Sonic Bang!

Sonic Bang is an annual, all day music festival in Bangkok.  Since this year's headliner was Jason Mraz, we decided to check it out.  Before the late-night concert, we walked around a bit and found ourselves in the Silent Disco.  If you've never been to one before, imagine a room full of people with headsets on listening to one of two live DJ songs -- but the room is completely silent.  Consequently, you could be listening to heavy metal while the guy next to you is dancing to a country song!

After the Silent Disco, we checked out a couple other concerts.  Since the event was housed in the Convention Center, there were a variety of stages to visit to see different performers such as Pitbull, Placebo, and Rain.

Finally, we headed toward the arena where Jason Mraz was performing.  We stood in the pit with hundreds of other Thais and foreigners and listened to Jason Mraz perform his heart out.  I was really impressed with the talent of all the members of his band.

Jason opened the concert by saying, "Sawa-dee-krab!"

It was a great night of music in Bangkok!

Better Paella in Thailand than Spain?

There was a rumor around school that the most delicious paella in Thailand could be found at Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok.  Thinking this was too amazing to be true, we set forth in search of this mystical place called Viva 8.

It took us three visits to the market in as many weekends, but we finally found it.  We knew we were in the right place when we saw the GIGANTIC, simmering paella!

We were surprised to see a dancing chef playfully adding various fresh ingredients to his soon-to-be-perfect paella.

The Spanish chef was more than happy to pose for a photo with me in between adding his secret spices to the large, Valencia-styled paella pan.

The rumors were true.  For five US dollars, we ate paella that was even more delicious than the paella we ate when we visited Spain!

¡Bravo!

What is the Wai?

Greeting someone in Thailand is a bit different from America, as one travel website explains:

"Every culture has its form of greeting, a way to introduce oneself or to pay formal respects to an elder. In most cases in the western world, the greeting is a handshake.

In Thailand, the ceremony is far more complex because the traditional form of greeting is both formal and polite.  Known as the "Wai" (pronounced "why"), the greeting is actually both warm and charming. In general, the Wai is performed by joining the hands at the palms and raising them to a position somewhere between the chest and forehead. One should be aware of the status of the person being 'wai-ed' for the exact position of holding the palms.

  School is much like home, a place of learning and discipline, consequently children will wai their teachers as they wai their parents and the same goes for employees when meeting their employer and the Thai of all ages and rank respectfully wai to monks. In all cases (the teacher, the employer and the monk) the wai will never be returned. 

In informal gatherings of equals, the wai will also be performed, everyone wai-ing each other but in a relatively casual way, the palms being positioned somewhere in the chest area."

Adults in Thailand "wai" each other.

Children in Thailand also "wai."

Statues, ancient and modern, are also shown "wai-ing."

In Thailand, even Ronald McDonald knows how to "wai!"

Welcome to Thailand!

After many hours in airplanes and airports, we arrived in the city of Bangkok, also known as "Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Buirom Udomratchaiwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit."

We'll be living and working in the capital city of Bangkok (at the center of the country), home to 8.2 million people.  Thailand is 1.21 times bigger than California.

Bhumibol Adulyadej is the reigning King of Thailand and the queen's name is Sirikit.  He is known as Rama IX and has served since June 9, 1946.  He is the world's longest-serving current head of state and the longest reigning monarch in Thai history.

The Thai flag has three colors: red (for land and people), white (for all religions), and blue (the monarchy).

Thailand is known as "The Land of a Thousand Smiles!"

You probably associate the following images with Thai culture:

We are looking forward to living some of these iconic images and much more during our stay here.

Sa-wa-dee!