June 14th – 17th

If you are a guitar lover such as I am then you won’t want to miss the annual Asia International Guitar Festival sponsored by the Thailand Guitar Society in association with the Conservatory of Music Rangsit University and the Siam City Hotel, Bangkok. The Festival will take place from June 14th through the 17th at the Siam City Hotel in Bangkok.

This competition really is a treat for the guitarists out there or just those that love the instrument.There will  be many special guest guitarists from around the world as well as famous luthiers holding workshops and master classes. Some of the special guests include:

Guitarists:

Aniello Desiderio (Italy)
Sachiko Miyashita (Japan)
Galina Vale (England/Ukraine)
Yavet Boyadjiev & Paul Cesarczyk – Violin & Guitar Duo (USA)
Wong-Kojorn Guitar Quartet (Thailand)
Paul Cesarczyk (USA/Polish)
Koki Fujimoto (Japan)
Franco Maigue (Philippines)
Shinobu Sugawara (Japan)
Lester Demetillo (Philippines)
Leon Koudelak (Swiss/Czech)
Yavet Boyadjiev (USA/Cuba)
Woratep Rattana-umpawan (Thailand)
Sakol Siripipattanakul (Thailand)
Tana Suebsiri (Thailand)
Pongpat Pongpradit (Thailand)
Yutthasak Komjornkijborworn (Thailand)
Chavajed Maskulrat (Thailand)
University of the Philippines Guitar Quintet (Philippines)

luthier:

Yuichi Imai (Japan)
Karl Heinz & Falko Roemmich (Germany)
Young Seo (Korea)
Hanief Palopo (Indonesia)
Narongsak Visesnut (Thailand)
Wiroon Song-Bundit (Thailand)
Raks Chingsakol (Thailand)

And let’s not forget the real reason for the festival, the competition. There will be a junior competition for those guitarists under the age of 18 and an adult competition for those over the age of 18. And if this years festival is anywhere near as good as past events then the real winner is the audience as these guitarists are some of the best you will ever hear.

For anyone interested in joining the competition the entrance requirements and prizes are listed below. For those of you wishing to attend this years Asia International Guitar Festival a full program schedule and ticket pricing is provided below. Make sure to check out some of the video at the bottom of the page from last years competition to see exactly what you are in store for.

Asia International Classical Guitar Competition

Competitor fee: Bht. 2,000
Junior Competitor fee: Bht. 1,000

Application deadline: 8 June 2012

First Round:
15.June 2012, 13.00
Free choice piece (s): approximately 12 minutes long

Final Round:
17. June 2012, 13.00
Free choice piece (s): approximately 20 minutes long

the pieces played in the first round can not be repeated in the second round

No age limit! The competition is open for all nationalities!

First prize:

Guitar by Yuichi Imai or Karl Heinz Roemmich or Young Seo (free choice)
Concert at the Philippine Guitar Festival (Manila) 2013
Concert at the Asia International Guitar Festival, Bangkok 2013
Concert at the Guitarfestival Nakhorn Rashasima (Korat) Thailand 2013
Concert at the Pattaya Classical Guitar Festival (Thailand) 2013
Karura Guitar Case
Savarez String Set
Hannabach String Set
Diploma

Second prize:

Free choice between the two guitars left
Savarez String Set
Hannabach String Set
Diploma

Third prize:

The last guitar left
Savarez String Set
Hannabach String Set
Diploma

JUNIOR COMPETITION (not older then 18 Years)

16 June 2012, 10.00 (one Round)
Free choice piece (s): approximately 12 minutes long

First prize:

Guitar by Hanief Palopo
Savarez String Set
Hannabach String Set
Diploma

Second prize:

5000 Baht
Savarez String Set
Hannabach String Set
Diploma

Third prize:

3000 Baht
Savarez String Set
Hannabach String Set
Diploma

Asia International Guitar Festival 2012 Program

14. June 2012

09.30 Masterclass: Sachiko Miyashita
16.00 Afternoon Concert: Franco Maigue & Koki Fujimoto
20.00 “Gipsy Night” with: Galina Vale, Woratep Rattana-umpawan, Sakol Siripipattanakul, Leon Koudelak, Tana Suebsiri and Shinobu Sugawara.

15. June 2012

09.30 Masterclass: Galina Vale
13.00 Competition 1st Round
20.00 Concert: Sachiko Miyashita

16. June 2012

10.00 Junior Competition
16.00 Afternoon Concert: The Wong-Kojorn Guitar Quartet & University of the Philippines Guitar Quintet
20.00 Concert : Aniello Desiderio

17. June 2012

09.30 Masterclass: Aniello Desiderio
14.00 Competition Final
19.00 Concert : Yavet Boyadjiev & Paul Cesarczyk – Violin & Guitar Duo(followed by the announcement of the prize winners of the competitions 2012 and award ceremony)

All activities (Concerts, Masterclasses, Competition and exhibition) at the Siam City Hotel, Bangkok.

Ticket Price:

Concert: Bht. 600 for adults and Bht. 400 for students (inclusive coffee break)
Afternoon Concert on 16.June : Bht. 300 for adults and students (one price only, without coffee break).
Audience for Competition: Bht. 200
Observer for Master Class: Bht. 200
Masterclass : Bht. 500

Related Articles of Interest:

• Asia International Guitar Festival 2010
• Asia International Guitar Festival 2011
• Phuket International Blues Festival 2009
• Pattaya International Music Festival 2011
• 2010 Koh Samui International Jazz Festival

It’s been some time since I’ve written about Living with the Tiger & the children of Baan Gerda and as luck would have it I received an e-mail from the director of Living with the Tiger, Mike Thomas, Yesterday, to update me on the kids and invite me to a special performance they will be giving in Bangkok this Saturday ( tomorrow ).

For those of you that don’t know or don’t remember, Living with the Tiger is a documentary that followed the Thai children of Baan Gerda and told of their heartbreaking plight of not only being HIV positive but also suffering the cruel blow of being abandoned by their families because of the disease. Mike Thomas spent 2 years documenting their stories and put together an amazing documentary that not only showed their courage but beautiful outlook on life in the face of such a horrible disease.

The documentary also showed us the remarkable charity of Baan Gerda that takes in orphaned Thai children who are HIV positive and gives them homes and real families but more importantly a chance at life that they very much deserve.

Well, the children of Baan Gerda will be performing this Saturday in Bruce Gaston’s musical ‘A Boy and a Tiger.

The story is inspired by the book ‘Life of Pi’ by Yann Martel who received the Booker Prize for his novel in 2002. It features a young boy named Pi Patel and his journey across the ocean and how to survive on a small life boat that has a 450 pound Bengal Tiger.

In addition to the Baan Gerda children, the lead singers and the musicians who will be taking part in this performance come from different international schools and music colleges in Bangkok. They are also joined by Myra Maneepatsorn Molloy, the winner of Thailand‘s got Talent 2011.

The event is being sponsored by Rotary as part of their international convention that runs from May 5th- 8th 2012. Tickets cost $25 and any profits will go to supporting Baan Gerda. Bookings can be made through Khun Moo - k.sarnswang@yahoo.com.

The musical performance will be Saturday May 5, 2012 from 7pm – 9pm at Impact Arena, Bangkok. Ticket prices are $25 and all profits go to supporting Baan Gerda.

If you have the opportunity to go and see them perform this weekend please do so and show your support. If not you can always click the banner below, or in the far right sidebar to find out more about the wonderful charity Baan Gerda and hopefully donate whatever you can.

Related Articles of Interest:

• Living with the Tiger Update
• Living with the Tiger
• The stigma of pedophiles on Thailand
• My 7 Links, Land of Smiles Style
• ‘CHILDREN OF THE TSUNAMI’ KHAO LAK – A STORY OF HOPE An inspirational book

Pattaya Music Festival 2012

The Pattaya International Music Festival 2012 is over but what a great time it was. A lot of great music, tons of great food and every kind of trinket you can imagine on sale. The streets were jam packed with music lovers, food lovers and families enjoying the beautiful weekend. There can be no doubt that this is Pattaya’s largest festival and I would bet attendance this year topped half a million people. Well, enough with the words, time for the pictures and videos. Enjoy!

Pattaya Music Festival 2012

Related Articles of Interest:

• Pattaya Music Festival 2011 in Photos & Video
• Pattaya International Music Festival 2011
• Cultural Festival of Pattaya-Chonburi
• Pattaya International Music Festival 2010
• Pattaya International Music Festival 2012

Pattaya International Music Festival 2012

April 27, 28 & 29

It’s that time of year again for the Pattaya International Music Festival; taking place all along Beach road starting the weekend of April 27th and going through the 29th. With the crowds of  Songkran still fresh in our memories, Pattaya will hurriedly reading itself for thousands of music lovers. Over a half a million people are expected this year!

The festivities will begin at 6pm each day and go straight through midnight with stages strategically placed all along Beach road featuring reggae, rock, hip hop, pop, blues and many other forms of music to be enjoyed. The Pattaya Music Festival will be a place where Thai and foreign artists come together, entertain audiences, show their musical talents, and promote ecotourism activities. As well there will be hundreds of food stalls and products from all over Thailand on sale through OTOP.

While there will be many stages both large and small the 4 main stages will be the Galaxy Stage located   Bali Hai Pier, Moon Stage on Pattaya Soi 4 and Beach road, Universal Stage at Central Pattaya and Reggae Stage at South Pattaya.

There will be a number of famous Thai artists who have agreed to participate in the festival; such as, Da Endorphine, Golf-Mike, Potato, Palaphol, Calories Blah Blah, Paradox, Chin Chinawut, Ice Sarunyu, Namcha, Noona Nuengtida, Ge-on, New-Jew, Aof Pongsak, Punch, Sweet Mullet, Ruj The Star, Singto The Star, Pek Palichoke, Blackhead, Bie The Star, Got Chakapun, Tai Oratai, P Sadirt, The Richman Toy, Modern Dog, etc.

Foreign artists who will participate include: A.B.C-Z, Kis-My_ft2, B.I.Shadow and Qestion from Johnny’s Junior from Japan, Derrick Hoh from Singapore, Super Kidz from Indonesia, PAK from Vietnam, Will Ng from Malaysia, Nina from Philippines; Tik Princess from Lao PDR and Rain from Korea.

The Pattaya International Music Festival has been a huge success over the past few years and this years festival is shaping up to be a great one as well. aIf you are in town this weekend make sure not to miss it!

Pattaya International Music Festival Schedule

Related Articles of Interest:

• Pattaya International Music Festival 2011
• Pattaya Music Festival 2012 Highlights
• Pattaya International Music Festival 2010
• 2010 Koh Samui International Jazz Festival
• Pattaya Music Festival 2011 in Photos & Video

Songkran 2012 the Finale

Another Songkran has come and gone and it’s been a pretty popular consensus that this years Songkran festival was one of the best in recent history, although still a little too long at 7 days for Pattaya.

A few days such as day 4 & 5 were pretty barren around town as people were tired out from the first 3 days and saving their energy for the final push of days 6 & 7.

Day 7 in Pattaya was complete bedlam with all the major roads clogged with Songkran revelers and every small soi engaged in massive water fights, not surprisingly water was getting hard to come by.

Anyway, here are some pictures and video of the madness of Songkran’s last day in Pattaya, and boys, pay close attention to the last 2 pics and you’ll get a good idea of how this years Women of Songkran 2012 post is shaping up…I promise to have it posted within the next few days and I won’t bore you with any words:)

Final Day of Songkran 2012

Related Articles of Interest:

• Everything’s Better When Wet…Songkran 2012
• And so it Begins…Songkran 2012
• Songkran 2011 Day 3 : The Ladies of Pattaya
• Songkran 2009…Amazing!
• The Faces of Songkran: Thai New Year

Songkran 2012

The day started out very slow yesterday, many people are resting and saving up their energy for the last 2 days of Songkran. To give you an idea of how slow it started out I walked from my apt on Pattaya Klang  all the way to walking street ( with a detour up soi Diana ) at about 2:00pm and I didn’t get wet until I walked all the way down to soi 8 and Beach road. For those of you that don’t know the area, that’s a lot of walking. Anyway, there were pics to be had and you can see them below.

Songkran Day 5

Songkran 2012

I decided to take out the cheap camera yesterday instead of the good one, I don’t want to take too many chances in getting it soaked. Unfortunately the pictures aren’t as good but I did grab some video ( posted above ). The upshot was I didn’t have to worry about the camera as it is small and fit into the small plastic covers being sold, so, I could have a great time running up and down the soi’s with my small guns ( filled with ice water ). Everyone laughed at me until I attacked

Songkran day 4 was a mild affair in Pattaya, many people were tired out from the first 3 days and decided to take a day off, so, the streets weren’t as crowded during the afternoon but it seemed to ramp up some towards the evening.  I still managed to get some decent pictures but I will be taking out the good camera today and hopefully I’ll get some great shots.

With Songkran being in the last 3 days it will start getting more maniacal as we get towards the 19th, which is the final day of Songkran in Pattaya. The 19th will be all out bedlam!

Songkran 2012 pics

Songkran ( Thai New Year ) 2012

Songkran is already into it’s third day and it decidedly started with a shout instead of a whimper. Although the war has just begun major battles for control are taking place just about everywhere from the smallest soi’s to the large prominent roads dissecting town. Beach road is awash ( literally ) with thousands of revelers and soi’s 7 & 8 are hotly contested property. The merchants selling water guns, powder, water and ice are making a killing as supplies are often running low and new recruits are showing up by the hour.

Songkran 2012 has been a blast so far and it’s an unbelievable sight to see so many smiling people laughing and having fun with friends and complete strangers…Okay, enough of the words. Here are some pics from the first 2 days. I’m still scoping out places to hide with the camera so much more and better are on the way, and don’t forget there will definitely be a Women of Songkran post before this is all over. Enjoy!

Songkran 2012 Days 1 & 2

Like Talen here, I’ve always been interested in Asian culture, and particularly interested in traveling the world in general. So last year when I finally got the chance to visit Thailand and other parts of Asia for the first time, and perhaps the only time in my life, I naturally jumped at the opportunity. Thankfully I’d just freed myself from debt, no small thanks to a little 0 balance transfer credit program, and was finally feeling a twinge of financial freedom again.

So what’d I do? I got myself a low interest credit card this time, slapped it down for a plane ticket, and took off for Phuket, a southern province of Thailand that a good friend assured me I wouldn’t be disappointed with. And thus follows the following: a list of the five places/things that I most thoroughly enjoyed in Phuket, which didn’t send me plummeting back into credit card debt.

Old Town Phuket

If you can pull yourself away from the incredible beaches of Phuket, you might think about venturing off to the historically rich Old Town, where you’ll find Sino-colonial mansions, ornate Buddhist temples, cafes, museums, shop houses, markets, and more.

Big Buddha

One of Phuket’s most sacred and honored places, the Big Buddha is a must-see. With a body contrived of white Burmese marble that glistens in the sun, Big Buddha is a sincerely breathtaking sight, even for an unenlightened Westerner like myself. Sitting 45 meters high atop of Nakkerd Hills, the amazing statue lookout offers a stunning 360-degree view of the island.

FantaSea Show

The island’s biggest show, this amazing performance features trapeze acts, dancers, and performing elephants that will blow your trunk. Before the show, satisfy your taste buds with one of Asia’s biggest buffets, offering delicacies from all over the country. Afterwards, if you’re not too full to stand, explore other entertainment including carnival games, market shopping, a palace of elephants, baby tiger feedings, and plenty of food outlets for those that are somehow still hungry.

Phi Phi Island

For the perfect day trip out of Phuket, throw on your swimsuit and cruise through the water by speedboat to Thailand’s most alluring destination. Visit Phi Phi Leh, the location for Hollywood flick, “The Beach,” and spend the day relaxing and wading in some of the clearest water in the world while pretending to be Leonardo DiCaprio – minus the snake blood drinking of course.

Phang Gna

Just a quick boat ride from Phuket, this nearby province offers much. Explore James Bond Island, enjoy a seafood lunch at Sea Gypsy Village (built entirely on stilts above the water), kayak through caves, or snorkel around the bay. If you’re even more adventurous, join one of Phuket’s most famous tours and embark on an adventure combining elephant trekking, river rafting, and a waterfall excursion through the luscious mountain forests.

If you won’t take my word for it, then take Talen’s – Thailand really is the land of a thousand smiles. It’s got something to make everyone smile, including you. And if you’re anything like me, and are concerned about spending too much, have no fear, like most places in the world, there are ways to get by relatively cheaply. I hope this list helps you enjoy this beautiful province as much as I did. Happy travels.

Related Articles of Interest:

• Travelers Checks a Thing of the Past?
• Finding Work in Phuket
• Phuket Bike Week 2011
• Phuket International Boat Show 2011
• Phuket International Blues Festival 2009