The Prakhanong Rama - Bangkok, Thailand

A corner of the Prakhanong Rama's street-side marquee peeks out from behind a bus, as passengers aboard wait for traffic to move.

If you're headed southeast on Sukhumvit Road, Soi 71 marks the beginning, roughly, of the Prakhanong part of town. Like most of Bangkok, snarled traffic plagues Prakhanong during the majority of waking hours. Clean air - since it's been befouled by both car exhaust and engine noise - is a scarce commodity down here. But in the recent past, the area immediately around Sukhumvit Soi 71 used to provide relief from the dystopia of Bangkok in the form of five stand-alone movie theaters operating practically on top of each other. Besides the still functioning Asia Rama, however, only one other remains. Located within the bustling confines of Prakhanong Market stands the Prakhanong Rama.

The neon sign above the marquee says "Showing Today"

The Prakhanong Rama had street-side marquees and entrances into Prakhanong market on both Sukhumvit Road and Soi 71. Above is the Soi 71 entrance. Below, Sukhumvit.

According to vendors in the Prakhanong Market, the theater closed down just five or six years ago, leaving an empty void in the center of this neighborhood dry-goods bazaar. A woman selling clothes at the market recalled that the owner of the Prakhanong Rama also owned the Prakhanong Theater, which was located around the corner on Sukhumvit Road and which by one account was the largest theater ever in Thailand, with a seating capacity of over three thousand. It has since been replaced by a condo tower. The clothes seller counted on her fingers all the theaters which used to be in the immediate vicinity: "there was the Phrakhanong Rama and the Prakhanong Theater, the London Theater, the Asia Rama and a fifth one which I can't remember the name of."

A man saunters past the front of the vacant Prakhanong Rama

Theater facade

Mr. Montri with his shoes.

Muscle-bound Mr. Montri, who owns a second-hand shoe store in the Prakahanong Market, just next to the derelict theater, claims that the old movie mecca opened over forty years ago. The native of Sukhothai province has been hawking footware in the long shadow of the Prakhanong Rama for over thirty years now. Our conversation, however, soon turned to the more pressing issue of weight lifting, which he had apparently just finished off a session of.

Mr. Montri poses in front of the Prakhanong Rama

"I'm 65 years old and have been pumping iron ever since high-school," remarked Mr. Montri, pectorals flush with blood. "When I feel blue or a customer gets on my nerves, 25 minutes with the cold, hard steel of a bar-bell and all my demons are gone. Some people, you know, use drugs or alcohol to get the same feeling I get from working out."

I agreed with Mr. Montri about the psychological benefits of lifting weights, adding that for myself, another favorite way to induce a mental high comes from watching quality films projected onto the big screen. Lamentably, that can no longer be done at the Prakhanong Rama without risking arrest.

Side view of the outer lobby

In a neighborhood once brimming with movie theaters, the Asia Rama is the lone survivor that still shows films. All the others have either closed up or been razed altogether; quickly fading memories in a fast-changing section of Bangkok. A number of high-profile construction projects are going on in the area, including one going up on land which once supported a cinema and throngs of movie-goers. I imagine the Prakhanong Rama won't be far behind, as the older low-rise buildings succumb to modern tastes and the march of capital. The scent of gentrification is in the air!

Asia Rama - Bangkok, Thailand

I caught him with his fingers in my pocket. Three swindling digits, not-so-gently inched down towards my wallet as I stood at the top of the bus's rear stairwell, waiting to get off. He'd positioned himself at the bottom of the stairwell, his covetous gaze nearly parallel with my pocket. The perfect predicament for a little pick-pocketry, if only he were so adept. Being the ticket inspector, he's presumably had countless opportunities to perfect the craft. I felt his clumsy fingers graze my thigh and looked down to see what it was. Caught red handed, he peered up at me, a guilty smile on his face. "It's easy to steal," he said, referring to the wallet that he never got. Apparently not so easy, you retard, now get your filthy hand out of pants before I put my knee through your chin.

The bus jerked to a halt and the door folded open. I stepped down, scowling at this dopey looking wannabe thief as he stood there crestfallen and embarrassed. 'Did the ticket inspector just try to pick my pocket?' I thought to myself as the bus pulled off. Black exhaust smoke engulfed me, further enhancing the reality of the situation. 'That's pretty amazing that the ticket inspector tried to make off with my wallet while I was standing there next to him. Pretty brazen, I tell ya.' I turned around and glanced across the street. There, on Sukhumvit Soi 71 - otherwise known as Soi Pridi Phanomyong - stood a white building which I immediately recognized as a movie theater. My befuddlement from nearly falling victim to thievery melted away. Seized by awe, I stood there slack jawed, staring up at this fortress of entertainment. I had found the Asia Rama.

The Asia Rama is a massive, functioning stand-alone movie theater on Sukhumvit Soi 71, in the Pra Khanong section of Bangkok

A couple of letters are missing from the Asia Rama's sign.

A noodle vendor prepares to open shop in the lower lobby of the Asia Rama

I wasn't immediately sure whether the Asia Rama was still showing movies or not. It only had a semi-functioning feel to it at first, as if the theater itself was closed but the building was still being used for other purposes. There were a few tables set up on the lower level for a noodle shop; a gentlemen with a small cell phone repair business was busy tinkering with a phone. I asked him if the place was still operating. He assured me that the film would start rolling at noon-sharp. Success!

Cell phone repairman in the lower lobby

Upon closer inspection, I saw just how functioning the place was. A poster display board stood in the center of the lower lobby, complete with the schedule and all. Beginning at 12:00 PM was the first of a double feature, Phobia 2, followed by Lovaholic, with a 10 minute intermission between the two. I bought a ticket at the bargain price of 50 baht and hung around talking to the guy who sold it to me until the show started.

Soda refrigerator and ticket window on the second level

The man behind the ticket window is Mr. Sakon. He's been employed at the Asia Rama in a variety of capacities for 30 years now. For the last X-number of years Sakon has been the manager, overseeing the daily operations of the old giant mostly from behind the ticket window. The Asia Rama, he said, opened in 1974, with a grand seating capacity of 1,250. It's a product of the same man who gave Bangkok such wonderful entertainment venues as the New York and the Hawaii theaters, which I've written about before, as well as the Washington and the London theaters - which I'll be posting soon. Indeed, the Asia Rama's design is very similar to the Hawaii, right down to the broad, winding staircase, the escalator in the lobby and the reddish-tint of the ticket window, not to say anything of the nearly identical facades.

Sakon, manager of the Asia Rama Theater, behind the ticket window. In front of him is a book of tickets.

The ticket taker (left), his buddy (middle) and a representative of Nakorn Luang Film Distribution Company sit in front of the door to the auditorium.

A bizzare patron at the Asia Rama shows off his nipple or tattoo, I wasn't sure.

Due to Sakon being behind the ticket window, it was a little hard to hear him clearly during our conversation. But if I'm not mistaken, he said that the original owner and builder of the Asia Rama is still alive, albeit in his 90's. I believe Sakon said the man's name is "Chansak," or something like that. But I also think I heard him say it's "Johnson," and that the man is a farang (a Westerner). Don't quote me on that - and why I didn't take the time to clarify it then and there is testament to my mediocre research skills, if nothing else - but I thought that's what I heard. If it is true, it would kind of, maybe make sense. After all, aside from the Asia Rama, the man had a penchant for naming his theaters after American and European states and cities. Anyway, whether the name is Chansak or Johnson or something else completely, I'd like to meet this former movie theater mogul. He was obviously once a big player in the Bangkok cinema scene, and has unwittingly played a role in the life of this movie theater geek, as well.

As for my movie watching experience at the Asia Rama: it was great! I'll go back again if I have the opportunity. The screen is absolutely enormous, perfectly suited to an auditorium with a seating capacity of over a thousand. After entering I sat down in the first seat closest to the entrance, in the center aisle, seemingly a good distance from the screen, yet still dominated by its sheer size. After Phobia 2 had finished, I decided against watching the second film, opting to roam around in search of more old theaters instead. But it was only when I got up and turned around to leave that I noticed that the other half of the seating was behind me, stadium style. In one quick glance this already-enormous theater revealed its true mass to me. What a place to watch a picture show!

CNNGo.com hosts SEAMTP photo gallery

CNN has recently launched a new travel and leisure website, CNNGo.com, turning the media spotlight on to six major cities in East and Southeast Asia, Bangkok among them. The site posts articles and photo galleries highlighting some of the more off-the-radar topics and places in the cities they cover. Here's how they describe themselves on their web-site:

"What CNNGo does is compile, in one place, the best each city has to offer. And that means more than just places to go, things to buy or see, or which restaurants and bars to spend your time and money in. Yes we've got that, but we want to deliver more than that -- offering real insight and experiences of these cities and their surrounds. And by the way, CNNGo pays its own way."

Read more: About Us | CNNGo http://www.cnngo.com/about#ixzz0VlJAuKJt

Back side of The Suk Siam Rama in the town of Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, Thailand

So CNNGo-Bangkok has given me a photo gallery on their site, accompanied by a nice little introductory blurb and a link to this site. You can check it out here.

While you're there, have a look around at some of their other stuff. I think you'll agree that it has the potential to be a really good internet resource for off the beaten track topics.

The New Chalerm Uthai Theater - Uthai Thani, Thailand

Uthai Thani: a fitting way to cap off a six-day, five-province tour through Thailand's lower-north and upper-central regions. In Uthai - as the locals refer to it - I could breathe easy, if not solely for the cleaner air, then for the lack of ever-present vice that lurked beneath the surface in most of the other towns I visited. In Lopburi, aside from malicious macaques roaming the streets, there was a formidable presence of glue huffers and meth addicts roaming around like zombies. In Nakon Sawan, I was warned to beware of teenage boys. Apparently they love ruckus and aren't afraid to spread it outside their adolescent circles. The town of Takli was visibly on the way to decay and Singburi...well, I can't really say I noticed anything negative in Singburi other than its beautiful old theater is covered with pigeon shit. Uthai Thani, on the other hand, was a charm.

Floating houses, once fairly common on many of Thailand's waterways, line the Sakae River in Uthai Thani.

For normal people, the most interesting aspect of this colorful little city on the banks of a Chao Phraya tributary would probably be the floating houses on the river. Undoubtedly a very compelling reason for taking a trip there. But for myself, I was more enthused to find the New Chalerm Uthai Theater - a certified classic among picture houses.


The New Chalerm Uthai Theater can be reached by entering a narrow alley between two old shop houses near the town's central market. An old sign and marquee, devoid of lettering for a number of years now, hangs unassumingly above the entrance to the alley.

In the morning hawkers convene to sell their goods and wares along the street. Lots of fresh produce and local handicrafts are for sale in the shadow of the New Chalerm Uthai's street-side marquee.

Hawkers hawking

Looking down the alley towards the theater

Facade in site

The all Art Deco New Chalerm Uthai Theater

As I reached the end of the alley I saw it, towering above me like a ancient temple forgotten by the passage of time; a monument to the supremacy of the human mind, fortified by a wall of buildings on all sides. The lost pyramids of the Mayans; Ankor Wat, strangled by malarial jungle, they were flaccid finds in comparison to this. It was like Indiana Jones meets Cinema Paradiso, with Harrison Ford played by me, whip replaced by a digital SLR and no evil henchmen or passionate Sicilians. Just a man selling coffee and tea from a small shop on the theater grounds.

Narrow area in front of the theater

"There used to be a Buddhist temple on this land," said the man from the coffee shop. "Really nice temple, it was; all wood. But it burned down years ago. Soon after, the government built this movie theater. It's been closed for about five years now. Would have been torn down by now, I suspect, if the land were privately owned, but since it's owned by the government, they let it stand, waiting for the right time to turn it into something else."

Lobby

Like the Thahan Bok Theater from a few posts back, the New Chalerm Uthai was built by the government of Phibunsongkram, the zealous nationalist prime minister of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and 1948 to 1957. Under Phibunsongkram's administration, Siam was renamed Thailand, the ethnic-Chinese community faced severe restrictions on cultural expression and the adoption of western-style dress and etiquette was encouraged. Many of his policies and political sentiments were made public through propaganda films screened in theaters like this one, though I don't know how many theaters his government actually built.

According to the coffee shop owner, The New Chalerm Uthai, built in the early 1940's, was designed by the same architect as the Thahan Bok Theater in Lopburi; not a surprise judging by the look of it. Both share a sleek Art Deco look common throughout the world during that time, especially among government building projects. Since the New Chalerm Uthai was built on land once occupied by a temple, the land and the theater itself are owned by the Religious Affairs Department.

A portrait of King Chulalongkorn hangs above the old ticket booth, with a pigeon perched on top of it.

The coffee shop owner, Mr. Suwit, along with a young neighbor

It was nice visiting the New Chalerm Uthai Theater and Uthai Thani in general. The town had a social completeness that I feel is lacking in most Thai cities. Given, I only spent one night there, but during those dozen or so hours I got the feeling that this place has not been drained of its soul like many other small Thai towns. At evening time the streets were bustling with people of all ages, shops were selling, restaurants serving, hawkers hawking their wares on designated corners under the soft glow of street lights. Not an iota of trash on ground to be found. Another thing which caught my attention was that there were young entrepreneurs in town, running their own small businesses and the like; local twenty-somethings who hadn't been dragged away to the Bangkok rat-race. Just a thought, but maybe it's because there is no major highway passing the city, sucking out the resources and bringing in vice. Could it be that the semi-isolated position of the city has kept it relatively pristine and together? I'm sure there's more to it than that, and for all I know the townsfolk might engage in collective crack-smoking sessions after dark, or head-hunting, maybe, but on the surface I was thoroughly charmed and impressed. If only they had a working movie theater, I would consider living there.

The Meuang Thong Rama (Khu Rak Theater) - Singburi, Thailand

-->You see that beige building on the left hand side of the photo above? The one with the high, slender arches that are slightly pinched at the top? That’s the old Meuang Thong Rama Theater. It stands on prime real estate, directly on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River, overlooking the muddy waters of that most revered river system. It must have been a popular place for couples to go back in its time. Many a romantic stroll along the river banks likely took place after the movies let out. As a matter of fact, the Meuang Thong Rama was originally named the Khu Rak, or "couples" theater.

The neon lights along the marquee's border are the letters 'K R', as in Khu Rak, the original name of the theater.

As the story goes, the original owners sold the Khu Rak Theater to the good people over at Apex, then the largest movie theater company in Thailand. Under Apex's stewardship, the name was evidently changed to Meuang Thong Rama. The trademark pyramid of Apex, along with the word "scala" still hangs over the lower lobby. If I'm not mistaken, Apex also went under the name Scala for a while, perhaps due to the wide recognition of its most elegant theater bearing that name.

The lower lobby, strew with trash and scraps of wood. Obviously once a handsome place.



Strips of glass and mirror lean against the lobby wall. The building is now used as a wholesale glass shop.

Upper lobby, outside the doors to the auditorium

A clear view of the Chao Phraya River can be seen from the upper lobby.

A small mountain of pigeon droppings has accumulated on the staircase railing.

The gentleman on the left now runs a glass business from the old Meuang Thong Rama/Khu Rak Theater. He and his friend chat over a cigarette.

I would love to tell you more about the Meuang Thong Rama/Khu Rak Theater of Singburi, but I didn't get very much information. The guy running the glass shop was kind enough to allow me to enter and take some pictures, but he didn't know too much about its history besides the few facts mentioned above. Nor do I know much about the town of Singburi, other than it's pretty old, has a discernible ethnic Chinese feel and a bustling little downtown. Its location on the Chao Phraya River, in the heart of Thailand's most productive rice growing region, must have made it an important place for shipping the staple grain down to Bangkok and beyond. Picture, if you will, that you're standing on the balcony of the upper lobby, softly veiled in the cool shade of the Khu Rak Theater, ten minutes before showtime, watching the rice barges float down the river. Must have been nice.

Coming soon...

Five sweat-drenched days on the streets of Bangkok have yielded some interesting photos and stories in the realm of stand-alone movie theaters. Slightly raunchier, for sure. A little more on lower end of things, no doubt, but with some wholesome goodness for the whole family as well. Expect new material to go up in a few days time.

The Lopburi Theater - Lopburi, Thailand

Here's my third and final installment from the city of Lopburi, a 1970's behemoth aptly named the Lopburi Theater. There were few people around to provide any data on this one, aside from a probabal date of birth some time in the early 1970's, during Thailand's nationwide movie theater construction boom.

Like the Thahan Bok Theater detailed in the October 19th post, the Lopburi Theater is located just off the Sra Kaew traffic circle, though not nearly as prominently situated as the former.

The surrounding buildings, consisting mostly of three-story row houses with retail space on the ground level, look as if they were all built around the same time. In addition to the uniform look of the buildings, there were just enough stray dogs and vacant store-fronts to give the area a dead feel. I can't say I hung around too long.

Classic free-standing letters upheld by about three meters worth of metal supports.

At least the place sees some action. The old Lopburi Theater can be rented out for banquets, concerts, weddings, seminars and other events generally inferior to showing movies.