Chick Mountain Music Festival

   I've had a slight obsession with Thai music lately. I honestly can't remember the last English song I've listened to. I'm hooked! When our friends informed us a few weeks ago that some of our favorites would be performing at a big festival in Kanchanaburi, we immediately sought out tickets. Sarah, Clare and I were more than a little excited to rock out to Suckseed, Jetsetter, Palmy and....BODYSLAM. Bodyslam is one of the most popular rock bands in Thailand, and P'Toon, the lead singer, is a legend here.

 

So last weekend, we made our way to the military training camp in Kanch and prepared for a day/night of Thai music fun at the Chick Mountain Music Festival (Man Gai Mak). When we arrived, we realized straight away that we were the only farang in attendance. Mai Pen Rai! We embraced it and I thoroughly enjoyed surprising the Thais with my appreciation for Thai music. 

The area was set up in military-fashion, for obvious reasons, and one could entertain themselves with some tower jumping and gun-shooting. Ya know- the typical concert activities. We passed and anxiously awaited for the music to begin...

Normal

But then, it rained. It rained a lot. 

Looking cute in our ponchos

Suckseed still opened the show on time and it was actually pretty fun to dance around in our ponchos, mud covering our legs, and thunder roaring in the background. The rain held steady for a few hours, but by the second act, it cleared up and we were able to enjoy the remaining 8 hours, rain-free.


All of the performances were incredible. It's hard to not be able to sing along, even if you know the tune, but it didn't take any of the fun away. Each performance proved better and stronger but no one compared to the magic that is P'Toon. 

Bodyslam put on an amazing show and Toon graced us with his beautiful voice and his rockin' songs. And then he took off his shirt and I died. His 8-pack glistened with sweat and I was in love. 

I'm Toon and I am beautiful

Hours later, we made our way back to Suphan, looking like quite the disheveled bunch, rain-soaked and covered in a disgusting amount of mud.  We plopped down on the early morning bus and our self-disgust was quickly replaced with sweet dreams of P'Toon. I've been riding on a wave of adrenaline from last weekend's music festival and the excitement of this coming weekend's Reggae on the Rock music festival, featuring none other than my favorite Thai band, 25 Hours!

EWWW!

I'm Kind Of A Big Deal

I don't know if you've heard, but I'm kind of a big deal. Seriously- I just got like 50 new facebook friends. Big. Deal. 


Let's back up. Last week, on my daily trip to Baanya's, I was startled when I walked into the cafe and a film crew was set up. Two super cool men, one rocking purple hair, were sitting on the couch and filming their gossip show. And obviously, they couldn't resist asking three farang to get in on the action. So- they gave us their opening line and filmed us saying it. I made my Thai TV debut and it felt so great. But...that was just a preview for the real superstardom I was to encounter. 


EP Night. EP Night has been talked about since they day I arrived at Sa-nguan Ying. It's a night where we celebrate the English Program and all of its achievements. It's a chance for parents to see what the students have done and for the students to be proud of themselves. And they deserve it! They are such hard-workers and a night of fun was just what they needed. 


The students in the EP have worked so incredibly hard, organizing performances, memorizing speeches and making sure this big event would pan out perfectly. Usually, the foreign staff is asked to put on a small performance...maybe sing a diddly, or do a little Thai dance to get a chuckle from the students. But, not us. We went big. Shea, one of the teachers, has a killer singing voice and had been asked to sing Bird's 'Too Much, So Much, Very Much,' which is one of the most popular songs in Thailand. About a week before EP Night, she informed us that aaaalll of us would have to participate in some way. I was all over the dancing. We studied the dance from the video, learned it, added some of our own moves, and practiced our little butts off (kind of). Ally, being such a cool kid, learned the Thai rap in the video and it...was....AMAZING. We kept the performance a secret and so when it was our turn to take the stage at EP Night, the kids went wild. It was a little nerve-wracking to perform a ridiculous dance in a ridiculous outfit in front of hundreds of people, including some of the higher-ups of the school, but I felt like a rock star. It was awesome and the kids loved it. 


Check it out!

Although I loved being a superstar for the night, the kids were the real stars. They worked so hard and put together really incredible performances. They looked absolutely adorable in their outfits and it was so nice to see them in this type of environment. They looked like they were having the best time, donning smiles from beginning to end. I had a lot of fun and I will definitely remember EP Night beyond it being the night I became famous. 

Don't they look so happy to be reppin' the USA?

Students made up and looking pretty to host

The Dancers

How cute are they?

How crazy are they? I love them.

Love.

* Please take note of how many peace signs are happening. I cannot stop. 

I Passed Through the Seven Levels of the Candy Cane Forest...

Is it Christmas already?? Not quite. But I sure got a nice preview for winter on my train ride up to Chiang Mai. This past weekend observed Mother's Day, which honors both mothers (obvi) and The Queen of Thailand. The holiday actually takes place on the Queen's Birthday and it provided us a long weekend...our last long weekend until (dun dun dun) THE END. Ahhhh! But let's not freak out yet- I still have LOTS to look forward to. Anyways, Sarah and I took advantage of the extra day and bought train tickets to go up north. Unfortunately we were a little slow in buying the tickets, so we landed the last two seats, which were not sleeper seats. We geared up for an uncomfortable train ride, but when we saw the seats, we were pleasantly surprised. They were spacious and not bad at all. But an hour into the ride, I was miserable. To be more exact, I was a popsicle. And not one of those delicious ones with different flavors- but a very unhappy popsicle. Sarah was convinced we were in Russia, and we wished the hours away on the train. 12 hours later, I basically pranced into the wall of humidity. Living in the tropics was a brilliant idea. 


I've been to Chiang Mai heaps of times, but it just makes me so darn happy. We ate well, we pampered ourselves, and boy, oh boy, we shopped. We shopped a whooooole lot. I'm ashamed to admit how much I purchased, but let's just say my future apartment is going to be the bomb diggitty. I also may have purchased one of the greatest things to ever happen to me...


Meet Fabio, my new rhinoceros:

Although I could spend forever in Chiang Mai, our main reason for heading up north was to venture to Chiang Rai, which is another 3 hours north. On Saturday morning we got on a bus and made our way further north.  


I had no expectations for Chiang Rai, but it really surprised me. We easily filled up our day and a half there. The highlight of not only this trip, but also one of the highlights of all of my travels, was seeing Wat Rong Khun. I've seen a lot of Wats in my time here, but nothing comes close to the beauty of this white temple. The style is unlike any other since it contains a lot of modern art. It was absolutely breathtaking and definitely worth the long trek. 

Exploring Chiang Rai

Wat Rong Khun

King Triton vibes

Bob fit right in!

After filling our bellies with Khao Soy and doing a little (read: A LOT) more shopping, we hopped on our bus back to Bangkok from Chiang Mai a little before 8pm. The journey usually takes about 9 hours, getting us back to Suphan right in time for school. If all went as planned, it would have been perfect. But it was so far from perfect. After leaving an hour late, I fell asleep pretty quickly, only to be awakened 2 hours later, gasping for air and sweating profusely. The aircon had stopped working and it was a complete sauna, which left a not so pleasant smell lingering in the air. The bus pulled over soon after for what we thought was for a little fresh air. No no no no no. Disaster ensued. The bus driver attempted to fix the problem but took apart some vital parts of the bus in doing so. AKA we were stuck on the side of the road, getting attacked by mosquitoes, for 2 1/2 hours. Around 1am, a replacement bus came to save us. The new bus was not so pretty and the seats didn't recline. Only 9 hours of discomfort to go! By the time we got to Bangkok, got the connecting van to Suphan, and made it home, it was far too late. 17 hours total, and 4 hours late to work. Yikes. 

Despite the horrific transport to and from, the trip itself was great! I saw an amazing Wat, I met Fabio and I basically furnished my apartment.... I think that deserves a BOOYAH!

Sport's Day

Since my beginning days at Sa-nguan Ying, I had been told about Sport's Day. Back in December I experienced mini- Sport's Day and that blew my mind... and that was just a weak preview for the ultimate Sport's Day. But I've been in Thailand for a while now and I'm not as phased by the somewhat ridiculous and over-stimulating things anymore. Sport's Day #2 probably wouldn't be as shocking to me. Also, for Sport's Day #2, the students have been preparing for months- from Day 1 of this semester. Preparation included cheering, dancing, and drum-banging for 12 weeks straight. That's right, every ninth period, for 12 weeks, we were left to listen to the cacophony of multiple drum beats, shrills and chants from the 2800 students and a whole lot of clapping. So, one would think, after all of this preparation, that I would be immune to Thai ridiculousness. 


Welp....Sport's Day came. And guess what? Still shocking. 


I rocked up to school in my pink shirt (the students were divided into color teams and I got to look pretty in pink), and was immediately thrust into a sea of pink, yellow, green, blue, red and purple students. Flags lined the pathways and elaborate sets were placed on the field. What in the world was going to happen? 


It all started with a parade through town. Usually, when there is a big parade, the streets will be closed off to cars, and the paraders can happily and safely march through town. USUALLY that happens. But when you're in Thailand, motorbikes, trucks and tuk-tuks weave their way in and around the children, who (by the way) are dripping sweat and limping because they are wearing extravagant costumes and silly shoes in 100 degree heat, while also cheering and doing their colors proud. 

Reppin' the Pink Team with some of my old students :)

Sunflower Queen for the Yellow Team

Poor boys parading through town carrying that! And look at those shoes!

Loooved the Red's costume

Once the students arrived at the school, the fun began. And obviously, no Thai event would be complete without an over-the-top opening ceremony. A student was elevated on a platform with a lit torch, which she then placed on a wire that set off a spark that shot across the field into a building, which then opened up a poster and set off another torch with colored smoke. This happened five more times for each color. Once the sky was filled with smoke of each color, mini fireworks went off and THEN confetti exploded all over the field. Yea. I love Thailand. 

Opening ceremony rainbow

The following two days were filled with dance competitions (with beautiful performances by girls from each team that wore gorgeous and sometimes super funky Thai costumes), football (soccer), basketball and volleyball games. Students lined the fields, snacked on junk food and cheered for their respective teams, while also trying their best to avoid the intense sun. For the most part, the students seemed so happy. They cheered loudly, sang and danced, and supported their teammates. There were moments where I looked around in disbelief, but I felt so happy and thankful to witness such an event. It was really nice to see the students out of their uniforms and in a fun and athletic environment. It is events like this that make me really happy that I decided to experience a different culture. 

Students avoiding the sun

The winners of the dance competition. They were awesome

Oh Hot Damn, This Is My Jam.

Learning to embrace the Thai music scene has been a challenge. If you asked me back in November how I was finding the music, I probably would have shook my head in disappointment and whined about the lack of good music. Or, I would have sang the Loi Krathong song, because that was on repeat in my head for an obscene amount of time. Very unfortunate. But song by song, and then band by band, I've been discovering really, truly good music. Of course, I am one of the least judgmental people when it comes to rating music (my Itunes varies from Backstreet Boys to the Black Keys to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to Ludacris- and I genuinely think they are all very talented and amazing), so me crushing on some of the Thai pop stars should come as no surprise. 

First, it was Gun The Star 6 who came into my life. Some of the M2 students fawned over him, so I obviously had to stalk it out, to find out he was a looker with a voice of an angel (yes, that is an exaggeration), but he was good! He is the Thai Enrique. And then, thanks to some friends, I found out about Bodyslam and 25 Hours and Singular, and my world was rocked. These bands are huge superstars in Thailand because they own the incredibly popular 'punk rock' scene here. Although I can only understand about 12% of the songs, I really enjoy their music. There is a huge gang of these rock bands, that are uber-hipster and ultra-cool, whose faces grace the the advertisements of everything from Pepsi to whitening cream to a bird's saliva health drink (vomit). And the cool thing is that I've seen a few of them in live performances. Superstars are a big deal here, but they are more willing to play a free concert for a big event. I've happened to be in the right place at the right time for a few of these shows, and they put on really good performances. A few months ago I was lucky enough to go to the Legend of Rock concert (Thanks, Wat!) and I was so impressed with their rock n' roll skills. Between their smooth moves, soothing voices and harmonious beats, I was sold on Thai rock. 

Toon from Bodyslam. So cool!

Gun The Star...what a cutie!

When it comes to Thai rock, however, no one does it better than Carabao, the most popular band of Thailand. And it's well deserved- their music is the bomb diggity and loved by everyone. If their music comes on the radio, everyone around will raise their hands up in Carabao pride and sign along. 

Carabao

And then there is Bird. The man who defies age with his fit body and killer dance moves. I believe he is 53 years old, but he looks like he is in his 30s. His music has been extremely popular in Thailand for the past 25 years and he shows no signs of stopping. One of his more recent songs, 'So Much, Too Much, Very Much Right Now,' has not only consistently stayed in the #1 spot on the charts, but it has also managed to find its way into every. single. conversation. because of it's catchy beat and English phrases. Well done, Bird, well done. 


So, ask me now if I like the Thai music scene and my response will be much more enthusiastic. I can recommend bands and tell you my favorite songs of theirs. Heck, I can even give the songs to you because I own them. I happily put them on my Itunes so I can rock out to them in my bedroom when I'm bored (yea, that happens). I wonder how this music would translate in America, but for now, I'm quite content making up my own words and dancing like a fool to Thai music.  


Here are the videos for some of my favorites!