The White Lotus x Wear Many Hats
We were in Thailand when The White Lotus announced that the new season would be in Thailand but we had our own. Check out the band H3F, coffee shops Wonderroom, and House of Nowhere. Shout out to Boss
Starting Wear Many Hats, I decided I wanted to travel all around the world and call it the Wear Many Hats World Tour. It’s where I travel all around the world, Anthony Bourdain style, and promote the podcast by word of mouth. We’ll put stickers everywhere and mention to people about it. In 2024, I decided that I didn’t want to throw a birthday party anymore. A small birthday with my close friends for dinner, days before I travel that week for my birthday. Or even month. It strings memories from back when I lived in Philly, me and my close friends would throw week long birthdays, even celebrate a birthday month. I wanted to keep that tradition alive of celebrating but this time solo trips on my birthday. If work permits.
Thailand has always been on the list. What are these lists you say? Americans make up this list of countries they want to visit. Its always been on my top 5. Every Southeast Asian country is in my top 5. When people say top 5 they meet top 20.
I met a close friend on his last day living in NYC at Lichen NYC. We hit it right off the bat. That day I decided to buy 4 USM Haller file storage (C1AF) before the craze. The lovely workers were surprised I didn’t know what it was. I was moving into my new apartment for the first time without any roommates, so it was time to get some nice furniture. Didn’t know I would also pick up a new awesome Thai friend along the way.
The homie is a trained musician and avid photographer. It was nice to chat about those two things as well as coffee culture. We exchanged Instagrams and told him I’ll come visit him in Thailand.
Fast forward, I hit him up and told him I was going to visit him in Thailand during my birthday week. I flew out after watching Perfect Days at IFC earlier that day, got dinner with loved ones. I recommend to not do that. When you’re in the air, it feels as its your birthday for another couple hours or it was over a long time ago. Should have finessed to get a first class seat. I used my points to fly using Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines rules. I was rawdogging flights before people were calling it rawdogging flights. People can’t stand of doing multiple layovers but it’s really easy for me for some reason.
I flew from NYC to Frankfurt for the first layover. Then we got stuck overnight because of a snowstorm. The airlines put us up in a hotel, got food and we would be on our way the next day. In the morning, on the way out, I met new friends who were from Germany that was also on the way to Thailand within their travels. They tell me they’re itinerary and that they’ll be in Bangkok but bounce around the islands in Thailand. We exchanged info, landed in Singapore, then caught our transfer flight to Bangkok. So the journey begins.
I’m in Bangkok. It rules so hard. It feels so good to be back in Asia. Specifically Southeast Asia. I love it so much. The people, the food. Hopping on a Grab and easily getting from place to place. I loved it. My friend let me stay in his apt while he stayed at his parents house. How nice is that? It had a gym and a pool. I was so grateful for that. He was so generous and kind for doing so. He showed me around Bangkok, from his favorite haunts to his local spots where his friends run their own coffee shops. The dream. Wear Many Hats World Tour: Thailand.
After a week of being in Bangkok, living like I deserved this, I never wanted to go home.
I meet up with friends that I met in Germany in Koh Samui, hit up the elephant sanctuary and oversee the mountains. I’m at a nice resort by the beach. I meet new friends, I get invited to a yoga retreat at a resort, get invited to Full Moon parties but turned it down. I’m swimming everyday. It rules. When I leave, I get invited to another resort by new friends. I had the best time.
I’m back in Bangkok and then friends that I meet in Bangkok tell me that I have to go visit Chiang Mai before I die. I have all the time in the world so I’m definitely down to go. So I book a flight to Chiang Mai and when I get there I ask the locals what I should do. More Yoga, massages, and The Erotic Garden? The Erotic Garden is in between Chiang Mai and Pai where you can take a Grab out there and your Grab will stay with you throughout the whole time until you check out. The Garden is an artist residence and teahouse owned, operated and created by a friendly, and progressive woman named p’Katai and her Australian archaeologist husband, Dr. Jo Kamminga.
It’s a bunch of art sculptured dicks and vagina everywhere. Dick here, dick there, vagina here, vagina there. Break. Tea time. Continue to more dick here, dick there, vagina here, vagina there. Walk around the garden. It was a calming horny experience.
Dr. Kamminga loves to chat. I try to get a word in but it fails. Towards the end of our conversation he asked if I wanted to stay and work with him. Sounds like a dream but no. Gotta go back to civilization. Later that night, I went to see my new favorite band called Chiang Mai Blues. They ripped so hard. After that night I saw them every night till I left. I loved them so much I bought 4 different t-shirts of their merch for friends back home. This is why you make merch fellas. If people love what you’re doing, they will buy your merch!
In Chiang Mai, I went to a record shop and found Tokimeki no Beat by Victormkii because of its beautiful cover by zomkashwak.
I immediately hit up zomkashwak to commission 4 pieces of work for Wear Many Hats. We made 4 designs for stickers. Soft goods coming soon of course. If it wasn’t for going to Chiang Mai, I wouldn’t have found this lovely coffee shop, pick up a couple Cure records and found this brilliant artist. First time collaborating with an artist overseas for Wear Many Hats.
Flew back to Bangkok and saw the homies that run the best Thailand coffee shops HOUSE OF NOWHERE and Wonderroom, and went back to the USA.
Best Thai bands to check out:
Time for my review of The White Lotus Season 3. I enjoyed it from top to bottom. The pace was perfect, the casting was brilliant, and the storyline made sense. Wish the season finale tied up loose ends because it clearly makes the fans want to know what happened to the ones who did survive.
My favorite was Chelsea, the character Aimee Lou Wood plays. I always knew David Goggins as a comical actress but never a serious one. Mans has range. I wish there were more episodes and that I wore my glasses watching this season because I’m blind as a bat when it comes to TV. Aimee Lou Wood has great teeth and hope she never fixes them. I know some real life Gaitok’s in my life and they all suck. Lisa who plays Mook will be my favorite Blackpink star because of working with Hedi Silmane when he was Creative Director at Celine.
The Ratliff’s are hilarious. They were all fantastic. Nepo babies galore. Parker Posey deserves to win with of what friend and guest of Wear Many Hats, Darro, calls it North Carolina deepthroating themselves for their accent and calling Thailand anything other than Thailand.
The Russian bros were on point too. When you’re in Koh Samui, you’ll see tons of those dudes everywhere. Always wanting to party, watch Muay Thai fights, and drink all day long while hiring Thai women to be their interim wife.
Last but not least, we need to take a moment to appreciate this legend, Sam Rockwell as Frank, for his small stellar performance. That conversation with Rick is how I want to look at my bros deep in their eyes and tell them what went down in Thailand.
Because everything I said above was nothing. If you really want to know what really went down in Thailand, you need to subscribe beyond the paywall. Unless you run into me, just ask.