Scotland is known as the land of castles, knighthood and golf courses for a Thai. But what topped up my knowledge of Scotland was the drink Irn Bru and deep fried chocolate bar.
I like Scotland for its centuries long history, the kilt wearing tradition (just like Kimono in Japan), relaxing greenery but hate it for its cold arctic wind! I had a chance to visit Glasgow and Edinburgh - both cities obviously have different vibes.
In my opinion, Glasgow was quiet and peaceful, almost lonely. There were not many people to be seen on the street during the day. Shops, restaurants and shopping centers scatter around hilly streets, with not much action inside. The nightlife revolved around Sauciehall Street, the most concentrated area of clubs, pubs and bars. The liveliness of the Scottish could be seen after the sun went down.
Edinburgh was filled with the historical heritages; the infamous Edinburgh Castle on the hill, winding roads and hidden passageways and brown brick buildings, they all contributed to my conception of the armoured knight riding a horse down the street. I would not be surprised if Harry Potter popped out from the corner; it was like an imaginary land for me. I personally preferred a more touristy place like Edinburgh than Glasgow, in terms of energy and movement.
Even though Scotland is enriched with historical heritage, one thing that seemed to be stuck in the Dark Age was its culinary art. Every food could be found deep fried; fish, potatoes, sausages, chicken wings, meat patties etc. It was just a matter of salt and vinegar, not very inviting for a taste appreciator like me! I just found that I had the most difficult time choosing what to eat in Scotland. I just did not know what‘s best deep fried...
Apart from the dull delicacies, I found Scotland very interesting. To be in such an historical country, to know more about nature of Scottish people, to be in a country where the people retain their tradition; all gave me a remarkable impression of Scotland.
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Japan
My three weeks in Thailand went down like a spring break. After a series of going out, socializing, enjoying the home comfort, I found myself organizing documents, tidying up my room, packing my suitcase and calling my friends for a farewell party. At first, I thought that it would be traumatizing as my September departure, but the anticipation of visiting Japan subconsciously cleansed my wistful feelings.
I believe that most of the Thai people are familiar with the Japanese culture in some ways. I was heavily influenced since my childhood, whether it would be the weekend morning anime TV programmes, little hand-held games, hundreds of Manga comic books, delicious Japanese cuisine or even my five years of studying of Japanese language. All that I mentioned evoked my excitement for this trip to the islands of extreme culture and technology.
As we all know, modern Japanese technology enables us to live such a convenient lifestyle, I was so thrilled to experiment with unfamiliar systems and machinery. I was comforted with the genius toilet system that provided all-in-one service, perplexed by the spider web metro lines, indecisive with the selection in vending machines and impressed with the coupon vending machine in a small Soba restaurant. Everything was made easy…
I went to the Akihabara area where there are many electronic stores. Electronic appliances are very cheap compared to Thailand, I walked up and down every floor of a department store just to be amazed by a section on one floor. It was the costume section.
It was not the presence but the convenience of the fictional costumes that astonished me. I knew that some of the Japanese like to dress up but I did not expect it to be this readily available. Looking around, I saw many people shopping for these items, a man choosing an outfit for his girlfriend, groups of young girls shopping for their wardrobe, even a woman in her 30’s trying on a pirate dress. Everything was natural.
Looking at the corner, I saw many people queuing for something. It was the costume café where the waitresses all dressed up as French maids, amusing. Ryoko explained that it was a “special service” commonly found in Akihabara area. Some of the place has a “homely service” where the customers were treated like a family member, and the newest trend in theme café was the “rough café”. Rough café intentionally provides bad service, slamming the plates on the table, shouting at the customers and the waitresses pull off mean faces when taking orders. It was educating to know how people enjoy themselves.
Materialistic developments are always accompanied by emotional exits because in the end we are all human. We constantly explore every angle of enjoying ourselves. The fine line separating the norms and the unusual becomes the vague grey area. In a country where people seek for physical and spiritual excellence, the answer is so obvious in everyday living...
Tokyo has the population of 12 million people, slightly more than Bangkok. But open-mindedness, freedom and opportunities give its nightlife more flavours and alternatives for every interest.
Internet research revealed many interesting parties. There are plenty of Japanese gigs and international line ups. The clubs, pubs and bars in Tokyo plug themselves into every grid of the city, resulted in neon signs pointing in all directions. There were many stages for any music expressions.
Starting from going out on the first night we arrived in Tokyo which was the famous Japanese original night out, the karaoke. Then more parties followed just like a march, a minimal techno party by the French duo Swayzak, a drum and bass party by the local collectives, the 8th year anniversary party in the one of longest running clubs called Womb, extraordinary outdoor gathering with thousands of Japanese party people in Nagisa Music Festival or even a tiny theme bar where all the bartenders and waitress dressed up as cats. Tokyo nights out offered everything I could imagine.
Going out in Tokyo requires a good planning. Apart from the non-returnable entry in many notorious clubs, which keep you inside till the end of the night, the transportation also restricted your choice of moving around. The subway system stops between 1am to 5am. Taxi fares cost about ten times more than train. There is no turning back once you are out. 24 hour fast food place become a sanctuary for those who fall out from the world of flashing lights and thumping music. A common sight at night is seeing people of all age and sex sleeping in the dining area, sharing warmth, quietness and peace before returning to their home when the train runs again.
The more I spent my time in Tokyo, the more I went out, the more people I came across, the more I realized how much Japanese loves Thailand. I saw many travel programmes about Thailand. When people found out that I came from Thailand, they started saying things in Thai. The Thai food stall in the music festival seemed to be the most popular proven by the longest queue. Thailand is one of their favourite destinations I had learnt. With such a mutual craving, how could I not love Japan?
I believe that most of the Thai people are familiar with the Japanese culture in some ways. I was heavily influenced since my childhood, whether it would be the weekend morning anime TV programmes, little hand-held games, hundreds of Manga comic books, delicious Japanese cuisine or even my five years of studying of Japanese language. All that I mentioned evoked my excitement for this trip to the islands of extreme culture and technology.
As we all know, modern Japanese technology enables us to live such a convenient lifestyle, I was so thrilled to experiment with unfamiliar systems and machinery. I was comforted with the genius toilet system that provided all-in-one service, perplexed by the spider web metro lines, indecisive with the selection in vending machines and impressed with the coupon vending machine in a small Soba restaurant. Everything was made easy…
I went to the Akihabara area where there are many electronic stores. Electronic appliances are very cheap compared to Thailand, I walked up and down every floor of a department store just to be amazed by a section on one floor. It was the costume section.
It was not the presence but the convenience of the fictional costumes that astonished me. I knew that some of the Japanese like to dress up but I did not expect it to be this readily available. Looking around, I saw many people shopping for these items, a man choosing an outfit for his girlfriend, groups of young girls shopping for their wardrobe, even a woman in her 30’s trying on a pirate dress. Everything was natural.
Looking at the corner, I saw many people queuing for something. It was the costume café where the waitresses all dressed up as French maids, amusing. Ryoko explained that it was a “special service” commonly found in Akihabara area. Some of the place has a “homely service” where the customers were treated like a family member, and the newest trend in theme café was the “rough café”. Rough café intentionally provides bad service, slamming the plates on the table, shouting at the customers and the waitresses pull off mean faces when taking orders. It was educating to know how people enjoy themselves.
Materialistic developments are always accompanied by emotional exits because in the end we are all human. We constantly explore every angle of enjoying ourselves. The fine line separating the norms and the unusual becomes the vague grey area. In a country where people seek for physical and spiritual excellence, the answer is so obvious in everyday living...
Tokyo has the population of 12 million people, slightly more than Bangkok. But open-mindedness, freedom and opportunities give its nightlife more flavours and alternatives for every interest.
Internet research revealed many interesting parties. There are plenty of Japanese gigs and international line ups. The clubs, pubs and bars in Tokyo plug themselves into every grid of the city, resulted in neon signs pointing in all directions. There were many stages for any music expressions.
Starting from going out on the first night we arrived in Tokyo which was the famous Japanese original night out, the karaoke. Then more parties followed just like a march, a minimal techno party by the French duo Swayzak, a drum and bass party by the local collectives, the 8th year anniversary party in the one of longest running clubs called Womb, extraordinary outdoor gathering with thousands of Japanese party people in Nagisa Music Festival or even a tiny theme bar where all the bartenders and waitress dressed up as cats. Tokyo nights out offered everything I could imagine.
Going out in Tokyo requires a good planning. Apart from the non-returnable entry in many notorious clubs, which keep you inside till the end of the night, the transportation also restricted your choice of moving around. The subway system stops between 1am to 5am. Taxi fares cost about ten times more than train. There is no turning back once you are out. 24 hour fast food place become a sanctuary for those who fall out from the world of flashing lights and thumping music. A common sight at night is seeing people of all age and sex sleeping in the dining area, sharing warmth, quietness and peace before returning to their home when the train runs again.
The more I spent my time in Tokyo, the more I went out, the more people I came across, the more I realized how much Japanese loves Thailand. I saw many travel programmes about Thailand. When people found out that I came from Thailand, they started saying things in Thai. The Thai food stall in the music festival seemed to be the most popular proven by the longest queue. Thailand is one of their favourite destinations I had learnt. With such a mutual craving, how could I not love Japan?
Full Moon Party
Finally, I got a chance to prove all my propaganda about Full Moon Party. After six months of verbal advertisement, it became an actual experience when the Smirnoff Ten arrived in Koh Phangan, Thailand; home of the original Full Moon Party. Everybody had seen how the Bangkokians party already, now it was the time to show them the island’s way.
Dark blue sea, fine white sand and the energising sunshine warmly welcomed everybody from a quick boat trip across the islands. The beach life seemed relaxing, calm and peaceful, but only Steph and Takashi who had already been to the Full Moon Party knew what kind of madness was disguised in the soothing tranquillity. The rest of the team was pretty much clueless of what lay ahead.
The team was booked into a nice resort on Haad Tian, about 10 minutes boat ride from Haad Riin where all the action would be. The narrow concrete road, haphazard motorcycle parking, the smell of barbecued seafood, neat displays of colourful ice buckets under white neon lights, shouting and yelling of different languages all brought back my old sweet memories of my straight six hour set. The organised chaos gradually built up as the dusk painted the sea glittering orange.
The beachfront, which was full of sunbathers, readers, swimmers, readers etc, was replaced by various fluorescent flags. Drink stalls were chained with neon lights connection. Sitting mats and short tables were laid out. Each bar started playing beats while the fire jugglers tried their best to attract people’s attention. Earth’s closest neighbor slowly glided through the cloud revealing her shining beauty.
Taxi boats of various capacities dropped people one after another, bringing fun seekers from every direction. Some were from Haad Tian, many sailed 20 minutes from longer beaches and thousands travelled from Koh Samui and Koh Tao, all hunting for that world famous monthly pleasure. The tireless energy was spreading over every sandy square metre.
I passionately placed my first vinyl on the deck at exactly midnight. At that moment, the Smirnoff Ten was all over the beach. Steph was dancing in a pop rock bar, Ben and Kareem were grooving to hip hop beats in another beach bar. Takashi was busy jumping to psy-trance, Audette was communicating to the speakers in a secret mountain party. And others were just strolling down the beach, absorbing the vibes. I carefully pushed the start button and Drum & Bass screamed out its first appearance of the night.
Usual beach life began; restaurants started to serve, backpackers were checking out, taxi cars snaked through the messy aftermath of Full Moon Party. The sun was high up, the colourful flags were gone, tables and mats were stored, stalls were removed and the music has stopped. The island cycle just passed its peak but some people just kept on going. Every party must have an end, some just last longer…
Dark blue sea, fine white sand and the energising sunshine warmly welcomed everybody from a quick boat trip across the islands. The beach life seemed relaxing, calm and peaceful, but only Steph and Takashi who had already been to the Full Moon Party knew what kind of madness was disguised in the soothing tranquillity. The rest of the team was pretty much clueless of what lay ahead.
The team was booked into a nice resort on Haad Tian, about 10 minutes boat ride from Haad Riin where all the action would be. The narrow concrete road, haphazard motorcycle parking, the smell of barbecued seafood, neat displays of colourful ice buckets under white neon lights, shouting and yelling of different languages all brought back my old sweet memories of my straight six hour set. The organised chaos gradually built up as the dusk painted the sea glittering orange.
The beachfront, which was full of sunbathers, readers, swimmers, readers etc, was replaced by various fluorescent flags. Drink stalls were chained with neon lights connection. Sitting mats and short tables were laid out. Each bar started playing beats while the fire jugglers tried their best to attract people’s attention. Earth’s closest neighbor slowly glided through the cloud revealing her shining beauty.
Taxi boats of various capacities dropped people one after another, bringing fun seekers from every direction. Some were from Haad Tian, many sailed 20 minutes from longer beaches and thousands travelled from Koh Samui and Koh Tao, all hunting for that world famous monthly pleasure. The tireless energy was spreading over every sandy square metre.
I passionately placed my first vinyl on the deck at exactly midnight. At that moment, the Smirnoff Ten was all over the beach. Steph was dancing in a pop rock bar, Ben and Kareem were grooving to hip hop beats in another beach bar. Takashi was busy jumping to psy-trance, Audette was communicating to the speakers in a secret mountain party. And others were just strolling down the beach, absorbing the vibes. I carefully pushed the start button and Drum & Bass screamed out its first appearance of the night.
Usual beach life began; restaurants started to serve, backpackers were checking out, taxi cars snaked through the messy aftermath of Full Moon Party. The sun was high up, the colourful flags were gone, tables and mats were stored, stalls were removed and the music has stopped. The island cycle just passed its peak but some people just kept on going. Every party must have an end, some just last longer…
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