After hours of intense deliberation and vigorous debate, our top secret panel of ultra-qualified international experts has chosen the Coconuts Bangkok Top Ten Stories of 2011. The formula that went into selecting these stories is confidential, but we can reveal that it involved a mixture of popularity (pageviews), personal preference, and pixie dust. It’s been a wet and wild year for Bangkok and it’s been a blast trying to cover it. See you in 2012!
10. Coconuts Crabs come to Bangkok
In early December, the Dusit Zoo announced that it was displaying a pair of extremely rare Coconuts Crabs for a limited time. This news brought sheer joy to us at Coconuts Bangkok.
9. Crackdown on Chatuchak wildlife trade
The Department of National Park, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation began a crackdown in October on the flourishing trade of endangered animals like slow lorises at Bankgok’s Chatuchak Park.
8. DJ Shadow demonstrates mad skills
American turntablist legend DJ Shadow did not disappoint when he manned the decks at Demo on Saturday Sep. 25. We reviewed the show and shared photos and video.
7. A breast slapping good time
Lat Phrao doyenne Gung-Khemika Na Songkhla caused quite a sensation with her slaphappy breast augmentation techniques.
6. Social Media flourishes during floods
A mass of new users and innovative techniques on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube bloomed during the Great Thailand Floods of 2011.
5. Thailand Film Industry surges on the back of “Hangover II”
Our feature story on Thailand’s booming film industry attracted its fair share of readers.
4. Incubus to rock Silverlake Music Festival
The news that Southern California supergroup Incubus would headline the first ever Silverlake Music Festival in Pattaya thrilled music fans in Bangkok. A press conference at Siam Paragon helped build buzz for the highly anticipated fest, which will happen on Jan. 28.
3. Dreadlock drug smuggler
A South African suspect was arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport two weeks ago with 1.5kg of cocaine hidden in her dreadlocks.
2. Ladyboys to make the skies more friendly
In December, Thailand’s P.C. Air became the first airline in the world to employ transexual flight attendants, including ladyboy beauty contest winner Thanyarat Chirapatpakorn (“Nong Film”).
1.The Great Thailand Floods of 2011
Despite largely sparing central Bangkok, the floods were by far the most important and popular story of the year at Coconuts Bangkok. We covered the water’s onslaught, and the countless stories it produced, on our dedicated Bangkok Flood Watch 2011 page. We were there when the waters hit Don Mueang, Ratchada, andLat Phrao – and we tried to shed light on lesser known areas like Khlong Sam Wa and Phak Hai in Ayutthaya Province. From mambas to crocodiles to jet ski incidents, it’s never been boring. Above all, our thoughts go out to the hundreds of people who have died and the millions displaced in Thailand’s worst flooding in decades.
