Pick up almost any of the books designed to help expats adapt to Thai culture, and you’ll almost certainly find a chapter on “promises.” The gist of these, without the glossing, is that promises aren’t taken as seriously by Thais as they are by most foreigners. It’s a cultural thing, and anyone who lives here for a long time either learns to accept it, or goes postal one day.

The problem arises for those of us (trying) to do business in Thailand. The same ‘loose’ interpretation of a promise is often also applied to contracts. Thai organizations - from small companies up to and including government agencies - will think it right and normal to sign a contract, and then fail to honor the terms should they prove ‘inconvenient’ in any way.

Excuses I’ve heard vary from a simple bureaucratic reasoning such as “The terms are not according to our policy.” To more elaborate excuses that mostly boil down to “It seemed like a good idea at the time, but we’ve changed our minds.” The problems almost always involve payments or delivery schedules.

Why am I whining about this, other than the chance to blow off some steam? Well, Thailand is desperate to be “one of the big boys” on the world stage, but they are extremely stuborn about conforming to the internationally accepted rules of behavior. There’s often a feeling that everyone else should follow the Thai example, rather than requiring Thais to change their own ways. There’s a relatively common belief among Thais that things which work elsewhere won’t work in Thailand, hence a common excuse of simply saying “This is Thailand” to explain everything from the lack of traffic sense up to the failure to honor contracts.

The problem is that it’s very likely that Thais’ attitudes will result in them becoming increasingly isolated from the rest of the world rather than a bigger part of it. I already know of some companies that won’t deal with Thai organizations, simply because of the difficulty of getting things done or getting paid.

It looks like it's official: 12 and 13 June 2006 have been declared a special holiday in honor of the 60th anniversary of H.M. the King's ascession to the throne. Government offices, schools and businesses in Bangkok will be closed on these days, making a four day weekend for many Thais.

The main reason for declaring this special holiday is that there will be many foreign dignitaries, including heads of state, in town to attend some of the formal ceremonies planned, which includes a Royal Barge Procession as reported earlier. So, the holiday has been declared to ease traffic congestion during that time.

Note that, as usual, the holiday shouldn't affect shops and restaurants. Most shopping centers and restaurants will be doing business as usual. When it comes to shopping and eating, Bangkok never closes!

The main challenge for tourists during this time will be that many of the high end hotels will probably be booked up very quickly (if not already) by blocks of visiting dignitaries. Getting a room during what is normally the low season in Thailand may prove difficult and expensive.

Although officially opened on 9 December, only about half of the shops and attractions at Siam Paragon were actually ready at that time. Amonth the late entrants was the cineplex, which just opened on 26 January.

Or rather, started to open. Only four or five of the 16 screens the cineplex will eventually have on offer were opened. The rest are being finished one by one, with another theater being added every week or two. An IMAX theater will also be included in the set of offerings.

The Paragon Cineplex is operated by the Major Cineplex Group, but like most everything else in Siam Paragon, the 'quality' — and price — of the experience is supposed to be at a higher level than elsewhere in town, so you won't see the Major brand anywhere around Paragon Cineplex. Ticket prices for 'regular' (non-digital) films is 140 Baht, which is 20 to 40 Baht higher than other theaters.

The main lobby of the cineplex is located on the fifth floor of Siam Paragon, although you can also book tickets at a booth just inside the main entrance from the Skytrain station on the first floor. The main lobby is definitely impressive, with large video displays showing the day's show times, plush seating, and a lot of ushers to 'assist' you. However, on the day I visited, they had someone constantly speaking on a loudspeaker promoting something. The volume was so painfully loud I couldn't even focus on what it was they were promoting.

Fortunately, once you escape to the sixth floor, where most of the open theaters are located, the sound quickly fades away. The theaters are large, with rows of well over 20 seats and no center aisle. The rows are rather well spaced and I was able to cross my legs comfortably. Seats are wide and comfortable, but the arm-rests cannot be raised, making this a less than attractive 'date' theater.

Somewhat lost in the hoopla over the opening of Siam Paragon, the new high-end shopping center on Siam Square, was the opening of another mall not far away at about the same time.

The new “Platinum Mall” is almost at the opposite end of the spectrum from Paragon. Located on Petchburi Road, in Bangkok's garment district, Platinum is laser-beam-targeted at the dedicated discount clothes shopper. Its five floors are tightly packed with simple small clothing shops, most of them just 10 foot square, while there are a few 'double wides' here and there. Think of it as an indoor Chatuchuk Market, without the pets, housewares, antiques or any other distractions.

The Platinum Mall won't appeal to most tourists, but the young and skinny female variety could well end up spending a lot of time there. I pitty the poor boyfriend or husband that gets dragged along.

On now at Siam Paragon:-

Young Thai Artists is an exhibition of works by several, well, young Thai artists. There are paintings, photographs, sculptures and mixed media works.

I thought the photography was particularly good. I got a really good laugh from one series of pictures parodying the modern practice of wedding photographs. Modern Thai wedding practices borrow from many cultures. From the west, they've adopted the tuxedo and elaborate white wedding dress. However, the wedding photographs have become a purely eastern fashion. Rather than pictures of the wedding ceremony itself, the 'wedding' pictures are actually taken several days before the event. The bride and groom are often carted around town in their wedding costumes to picturesque spots for a few pictures, then on to another location. Obviously, one thing they didn't pick up from the west is the superstition about the groom seeing the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding.

The 'wedding' photographs in the Young Thai Artists exhibit show a rather scruffy looking groom and an obviously pregnant bride pictured in such non-picturesque settings as the train station (posing with a group of sailors), with a couple of motorcycle taxi drivers, and in what appears to be a state hospital waiting room.

This kind of satire is somewhat rare in Thailand. Check out the exhibit if you get a chance.