The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Fast and malodorous: Bangkok’s khlong boat network Posted: 15 Oct 2013 03:00 AM PDT Every morning, tens of thousands of Bangkok's most rushed, reckless or cash-strapped commuters hop onto its "khlong" boats – plying the main canal in a speedy, if not fragrant, bid to avoid the city's notorious road congestion. "I take the boat because it goes much faster," 18-year-old university student, Pam Olanthanyawat, said before she leapt blithely onto one of the crowded shuttles on the Saen Saeb canal. As the city of 12 million grinds to a virtual standstill at peak times, many commuters have turned to the 30-kilometre-long canal, or khlong in Thai. But the boats are not for the faint-hearted. Passengers are overwhelmingly the young and able bodied – few older people or families with children dare board the vessels, which often pull in to dock for just seconds during rush hour. Agile men and women – many of whom manage the feat despite perilous high heels – leap aboard the narrow vessels and cling onto a system of ropes inside as they speed off to the next stop. The online video sharing site YouTube abounds with footage of unfortunate passengers who are not quick or deft enough when boarding and so plunge into the foul-smelling khlongs. One clip shows what it calls a khlong "tsunami" – waiting passengers getting drenched as giant waves, caused by passing boats, wash over a pontoon – and has notched up several hundred thousand hits. The boats' waterproof canvas roofs are controlled by passengers themselves, who move them up and down to allow others to board and keep everyone protected from khlong water. But it is not always entirely effective. "My mother never takes the boat because she is too scared," said Pam as grey spray thrown up by boats travelling in the opposite direction, dripped through the canvas. A stinky "Venice of Asia"? Bangkok has a vast network of canals, although rapid urbanisation means that many are now simply short disconnected stretches, while others are blocked with pipes or other objects that would prevent them being used by boats. Tawatchai Laosirihongthong, a professor and transport expert at Thonburi University said despite their problems, the khlong boats are a draw. "There is no 'boat jam' and the fare is cheap," he said. There were 38 million passenger journeys on the khlong boats in 2012, according to official figures, or 100,000 per day. At less than 20 baht (RM1.60), a ticket is much cheaper than the elevated train network for those travelling from the outskirts of the city. Buses are the capital's cheapest rides, but with their open windows, lack of air-conditioning and propensity to get snarled in the Bangkok traffic, they are a less popular option for the time-stretched commuter. Currently, the khlong shuttles are run entirely by a private company, Family Transport, whose fleet of 70 shuttles covers nearly 20 kilometres of the city's canals. Tawatchai said the challenge is that in Bangkok's infrastructure "everything needs to be improved". Municipal authorities are testing public boats on a supplementary 11-kilometre stretch, adding 14 new pontoons to the 27 already in use. Bangkok is also promising more sewage and waste water treatment plants to make the khlongs a less pungent way to get around. A recent article by the English language Bangkok Post expressed frustration that the city does not make more of its canals and main river, making an unfavourable comparison with the South Korean capital's reinvigoration of one of its waterways. "Since Seoul can do it, why not Bangkok and our government?" it said of the Cheonggyecheon stream that runs through the heart of Seoul, where city residents can dip their feet into the water and picnic on its banks. The Rough Guide to Bangkok said Khlong Saen Saeb was a worthwhile experience for visitors to the Thai capital, a city widely nicknamed the Venice of Asia. "This is your quickest and most interesting way of getting between the west and east parts of town, if you can stand the stench of the canal," the guide said. Pam, the archeology student, said her mother can remember a time when the canals were clean, but was astonished by a contemporary comparison to Italy's Venice and its renowned aquatic transit system. "This, like Venice?" she said, with a look of disgust as she caught a whiff of the untreated sewage sloshing in the fetid canal. – AFP, October 15, 2013. |
| YSL muse auctions off huge fashion collection Posted: 15 Oct 2013 01:12 AM PDT The collection – the biggest of its kind – contains some 12,000 garments and accessories and attracted keen interest from private collectors, museums and fashion lovers. Danielle Luquet de Saint Germain built up her collection as a model and muse for Saint Laurent and later as an artistic adviser at Christian Dior. "It breaks my heart to see these dresses go one after the other," she said on telephone, explaining that she no longer had the energy to maintain the collection. Among around 300 lots that went under the hammer was a long black robe in sheer black chiffon with a band of ostrich feathers around the hips. Made in 1968 with Luquet de Saint Germain as the model, the dress fetched 119,000 euros, far in excess of its 13,000 to 15,000-euro estimated price. The collection could be seen as a "witness to the significant moments in fashion history" in the last quarter of the 20th century, said auction house Hotel Drouot. Luquet de Saint Germain spent 10 years at Yves Saint Laurent before taking up the role of artistic adviser at Christian Dior. Speaking in 1969, Saint Laurent said of her: "I had nothing to teach her; on the contrary, it was she who helped free me of outdated references". In addition to working at Christian Dior, she also helped French designer Claude Montana with his first collection. The model, who has lived in Geneva since 1978 and did not attend the sale, maintained a strong interest in haute couture over the years, becoming a client of Azzedine Alaia and Christian Lacroix, whose creations feature in the collection. "The collection is the thread of my life. I kept everything that I found significant, as a baseline for those who love fashion... Nothing is outdated. Everything is so beautiful," she said. Other designers represented at the sale include Montana, Paco Rabanne and Thierry Mugler. Yesterday's auction was the first of a number which will be held until all 12,000 items have been sold. Just compiling the inventory of items to be auctioned took five weeks, according to auctioneers Gros & Delettrez which organised the sale. Francoise Sternbach, of the French Union of Professional Art Experts, told trade journal Women's Wear Daily earlier this year the collection was of a very high quality. Luquet de Saint Germain had a "strong eye, she did not pick any pieces that were banal" with many "one-offs, prototypes, designed especially for her," she said. – AFP, October 15, 2013. |
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