The Skeptical Optimist

I just came back from a 2 night holiday in Bangkok – just a chance to get away from Singapore and absconding from my parental duties just for a bit. Bangkok is such a city of contradictions; some of its obvious downsides include the infamous traffic and pollution, but really the Thais make style, elegance and hospitality seem so effortless.

I stayed at the Siam @Siam Design Hotel, a stunner of a 24 storey building done up in a contemporary Thai style with eclectic furniture, sculpture, art and wonderful wall murals in an abstract impasto style. The colour scheme was warm, rich and yet not claustrophobic, even with modern touches like bare concrete flooring and exposed pipes. The whole design theme was daring yet inviting and comfortable, really unique. And of course the service… I don’t even need to get started there.

Another place that really impressed me was the Oriental Bangkok, I honestly don’t think that any hotel in Singapore holds a candle to an establishment that definitely ranks as one of the great hotels of the world. Just such effortless (again) elegance without the stuffiness that I see at some top hotels in Singapore. My girlfriend and I just went there for the high tea and we were really impressed with the delicate pastries, impressive selection of teas and the quiet, unobtrusive service. It’s just little touches like having a warmer for your teapot so your tea never gets cold… Perhaps, I am just unable to afford such luxuries in Singapore so I can’t really compare.

Of course, it wasn’t all a bed of roses – for one, I felt that I could do without the food courts which cater to tourists and serve watered down versions of Thai classics. But still, minor quibbles.

Bangkok is of course value for money – which is why Singaporeans flock there and why my flight was packed with bargain hunters. But with rising food and fuel prices, one wonders how much longer one can go on these carefree regional jaunts without it starting to hurt the pocket as well. Just today the Thai government has announced an increase in taxi fares in Bangkok, and while a few baht might not mean much to you, it does mean a lot to Thais and does all add up in the end.

The reasons for the recent hikes in food and fuel prices are manifold and complex, having to do with international relations but also in no small part to climate change and our reckless overuse of the planet’s resources. I think for the ordinary person like me, it’s still difficult though, to really see how our every day actions trickle down into our lives and the lives of the people around us. Even jetting off to Bangkok on a fossil fuel consuming plane, or filling my tank (of my extremely fuel-efficient car I have to protest!), or just buying food that has taken an extra long plane ride to get here are all just small steps which lead to more global warming, more pollution. It’s difficult to see what can be done.

I recently finished filming my episodes for a new segment we’re running on Primetime Morning on eco-living called “The Green Wave”. I’ve done one on eco-buildings, which is airing next Wednesday (18 June) at 7.50am and 8.50am (SIN/HK time) – but the other episode I did on eco-food choices (30 June) is really very close to my heart. If you get the chance, read Michael Pollan’s book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” to get an idea of where I’m coming from. It was interesting filming these episodes, to see how architects, farmers, experts are trying to deal with the problems we’ve caused with the planet.

But that’s really all for another blog post… For now I’ll leave you with some advice I got from a geography professor when I asked him how ordinary folks who can’t afford the sometimes astronomical prices of organic food can eat more eco-friendly… and he said, “just eat less meat, it’s the thing you can do that will have the biggest impact”. Well, I’m not vegetarian, but I’ll tell you more about what I found out in the next post and how it’s changing the way I eat!

Tags: bangkok, green thoughts, saving gaia