The world’s most visited city finally gets the dynamic portrait it deserves. Vividly photographed by the author, Very Bangkok: In the City of the Senses explores its kaleidoscopic facets, from street to chic, folk to pop, and ancient rites to sci-fi.
In the follow up to his influential bestseller Very Thai: Everyday Popular Culture, Philip Cornwel-Smith has distilled his expertise from 25 years studying his adopted city, as a guidebook writer, magazine editor and urban explorer. Now you can discover why Bangkok is the way it is.
Experience the visceral impact of Thailand’s enigmatic capital the first section, Senses. Through 20 sensory chapters, go beyond the taste of its famous food to the sound of the city, the scent of the night, or the trance of a tattoo shaman. Discover how beliefs shape the Thai senses of direction and colour, balance and time.
The core of the book, Heart, navigates the tensions between clashing identities, creative chaos and dreams of order. Enter the subcultures of organic markets, youth tribes and ethnic roots.
The closing section, Face, reflects on memory, the future and how the city is portrayed. See why this place is so misunderstood, from its noir reputation to depictions in media, myth and the arts.
This is also a book about cities. It reveals the hidden systems behind the turmoil, and a new wave of indie planners. Relishing Bangkok’s organic diversity, Cornwel-Smith applies the latest digital mapping and ‘messy urban’ ideas to this fast-changing tropical metropolis.
Very Bangkok will be the subject of the Bangkok Pavilion at Italy’s urbanism biennale in Sicily, Countless Cities.
Published by River Books (London & Bangkok, 2020).
360 pages, 2 colour maps, 450 colour photos
ISBN 978-6164510432. THB 995 / £20 / $25
COUNTLESS CITIES
Very Bangkok was the subject of the
Bangkok Pavilion in the
‘2nd International Biennale of Cities’
Favara, Sicily, Italy. 25.06.2021–31.01.2022
Gallery & details in English & Italian in Biennale.
ACCLAIM
“A brilliant and polychromatic look at Bangkok done in a way that no other writer has attempted. Cornwel-Smith turns Bangkok into a vast tapestry of meditations on the nature of cities... combining whimsy, erudition, and a sensual precision of language. He has become the city’s preeminent mythographer in the English language. The city is re-seen, re-imagined as a vast complex of signs which requires the informal encyclopedia which he has written. What one feels unconsciously, he puts into a fine and sensual prose that provides to the reader a little ‘discovery’.”
— Lawrence Osborne, author of Bangkok Days & The Glass Kingdom
“Very Bangkok has the answers to the paradoxes we wondered about, or hadn’t looked closely enough to even wonder about. With its thorough coverage of every aspect of Bangkok life, its wealth of detail and breadth of thought, this book on Bangkok will not be equalled for years to come.”
— Alex Kerr, author of Lost Japan and Bangkok Found
“The coverage is remarkable for its range and its depth… Very Bangkok is crammed with information, but delivered like a friend in an informal chat rather than a teacher with a script. This tone invites readers to think about Bangkok but also about cities in general and especially about the new breed of Global City. Apart from anything else, this book tracks the transition from parochial to global beautifully… What comes across, and what makes this a great book, is that love.”
— Chris Baker, Bangkok Post
“The beautiful, bad and ugly stories from Bangkok are very well captured here, presented in in-depth historical, political, social and cultural context, which link with its current, contemporary state. [This] can also give you contextual sense of the very recent youth-led pro-democratic rallies in the city, which tourists who picture Thailand as a paradise might find puzzling. You are in for some surprises thanks to Cornwel-Smith's deep insight.”
— Sebastian Partogi, Jakarta Post
“Philip Cornwel-Smith’s much-adored Very Thai captured the essence of contemporary ‘Thainess’ with a profound depth and uncanny authenticity few books could match, whether by a Thai or a foreigner. Now his Very Bangkok does the same with an even more adventurous search for the true identity of this complex, unique and notorious capital. I am a Bangkok-born Thai, and live here, yet I’m sure Philip knows much more about it than me.”
— Prabda Yoon, film director & SEA Write prize-winning author
“Cornwel-Smith is able to provide a more well-rounded view of Bangkok than a Bangkokian who’s lived in only one area of the city. [He is] is interested not in simply providing niche knowledge on various historical landmarks but in getting under the city’s skin and making sense of its DNA. Many of the observations… might not be the most flattering, but they are honest and important ones that many Thais haven’t dwelled on or even noticed, partly because they are so ingrained in us.”
— Pim Wangtechawat, Mekong Review
CONTENTS
IN THE CITY OF THE SENSES
SMELL
“When you arrive, first the heat hits you, then the smell. It’s unmistakable.”
COLOUR
“Bangkok looks like it’s been photoshopped”
SPACE
“Once hacked from jungle, the city still works like a trail of forest clearings.”
SIXTH SENSE
“Countless effigies populate this city. Its citizens have relations with them all.”
DIRECTION
“Wayfinding here is relational, by beliefs, landmarks, statues or people.”
SOUND
“Beneath the bedlam, a quieter City of Angels emits grace notes.”
TASTE
“Bangkokians make eating an event. Only monks aren’t moved by flavour.”
flow
“Bangkok works best when you surrender to its sense of flow.”
EVENTS & MEDIA
REVIEWS
ARTICLES & INTERVIEWS
DOCUMENTARIES
TALKS & PANELS
PODCASTS
EXHIBITIONS
FOR UPCOMING EVENTS SEE BLOG
blog
#verybangkok
YOUTUBE
Link to YouTube playlist for #verybangkok
CONNECT
Engage with Very Bangkok:
• Buy the book
• Attend a talk or exhibition
• Watch the YouTube channel
• Post media at #verybangkok
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BY THE AUTHOR OF Very Thai
PHILIP CORNWEL-SMITH
A freelance writer and photographer on Thailand Philip also speaks in podcasts, talks, panels and documentaries. Born in England, he has lived in Bangkok since 1994, as founding editor of its first city magazine, Metro, and later of Time Out Bangkok city guide. He has co-curated exhibitions for TCDC, Goethe Institut, Zen and the Bangkok pavilion in Italy’s ‘Countless Cities’ biennale.
More details at PhilipCornwel-Smith.com
His influential bestseller, Very Thai: Everyday Popular Culture defined the cultural category of Thai street life that Thais often label #verythai. An iconic object itself, Very Thai has been curated by others as a gallery exhibit, video installation and subject of stage performances.
More details at VeryThai.com
ABOUT
author & PHOTOGRAPHER
Philip Cornwel-Smith is a freelance writer, photographer and cultural pundit focusing on Thailand and Southeast Asia, whose work has been published and exhibited internationally. Born in England, he has lived in Bangkok since 1994, when he became founding editor of its first city magazine, Metro, and later of Time Out Bangkok city guide.
He is best known for the influential bestseller, Very Thai: Everyday Popular Culture. It’s a legendary source book that defined the cultural category of informal Thai street life that gets labelled #verythai. An iconic object, Very Thai has been curated by other artists as a gallery exhibit, video installation and subject of stage performances. Very Thai has its own life.
Philip often speaks in podcasts, festivals, panel talks and documentaries. He co-curated the exhibition Invisible Things for the Goethe Institut and the Bangkok pavilion in Italy’s ‘Countless Cities’ biennale.
EDITORS
Consultant Editor Marc Pachter is Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution. He was director of its National Museum of American History and National Portrait Gallery, where he founded the Living Portraits series.
Editor Alex Kerr is an expert on Asian culture, especially Japan. He founded Chiiori Trust and wrote Lost Japan and Another Kyoto, as well as Bangkok Found.
Publisher & DESIGNERS
Based in London and Bangkok, River Books publishes books on mainland Southeast Asian art, history and culture, both heritage and contemporary. Primarily in English, their list also includes fiction, Thai literature in translation and Thai-language titles on similar subjects.
Contact publisher Narisa Chakrabongse at narisachakra@gmail.com.
Cover design by Xavi Comas of Cover Kitchen
Book layout design by 1000 Ponies
This portrait by Cedric Arnold
JOIN ‘VERY BANGKOK’
As well as buying a copy of the book, you can join the ‘Very Bangkok’ world by attending a talk, watching a video on the Very Bangkok YouTube channel, or using the #verybangkok hashtag on Instagram or Twitter.
Photographs from Very Bangkok and this site are available as prints from the author, who you can contact through the form.