Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand - February 2013

[Giles]

When in Rome, do as the Romans…

[ronaldlsh]

Awesome pics and looks like everyone had a great time in BKK.

And awww, I miss the street food…

[Megatron1505]

G….......no, just no  :o

[Seul]

What?.. She looks very perdy!..

[Giles]

Gavin,  It cost me under 3 Bucks.  I have a hole there anyway, so it is not a big deal and it caused much mirth and merriment, is that not what life is about?

[MikeC]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…...

[Megatron1505]

I was joking Chief 

[Giles]

From a few days ago in Singapore…

[Chris]

The more I see that Pronto patch, the more I like it.

[hajduk]

@Giles:

AND MORE Great photos from zarutobi of www.selvedgeforum.com….

very beautiful pictures but this one is over the top for me!
and back i think Tom trying to take one picture

[Giles]

Last night was the first night we ate alone.  We did Shabu Shabu.  And given the way ALL the staff stred at us all night, you would think that it was the first time they had seen Japanese - food was delicious…

[MikeC]

Nice, your earring made the shot.

[urbanwoodsman]

@MikeC:

Nice, your earring made the shot.

@MikeC:

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…...

If I could add….

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha......

[Giles]

IHThaiHQ
Our office in Bangkok.
The girls try and look busy, Haraki doesn't bother..

Going through samples with Chnanon.  Poor Chnanon, he saw everything including stuff we knew he would not be interested in, Haraki he say, "I bought all this stuff with me and have not shown some of it at all, so today we show everything - make it worth me carrying it"..

[Giles]

I thought I may need a massage.  On second thought's, decided against it….

[ky]

@Giles:

Going through samples with Chnanon.  Poor Chnanon, he saw everything including stuff we knew he would not be interested in, Haraki he say, "I bought all this stuff with me and have not shown some of it at all, so today we show everything - make it worth me carrying it"

i want to switch places with him…. where's the teleporting machine?

[obbigood]

Here is one of the many videos uploaded, both interesting and educational…

[obbigood]

[Giles]

Todays classic, and apologies to any French who may read this.

Over dinner tonight we had a European history lesson.  One of the thing I explained was the "Hunded Years War" between the English and the French.  Haraki's comment which Sarina had to translate between fits of giggles….

"Fighting the French for a 100 years, that's like flogging a dead horse!"

[Giles]

Do not jump to conclusions and do not make assumptions…

I have been talking to Pronto for some time now.  Indeed I met Chnanon, the owner, in Berlin lat summer.  A nicer more unassuming person you would be hard pressed to find.

His low key bearing, combined with both his decision to concentrate on his home market and the fact that I have very few direct Thai customers, led me to assume, Pronto was a nice little niche denim store in a country with dubious demand for Japanese denim.

I got an inkling of how wrong I was, when his orders started coming through, they are large.  I won't tell you how large, but I started to concentrate.

This guy has 7 stores, with plans to open a few more this year.  I only saw two, but they were amongst the best I have seen anywhere.

I popped into the Siam Square store today unannounced and on my own (the Japanese lightweights needed a rest).  Chnanon was there, so we got to talking.

I asked some questions about how many of X, Y and Z he ordered.  The answers made my eyes water. When I told Haraki, his eyes popped.

If I learned one thing from this trip it was do not judge a book by its cover.