hi there, and welcome to 'bangkok unmasked'. my name is james, and i'm the writer, editor, director and producer of this show. so what's this youtube channel all about? the plan is to build an insider's guide to the city of bangkok. where to go, what to see, how to get there and everything in between. you may be wondering what qualifies me to produce these videos? technically, i'm a newbie to video production, and this will definitely show over the next few videos.
bangkok points of interest, however, regarding bangkok, i've lived here for over 18 years now, and know the city, people and culture pretty well. to start with my plan is to produce videos on my favorite spots in bangkok, and basically build from there. why 'bangkok unmasked'? well, bangkok is visited by millions of tourists every year, most of them will only scratch the surface
of the city, and the thai people and culture. honestly, i find out about things i had no idea existed on pretty much a daily basis. as an aside statista has the number of international overnight visitors to bangkok through 2016 at 21.47 million, pretty much double the 10.44 million registered through 2010. to further the 'unmasked' part of 'bangkok unmasked' i was thinking about how to define bangkok, and it came to me that there's a parallel between the city, and thai dance. known locally as 'ram thai'. one of the most famous dances is the masked dance called 'khon'
which was traditionally performed solely in the royal court by men wearing masks, and by narrators who told the ramakien story on which the khan is mainly based. it's sort of like a thai version of shakespearean dramas, and the ramakien can be considered as thailand's national epic in which hindu and buddhist mythology combine local thai traditions. what you can see on the top left of the screen is an example of khon mask can look like? anyway, i digress... it seems to me that bangkok, and the thai in general, wear an elaborate khon mask a tourists, and short-term visitors. however, there's a lot more going on than what you see on the surface. the khon mask has only one expression,
like bangkok might appear to someone who is only able to spend a couple of days in the city. however, if you spend more time in bangkok, you'll see that there are literally hundreds of masks worn by the city, and its inhabitants. and it takes quite a bit of time, and perseverance, to see them all. another comment on bangkok before i sign off. bangkok city offers pretty much everything, and all price-points. for example, if you want to stay in hyper-luxury, this is absolutely available. hotels like the peninsula, or the mandarin oriental, will blow your mind. and also blow a hole through your wallet. there are also a lot of luxury serviced apartments. that would not look out of place on bravo's 'million dollar listing'.
however, you can also stay in a guesthouse, or hostel, for next to nothing. if you take a look on the internet you can find listings for around $10 a night, and there's literally every price point in between. the thai have a well used phrase; 'up to you'. when it comes to how much you want to spend in the city, it really is 'up to you', as everything is available. dining in bangkok is another case in point. if you want to have some fried rice from a food cart by the side of the road, you're probably looking at less than a couple of dollars for something very edible. conversely you can go to michelin star restaurants, and spend as much as you would in the same sort of places in new york or london. eye-watering bills.
hundreds, or even thousands of dollars if you also get a decent bottle of wine. the tax on wine is absolutely horrific, but i'm going to save this topic for another video. anyway, that's it for this introduction video. expect a new video shortly. it should be posted in about a week or so. for all you 'techies' out there, this video was shot on a galaxy samsung note 4, and edited using hitfilm express. finally, please don't forget to subscribe to this channel through the button below. take care.
hi there, and welcome to 'bangkok unmasked'. my name is james, and i'm the writer, editor, director and producer of this show. so what's this youtube channel all about? the plan is to build an insider's guide to the city of bangkok. where to go, what to see, how to get there and everything in between. you may be wondering what qualifies me to produce these videos? technically, i'm a newbie to video production, and this will definitely show over the next few videos.
bangkok points of interest, however, regarding bangkok, i've lived here for over 18 years now, and know the city, people and culture pretty well. to start with my plan is to produce videos on my favorite spots in bangkok, and basically build from there. why 'bangkok unmasked'? well, bangkok is visited by millions of tourists every year, most of them will only scratch the surface
of the city, and the thai people and culture. honestly, i find out about things i had no idea existed on pretty much a daily basis. as an aside statista has the number of international overnight visitors to bangkok through 2016 at 21.47 million, pretty much double the 10.44 million registered through 2010. to further the 'unmasked' part of 'bangkok unmasked' i was thinking about how to define bangkok, and it came to me that there's a parallel between the city, and thai dance. known locally as 'ram thai'. one of the most famous dances is the masked dance called 'khon'
which was traditionally performed solely in the royal court by men wearing masks, and by narrators who told the ramakien story on which the khan is mainly based. it's sort of like a thai version of shakespearean dramas, and the ramakien can be considered as thailand's national epic in which hindu and buddhist mythology combine local thai traditions. what you can see on the top left of the screen is an example of khon mask can look like? anyway, i digress... it seems to me that bangkok, and the thai in general, wear an elaborate khon mask a tourists, and short-term visitors. however, there's a lot more going on than what you see on the surface. the khon mask has only one expression,
like bangkok might appear to someone who is only able to spend a couple of days in the city. however, if you spend more time in bangkok, you'll see that there are literally hundreds of masks worn by the city, and its inhabitants. and it takes quite a bit of time, and perseverance, to see them all. another comment on bangkok before i sign off. bangkok city offers pretty much everything, and all price-points. for example, if you want to stay in hyper-luxury, this is absolutely available. hotels like the peninsula, or the mandarin oriental, will blow your mind. and also blow a hole through your wallet. there are also a lot of luxury serviced apartments. that would not look out of place on bravo's 'million dollar listing'.
however, you can also stay in a guesthouse, or hostel, for next to nothing. if you take a look on the internet you can find listings for around $10 a night, and there's literally every price point in between. the thai have a well used phrase; 'up to you'. when it comes to how much you want to spend in the city, it really is 'up to you', as everything is available. dining in bangkok is another case in point. if you want to have some fried rice from a food cart by the side of the road, you're probably looking at less than a couple of dollars for something very edible. conversely you can go to michelin star restaurants, and spend as much as you would in the same sort of places in new york or london. eye-watering bills.
hundreds, or even thousands of dollars if you also get a decent bottle of wine. the tax on wine is absolutely horrific, but i'm going to save this topic for another video. anyway, that's it for this introduction video. expect a new video shortly. it should be posted in about a week or so. for all you 'techies' out there, this video was shot on a galaxy samsung note 4, and edited using hitfilm express. finally, please don't forget to subscribe to this channel through the button below. take care.