Thai Movie Review: Pee Mak Prakanong

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I am not really fond of ghost/ horror films so when Pee Mak Prakanong, starring one of Thailand’s best actors, Mario Maurer was showing, I did not even thought of watching it.  But when everybody in Bangkok seem to have watched it–  my local friends, the kids in our English class, and my Filipino friends, I began to have second thoughts especially when they all said the same thing about the movie:  It’s very funny.  Hmm, a horror movie that’s very funny… and with a romantic twist?  Sounds interesting–  not to mention that Mario is one of my all time favorite Thai actors!

So when my Filipino workmate asked me if I wanted to go on a ladies’ night out with her to watch Pee Mak, I thought it was a good idea. I silently prayed that I won’t be screaming at the top of my lungs inside the movie house, though. Haha!

p mak photo peemark.jpgLike they said, it’s a very funny movie.  For us who are non-Thais living in this country, it was a good resource for learning more about Thai culture, too.

Pee Mak Prakanong is a parody of a horror movie entitled “Mae Nak Prakanong” shown in 1959.  ”Mae Nak” or “Mother Nak” is a famous ghost character in Thai.  She is supposedly a mom who died while giving birth to her child alone as her husband, Mak, was in a war.  When Mak went home with his friends who survived the war, he did not know that his wife died while he was away.  He went home to his beautiful wife and his baby, clueless that that both of them were ghosts.  The journey to finding out about the truth had some heart-stopping scenes, but the comedy part was just great you could not afford to be seriously scared!  Pee Mak who was usually afraid of ghosts mustered all the strength not to be when he found out that the love of his life is already dead.  It is indeed a love that goes beyond death.

 For the record, though… I don’t believe in ghosts and I don’t believe that people who die still have the capacity to live on earth to be with humans.  But if I were to write a review about this film, Pee Mak Prakanong, to me, is another Thai film with brilliant acting, and just downright funny.

Singing at a Wedding

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Hubby and I were wedding singers back in the Philippines. We sure miss singing, so when we were asked to sing for a wedding, we were thrilled!

We had a few weeks to prepare so we had time to look for a Thai love song and practice it. To be honest, I had a hard time deciding on a song to sing because I could not find something that I really liked! It was not until one of my local friends suggested this song that we finally said… “ok, let’s do this!”

We were not sure if they had a good sound system so we brought our own just in case. It was not a classic line 6 spider iv but similar to that.. something that’s handy and with a good sound quality. We did not get to use it though, because they have their own.

So if you ask us how our song went, I guess it went well.. but the sound system went off towards the end which was really a bummer. But it was not bad for us who are noobs in singing Thai!

Visit the Places in Bangkok as they did in The Hangover Part II

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Since it was released in the spring of 2011, the comedy film The Hangover II has been breaking audience records all over the world. The movie was shot mostly in Thailand, a country that does not need an introduction in terms of its tourist attractions. Read on if you want to follow Stu, Alan, Doug, and Phil’s adventures in Bangkok next time you visit.

Some of the action in this movie takes place in Thonburi, a relatively little-known district of Bangkok. Thonburi is on the left side of the Chao Phraya river. Because of the lack of comfortable public transport, Thonburi retained its quiet and village-like character for decades, but nowadays getting into the neighbourhood is no longer a problem, as the Sytrain and plenty of buses can get you there in no time. But if you really want to imitate the characters in the movie, hop on a river boat just outside Saphan Taksin Skytrain station and take your time to enjoy the sights. River boat services run from dawn to dusk and you pay the fare (less than 50 cents) to the ticket collector once on the boat.

There are also some scenes in Bangkok’s Chinatown, a chaotic and overcrowded neighbourhood which is nevertheless fantastic for foodies. Some of the movie’s hotel scenes were shot in Soi Pleng Nam, which is a small alley between Chinatown’s two main streets, Charoen Krung and Yaowarat. The easiest way to get there is to hail a taxi at Hualampong Central Station or by the pier outside Saphan Taksin Skytrain station. Food stalls and noodle shops will be just about everywhere, so this is an ideal trip to make at dinner time.

A scene of “Hangover II” filmed  in Bangkok (credits to www.shockya.com for the image)

Once you have satisfied your appetite for noodles, head to one of Bangkok’s top nightlife spots at Soi Cowboy. In the movie, the characters have a rather entertaining night out at Siam Sam’s bar, which in real life is called Cactus bar. This go-go bar is open between 8pm and 3am every day. To get there, get off at Asok Skytrain station (or Sukhumvit station if you’re using the underground) and look for the huge mall called Terminal 21. Soi Cowboy is just across the road, you simply cannot miss it.

The movie shows some impressive panoramic views of Bangkok, which were taken from one of Bangkok’s most exclusive rooftop bars, the super-fancy Sirocco, located on the 64th floor of Lebua hotel. Sirocco is open from 6pm to 1.30am and reservations are strongly recommended. The venue is on Silom Road, between Saphan Taksin and Surasak Skytrain stations.

If you were wondering about the movie scenes featuring an impressive temple, take a day trip to the Ancient City, a huge historical park which has replicas of Thailand’s main tourist attractions. The park is open from 8am to 5pm and it can be reached by taking the Skytrain to the last station (Bearing), followed by a 20-minute cab ride.

There is plenty more to see and do during your trip to Bangkok including taking in some of the amazing views of the historical buildings and sampling some amazing street food. Flights to Bangkok depart from all over the UK and you can use a free tool such as momondo to find the best deals available if you’re flying into this Thai capital.

 

Author Bio: David Bell is a freelance writer and blogs about interior design, food, travel, art and culture. Follow him on Twitter @DavidBellWriter