Skybar: the best rooftop bar in Bangkok

by Grant Martin on

Nothing out in the urban landscape can blow your mind quite like a well done rooftop bar. Remember Lost in Translation? The whole dynamic between Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson unfolded in the New York Bar on the top floors of the Park Hyatt Tokyo, backdropped against the smooth jazz singer, a few stiff drinks and the Tokyo Skyline. It’s hard for amazing things not to happen in a setting like that.

Bangkok’s version of the New York Bar is called Skybar, the beverage component of Sirocco at the top of lebua at State Tower. Taking the elevator up to the concrete, roman-stlye dome that overlooks the outcropping, it’s easy to see why Skybar and Sirocco are so popular: they’re gorgeous. The color changing ring in which the bartender serves drinks juts out against the hotel and over the infinite city, and as the hue shifts from pink to blue to green it’s hard to choose among staring at the people, the bar and the skyline.

As the live jazz band plays on, those longing for a bite to eat can sample Sirocco’s fine Mediterranean fare as they bask outdoors in the city night. Others visiting for the drinks and the sights alone can both spend time socializing around the Skybar ring or wander up to Distil, an indoor/outdoor mecca for premium spirits. Here, they can sample the rarest of Johnnie Walker scotch whiskies, the most exclusive Cognacs and a wide selection of hand rolled Cuban Cigars.

Skybar, Distil and Sirocco can be found at the top of lebua at State Tower, 1055 Silom Road, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500. Make sure you dress sharply, no sandals or troublemakers are allowed.

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Disclaimer: lebua sponsored our trip to come check out their hotels, though our opinions and experiences were all of our own design.

Thailand Hitler billboard draws controversy

by Jeremy Kressmann on

A Hitler billboard in Thailand promoting a local wax museum has locals and foreign governments up in arms. The billboard campaign, which features photos of famous dead people, included a photo of Hitler making the infamous Nazi salute along with the tagline “Hitler is not dead.” The ad was part of a promotion for Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks, a wax museum based in Pattaya.

Since the billboard’s unveiling two weeks ago it has caused a firestorm of complaints, prompting museum officials to have it covered and to apologize for the offense. Both the German and Israeli embassies in Thailand filed formal complaints. Wax museum director Somporn Naksuetrong has emphasized the campaign was not meant to glorify the Nazi leader.

Not surprisingly, this isn’t the first Adolf Hitler wax museum incident to draw controversy. In 2008 a German man rushed into the new Madame Tussaud’s in Berlin, ripping the head off the museum’s Hitler figurine and shouting “Never war again!”

The use of Hitler’s likeness, whether as a wax dummy or in advertising, never fails to attract criticism. But that hasn’t stopped museums and brands from capitalizing on Hitler to draw attention, a decision that almost always ends poorly. Anyone hoping to draw tourist dollars from Nazi imagery in the future would do well to keep this in mind.

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The international top five crappy pizzas

by Catherine Bodry on

Bad pizza? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Nope – despite the simplicity of melted cheese on dough, there is indeed such a thing as horrible pizza. I know; I ate some in Kaili, China – a town that has maybe 3 Westerners living in it, in a country that generally doesn’t do bread or cheese. I should have known better. All the ingredients were super-processed and frozen, and it tasted as though I was eating a fake, plastic pizza.

The hilarious list comes from Tom Gates over at MatadorNights, and includes such vivid descriptions as “[the cheese] sweats as if masturbating,” definitely not something I want my pizza to do.

The top five worst pizzas in the world (excluding my pizza in Kaili, which definitely deserves a mention) are served at:

  1. Pronto Pizza in La Serena, Chile
  2. Te Pizza el Gallso in Buenos Aires, Argentina
  3. San Marcos SRL in Florence, Italy
  4. Suba Galaxy Hotel in Mumbai, India
  5. Italian Pizza on Koh Chang, Thailand

I’ve eaten plenty of delicious local food in India and Thailand and know better than to order pizza there, but the lure of my favorite comfort food has certainly convinced me to override common sense and order a pizza (or hamburger, or fries, or spaghetti) at restaurants aimed towards foreigners. My advice comes from experience: ignore the evil voices trying to convince you how good the melted cheese with herbs will be, and go for the curry. It’s cheaper, and oftentimes the curry you get back home – especially if you live in BF Alaska – will be along the same lines as the pizza you’ll get in Asia.

[Via iamkohchang.com]

Planeterra Foundation gives sight to the blind in Tibet

by Sean McLachlan on

Tibet is one of the most visually stunning places on Earth, but many Tibetans can’t see it.

Blindness is a serious problem in the developing world. Poverty and lack of rural health care means that millions of people around the world go blind because of easily curable maladies such as cataracts.

One of the organizations fighting to stop curable blindness is the Planeterra Foundation, which recently announced a fund raiser and a video contest. For the past two years Planeterra has set up eye clinics in rural Tibetan villages and performed hundreds of surgeries.

“Tibet has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world. Most of this blindness is due to cataracts, a disease associated with aging but also prevalent among children and the working class. Many are unable to reach a hospital because of poverty and lack of transportation. With scattered populations spread across great distances, surgical eye camps are the most efficient way to treat the high rate of disease,” said Planeterra director Richard Edwards.

Such clinics are very cost effective. A donation of $50 pays for cataract surgery, so if you’ve enjoyed the beauty of the Himalayas, this is a good way to give back.

If you’re handy with a video camera, check out the “Her Sight Is Worth It.” video contest sponsored by Planeterra‘s partner Seva Canada. Young, aspiring filmmakers will create a short videos about vision impairment and gender, with the grand prize winner getting a new MacBook. Three winning videos will be screened at the World Community Film Festival and be honored by having sight restored to one girl and one woman in their name.

Planeterra believes in responsible travel and through its parent company Gap Adventures runs “Voluntours” where travelers can help out in schools in Zambia, study sea turtles in Costa Rica, or assisting street children in Peru. All Voluntours include several days of sightseeing too. Planeterra and Gap Travel are co-winners of the 2009 Responsible Travel and Tourism Forum (RTTF) Leadership Award presented by Baxter Travel Media and Air Canada.

Having trekked around a lot of different countries, I’ve seen many, many people stuck in sightless poverty because they can’t afford such a cheap and simple operation. Luckily Planeterra and Seva Canada aren’t the only folks out there tackling the problem. A number of agencies are fighting blindness. When I went to the Kumbh Mela festival in Allahabad, India, in 2001, there was one guru who had set up a free eye clinic and performed hundreds of cataract surgeries. It must have felt like a miracle for the patients to have their sight restored at Hinduism’s holiest festival.

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Photo of the Day (10.17.09)

by Brenda Yun on


I’ve said it several times, and I will say it again: Myanmar is a beautiful place. Go there.

The Burmese people are some of the most earnest people I’ve met on my travels. Despite the continued political strife in the country and the devastating cyclone that swept through the coast over a year ago, Myanmar is among the world’s unique and well-preserved places.

This photo of two young female monks comes to us from our dedicated reader, Lady Expat, who now calls southeast Asia her home. If you have some great travel shots you’d like to share, be sure to upload them to the Gadling pool on Flickr. We might just pick one as our Photo of the Day!