Showing 1 - 10 of 10
Festival showdown
Life, Gary Boyle, Published on 14/11/2019
» Thai indie kids used to wish Bangkok had an international music festival -- now they've got two happening at the same time. Music fans will need to flip a coin this weekend to choose between Maho Rasop and Very Festival, both of which have international headliners and both of which are on Saturday and Sunday, only a few kilometres apart.
From pain to peace
B Magazine, Gary Boyle, Published on 10/02/2019
» This isn't working. My back hurts. This is a waste of time. I could've had a week in Paris. My back hurts.
Sex 'n' drugs 'n' rock 'n' rehab
Life, Gary Boyle, Published on 15/01/2019
» 'I shouldn't be in rehab at my age," says 28-year-old Andy*. As a music festival organiser, he curates events all over Europe, and is, as he puts it, "immersed" in drug culture. In rehab for cocaine addiction, he's also one of the increasing number of professionals aiming to make the music industry a safer place for those with substance abuse issues.
Vivid Saffron nights
Holiday Time, Gary Boyle, Published on 25/12/2018
» At this time of year, both Bangkokians and tourists alike head for the elevators. Hit the top button in any decent hotel’s lift and within a minute you’ll be stepping out to a dazzling view of the city. Grab a seat as near to the edge as you dare, order a cocktail, relax and grab that all-important selfie.
Anger is an energy
Life, Gary Boyle, Published on 17/08/2018
» It takes Trent Reznor 45 minutes to say hello. He voices his surprise that it's taken his band Nine Inch Nails nearly 30 years to do a show in Thailand. They almost made it in 2014 for the aborted Silverlake Festival in Pattaya, cancelled due to the volatile political climate, so there was no small amount of anticipation ahead of their show at Bangkok's packed Moonstar Studio on Tuesday night.
ZOOM with a view
Holiday Time, Gary Boyle, Published on 25/12/2015
» If 2015 has been a year of difficult decisions -- which organic, artisanal single origin coffee to buy, which hipster burger truck to chase, which empty new mall to haunt -- then solace is to be found in the realisation that only one decision remains. The choice of where to spend the last hours of the year is, however, often fraught with an abundance of options.
Truffle Hound Heaven
News, Gary Boyle, Published on 30/12/2014
» It's odd how we ascribe value these days. We're happy to spend several hundred baht daily for a couple of coffees and a stale bun, but baulk at rewarding a musician's soulful outpourings by actually paying the same amount for an album. Food, however, in its stubborn refusal to be digitised, has avoided devaluation and Bangkokians are seeking ever higher and more expensive culinary experiences. Michelin-trained chefs used to be enough but now we crave an actual multi-Michelin-star celebrity in the kitchen. Decadent treats like foie gras perennially pop up on every festive menu whether people actually enjoy them or not. But this month Centara Grand at CentralWorld has trumped them all with its truffle menu.
Uptown is the new downtown
News, Gary Boyle, Published on 12/12/2014
» Sorry CBD dwellers, zone 1 citizens and heart of the city hipsters: downtown is over. Developers have ripped the soul out of your neighbourhood and hoodwinked you into paying astonishing rent for the privilege. Who wants to pay more for a macaroon in Ploen Chit than in Paris, or buy a New York Deli-style brunch for the price of a flight to Phuket?
A pleasant pillage
News, Gary Boyle, Published on 04/12/2014
» The high-ceilinged lobby plays tricks of scale; everything seems Alice in Wonderland odd and Gulliver's Travels large. Guests sip tea in giant chairs, staff wander amongst oversized flora and fauna, and everywhere there is art. Big art, like the 10-foot tall traditional Thai drums outside their Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin restaurant. It all adds up to a surprisingly subtle yet impressive effect, as entering a lobby should feel like an event or a passage to somewhere other: a place for escape, for relaxation, or for gorging on international cuisine.
A touch of Michelin magic
Life, Gary Boyle, Published on 19/12/2013
» Who are the heavyweights of cooking right now: Heston Blumenthal and his avant-garde creations? Bellowing TV bully Gordon Ramsey? The woman who wrote 'Cooking with Poo'? Yes and no. Yes, they get plenty of column inches and television moments, but the real powerhouses of cooking are Michelin magnets like Ferran Adria, Alain Ducasse and, for Thai cuisine, David Thompson.