco

Downtown LA's Art Walk returns for its monthly event with lots of galleries in the area staying open late

Snow Tha Product is performing at the El Rey Theatre

Numb.er are opening for Drahla at The Echo

Mega Bog, L.A. Takedown and Spookey Ruben are performing free at Zebulon with Dent May DJ'ing

Friday

ArtNight Pasadena returns for its biannual event with a free evening of live music, performances, and free admission to museums and galleries in Pasadena. There will also be free shuttles to take you around to the various locations.

Hassan Hajjaj: My Rockstars Experimental- Live has the Moroccan phototographer, designer and filmmaker, creating sets and clothes from his portraits and videos- this time for the stage of The Ford and including live performances by musicians Afrikan Boy, Bumi, Simo Lagnawi, Marques Toliver, Gail Ann Dorsey and Omar Offendum at The Ford. My Rockstars Experimental, Volume I was shown at LACMA in 2013.

Adam Melchor is opening for singer dodie at the Hollywood Palladium

Dan Luke and the Raid are opening for The Parlor Mob at the Bootleg Theater

Saturday

Bleached are playing at the Lodge Room with Dude York and Lunch Lady

Psychic Twin is having a free single release party show at Gold Diggers with Drum & Lace opening

Culver City Arts District is hosting its annual Art Walk and Roll, a free festival with live music, food trucks, and more, plus a chance to see all the art shows happening in the area.

If you are in Culver City, head to Luis de Jesus Los Angeles to hear artist Laura Krifka discuss her paintings currently on view at the gallery

2019 Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation has three different programs starting at 3pm at REDCAT

Arto Lindsay is playing at Zebulon featuring Rodrigo Amarante, along with Ofir Ganon playing solo/duo with Chris Bear (Grizzly Bear)

Joywave are opening for Bastille at The Greek Theatre

Mereba is performing at the Ford Theatre with We Are King

Sunday

At Fowler Museum on Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings, to accompany its exhibition Through Positive Eyes, seven HIV-positive Angelenos known as the Los Angeles Through Positive Eyes Collective will share their photographs and personal narratives (today beginning at 1pm)

The Dead End Kids Club is having its 1st Fall Ball at The Echo with performances by Z Berg, Ryan Ross, Palm Springsteen and Dan Keyes

Highland Park is having its first Oktoberfest at The Hi Hat with music by West Coast Prost, Oktoberfest inspired food and of course, German Bier

Andrew Combs is playing at the Bootleg Theater with Harrison Whitford and Austin Manuel

Monday

Temples are playing at the Echoplex with Trupa Trupa

Kishi Bashi is performing at The Regent Theater with Takenobu opening

The Spirit of the Beehive are opening for Ride at the Teragram Ballroom

Weirdo Night is happening at Zebulon with performances by Dynasty Handbag, Marawa The Amazing, Casey Jane Ellison and Earth Girl Helen Brown

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itsworn · 5 years

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Suede Palace, Model A Display and More Traditional Highlights from the 2019 Grand National Roadster Show

You’ve really got to go, if you haven’t yet. Inaugurated in 1950, the Grand National Roadster Show (touted as the longest continuously running hot rod show in the world) oozes with hot rod history. We should thank Al Slonaker and his wife Mary for creating this institution, originally held in Northern California. John Buck took over ownership in 2004, moving the three-day event farther south to Pomona. That first year in SoCal was a success with 300 vehicles put on exhibit. Fast-forward 15 years. The 2019 GNRS gathered 500 eclectic cars set in seven buildings, plus another 500 outside (mainly on Saturday) as part of the Drive-In display. Many HRD readers started their visit with the Suede Palace, a hall devoted to traditional rods and customs. Across the way, Building No. 9 hosted Ford Model As in all their shapes and forms: antique hot rods, former GRNS winners, NHRA and SCTA record holders, and so on. It was a sight to behold, thanks to 80-plus vehicles tantalizing the crowd, and worthy of a story in its own right, which will appear in our July 2019 issue. Stretching for more than an eighth-mile, Building No. 4 welcomed dozens of pros in the industry, as well as the highly anticipated exhibit of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) competitors, their owners vying to put their name on the 9-plus-foot-tall award. Fourteen cars entered the field, with George Poteet ultimately coming out on top with his 1936 Ford roadster (check out our May 2019 issue for further details). The name sounds familiar? George is the man behind the wheel of Speed Demon, the 450-plus-mph, piston-driven Bonneville record holder. And like many GNRS visitors, he lives and breathes hot rods.

Miret’s Morphine Both hot rods and customs have shared the Suede Palace’s Best of Show award over the years. For 2019, a custom came out on top, specifically Morphine, a colorful 1950s-styled ’54 Chevy owned by Roger Miret. Punk music fans might recognize the name, as he’s the vocalist for the band Agnostic Front. Based on the East Coast, he is also one of the founders of the Rumblers Car Club.

Best Hot Rod Saturday’s Suede Palace award ceremony celebrated Portland, Oregon’s Mike Collman, the winner of the Best Hot Rod trophy with his ’31 Ford Model A. We dig the 1960s show car influence of this suicide-doored coupe, from the angel hair surrounding it to the white interior and accents.

A Ford Trio Behind that sextet of carbs, a trio of 1920s hot rod Fords: Reyes Rangle’s 390ci Cad-powered ’29, Vic Hager’s flathead-powered ’28, and Louis Stands’ ’27 Model T.

Survivor Houston Percival unearthed quite a survivor: a ’30 Ford Tudor parked in a Winters, California, barn since 1952. While the body remains all stock, the nicely patina’d sedan runs a 239ci flathead bolted to a BorgWarner T5 gearbox for comfortable cruising speed.

Lakes Tribute This great display pays homage to Al Jerauld and William Grosvenor, who raced the Jerauld’s Speed Equipment ’32 Ford at El Mirage dry lake. Incidentally, the photo on the board dates back to 1950. Bill Verhulst assembled a tribute to the 313C roadster, using a twin-carb’d flathead and a ’39 Ford transmission.

Searching Current owner John Barnes is still searching for additional historical info about his three-window ’32 Ford. So far, it appears that the heavily chopped coupe had been drag raced in Pomona around 1951-1954 before being channeled and fitted with an aerodynamic nosepiece.

Tulsa Roadster Designer and engineer Jackie Howerton teamed with builder Steve Moal to create the Howerton-Moal Tulsa Roadster for customer Bill Grimsley. The deeply channeled and Corvette-motivated ’32 Ford was a strong AMBR contender, looking excellent with Sid Chavers upholstery and shiny chrome pieces by Sherms Plating.

Tweety Many had their eyes on Jim Govro’s channeled ’32 Ford roadster in the AMBR competition. Tweety Bird is a genuine survivor and was featured in HOT ROD, Nov. 1958. The Austin, Texas, resident created the car in 1951, though he ultimately contracted Rex Rod & Chassis to restore it in time for the GNRS, complete with a 331ci Cadillac V8 assembled by Keith Tardel.

Old and New All the way from Tennessee, Ann and Andrew Bower joined the AMBR field with their topless ’32 Ford, built by Dan Kerbo at Kerbo’s Kustom Klassics. While the body is fresh from Brookville, most everything else remains vintage: Deuce frame, 276ci Mercury flathead, ’39 Ford Top Loader with Lincoln Zephyr gears, Halibrand quick-change, and so on.

Lena Mae California tinkerer Ryan Rivers undoubtedly entered the most unusual vehicle in the AMBR battle, a 1924 Buick Model 24-Six-45 named Lena Mae. Under that antique appearance hides a bunch of interesting pieces, including a ’52 263ci Buick straight-eight hooked to a 700R4 transmission. And let’s not forget the 1923 Reo top chopped 8 inches. Rivers additionally crafted several of the car’s parts: radiator shell and trim, valve covers, dashboard, intake and exhaust manifolds, wheels, and more.

Most Beautiful And the AMBR trophy goes to… George Poteet of Memphis and his ’36 Ford. The well-known collector, hot rodder, and Bonneville racer worked with Eric Peratt at Pinkee’s Rod Shop on this roadster and modified it with lengthened doors, recontoured front fenders, a stretched cockpit, and more. This ambitious project also required 350 CNC-machined custom components.

Model A Display Building No. 9 celebrated Ford’s 1928-1931 offerings (aka Model As), including drag and lakes record holders, AMBR winners (eight of them), historic hot rods, custom cars, and traditional rods. Circle City Hot Rods helped Brett Miller build this ’31 Model A, fitted with a ’50 Ford flathead, a C4 transmission, and a ’36 Ford rearend. Pete Santini and Dennis Ricklefs applied the perfect paint and pinstripes, respectively.

Evolved “Hot Rod Survivor” says the board. Indeed, this ’29 Model A was built in 1948 by Bill Coleman as a flathead-powered lakes racer and street roadster. It even reached 120 mph at El Mirage in 1949. The roadster evolved over the years, welcoming stock fenders and a 303ci Olds engine around 1955. A full restoration that included a Chevy small-block took place in 1978. Jim and Wendy Hartman have been the caretakers of the relic since 1999.

Elvis Co-Star Tom Leonardo displayed his ’29 Model A, originally built by John Athan in 1937 using a $7 roadster body and a $5.50 Deuce chassis. It also participated in one of the last El Mirage races before WWII, where it ran 108 mph. Years later, it appeared in the movie Loving You, driven by a young Elvis Presley.

Tilt Russ Meeks designed and built this Model A for John Corno between 1970 and 1972. That year, he won the AMBR competition, wowing the judges with a tilt body (lengthened 4 inches) that covered a ’68 Olds Toronado V8. More alterations came in 1986, such as the handbuilt stainless steel chassis. Oregon residents Roman and Judy Baszniak currently own the famous roadster.

Sport Coupe Chip Starr of Portland, Oregon, is the proud caretaker of this time capsule, featured in Rod & Custom magazine back in July 1963. Then belonging to Robert and Richard Souza, the unusual ’29 sport coupe relied on a “warmed up” 286ci ’50 Merc V8 equipped with Edmunds heads, an Edelbrock triple-carb manifold, and a Joe Hunt magneto.

Four Ever Clark Crump put his Model A coupe on exhibit in the Four Ever Four Cylinder Club booth. Bob Kehoe, a respected Bonneville 200 MPH Club member, owned the vehicle for years. He bought it as a stocker in 1998 before hopping up the four-banger with an overhead conversion.

Record A Multiple lake racers sprinkled Building No. 9, such as the Holmes, Kugel & McGinnis ’29 A built in 1975. A 258ci twin-turbocharged and Hilborn fuel-injected SBC pushed the lakester to set the E-Blown Fuel Roadster record at 245 mph.

History Lesson Also scattered throughout Building No. 9 were icons of hot rodding, three of which are visible in this one image: In the foreground is the Bill NieKamp roadster, which won the very first AMBR trophy. On the right edge of the frame is the Ala Kart, which won the AMBR twice in a row in 1958 and 1959 and sold millions of plastic model kits for AMT. Just visible in the back is Jim “Jake” Jacobs’ rolling collage of a tub.

Limelighter The “village” outside the Suede Palace welcomed a group of handsome cars. Between the Packard sedan and the red ’41 Buick, check out Bud Millard’s Limelighter, a ’58 Chevy made by Bill Cushenberry for Frank Gould. It won Best Custom at the 1964 Winternationals. Oz’s Kustoms restored the chopped coupe to its former glory.

Fresh Less than a week before the GNRS, Eric Justus’ Deuce was still in a thousand pieces, the paint barely dry on the (real) body. The latter came from an older “smoothy” street rod project; but Justus and his friends brought it back to 1932 specs, even redrilling holes where the factory put them. We plan to feature the car in Hot Rod Deluxe in the future.

Untouched This Olds-powered three-window Deuce had a ton of people talking, for good reason. It has remained untouched since Julian Alvarez bought it in 1973. He found it in Huntington Beach, California, where it had been parked for 10 years. It retains all its early 1960s hot rod attributes: metallic paint over a chopped top, louvers, chromed steel wheels, and so on.

Rocket The majority of the vendors invaded the large Building No. 4. Ross Racing Engines displayed Bob Gratton’s five-window ’32 Ford built by Hilton Hot Rods. Lack of a hood allowed the crowd to admire the supercharged Olds Rocket V8 assembled by Ross.

Bare Ford Artist Coby Gewertz designed his ’34 Ford with Tim Conder before entrusting South City Rod & Custom with the construction. Notice the altered front fenders and seriously set-back 331ci Chrysler Hemi. Gewertz got the Halibrand magnesium wheels from his dad, an ex–Funny Car racer.

Forty Custom Neat ’40 Buick, eh? Owned by Steve Pierce, the coupe features a ton of custom alterations: ’39 Ford headlights, modified hood, chopped top (4 inches in front and 5.5 in back), molded rear fenders, ’41 Cadillac bumpers, and rare Lyon hubcaps that nicely complement the Washington Blue paint.

Kandy Devil The GNRS brings enthusiasts from all over the world. Tristan Louwaars of Tristan Kustomizing, Holland, poses proudly with the Kandy Devil, an SBC-powered ’53 Chevy he built for Vincent Wolfs (of Belgium). Their adventure proved a bit stressful, as the car only cleared U.S. Customs the day before the show opened!

Tribute Poncho Now the property of John D’Agostino, the ex–Richard Zocchi chopped ’62 Pontiac looked its best in Building No. 5, which was dedicated to custom cars. Zocchi built the 389-powered Grand Prix in 2002 as a tribute to an identical model (restyled by Gene Winfield) he owned in 1962.

Swoopy Glenn McElroy’s Speedliner took inspiration from the renowned Norman E. Timbs Buick, which was destroyed in Malibu’s wildfires last November. Marcel and Luc Deley’s talented hands crafted the swoopy aluminum body on McElroy’s rear-engine two-seater.

Mooney Based on a ’25 Ford roadster, the Mooney-Simpkins Special was built in 1949 by Fay Mooney Sr. of Bakersfield, California, a year before winning its class at the Oakland Roadster Show. Motivated by a 270ci GMC engine, the dirt track racer also appeared in HOT ROD, Jan. 1950. Paul Mooney has taken ownership.

The post Suede Palace, Model A Display and More Traditional Highlights from the 2019 Grand National Roadster Show appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

from Hot Rod Network https://www.hotrod.com/articles/suede-palace-model-display-traditional-highlights-2019-grand-national-roadster-show/ via IFTTT

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adambstingus · 6 years

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Bangkok: Insider Travel Guide

(CNN)So, you’re in Thailand on a mission to cram the best of Bangkok into a weekend? It’s a big task — there’s no city in the world like this one — but it can be done.

But you’re in luck. This quick guide ensures you can at least hit the highlights on your quest for the best of Bangkok.

It’s worth keeping in mind that hotel prices vary dramatically depending on the time of year. High season runs from October to April, so the best bargains can be had May to September.

Hotels

Luxury

The Siam

This stunning, antique-laced property on the Chao Praya River recalls the time of King Rama V (1853-1910), a period when Bangkok was a tranquil, smog-free riverside idyll.

Since opening in 2012 the accolades have been rolling in from travel rags around the world.

With great restaurants, a poolside bar, muay Thai gym and spa, this 39-room resort set on three acres is almost a vacation unto itself.

Though a bit of a hike from the city center, there’s a regular hotel-operated ferry that shuttles guests to the Taksin pier, where they can jump on the BTS Skytrain.

Mandarin Oriental Bangkok

This Bangkok institution is a step back to a time when luggage was carried in trunks, dinner dress was de rigueur (tropics or not) and tea on the veranda was served with a stiff G&T to ward off mosquitoes.

More than 100 years old, the Oriental’s Author’s Wing retains its magical aura with its picturesque parlors, each named for a scribe they once hosted, including the likes of Somerset Maugham, Joseph Conrad and Ernest Hemingway.

The Garden Wing offers similar heights of nostalgic luxury, while the modern River Wing and Tower have a more contemporary design.

And if it weren’t patently obvious from the never-ending stream of awards rained upon this five-star, best of Bangkok landmark, high tea in the Mandarin Oriental’s library is simply too civilized for the mere words of us regrettably non-famous authors.

St. Regis Bangkok

Nearly a quarter of the 227 guest rooms at this elegant property are suites — this should give an idea of the level of comfort to which the St. Regis aspires and generally attains.

A specialty is off-site activities geared toward “the artistic visionary, the epicurean voyager, the passionate connoisseur.”

Care for a deep-sea fishing trip with one of the hotel’s celebrated chefs?

A private Fendi shopping trip?

The hotel will arrange it.

W Hotel Bangkok

The stylish W concept remains intact at this 407-room hotel (“chili-hot nightlife” is advertised) located on Bangkok’s Embassy Row near a vibrant commercial district.

Rooms are basic but fully wired and come with good robes and a Munchie Box.

Bathrooms come with rainforest showers.

City-view room views are nice.

Mid-range

Mode Sathorn

With the opening of Mode Sathorn, Siam@Siam gets the second design hotel in its Bangkok portfolio, which the brand is somewhat predictably characterizing as “fashionable lifestyle.”

The property has 201 rooms and suites in five categories, each featuring a different design concept, plus a presidential suite on the 36th floor.

F&B offerings come in the form of three restaurants and three bars.

Theatre Bar is the standout thanks to a circular TV screen and three areas segregated by your poison of choice, be it wine, beer or cocktails.

As with its sister hotel, Mode Sathorn features a rooftop bar.

If live DJs in al fresco vogue settings aren’t your thing, Secret M has a private indoor dining cove one floor below.

Galleria 10 Hotel Bangkok

Formerly the Ramada Encore, the Galleria 10 is a 188-room, chrome-and-glass hotel with modern furnishings.

It’s geared toward “always-on-the-go” business travelers, with high-speed Internet access included in the room rate, 40-inch LCD TV with satellite channels, good-sized working areas, direct dial telephones and HDMI easy plug-in.

There are some nice outdoor spaces for drinks around the pool.

Bangkok Treehouse

Inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden,” the 12-suite Bangkok Treehouse allows guests to get back to nature in Bang Krajao, the “green lungs of Bangkok.”

Guests arrive via a dedicated shuttle boat across the Chao Phraya, disembarking onto a floating pontoon overlooked by the hotel’s gourmet organic restaurant.

Each standard suite is divided into three levels (living room, bedroom and roof deck), offering views of the surrounding river, mangroves and coconut plantations.

Inside, the rooms are comfortable and cozy, with all the expected features (TV, DVD, Wi-Fi) and optional air-conditioning.

Loy La Long

Quirky and comfy, the seven color-coded rooms at this two-story wood property on the edge of Chinatown range from a four-bedroom family dorm (guests pay per bed) to the river-view suite that allows you to wake up to the sight of barges floating past — along with the occasional roaring longtail engine.

There’s a fantastic “living room,” where guests can park on a floor cushion and watch the life on the river pass by.

Near Tha Tien Pier, Loy La Long is hidden behind a temple complex right on the edge of Chinatown.

Not easy to find, but the payoff is worth it.

Budget

Lub D

Lub D proves that being on a budget doesn’t have to mean losing out on style or location.

There are two Lub D “hostels” in Bangkok, both rocking an industrial chic design.

The original is on Decho Road, off Silom.

The newer Siam location is opposite National Stadium, close to the BTS SkyTrain and a short walk to Siam Square and the malls of Rajaprasong.

It has four-bed dorms, economy twin rooms, doubles and, our favorite, a queen-bed suite with a private bathroom and LCD TV.

The Wi-Fi is free and the beer cheap.

You won’t find those attributes in too many five-star establishments.

Dining

Nahm

Offering Thai fine dining with exquisite attention to detail, the best ingredients and authenticity, Nahm provides the best of Bangkok culinary experiences.

Head Chef David Thompson, who received a Michelin star for his London-based Thai restaurant of the same name, opened this branch in the Metropolitan Hotel in 2010.

If that doesn’t sell you, perhaps the fact it’s the only Thai restaurant to crack the top 10 of the world’s 50 best restaurants list will.

Through recipes based on archaic Siamese cookbooks and other dishes passed down in “funeral books,” you’ll receive both perfect renditions of Thai classics such as tom yum goong, as well as fresh surprises difficult to find outside the Thai home.

Issaya Siamese Club

Issaya Siamese Club is internationally acclaimed Thai chef Ian Kittichai’s first flagship Bangkok restaurant.

The menu in this beautifully restored colonial house features traditional Thai cuisine combined with modern cooking methods.

There a few misses but for the most part everything on the menu is unique, delicious and oh-so-pretty.

We recommend the banana blossom Thai salad, chili-glazed baby back ribs and massaman lamb.

Bo.Lan

Bo.Lan has been making waves in Bangkok’s culinary scene since it opened in 2009.

Serving hard-to-find Thai dishes in an upscale, hip atmosphere, the restaurant is true to Thai cuisine’s roots, yet still manages to add a special twist.

Located on Sukhumvit Soi 24, Bo.Lan stars include the smoked Chiang Mai river trout salad, green curry stuffed egg yolks and stir-fried beef with dried shrimp paste.

This place is good for a romantic dinner or a work meeting with colleagues who appreciate fine food.

For the especially ravenous, there’s a large set menu

Gaggan

Earning first place on the latest “Asia’s 50 best restaurants” list, progressive Indian restaurant Gaggan is one of the most exciting venues to arrive in Bangkok in recent years.

But don’t go into this place thinking you’re going to be enjoying the usual Indian dishes like butter chicken or mutton biryani.

El-Bulli-trained chef Gaggan Anand uses molecular technology to put a funky twist on classic dishes from his native India, rendering many of them unrecognizable while giving you that “a-ha!” moment as the connection hits your taste buds.

The best table in this two-story colonial Thai home offers a window right into the kitchen, where you can see Gaggan and his staff in action.

Culinary theater at its best.

Supanniga Eating Room

If you want more from Thai cuisine than green curry, pad Thai and papaya salad Supanniga Eating Room is a great new Bangkok option.

It’s located in a narrow, three-story Thonglor shophouse, decked out with raw cement walls, yellow booths and outdoor sofas on the top floor.

Inspired by Trat province on Thailand’s southeastern coast and the northeast Isaan region, the menu has rewards for the uninitiated.

Highlights include yam pla salid thod krob (sweet and sour salad with crispy fish) and sweet and herbal moo chor muang (fatty chunks of pork in an earthy curry of sour leaves).

Almost every dish here is colorful — yes, you’ll be taking pictures of it before you eat — and the mood is casual.

Somtum Der

At this little eatery you get personal service and authentic Isaan-style street food without the street.

The restaurant is air-conditioned, which is a good thing since dishes have plenty of spice.

Chicken, pork and seafood are grilled nicely and come with sticky rice. Veggies are fresh and crisp.

A great quick, flip-flop-friendly pit stop.

Soul Food Mahanakorn

An expat favorite, low-key lighting and wood finishing define the cozy interior of this three-floor shop house.

Soul Food Mahanakorn’s kitchen revolves around what’s fresh in the markets — seafood from Sam Yan one day or meat from Or Tor Kor another.

Healthy organic foods, such as rice, meats and some vegetables, are sourced from organic farmers in the northeast.

Recommended dishes: everything. It’s all good here.

The cocktails are fantastic, too, especially the “Bangkok Bastard,” a mojito-like drink with a Thai-style twist.

Shop houses and street food

Bangkok is famous for its street food and shop-house restaurants, which makes picking just one vendor difficult.

To experience the best of Bangkok street food, we advise hitting some of the more famous eating neighborhoods and start sampling.

Most shop houses or street vendors specialize in one dish, whether it’s duck noodles, pad Thai or red pork on rice.

Some of the best Bangkok street food zones to hit include Bang Rak (between Taksin BTS station and the junction of Charoen Krung and Silom Road), Victory Monument (BTS: Victory Monument), Soi Ari (BTS: Ari), Chinatown, Wongwian Yai and Ratchawat.

Nightlife

The Speakeasy

An upmarket bar with great views, The Speakeasy at Hotel Muse is set in a beautiful space on the 24th and 25th floors.

Designed to bring back some Prohibition Era nostalgia, it consists of two bars, a cigar lounge, private salas and a boardroo.

Sukhumvit Soi 11

In recent years, this busy Bangkok street in the city’s Nana area has been pumped full of hotels, tourist-friendly pubs, nightclubs and restaurants.

Soi 11 newcomers worth checking out include Apoteka — great live music, stiff drinks and craft beer — and Levels, an enormous, high-ceilinged room whose centerpiece is a circular, glowing bar with a jazzy LED chandelier overhead.

The latter has house-heavy DJs every night, with the occasional visiting big deal international act.

RCA

Another great place for bar hopping — if you don’t mind hanging with the under-25 set — the numerous clubs and pubs that line Royal City Avenue (taxi drivers all know it as RCA) provide a congregation point for youngsters looking to chill out.

Named for the historic American highway, Route 66 is the mother of all clubs here, where the ghetto riche and urban fab descend in throngs to dance to a variety of music.

For live music, there’s Cosmic Caf.

WTF

Curious name aside, WTF on Sukhumvit Soi 51 lives up to its multi-faceted concept of food-drink-art-friendship, attracting the city’s intellectual and creative class.

WTF is comfortably tiny, with a few tables scattered around on the first floor near a well-stocked bar, while the second floor serves as a gallery space.

Maggie Choo’s

It may be located in the basement of a hotel (accessed via a separate, dark entrance), but this speakeasy-like bar with a Shanghai opium den vibe comes with the solid pedigree of nightlife mogul Ashley Sutton.

Sutton is behind several of the city’s time warping establishments, such as Iron Fairies and Fat Gutz.

At Maggie Choo’s, you get live jazz, leather armchairs, bank vaults and Queen Victoria busts juxtaposed with cocktails, tile work, lattice and heavy wooden doors.

Beautiful women clad in cheongsams hang from swings and drape themselves across the bar.

Bangkok bars can please the eyes; here are 9 of the most stunning

Shopping

Thai fashion designers

Beyond the city’s many Louis Vuitton, Herms and other big-brand boutiques at high-end malls are some talented local designers earning global praise as well.

So where to find Thailand’s hottest young designers?

Gaysorn Plaza has popular brands like Sretsis and Issue, while celeb favorite Kloset has shops at Siam Center, Siam Paragon and CentralWorld.

To check out the designs of up-and-comer k and i, head to Zen at CentralWorld.

Jatujak Weekend Market

Bangkok’s Jatujak (or Chatuchak) Weekend Market — JJ for short — is one of the biggest in Asia. Covering 35 acres, it has thousands of vendors and attracts as many as 200,000 shoppers on weekends,

It’s the place to go for Thai handicrafts, artwork, clothing, household goods and even pets.

The downside? It’s hot. It’s crowded. And it’s easy to get lost amid the labyrinthine network of stalls.

Yet that’s why some people love it.

The rest of us avoid the madness by going early in the morning, before 9 a.m., or later in the day, at about 4 p.m.

Jatujak Weekend Market, BTS, Mo Chit station; MRT: Chatuchak Park Station

Asiatique The Riverfront

Asiatique The Riverfront is a huge shopping and entertainment complex beside Bangkok’s Chao Phraya river.

Inspired by the city’s days as a riverside trading post in the early 1900s, it resembles a traditional pier with rows of warehouses.

The restaurants and bars include a mixture of upscale bistro-style restaurants serving Thai, Japanese, French and Italian, as well as an Irish pub and a wine bar.

There’s also an outdoor, covered food court.

The best way to get there is to hop on the free shuttle boat that runs regularly from the BTS Thaksin pier.

Attractions

Ancient City

This is the only way to tour Thailand’s most significant historical sites in a day.

About a 45-minute drive from the city, this Samut Prakan attraction features replicas of dozens of major Thai landmarks, from the Grand Palace in Bangkok to the contested Preah Vihear temple on the border with Cambodia.

Given Ancient City’s size, walking isn’t recommended.

Better to rent a golf cart or a bike to cruise around the park.

Siam Niramit

A well-designed stage production featuring more than 100 performers, Siam Niramit crams seven centuries of Thai culture into a fantastic 80-minute show that’s heavy on special effects.

Shows start daily at 8 p.m. and there’s an onsite restaurant offering a fairly standard Thai buffet dinner from 5:30 p.m.

After the show, families can check out onsite attractions like elephant rides, a recreation of a traditional Thai village and other cultural displays.

Jim Thompson House

The legend of Jim Thompson is outlined in every Thailand guidebook, while the iconic brand’s products are in 13 shops around Bangkok and two factory outlets.

For the true experience, head for the historic Jim Thompson House and learn about the brand’s mysterious namesake, an American who gained worldwide recognition for rebuilding the Thai silk industry before disappearing in the Malaysian jungle in 1967.

The traditional Thai-style teak house, surrounded by plants and trees, is filled with Southeast Asian antiques that he acquired through his travels.

But don’t let us convince you of its quality.

Somerset Maugham, who dined with Thompson at this house in 1959, summed it up best: “You have not only beautiful things, but what is rare, you have arranged them with faultless taste.”

Museum of Contemporary Art

For a look at Thailand’s modern art scene, you’ll need to head out of the downtown core to Bangkok’s new Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).

A five-story space owned by a Thai telecommunications magnate who wanted to share his huge Thai modern art collection with the masses, MOCA offers a great introduction to those who want a primer on Thailand’s art scene.

Most of the country’s leading artists of the last 50 years are represented, as well as some lesser-known greats.

Museum of Floral Culture

This is one of Bangkok’s gorgeous surprises.

The creation of Thai floral artist Sakul Intakul, the museum is for flower and nature lovers and those with an interest in Thai flower culture.

It features exhibits of important floral cultures from civilizations across Asia such as India, China, Japan, Laos and Bali/Indonesia.

It’s housed in a beautifully preserved, 100-year-old teak mansion with colonial architecture.

Lush grounds have been transformed into an impeccably landscaped Thai-meets-Zen-style garden.

Temples

As Thailand is 95 percent Buddhist, there are of course hundreds of Bangkok temples — known in Thai as “wats.”

For a look at how locals worship, head to any one of the glittering neighborhood wats, often located far down tiny sois and well out of the way of tourist traffic.

Some are actually in massive complexes filled with halls, schools and revered statues.

The three big ones on the tourist trail — the Grand Palace, Wat Po and Wat Arun — should be a best of Bangkok stop on any first-timer’s itinerary, as they are genuinely impressive and loaded with historical significance.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/bangkok-insider-travel-guide/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/178867443262

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allofbeercom · 6 years

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Bangkok: Insider Travel Guide

(CNN)So, you’re in Thailand on a mission to cram the best of Bangkok into a weekend? It’s a big task — there’s no city in the world like this one — but it can be done.

But you’re in luck. This quick guide ensures you can at least hit the highlights on your quest for the best of Bangkok.

It’s worth keeping in mind that hotel prices vary dramatically depending on the time of year. High season runs from October to April, so the best bargains can be had May to September.

Hotels

Luxury

The Siam

This stunning, antique-laced property on the Chao Praya River recalls the time of King Rama V (1853-1910), a period when Bangkok was a tranquil, smog-free riverside idyll.

Since opening in 2012 the accolades have been rolling in from travel rags around the world.

With great restaurants, a poolside bar, muay Thai gym and spa, this 39-room resort set on three acres is almost a vacation unto itself.

Though a bit of a hike from the city center, there’s a regular hotel-operated ferry that shuttles guests to the Taksin pier, where they can jump on the BTS Skytrain.

Mandarin Oriental Bangkok

The Garden Wing offers similar heights of nostalgic luxury, while the modern River Wing and Tower have a more contemporary design.

St. Regis Bangkok

Nearly a quarter of the 227 guest rooms at this elegant property are suites — this should give an idea of the level of comfort to which the St. Regis aspires and generally attains.

A specialty is off-site activities geared toward “the artistic visionary, the epicurean voyager, the passionate connoisseur.”

Care for a deep-sea fishing trip with one of the hotel’s celebrated chefs?

A private Fendi shopping trip?

The hotel will arrange it.

W Hotel Bangkok

The stylish W concept remains intact at this 407-room hotel (“chili-hot nightlife” is advertised) located on Bangkok’s Embassy Row near a vibrant commercial district.

Rooms are basic but fully wired and come with good robes and a Munchie Box.

Bathrooms come with rainforest showers.

City-view room views are nice.

Mid-range

Mode Sathorn

With the opening of Mode Sathorn, Siam@Siam gets the second design hotel in its Bangkok portfolio, which the brand is somewhat predictably characterizing as “fashionable lifestyle.”

The property has 201 rooms and suites in five categories, each featuring a different design concept, plus a presidential suite on the 36th floor.

F&B offerings come in the form of three restaurants and three bars.

Theatre Bar is the standout thanks to a circular TV screen and three areas segregated by your poison of choice, be it wine, beer or cocktails.

As with its sister hotel, Mode Sathorn features a rooftop bar.

If live DJs in al fresco vogue settings aren’t your thing, Secret M has a private indoor dining cove one floor below.

Galleria 10 Hotel Bangkok

Formerly the Ramada Encore, the Galleria 10 is a 188-room, chrome-and-glass hotel with modern furnishings.

There are some nice outdoor spaces for drinks around the pool.

Bangkok Treehouse

Inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden,” the 12-suite Bangkok Treehouse allows guests to get back to nature in Bang Krajao, the “green lungs of Bangkok.”

Guests arrive via a dedicated shuttle boat across the Chao Phraya, disembarking onto a floating pontoon overlooked by the hotel’s gourmet organic restaurant.

Each standard suite is divided into three levels (living room, bedroom and roof deck), offering views of the surrounding river, mangroves and coconut plantations.

Inside, the rooms are comfortable and cozy, with all the expected features (TV, DVD, Wi-Fi) and optional air-conditioning.

Loy La Long

There’s a fantastic “living room,” where guests can park on a floor cushion and watch the life on the river pass by.

Near Tha Tien Pier, Loy La Long is hidden behind a temple complex right on the edge of Chinatown.

Not easy to find, but the payoff is worth it.

Budget

Lub D

Lub D proves that being on a budget doesn’t have to mean losing out on style or location.

There are two Lub D “hostels” in Bangkok, both rocking an industrial chic design.

The original is on Decho Road, off Silom.

The newer Siam location is opposite National Stadium, close to the BTS SkyTrain and a short walk to Siam Square and the malls of Rajaprasong.

It has four-bed dorms, economy twin rooms, doubles and, our favorite, a queen-bed suite with a private bathroom and LCD TV.

The Wi-Fi is free and the beer cheap.

You won’t find those attributes in too many five-star establishments.

Dining

Nahm

Offering Thai fine dining with exquisite attention to detail, the best ingredients and authenticity, Nahm provides the best of Bangkok culinary experiences.

Head Chef David Thompson, who received a Michelin star for his London-based Thai restaurant of the same name, opened this branch in the Metropolitan Hotel in 2010.

If that doesn’t sell you, perhaps the fact it’s the only Thai restaurant to crack the top 10 of the world’s 50 best restaurants list will.

Issaya Siamese Club

Issaya Siamese Club is internationally acclaimed Thai chef Ian Kittichai’s first flagship Bangkok restaurant.

The menu in this beautifully restored colonial house features traditional Thai cuisine combined with modern cooking methods.

There a few misses but for the most part everything on the menu is unique, delicious and oh-so-pretty.

We recommend the banana blossom Thai salad, chili-glazed baby back ribs and massaman lamb.

Bo.Lan

Bo.Lan has been making waves in Bangkok’s culinary scene since it opened in 2009.

Serving hard-to-find Thai dishes in an upscale, hip atmosphere, the restaurant is true to Thai cuisine’s roots, yet still manages to add a special twist.

Located on Sukhumvit Soi 24, Bo.Lan stars include the smoked Chiang Mai river trout salad, green curry stuffed egg yolks and stir-fried beef with dried shrimp paste.

This place is good for a romantic dinner or a work meeting with colleagues who appreciate fine food.

For the especially ravenous, there’s a large set menu

Gaggan

Earning first place on the latest “Asia’s 50 best restaurants” list, progressive Indian restaurant Gaggan is one of the most exciting venues to arrive in Bangkok in recent years.

But don’t go into this place thinking you’re going to be enjoying the usual Indian dishes like butter chicken or mutton biryani.

The best table in this two-story colonial Thai home offers a window right into the kitchen, where you can see Gaggan and his staff in action.

Culinary theater at its best.

Supanniga Eating Room

If you want more from Thai cuisine than green curry, pad Thai and papaya salad Supanniga Eating Room is a great new Bangkok option.

It’s located in a narrow, three-story Thonglor shophouse, decked out with raw cement walls, yellow booths and outdoor sofas on the top floor.

Inspired by Trat province on Thailand’s southeastern coast and the northeast Isaan region, the menu has rewards for the uninitiated.

Highlights include yam pla salid thod krob (sweet and sour salad with crispy fish) and sweet and herbal moo chor muang (fatty chunks of pork in an earthy curry of sour leaves).

Almost every dish here is colorful — yes, you’ll be taking pictures of it before you eat — and the mood is casual.

Somtum Der

At this little eatery you get personal service and authentic Isaan-style street food without the street.

The restaurant is air-conditioned, which is a good thing since dishes have plenty of spice.

Chicken, pork and seafood are grilled nicely and come with sticky rice. Veggies are fresh and crisp.

A great quick, flip-flop-friendly pit stop.

Soul Food Mahanakorn

An expat favorite, low-key lighting and wood finishing define the cozy interior of this three-floor shop house.

Soul Food Mahanakorn’s kitchen revolves around what’s fresh in the markets — seafood from Sam Yan one day or meat from Or Tor Kor another.

Healthy organic foods, such as rice, meats and some vegetables, are sourced from organic farmers in the northeast.

Recommended dishes: everything. It’s all good here.

The cocktails are fantastic, too, especially the “Bangkok Bastard,” a mojito-like drink with a Thai-style twist.

Shop houses and street food

Bangkok is famous for its street food and shop-house restaurants, which makes picking just one vendor difficult.

To experience the best of Bangkok street food, we advise hitting some of the more famous eating neighborhoods and start sampling.

Most shop houses or street vendors specialize in one dish, whether it’s duck noodles, pad Thai or red pork on rice.

Nightlife

The Speakeasy

An upmarket bar with great views, The Speakeasy at Hotel Muse is set in a beautiful space on the 24th and 25th floors.

Designed to bring back some Prohibition Era nostalgia, it consists of two bars, a cigar lounge, private salas and a boardroo.

Sukhumvit Soi 11

In recent years, this busy Bangkok street in the city’s Nana area has been pumped full of hotels, tourist-friendly pubs, nightclubs and restaurants.

The latter has house-heavy DJs every night, with the occasional visiting big deal international act.

RCA

Named for the historic American highway, Route 66 is the mother of all clubs here, where the ghetto riche and urban fab descend in throngs to dance to a variety of music.

For live music, there’s Cosmic Caf.

WTF

Curious name aside, WTF on Sukhumvit Soi 51 lives up to its multi-faceted concept of food-drink-art-friendship, attracting the city’s intellectual and creative class.

WTF is comfortably tiny, with a few tables scattered around on the first floor near a well-stocked bar, while the second floor serves as a gallery space.

Maggie Choo’s

Sutton is behind several of the city’s time warping establishments, such as Iron Fairies and Fat Gutz.

At Maggie Choo’s, you get live jazz, leather armchairs, bank vaults and Queen Victoria busts juxtaposed with cocktails, tile work, lattice and heavy wooden doors.

Beautiful women clad in cheongsams hang from swings and drape themselves across the bar.

Bangkok bars can please the eyes; here are 9 of the most stunning

Shopping

Thai fashion designers

Beyond the city’s many Louis Vuitton, Herms and other big-brand boutiques at high-end malls are some talented local designers earning global praise as well.

So where to find Thailand’s hottest young designers?

Gaysorn Plaza has popular brands like Sretsis and Issue, while celeb favorite Kloset has shops at Siam Center, Siam Paragon and CentralWorld.

To check out the designs of up-and-comer k and i, head to Zen at CentralWorld.

Jatujak Weekend Market

It’s the place to go for Thai handicrafts, artwork, clothing, household goods and even pets.

The downside? It’s hot. It’s crowded. And it’s easy to get lost amid the labyrinthine network of stalls.

Yet that’s why some people love it.

The rest of us avoid the madness by going early in the morning, before 9 a.m., or later in the day, at about 4 p.m.

Jatujak Weekend Market, BTS, Mo Chit station; MRT: Chatuchak Park Station

Asiatique The Riverfront

Asiatique The Riverfront is a huge shopping and entertainment complex beside Bangkok’s Chao Phraya river.

Inspired by the city’s days as a riverside trading post in the early 1900s, it resembles a traditional pier with rows of warehouses.

The restaurants and bars include a mixture of upscale bistro-style restaurants serving Thai, Japanese, French and Italian, as well as an Irish pub and a wine bar.

There’s also an outdoor, covered food court.

The best way to get there is to hop on the free shuttle boat that runs regularly from the BTS Thaksin pier.

Attractions

Ancient City

This is the only way to tour Thailand’s most significant historical sites in a day.

Given Ancient City’s size, walking isn’t recommended.

Better to rent a golf cart or a bike to cruise around the park.

Siam Niramit

A well-designed stage production featuring more than 100 performers, Siam Niramit crams seven centuries of Thai culture into a fantastic 80-minute show that’s heavy on special effects.

Shows start daily at 8 p.m. and there’s an onsite restaurant offering a fairly standard Thai buffet dinner from 5:30 p.m.

After the show, families can check out onsite attractions like elephant rides, a recreation of a traditional Thai village and other cultural displays.

Jim Thompson House

The legend of Jim Thompson is outlined in every Thailand guidebook, while the iconic brand’s products are in 13 shops around Bangkok and two factory outlets.

The traditional Thai-style teak house, surrounded by plants and trees, is filled with Southeast Asian antiques that he acquired through his travels.

But don’t let us convince you of its quality.

Somerset Maugham, who dined with Thompson at this house in 1959, summed it up best: “You have not only beautiful things, but what is rare, you have arranged them with faultless taste.”

Museum of Contemporary Art

For a look at Thailand’s modern art scene, you’ll need to head out of the downtown core to Bangkok’s new Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).

Most of the country’s leading artists of the last 50 years are represented, as well as some lesser-known greats.

Museum of Floral Culture

This is one of Bangkok’s gorgeous surprises.

The creation of Thai floral artist Sakul Intakul, the museum is for flower and nature lovers and those with an interest in Thai flower culture.

It features exhibits of important floral cultures from civilizations across Asia such as India, China, Japan, Laos and Bali/Indonesia.

It’s housed in a beautifully preserved, 100-year-old teak mansion with colonial architecture.

Lush grounds have been transformed into an impeccably landscaped Thai-meets-Zen-style garden.

Temples

As Thailand is 95 percent Buddhist, there are of course hundreds of Bangkok temples — known in Thai as “wats.”

For a look at how locals worship, head to any one of the glittering neighborhood wats, often located far down tiny sois and well out of the way of tourist traffic.

Some are actually in massive complexes filled with halls, schools and revered statues.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/bangkok-insider-travel-guide/

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